New ship enters cruise market
Looking for yoga and meditation on your next cruise? Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages will offer that and more
Americans looking for chic modernity on their next cruise? And a sailing experience that’s virtually all inclusive? The first ship to be built for Sir Richard Branson’s new Virgin Voyages, a stunner named Scarlet Lady, has announced it will begin sailing from Miami in April of 2020 and is currently accepting bookings. Scarlet Lady will pursue fourand five-night itineraries from Miami on a cruise that will include Havana as an overnight stop (an unexpected bonus). The ship will also go to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico, Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic and Bimini in the Bahamas. In Bimini, passengers will enjoy a beachfront club experience (including free meals) and free yoga and meditation classes on the beach. On board the ship, an effort will be made to avoid burdening passengers with nickel-and-dime solicitations of the sort found on traditional cruise ships. Wi-Fi will be free of charge, and so will fitness classes in the gym. Gratuities to staff (namely, tipping) will be outlawed! Finally, all nonalcoholic drinks will be free of charge. It all seems an enticing prospect for people unhappy with traditional cruise ship practices. In fact, Branson hopes that Scarlet Lady will disrupt the cruise ship industry. If all of the other ships are now forced to end nickel-anddiming (and to visit Havana, to boot), we all may rejoice.