Branson’s adults-only cruise scraps NZ, Australia sailings

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages has cancelled its 2024/25 Australia and New Zealand sailings for its ship Resilient Lady, due to concerns about potential escalations in the Red Sea.

It had already rerouted its ship this year to avoid the Middle East, instead going from Australia to the Mediterranean via Africa.

“On the heels of these recent changes and based on the regional and government advice we have received, we remain very concerned about potential escalations in the Red Sea over the next 12 months,” a spokesperson said.

The cruise line said it was “left with no choice” but to cancel its 2024/25 Resilient Lady voyages. In October, 2024 the ship was supposed to sail on a 44-night repositioning cruise from Athens to Australia.

The vessel will now complete her Mediterranean sailing season on October 20th, 2024 and divert course sailing to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a new Caribbean season, with routes to be confirmed.

The Resilient Lady was launched in 2022 and can hold 2770 passengers.

Sir Richard, who also has the Valiant Lady and the Scarlet Lady in his fleet, markets the voyages as adults-only and for people who don’t like cruises.

The cruise line only just completed its first season in New Zealand, which Virgin Voyages said was “an extremely successful inaugural season”.

“We are currently working through options to return to Australia and the Asia Pacific region once regional repositioning opportunities become more tenable,” a spokesperson said.

It said in the event it can return for the 2025 season, existing booked sailors will have priority to move onto these sailings.

Passengers impacted by the cancellation of the 24/25 sailings will have the option to rebook another voyage or opt for a full refund.