Virgin - A Perfect Voyage for the Casual Adult Cruiser

Best New Cruise Ship 2021

Virgin Voyages are the new kids on the ocean and bring an entirely fresh and new spin to the world of cruising vacations. Virgin was awarded the Cruise Critic’s Editors’ Pick for Best New Cruise Ship in 2021!

Photo: Scarlet Lady is Cruise Critic's Choice For New Cruise Ship in 2021

“Our winners this year represent innovation and evolution in the cruise industry,” Cruise Critic Editor-in-Chief Colleen McDaniel said. “In a field that was surprisingly crowded, with a number of great new ships debuting this year, Scarlet Lady stood out for bringing new concepts to sea designed to give guests witty and smart features and options. We loved Scarlet Lady’s design-forward take on bringing even more fun to cruising.”

In fact, Cruise Critic noted, “We also felt that by pushing through boundaries and past naysayers, Scarlet Lady had the potential to transform not just a cruise line but also provide excitement for the industry overall. After a year of setbacks, Scarlet Lady showed us that cruising continues to be a form of travel that's ever-evolving, with plenty of surprises along the way.”

In this series we will explore all that Virgin Voyages has to offer. We’ll discover what they do differently compared to other well-established cruise lines. We’ll look at some of the pros and cons of the line and make a recommendation for your next cruise vacation.

In this first installment, we will discover the Virgin Voyage concept, general vibe, the ship, the itineraries and room types of the Scarlet Lady. Future blogs will review the food, bars, shops, entertainment, and health and wellness of the Scarlet Lady.

The Concept

The adults-only cruise line is a very modern and daring line that completely smashes the traditional cruising concept and forges its own path.

So what exactly is the Virgin Voyages concept? “Let me tell you what it’s not,” Tom McAlpin, president and CEO of Virgin Voyages, recently explained about the new cruise experience being launched by the Richard Branson–founded Virgin Group. “It’s not marble as far as the eye can see. It’s not a waiter with white gloves in a tuxedo serving me.” Instead, McAlpin said that Virgin Voyages will embody what he called “rebellious luxe,” or a casual sophistication.

Photo: Cruise Freestyle With Virgin Voyages

“We were originally going to be adult-centric, but we were going to allow children on,” said McAlpin. But, as the company conducted additional research and focus group studies, it found that its potential “sailors,” what Virgin Voyages calls its passengers, would rather “leave kids at home,” he said.

That out-of-the-box concepts manifests itself through offering such as a tattoo parlor called Squid Ink, a karaoke lounge called the Groupie, so-called RockStar suites (with private transfers included), and “shake for champagne” delivery service (a technology-driven, on-demand feature that will allow passengers to request champagne with a simple shake of their phone). Entertainment is daring in itself with offerings such as the Never Sleep Alone (NSA) interactive cabaret where acclaimed sexologist Dr. A dispenses her unique brand of fearless and playful advice. Virgin Voyages is definitely trying to have a lot of (adult) fun.

Photo: Squid Ink Tattoo Parlour

The Vibe

Virgin Voyages is an ultra laid back adults-only cruise experience. The only rule seems to be that there are no rules. There is no dress code and no formal dining experience. There are five main specialty dining venues making it perfect for a five night cruise as sailors may only reserve a dinner table once at each venue per cruise. Sailors may eat at venues more than once, but without a reservation you take the risk that there may not be any open tables for the venue and/or time you’d like.

There is no buffet on board; however the Galley is located on the 15th deck. Sailors choose their own seats and are served by the crew. There are a number of kiosks sailors can order food from. There are no limits on the food you can order.

Photo: The Galley

Room service is also included in your base rate; however, alcoholic drinks are an additional cost.

Virgin Voyages places a high emphasis on health and wellness with an abundance of fitness equipment and wide variety of fitness classes and health seminars.

Photo: Outdoor Fitness Equipment on Scarlet Lady

Photo: Fitness Center

Virgin Voyages is a highly inclusive cruise line, putting significant effort into catering to the LGBTQ+ population. Crew are also encouraged to show their individual flair.

Be sure to bring something red to wear for Scarlet Night when the ship is decked out in red and most sailors and crew are dressed in glam fashion.

Photo: Poolside on Scarlet Night

The Ships

Virgin Voyages currently offers two ships for sailors to voyage upon. The Scarlet Lady was the premiere ship in the fleet, setting sail in 2020 and currently positioned out of Miami, Florida with Caribbean itineraries. The Valiant Lady is scheduled for Caribbean itineraries from Miami starting in March 2022. The Resilient Lady will make its debut in the Mediterranean on July 1, 2022, before repositioning to its winter homeport in San Juan, Puerto Rico for a series of Caribbean cruises during the winter of 2022-2023. A fourth ship, yet to be named, is scheduled to set sail in 2023.

