It's official: Colorful entrepreneur, serial philanthropist and headline magnet Richard Branson is starting a cruise line, confirming what the industry has been breathlessly speculating about for most of this year.
The new Virgin Cruises will build two cruise ships and has hired an experienced executive, Tom McAlpin, to oversee the startup from a headquarters in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. Branson is partnering with Bain Capital, one of the world's richest investment firms.
So this is no shoestring operation. A brand-new cruise line is an unusual thing, but it isn't unheard of. In fact, a new company will make its debut in May when Viking Ocean Cruises launches its first ship, the 47,800-ton Viking Star. Viking is headed by Norwegian shipping businessman Torstein Hagen, the founder of the fast-growing Viking River Cruises - you've probably seen that company's gorgeously photographed TV commercials - and himself a former CEO of Royal Viking Line.
Although today's official announcement doesn't reveal what kind of ships or cruise line Virgin plans to operate, it does confirm plans for two "world-class" ships. Branson also declines to reveal when they will start operating "for competitive reasons."
However, media reports from past months indicate he could be planning two ships in the 1,200-passenger range that could begin operating in 2019. The only other hint to surface is that he wants the cruises to "attract people like myself who've never been on a cruise ship," he told the Financial Times in late October.
Based on the potential size of the ships and Branson's style in other travel ventures, it appears that his new entrant would fit into the upper-premium cruise segment pioneered by Frank Del Rio's Oceania Cruises and emulated by Royal Caribbean's Azamara Club Cruises. These products toy with the luxury level but have varying levels of inclusiveness. The new Viking line promises an upscale vacation with practically everything - wine with meals, shore excursions, Wi-Fi - included in the fare.
Oceania's two newer cruise ships, Marina and Riviera, each accommodate 1,250 guests, while Viking Ocean Cruises is planning on three 930-passenger ships by 2016.
A few subtle hints of what the new Virgin line will offer are included in quotes from various executives in the official announcement. They're promising something different, perhaps in the way Branson reimagined flying with Virgin Atlantic Airways in the 1980s and more recently in the lodging sector with the new Virgin Hotels to debut in Chicago any day now.
McAlpin's quote says cruise passengers "deserve something better and different to what is being offered today" and that Virgin Cruises is "committed to creating breathtaking experiences." Stephen Pagliuca, a managing director with Bain Capital, said Virgin promises to "reshape consumers' expectations of what a cruise experience can be."
This much is certain: Branson did select a seasoned executive with experience building a world-class cruise line as CEO of the new Virgin Cruises. McAlpin has served as president of The World, the ship with 165 luxury private residences, since 2009. Before that, he spent 14 years with Disney Cruise Line, joining that company when it was starting up in 1994 and later serving as president for five years.
So with an experienced executive and a deep-pocketed investment partner in place, Virgin Cruises can become a reality and inject a welcome dose of playfulness into the cruise industry.
"We plan to shake up the cruise industry and deliver a holiday that customers will absolutely love," Branson said in the press release. "They'll be sailing on the latest ships offering great quality, a real sense of fun, and many exciting activities all delivered with the famed Virgin service."
I can hardly wait.
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