''Scarlet Lady'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

owned and operated by

Virgin Voyages Virgin Voyages is a cruise line headquartered in Plantation, Florida and a joint venture between the Virgin Group and Bain Capital. As of April 2024, Virgin Voyages has three ships in the fleet, with one more on order, all with an expected c ...

. She is the inaugural ship for the cruise line and was delivered on 14 February 2020 by Italian shipbuilder

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

. The vessel was initially set to begin operating on 1 April 2020 but the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

postponed her official debut until 6 October 2021, after which she sailed her inaugural voyage to the Bahamas from her homeport of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. In accordance with Virgin Voyages's business model, ''Scarlet Lady'' operates exclusively as an "adults-only" ship for guests aged 18 and over.

Construction and career

Planning

On 4 December 2014,

Virgin Group Virgin Group Ltd is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding compa ...

founder

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

announced Virgin Group would be forming a new cruise line with the backing of

Bain Capital Bain Capital, LP is an American Investment company, private investment firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, with around $185 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, p ...

named Virgin Cruises and revealed initial plans to begin with two new cruise ships. On 23 June 2015, Virgin Cruises announced that it signed a letter of intent with Italian shipbuilder

for three cruise ships that could each accommodate approximately 2,800 guests and 1,150 crew for seven-day

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

voyages. The three-ship order reportedly cost $2.55 billion, with the first ship scheduled to begin operating in 2020. The order's contract was formally signed on 18 October 2016, the same day Virgin Cruises rebranded as Virgin Voyages in a bid to distinguish itself within the industry''.'' On 20 July 2018, Virgin Voyages revealed the name of the first ship as ''Scarlet Lady'', in honor of the second plane of sister brand

Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic A ...

Construction and delivery

Temporarily billed as ''Virgin I'' and known in the shipyard as "hull number 6287", Virgin's first ship had her steel-cutting ceremony at Fincantieri's shipyard in

Sestri Ponente Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente ''municipio'' of Genoa. Geography It is situated on the Ligurian Sea four miles to the west of the city, between Pegli and Cornigliano. Its po ...

on 22 March 2017. On 31 October 2017, construction formally began with the laying of the ship's keel. Nine months later, the dock was flooded on 20 July 2018 for the first time to allow two hull sections to be connected. Altogether, the ship was assembled from 399 sections. On 8 February 2019, ''Scarlet Lady'' was floated out from the shipyard, after which interior outfitting work commenced. In November 2019, ''Scarlet Lady'' performed her two rounds of

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s. She set off from Genoa to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

between 15 November and 18 November and sailed in the opposite direction for her second round between 27 November and 30 November. ''Scarlet Lady'' was completed and presented by Fincantieri on 13 February 2020 and formally delivered on 14 February 2020 in Sestri Ponente. Branson christened the vessel in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

on 21 February 2020 during an industry visit for the ship, but formal naming festivities were scheduled for 19 March 2020 in her homeport of

, which were later curtailed due to the

. In March 2022, Virgin announced American singer

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

would become an investor and the brand's "chief entertainment and lifestyle officer", thus making her the informal godmother to ''Scarlet Lady'' and her fleetmates.

Debut

Amid the pandemic and the cruise industry's broader hiatus, the ship's debut schedule and inaugural festivities were significantly impacted. Following her delivery, ''Scarlet Lady'' began by hosting media and travel industry representatives on stops in Dover and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

before continuing on her re-positioning voyage to the United States. Virgin had prepared preview events in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but was forced to cancel them due to the pandemic so the ship sailed directly to Miami instead. Upon her arrival in Miami, ''Scarlet Lady'' had been scheduled to perform two pre-inaugural voyages in late-March 2020. Her first was scheduled from 26 to 29 March and her second from 29 March to 1 April. Both three-night sailings would embark from Miami and visit Virgin's new private island resort, The Beach Club at Bimini, located on the

Bimini Bimini is the westernmost district of the Bahamas and comprises a chain of islands located about due east of Miami. Bimini is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States and approximately west-northwest of Nassau. The popula ...

islands in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. On 12 March 2020, Virgin announced an initial postponement of the ship's inaugural season, with the pre-inaugural sailings slated to begin on 15 July 2020, but these were cancelled in May 2020. She had also been scheduled to sail her maiden voyage on 1 April 2020, visiting Key West and Bimini, but this would later be postponed to 7 August 2020. Numerous debut timeframe adjustments for ''Scarlet Lady'' followed before Virgin decided to send the ship to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, England to perform a limited summer 2021 season in the United Kingdom designed as a "preview"; from 6 August 2021, she operated six short sailings that varied between two and four nights-long and had enforced capacity restrictions for fully vaccinated British guests. In September 2021, ''Scarlet Lady'' sailed to New York for the ship's travel industry preview events that were initially curtailed in 2020 and on 6 October 2021, 18 months later than planned, ''Scarlet Lady'' set sail on her inaugural voyage from Miami for

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Austria * Nassau (Groß Sankt Florian), incorporated village of Groß Sankt Florian Bahamas *Nassau, The Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upp ...

and Bimini.

