Brilliant Lady, Virgin's fourth ship, will not be ready this year, citing supply chain issues.
Brilliant Lady, Virgin's fourth ship, will not be ready this year, citing supply chain issues.
Despite chartering big plans for Australia and New Zealand, Virgin Voyages has signalled new delays and cancellations to their sailings.
The newest ship Brilliant Lady which was due to sail from Miami on her maiden voyage in December, has cancelled its sailings saying that the launch has run into unexpected issues in staffing and building.
Virgin’s cruise venture said despite popularity with guests and critics their operations were “susceptible to global issues”.
On Friday travel agencies and ticketing partners were told that until they could be certain the experience would meet approved standards they would not deliver the ship into service.
The Brilliant Lady is still evaluating possible future launch dates. She remains in Fincantieri construction yards in Italy.
In a press release, the cruise line called it an “incredibly tough decision”
“Despite careful planning, Virgin Voyages are facing unexpected construction, supply chain and staffing challenges that have delayed the introduction of Brilliant Lady. Virgin Voyages wants to make sure that when the ship launches, it can deliver the standards its Sailors have come to expect from an award-winning brand like Virgin Voyages.”
The cruise line said it would offer any affected guests between $500 and $1000 in onboard credit or the option of a full refund.
This will affect at least four itineraries around the Caribbean and repositioning trans-Atlantic.
The Brilliant lady is not the only Virgin branded ship to announce disrupted sailings.
After an inaugural season in Australia and New Zealand, Resilient Lady is being repositioned to the Mediterranea, where she will be sharing some of the delayed Brilliant Lady’s itineraries with sister ship Valiant Lady.
At least four itineraries have had to be cancelled on both ships, as they are redeployed to help cover the schedule of the delayed Brilliant Lady.
Virgin Voyages, VP for International Sales and Marketing, Shane Riley said that Australia had been a huge success for the cruise line, which has “already scheduled its second season Down Under, but even the strongest travel brands face unforeseen challenges every now and then.”
Resilient is due back in Australia for October 2024.
Virgin’s first ship to sail to Australasia was due to debut in the region in August 2022, but was delayed to 2023 due to Covid travel restrictions and supply chain obstacles.
Brilliant Lady, which remains in Genoa’s shipyards, is Virgin Voyages’ fourth ship with a price tag of $1.2 billion (€700 million).With a maximum capacity of 2800 passengers and 1000 crew, the delay means many missed holidays.
The Virgin Voyages Brilliant Lady will remain in ship yards, after hitting construction and crewing issues. Photo / Fincantieri
Cruise boom to gloom?
Despite the return of demand cruise industry has been hit by supply chain hurdles in construction and crewing of ships. Over the past year there have been delays to delivery on at least six cruise ships. Cunard’s Queen Anne which is also being built by Fincantieri, has been delayed until May 2024, and Norwegian Cruise Lines has also announced delays to two of its Prima Class ships.
Cruise lines unable to deliver new fleet to schedule may be missing out on the pent up demand of travellers who have been unable to sail during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
After a pandemic pause, the return of leisure ships was heralded as a “cruise boom”.
Virgin claimed that their delays are the product of supply chain shortages, affecting all cruise lines.
In the northern hemisphere, particularly in the US where many cruise lines are headquartered, bookings have softened after a peak a rush of delayed travel demand.
After reporting 20 to 30 per cent week-on-week growth through 2023, Cruise Planners told US Travel Market Report that demand appears to be peaking over summer. However at this point the trade publication said it was hard to tell if this was seasonal slowing over summer, a typically slower time for holiday booking, or a sign that we were reaching the peak of a post-pandemic boom.
