If a child-free cruise experience with decadent food, an upscale beach vibe and bingo hosted by a drag queen sounds like something you’d enjoy, Virgin Voyages might be your new favorite cruise line.
The brainchild of quirky business mogul Richard Branson, Virgin Voyages promised to shake up the cruise industry — and it delivered by banning children from sailing, adding plenty of risque entertainment, scrapping the traditional buffet and encouraging cruisers to embrace fun and self-care through its “detox and retox” philosophy. Its three (soon to be four) midsize ocean ships embrace upscale cruising with all the accoutrements that enable passengers to find their inner children.
What you can expect from the line is a fun-yet-classy vibe with trendy decor, daily parties and games and an inclusive feel that encourages everyone to come as they are. Plus, just about everything — gratuities, basic Wi-Fi and all but one restaurant — is included in the price. (You’ll pay extra for alcohol and shore excursions.)
Here’s everything you need to know about Virgin Voyages’ ships, where they sail and their onboard attractions, including dining, entertainment and accommodations.
3 things TPG loves about Virgin Voyages
- Excellent shows that rival the best shows you’d find on land
- Inclusivity that makes everyone feel welcome
- Standout cuisine with nearly every restaurant included in the cruise fare
What we could do without
- Cabins that feel cheaply furnished with bathrooms that are too small
- High-demand activities that overlap; you have to pick, choose and schedule in advance
The Virgin Voyages fleet
Virgin Voyages — which debuted in 2019 with its first ship, Scarlet Lady — operates a fleet of three nearly identical vessels: Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady. A fourth, Brilliant Lady, is set to begin sailing in fall 2025.
All of the 110,000-ton, 17-deck ships offer 1,330 cabins and 78 suites. At maximum capacity, they can carry 2,770 guests. It provides the amenities of a larger vessel but without being so big that it’s difficult to manage. (For context, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, which is currently the world’s largest cruise ship, carries nearly three times that number of passengers.)
If I had to compare Virgin Voyages to its other mass-market competitors, I’d say it’s a hybrid of Celebrity Cruises and Disney Cruise Line (but without the kids). It features an upscale but not luxurious onboard vibe and boundary-pushing entertainment, and it appeals to young professionals. It also encourages cruisers to let their inner children loose with dodgeball tournaments, board games, arcade play and nearly 24-hour access to free ice cream, candy and pizza — and all the fun is meant for grownups.
Destinations and itineraries
Virgin Voyages’ focus is the Caribbean, Bahamas and Mediterranean, with all four ships catering to one or more of those regions.
During the spring and summer months, Scarlet Lady sails round-trip from Barcelona, offering weeklong voyages in the Med. In the fall, it repositions to its winter home port of Miami, from which it runs weeklong cruises to the Western Caribbean.
Valiant Lady sails year-round from Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico, offering four-, five- and seven-night Bahamas, Caribbean and Mexico itineraries through the spring of 2026. In the summer of 2026, it will reposition to Barcelona and eventually Portsmouth in the United Kingdom to offer Mediterranean and British Isles voyages, respectively.
Resilient Lady offers seven- to 11-night voyages from San Juan to the Caribbean and Bahamas during the winter months. In the summer, it heads to Europe to do Athens, Greece-based cruises to the Greek islands, Turkey, Croatia and Montenegro.
When Brilliant Lady begins sailing in late 2025, it will home port in Miami and offer longer voyages of seven to 12 nights to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.
Because Virgin Voyages is so focused on bringing exclusive experiences to its guests, it has developed a private beach club on the Bahamian island of Bimini in partnership with Resorts World. Many of its ships’ Caribbean sailings call there.
The Beach Club at Bimini features dual lagoon pools with complimentary lounge chairs, fun pool floats and for-fee cabanas. It provides Virgin travelers with beach access, waiter-served lunch and activities like paddleboard yoga, volleyball and cornhole. Local shore excursion options are available for an extra cost, as are poolside private cabanas.
Who sails Virgin Voyages?
Virgin Voyages cruises appeal to adults — “sailors” in Virgin Voyages terms — who like to have a good time, regardless of age. They tend to be trendy, affluent and well traveled. They love a good party and enjoy posting their latest whereabouts on TikTok and Instagram.
They’re comfortable with who they are, and they’re just as comfortable allowing others to be themselves, too. Expect your fellow passengers’ vibes to run the gamut from laid-back and casual (but always fashionable) to just plain extra (think: tutus, fishnets, neon hair and makeup; anything goes). You’ll find yourself among the likes of beach bums, rock stars, mermaids and others who will likely become your best friends on the dance floor or over a late-night game of Mouse Trap or Mall Madness.
