Valiant Lady has received her own unique mermaid mascot as part of the final fit and finish phase of her construction ahead of an expected debut in early 2022.
Valiant Lady is the second of a planned four-ship fleet for cruise start-up Virgin Voyages, and is scheduled to debut in the UK before commencing a Mediterranean season.
Valiant Lady is the second of four planned ships for Virgin Voyages.
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The 2,770-guest ship, a sister ship to Scarlet Lady, was delivered to Virgin Voyages earlier this year, but has not yet entered into service, and has been undergoing a series of final finish touches.
One of these was the application of her Virgin colours and distinct livery, which includes hull art created by artist Hillary Wilson.
Her mermaid is intended to celebrate the strong, beautiful, friendly and modern embodiment of a black American woman, according to a press release Virgin issued over the summer.
“Like the Scarlet Lady that came before her, the Valiant Lady will feature a glamorous new mermaid at the helm. Virgin Voyages’ leading ladies, its mermaids, are an important symbol for the brand and meant to keep guests safe on their voyage,” the cruise line said.
Valiant Lady’s hull art was created by artist Hillary Wilson.
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The mermaids are reminiscent of the Flying Ladies that adorned the nose of Virgin Atlantic aircraft until 2019, when they were retired, to be replaced by a more diverse collection of six male and female characters.
Virgin Voyages has instead focused on celebrating womanhood. It announced the name of its third ship, Resilient Lady, on International Women’s Day earlier this year, and has committed the brand to female empowerment across various job roles.
Valiant Lady will sail a series of three new itineraries out of Portsmouth in the UK, including a mix of three-night, 11-night and 12-night voyages between March 18th and April 29th, 2022.
In May, she’ll sail 7-night roundtrip cruises in the Mediterranean out of Barcelona, before repositioning to Miami for the winter, sailing 5, 6 and 8-night Caribbean cruises.
Valiant Lady will sail a range of pre-summer UK cruises in 2022.
Her Mediterranean itineraries will all be one week in length, but will offer two different experiences.
The French Daze & Ibiza Nights itinerary will sail from Barcelona and visit Marseille and Cannes in France, Olbia in Sardinia, and the island of Ibiza in Spain before returning to Barcelona.
The Irresistible Med itinerary will visit Toulon in France, Marina di Carrara in Italy, Ajaccio in Corsica and Cagliari in Sardinia, before overnighting in Ibiza and returning to Barcelona.
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