Virgin Cruise Ship To Call Port Melbourne Home For The Summer

Sydney has lost out to Melbourne in the bid to become the home of one of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin cruise line cruise ships over 2023 and 2024.

Branson has opted to berth the Resilient Lady at the Station Pier over the summer where the ship will be made available for kids-free cruises over a four-month period.

The announcement is a win for Melbourne with a majority of cruise ships berthed in Sydney over Summer.

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In an interview with the Herald Sun, Virgin Voyages president Nirmal Saverimuttu said Sir Richard Branson’s Resilient Lady is set to provide a “superyacht style” cruise with high-quality food and a number of activities hosted on-deck including boxing and yoga.

“We will be probably the newest and most modern ship to be calling in Australia by the time we come next year because the ship will be essentially almost brand new,’’ he said.

Mr Saverimuttu said the cruise will also offer a feature that will allow passengers to shake their phone to order a bottle of champagne from anywhere on the ship.

The cruise is also believed to feature a tattoo parlour and outdoor showers in a number of cabins.

The Resilient Lady will travel from Athens to Sydney and then to Melbourne for the summer period.

Trips range from two to 12 days with a number of stops scheduled including Tasmania, New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.

Bookings for the summer period between December 11, 2023 to March 27, 2024 are set to become available from today.

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