The entrepreneur was joined by the new cruise line’s president and chief executive Tom McAlpin, who revealed that Virgin Voyages had officially signed a ship building contract for three vessels to be built at the Italian Fincantieri shipyard.
The construction of the first ship will begin next year, and it is expected to arrive in Miami by 2020. The second and third ships will be delivered by 2021 and 2022.
The first ship will carry 2,700 passengers, and will sail Caribbean itineraries, with the company promising "unique and very social experiences" in the destinations it visits.
“Thousands of future sailors and travel professionals shared their thoughts with us and tasked us with delivering the most irresistible vacation at sea and that our name alone should leave them dizzy with anticipation," said Branson.
“I’m excited to reveal we are now Virgin Voyages, and while we have lots of work ahead to build out three ships, we can’t wait to welcome you aboard the ship of things to come.”
McAlpin added: “Our world-class partners like Bain Capital Private Equity, Virgin Group and Fincantieri... showcase Virgin Voyages’ strong backing and commitment to developing an incredible product. This is anything but just another cruise or holiday, it will be a transformational experience delivering a very ‘Virgin style’ of adventure.”
The due also announced that the line would be the first to adopt a clean energy system named Climeon Ocean. Virgin said the system would “transform low-grade energy into clean electricity in all three of its ships”.
It added that the “resulting environmental impact would be an estimated 5,400 tons of carbon dioxide saving annually per ship – an amount that would take 180,000 trees 30 years to absorb”.
Climeon founder and chief executive Thomas Ostrom said: “The Climeon heat power system is an environmental breakthrough, and working with Virgin is of major importance to us. We are excited that Sir Richard Branson and Virgin, with their focus on sustainability, have decided to become a pioneer of this technology. Transforming hot water to electricity will be a major source of energy production going forward.”
