Virgin Voyages has canceled cruises to Australia next winter
Virgin Voyages is canceling plans to sail the Resilient Lady to Australia in late 2024 and early 2025, opting not to cruise through the Red Sea to reach there from the Mediterranean.
Virgin cited geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea. After the Mediterranean season ends on October 20, the ship will move to Puerto Rico, where it will sail on 7, 8, 10, and 11-night cruises from San Juan, stopping at destinations including St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Cartagena, Colombia, and Dominica, as reported by Travel Weekly.
The line has not yet released an itinerary for the replacement cruise from Athens to San Juan. John Diorio, Virgin's vice president of sales for North America, stated that the line is considering possible itineraries that could include stops in Catania, Sicily; Casablanca, Morocco; and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
The news comes just over two weeks after Virgin announced that it would sail around Africa in March to relocate Resilient Lady from Australia to the Mediterranean, avoiding the shortest route through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
As TravelWise wrote, Virgin Voyages has been named the best travel brand by Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2021.