ORLANDO, Fla. — While Richard Branson’s cruise venture Virgin Voyages made its Miami debut last fall, it finally has its own little corner of the Magic City to call home.
The line opened up its new terminal at PortMiami becoming the latest cruise line to add its modern look to the city’s skyline. Both Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have made major overhauls to their presence in recent years with MSC Cruises and Carnival on tap to bring even more changes.
For now, though, the spotlight falls on Virgin’s new Terminal V, which shines its signature red-and-white logo to the crowds of Bayshore just across the water from FTX Arena.
That is unless its lone ship Scarlet Lady is at port, as it was Sunday for the terminal’s grand opening marking the first departure of the ship from its new home.
In attendance were Branson along with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Virgin Voyages’ CEO Tom McAlpin.
The new terminal was given an address of 718 N Cruise Blvd., a cheeky reference to July 18, the birthday of soon-to-be-72-year-old billionaire.
“Coming to this beautiful new terminal and seeing Scarlet Lady in her home port here in Miami has been such an incredible experience. The team at Virgin Voyages has created a stunning building that delivers on our commitment to being better stewards of the Earth,” Branson said.
The building received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification, with sustainable materials used in construction.
The three-story, 132,000-square-foot building opens its doors just over a year since groundbreaking. Designed by Arquitectonica, it features was inspired by palm trees and the area’s historical origins of harvesting coconuts. The angular rooftop is to represent the edges of a palm canopy, and the landscape has more than 1,000 palm trees both indoors and out.
The interior features emerald and ruby jewel tones, shifting LED screens, local artwork from nonprofit Art in Public Places.
One feature not usually found in cruise terminals is an exterior patio. The terminal also features a crew-only lounge for its employees to enjoy while in port.
“We’ve always strived to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, and Terminal V gives us greater opportunity to elevate the Sailor experience from the moment you see the AHOY sign to the time you disembark,” said McAlpin. “Scarlet Lady deserves a home as beautiful as she is, and we cannot wait for our Sailors to begin their voyage at Terminal V.”
The Virgin brand has tried to set itself apart from other cruise lines, referring to its customers as sailors, for instance. It’s also only for those 18 and older.
Scarlet Lady made its debut sailing Oct. 6 about 18 months later than planned because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It continues to sail four- and five-night voyages from Miami while a new sister ship Valiant Lady is ready to debut in March and sail in Europe.
Valiant Lady will make its way to Miami though for winter sailings at the end of 2022.
A third ship, Resilient Lady, is under construction at the Fincantieri shipyards in Italy and due for delivery later this year with a fourth unnamed ship on order due in 2023.
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