Naval Interior for Virgin Voyages, new Richard Branson’s cruise line
The cruise world has not stopped talking about anything else for months. The launch of Scarlet Lady, Virgin Voyages’s first creation, is a unique event for at least three reasons: it has been moulded by the visionary talent of the tycoon Richard Branson, it is dedicated to the young and new luxury market, and it is the first of four initiatives aimed at shaking up the cruise market.
All of this closely concerns us because we have also taken part in the creation of the new marvel that Branson commissioned to Fincantieri. For instance, we designed the black box, the most popular night club on board: its shiny entrance is shown in the promotional pictures spread all over the word, now that Branson has presented the cruise ship – straight from the Ligurian coasts – to the English market.
The cruise attracts young people
We, from Naval Interior, have contributed to this outstanding project, which is 278 meters long and 110 thousand ton, applying our best know-how: a combination of craft skills and technological solutions. Scarlet Lady is made for young people that are shaping up the new market. The interior space is designed as a contemporary boutique hotel creating a sense of pleasure aboard. Since this is the style we like, we focused our attention on detail in a meticulous and precise manner.
In the case of Scarlet Lady, as well as the black box, we built the champagne lounge and the casino. These are three night clubs where a large influx of people is expected. The building process was achieved in a linear and practical way, without leaving out a cosy and elegant atmosphere that every club like this should have. This is true not only for the industrial and intriguing style of the black box, but also for the modern and shiny style of the champagne lounge and of course for the luxurious but easy style of the casino.
How to convey the contemporary design to the naval industry
This mix is the result of great teamwork and we are proud to be part of it. In fact, also in the case of Virgin Voyages, the know-how that we have reached over the years as contractors of important projects for well-established ship owners has contributed to transferring a great idea into a great ship: from the planning stages to the creation, from the supervision to the installation and follow-up. In addition, our “artisan heart”, which means the presence of laboratories and workshops within our factory, has allowed us to have a closer surveillance of the technical details and to optimise the working and delivery time.
Since he was 20 years old, Branson has always dreamt to become one of the protagonists of the cruise world: his mission is to revolutionise the sector. As innovation pursuers, we are proud to have taken part in his ambitious project. Our collaboration does not end here since Scarlet Lady is only the first of four similar ships that are already in process in Genova’s building sites. So, we are starting to sharpen up our tools again.