Virgin Voyages Fact versus Fiction

Virgin Voyages Review: Separating Sailor Myths from Maritime Reality

18 or younger? Boarding denied on this cruise line. Virgin Voyages made waves being an adults only cruise line. Even travel agents were slightly mystified about the new concept and offerings that were being advertised prior to the cruise line taking to the seas. Poised for sailing in 2020 (and we all know how that year went down), their first ‘Lady Ship’ took to the seas in 2021 instead. Since then, Virgin Voyages has met with mixed reviews. I’m here to demystify this cruise line with my Virgin Voyages review fact versus fiction.

Fact vs Fiction: The food is amazing.

Fact. “Amazing” is subjective, but there were very few dishes that I left the table saying it wasn’t amazing. All 20 specialty eateries on board are included in your cruise fare, with a few things here and there that are upcharges. One thing they have right is the Galley. Instead of a buffet, there are stations where you can pick up exactly what you’d like to eat. It’s available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are tons of options too, so you’re not going to run out of things to try. To be honest, you’re going to struggle to get away from your favorites.

Virgin Voyages is also the first to have a Korean BBQ restaurant at sea. The server is there to help you cook your picks. It’s all you can eat too– plus a few appetizers to tease the palette for the star of the show. I personally loved the kimchi rice just as much as the meat cooked on the open flame in front of me on the cruise ship.

In addition to a Korean BBQ restaurant, you have your staples like Italian, Mexican, and the steak house. There are some more inventive options to choose from too like their Test Kitchen restaurant, Razzle Dazzle, which is a vegan restaurant first and foremost (ask for the naughty menu for meat based dishes), and a dinner show.

They do an AWESOME job with allergies and special diet needs as well. I was never without something to eat, which is more than I can say about other cruise lines.

Fact vs Fiction: You will see naked people.

Fiction. There were not naked people everywhere. Sorry to burst any preconceived notion you had about a nudist cruise, but this isn’t it. In fact, I saw ZERO naked people.

Fact vs Fiction: It’s a s-x party at sea.

Fiction. Yes, there are parties. No, they are not s-x parties. Going back to the naked people thing, it’s just not happening. It is an adults-only cruise line, but I didn’t see anything that I didn’t see on any other major cruise line. FYI, things happen on those major cruise lines too.

Fact vs Fiction: The stateroom bathroom is horrible.

Subjective. For me, I liked having the normal size toilet seat and the larger shower with an actual door. It does make things tight in the loo though. You’re not looking to have two people in there at one time anyway. It is a cruise ship bathroom. Similar to food, this is about what you make it. Go in prepared for a larger toilet and shower (for …ahem… adults since that’s all that’s sailing on this ship) and you won’t be disappointed. How much space do you need in there anyway? Are you just hanging out? Sleeping?

Fact vs Fiction: There is no tipping.

Fact. The normal cruise gratuities that are typically additional to the fare (but not optional to pay) are included in the total automatically with Virgin Voyages. Each time we ordered a drink, all we did was tap our bands. There was never a receipt offered up to add additional tip. There weren’t slips delivered to the room on the last night with envelopes for extra. There wasn’t even a tip jar sitting near entertainment. All the tips have been paid before you get on board. You don’t need to spend a penny more!

Fact vs Fiction: You have to play along with entertainment.

Fiction. No more than you might get involved with a show on any other major cruise line! You may find yourself enjoying it, but you don’t have to get on stage or be involved. Most cruisers know that if you go to the comedian’s show and sit in the front row, you might get picked on, or if you go to a game show style activity, they’ll ask for volunteers or participants. It’s the same way on a Virgin Voyage. It’s very easy to remove yourself from the situation if you don’t want to participate or find a wall to watch whatever entertainment floats your boat.

Fact vs Fiction: All the cruises are long.

Fiction. Virgin Voyages does not have a fleet of 30 ships. They may not ever break the double digits in numbers of ships. That doesn’t mean you can’t find a getaway cruise to see if my theories are fact. Their cruises range as short as a long weekend 4-night that’s offered all the time from their homeport of Miami that calls on Bimini and Key West or something longer like a 16-night exotic sailing that transits the panama canal.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide the verdict on Virgin Voyages. Set sail with me on a group date or we can pick the ship and sail date that’s best for you and receive $100 on board credit. Let’s make ship happen together.