Miami, FL, April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Virgin Voyages, the award-winning cruise line, today announced a long-term AI platform built with Google Cloud AI to reduce friction in cruise booking and deepen relationships with Sailors from first contact through rebooking. At Google Cloud Next ‘26 in Las Vegas, Virgin Voyages introduced Rovey, the brand’s first AI crew assistant. Rovey will soon arrive on VirginVoyages.com to help Sailors navigate their voyage-planning journey with personalized recommendations.
The commercial problem Rovey is built to solve is structural. Booking a cruise sits among the most complex consumer purchases in travel. Itineraries. Cabin categories. Shore excursions. Dining. Pre-sail logistics. These decisions stack across weeks, and the barriers they generate costs the industry bookings it should never lose. Virgin Voyages is treating this as a platform problem. Rovey is the response.
More than a chatbot, Rovey is an AI Crew assistant designed with a name and a personality. It was built with Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Gemini models and BigQuery to enable Sailors to ask about itineraries and narrow them down based on travel style, pace and interests. Ask Rovey about Shore Things and it will recommend curated experiences, from cooking classes to adventurous hikes, to relaxing catamaran sails. Ask about dining, cabins, or what to pack for an Alaska voyage in May — it can help with all of it, before the ship even sets sail.
Seven future modalities are planned across the Sailor journey. The unit economics are deliberate. Sailors who arrive at embarkation already emotionally connected to their voyage spend more, cancel less and come back more frequently. The pre-sail window is where that connection is made or lost. Rovey, created with Google Cloud’s AI technology, is helping to ensure that connection is made every time.
Virgin Voyages’ CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu said, “We built Rovey to create a sense of belonging before a Sailor ever steps on board. When someone feels connected to their voyage that early, it changes how a voyage is booked, experienced and remembered. That thinking has always shaped what we build at Virgin Voyages.”
The decision to build with Google Cloud was rooted in alignment as much as capability. Google Cloud brought the AI-optimized infrastructure and agentic technology in Gemini Enterprise, while Virgin Voyages brought a deep understanding of what Sailors want to know when planning a voyage. The result is something neither could have built alone: an AI Crew assistant with personality, built around the nuances of the cruise purchase journey rather than adapted from a generic enterprise template.
“We are excited to collaborate with Virgin Voyages and leverage Google Cloud’s leading AI technology to enhance the cruise booking process,” said Sam Sebastian, VP, North America Regions, Google Cloud. “By powering Rovey with our AI tools, Virgin Voyages is able to mitigate booking friction, deliver personalized travel recommendations at scale, and build deeper, more valuable connections with Sailors.”
Nathan Rosenberg, Chief Brand Experience, Marketing and Momentum Officer at Virgin Voyages added, “Every piece of friction between ‘I want this’ and ‘I booked this’ is a vote against the brand. What Rovey replaces it with is anticipation, excitement and a relationship that starts before anyone has unpacked a bag. That is worth far more than a faster checkout.”
Rovey is coming soon to VirginVoyages.com.
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About Virgin Voyages
Promising to Create an Epic Sea Change for All, Virgin Voyages is the award-winning, adults-only cruise line founded by Sir Richard Branson. Delivering unforgettable, relaxing vacations at sea, Virgin Voyages launched at the end of 2021. Inspired by superyacht design, its fleet of Lady Ships exemplify an elevated, boutique hotel at sea with contemporary spaces that strike the perfect balance of nautical chic and glamour. Currently departing from the sun-soaked cities of Miami, Barcelona, Athens and San Juan, the fleet offers more than 60 unique itineraries, sailing to 150+ incredible ports of call. On-board, 20+ eateries feature culinary experiences from Michelin-starred chefs, stylish workout spaces and group fitness classes, and a festival-like line-up of intimate and larger-than-life shows are on the agenda. Paired with modern, tech-savvy cabins, designer suites fit for a rockstar and a mermaid-inspired spa and thermal suite, the brand is taking the industry by storm. For three consecutive years – 2023, 2024 and 2025 – Virgin Voyages won best cruise line in Travel + Leisure’s highly coveted World’s Best Awards for mega-ship ocean cruise line, along with the 2023 and 2024 Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards for best large ocean cruise line.
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