Photo: Valiant Lady

All three mid-sized vessels of 110,000 Gross Tonnage (GT) have been built with care by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, each with 1,150 crew, and 1,430 guest cabins capable of hosting a total of more than 2,800 passengers.

Itineraries

Sailing under the flag of the Bahamas, it is no surprise to find Virgin Voyages heavy on itineraries featuring the Bahamas. Most Scarlet Lady itineraries are either a four or five day duration, embarking from Miami with a stop at their own Beach Club resort in Bimini, Bahamas. Five day cruises include a stop at either Cozumel, Mexico or Playa Del Carmen, Dominican Republic, while four day cruises include a stop at Nassau, Bahamas.

Photo: Bimini Beach Club by Virgin Voyages

Room Types

Virgin Voyages offers all the basic room types. The insider is the most economical. The social insider provides enough space for four sailors in the room.

Photo: The Insider Stateroom

The seaview offers a porthole window that makes the stateroom a little less claustrophobic. Virgin accommodates the solo traveller, offering the solo seaview room.

Photo: Seaview Stateroom

There are four options for sea terrace rooms, each with its own private balcony. The limited view sea terrace is the most economical, but the view is slightly limited based on the location of the ship. The standard sea terrace room provides a bit better view, but all views are still limited by the steel balcony walls that do not allow a view straight to the ocean while lounging in a deck chair. Standard sea terrace rooms are found in the forward and aft parts of the vessel, while the central sea terrace rooms are located in the mid ship area for those more sensitive to the motion of the ocean. The XL sea terrace Boasts the same views as other sea terrace rooms, but offer a slightly larger living space and bathroom.

Photo: Sea Terrace Stateroom

The major flaw with all the basic rooms is the lack of sufficient organizing space (limited dresser space) and inefficient room layout in general. The bathroom is unique with shower separated from the sink area, so two people could use the bathroom simultaneously, but coordination is required when navigating sailors between the bathroom areas. The XL sea terrace has the sink area separated from both the shower and the toilet.

Basic amenities are included regardless of the room type, including free wi-fi, basic beverages including soft drinks and limited fruit juices. All guests have access to all areas except the suite-only Richard’s Rooftop. All rooms have television and lighting controlled by a tablet assigned to your room. The televisions offer free movies and shows that many other cruise line charge $15 per show.

All sailors have access to a well-organized workout space, group fitness classes and health and wellness seminars at no extra cost. To limit the number of no-shows, there is a $10 fee applied for any class a sailor may sign up for without cancelling a minimum of 24 hours prior.

Photo: Fitness Class

All sailors have access to all dining areas on board, without additional fees. All eateries offer excellent options and cater to all diet and food restrictions; however, the keto options are often minimal.

Photo: The Wake

For those seeking a bit more from their cruise experience, sailors can party like rock stars in the RockStar Quarters. In addition to the basic amenities, the RockStar Quarters also offer access to Richard’s Rooftop, early booking for all classes and entertainment venues, additional free beverages, and their own Rockstar agent (concierge).

Photo: RockStar Quarters

Rockstar Quarters options include the Sweet Aft Suite (with various sized balconies), the Seriously Suite (slightly larger stateroom but limited balcony), the Cheeky Corner Suite (located in the aft corner and offering three different sizes of balcony), and the Brilliant Suite (nearly double the normal room size with a modest sized balcony).

Photo: Mega RockStar Quarters

For those that want to be pampered, the Mega RockStar Quarters are worth a look. In addition to the amenities provided in the RockStar Suites, Mega Suites also include premium wifi, a bottomless in-room bar, a daily bar tab, daily spa access, private transfer to/from the ship, and a personal RockStar agent (concierge).

Mega RockStar Quarters include the Gorgeous Suite (with a room about 150 per cent the standard room size and a terrace nearly triple the standard balcony), the Posh Suite (with a stateroom about double the standard size and a terrace nearly four times the standard), the Fab Suite (nearly triple the standard stateroom plus a terrace nearly four times the standard), and the Massive Suite (nearly four time the standard stateroom and a massive terrace that is 50 per cent larger than the stateroom itself and includes its own private hot tub).

Recommendation

Overall, this is a very fun cruise line, with most cruisers in their 30s and 40s. Virgin is the ideal line for those who enjoy late-night entertainment, high quality food, and health and fitness. Virgin Voyages opens the world of cruising to a whole new demographic who may never have considered cruising as an option. However you like to vacation, whatever your style, Virgin Voyages has something for you. Virgin is your ticket to keeping it casual on the high seas!

Photo: Cruising Casual with Virgin Voyages