Valiant Lady, the second cruise ship from Richard Branson’s Plantation-based Virgin Voyages, arrived in Miami on Oct. 30. The ship departed on its maiden voyage later that day from PortMiami’s Terminal V.
The 2,700-passenger Valiant Lady joins sister ship Scarlet Lady at the port, offering sailings to the Caribbean. The six- and eight-night itineraries include such ports of call as Roatán, Honduras; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. All voyages will stop at the brand’s exclusive Beach Club at Bimini in the Bahamas.
“It’s been wonderful to see our guests fall in love with sailing the Virgin way, and I’m so proud to welcome our second ship, Valiant Lady, to her winter home in PortMiami,” Virgin Voyages CEO Tom McAlpin said. “When we launched this business more than seven years ago, we never imagined the challenges we’d have to overcome in the face of the pandemic. Thanks to our amazing crew, we have come out strongly.”
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Virgin Voyages’ 2,700-passenger Scarlet Lady launched in August 2021 following a delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two additional ships, Resilient Lady and Brilliant Lady, are currently on order.
“When I first had the idea of getting into cruising over 40 years ago, I could not have imagined where we are today,” Branson said. “It’s an incredible feeling to be welcoming Valiant Lady and the amazing crew on board to Miami, and to have our two lady ships side by side in PortMiami.”
Virgin Voyages announced Oct. 26 that it had removed all Covid-19 vaccine and testing requirements for passengers on upcoming trips.
In August, the adults-only Virgin Voyages closed on $550 million of new investments led by New York-based BlackRock. The funding included additional capital from existing investors including parent companies Boston-based Bain Capital Private Equity and U.K.-based Virgin Group.
The capital injection came as Virgin Voyages reported an uptick in bookings in the preceding six months.
Terminal V at PortMIami is a $160 million, LEED Gold certified facility designed by Arquitectonica. The three-story, 131,978-square-foot facility was delivered in February.
Savage X Fenty, Lululemon and more to open at Miami Worldcenter
Miami Worldcenter, the 27-acre megadevelopment in downtown Miami, lined up more big-name brands to join its 110,000 square feet of retail tenants.
The $4 billion development’s ownership completed leases with disruptor brand Savage X Fenty, which will open its first Florida location, as well as global brands Lululemon and Ray-Ban, and New York-based Posman Books.
“The addition of these latest globally recognized and homegrown brands will complement the kind of curated downtown lifestyle that our development embodies,” said Nitin Motwani, managing partner of Miami Worldcenter Associates.
Music artist and entrepreneur Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty lingerie brand will occupy 3,000 square feet at the base of the Paramount residential tower. Posman Books have 2,000 square feet along the development’s World Promenade pedestrian street at the base of the Paramount.
Athletic apparel retailer Lululemon will open a 3,815-square-foot store fronting Miami Worldcenter’s pedestrian promenade along Northeast Seventh Street and the World Square Plaza. Eyewear brand Ray-Ban will join Lululemon along the promenade, occupying nearly 2,000 square feet there.
All four are expected to open in 2023.
The newest tenants will join beauty retailer Sephora, Lucid Motors, Bowlero and Sports & Social, which previously signed leases at Miami Worldcenter.
Jasmine Floyd, South Florida Business Journal
