Sir Richard Branson has arrived in Sydney in style.
The billionaire, who is in the country to promote his Virgin Voyages cruise line launch, made a grand entrance into Sydney Harbour on a classic wooden speedboat.
He waved at passerbyers as he sailed through the Heads where he officially welcomed his superyacht-inspired cruise, Resilient Lady, as she made her grand entrance into the Harbour on Monday.
The 73-year-old then took his Aussie welcome to new heights and scaled the Sydney Harbour Bridge as helicopters and drones circled the skies above to capture the moment.
And if that wasn’t enough, he left media in stitches when he jumped in the pool after a press conference on-board the top deck of his new ship on Tuesday.
As Sir Richard puts it, his cruise company is unlike any other, it’s “completely unconventional”.
So much so that the entire cruise line is adults-only — not even his grandkids were allowed on-board Resilient Lady to celebrate his birthday last year.
“It’s adults-only which makes my grandkids really pissed off with me,” he joked at the press conference.
“But it makes lots of adults very, very happy.”
Sir Richard, much like his cruise line, is sophisticated yet laid-back, with the billionaire attending the press conference wearing a navy T-shirt, cream pants and no shoes — just a pair of socks.
“We are making ourselves at home, no shoes, right?” Virgin Voyages CEO, Nirmal Saverimuttu, joked.
Sir Richard started off by saying he spent most the morning talking to passengers on-board Resilient Lady, which began its journey in Athens, Greece before it made its 45 day sail to Dubai, Singapore and now Sydney.
“I think with one voice they had an absolute blast,” Sir Richard told media.
And it’s safe to say he’s right.
One passenger couldn’t stop boasting about the ship’s “awesome” features when talking to news.com.au after disembarking.
“It’s fantastic — the adult’s only aspect is amazing,” Jayne Pettit, from the UK, said.
Julie Roberts, from Goulburn, loved the variety of restaurants (there’s more than 20) and the unique champagne feature.
Passengers connected to the app can shake their phone and have a bottle of champagne delivered to their room in minutes.
“All the cool things were my idea,” Sir Richard joked.
He said what makes the ship so attractive is the quality and its unique features.
“I remember distinctly [when] we got big sheet of white paper and got a whole bunch of people who had been on ships and asked them what they hated about cruising — there was a lot,” Sir Richard said.
“Then we had another column and listed all things we could do right, and [the team] created this masterpiece,” he said while waving his arm around to show off the yacht-inspired cruise.
“It’s similar to the best yacht anywhere in the world, but it’s affordable for hundreds of people to travel on.
“They can feel like they’re on their own private superyacht — so the team got it right.”
When asked why he wanted to launch into the Australian market he said the Virgin brand has a long history with the country.
“The brand resonates well with Australians, they trust it. The quality of any Virgin company is more special than our competitors.”
Mr Saverimuttu is certain Virgin Voyages will redefine and disrupt cruising in Australia.
“We really do believe in this market,” he said.
“We want to invest in this market and we believe the Aussie traveller deserves a better cruising experience.
“A ship like this coming into Australia can really shape our perception on what cruising is and attract people who haven’t cruised before.”
Sir Richard admitted he was never a cruiser and wanted to create something unique, that it would entice those not interested in cruising to jump on board.
“It just didn't appeal to me which is why we decided to set up our own cruise line,” he said.
“People should give it a try and I think [those] who never dreamt to go on a cruise would be pleasantly surprised and that's what I found with our passengers today.
“You look at some of these cruise ships and they are very unappetising to go on, where Virgin is very exciting and very different.”
The 1408-room cruiser has a record shop, hair salon, a gym and spa, which features a mud room, salt room, steam room and cold plunge pool.
The one thing you won’t find is a buffet. It’s traditional to cruises, but it’s not what Sir Richard wanted on his three ships.
Instead, you will find plenty of restaurants to choose from, some with Michelin star chef-curated menus, that are open until late. There’s also a variety of bars and entertainment.
The last time Sir Richard was in Australia was in 2019, and given the weather in Sydney turned it on, there was only one way to celebrate — by dancing and then doing an epic jump into the pool on the top deck of the ship.
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He was joined by Mr Saverimuttu who was also showing off his dancing skills before Sir Richard pushed him into the pool and jumped in after him.
Resilient Lady will spend two nights in Sydney before heading south to Melbourne, her new homeport for the summer cruising season.
On December 11, the ship sets sail on her Aussie MerMaiden voyage to Tasmania, stopping over in Burnie and Hobart.
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