Virgin Voyages just did something no other major cruise line has done before. On December 12, 2025, the cruise line announced it has become the first in the industry to deploy AI-powered marketing tools at scale for travel advisors through a strategic partnership with Canva, the popular visual communication platform.
According to Cruise Industry News, this partnership marks the first phase of what Virgin Voyages is calling a strategic rollout of “intelligent” tools designed to revolutionize how travel advisors work with the brand.
What Travel Advisors Get
The partnership gives Virgin Voyages’ network of travel advisors access to Canva’s AI-powered platform, pre-loaded with Virgin’s complete brand kit. That means advisors can now create and customize marketing materials—flyers, social media posts, destination content, and booking materials—using Virgin’s official fonts, logos, color palettes, offer lock-ups, and signature “With Love From” stamps.
The goal is simple: automate content creation, speed up time-to-market, and ultimately drive more bookings. Instead of waiting for corporate marketing materials or trying to create branded content from scratch, advisors can now generate professional-quality materials in minutes.
A Test Run That’s Already Working
Virgin didn’t just roll this out cold. In November 2025, the cruise line invited 100 travel advisors—all of whom qualified for the highly sought-after First Mate Spectacular Soiree voyage—to participate in a four-week immersive training program. These advisors worked through design challenges, earned badges, and learned to master Canva’s tools while literally sailing with Virgin Voyages.
The training program wasn’t just about teaching software. It was about showing advisors how AI tools could reduce administrative work, automate routine tasks like availability checks and pricing updates, and help match clients to the perfect itineraries based on their preferences and travel history.
Why This Matters for Cruisers
You might be wondering why you should care about what tools travel advisors use. Here’s why it matters: travel advisors book a massive percentage of cruise vacations, especially for premium lines like Virgin Voyages. When advisors have better tools, they can respond faster, create more compelling marketing, and ultimately provide better service to clients.
Nirmal Saverimuttu, CEO of Virgin Voyages, made this clear in the announcement: “Travel advisors are the heart of Virgin Voyages’ success story. Our First Mates don’t just sell cruises; they’re brand ambassadors who bring our vision to life for Sailors every single day.”
Billy Bohan Chinique, head of global brand marketing at Virgin Voyages, said the Canva partnership is “just the beginning of our commitment to equipping advisors with intelligent tools,” adding that the company is “pioneering what agentic AI looks like in travel retailing.”
What Comes Next
Virgin Voyages isn’t stopping with Canva. The cruise line says it’s exploring additional intelligent tools and agentic AI applications designed to transform the travel advisor experience. That could include more sophisticated automation for routine tasks, smarter recommendation engines that match travelers with ideal itineraries, and tools that minimize the administrative burden that keeps advisors from focusing on what they do best—helping people plan incredible vacations.
For an industry that’s traditionally been slower to adopt new technology, this is a significant move. Virgin Voyages is betting that by empowering travel advisors with AI tools, they can create a competitive advantage that benefits everyone—advisors get better tools, Virgin gets more bookings, and travelers get faster, more personalized service.
Whether other cruise lines follow Virgin’s lead remains to be seen. But for now, Virgin Voyages can claim a genuine industry first: they’re the first major cruise line to put AI-powered marketing tools directly in the hands of the people who sell their cruises.