Rapidly becoming known as a cruise line that pushes boundaries and offers unique experiences, Virgin Voyages has captured a fun title with a new Guinness World Record.
On Friday, November 4, 2022, the cruise line set the world record for the “Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Merpeople” – the perfect world record for a cruise line with dedicated mermaids adorning each of its luxury ships.
World Record Attempt Successful
The “Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Merpeople” is one of a wide range of quirky world records, but is a fun one for a cruise line so intimately associated with mermaids.
As part of Valiant Lady‘s “mermaiden” voyage from Miami – the first sailing from what will be the ship’s new winter homeport – guests were invited to participate in the world record attempt, which took place while visiting Bimini, The Bahamas on the last day of the cruise.
For the attempt, 457 guests participated by dressing up in mermaid tails, shell tops, glittery makeup, colorful wigs, and other accessories as desired to become their perfect mermaid personality. The “school” of merpeople gathered on the powdery white sands of the Virgin Voyages Beach Club for the official count and photos.
Other fun festivities included lively music, mermaid beauty pageants, epic makeup, “shelfies,” a few stadium-style waves and plenty of smiles.
Once the previous record – 378 merpeople in the United Kingdom set on June 2, 2022 – was announced as officially broken by the adjudicator, celebratory showers of champagne kept the merpeople properly drenched for their fishy personas.
“What a fantastic time,” said Tom McAlpin, Virgin Voyages’ CEO. “Our Sailors really showed up and supported this fun and exciting world record attempt that ties into this legendary brand.”
All participants will receive a photo and digital certificate marking the achievement.
The sailing had begun on Sunday, October 30, 2022, with a day at sea, ports of call in Roatan, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico before a day at sea and the visit to Bimini.
Valiant Lady had been scheduled to visit Costa Maya rather than Cozumel, but the itinerary was changed due to Hurricane Lisa.
Virgin Voyages’ Mermaids
This quirky world record is “mer-mazingly” appropriate for Virgin Voyages, as each of the cruise line’s ships has a mermaid on the bow to represent good fortune on the seas.
“Each of our ships have a mermaid that guides our Sailors on their journeys, so what better way to celebrate another brand milestone than in sunny Bimini with so many of our Sailors tapping into their mermaid personas,” said McAlpin.
Valiant Lady‘s black mermaid, designed by artist Hilary Wilson, helps embody the diversity the cruise line represents, and still showcases the signature vibrant red tail that each Virgin Voyages’ mermaid has.
“With diversity at the core of Virgin Voyages’ brand ideology, it was a natural move to want to honor and represent different races and nationalities by telling those stories through the mermaids,” the cruise line said when Valiant Lady‘s mermaid was announced. “This platform allows international artists to make waves and represent different backgrounds on an expansive, global canvas.”
Scarlet Lady, the line’s first ship, has a blonde-haired, Caucasian mermaid, while the third ship, Resilient Lady, will feature a Latina mermaid by oil painter and muralist Jodie Herrera when the vessel joins the fleet in May 2023.
No mermaid has yet been revealed for the cruise line’s fourth ship, Brilliant Lady, which is also currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy and slated to debut in late 2023.
