Just two months before the scheduled first voyage of its third cruise ship, Virgin Voyages announced that it had decided to postpone the launch of the ship for nine months. The brand, which has promised to shake up the cruise industry, highlighted the achievements in the 10 months since it was launched despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, while saying it would use the time to prepare and complete the next round of funding.
The Resilient Lady is planned to be the third cruise ship of this line and a sister ship for the first two cruise ships, the Scarlet Lady which began cruising in August 2021 from the UK and now the Caribbean, and the Valiant Lady which began cruising Europe in March 2022 Resilient Lady is nearing completion at Fincantieri's Sister Ponente near Genoa, Italy. In April, Virgin Voyages reported that the ship had completed naval tests by reaching 23 knots and testing its security systems, automation, power generation and propulsion systems.
“After very careful and deliberate consideration, Virgin Voyages has decided to defer the launch of our third ship, Resilient Lady, until Q2 of 2023,” a spokesperson for the cruise line announced. “While we've successfully launched two ships in the span of less than a year, the fact remains that there are challenges facing the industry as a whole, and we're not immune to those. It was a tough decision, but we want to ensure that when Resilient Lady does hit the water, she'll be ready to execute brilliantly.”
Tom McLaughlin, CEO of Virgin Voyages, said the brand is not immune to global challenges, including supply chain barriers, levels of regional uncertainty for international travelers in Eastern European countries, crew-based challenges for government regulations and restrictive entry requirements for COVID -a. in the United States.
“We remain focused on delivering brilliant vacations, and this pause will ensure we will be ready to go on Resilient. The travel industry is recovering well, and this month, we’ve seen record bookings, a significant increase in onboard spend, and we’re currently seeking to close out our next round of funding,” said McAlpin.
