Virgin Voyages has outlined plans for its third adults-only ship, Resilient Lady, to be deployed to Australia late next year.
Sir Richard Branson’s cruise line, a member of Virtuoso Preferred, has begun accepting bookings on three new positioning cruises for Resilient Lady from Europe to Australia.
Virgin Voyages confirmed the plan to fans via email this morning [Friday 25 February 2022], saying: “Resilient Lady is traveling across the world — making her way down to Australia by way of some of the most jaw-dropping destinations on the planet.
Subscribe to LATTE’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury travel industry.
“First, sailing for 14 nights from Piraeus (Athens) to dazzling Dubai, then hopping from Dubai to stunning Singapore over 15 nights, and finally from Singapore down to Sydney for a 15-night voyage — it’s 3 voyages, 17 destinations, and an unrivaled way to see some of the most unbelievable places in the world,” the cruise line said, while highlighting that Resilient Lady will include a visit to the Great Barrier Reef.
Virgin Voyages CEO Tom McAlpin flagged Australia as a likely destination for the new cruise line in September 2019. Speaking at the CLIA Australasia’s Cruise360 conference in Sydney, McAlpin told LATTE, “We will have a ship in Australia at some point. I’m pretty confident.”
The just-released itineraries aboard the 2,770-passenger vessel include a 14-night sailing from Athens to Dubai (22 October – 5 November 2023); followed by a 15-night Dubai to Singapore cruise (5-20 November 2023); and another 15-night voyage from Singapore to Sydney (20 November – 5 December 2023).
At this stage itineraries from Australia – and from December 2023 – are yet to be unveiled, but it is expected Resilient Lady will homeport in Sydney and likely offer a series of Trans-Tasman sailings to New Zealand, along with eastern seaboard and Tasmanian voyages.
Resilient Lady‘s first leg to Australia from Europe ex Pireaus (Athens) will include port calls in Santorini, Rhodes, Port Said (Cairo), Safaga, then five days at sea before arriving in Dubai. The next onward journey from Dubai visits Mumbai and Goa in India; Colombo in Sri Lanka; Phuket, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia, then the Lion City. And then segment that will likely be of interest to the local market will visit Bali (Benoa), Darwin, Cairns and Airlie Beach, docking in Sydney on 4 December.
Opening cruise fares on the voyages start at:
- AU$1,960 per person twin share for the Ancient Athens to Modern Rome;
- AU$2,600 per person twin share for the Dubai Delights and Singapore Sights;
- AU$2,600 per person twin share for the Singapore, Bali & The Gold Coast.
Specifically, Resilient Lady will dock in Darwin on 27 November 2023, Cairns a few days later on 30 November, then Airlie Beach on 1 December, before making a grand evening arrival in Sydney at 7pm on 4 December, with guests disembarking in the Harbour City the next morning.
Resilient Lady is the third ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet. A sister-ship to Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady, Resilient Lady will enter service in mid-2022 in the Mediterranean and Greek Islands, ahead of repositioning to San Juan, Puerto Rico later this year for her Caribbean deployment.
Virgin Voyages appointed Travel the World as its GSA in Australia in 2019.