If a child-free cruise expertise with decadent meals, an upscale seaside vibe and bingo hosted by a drag queen seems like one thing you’d get pleasure from, Virgin Voyages is likely to be your new favourite cruise line.
The brainchild of quirky enterprise mogul Richard Branson, Virgin Voyages promised to shake up the cruise business — and it delivered by banning kids from crusing, including loads of risque leisure, scrapping the normal buffet and inspiring cruisers to embrace enjoyable and self-care by its “detox and retox” philosophy. Its three (quickly to be 4) midsize ocean ships embrace upscale cruising with all of the accoutrements that allow passengers to discover their internal kids.
What you may count on from the road is a fun-yet-classy vibe with stylish decor, every day events and video games and an inclusive really feel that encourages everybody to return as they’re. Plus, nearly every thing — gratuities, fundamental Wi-Fi and all however one restaurant — is included within the value. (You’ll pay additional for alcohol and shore excursions.)
Right here’s every thing it’s essential to learn about Virgin Voyages’ ships, the place they sail and their onboard sights, together with eating, leisure and lodging.
3 issues TPG loves about Virgin Voyages
- Wonderful exhibits that rival one of the best exhibits you’d discover on land
- Inclusivity that makes everybody really feel welcome
- Standout delicacies with almost each restaurant included within the cruise fare
What we may do with out
- Cabins that really feel cheaply furnished with bogs which can be too small
- Excessive-demand actions that overlap; it’s a must to choose, select and schedule upfront
The Virgin Voyages fleet
Virgin Voyages — which debuted in 2019 with its first ship, Scarlet Girl — operates a fleet of three almost an identical vessels: Scarlet Girl, Valiant Girl and Resilient Girl. A fourth, Sensible Girl, is about to start crusing in fall 2025.
All the 110,000-ton, 17-deck ships provide 1,330 cabins and 78 suites. At most capability, they’ll carry 2,770 company. It supplies the facilities of a bigger vessel however with out being so huge that it’s tough to handle. (For context, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, which is at the moment the world’s largest cruise ship, carries almost 3 times that variety of passengers.)
If I needed to examine Virgin Voyages to its different mass-market opponents, I’d say it’s a hybrid of Celeb Cruises and Disney Cruise Line (however with out the youngsters). It options an upscale however not luxurious onboard vibe and boundary-pushing leisure, and it appeals to younger professionals. It additionally encourages cruisers to let their internal kids unfastened with dodgeball tournaments, board video games, arcade play and almost 24-hour entry to free ice cream, sweet and pizza — and all of the enjoyable is supposed for grownups.
Locations and itineraries
Virgin Voyages’ focus is the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mediterranean, with all 4 ships catering to a number of of these areas.
In the course of the spring and summer season months, Scarlet Girl sails round-trip from Barcelona, providing weeklong voyages within the Med. Within the fall, it repositions to its winter dwelling port of Miami, from which it runs weeklong cruises to the Western Caribbean.
Valiant Girl sails year-round from Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico, providing four-, five- and seven-night Bahamas, Caribbean and Mexico itineraries by the spring of 2026. In the summertime of 2026, it can reposition to Barcelona and finally Portsmouth in the UK to supply Mediterranean and British Isles voyages, respectively.
Resilient Girl presents seven- to 11-night voyages from San Juan to the Caribbean and Bahamas in the course of the winter months. In the summertime, it heads to Europe to do Athens, Greece-based cruises to the Greek islands, Turkey, Croatia and Montenegro.
When Sensible Girl begins crusing in late 2025, it can dwelling port in Miami and provide longer voyages of seven to 12 nights to the Jap and Western Caribbean.
As a result of Virgin Voyages is so targeted on bringing unique experiences to its company, it has developed a personal seaside membership on the Bahamian island of Bimini in partnership with Resorts World. Lots of its ships’ Caribbean sailings name there.
The Seashore Membership at Bimini options twin lagoon swimming pools with complimentary lounge chairs, enjoyable pool floats and for-fee cabanas. It supplies Virgin vacationers with seaside entry, waiter-served lunch and actions like paddleboard yoga, volleyball and cornhole. Native shore tour choices can be found for an additional value, as are poolside personal cabanas.
Who sails Virgin Voyages?