Cabins and suites
All four ships offer the same types and classes of cabins: the Insider (inside cabins with no windows), the Sea View (outside cabins with windows), the Sea Terrace (balcony rooms) and a variety of RockStar Quarters, which are suites with names like the Sweet Aft Suite, the Seriously Suite, the Cheeky Corner Suite and two TPG Award-winning, 2,147-square-foot Massive Suites, plus a few others.
The Massive Suites each offer two bedrooms, a standard one with a king-size bed and another with a pullout couch, as well as a variety of guitars and an amp, in case you feel like a jam session. They also have record players with an extensive music library; private sundecks with dining tables, hot tubs, loungers and outdoor showers; premium linens; butler service for things like express swimsuit drying and stocking the complimentary minibar; luxury toiletries; mood lighting; two full-size closets; and priority embarkation and disembarkation, plus transfers.
The ships’ RockStar Quarters, including the Massive Suite, give their occupants access to the exclusive keycard-protected Richard’s Rooftop. The chic but fun outdoor bar and lounge area offers a free daily Champagne happy hour, as well as private hot tubs and comfy couches for lounging.
Of the fleet’s cabins, 93% have ocean views (meaning only 7% are insides), and 86% have balconies. That’s an impressive number. Forty-six solo cabins are spread across the inside and outside categories on each ship.
As far as accessible staterooms, 29 exist on each vessel, in nearly all categories. They are divided into two types: fully accessible cabins (for users of wheelchairs) and ambulatory accessible cabins (for users of canes, walkers and scooters).
Nice in-cabin touches include a digital tablet that enables cruisers to open their curtains, turn the lights on and off and even call a cabin attendant or contact the front desk. Additionally, all balcony rooms have hammocks that allow passengers to nap outdoors while enjoying the ocean breeze in their own semiprivate areas.
In standard cabins, Virgin Voyages introduced an L-shaped sofa setup that converts into a bed at night — either two twins that take the same L shape as the sofa (which can make sleeping awkward when you’re sharing the room with a friend) or a queen when the two twins are combined. (Solo cabins do not have the L configuration and, instead, offer a stationary full-size bed. Cabins that sleep four passengers have the L setup with pull-down bunks.)
The line deserves props for trying something innovative, but switching between the two is often cumbersome for the room stewards. For that reason, passengers often opt to keep the furniture as a bed for the duration of the voyage, but that means there’s nowhere to sit except a single chair in the corner of the room.
Another miss is the bathroom setup in standard accommodations. They’re about the size of an airplane bathroom, plus an enclosed shower. There’s so little room in there that passengers often complain of whacking their hands and elbows on the shower door while trying to use the bathroom sink or vanity area.
Restaurants and dining
Virgin Voyages’ dining is in a class of its own. It’s rare that a nonluxury (read: not all-inclusive) cruise line has such a wide range of complimentary food. In fact, passengers can dine at every single onboard restaurant for free — something you won’t find on other mainstream ships. (The only exception is a dinner theater-style dining experience, which takes place in the nightclub on Resilient Lady.)
As is the case with most of its cruise-related endeavors, this brand doesn’t do food and drinks like the other lines do. First, it scrapped the idea of an onboard buffet and replaced it with a complimentary food court. Then, instead of a main dining room, it developed more than a dozen free restaurants featuring all types of cuisine, as well as a for-fee dinner theater — all of which are absolutely expert at catering to dietary restrictions like vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free.
Think of Virgin Voyages’ dining venues as upscale land-based restaurants. The ambience and theme are different at each, and they all serve different specialties. One other similarity: You’ll need reservations, and you’ll want to make them ASAP. Otherwise, you could miss out, as popular times tend to fill up quickly.
The variety is also impressive. Virgin Voyages’ restaurant menus feature a range of cuisines.
Standouts include vegetarian-forward New American restaurant Razzle Dazzle, The Wake restaurant for seafood lovers, Korean barbecue at Gunbae (which involves a rather raucous traditional drinking game), clever and mouthwatering molecular gastronomy at Test Kitchen, Extra Virgin with Italian food so spectacular it’ll have you making appreciative hand gestures and Pink Agave with its scrumptious Mexican menu.
Passengers with a hankering for late-night pizza should head to The Pizza Place for truly delicious pie options, and anyone with a sweet tooth will appreciate ice cream from Lick Me Till … Ice Cream and candy (Swedish Fish, gummy bears, saltwater taffy and Red Vines) from The Social Club.
Room service is available for a fee via the Virgin Voyages app.
