Premium cruise line ยท Founded 2014
Virgin Voyages Review: Adults Only, Tips Included
Short answer
Is Virgin Voyages a good cruise line?
Virgin Voyages is an adults-only cruise line where gratuities, WiFi, all restaurants, group fitness and basic drinks are included in the fare. Sailor fares start near $155 per person per night, the ships carry no buffet and no formal nights, and nobody under 18 sails.
Key takeaways
- Nobody under 18 sails, which is enforced at check-in rather than discouraged.
- Gratuities, WiFi, all restaurants, group fitness classes and basic drinks are all included.
- There is no buffet anywhere on the ship; all food is served or made to order.
- Fares start near $155 per person per night, mid-way between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.
- Entertainment is immersive and adult, closer to a festival than a cruise theatre programme.
Overview
Virgin Voyages set out to build a cruise line for people who hate cruises, and to a surprising degree it succeeded. There is no buffet, no formal night, no assigned dining, no children and no queue for a photo with a person in a costume. Gratuities are included in the fare, which removes the single most irritating line item in cruising.
The ships are genuinely good looking. Cabins have hammock-equipped terraces and beds that convert to sofas at the touch of a button, the restaurants are all included and all made to order, and the design language is closer to a boutique hotel than a cruise ship.
The reservations are real: the ships are smaller so sea days can feel repetitive, the pool deck is undersized, and the relentlessly on-brand tone grates on some guests. Our reviewer sailed Resilient Lady in the Mediterranean in June 2026.
Virgin Voyages operates four near-identical ships of about 2,770 guests, all built to the same design. That consistency is unusual and useful: booking any Virgin ship gives you the same product.
The inclusion model is the differentiator. Gratuities, WiFi, all restaurants including the ones other lines would charge $60 for, group fitness classes and basic drinks such as soda, drip coffee and still water are in the fare. Alcohol is extra, sold either by the drink or through a prepaid Bar Tab that comes with a bonus.
The adults-only policy is total. Guests must be 18 or over, verified at check-in, with no exceptions for family groups. This is the line's defining characteristic and the reason most of its guests choose it.
Our Virgin Voyages score
4.3 / 5
Averaged across the six criteria below, each scored independently by our reviewers after sailing the line. It is an editorial judgment, not a user poll.
- Value for money
- 4.5
- Cabins
- 4.4
- Dining
- 4.6
- Entertainment
- 4.4
- Service
- 4.3
- Family friendliness
- 1.0
Judged on fare versus what is included before you spend a cent onboard.
Judged on square footage, storage, bathroom and balcony quality at each grade.
Judged on included restaurant quality, not just the specialty venues.
Judged on range and production quality across a full sea day.
Judged on crew ratio, consistency and how problems get resolved.
Judged on kids clubs, cabin configurations and pool space for children.
The fleet
All four Lady ships are the same class and near-identical in layout, at about 2,770 guests and 110,000 tons. Differences between them are limited to deployment and minor finish variations.
That makes the choice simple: pick the itinerary, not the ship. Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady handle the Caribbean, Resilient Lady covers the Mediterranean and Australia, and Brilliant Lady runs the Northeast and Caribbean.
| Ship | Class | Guests | Launched | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brilliant Lady | Lady | 2,770 | 2025 | Newest ship. Northeast summer season and Caribbean winters from Miami. |
| Resilient Lady | Lady | 2,770 | 2023 | Mediterranean and Greek Isles in summer, Australia and New Zealand in winter. |
| Valiant Lady | Lady | 2,770 | 2022 | Caribbean from Miami and Mediterranean from Barcelona. |
| Scarlet Lady | Lady | 2,770 | 2021 | The original. Caribbean year-round with regular Bimini Beach Club calls. |
What Virgin Voyages costs
Virgin's headline fares sit between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, but the inclusion list means the total is closer to Royal Caribbean's than the fare suggests. Gratuities alone save $126 per person on a seven-night sailing, and WiFi saves another $170.
Alcohol is the main variable. Virgin does not sell an unlimited drinks package. Instead you prepay a Bar Tab, and Virgin adds a bonus, typically 15 to 25 percent, on top. For moderate drinkers this is better value than an unlimited package; for heavy drinkers it is worse.
The Rockstar Quarters suites include a personal agent, priority everything and a stocked bar, and price roughly in line with Norwegian's Haven.
| Item | Typical price | What it covers | Worth it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insider cabin | $155 to $195 per night | Cabin, all restaurants, WiFi, gratuities, fitness classes | Good value once inclusions are counted |
| Sea View cabin | $175 to $210 per night | As above with a window | Marginal |
| Sea Terrace cabin | $200 to $250 per night | As above plus terrace with a hammock | Yes, the hammock is not a gimmick |
| Rockstar Quarters | $480 to $780 per night | Suite, personal agent, stocked bar, priority everything | Comparable to Norwegian's Haven |
| Gratuities | Included | No daily service charge at all | Saves $126 per person per week |
| WiFi | Included | Basic connection throughout the ship | Saves about $170 per person per week |
| All restaurants | Included | Every venue including the ones rivals charge for | Saves $120 to $250 per person per week |
| Bar Tab | $300 buys about $350 to $375 | Prepaid drinks credit with a bonus | Better than an unlimited package for moderate drinkers |
Included in the fare
- Every restaurant onboard, with no upcharge venues at all
- Gratuities, with no daily service charge added to your account
- WiFi throughout the ship
- Group fitness classes, including spin, yoga and boxing
- Basic drinks: soda, drip coffee, tea and still water
Costs extra
- Alcohol and speciality coffee, bought by the drink or through a prepaid Bar Tab
- Spa treatments and the thermal suite
- Shore excursions and the Bimini Beach Club upgrades
- Tattoo and hair studio services, which are genuinely offered onboard
- In-cabin dining beyond the included menu
Pros and cons
What it does well
- Genuinely adults-only, enforced rather than encouraged, which changes the whole ship.
