If you think every cruise means crowded buffets, scheduled dinners, formal nights, and children running across the pool deck, Virgin Voyages is ready to change your mind.
Virgin Voyages took the traditional cruise experience, kept the parts travelers love, and redesigned almost everything else. Its ships are exclusively for adults, the dining feels more like a night out in a major city, and many of the extras that cost more on other cruise lines are already included in your voyage fare.
This is not a traditional cruise with updated décor and a nightclub added to attract a younger crowd. Virgin created an entirely different kind of vacation at sea.
Let’s look at what makes Virgin Voyages stand out—and whether it might be the right cruise line for you.
Virgin Voyages Is Exclusively for Adults
Every Virgin Voyages sailing is reserved for guests—or “Sailors,” as Virgin calls them—who are at least 18 years old.
That means no children’s clubs, splash zones, character breakfasts, or vacation plans built around somebody else’s nap schedule. The restaurants, entertainment, wellness spaces, and activities were all created with adults in mind.
However, adults-only does not automatically mean nonstop partying.
You can spend the afternoon beside the pool, attend a fitness class, relax at the spa, find a quiet place to read, enjoy a long dinner, or stay out late for a party. Virgin gives you the freedom to choose what kind of vacation you want each day.
The atmosphere can be lively, but you do not have to live in the nightclub to enjoy Virgin Voyages.
More Is Included in Your Voyage Fare
One of the biggest differences between Virgin Voyages and many traditional cruise lines is what your fare includes.
Every Virgin voyage currently includes:
- Dining at more than 20 onboard eateries
- Essential drinks, including still and sparkling water, soda, drip coffee, tea, and non-pressed juices
- Basic Wi-Fi
- Group fitness classes
- Gym access
- Onboard entertainment
Virgin estimates that these inclusions provide more than $1,000 in value during every voyage. On another cruise line, adding Wi-Fi, specialty restaurants, fitness classes, and soda can quickly increase the original price of your vacation.
That does not make Virgin completely all-inclusive. Alcoholic drinks, specialty coffee, spa services, Shore Things—Virgin’s name for shore excursions—and certain premium experiences cost extra.
Gratuities are also no longer automatically included in the standard voyage fare. Virgin’s current VoyageFair Choices program allows Sailors to select from different fare options, so you should review whether gratuities have been prepaid before booking.
You can review Virgin’s current list of what is included in your voyage.
There Is No Traditional Main Dining Room
Virgin Voyages does not have a traditional cruise-ship main dining room with assigned seating and a set dinner time.
Instead, Sailors can make reservations at a collection of individual restaurants, each offering a completely different dining experience. You will not pay a separate specialty-dining fee simply because you want steak, Italian food, Korean barbecue, or an elevated multi-course meal.
Some of Virgin’s most popular restaurants include:
- The Wake: Steak and seafood served in an elegant setting
- Pink Agave: Elevated Mexican cuisine with a modern atmosphere
- Extra Virgin: Italian food, handmade pasta, and shared plates
- Gunbae: A fun and social Korean barbecue experience
- Razzle Dazzle: Creative dishes with plenty of vegetarian-forward choices
- The Test Kitchen: An experimental, multi-course dining experience
Virgin also replaced the traditional buffet with The Galley, a collection of food stations offering made-to-order meals. You can find tacos, burgers, noodles, sandwiches, salads, desserts, breakfast dishes, and other options without walking around with a tray while searching for a table.
For travelers who plan their vacations around the food, Virgin Voyages deserves a serious look.
You Will Not Find a Traditional Formal Night
Some travelers love packing formalwear and dressing for an elegant evening at sea. Other travelers do not want to bring a separate suitcase just to meet a cruise line’s dinner dress code.
Virgin takes a more relaxed approach.
There is no traditional formal night and no requirement to wear a suit or evening gown. You can dress up when you want, keep it casual when you do not, and make the experience your own.
That does not mean everyone stays in shorts and flip-flops all week. You will see plenty of Sailors dressed for dinner, Scarlet Night, and evenings around the ship. The difference is that Virgin lets you decide what dressing up means to you.
