Virgin Voyages CEO: Child-Free Strategy Fills Untapped Market

Richard Branson's adults-only cruise venture, Virgin Voyages, had a challenging pandemic-era launch, with its first ship, Scarlet Lady, setting sail in 2021. But two more ships launched in quick succession: Valiant Lady in 2022 and Resilient Lady in 2023.

"Last year, we saw this real inflection in momentum,” said CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu. "We were up 60% on revenue."

The CEO said 2025 is tracking similar growth in bookings. A fourth vessel, Brilliant Lady, is scheduled for its maiden voyage in September.

An untapped market

The cruise line is a joint venture between Virgin Group and Bain Capital. As with Branson’s other businesses (travel brands include Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia in aviation, Virgin Galactic, and Virgin Hotels), the decision to enter the cruise industry when establishing Virgin Voyages in 2014 was driven by identifying an untapped market within it.

“We always look for these really big industries where we believe there’s a big white space where we can offer a point of difference,” Saverimuttu said. 

The cruise market, he admitted, was a “unique challenge” for Virgin, which has typically entered a market (aviation, in particular) as a strong consumer champion.

“We had to be careful about our messaging because our messaging isn't that cruising is bad," he said. "Our messaging is that we can offer a particular kind of cruise experience for an audience we believe is being overlooked."

18+ cruising

That audience is those seeking to cruise child-free (apart from Virgin Voyages, the only 18+ cruise line is Viking, whose demographic skews older than Virgin’s average customer age of 47).

“Deciding to be adults-only is a fairly brave decision because if you talk to people in the industry, they’ll tell you that cruising is for families,” he said. “For us to come and say, 'Actually, we think there is an untapped potential in adults-only,’ was a very big decision at the time.”

The strategy opened up an array of design possibilities, such as outdoor workout areas, including a yoga deck and a boxing ring, in areas traditionally reserved for children’s spaces. 

The brand’s sweet spot, in terms of capacity, has been determined at around 2,700 passengers. “Not everyone wants to be on a 5,000 passenger ship, particularly if you’re traveling without your kids,” he said. It’s a size that is big enough to offer enough variety and choice but small enough to still feel boutique.

Buffets are out, replaced by a selection of restaurant-style venues, the largest able to hold 200 people. Every restaurant serves up a different style of cuisine (all made to order) and has its own dedicated kitchen and executive chef.

Overnights in reputed party destinations, like Ibiza and Mykonos, are another point of difference, as well as relaxed dress codes compared to some of the luxury lines that typically draw childless couples.

Guests who are “happy to pay a premium price, but they want value for money” is another core tenet of the strategy.

“We look at things like including Wi-Fi in all of our ticket fares, (free) still and sparkling water," Saverimuttu said. "We don’t charge for fitness classes nor extra for speciality dining."

Controlling the narrative

Saverimuttu called Virgin Voyages the “biggest service footprint” the Virgin Group has ever had to create — and the reality of rolling out a new brand during a pandemic was immediately felt.

The intention had been to launch four ships roughly every 15 months. The pandemic saw that business plan torn up, and three ships rolled out less than 24 months apart. That meant a considerable amount of cabins for a new name in the industry to keep full. 

“I would venture to say not many brands have had to digest that much capacity across any real travel vertical, and so it's been a real challenge for us,” he said.

Saverimuttu admitted that, in its haste to fill the capacity, the early narrative about the company that emerged in the media hinged upon the more sensational aspects of the onboard offerings, including its adult comedy show, You’ll Never Sleep Alone, and the sex kits available onboard.

“We allowed a misconception to build because we allowed experiences that were a tiny fraction of what we do to start to define what we were,” he said.

Those headlines were not what held Virgin Voyages back, however.

“It wasn’t those choices,” he countered. “It was just allowing enough time for that word of mouth to build and that credibility to get established, and that’s what I feel really happened last year to us.”

With industry awards and recognition now flowing in, the company now has a 40% rebooking rate, which is impressive for a brand so new, the CEO said.

What’s more, some “sailors” — as guests are called — are coming back on board within a matter of months, rather than waiting a few years for their next cruise. That’s creating a new, but nicer, problem for Saverimuttu: a faster product refresh cycle than expected.

Plans for 2025

Along with Brilliant Lady’s debut in September, Saverimuttu said Virgin Voyages will start cruising to more destinations, and on longer itineraries, in 2025. 

“We started with short cruises because we felt like if you're going to try a new brand, you're more likely to try it on a shorter four-night or five-night cruise versus committing to 10 nights as an example,” he said. 

Brilliant Lady, on the other hand, will offer some nine- and 10-night voyages. Destinations like Alaska, also new for this year, are selling very well, he added.

Finally, it seems Virgin Voyages has reached calmer waters. “We’ve created a wonderful product experience,” Saverimuttu said. “We feel very, very confident about the future.”