Virgin Voyages cruises enchantment to adults — “sailors” in Virgin Voyages phrases — who prefer to have a great time, no matter age. They are typically stylish, prosperous and effectively traveled. They love a great get together and revel in posting their newest whereabouts on TikTok and Instagram.
They’re snug with who they’re, and so they’re simply as snug permitting others to be themselves, too. Anticipate your fellow passengers’ vibes to run the gamut from laid-back and informal (however at all times modern) to only plain additional (assume: tutus, fishnets, neon hair and make-up; something goes). You’ll end up among the many likes of seaside bums, rock stars, mermaids and others who will seemingly turn out to be your greatest associates on the dance ground or over a late-night recreation of Mouse Lure or Mall Insanity.
Cabins and suites
All 4 ships provide the identical varieties and courses of cabins: the Insider (inside cabins with no home windows), the Sea View (outdoors cabins with home windows), the Sea Terrace (balcony rooms) and quite a lot of RockStar Quarters, that are suites with names just like the Candy Aft Suite, the Critically Suite, the Cheeky Nook Suite and two TPG Award-winning, 2,147-square-foot Large Suites, plus a number of others.
The Large Suites every provide two bedrooms, an ordinary one with a king-size mattress and one other with a pullout sofa, in addition to quite a lot of guitars and an amp, in case you are feeling like a jam session. Additionally they have file gamers with an in depth music library; personal sundecks with eating tables, sizzling tubs, loungers and outside showers; premium linens; butler service for issues like specific swimsuit drying and stocking the complimentary minibar; luxurious toiletries; temper lighting; two full-size closets; and precedence embarkation and disembarkation, plus transfers.
The ships’ RockStar Quarters, together with the Large Suite, give their occupants entry to the unique keycard-protected Richard’s Rooftop. The stylish however enjoyable outside bar and lounge space presents a free every day Champagne completely satisfied hour, in addition to personal sizzling tubs and cozy couches for lounging.
Of the fleet’s cabins, 93% have ocean views (that means solely 7% are insides), and 86% have balconies. That’s a powerful quantity. Forty-six solo cabins are unfold throughout the within and outdoors classes on every ship.
So far as accessible staterooms, 29 exist on every vessel, in almost all classes. They’re divided into two varieties: absolutely accessible cabins (for customers of wheelchairs) and ambulatory accessible cabins (for customers of canes, walkers and scooters).
Good in-cabin touches embrace a digital pill that permits cruisers to open their curtains, flip the lights on and off and even name a cabin attendant or contact the entrance desk. Moreover, all balcony rooms have hammocks that permit passengers to nap open air whereas having fun with the ocean breeze in their very own semiprivate areas.
In normal cabins, Virgin Voyages launched an L-shaped couch setup that converts right into a mattress at evening — both two twins that take the identical L form because the couch (which may make sleeping awkward whenever you’re sharing the room with a good friend) or a queen when the 2 twins are mixed. (Solo cabins shouldn’t have the L configuration and, as a substitute, provide a stationary full-size mattress. Cabins that sleep 4 passengers have the L setup with pull-down bunks.)
The road deserves props for making an attempt one thing modern, however switching between the 2 is commonly cumbersome for the room stewards. For that motive, passengers usually choose to maintain the furnishings as a mattress during the voyage, however meaning there’s nowhere to take a seat besides a single chair within the nook of the room.
One other miss is the lavatory setup in normal lodging. They’re in regards to the measurement of an airplane rest room, plus an enclosed bathe. There’s so little room in there that passengers usually complain of whacking their arms and elbows on the bathe door whereas making an attempt to make use of the lavatory sink or vainness space.
Eating places and eating
Virgin Voyages’ eating is in a category of its personal. It’s uncommon {that a} nonluxury (learn: not all-inclusive) cruise line has such a variety of complimentary meals. Actually, passengers can dine at each single onboard restaurant totally free — one thing you gained’t discover on different mainstream ships. (The one exception is a dinner theater-style eating expertise, which takes place within the nightclub on Resilient Girl.)
As is the case with most of its cruise-related endeavors, this model doesn’t do meals and drinks like the opposite traces do. First, it scrapped the thought of an onboard buffet and changed it with a complimentary meals courtroom. Then, as a substitute of a principal eating room, it developed greater than a dozen free eating places that includes all varieties of delicacies, in addition to a for-fee dinner theater — all of that are completely professional at catering to dietary restrictions like vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free.
