From Clubhouses to cruises. Talking design with Dee.

Before taking on the job of designing all the physical spaces and the whole customer experience at Virgin Voyages, Dee used to do the same job here at Virgin Atlantic, (for 16 years she adds). During that period, she was responsible for some of our most iconic features, including the first iteration of our Upper Class Suite, our space at Heathrow's Terminal 3, the Upper-Class Wing and our Heathrow Clubhouse. 

We caught up with Dee to find out how life has been treating her since her move from one Virgin company to another. She explained how our brand flows across the different organisations. We discovered how she went about developing a cruise ship from scratch. We also asked her what it's been like to be at the epicentre of launching one of the most radical and exciting Virgin ventures, making one of Richard's dreams come true.

On the wall in her office in Miami, Dee has an art deco poster of a passenger steamship from the 1950s. For her, it represents the excitement and sophistication of those early ocean crossings. That was one of the inspirations that Dee, along with Virgin Voyages CEO Tom McAlpin, and their team of cruise industry experts, used when creating Virgin Voyages. They set about bringing that romance back to the cruise world - however this time doing it the Virgin way by offering something different and better. They called it 'an epic sea change for all'. Along the way, Dee, who had never been on a cruise before, fell in love with sailing and the sea; she also discovered shipbuilding.

"In the same way everyone at Atlantic loves aircraft, we now admire the structure of our ships," said Dee. "Scarlet Lady was created and built by the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, with input from Dixon Yacht Design, a superyacht company who helped us develop that distinctive outline of the ship from the bow over the funnels and through to the back of the ship".  The result is a striking looking vessel that is recognisable even when it's miles out to sea. But if you think it looks amazing on the outside, wait until you step onboard.  

This type of ship is known as a tower ship where the cabin decks are narrower than the lower decks.  The result is a ship with 93% of the cabins with sea views or balconies. That is unique in the world of cruise ships. "When you go back to your room, having that sea view gives you the privacy, and that excitement of just being able to lay there and watch the waves roll by. It's awesome. And you don't have to be in a millionaire to do that," says Dee. 

"With over 48 public spaces across the ship, we knew that modern customers or sailors as we call them wanted variety, both glamourous and relaxed things to do," said Dee. "Building on our learnings from Virgin Atlantic we decided to work with different boutique design agencies across the ship, who would help us to ensure every square millimetre of their spaces, were considered. We had great time briefing and taking them to the ship, and they'd be crawling all over it fascinated because the enormity of it is truly astounding."

Designing a cruise ship is in many ways similar to designing a city, along with everything that happens there. Dee's team set out with that idea, to cater for their customers in a way New York, London, Sydney, or San Francisco do. That means fascinating spaces both inside and out, and an excellent quality of choice when it comes to eating, drinking, shopping, and entertainment. That design ethos is epitomised by The Dock, one of Dee's favourites areas on the ship. It's a place she describes as being like a waterside outdoor café or bar which you might find on a ferry pier in Greece; a place you can enjoy the salty air and where you might find yourself at 11 a.m. ordering a Bloody Mary after the night before and munching on freshly grilled prawns.

As in all cool cities, there has to be a very cool coffee shop. Here Dee talks about how the coffee shop is a great example of physical design and customer experience coming together. "An excellent coffee shop is somewhere you get great coffee but can work or relax but most importantly where you can watch the world go by. Ours does all of that but with the ocean framed and ship in the huge windows behind," says Dee. While sipping high-quality coffee, those with a keen eye for design might notice a nearby wall light decorated with the numbers 132 and 149, an example of the myriad of tiny design touches waiting to be discovered by you throughout the ship. "The structure of the ship includes numbered frame lines which are like giant ribs or steel frames across the vessel. These became a navigation system for our drawings of the vessel," explains Dee. "So we had a bit of fun with that and created frame line lights with the numbers on. A tiny detail that many people won't notice, but when they do, it can be a great hook for a conversation with the crew. And it's those small friendly interactions that can create a memorable cruise." And that brings us to the other part of Dee's job. Customer experience.