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Virgin Voyages on Wednesday unveiled the design of six public areas of its ship, the first time that it has detailed the new cruise brand’s features.
Among the new spaces will be Richard’s Rooftop, an outdoor club reserved for suite guests. Virgin said it will have a futuristic look, with circular loungers, large umbrellas and accents of dichroic glass, which will cast rainbow-colored reflections across the lounge. The club’s is named after Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.
The Virgin ship, which is scheduled to debut in 2020, will have a nightclub called The Manor, a nod to the name of the first music studio associated with Virgin Records. The club’s color scheme will be aubergine and emerald with gold accents.
At the aft of the ship on Deck 7, cruisers will find an area called The Dock, described as “an outdoor, lifestyle space with a focus on relaxation, socializing and an appreciation of the gorgeous views the ship provides.” Virgin said The Dock “is reminiscent of the chicest seaside lounges in the Hamptons, Ibiza, Bali and beyond.”
Another new outdoor space will be called the Athletic Club, and feature a white-and-red striped semicircular lounger described as the largest daybed at sea. The club is positioned across the aft with a 220-square-foot area of triple netting, where guests can lay out and overlook the open space and decks below as if on a catamaran. There will be 10 cabanas in the club and a bar.
Virgin also unveiled two restaurant concepts.
The Test Kitchen restaurant will be playfully scientific with light fixture images that mimic the periodic table of elements. The Test Kitchen’s laboratory-like environment is accented by metallic furniture, sleek clean lines and comes replete with beakers, test tubes and volumetric flasks.
Pink Agave will be an upscale modern Mexican restaurant, featuring electric-blue metallic lighting fixtures that cascade from the ceilings above oversized banquets that line the dining room’s portholes. An elongated, curved lounger centers the room, surrounded by round tables for two and flanked by a bar area in the foyer and a private dining room for larger groups.
Virgin said the overall design concept for the ship is “a celebration of contrasts,” where tension is created by a juxtaposition of high-energy spaces that meet areas of rejuvenation and relaxation. Virgin said the ship’s spaces will transform between day and night and “offer an inviting environment that can be enjoyed solo or among friends and loved ones.”
Virgin has hired a slew of designers to craft various parts of the ship, most of whom have not worked on a ship before. The six newly unveiled spaces are the work of three firms: Design Research Studio in London, Roman and Williams in New York and Concrete Amsterdam.
Virgin said it intentionally set out to work with designers who hadn’t before worked on cruise ships, and a panel discussion in New York Wednesday spotlighted some of the designers, as well as Dee Cooper, the line’s senior vice president of product design, who was previously head of product and service for Virgin Atlantic.
“Virgin’s a great brand, and it loves to do things differently for its customers,” she said.
Source: travelweekly.com
