Richard Branson has deepened his exposure to the cruise industry, with Virgin Voyages adding a fourth ship at Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
The ship was contracted on the same day as the British tycoon revealed the first destination on the Virgin Voyages itinerary.
Virgin is paying €700m ($795m) for the latest vessel, which is slated for delivery at the end of 2023.
The billionaire first turned to Fincantieri in 2015 to build three 110,000-gt vessels amid a pledge to shake up the market. The first of the ships will delivery in 2020.
On Wednesday, Branson took to the official Virgin Voyages Twitter feed for a live video in which he revealed the company will be active in the emerging Cuban cruise business.
"It’s a secret I have had a hard time keeping. I’m terrible at secrets anyway," Branson said.
"So finally, I get to reveal just one of the destinations that our Scarlet Lady will visit. This one just happens to be one of my favourites in the world.
"That’s right sailors, get ready for sun, salsa dancing and incredible city sights. The Scarlet Lady is headed to Havana, Cuba."
Virgin has been heavily marketing its launch with one its its latest revelations the inclusion of tattoo studios on board the vessels.
It has opted against the larger vessels which are common in the cruise industry today, with chief executive Tom McAlpin explaining the 2,800 guest capacity of the Virgin ships is the right sweet spot.
“The overwhelming theme was don’t make these things so big that it will be a mass of people,” he told TradeWinds after the first order was placed.
“We are more focused on what the customer wants and we are concerned we would not be able to deliver the type of experience we want to with those massive ships.
“Also, these slightly smaller ships are more flexible in terms of employment. They will be able to get into ports that the big ships can’t get into.”
Fincantieri has been riding an order boom in the cruise market and has built over 7,000 vessels in its 230-year history.
