Sir Richard Branson's new cruise line - Virgin Voyages - is the latest to be hit by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, delaying its maiden voyage until August 2020. Virgin postpones the inaugural cruise of the adults-only ship Scarlet Lady (originally planned for March 26th) for August 7th.
Branson wrote on Instagram:
"At this time, much of our attention is focused, rightly, on the current global health crisis."
"We understand that this is affecting us all in different ways and making many people rethink upcoming cruise plans. We have spent time talking to our team, future sailors (passengers) and travel partners as we navigate this challenging moment."
The company announced it would be offering full refunds for guests looking to cancel voyages, but also offered a 200% rebooking bonus in future Virgin bookings if clients wanted to reschedule.
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.