Virgin Voyages has pulled out of its scheduled 2024/25 summer program in Australian waters due to the potential ongoing conflict in the Red Sea flagged for the next 12 months. Resilient Lady will now instead be deployed to the Caribbean, based out of San Juan.

In a statement, Virgin Voyages said the safety of the cruise line’s passengers and crew was its “number one priority”. The situation in the Red Sea recently saw Virgin Voyages change the course of the repositioning sailing of Resilient Lady back to the Mediterranean (and Athens), sailing around Africa rather than via the planned Red Sea.

In that announcement on 9 February, Virgin Voyages eluded to the possibility of its second season in Australia being shelved, stating: “With the very likely continuation of this escalated regional conflict top-of-mind, and in an effort to minimise further disruptions to our passengers’ future holiday plans, Virgin Voyages is now conducting a full review of other geographically similar repositioning voyages and linked sailings. We will provide an update in the coming weeks on any further changes we will need to make.“

This morning’s statement said, “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 (Resilient Lady).

“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.”

The cruise line continued, “Resilient Lady will now complete her Mediterranean sailing season on October 20th, 2024 and divert course sailing to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a new Caribbean season offering 7, 8, 10 and 11-night voyages visiting St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Colombia, and Dominica. We are currently reviewing Resilient Lady’s repositioning routes from Athens to San Juan, and we will share these as soon as they’re ready, but they will feature stunning ports including Catania, Casablanca, and Tenerife.”

Virgin Voyages praised the Australia and NZ markets for embracing the brand during an “extremely successful inaugural season”.

“To say that we are disappointed to have come to this tough conclusion is an understatement,” a spokesperson for Virgin Voyages said.

“These adjustments are happening now in order to minimize potential future disruption to our passengers’ holiday plans knowing there is a high likelihood that changes would need to happen in the future. Our customers and travel agent partners asked us to ensure we give them as much time as possible to make alternative plans.

“We appreciate the time and energy that goes into planning a holiday, and we are focused on your safety as well as giving you certainty.”

Virgin Voyages is now working through options to return to Australia and the Asia Pacific region “once regional repositioning opportunities become more tenable.

“We will share updates on future itineraries across the fleet as soon as possible, and in the event that we return for the 25’ season, existing booked Sailors will have priority to move onto these sailings. In the meantime, we know how much Aussie and New Zealand tourists enjoy visiting Europe and with two ships taking in standout destinations from our home ports in Barcelona (Spain), Athens (Greece) and Portsmouth (UK) we look forward to welcoming sailors to Europe so they can experience it the Virgin way,” the spokesperson added.

Guests impacted by the 2024/25 Australasia season withdrawal have the option to rebook another voyage or opt for a full refund.