When Virgin Voyages launches its first cruise in 2020, you can be sure of one thing: There won't be any kids on board.
At a keel-laying ceremony last week, company CEO Tom McAlpin announced that bookings from passengers under 18 will not be accepted so that the ship can supply a "more elevated and premium experience," reports Travel Weekly.
The move, dubbed "Adult by Design," is part of an industrywide effort to make cruising attractive to groups outside of its traditional target demographics: seniors and families.
As in many other travel-related businesses, millennials in particular are hotly coveted by cruise lines—hence the surge in features said to be favored by those in their 20s and early 30s: D.J.-led dance parties on deck, expanded culinary options, more adventurous and "authentic" excursions, and so on. Virgin's no-kids policy could be seen as part of the same shift toward the trendy.
The new cruise line won't be the first to keep out youngsters; some small luxury outfits frown upon kids. But with three ships designed to carry up to 2,800 passengers apiece, Virgin Voyages will be the biggest child-free line at sea.
The first cruise is expected to set sail from Miami in 2020.