Consider Virgin Voyages’ eating venues as upscale land-based eating places. The atmosphere and theme are totally different at every, and so they all serve totally different specialties. One different similarity: You’ll want reservations, and also you’ll need to make them ASAP. In any other case, you could possibly miss out, as widespread instances are inclined to refill rapidly.
The range can also be spectacular. Virgin Voyages’ restaurant menus characteristic a variety of cuisines.
Standouts embrace vegetarian-forward New American restaurant Razzle Dazzle, The Wake restaurant for seafood lovers, Korean barbecue at Gunbae (which includes a somewhat raucous conventional consuming recreation), intelligent and mouthwatering molecular gastronomy at Check Kitchen, Further Virgin with Italian meals so spectacular it’ll have you ever making appreciative hand gestures and Pink Agave with its delicious Mexican menu.
Passengers with a hankering for late-night pizza ought to head to The Pizza Place for actually scrumptious pie choices, and anybody with a candy tooth will admire ice cream from Lick Me Until … Ice Cream and sweet (Swedish Fish, gummy bears, saltwater taffy and Purple Vines) from The Social Membership.
Room service is out there for a price by way of the Virgin Voyages app.
In the case of alcohol, gone are the times of drink packages. On Virgin sailings, you prepay your bar tab earlier than you set sail, and the quantity is debited out of your last onboard invoice. In case you go over it, you pay per beverage like at any shoreside bar. Though you don’t must prepay, the road will usually offer you additional funds when you do.
Leisure and actions
All through the day, cruisers can chill out by the pool, take a shore tour or select from all kinds of enjoyable actions which can be designed to be nostalgic. Play within the arcade, problem your journey companions to a recreation of Hungry Hungry Hippos or pose for photographs in considered one of a number of social media-worthy spots in your option to seize an ice cream cone.
At evening, the road’s next-level theater and nightclub exhibits appeal to massive crowds of passengers who then transfer on to theme events till the wee hours of the morning. Though every of Virgin Voyages’ ships has its personal exhibits, they’re constantly wonderful throughout the board, that includes top-notch singers and dancers and storylines with sexual innuendo befitting the Virgin model and the fleet’s adults-only atmosphere.
It’s necessary to know that, with the variety of every day actions provided, you may’t presumably see and do every thing on a voyage that’s per week lengthy or shorter. (That’s intentional as a result of Virgin desires your FOMO to drive you to e book one other crusing.) You’ll have to decide on which actions with overlapping time slots to prioritize. Additionally, when you don’t enroll effectively upfront, you could possibly miss out as a result of many actions e book up rapidly.
Theaters and exhibits
A high-energy dance and acrobatics present, an immersive nightclub activation that options three hours of burlesque in a library and an S&M-heavy dinner theater (full with a metaphorical threesome) are only a few of the most recent leisure choices passengers can expertise on Virgin Voyages sailings.
Most of the line’s choices are the product of partnerships with well-known high-end manufacturing corporations and choreographers, equivalent to The 7 Fingers (“Water for Elephants” on Broadway), famed Brooklyn nightclub Home of Sure and the Weiner Leisure Group, whose proprietor labored on New York’s model of “Sleep No Extra” — an interactive “select your individual journey” efficiency that splits you off out of your group and permits you to wander by a number of flooring of the previous warehouse the place it takes place.
Not all ships have the identical exhibits. Resilient Girl presents a plethora of unique leisure, together with an anthology-style nightclub activation that takes place in a “library” (the ship’s nightclub), plus an added-fee dinner theater that {couples} a incredible present with out-of-this-world delicacies.
For lovers of Greek mythology and wonderful acrobatics, dancing and feats of power, “Persephone” is the don’t-miss onboard present. Tying in with Resilient Girl’s Greece voyages, it tells the story of the goddess’ torrid love affair with Hades, the god of the underworld.
Discovered on Valiant Girl and Scarlet Girl, “Duel Actuality” is a contemporary tackle “Romeo and Juliet” that’s punctuated by rival “gangs” and jaw-dropping stunts like aerial acrobatics, hula-hooping and juggling. It’s so well-liked that it’s going to tour on land. This marks the primary time a present created particularly for a cruise vessel has gone from ship to shore.
