Virgin Voyages Tried To Shed "Sex Ship" Label

This December will mark the ten-year anniversary of Richard Branson’s cruise line, Virgin Voyages. However, the cruise voyages are not considered for children because they were design to capture the pockets of millennials who wants more sex in the high seas.

When Virgin Voyages launched as a strict "adults-only" proposition, it was no surprise that this cruise industry disruptor was using sex to sell. On Scarlet Lady’s maiden voyage, a reporter for The Telegraph discovered that every cabin was equipped with a "cheekily illustrated box of sex toys" containing a vibrator, condoms and US$ 30 vegan lube.

It didn’t take long for word to get out that Virgin Voyages was a place for hedonism.

One passenger who wanted to remain anonymous tells The Telegraph: "The last cruise I did was pretty crazy. The 'upside down pineapple gang' were literally in full swing at the pool party and there was a lot of partner swapping going on around. I spoke to some swingers, who were very open about it all. There were lots of people wearing pineapples on their clothes."

For those innocently oblivious to this secret code, the upside-down pineapple is a symbol for casual non-monogamy, and is sometimes placed on cabin doors by open-minded cruisers.

By the time Resilient Lady took to the waves in spring 2023, the sex kits were gone, and the "participatory" show "Never Sleep Alone", which featured couples' counselling and simulated blow jobs, was canned. So, are pineapples (metaphorically) off the menu?

For Virgin Voyages CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu, the association with sex is something the cruise line is trying to leave behind, and although Virgin Voyages definitely won’t be letting children on board any time soon, the package is becoming more "PG".

He tells The Telegraph: "I’d be the first to admit that when we launched the brand we made some mistakes. Our biggest challenge has been the misperceptions about us. But we probably didn’t do ourselves any favours in not allowing those misperceptions to build. We were not thoughtful about certain choices we were making around some of the on-board programming and small details that ended up getting so much amplification that they ended up defining what the product was.

"I think the issue with the adult entertainment was that it fed a narrative that this was a very narrow product with a very risqué kind of feel to it. And paired with the fact that we didn’t have kids on board, it painted a picture of something that was very exclusionary, rather than being inclusive.” He adds: “As we have matured our marketing, we have tried to be more thoughtful. But Richard’s ethos is, ‘Sometimes things don’t work out and it’s okay’."

So confident are Virgin Voyages in the dedication of its hardcore fans that it has this month launched an "all-you-can-cruise" Annual Pass costing a whopping US$ 120,000 (£94,000), with the option to bring a plus-one. (In 2023, its month-long "work from helm" Season Passes sold out in 48 hours.)