Virgin Voyages, formerly Virgin Cruises, is a cruise line headquartered in Plantation Florida, USA. It was created as a joint venture between Virgin Group and Bain Capital; the latter company has a controlling stake.

 

Virgin Group announced the creation of Virgin Cruises on December 4, 2014 with financial support from Bain Capital. The cruise line is headed by CEO Tom McAlpin. The main idea involved the construction of two new large liners, which will be based in the Miami / Fort Lauderdale area.

 

Already on June 23, 2015, the founder of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson, announced that the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri plans to build three new ships for them. According to the plan, the company should begin work in 2020, starting from the port of Miami.

 

On October 18, 2016, Virgin Cruises was renamed Virgin Voyages because the word “Cruises” seemed “rather boring” to Branson. The final contract for the construction of the ship was also signed. On March 22, 2017 Fincantieri began construction of the first ship for the company.

 

Virgin Voyages plans to commission three mid-size cruise ships with an estimated capacity of about 2,700 passengers per vessel. The first ship is expected to cruise in 2020, taking week-long trips in the Caribbean.

 

On June 23, 2015, Virgin Voyages announced that it has signed a binding agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of three cruise ships to be launched in 2020, 2021 and 2022. According to their characteristics, these should be medium-sized vessels with a displacement of 110,000 tons each, with a crew of 1150 people. and the number of cabins in 1430 units, capable of accommodating a total of more than 2800 passengers. The final contract for the construction of the vessels was signed by the end of 2015, and the total project cost was less than US $ 2 billion.

 

The three new ships will be a premium product with a high percentage of cabins with balconies, according to Tom McAlpin. They will differ from other cruise ships in their "design, size and program on board" and will be aimed at "young at heart".

 

Virgin Voyages is the first major cruise company to implement the Climeon Ocean clean energy system, which generates energy from heat from ship engines to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The fourth ship was ordered by the company in October 2018 with an expected launch in 2023.

 

The first president and CEO of Virgin is Tom McAlpin, one of the founders of the Disney Cruise Line and then its president. Prior to his appointment as head of Virgin, McAlpin served as CEO of the cruise ship The World.