Different passenger favorites embrace “Miss Behave,” a wacky and wild recreation present targeted on the concept nothing actually issues, together with the factors that the viewers earns (on Valiant Girl and Resilient Girl) and “Miss Titty Kaka,” a racy and hilarious selection present hosted by a resident drag queen (discovered fleetwide on rotation).
Pageant Stage presents a sequence of exhibits that rotate and always change all through the fleet, bringing a number of the most mind-boggling expertise on board for a restricted time solely. Examples have included an Irish comic who turns cruisers’ lives into hit songs by freestyle rap proper on the spot and an “America’s Bought Expertise” finalist who does a complete comedy routine together with his mouth taped shut.
Stay music is one other robust level. Virgin ships haven’t historically had as a lot dwell music as ships from different cruise traces, however that’s altering. You’ll be able to count on stellar nightly performances within the Champagne bar and in every vessel’s atrium space.
Different inside sights and actions
Trivia is scheduled a number of instances a day, but it surely goes on for greater than an hour, and contributors spin a wheel to find out the subject. Bingo is hosted by a drag queen. Afternoon tea is obtainable for a price and comes with a aspect of Champagne.
Extra uncommon pastimes accessible on board embrace bar crawls, espresso tastings and mixology courses (all for a price). Free actions vary from board recreation play and summer season camp arts and crafts to karaoke and ’90s boy band dance courses.
In case you’re prepared to pay for enjoyable, you can even go to the onboard on line casino or make an appointment for a service on the spa, nail salon, hairdresser or barber. Feeling additional daring? Schedule a tattoo or piercing session on the onboard Squid Ink physique artwork parlor.
Or, select from considered one of your ship’s free health courses — one thing for which different cruise traces cost a price. You’ll discover every thing from ‘80s-themed aerobics and bungee courses to yoga, spin and HIIT.
Prime-deck sights
In case you’d somewhat chill out or be energetic alfresco, choices abound for that, too. Virgin’s ships all provide two swimming pools (the principle pool and the Fitness center & Tonic pool, which has two sizzling tubs and an overwater web for lounging), outside Muscle Seashore-style exercise equipment and a jogging observe.
For yoga or topless sunbathing, head to The Perch on the topmost deck of every vessel. Or, when you’re booked in a set, head as much as Richard’s Rooftop, an unique sundeck that options loads of lounge area and its personal bar with a contented hour every night.
Organized outside actions would possibly embrace health courses, dodgeball on every ship’s sports activities courtroom or stargazing at evening when circumstances permit.
For extra enjoyable and stress-free pursuits, the ship additionally has a choice of clamshell loungers and an space that can convey you again to your childhood with see-saws, swings and big Tornado and chess.
Youngsters’s packages
Virgin Voyages is an adults-only cruise line, which suggests nobody youthful than 18 is allowed to sail. For that motive, no youngsters golf equipment or kids’s programming can be found.
What to know earlier than you go
Required paperwork
For worldwide voyages, when you’re a passenger who’s additionally a U.S. citizen, you’ll want a passport that’s legitimate at the very least six months after disembarkation day as a way to cruise. Inexperienced-card holders and non-U.S. residents might want to examine necessities based mostly on locations visited.
In case you’re crusing round-trip from Florida or Puerto Rico and headed to the Caribbean or the Bahamas, you’ll have the ability to board utilizing your authentic delivery certificates and a government-issued photograph ID, equivalent to a driver’s license. (Nonetheless, we extremely suggest utilizing a passport.)
Additionally, you will must do some on-line prep forward of time as a way to examine in and choose a time to reach on the embarkation port on the day of your crusing.
Gratuities
Suggestions are constructed into Virgin Voyages’ fares, so that you gained’t see a every day service cost in your onboard invoice. You’re welcome to tip additional to crew who go above and past, but it surely’s neither required nor anticipated.
Come ready with some small payments to tip porters on the pier after they take your suitcases. It’s additionally acceptable to tip anybody who delivers room service (or Champagne) along with tour guides on shore excursions.
