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Officials from Virgin Voyages sent an email to travel media personnel scheduled to attend the inaugural NYC event that revealed the cruise line was postponing the celebration to keep “a watchful eye on the news.”
The Scarlet Lady was delivered to Virgin Voyages in February by the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, and the email stated the ship had already made stops in Dover and Liverpool over the last two weeks before canceling the NYC experience.
A spokesperson for the cruise line said the Scarlet Lady has “absolutely no health concerns or issues onboard,” but the “elevated health protocols and processes we put in place when we took delivery of Scarlet Lady have kept our crew and their family and friends well and happy.”
The vessel will be rerouted to its homeport in Miami, where it will be prepared for its first voyage with paying passengers on March 26.
“At the moment, we have only postponed the showcase tour events in New York,” a Virgin Voyages spokesperson said. “We’re continuing to closely monitor developments and will update everyone should there need to be any further changes made based on current events.”
The Scarlet Lady was also designed with the latest energy-efficiency standards, helping the cruise line become the first to achieve carbon neutrality in its direct emissions footprint, starting from its very first day in commercial operation.