Deployments

On 23 June 2015, Branson initially announced the first three ships in the fleet would be based at

PortMiami The Port of Miami, styled as PortMiami and formally known as the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world and one ...

for week-long, round-trip

itineraries, with the first ship beginning operations in 2020. In January 2019, Virgin released the first details of ''Scarlet Lady'''s itineraries with revisions from earlier plans. She was now scheduled to sail shorter itineraries, ranging from four to five nights round-trip from Miami to the Caribbean and visiting various ports including

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Puerto Plata, and

Costa Maya Costa Maya is a small tourist region in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, the only state bounded by the Caribbean Sea to its east. This municipality is close to Chetumal (capital of the state) on the bor ...

, in addition to Bimini. In June 2019, in response to the United States's government re-instituted ban on passengers from entering

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

via passenger and recreational vessels, Virgin swapped out all visits to Havana with calls to Key West, Key West, Florida and also added a fourth itinerary option to visit Cozumel on five-night sailings, along with two seven-night holiday sailings to Puerto Plata and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Design and concept

Adults-only

On 31 October 2017, Branson and president and CEO of Virgin Voyages, Tom McAlpin, revealed that the company's first ship would be exclusive to adults, requiring that all guests be ages 18 and over. McAlpin explained that this move was made to appeal largely to travel professionals within the more premium market looking for an "elevated" experience. Chief Commercial Officer of Virgin Voyages, Nirmal Saverimuttu, also attributed the decision to the company's aim to target "people who would not typically consider a cruise holiday" and might be interested in a "cooler" and more "intimate" setting.

Offerings

On ''Scarlet Lady'', Virgin Voyages bundles all passengers' fares as one price per cabin, as opposed to pricing each voyage per guest. Consequently, prices appear higher than those of Virgin's competitors. Virgin explained that all fares would cover dining charges, fitness classes, internet access, and gratuities, among other offerings, but expenses incurred from alcoholic beverages, retail, and shore excursions would be charged separately. The ship does not include any buffet or dining rooms, and instead, houses approximately 20 different dining and drinking establishments. Other venues include a multi-function theater and an onboard tattoo and body piercing parlor.

Technology and specifications

A lifeboat on the cruise ship Scarlet Lady

''Scarlet Lady'' has a total of 1,408 passenger cabins and 813 crew cabins for a maximum capacity of 4,400 passengers and crew, which can accommodate over 2,770 passengers and 1,160 crew. Of the 1,408 passenger cabins, there are 78 suites, 1,030 balcony cabins, 95 window cabins, and 105 inside cabins. She is equipped with balconies on 86% of her cabins, with 93% of the cabins featuring an outside view. The ship's livery consists of a silver hull, red funnel, and tinted windows, and also includes the Virgin "mermaid guide" figure featured on sister brands, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America. IMO 9804801 - Scarlet Lady alongside in Cozumel

IMO 9804801 - Scarlet Lady alongside in Cozumel

''Scarlet Lady'' has 17 decks, a length of , a draft of , and a beam of . She is powered by a diesel-electric Diesel generator, genset system, with four Wärtsilä engines, producing . Main propulsion is via two ABB Azipod XO units, having a combined power output of 32MW (43,000hp). The system gives the vessel a service speed of and a maximum speed of . Wärtsilä also provided the ship's navigation systems, a hybrid scrubber system to remove sulfur dioxide from the exhaust, and a selective catalytic reduction system to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. The ship partially produces her own energy through a production system that uses the waste heat from her diesel engines. In February 2021, it was announced that Scarlet Lady would be equipped with satellite internet connectivity from SES S.A., SES using the O3b medium Earth orbit satellites to provide passengers with free ultra-fast, low-latency onboard wi-fi internet access.''Virgin invests in high-speed satellite communications''
Riviera, 24 February 2021, Accessed 24 March 2021

Incidents and accidents

2020 crew member death

On 22 May 2020, it was reported that a 32-year-old male Filipino crew member of ''Scarlet Lady'' had been found dead in his cabin. Virgin Voyages confirmed the man's death was not related to the Coronavirus disease 2019, coronavirus, and the United States Coast Guard confirmed that he had died from "apparent self-harm." ''Scarlet Lady'' sailed into

later that day, where the body was disembarked.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline Cruise ships Ships built by Fincantieri Virgin Voyages 2020 ships