Virgin Voyages has announced it has become the first major cruise line to deploy AI-powered marketing tools at scale through a strategic partnership with Canva, the world’s only all-in-one visual communication platform. The collaboration transforms Virgin Voyages’ top-performing First Mates (travel advisors) into an AI-amplified distributed sales force, positioning the cruise line at the forefront of AI adoption and digital transformation in travel retailing.
The partnership provides travel advisors with an AI-powered platform designed to automate content creation, accelerate time-to-market and drive measurable booking increases. This marks the first phase of Virgin Voyages’ strategic rollout of intelligent tools aimed at revolutionizing the travel advisor experience.
Launched in November, 100 First Mates—all of whom qualified for the highly sought-after First Mate Spectacular Soiree voyage—have been invited to join a four-week immersive journey to master Canva, earn badges and unleash their creativity while sailing through engaging design challenges. First Mates can now effortlessly create and customize flyers, social media posts, destination content and booking materials featuring Virgin Voyages’ complete brand kit, including fonts, logos, color palettes, offer lock-ups and signature “With Love From” stamps. By empowering First Mates to create high-impact, on-brand marketing materials in minutes rather than hours, Virgin Voyages is transforming marketing efficiency across its distributed advisor network.
“We’re creating the cruise industry’s first AI-amplified sales force,” said Billy Bohan Chinique, AI evangelist and head of global brand marketing at Virgin Voyages. “While other cruise lines talk about AI transformation, we’re actually deploying it at scale through our distributed network. This partnership with Canva is just the beginning of our commitment to equipping advisors with intelligent tools that minimize administrative burdens and maximize their ability to connect Sailors with unforgettable experiences. We’re pioneering what agentic AI looks like in travel retailing.”
The partnership solves a critical inefficiency in the travel industry by reducing off-brand or duplicated materials while improving speed to market and overall brand consistency. The immersive training program features weekly sessions showcasing different marketing materials, accompanied by creative challenges that reward participation with prizes including Canva merchandise, Yellow Leaf Hammocks and co-op marketing funds.
“When our First Mates told us they needed better resources to market Virgin Voyages more efficiently and grow their businesses more easily, we immediately knew Canva was the only solution,” added Bohan Chinique. “Canva is transformative. The platform’s intuitive design and AI-powered capabilities make it incredibly easy for our top partners to create stunning, on-brand marketing materials in minutes. With our complete library of assets integrated directly into Canva, First Mates can customize everything from social posts to booking flyers with their agency information and LetsGoBook links. We listened to our trade community, and we delivered exactly what they asked for.”
Through Canva’s centralized asset management and customizable brand guidelines, the comprehensive template library enables First Mates to maintain brand consistency while personalizing content for their clientele. Looking ahead, Virgin Voyages plans to leverage Canva’s AI-powered tools to further scale personalized, on-brand content creation while supporting their strategy to equip a distributed sales network to market autonomously and drive growth. In addition to Canva, the Virgin Voyages team is exploring intelligent tools and agentic AI designed to transform how First Mates work, such as:
- AI-powered tools designed to minimize administrative burdens and maximize advisor-client interaction time
- Intelligent automation for routine tasks like availability checks, pricing updates, and booking confirmations
- Smart recommendations that help First Mates match Sailors to perfect itineraries based on preferences and history
- Streamlined communications with automated follow-ups and personalized client touchpoints
Following the success of Phase 1, Virgin Voyages plans to expand the Canva program to 1,000 First Mates in Q1 2026, complete with similar training and support infrastructure.
For more information about Virgin Voyages’ First Mates program, visit www.FirstMates.com.
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