Virgin Voyages
Virgin Voyages wins on so many levels. Joe and I first went on a Virgin Voyage in March of 2024 on the Scarlet Lady and immediately loved the vibe. There is something so different about ADULT ONLY atmospheres. The comedy is better, the food is better and the atmosphere is less chaotic. I recently returned with our youngest daughter on the Valiant Lady and a girl's trip was perfect as well. The ships in the Virgin fleet are the same as far as the basics but the shows and decor can vary. I loved feeling immediately at home with the layout..ie, I knew how to immediately get to fantastic made to order pizza at embarkation then grab my first ice cream of the day. Followed by the sailaway party and of course the first night's PJ Party.
YES, I took a bite before we even got the photo, taste testing is required.
A couple of difference I love with Virgin Voyages are the drink packages and lack of clothing expectations. First, unlike other cruise lines that offer "be wasted all week" drink packages that would leave me sick and require all adults in the same room to have the same outrageously expensive drink package, Virgin does drinks BETTER. First, their regular, free, drip coffee is good. Not so bad you feel the need to go buy coffee on board. Second, they include soda, tea, drip coffee. juices and water. Finally, you can purchase drinks for reasonable amounts ($6-$15) and you can prepay with a bar tab for the entire room to share, this comes with a bonus if booked in advance. For instance, prepay $200 and get $25 bonus added. This can be used for anyone in the room and for gourmet coffees, (really good, alternate milks, made correctly and only $4-6) pressed juices, smoothies, non-alcoholic and alcoholic cocktails.
Next up, dress code for dining onboard. In my real life, I am a teacher. I do not dress up for life and really loath packing to be "fancy". On Virgin Voyages you can wear whatever you like, every night to every venue. Sure, this is likely true of most cruise lines but on Virgin they mean it, at any dinner you will see cocktail gowns and suits next to shorts and a t-shirt with no one paying a bit of attention. They have a red night that you can be dressy red, funny red, matching red or not red at all. One night they have an event to "be fancy" but again that is up to interpretation and all are welcome.
Lots of amazing onboard activities if you like to stay busy. We joined in on Country Line Dancing, Latin Dance Party, Summer camp crafts, sunrise yoga, comedians and shows. There were trivia shows all over the ship, extensive board games collections, an open and free arcade, casino, multiple locations to lay out and soak in the sun, pools, spas, and don't forget BINGO with the Drag Queen!
When booking Virgin all of this+gratuities are included!
The food is amazing because there is no need to cater to children and all ages. There is also NO BUFFET which makes me ridiculously happy. You go to multiple kiosks and order exactly what you want and it is served up fresh and untouched by other cruisegoers. The pizza parlor on board is great and we returned several times. The ice cream shop has consistent flavors then some changing daily, stop by as often as you'd like. The social club has wings, popcorn, hot pretzels, candy and treats. There are five "sit down" restaurants on board for dinner with several serving breakfast and brunch. You make reservations prior to your trip but they were all 9pm because we booked the trip so late. Once on board (after stopping to eat) we went to the Razzle Dazzle restaurant on the first day to meet with concierge to fit us in to the earlier times that are held back to meet the needs of those with less tech savviness or those of us that were late to booking. We got everything moved to workable times with no issues at all. None of the restaurants are a surcharge.
When you are ready to book your ADULT only cruise to the Caribbean, Europe and Greece let us know and we will take care of all the details! Dillontravels@gmail.com
