Virgin Voyages is determined to provide the ultimate adults-only cruise experience, but that is not its only goal as a newcomer to the industry.
The brainchild of Virgin Group's Sir Richard Branson is also set on bringing more women into a sector that, much like all of maritime, is very male-dominated, chief executive Tom McAlpin said.
"We would love to. The industry is suffering," he told TradeWinds Friday during an interview at its headquarters inin the Plantation, Florida, just outside Fort Lauderdale.
"There are very few women in key roles, especially in deck and engine roles."
To that end, Virgin Voyages in June hired Wendy Williams as Canada's first female master of a full-size cruiseship as part of its Scarlet Squad female-hiring programme.
Williams will commandeer the 2,700-berth Scarlet Lady upon delivery from Fincantieri in the spring of 2020.
The British Columbia resident with three decades at sea has hired several women to key management roles on the ship, which will be followed by three more sisterships over the next several years.
"I think hiring Wendy was a big part of that, and she is going to help us to continue to grow that," McAlpin said.
Virgin Voyages will do its best to hire more women over the years as part of its sincere effort to find the most qualified professionals, whether they be male or female, he said.
"We're always going to hire the best from a safety perspective but hiring females across the organisation is really important to us," McAlpin said.