Wi-Fi
If you sail, you’ll obtain free fundamental Wi-Fi entry for 2 units per individual. Speeds are respectable, however when you’re anticipating to stream motion pictures or TV or make video calls, you’ll must pay to improve to the ships’ premium Wi-Fi choice.
Carry-on drinks coverage
Every passenger is permitted to convey as much as 12 sealed 12-ounce (or smaller) cartons or cans of nonalcoholic drinks like juice, water, soda and sports activities drinks. Every individual of authorized consuming age (see under) might also convey two 750-milliliter bottles of wine. Cruisers aren’t allowed to convey their very own liquor or beer on board.
Any drinks you convey on board have to be transported in your carry-on baggage. Drinks in checked luggage will likely be confiscated and returned on the finish of your crusing. Liquor purchases made ashore will even be held till the top of the voyage.
Smoking coverage
Smoking and vaping are solely allowed within the Deck 6 smoking room outdoors the Purple Room and in a delegated outside space on the starboard aspect of Deck 16 by the doorway to Richard’s Rooftop.
Passengers smoking of their cabins or on stateroom balconies are topic to a $500 superb and potential disembarkation with out a refund.
Laundry
Virgin Voyages’ ships shouldn’t have self-service laundry rooms. As an alternative, cruisers have the choice to ship their garments out for urgent, washing and folding, or washing and urgent. Particular person gadgets value $4 every for press solely, $5 every for wash and fold and $6 every for wash and press. Or, you are able to do a complete bag of washing and folding for $30.
Eco-cleaning (moist washing however with much less water and eco-friendly detergent that’s simpler on materials) is out there for $7 per merchandise. Specific turnaround (returned by 5:30 p.m. the identical day when picked up earlier than 11 a.m.) is $20 additional for each common washing and dry cleansing. Nonexpress gadgets will likely be returned the next day by 5:30 p.m.
Electrical retailers
All cabins are outfitted with a mixture of retailers, together with North American, USB and common (for European locations, the UK and lots of different nations).
Commonplace balcony cabins have two USB ports close to the beds, together with a North American outlet. Desk and vainness areas every have two extra USB ports (considered one of which is taken up by the charging cable for the cabin’s pill that controls the TV, curtains and temperature), two extra North American retailers and one common outlet.
The bogs aren’t outfitted with retailers, so that you’ll must model your hair and use any electrical razors on the vainness.
Most of the public areas — together with The Grounds Membership espresso bar and The Galley meals courtroom — even have tons of retailers accessible for charging.
Foreign money
All Virgin Voyages ships function on {dollars}. Hyperlink a bank card to your account (which you are able to do by way of the app previous to embarkation day), or put up a money quantity from which you’ll be able to debit for purchases made on board.
As an alternative of keycards, passengers will every obtain The Band — an adjustable twine bracelet that serves as your room key and machine to make onboard purchases. The one time you’ll obtain a card is when you’re booked in a set that features entry to Richard’s Rooftop, an unique personal sundeck.
Consuming age
Though Virgin Voyages’ ships permit anybody 18 and older to sail, the consuming age on board is 21 years when ships are docked within the U.S. In worldwide waters and in locations like Europe, the place the consuming age is eighteen, the onboard consuming age is eighteen.
Costume code
Virgin Voyages has no official gown code and advises passengers to return as they’re, whether or not it’s a shiny gown or denims and a T-shirt. Nonetheless, the common passenger enjoys trying stylish and classy, even when dressed down. The ships haven’t any formal nights, however most individuals do turn into one thing a bit of nicer for dinner.
Make sure you convey one thing crimson for Scarlet Evening — a mixture atrium spectacle, pool get together and nightclub rave that occurs as soon as per crusing. Different themed nights embrace a pajama get together and an ’80s bash, so pack accordingly.
Virgin Voyages’ loyalty program
Virgin Voyages’ Crusing Membership is a loyalty program completely for Virgin Voyages cruisers. It has three fundamental ranges. Solely the very best presents perks which can be tremendous noteworthy, however a few freebies stand out with every tier.
Factors are earned by taking full-priced cruises; one voyage, no matter value or size, earns you 1 level, so long as you haven’t obtained a big low cost. If you attain Crusing Membership standing (after one crusing), you’ll get reductions on cruises and early entry to promotions. On the Blue Extras degree (after two voyages), you’re entitled to 1 free specialty espresso every day of your crusing and a free bag of laundry.