When it comes to alcohol, gone are the days of drink packages. On Virgin sailings, you prepay your bar tab before you set sail, and the amount is debited from your final onboard bill. If you go over it, you pay per beverage like at any shoreside bar. Although you don’t have to prepay, the line will often give you extra funds if you do.
Entertainment and activities
Throughout the day, cruisers can relax by the pool, take a shore excursion or choose from a wide variety of fun activities that are designed to be nostalgic. Play in the arcade, challenge your travel companions to a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos or pose for photos in one of several social media-worthy spots on your way to grab an ice cream cone.
At night, the line’s next-level theater and nightclub shows attract large crowds of passengers who then move on to theme parties until the wee hours of the morning. Although each of Virgin Voyages’ ships has its own shows, they are consistently excellent across the board, featuring top-notch singers and dancers and storylines with sexual innuendo befitting the Virgin brand and the fleet’s adults-only ambience.
It’s important to understand that, with the number of daily activities offered, you can’t possibly see and do everything on a voyage that’s a week long or shorter. (That’s intentional because Virgin wants your FOMO to drive you to book another sailing.) You’ll have to choose which activities with overlapping time slots to prioritize. Also, if you don’t sign up well in advance, you could miss out because many activities book up quickly.
Theaters and shows
A high-energy dance and acrobatics show, an immersive nightclub activation that features three hours of burlesque in a library and an S&M-heavy dinner theater (complete with a metaphorical threesome) are just a few of the newest entertainment options passengers can experience on Virgin Voyages sailings.
Many of the line’s offerings are the product of partnerships with well-known high-end production companies and choreographers, such as The 7 Fingers (“Water for Elephants” on Broadway), famed Brooklyn nightclub House of Yes and the Weiner Entertainment Group, whose owner worked on New York’s version of “Sleep No More” — an interactive “choose your own adventure” performance that splits you off from your group and allows you to wander through several floors of the old warehouse where it takes place.
Not all ships have the same shows. Resilient Lady offers a plethora of exclusive entertainment, including an anthology-style nightclub activation that takes place in a “library” (the ship’s nightclub), plus an added-fee dinner theater that couples a fantastic show with out-of-this-world cuisine.
For lovers of Greek mythology and amazing acrobatics, dancing and feats of strength, “Persephone” is the don’t-miss onboard show. Tying in with Resilient Lady’s Greece voyages, it tells the story of the goddess’ torrid love affair with Hades, the god of the underworld.
Found on Valiant Lady and Scarlet Lady, “Duel Reality” is a modern take on “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 will tour on land. This marks the first time a show created specifically for a cruise vessel has gone from ship to shore.
Other passenger favorites include “Miss Behave,” a wacky and wild game show focused on the idea that nothing really matters, including the points that the audience earns (on Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady) and “Miss Titty Kaka,” a racy and hilarious variety show hosted by a resident drag queen (found fleetwide on rotation).
Festival Stage offers a series of shows that rotate and constantly change throughout the fleet, bringing some of the most mind-boggling talent on board for a limited time only. Examples have included an Irish comedian who turns cruisers’ lives into hit songs through freestyle rap right on the spot and an “America’s Got Talent” finalist who does an entire comedy routine with his mouth taped shut.
Live music is another strong point. Virgin ships haven’t traditionally had as much live music as ships from other cruise lines, but that’s changing. You can expect stellar nightly performances in the Champagne bar and in each vessel’s atrium area.
Other interior attractions and activities
Trivia is scheduled several times a day, but it goes on for more than an hour, and participants spin a wheel to determine the topic. Bingo is hosted by a drag queen. Afternoon tea is offered for a fee and comes with a side of Champagne.
More unusual pastimes available on board include bar crawls, coffee tastings and mixology classes (all for a fee). Free activities range from board game play and summer camp arts and crafts to karaoke and ’90s boy band dance classes.
If you’re willing to pay for fun, you can also visit the onboard casino or make an appointment for a service at the spa, nail salon, hairdresser or barber. Feeling extra bold? Schedule a tattoo or piercing session at the onboard Squid Ink body art parlor.
Or, choose from one of your ship’s free fitness classes — something for which other cruise lines charge a fee. You’ll find everything from ‘80s-themed aerobics and bungee classes to yoga, spin and HIIT.
Top-deck attractions
If you’d rather relax or be active alfresco, options abound for that, too. Virgin’s ships all offer two pools (the main pool and the Gym & Tonic pool, which has two hot tubs and an overwater net for lounging), outdoor Muscle Beach-style workout apparatus and a jogging track.
For yoga or topless sunbathing, head to The Perch on the topmost deck of each vessel. Or, if you’re booked in a suite, head up to Richard’s Rooftop, an exclusive sundeck that features plenty of lounge space and its own bar with a happy hour each evening.
