18+ months after Virgin Voyages' first ship Scarlet Lady was expected to set sail, she departed with passengers on Wednesday, October 6, from PortMiami Florida USA.
The boat's originally scheduled Maiden Voyage in the USA was for April 1, 2020 (out of Miami). Due to COVID crisis, the ship's/and the new brand's inauguration was pushed back several times. Scarlet Lady started operations with a short series of mini-cruises in the UK (a "preview season") that commenced in August 2021.
The adult-only cruise line Virgin Voyages announced in March 2021 it would require all crew and guests to be fully vaccinated to board. While Scarlet Lady's max passenger capacity is 2860 (plus 1160 crew), she now operates at 50% capacity.
The voyage dubbed one of Scarlet Lady's "Fire & Sunset Soirees", is a 4-night sailing with calls in Nassau and Bimini Island.
In its release, Virgin Voyages said that during the inaugural season, Scarlet Lady would sail a mix of Mexican and Caribbean roundtrips, including 5-night 'Riviera Maya' itineraries (Cozumel), 5-night 'Mayan Sol' (Costa Maya) and 5-night 'Dominican Daze' (Puerto Plata, Dominicana).
Virgin Voyages' 2nd and 3rd vessels are set to debut in 2022 - Valiant Lady in March, Resilient Lady in July.