Scarlet Lady accidents and incidents

(crew repatriation) On June 23, 2020, the cruise liner left its anchorage off PortMiami on a Transatlantic crossing (crew repatriation voyage) to Port Genoa (Italy), where arrived and docked on July 6.

The ship was passenger-free and carrying only ~270 crew. Despite the fact that all the crew were tested negative for Coronavirus, the US CDC agency didn't allow the crew to be repatriated via commercial flights from the USA, so Virgin Voyages planned to repatriate them via flights from Italy.

For a total of 20 days, the cruise liner remained berthed at Fincantieri's Riva Trigoso shipyard (Santa Limbania, Genoa) for routine maintenance works. Scarlet Lady was scheduled to return back to homeport Miami Florida in late-August, starting regular roundtrips on October 16th.

(crew suicide) On May 22, 2020, a 32-year-old male crew was found dead in his cabin. Reportedly, the man (Filipino) committed suicide (died from "apparent self-harm" / USCG). He was employed as a Hotel Utility/ Custodial.

The incident occurred while the cruise liner was at sea (off East Florida's coast) and free of passengers. Following the tragedy, in the afternoon the ship was allowed to enter PortMiami and berthed to offload the body. Local police officers boarded the vessel for investigation. The ship remained docked between 12:20 PM (May 22) and 5 PM (May 23).

Scarlet Lady was laid up off Florida after Virgin Voyages suspended passenger shipping operations due to the global Coropnavirus pandemic. Virgin Group also postponed the cruise brand's inauguration (maiden voyage from Miami) rescheduling the departure from August 7 to October 16.

On May 20, 2020, Virgin Voyages cancelled more Scarlet Lady cruises (all departures through October 15) or a total of 15 additional itineraries. The Inaugural Cruise 2020 (originally planned for August 7) was rescheduled for October 16. The special 4-night "Richard Branson's 70th Birthday Cruise" (originally planned for July 15, 2020) was rescheduled for July 14, 2021.

Next list shows the duration, departure dates, itinerary themes and USD prices per person (double-occupancy lowest cabin rates) of the additionally cancelled Scarlet Lady voyages, all roundtrips from Miami Florida.

• 4 day "Fire And Sunset Soirees" - Aug 12 ($1650), Aug 26 ($1550), Sept 9 ($1500), Sep 23 ($1600), Oct 7 ($1500)
• 5-day "Dominican Daze" - Aug 7 ($2000), Aug 21 ($1900), Sept 4 ($1800), Sept 18 ($1750), Oct 2 ($1750)
• 5-day "Mayan Sol" - Aug 16 ($1900), Sept 13 ($1650), Sept 27 ($1700), Oct 11 ($1750)
• 5-day "Mk On Deck" - Aug 30 ($1850)

After the May-announced Scarlet Lady cruise cancellations, all rebookings made with the 200% FCC were fully refunded (200%) and additionally received 25% in FCC (to be used on another booking). Virgin Voyages also introduced the "Smooth Sailing Program" which allows for itineraries in 2020 (through December 16) the final payment dates to be moved to 60 days (previously 120 days) prior departure. Smooth Sailing also allows cancellations up to 48 hours (prior departure) with receiving a full (100%) refund in FCC.

Due to Coronavirus concerns, on March 12, 2020, Virgin announced that postpones the brand's inauguration (Scarlet Lady's Showcase Tour / media event in PortMiami) for July 15th (ex 4-day "Richard's Birthday Bash"), with the inaugural cruise departing on August 7th from Miami. The ship's originally planned maiden voyage was on March 29th (3-day "Sneak-A-Peek Cruise").

All the scheduled between March 26-August 7 departures (a total of 29 itineraries) were cancelled. Next list shows the duration, departure dates, itinerary themes and USD prices (per person, double-occupancy lowest cabin rates) of the cancelled Scarlet Lady voyages, all roundtrips from Miami Florida.

• 3-day "Sneak-A-Peek" - Mar 26 ($1650), Mar 29 ($1800)
• 4-day "Fire And Sunset Soirees" - Apr 1 ($1300), Apr 15 ($1500), Apr 29 ($2150), May 13 ($2150), May 27 ($2150), Jun 17 ($2050), Jul 01 ($2050), Jul 29 ($1900)
• 5-day "Riviera Maya" - Apr 05 ($1300), Apr 19 ($1800), May 17 ($2550), Jun 26 ($2350)
• 5-day "Mayan Sol" - Apr 10 ($1600), Apr 24 ($2700), May 08 ($2500), May 22 ($2600), Jun 07 ($2300), Jun 12 ($2500), Jun 21 ($2300), Jul 19 ($2150), Aug 02 ($1950)
• 5-day "Diplo On Deck" - May 03( $2450)
• 7-day Atlantis Virgin Caribbean Cruise (May 31, LGBT cruise charter)
• 5-day "Mark Ronson On Deck" - Jul 05 ($2300)
• 5-day "Dominican Daze " - Jul 10 ($2300), Jul 24 ($2300)
• 4-day ""Richard's Birthday Bash Cruise" - Jul 15 ($3050)

All affected bookings were provided with the options to cancel with a 125% refund (100% monetary refund) plus 25% in FCC (future cruise credit) or rebook with 200% refund in FCC. As a promo offer, bookings made by June 30, 2020, received up to USD 500 per person in OBC (onboard credit). A full (100%) monetary refund was optional for cancellations made between May 21-December 31, 2020.

In early-March 2020, Virgin Voyages planned to showcase the new cruise brand in NYC (New York USA) by docking for several days there company's first vessel Scarlet Lady. However, due to Coronavirus concerns, the cruise ship's docking in NYC was cancelled. The planned visit was to present the new ship to travel agents and major media.

The ship was on a Transatlantic crossing from Liverpool UK and carrying ~850 passengers. Instead to NYC, it headed directly towards PortMiami (Florida USA). Virgin's CEO Tom McAlpin commented on March 2nd that "In the light of growing media focus on global health concerns, we do not feel that it is the right time to showcase our brand in New York. As a result, we have postponed our media and showcase events in New York City."

The new liner arrived in PortMiami on March 7th, bypassing NYC and visiting only Dover, before the Atlantic crossing to the USA.