Organized outdoor activities might include fitness classes, dodgeball on each ship’s sports court or stargazing at night when conditions allow.
For more fun and relaxing pursuits, the ship also has a selection of clamshell loungers and an area that will bring you back to your childhood with see-saws, swings and giant Twister and chess.
Children’s programs
Virgin Voyages is an adults-only cruise line, which means no one younger than 18 is allowed to sail. For that reason, no kids clubs or children’s programming are available.
What to know before you go
Required documents
For international voyages, if you’re a passenger who’s also a U.S. citizen, you’ll need a passport that’s valid at least six months after disembarkation day in order to cruise. Green-card holders and non-U.S. citizens will need to check requirements based on destinations visited.
If you’re sailing round-trip from Florida or Puerto Rico and headed to the Caribbean or the Bahamas, you’ll be able to board using your original birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license. (However, we highly recommend using a passport.)
You will also have to do some online prep ahead of time in order to check in and select a time to arrive at the embarkation port on the day of your sailing.
Gratuities
Tips are built into Virgin Voyages’ fares, so you won’t see a daily service charge on your onboard bill. You’re welcome to tip extra to crew who go above and beyond, but it’s neither required nor expected.
Come prepared with some small bills to tip porters at the pier when they take your suitcases. It’s also appropriate to tip anyone who delivers room service (or Champagne) in addition to tour guides on shore excursions.
Wi-Fi
When you sail, you’ll receive free basic Wi-Fi access for two devices per person. Speeds are decent, but if you’re expecting to stream movies or TV or make video calls, you’ll have to pay to upgrade to the ships’ premium Wi-Fi option.
Carry-on drinks policy
Each passenger is permitted to bring up to 12 sealed 12-ounce (or smaller) cartons or cans of nonalcoholic beverages like juice, water, soda and sports drinks. Each person of legal drinking age (see below) may also bring two 750-milliliter bottles of wine. Cruisers are not allowed to bring their own liquor or beer on board.
Any drinks you bring on board must be transported in your carry-on luggage. Beverages in checked bags will be confiscated and returned at the end of your sailing. Liquor purchases made ashore will also be held until the end of the voyage.
Smoking policy
Smoking and vaping are only allowed in the Deck 6 smoking room outside the Red Room and in a designated outdoor area on the starboard side of Deck 16 by the entrance to Richard’s Rooftop.
Passengers smoking in their cabins or on stateroom balconies are subject to a $500 fine and potential disembarkation without a refund.
Laundry
Virgin Voyages’ ships do not have self-service laundry rooms. Instead, cruisers have the option to send their clothes out for pressing, washing and folding, or washing and pressing. Individual items cost $4 each for press only, $5 each for wash and fold and $6 each for wash and press. Or, you can do an entire bag of washing and folding for $30.
Eco-cleaning (wet washing but with less water and eco-friendly detergent that’s easier on fabrics) is available for $7 per item. Express turnaround (returned by 5:30 p.m. the same day when picked up before 11 a.m.) is $20 extra for both regular washing and dry cleaning. Nonexpress items will be returned the following day by 5:30 p.m.
Electrical outlets
All cabins are outfitted with a mix of outlets, including North American, USB and universal (for European destinations, the United Kingdom and many other countries).
Standard balcony cabins have two USB ports near the beds, along with a North American outlet. Desk and vanity areas each have two more USB ports (one of which is taken up by the charging cable for the cabin’s tablet that controls the TV, curtains and temperature), two additional North American outlets and one universal outlet.
The bathrooms aren’t outfitted with outlets, so you’ll have to style your hair and use any electric razors at the vanity.
Many of the public spaces — including The Grounds Club coffee bar and The Galley food court — also have tons of outlets available for charging.
Currency
All Virgin Voyages ships operate on dollars. Link a credit card to your account (which you can do via the app prior to embarkation day), or put up a cash amount from which you can debit for purchases made on board.
Instead of keycards, passengers will each receive The Band — an adjustable cord bracelet that serves as your room key and device to make onboard purchases. The only time you’ll receive a card is if you’re booked in a suite that includes access to Richard’s Rooftop, an exclusive private sundeck.
Drinking age
Although Virgin Voyages’ ships allow anyone 18 and older to sail, the drinking age on board is 21 years when ships are docked in the U.S. In international waters and in places like Europe, where the drinking age is 18, the onboard drinking age is 18.
Dress code
Virgin Voyages has no official dress code and advises passengers to come as they are, whether it’s a sparkly dress or jeans and a T-shirt. However, the average passenger enjoys looking chic and trendy, even when dressed down. The ships have no formal nights, but most people do change into something a little nicer for dinner.
