Virgin Voyages debuts 4-week cruises for remote workers, starting at $10,000 for 2 people
Virgin Voyages is offering a four-week cruise in the Mediterranean for remote workers, starting at $10,000 for two passengers.
The cruise, called a Scarlet Summer Season Pass, promises to help sailors “achieve that perfect work-life balance” during four consecutive weeklong trips.
The first of these “work from helm” cruises sets sail on June 9, bringing flexible workers between Cannes, France, and the Italian coastal town of Marina di Carrara.
Virgin Voyages said the new offering is “inspired by Richard Branson’s belief and track record that brilliant work is best paired with a hearty dose of fun” — which the 73-year-old has demonstrated through his death-defying bicycle incidents and trip to space back in 2021, where he became the first billionaire to travel beyond earth.
After its inaugural June trip, the Scarlet Summer Season Pass will offer additional four-week cruises in July, August and September — to other Mediterranean hotspots like Marseille, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca, Fortune earlier reported.
Virgin appeals to its remote-worker passengers that each ship includes Wi-Fi and a $10 coffee credit, as well as laundry services and most food, including reservations at the only Korean BBQ joint at sea, according to a press release shared with The Post.
Certain upscale menu items will come at an additional cost, as well as access to a members-only sundeck.
“No longer does working from home mean being tied to a desk or home office and eating leftovers for lunch,” Virgin CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu said in the release.
The ship, named the Scarlet Lady, can accommodate as many as 2,770 passengers.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Virgin has already reached maximum capacity for the Scarlet Summer Season Pass cruises, which come at a time when more companies are pushing return-to-office mandates.
New York City’s RTO trend has recently gained steam, with average visitation rates at 350 Manhattan buildings in December 2023 rising to about 70% of 2019 rates, according to the Real Estate Board of New York.
Nevertheless, aspiring passengers must fill out a form online that only asks for a name, date, email and desired sail dates. Applicants can expect to hear back within 72 hours if they are eligible for the trip, which is non-refundable.
The cruises in June, July and August start at $9,990 per two passengers, while the September cruise is a costlier $10,990.
Branson — whose net worth is pegged by Forbes at $2.1 billion — has been foraying further into luxury cruising over the past year.
Last March, his company said that two ships would join the growing sorority-of-the-seas — alongside his first ship, Scarlet Lady, which initially departed Miami back in 2021, and Valiant Lady, which touched tide in 2022.
The ships are all massive — 110,000 grosse tonnage in size, at least 900 feet in length, a max capacity of 2,700 guests (dubbed Sailors onboard) — and ditch family friendly activities and buffets typical of most cruises for an adults-only vacation that promises food made to order, casinos and drunken shenanigans.
In one account of “sexy secrets” from Virgin’s adults-only cruise, pineapple stickers on hotel doors indicate that the guests inside are swingers, and welcome others to join them.
Though the passenger described swinging as “alive and well” on the cruise, for those who did not partake, there was a “saucy sexual undercurrent [to] the whole thing.”
