VIRGIN ON THE NEW- HERE COMES VIRGIN CRUISES

After years of rumour and 'will they, won't they' speculation, the newly wrought Virgin Cruises has finally set in motion it's plan for a three ship fleet of purpose built cruise ships of an entirely new design, all to be built by the legendary Fincantieri shipyard in Italy.

The approximately two billion euro contract allows for a trio of near identical sister vessels, scheduled to arrive in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively. Displacing around 110,000 tons each, the 278 metre long, 38 metre wide vessels will all be built in Genoa.

No names have been announced yet, but no doubt each will carry the Virgin prefix in its name. Some 2,800 passengers will be accommodated in 1400 cabins, and looked after by a crew of around 1,100. In terms of space and scale, this makes them roughly comparable to some of the mainstream ships operated by lines such as Carnival and Costa.

The company has already announced that at least some of the ships will be based in Miami, to operate cruises on the popular seven night cruise circuits of the eastern and western Caribbean. Once all three ships in service, a summertime deployment in Europe for at least one of these vessels seems pretty certain.

Virgin comes to cruising from a pretty unique vantage point. Relatively recent start up cruise lines, such as MSC, began service with a trio of second hand vessels, acquired from other companies, before eventually dipping their toes into the purpose built cruise market.

By contrast, Virgin is launching with no previous experience at all in the cruise sector, and this could inevitably lead to some start up glitches. On the other hand, it could also gestate some seriously forward looking thinking that could well galvanize the entire industry as a whole. Only the next few years will tell.

What kind of product will Virgin Cruises be? My feel is that it will be aimed firmly at a younger demographic, much like the other businesses in the Virgin brand. Expect smart casual dress codes and a distinct lack of formalities. On the other hand, these ships are likely to be very tech savvy in terms of internet connectivity and other on board services to appeal to that younger demographic.

In short, think informal innovation, matched to a mix of traditional cruise itineraries, with flights and transfers carried through the company's other products. The make or break aspect for Virgin Cruises will, I suspect, remain the price point.