There is a new cruise line in town. Well, there will be in 2020 that is. A British billionaire named Richard Branson signed a letter of intent with an Italian company named Fincantieri at a news conference recently. The company will be building three ships that are 110,000 tons each.
The Ships
Each ship will have the capacity to carry 2,860 passengers, based on double occupancy. They will house 1,150 crew members as well. Additional details about the cabins and décor are still in the works.
Sailings
The ships will debut in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The first ship to sail will be based out of the Port of Miami with a Caribbean itinerary. The home port and the itinerary for the ships that are debuting in 2021 and 2022 haven’t been determined yet.
About Branson
Branson previously served as the president of Disney Cruise Line and World of ResidenSea as well so he knows a thing or two about cruise ships. He likes to do things in a big way. He arrived at the new conference, via helicopter, complete with bright red smoke surrounding it and donning a Virgin Cruises flag. Branson has dreamed of having his own cruise line for a long time and no detail will be spared in designing these ships.
The idea behind Virgin Cruises first came to the public’s attention in March of 2014 when Branson announced that he would be building two new cruise ships in the future. He plans to “shake up the cruise industry” and will do so by having many perks and the newest innovations on the cruise line. As far as things like amenities and activities, he is leaving that up to the public. He wants potential passengers to have as much input as possible on what should and shouldn’t be on the ship. In fact, he is encouraging individuals to visit the company’s website at www.virgincruises.com and leave feedback. The cruise market seems to be growing fairly rapidly as the Carnival Corporation recently created a one-ship line called Fathom that is dedicated strictly towards voluntourism as well as Viking Ocean Cruises, which was started by Torstein Hagan who started the very popular Viking River Line. PortMiami seems like the perfect spot for the first of Virgin’s new ships to call home with the port undergoing a 50 foot deep dredge that will allow for bigger cruise ships to utilize the port.
