Richard Branson Built a Different Kind of Cruise Ship

Richard Branson said in the past that he hated the idea of ever being on a cruise ship. He feels the same flying on most airlines.

That’s why he built his airline, and now, a cruise ship. He said that “Before I started Virgin Atlantic, I didn’t fancy flying on other people’s airlines because they were stuffy, not fun”. He added that this makes it the perfect time to enter the cruise line industry. Richard Branson asked, “could we create the kind of cruise company that myself, my family, and friends would love to go on?”.

Richard Bronson’s Floating Nightclub

The Scarlet Lady cruise ship is a 1,408 cabin ship. It is a unique cruise ship that gives you a taste of both the luxurious and the hip. It also comes with two premium suites, peekaboo showers in different cabins, and you also get a private bar and cocktail area on the rooftop.

This is an adults-only ship that comes with luxurious gold fixtures and banisters, restaurants, and everything that screams “this isn’t your typical cruise ship”.

To meet Richard Branson’s vision of a cruise ship, Virgin Voyages hired a team of designers such as Roman and Williams. Roman and Williams are known for their work in New York’s Ace Hotel.

Different From Other Cruises

If you’re a fan of buffets and amusement rides, that’s not something you will see in the Scarlet Lady. There will also be no cruise director. Instead, ship activities are going to be led by experts at what they do. You will have fitness gurus running workouts, while you will also get real gamers to facilitate games.

The Virgin team, however, also hired major cruise industry veterans. One of them is Frank Weber, who will work as Virgin Voyages’ senior vice president of hotel operations. Weber worked for Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.

Weber shared difficulty working with other cruise lines. He said that “Every time I wanted to change something, you had to jump through hoops because your loyalty customers say, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you changed this’”. Working with Richard Branson’s Virgin team, Weber said that he has the freedom to be creative. Weber even calls the Scarlet Lady, “my baby”.