The first Virgin Voyages' ship with paying passengers onboard set sail on Friday, August 6, after COVID-induced delays pushed back the launch of Richard Branson's line by more than a year.
The Scarlet Lady ship departed Portsmouth (England UK) at 7 pm local time (8 pm UTC) for a 3-day inaugural voyage (cruise to nowhere).
It is the first of Scarlet Lady's 6 scheduled summer UK "staycation" cruises, available only to fully vaccinated UK residents aged 18+. The majority of crew onboard is also fully vaccinated - 100% of Virgin Voyages' crew members have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine.
The cruise ship is sailing at reduced capacity. Virgin has not confirmed exact numbers but said that none of its UK summer voyages would exceed 65% capacity.
The first of Virgin's 4 newbuilds, Scarlet Lady boasts 17 decks and 1408 staterooms (including 78x ‘Rockstar Quarters’), with 86% of all passenger accommodations having a private step-out balcony.
Following the UK season, Scarlet Lady has scheduled a Transatlantic crossing to PortMiami Florida (homeport) for a series of Caribbean voyages.
Virgin fleet's second vessel - Valiant Lady, debuts from Miami in November 2021.
Virgin fleet's third vessel - Resilient Lady, debuts from Piraeus-Athens (Greece) in August 2022.