I lately had the respect of interviewing Virgin Voyages CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu concerning the cruise line’s spectacular development because the model appears ahead to welcoming its fourth ship, Sensible Girl, in September 2025.
However with the fleet of Girl ships about to develop, I couldn’t assist however mirror again on how the adults-only cruise line obtained its begin within the aggressive cruise business.
I went on a deep dive into who owns Virgin Voyages, the way it was based, and the way its cruise ships provide their “sailors” a one-of-a-kind cruising expertise.
Who Based Virgin Voyages?
English Enterprise Magnate Sir Richard Branson is the well-known founding father of the cruise line, however he didn’t do it alone.
As an alternative, the cruise line was formally born on December 4, 2014, by means of a collaboration between the Virgin Group (which Sir Branson owns) and Bain Capital.
Possession of Virgin Voyages nonetheless falls underneath the Virgin Group and Bain Capital in the present day.
The thought so as to add a cruise line to the Virgin Group, which additionally owns the Virgin Atlantic airline and a complete of eight Virgin Lodges between the UK and the US, was first conceived in 2011.
Present CEO Saverimuttu, who was a Virgin Group Government on the time, and Tom McAlpin, who was CEO of a personal residential cruise ship named MS The World, get credit score for conceptualizing the concept.
Saverimuttu then introduced Bain Capital into the fold, who helped conduct market analysis to show that there can be house on the world’s oceans for an adults-only cruising expertise.
Over the course of three years, the lads raised $700 million from Bain Capital, which grew to become the lead investor within the model, in addition to greater than $1 billion from non-public traders and establishments.
When Did the Cruise Line Launch?
| The Fleet | Launch | Gross Tons | Visitor Capability | Present Homeports |
| Scarlet Girl | October 6, 2021 | 110,000 | 2,770 | Miami, Barcelona, Athens |
| Valiant Girl | March 18, 2022 | 110,000 | 2,770 | Miami, San Juan, New York |
| Resilient Girl | Might 14, 2023 | 110,000 | 2,770 | Miami, Athens, San Juan |
| Sensible Girl | September 5, 2025 | 110,000 | 2,770 | Miami, Seattle, LA |
On June 23, 2015, Virgin Voyages introduced that it had signed an settlement with the favored Italian shipyard, Fincantieri, to assemble its first three Girl ships. Fincantieri is recommended as the most important shipbuilder in Europe.
The plan was to ship three ships back-to-back, all of which might be 110,000 gross tons with a capability for round 2,800 passengers plus 1,150-1,160 crew members.
The mid-sized ships had been initially anticipated to launch in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
In fact, this needed to be delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down cruising operations for months and slowed development.
Scarlet Girl got here first. Although she was speculated to enter service on April 1, 2020, her maiden voyage didn’t embark from her homeport of Miami, Florida, till October 6, 2021.
Up subsequent was Valiant Girl. Even with pandemic-related development delays, together with floating out two months not on time, she formally launched on March 18, 2022, with a 3-night maiden voyage from Portsmouth, England.
Resilient Girl got here the next yr, together with her inaugural voyage setting sail on Might 14, 2023, from Athens, Greece.
Launching three cruise ships in lower than two years (and within the wake of a pandemic) is a massively spectacular feat, however the cruise line wasn’t carried out.
Simply over two years since this accomplishment, Sensible Girl might be launching in September of 2025.
The fourth sister ship to hitch the fleet might be embarking on a 5-night “MerMaiden” voyage from New York to King’s Wharf, Bermuda, on September 5, 2025.
No further new builds have been introduced for after Sensible Girl, however my latest dialog with Saverimuttu confirmed that the cruise line has no plans of slowing its ahead momentum.
How Has Management Modified?
Sir Richard Branson stays concerned in guiding the cruise line as its proprietor and founder.
He’s recognized to hitch choose particular occasion sailings, such because the celebratory “Crimson Scorching” voyages, and to personally participate in shock giveaways.
Probably the most noticeable change inside Virgin Voyages’ management construction has been with who has crammed the position of CEO and President.