Nevertheless it’s cruisers on the Deep Blue Extras tier (after 4 cruises) who actually see the advantages. They earn every thing from Blue Extras, plus an extra specialty espresso every day, free urgent for 2 clothes gadgets and one free specialty laundry merchandise. Actually spectacular facilities embrace a $100 bar tab credit score, a free improve to limitless premium Wi-Fi and precedence boarding for themselves and their cabinmates.
Don’t confuse this program with the Virgin model’s different loyalty schemes, equivalent to the overall Virgin Purple rewards membership and Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership. Observe that these are separate from Virgin Voyages Crusing Membership, and cruises won’t earn you factors in both of them. Nonetheless, when you’ve earned sufficient factors with Virgin Purple or Flying Membership, you may redeem them for Virgin Voyages sailings.
How a lot does a Virgin Voyages cruise value?
As a result of Virgin Voyages contains a lot — fundamental Wi-Fi, gratuities and meals in any respect however one restaurant — in its cruise fares, you may count on its sailings to be a bit pricier than you’d discover with most different mainstream cruise traces. Nonetheless, that is actually a case of getting what you pay for, because the expertise Virgin presents is a minimize above different nonluxury merchandise.
Pricing for essentially the most fundamental cabins normally hovers round $200 per individual, per evening, with suites ranging from roughly $600 per evening. On the time of publication, costs for Resilient Girl sailings begin from $814 per individual ($163 per evening) for an inside cabin on a five-night Mexico crusing, round-trip from Miami. Suites can be found from $2,067 per individual ($517 per evening) for a four-night Bahamas voyage, additionally round-trip from Miami.
On Valiant Girl, Mediterranean sailings in an inside cabin begin at $1,589 per individual ($227 per evening) for a weeklong cruise, round-trip from Barcelona, calling on ports in France, Italy and Spain. For a set on a seven-night itinerary with the identical ports, additionally round-trip from Barcelona, passengers can count on to pay at the very least $4,416 per individual ($631 per evening).
For Resilient Girl’s Adriatic and Aegean Sea cruises, you’ll shell out a minimal of $1,617 per individual ($231 per evening) for per week in an inside cabin. The ship travels round-trip from Athens and visits ports in Greece, Croatia and Montenegro. For a set on the identical weeklong itinerary from Athens, the going charge is $4,572 per individual ($653 per evening).
Methods to e book
You’ll be able to e book Virgin Voyages sailings straight by the cruise line. You’ll be able to both buy a cruise your self on the line’s web site or name 954-488-2955 to talk with a Virgin Voyages agent who will help you. When you’ve got sufficient Virgin Purple or Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership factors saved, you need to use them to pay in your cruise.
It’s also possible to e book a Virgin Voyages cruise by a journey agent when you choose the extra customized service they provide.
Some third-party journey corporations, equivalent to United Cruises, additionally promote Virgin Voyages sailings.
Backside line
Virgin Voyages presents a lighthearted-but-upscale adults-only expertise that’s dearer than what you’d pay for different premium cruises. Nonetheless, passengers obtain their cash’s price by way of inclusions like gratuities, Wi-Fi, wonderful eating and phenomenal exhibits that push plenty of boundaries.
The road’s midsize ships cowl areas in Europe, the Bahamas and the Caribbean, and so they appeal to a crowd that’s laid-back and accepting however which prides itself on feeling and looking good.
If drag queens, merpeople, boy band dance courses and video games of big Tornado enchantment to your sense of enjoyable and journey, Virgin Voyages would possibly simply be the cruise line for you.
Need to be taught extra about Virgin Voyages? We’ve bought you coated.
- Virgin Voyages Resilient Girl ship evaluate
- A primary take a look at Virgin Voyages Valiant Girl
- Virgin Voyages Scarlet Girl ship evaluate
- Methods to drink on Virgin Voyages cruises
- Why Virgin Voyages has one of the best leisure at sea
- One of the best locations to go to with Virgin Voyages
- Each Virgin Voyages bar, ranked
- Getting a tattoo on a cruise ship
- All it’s essential to learn about Virgin Voyages’ health courses
- Methods to act like a child on Virgin Voyages
- This cruise line allows you to order Champagne by shaking your cellphone
