MIAMI — Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, setting sail from Miami to the Caribbean in 2020, will offer four and five-night ‘Havana After Dark’ itineraries with overnight stays in Havana.
The 2,770-passenger ship will also offer five-night ‘Mayan Sol’ sailings to Costa Maya and five-night ‘Dominican Daze’ itineraries to Puerto Plata.
Virgin says passengers will also have more time to explore in each destination, with extended port hours and an overnight stay or a late-night sail away on all voyages.
Virgin also says news about an additional destination for all sailings will soon be released.
“Our research with Sailors unearthed their desire to go to places that allow for a variety of experiences,” said Diana Block Garcia, Vice President of Itinerary & Destination for Virgin Voyages. “Our destinations offer a combination of opportunities for exploration and relaxation, to complement our Virgin Voyages experience.”
The inaugural season opens for bookings on Feb. 5 for pre-sale deposit holders, and Feb. 14 for the general public.
The cruise line also has new details about its staterooms. Designed for function and mobility, they will feature flexible furnishings for increased socializing opportunities, upgraded bathroom experiences and tech-forward, ‘clever cabin’ touches.
Virgin has already teased its dining options and luxe-focused RockStar Suites.
For the cabins, “We wanted … a place people actually wanted to hang out in,” says Jamie Douglas, Senior Product Design Manager, Virgin Voyages. “The cabin feels like a reflection of modern city living. A design that works harder with what are normally constricted spaces.”
To counter what it calls the boxiness of traditional sea cabins, an exclusive patent pending cabin layout was born in partnership with Pearson Lloyd Design of London. The layout uses intelligent architecture to optimize space with an angled wall. Though hardly detectable, the angled wall “vastly alters” the room, says Virgin.
Another innovation is the Seabed, the first-ever transformational cabin bed at sea, specially engineered and handcrafted by German-based, Walter Knoll designers.
SeaBed in Day Mode
Sustainability was another consideration. PIR presence detectors with eco modes were added, where air-conditioning, lighting and curtain settings auto-adjust for energy conservation when a passenger steps out of the cabin. If there’s a phone charging in the room, power still stay on for the phone but switch off for everything else. All of the technology can be controlled on the in-room tablet.
SeaBed in Night Mode
Some 93% of the cabins have sea views, and 86% have sea terraces with outdoor hammocks for lounging beneath the stars. That includes an XL Sea Terrace option for more added room and terrace space.
Terrace at Night
There’s also a variety of Insider Cabins with solo options for more personal travel, as well as loft-style, bunk bed lined Social Insider cabins for groups.
Virgin says most of Scarlet Lady’s standard cabins will have transitional Seabeds, sustainably sourced, hand-woven hammocks, sensory mood lighting, in-room entertainment with 43”+ 4K flat-screen HDTVs, minibars, ‘glam areas’, flexible wardrobes and premium products in upgraded bathrooms with rainshowers.