Tom McAlpin first crammed the position and was appointed when the cruise line was first established in 2014. He stepped down from the pinnacle of the corporate in 2023, however remains to be concerned as the present chairman.
The CEO position then went to Saverimuttu, who had beforehand acted because the Chief Industrial Officer from the Virgin Group and as President and Chief Expertise Officer.
Filling a Area of interest within the Cruise Market
A significant factor behind Virgin’s success, which I spoke about at size with Saverimuttu, is that the cruise line will solely ever be an adults-only model. This implies visitors should be above 18 years previous to sail.
Virgin Voyages presents these adults-only cruising experiences at a extra reasonably priced value level than different luxurious adults-only manufacturers, with principally inclusive sailings averaging at $250 to $300 per night time.
As a result of youngsters are by no means and can by no means be allowed onboard, the cruise line was capable of craft an expertise particularly for adults in ways in which different main manufacturers like Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line can’t.
For instance, balcony cabins characteristic their very own hammocks for enjoyable, which wouldn’t be protected with youngsters round.
Areas which may usually be used for household pleasant leisure have additionally been devoted to cultivating the last word culinary experiences for extra mature palettes.
As an alternative of utilizing conventional buffets, the eateries on Virgin’s ships are a bit extra intimate and have their very own devoted kitchens.
Every part is made to order by groups led by Michelin-star cooks, which ensures high quality and lessens meals waste.
The vibe can be much more informal, with no strict costume codes and no set eating occasions, so visitors can calm down, social gathering, and eat at their leisure.
For visitors seeking to keep energetic, there are in fact quite a lot of choices from themed events for dancing to quite a lot of included group health courses.
Learn Additionally: 12 Methods to Get the Greatest Out of Your First Cruise
All in all, the expertise onboard is quite a bit like visiting an revolutionary boutique resort, which has helped the model stand out from its opponents.
Virgin Voyages’ Internet Price
Figuring out the precise web price of the model is troublesome as a result of it’s a personal firm, however estimates from 2023 urged it was round $3.8 billion on the time (and I wouldn’t be shocked if the quantity has grown).
Virgin Voyages has a strong gross sales presence within the US and Europe, together with all through Spain, Portugal, Eire, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands.
In 2022, the corporate additionally secured a $550 million funding from BlackRock, an funding administration and monetary providers firm, that helped pave the best way for the model’s continued development.
In the beginning of this yr, Virgin Voyages skilled record-breaking bookings and income in the course of the 2025 Wave Season, with bookings up 34 p.c year-over-year and income climbing by 45 p.c.
The place is Virgin Voyages Headquartered?
Virgin Voyages’ is presently headquartered in Plantation, Florida, which is barely about 37 minutes away from the Cruise Capital of the World (Miami).
It’s even nearer to Fort Lauderdale, which is about 7 miles or a 17 minute drive away.
It’s farthest from Orlando’s Port Canaveral at about 187 miles away, however even this journey will be made by automotive in just below three hours.
Although the corporate operates out of Florida, it’s attention-grabbing that it’s truly registered as a Bermuda restricted firm.
In the meantime, all 4 of the ships are flagged and registered to Nassau within the Bahamas.
Conclusion: How You Can Sail
In case you are eager about experiencing Virgin Voyages’ area of interest onboard expertise for your self, bookings will be made by visiting the cruise line’s web site or calling the cruise line.
You can too ebook by means of Cruise Hive with our new reserving characteristic, which frequently comes with vital reductions.
The cruise line presents quite a lot of itineraries to locations by means of the Caribbean and the Bahamas, Europe, and even Australia, so there ought to be a crusing that checks off bucket listing locations for everybody.
As soon as Sensible Girl enters service, the cruise line will start providing cruises from Los Angeles and to Alaska (from Seattle) for the primary time in its historical past.
I do know I’ll definitely be attempting to get onboard when Sensible Girl is in my hometown of Los Angeles, and I’ll hope to see lots of our readers there!
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