The futuristic design of two Virgin cruise ships have been revealed because of a lawsuit against Richard Branson’s new company.
Recently the build of the newly formed Virgin Cruises has been hampered by a lawsuit filed in Miami from former Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Colin Veitch. Veitch claims that the new cruise line stole his ideas and plans for a new cruise line. Apparently Veitch first came up with the idea and then looked for a well-known brand to help him out and that was when Virgin allegedly got the idea.
Findings have found that Virgin was planning to build two large cruise ships of a totally new design. There was a letter of intent signed by VSM Development that the two vessels would be built by Meyer Werft which is the same shipyard that currently constructs the Quantum class for Royal Caribbean. The letter of intent also includes that the first ship could be delivered as early as 2015.
The new design is something the cruise industry has never seen and they were to be 172,900 gross tons making them one of the largest in the world. These vessels were set to move the cruise industry into a new era and take on the worlds largest cruise lines including Carnival and Royal Caribbean. the ships were set to carry over 4,000 passengers and even feature innovative features.
Virgin has stated that the company had been planning a move into the cruise industry well before meeting Colin Veitch. This will not be the end as both sides are looking at coming out on top. Virgin Cruises already has the finances in place with Bain Capital and has a history in the travel industry. Virgin also plans to be based in the world hub of cruising, Miami, Florida. Cruise Hive previously reported on the new forming of Virgin Cruises, including an announcement made in March that former Disney Cruise line president Tom McAlpine will be the new CEO.
Let us know what you all think of the cruise ship design for Virgin Cruises in the comments below.
