Virgin Voyages unveils Plantation HQ, pledges to create 300 jobs

The marketing pop, sizzle and innovation of British entrepreneur Richard Branson has landed in Broward County in the form of Virgin Voyages, an “adults-only” cruise line that unveiled its new headquarters Wednesday in Plantation with a pledge to create 300 jobs.

Branson, who delivered pop music to millions through his Virgin Records, and onboard entertainment to travelers on Virgin Atlantic Airways, looks to woo vacationers who have never set foot aboard a cruise ship, offering three new vessels bearing the Virgin Voyages name.

“We basically decided, ‘Let’s have a blank sheet of paper, let’s create the kind of voyage company that we would like to go on,’ and that’s what we’ve done,” Branson said in a statement.

Branson, who is also developing a space tourism company called Virgin Galactic, announced his cruise venture in Miami four years ago in league with the company’s principal financial backer, Bain Capital. At the time, Branson vowed to “shake up the cruise industry and deliver a holiday that customers will absolutely love.”

Industry shakeups are a Branson trademark. When Virgin Atlantic opened its Miami-London route in 1986, the company regaled its passengers with onboard entertainment that went unmatched by the more formal British Airways.

At the company’s new headquarters on Wednesday, visitors were greeted by thumping music, splashes of the Virgin brand’s familiar red, purple and silver colors, and an airy, vast work space honeycombed with meeting rooms, replicas of red phone booths and well-placed quotes from Branson encouraging a free-wheeling, caution-to-the-wind attitude among employees. A number of employee desktops bore copies of his autobiography.

That Broward is the home of Virgin Voyages comes as somewhat of a surprise.

The Miami-Dade County Commission authorized money for the berthing of Virgin Voyages ships at PortMiami. But when it came time to locate its corporate headquarters, Broward became the choice. Economic development leaders say the selection reflects the spirit of cooperation among Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, whose joint bid resulted in South Florida making a list of 20 metropolitan areas that want to become the next site for a new Amazon headquarters.

“It underscores the strength of the region,” Bob Swindell, CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, said in an interview Wednesday. “With the whole conversation around the Amazon project, we really do believe the geographic boundaries between counties don’t matter to business.”

In Branson, Swindell sees a kindred spirit with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who graduated from a Miami area high school in 1982. “When it comes to companies that want to innovate and change how a product is delivered, Richard Branson is one of the icons in business who takes a fresher approach to things,” he said.

Virgin Voyages has committed to investing $15.9 million in Plantation, with the jobs commitment emerging over a four-year period as Virgin’s new cruise vessels roll out of an Italian shipyard. Swindell said the company hired 30 people in 2016, and plans to add 60 this year and between 60 and 70 each in 2019 and 2020.

Cruise industry veteran Tom McAlpin is the company’s CEO. He said it makes sense for the headquarters to be in Plantation because of its accessibility from all of South Florida. Employees, he said, reside in all three counties.

McAlpin said the company intends to deliver customers “upper class service at an economic price.”

“We don’t call them guests, we call them sailors,” he said.

The line’s first ship is expected to arrive at PortMiami in 2020 and offer seven-day cruises to the Caribbean. The ship will be able host 2,700 passengers who will be served by 1,150 crew members.

Virgin laid the keel for the first of three ships last November at a shipyard in Genoa, Italy. Once in operation, parents will have to leave their children at home as the cruises are for adults only. Passengers must be age 18 or older to sail. Most cabins will have sea views.

The ships will feature silver bodies with red touches and a red-headed mermaid as the company logo.

OTHER NEWS:

Virgin Voyages: New name, new ships for cruise line

Here’s what Virgin’s first adults-only cruise ship will look like

Cruise line reviving Bahamas getaways from Port of Palm Beach, adding second ship

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