The Entertainment Is Anything but Traditional
Virgin Voyages does not build its entertainment schedule around the same traditional cruise productions you may have seen before.
Its ships feature immersive performances, comedy, live music, pop-up entertainment, themed events, and productions created specifically for the Virgin brand. Some performances invite the audience into the action, while others may appear unexpectedly throughout the ship.
The signature event is Scarlet Night, a shipwide celebration featuring performances, music, surprises, and plenty of red. Sailors are encouraged to wear red, but there is no required costume.
Virgin is also known for its Pajama Party, live DJs, karaoke, and late-night entertainment.
The result feels less like following a traditional cruise schedule and more like attending a festival at sea.
The Cabins Were Designed Differently Too
Virgin’s cabins have a clean, modern design with technology that allows Sailors to control features such as the lighting from a tablet.
Its Sea Terrace cabins include a private balcony and Virgin’s signature red hammock, which has become one of the most recognizable features of the cruise line.
Available accommodations generally include:
- Insider cabins
- Sea View cabins
- Sea Terrace cabins
- Solo cabins on select sailings
- RockStar Quarters
- Mega RockStar Quarters
The best cabin will depend on your itinerary, budget, and how much time you expect to spend in your room.
An Insider cabin can be a strong value for someone who plans to stay busy, while a Sea Terrace gives you private outdoor space and that famous hammock.
RockStar and Mega RockStar suites offer an elevated experience with additional benefits, exclusive spaces, and personalized service.
Virgin Voyages Can Be a Great Choice for Solo Travelers
Taking a cruise alone should not mean paying for an oversized cabin you do not need or feeling like every onboard activity was created for couples.
Virgin offers solo-friendly accommodations on select sailings, including cabins designed for one traveler. These cabins are limited and may sell quickly, so solo travelers should begin looking early.
There are also plenty of natural opportunities to meet other people through group dinners, fitness classes, trivia, bar crawls, karaoke, and themed events. Gunbae, Virgin’s Korean barbecue restaurant, is especially social because guests are seated together around shared tables.
But being social is optional.
You can join the activities, meet other travelers, and stay out all night—or eat dinner, sit on your balcony, explore the ports, and enjoy your own company.
Virgin gives solo travelers opportunities to connect without making the entire voyage feel like an organized singles trip.
Wellness Is Part of the Experience
Virgin understands that wellness means different things to different people.
For one person, it might mean sunrise yoga and a trip to the gym. For someone else, it might mean sleeping late, booking a massage, eating a wonderful meal, and sitting beside the ocean without answering a single email.
Group fitness classes and gym access are included in the voyage fare. Depending on the ship and schedule, available classes may include yoga, cycling, HIIT, boxing, and other workouts.
The ships also offer an outdoor running track and dedicated training areas.
For additional relaxation, Redemption Spa offers treatments and thermal experiences for an added cost. Spa access and treatments are not included in the standard cruise fare, so you will want to budget separately if they are an important part of your vacation.
Virgin Does Not Use a Traditional Drink Package
Instead of selling a standard unlimited alcohol package, Virgin Voyages offers a prepaid Bar Tab.
Your Bar Tab can be used to purchase alcoholic drinks, specialty coffee, fresh-pressed juices, and other premium beverages. It can be used at bars and restaurants across the ship and at The Beach Club at Bimini when it is included in your itinerary.
Virgin may offer bonus Bar Tab credit with certain advance purchases or promotions, but the amount and terms can change.
The Bar Tab can be especially appealing to travelers who enjoy a few drinks but do not drink enough to justify the price of an unlimited package. You pay for what you actually order without feeling like you need to drink every day to get your money’s worth.
The Beach Club at Bimini Is a Major Highlight
Many Virgin Voyages Caribbean itineraries visit The Beach Club at Bimini in the Bahamas.
The experience combines a relaxing beach day with poolside music, food, drinks, and entertainment. You can find a quieter place along the beach or stay near the energy around the pool.
Food at The Beach Club is included in your voyage, while alcoholic and other premium beverages are available for purchase or can be charged against your Bar Tab.
The exact experience and schedule can vary, but Bimini has become one of the signature parts of a Caribbean Virgin voyage.
