Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady gives New York a miss

Scarlet Lady is npw headed direct to Miami

With coronavirus concerns in the headlines, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages has scrapped plans to hold a series of travel industry preview events in New York aboard its first ship, the recently delivered Scarlet Lady.

The ship is now scheduled to arrive in Miami, rather than New York on March 7.

The cruise line issued the following statement:

Virgin Voyages has made the decision to postpone our upcoming events in New York City and will sail back to New York at a later date for a proper launch celebration. We believe delaying the launch celebration is the right thing to do given public sentiment and focus at this time. We have absolutely no health concerns or issues on board and there are no issues with our passengers or crew.

With no other events scheduled in New York at this time, we will instead sail the ship to her new home in Miami. The 850 passengers currently on the ship are friends and family of our crew and were invited to join a complimentary test sailing with us. We are working with those who need assistance for travel home from Florida.