The floating out ceremony of ‘Brilliant Lady’, last of four ships which Virgin Voyages (new cruise operator and a brand of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group) ordered from the Italian Fincantieri group, has taken place at Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente (Genoa) shipyard.
Brilliant Lady, like sisterships Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady, are of about 110,000gt, 278m in length and 38m wide. They all feature over 1,400 guest cabins designed to host more than 2,770 passengers, accompanied by 1,160 crew members. The ships carry ‘comfort class’ certification, testifying to minimum levels of noise and vibration, as well as an extensive use of automation. By installing an app on their smartphones, guests are able to manage a wide range of cabin functions.
This class of ships features particular attention to energy recovery, with alternative technologies that reduce the ship’s overall environmental impact. For example, the ships are equipped with an energy production system of approximately 1 MW, which uses the diesel engine’s waste heat. In addition to a scrubber system to sustainably manage SOx emissions, the units are fitted with a catalytic converter which reduces NOx. The vessels are equipped with led lights to reduce energy consumption, while the hydrodynamic design of the hull combines and fuel saving.
