Luxury cruise liner Scarlet Lady to depart Portsmouth for New York on Friday after successful maiden visit sees 8,000 people visit giant ship

Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady arrived in the city on June 21 for her Summer Soiree and will be leaving Portsmouth tomorrow and heading across the Atlantic to New York in America.

The Spinnaker Tower will be turning red as the 110,000 tonne liner sails past, due to leave port at 8pm.

Leader of Portsmouth City Council, councillor Gerald Vernon Jackson, said: ‘This visit by Virgin Voyages has been hugely successful, with the team expressing how much they have enjoyed being in the city and are looking forward to coming back next year.

‘This is a huge opportunity for Portsmouth as our relationship with Virgin Voyages goes from strength to strength. We have been honoured to host their first commercial passenger sailing and have been impressed with the efforts they’ve gone to, to create a truly unique experience for their guests.

‘There is no better harbour than ours for a spectacular arrival and departure, and while we say good bye to Scarlet Lady we’ll be welcoming their new ship, Valiant Lady, when she sails into the city next spring.’

The council leader previously said the local economy gets a huge £1m injection when the port is used by cruise ships embarking at the port.

Scarlet Lady is the biggest ship to have ever docked in Portsmouth, dwarfing the 65,000 tonne Royal Navy aircraft carriers – HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

At 277 metres long, Scarlet Lady has room for up to 3,000 passengers.

Scarlet Lady made her debut voyage out of the port in August before embarking on six scheduled sailings around the English Channel during her visit.

SEE ALSO: This is what a stay on Scarlet Lady looks like

Speaking in July, Tom McAlpin, president and CEO of Virgin Voyages, said: ‘With our expansive food and beverage options, beautiful spa, amazing crew and festival-style line-up of on-board entertainment, Scarlet Lady challenges the status quo in every way.

‘Not only are we committed to helping our sailors create the most memorable vacation, but we want to provide the safest travel experience possible without compromising on the fun we all deserve.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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