Be sure to bring something red for Scarlet Night — a combination atrium spectacle, pool party and nightclub rave that happens once per sailing. Other themed nights include a pajama party and an ’80s bash, so pack accordingly.
Virgin Voyages’ loyalty program
Virgin Voyages’ Sailing Club is a loyalty program exclusively for Virgin Voyages cruisers. It has three basic levels. Only the highest offers perks that are super noteworthy, but a couple of freebies stand out with each tier.
Points are earned by taking full-priced cruises; one voyage, regardless of price or length, earns you 1 point, as long as you haven’t received a significant discount. When you reach Sailing Club status (after one sailing), you’ll get discounts on cruises and early access to promotions. At the Blue Extras level (after two voyages), you’re entitled to one free specialty coffee each day of your sailing and a free bag of laundry.
But it’s cruisers at the Deep Blue Extras tier (after four cruises) who really see the benefits. They earn everything from Blue Extras, plus an additional specialty coffee daily, free pressing for two clothing items and one free specialty laundry item. Truly impressive amenities include a $100 bar tab credit, a free upgrade to unlimited premium Wi-Fi and priority boarding for themselves and their cabinmates.
Don’t confuse this program with the Virgin brand’s other loyalty schemes, such as the general Virgin Red rewards club and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Note that these are separate from Virgin Voyages Sailing Club, and cruises will not earn you points in either of them. However, if you’ve earned enough points with Virgin Red or Flying Club, you can redeem them for Virgin Voyages sailings.
How much does a Virgin Voyages cruise cost?
Because Virgin Voyages includes so much — basic Wi-Fi, gratuities and meals at all but one restaurant — in its cruise fares, you can expect its sailings to be a bit pricier than you’d find with most other mainstream cruise lines. However, this is truly a case of getting what you pay for, as the experience Virgin offers is a cut above other nonluxury products.
Pricing for the most basic cabins usually hovers around $200 per person, per night, with suites starting from roughly $600 per night. At the time of publication, prices for Resilient Lady sailings start from $814 per person ($163 per night) for an inside cabin on a five-night Mexico sailing, round-trip from Miami. Suites are available from $2,067 per person ($517 per night) for a four-night Bahamas voyage, also round-trip from Miami.
On Valiant Lady, Mediterranean sailings in an inside cabin start at $1,589 per person ($227 per night) for a weeklong cruise, round-trip from Barcelona, calling on ports in France, Italy and Spain. For a suite on a seven-night itinerary with the same ports, also round-trip from Barcelona, passengers can expect to pay at least $4,416 per person ($631 per night).
For Resilient Lady’s Adriatic and Aegean Sea cruises, you’ll shell out a minimum of $1,617 per person ($231 per night) for a week in an inside cabin. The ship travels round-trip from Athens and visits ports in Greece, Croatia and Montenegro. For a suite on the same weeklong itinerary from Athens, the going rate is $4,572 per person ($653 per night).
How to book
You can book Virgin Voyages sailings directly through the cruise line. You can either purchase a cruise yourself on the line’s website or call 954-488-2955 to speak with a Virgin Voyages agent who can help you. If you have enough Virgin Red or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points saved, you can use them to pay for your cruise.
You can also book a Virgin Voyages cruise through a travel agent if you prefer the more personalized service they offer.
Some third-party travel companies, such as United Cruises, also sell Virgin Voyages sailings.
Bottom line
Virgin Voyages offers a lighthearted-but-upscale adults-only experience that’s more expensive than what you’d pay for other premium cruises. However, passengers receive their money’s worth via inclusions like gratuities, Wi-Fi, excellent dining and phenomenal shows that push lots of boundaries.
The line’s midsize ships cover regions in Europe, the Bahamas and the Caribbean, and they attract a crowd that’s laid-back and accepting but which prides itself on looking and feeling good.
If drag queens, merpeople, boy band dance classes and games of giant Twister appeal to your sense of fun and adventure, Virgin Voyages might just be the cruise line for you.
Want to learn more about Virgin Voyages? We’ve got you covered.
- Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady ship review
- A first look at Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady
- Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady ship review
- How to drink on Virgin Voyages cruises
- Why Virgin Voyages has the best entertainment at sea
- The best destinations to visit with Virgin Voyages
- Every Virgin Voyages bar, ranked
- Getting a tattoo on a cruise ship
- All you need to know about Virgin Voyages’ fitness classes
- How to act like a kid on Virgin Voyages
- This cruise line lets you order Champagne by shaking your phone
