While Virgin Voyages’ Resilient Lady is currently enjoying her first ever season in Australia, the cruise line has canceled all the ship’s 2024-2025 Australian voyages citing tensions and security concerns in the Red Sea.
Resilient Lady will complete her Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific itineraries and leave from Sydney on March 27, 2024. Her repositioning voyage to the Mediterranean will now sail around western Africa instead of sailing through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
A statement from Virgin Voyages read, “On the heels of these recent changes and based on the regional and government advice we have received, we remain very concerned about potential escalations in the Red Sea over the next 12 months. This significant and ongoing conflict puts unacceptable risks for safe passage through the region for our Sailors, crew and vessel. As a result, we have been left with no choice but to cancel our 2024-25 voyage season plans for Resilient Lady, impacting the late 2024 and early 2025 repositioning voyages between Europe and Australia and a second sailing season in Australian waters.”
“Virgin Voyages was embraced by the Australia and New Zealand markets with a warm welcome and celebrated an extremely successful inaugural season – the love was mutual. To say that we are disappointed to have come to this tough conclusion is an understatement.”
Resilient Lady will complete her Mediterranean season on October 20, 2024 then sail a transatlantic cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico where she will homeport for the winter. Her Caribbean season will offer itineraries that range from 7-11 nights and will call on destinations such as St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Colombia, and Dominica. The cruise line is making the changes now knowing there is a “high likelihood that changes would need to happen in the future.”
The cruise line is still working through options to return to Australia and the region once the area surrounding the Red Sea becomes more stable. If a repositioning itinerary becomes a reality for the 2025 season, current booked Sailors will be given priority for these sailings. Booked Sailors have the option to rebook another Virgin Voyages cruise or receive a full refund for their booking.