Branson looks to sea for latest Virgin venture

LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - British billionaire Richard Branson, whose business empire covers airlines, trains and space tourism, is looking at setting up a cruise ship joint venture.

Branson is in talks with potential partners about a cruise ship operation, possibly in Florida and the Caribbean, based on a similar model to his airline Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL], his company said on Friday.

"It is a market we are looking at it. He has not taken any decisions as to whether we are going to go ahead and enter that market yet," a spokesman for Branson's business empire Virgin Group told Reuters.

"It would be more towards something quite special rather than something at the lower end of the market."

Branson, whose Virgin empire stretches from planes and trains to music and personal finance, was in Miami this week talking to potential partners.

Any decision was at least four months off, his spokesman said.

Virgin said it was not eyeing the budget end of the market, distancing itself from entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou's EasyCruise business which launched cheap cruises on the French Riveria this year.

Haji-Ioannou said he expected Virgin to target a new cruise ship market, somewhere between the older crowd which dominates the industry and EasyCruise's younger crowd.

"Virgin will take the market that is too old to rock and roll and too young to tango," Haji-Ioannou, who founded British low-cost airline easyJet , said in a statement.

Cool! He could base Virgin Cruises in Cape Town. It'd be awesome!

why does this not surprise me? Virgin does everything

entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou's EasyCruise business which launched cheap cruises on the French Riveria this year.

Haji-Ioannou said he expected Virgin to target a new cruise ship market, somewhere between the older crowd which dominates the industry and EasyCruise's younger crowd.

"Virgin will take the market that is too old to rock and roll and too young to tango," Haji-Ioannou, who founded British low-cost airline easyJet , said in a statement.

How is EasyCruise doing? I don't really like cruises and those orange ships makes the cruising thing not very attractive for me

How is EasyCruise doing? I don't really like cruises and those orange ships makes the cruising thing not very attractive for me
It said it was 86% full for its inaugural month in the Caribbean. I haven't seen any other results posted on its webpage :
http://www.easycruise.com/faqs/News.asp?SD=80648503620060218163246

why does this not surprise me? Virgin does everything
Ditto... It's getting obscene and almost annoying :crazy:

lol, nice, :D

Virgin Holidays on the fast track to cruise
12 October 2007
Travel Trade Gazette UK

Operator's acquisition of a leading cruise agent could give it the perfect platform from which to launch its own cruise ship. Lucy Huxley reports

Virgin Holidays is targeting a 10% share of the cruise retailing market by 2009 on the back of its purchase of specialist online and call centre agent Fast Track Holidays.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will enable the operator to significantly increase sales of cruise-and-stay holidays, not just in its dominant long-haul markets such as the Caribbean, which are served by sister airline Virgin Atlantic, but also in the Mediter-ranean and cruises from UK ports.

Bosses also suggested a sizeable retail proposition would give it a strong platform from which to launch its own cruise ships.

Sales and operations director Stewart Baird hinted: "I am not aware of any immediate plans to launch our own cruise ship but, absolutely, if we have a large distribution footprint, it would make our entry into the cruise operating market much easier."

Virgin Holidays' cruise product range, offered mostly in packaged format, would be available to third-party agents and it will be "further differentiated with product extras", according to Baird. "We have had a cruise brochure for several years but the product range didn't reflect the innovation Virgin normally brings to its markets. Through Fast Track, we can do something innovative and cutting edge," he said.

"Apart from Thomas Cook, there are no big mainstream brands operating in the cruise retail sector, so we see this as a real opportunity."

He added that agents would welcome the move since it is "one of the few companies able to offer cruise product packaged up on viewdata and electronic channels".

A cruise brand is currently being created and two brochures - one covering the US, Caribbean, Alaska and Antarctica; the other covering Europe - will be released pre-Christmas.

Fast Track Holidays' managing director, Robin Deller, and his 80 staff will remain with the company and continue to operate from their Swindon headquarters, but the agency will start trading as part of Virgin Holidays later in 2007.

Deller will become managing director of Virgin Holidays' new cruise division, working alongside Baird to oversee Fast Track's integration. "Focus groups have revealed cruise-wary customers would be reassured and attracted by a Virgin cruise proposition. We can speak to people as Virgin - a brand they trust - and its brand will allow us to add some fun and a unique twist to the product," Deller said.