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Virgin Voyages’ flagship stars in new series of The Apprentice

Virgin Voyages’ maiden vessel Scarlet Lady was beamed into millions of homes across the country last night as series 16 of The Apprentice launched.

With Lord Alan Sugar’s words “In this boardroom you don’t get furloughed, you get fired” ringing in their ears, the two teams set about creating a marketing campaign for a new cruise line over two days on the ship.

Contestants, who had to design a brand, an advert and a social media ‘tease’, were given exclusive access to the line’s flagship in Portsmouth.

The 2,770-passenger Scarlet Lady (pictured) was based in the port for its mini season last summer.

The Apprentice, Scarlet Lady, January 2021

Contestants explore Scarlet Lady in the opening episode of The Apprentice

The two Apprentice teams created brands – Bouji Cruises and Never Ending Nautical. However, viewers quickly took to Twitter and compared the Never Ending Nautical logo with something not normally associated with luxury cruising – a turd.

Contestants were quizzed on their marketing campaigns in the theatre by a panel including the line’s experience director Clayton Lyndsey and Scarlet Lady’s captain Marco Carsjens.

Back in the boardroom Lord Sugar called the Never Ending Nautical logo “the worst logo I’ve ever seen”.

Online travel agency Cruise Circle tried to catch the wave of public sentiment, tweeting: “What do you think of Scarlet Lady anyway? Her sister ship, Valiant Lady launches later this year.

“If you want a bouji trip, drop us a message and we can help you out. No turds included.”

Emerald Cruises’ global director of brand and marketing, David Winterton, tweeted: “Brilliant first episode. Bringing some fun and smiles to a struggling industry.”

Andy Freeth, chief executive of JG Travel Group, took a playful swipe at this year’s contestants. He said he was a “big fan” of The Apprentice but said: “I have absolute confidence that none of this year’s candidates have much of a shot at a career in marketing in the Cruise sector.”

Scarlet Lady is currently operating a mix of four and five-day round-trip itineraries out of its homeport in Miami.

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