The cruise industry officially gained some competition this morning, as Virgin Cruises announced their first ship is coming in 2020.
Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group announced in Miami that a letter of intent has been signed with shipbuilder Fincantieri to build the line’s first three ships. A letter of intent is the first step in the shipbuilding process, the second step will come later this year when the two companies sign a contract to start building.
Since announcing the Virgin Group’s jump into the cruise business several months ago, speculation was rampant as to where the line would call home, what size the ships would be and who would be building them. Those questions were answered this morning when Virgin Cruises CEO Tom McAlpin announced the first ship will call PortMiami home when it’s delivered in 2020. The ships will be mid-size, weighing in at 11,000 tons and have the capacity to carry 2,800 passengers.
Virgin’s first three ships will be significantly smaller than the newbuilds being constructed for Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s third Oasis-class vessel accommodates over 6,000 passengers, while the newest ship for Carnival Cruise Line – Carnival Vista – is being built to accommodate around 4,000.
With 2,800 passengers, the Virgin ships will be on scale with the newest ship being built for Holland America Line, the Koningsdam, which has a capacity to carry 2,650 vacationers. The Koningsdam, by the way, is the largest cruise ship built for Holland America Line and is the first vessel in the line’s Pinnacle-class due for delivery in 2016.
Renderings for Virgin Cruise Line’s new ships have not been released yet, however, the line’s website is up and running. Visitors, and cruise lovers, can visit http://www.virgincruises.com to submit their thoughts for what they would like to see on a Virgin Cruises ship. “Virgin is a customer built brand that listens carefully to what customers want, sharing their ideas on what the new cruise line can do to deliver an incredible experience at sea. We are committed to making waves in the cruise industry, and partnering with Fincantieri sets Virgin Cruises up to do just that,” said McAlpin.
The additional Virgin Cruises ships will launch in 2021 and 2022. The line also setup a Facebook page which can be accessed here.
I cannot be the only one excited by this announcement today!