Virgin Group has finally announced its plans to create a cruise brand, Virgin Cruises, led by veteran Tom McAlpin as CEO. The company plans to launch with two ships and will be headquartered in the Miami area.
“We intend to revolutionize the cruise industry,” said Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. “Our customers will sail on state-of-the-art ships that offer great quality, a real sense of fun, and plenty of exciting activities—everything that has made Virgin what it is today.”
McAlpin, formerly president and CEO of The World, who previously led Disney Cruise Line as president and who began his career in the cruise industry at Royal Caribbean, has been chosen to create and lead the management team.
“Cruise passengers deserve better and different from what’s on offer today, and Virgin Cruises is committed to creating amazing experiences for them and a new generation of customers,” said McAlpin. He added, “Opportunities like this don’t come around often, so I’m really excited to be part of this business and to introduce the Virgin brand to the cruise industry.”.
To work on this new venture, Virgin has partnered with the private investment firm Bain Capital.
“From our first conversations with the Virgin team, we realized that there is a unique opportunity here to help build the next great cruise line,” said Stephen Pagliuca, managing director of Bain Capital.
'We know that thanks to the strategic vision of our team and now under the leadership of Tom McAlpin, Virgin Cruises will help raise consumer expectations of what a cruise experience can be.
Billionaire entrepreneur Branson has considered entering the cruise business for over a decade. As early as 2002, he pursued licensing his brand to existing ships, and his representatives held talks with several cruise operators.
Recently, one of the industry's top executives expressed the opinion that the Virgin brand would be a great asset to the business as a whole.
Virgin Cruises will not begin operations before 2018.
