I’ve cruised a few times now – with the family, hubby, and kiddo. Last year we had the chance to do an amazing cruise on points via a deal my hubby found on TikTok 🙂
So, we ventured off on an adults-only cruise (our kiddo was already planned to stay with grandmas and other fam). I had a few people ask me about the Virgin Voyages cruise, so I figured I’d share
Overall Review
9/10, would definitely recommend. If you are looking to cruise without kids, this adults-only option is AMAZING. Virgin as a brand does a kick-ass job of customer service and an overall wonderful experience.
Want help booking your Virgin Voyages cruise? Touch base, or you can check out options on your own. Travel with Ellen is here to help you find the best one!
The great
Honestly, so much of it! From the boarding process (easy) to the cute little bracelets (vs. a card to keep up with to use as your room key and to purchase anything on the ship) to the versatile and tasty restaurants included in your cruise, there’s a lot to love! So of my favorite things:
- The ships are really lovely and all pretty new. The oldest one started sailing in 2020. We sailed on The Resilient Lady for the Greek Island Glow cruise, which began sailing in 2023, so it was almost brand new when we went on it.
- Virgin keeps winning awards, such as Travel + Leisure’s Best Mega-ship Ocean Cruise Line in the World’s Best Awards for the second consecutive year and other “Best Cruises for Adults” awards.
The not so great
I can’t think of many downsides. Maybe just two things if I’m trying to give you all the scoop:
- Shore excursions / shore things – we had a couple of duds with these: one was the hubby doing a scuba diving excursion that had some dated equipment, and one was a relaxing one I did
- Spa—I’m not a fan of spas on cruise ships because I feel like they are a bit too aggressive with selling services and products (I like to just relax, not get sold). This isn’t really unique to Virgin; it’s just a personal preference.
A couple of other notes on Virgin Voyages cruising
- Remember, no kiddos are allowed—not a downside if you’re not traveling with kids, of course. But if you want to cruise with kids, there are plenty of options on other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean (one of my family’s faves when traveling with all ages) or Norwegian.
- If you’re looking for water slides or something like that, Virgin won’t be your jam. But I’m guessing most adults will enjoy the other many amenities. And you can always use your ports of call to get some water fun in while you’re on shore.
The Greek Isles
If you haven’t been to Greece, I highly recommend the Virgin Voyages Greek Island Glow cruise. I like to explain cruises as a great sampler platter of excellent places where you can keep all your stuff in one place, and this one was exactly that – in the gorgeous setting of the Aegean Sea. The Aegean Sea has some of the most magnificent water I’ve ever seen or seen pictures of 🙂
These are some of my pics of the Aegean Sea from our Virgin Voyages Greek Isles cruise:
Virgin Voyages ships
As mentioned previously, they’re all pretty new—ranging from 2020 to 2024. If you get a Sea Terrace (balcony room), you also get a nice hammock. It’s a lovely upgrade from an interior or Sea View room. There are most of the usual room categories, but you can sometimes take advantage of promotions to get a Sea Terrace room at a better price or a discount on your second Sailor.
Check out the Virgin Voyages ships here and where they go (Caribbean, Europe, etc.).
Shows and on-ship experiences on Virgin Voyages cruise ships
There were some great shows and fun events like trivia and game shows. Many cruise lines do these, but we felt like there were a lot of great options, and we enjoyed taking part in a bunch of the shows. The Virgin Voyages app makes it easy to see what’s happening when and where. There’s also a retro arcade where you can play games for free and a variety of other spots where you can play games, relax, or hang out in hot tubs.
There is a really fun Scarlet Night party where you dance around at the pool and some other fun events like a PJ party. You can partake or not, but they are a lot of fun.
Restaurants on Virgin Voyages cruise ships
This was one of the differentiators we enjoyed most. Each ship has a few different restaurants, and unlike many other cruise lines, you don’t have to pay more to go to a “specialty restaurant” that isn’t the usual buffet or main dining room. You can also easily book restaurants using the Virgin Voyages app.
Image: Virgin Voyages app, July 2023. You can use the app to book restaurants, shore things (excursions), see event lineups, and book spa treatments.
Pro tip: Book your restaurants early to have the most options. You can usually adjust later if needed or cancel.
Image: Galley menu in Virgin Voyages app, July 2023. This is Virgin Voyages’ version of the buffets you’ll see on other ships. Items are served to you by team members behind the counter, and some are made to order. The quality is excellent.