- Gratuities and WiFi included, removing the two most resented cruise line items.
- Every restaurant is included, with no upcharge venues anywhere.
- No buffet means all food is made to order and quality is consistently higher.
- Design quality is the best in the mainstream and premium price bands.
Where it falls short
- No unlimited drinks package, which frustrates heavy drinkers.
- The pool deck is small for the guest count and fills early on sea days.
- Sea days can feel repetitive because the ship is mid-size with limited variety.
- The relentlessly on-brand tone and language wear thin for some guests.
- Limited itinerary choice with only four ships.
Who it suits
Book Virgin Voyages if you are
- Adults who want a guaranteed child-free ship
- Couples in their thirties, forties and fifties
- Travellers who dislike the traditional cruise format
- Solo travellers, who find the social programming works well
- Foodies who want every restaurant included
Look elsewhere if you are
- Families of any kind, since under-18s cannot sail
- Heavy drinkers who want an unlimited package
- Travellers who want a large ship with extensive facilities
- Anyone seeking traditional cruise entertainment such as production musicals
- Guests who want wide itinerary choice
Cabins
Virgin cabins are well designed and use space cleverly. The Sea Terrace category, which is the volume booking, includes a terrace with a hammock, and the hammock is genuinely the best thing about the cabin.
The bed converts to a sofa at the touch of a button, which sounds like a gimmick and turns out to make a 225 square foot cabin usable during the day. Mood lighting, decent storage and a good rain shower complete a cabin that is a clear step above the price band norm.
Rockstar Quarters are the suite tier, with a personal agent rather than a butler, a stocked bar, priority boarding and access to Richard's Rooftop, a private sun deck.
- Sea Terrace cabins include a terrace hammock, which is the standout feature.
- Beds convert to sofas, making daytime cabin use practical.
- Rain showers and good storage across all categories.
- Rockstar Quarters include a personal agent and Richard's Rooftop access.
- No connecting cabins, since families cannot sail.
Dining
There is no buffet on a Virgin ship, which is the single best decision the line made. Instead there are more than twenty eateries, all included, all served or made to order, from a proper Korean barbecue to a Mexican taqueria to a fine dining vegetarian restaurant.
Test Kitchen, the experimental tasting restaurant, and Gunbae, the Korean barbecue where you cook at the table and play drinking games with strangers, are the two that guests talk about afterwards.
The Galley is the casual venue and functions as a food hall with individual counters rather than a buffet line. Quality across the board is a clear step above Royal Caribbean and roughly level with Celebrity.
- No buffet anywhere; everything is served or made to order.
- More than twenty eateries, every one included in the fare.
- Gunbae Korean barbecue is the most sociable meal at sea.
- Test Kitchen runs an experimental tasting menu, included.
- The Galley works as a food hall rather than a buffet line.
Entertainment
Virgin's entertainment is immersive rather than theatrical. Shows happen in the round, in bars, on the pool deck and in a flexible venue called The Manor, and several are participatory. There are no production musicals and no cruise-ship revues.
Duel Reality, a Cirque-style retelling of Romeo and Juliet performed in the round, is the standout and is genuinely good. Scarlet Night is a ship-wide party evening that guests either love or find exhausting.
Late night the ship becomes a club, with resident DJs and a good sound system. If your idea of cruise entertainment is a seated theatre at 8.30pm, recalibrate.
- Immersive, in-the-round shows rather than seated production musicals.
- Duel Reality is the strongest single show in the fleet.
- Scarlet Night is a ship-wide party evening, divisive by design.
- Resident DJs and a proper club atmosphere late at night.
- Group fitness classes are included and unusually well attended.
For kids
Virgin Voyages does not carry children. The minimum age is 18 and it is verified at check-in with no exceptions, including for family groups where an adult is willing to supervise.
There are no youth facilities, no family cabins and no connecting cabins.
For families this is a simple no. For everyone else it is the main reason to book.
- Minimum age 18, verified at check-in, no exceptions.
- No youth facilities, family cabins or connecting cabins.
- The policy is enforced rather than encouraged.
- This is the line's defining characteristic.
- Families should look at Royal Caribbean, MSC or Disney.
For adults
The whole ship is the adult offering, which means Virgin does not need adults-only zones. The pool deck is a proper day club, there is a well-run spa with a thermal suite, and the bars stay busy late.
Richard's Rooftop, the Rockstar suite sun deck, is the quiet counterpoint. Redemption Spa includes a thermal suite with a cold plunge, salt room and mud room, and the day pass is reasonable at about $75.
The social programming is unusually good for solo travellers, with organised events that do not feel forced.
- The entire ship is adults-only, so no zoning is needed.
- Redemption Spa thermal suite day pass at about $75.
- Richard's Rooftop is the quiet suite-only sun deck.
- Late-night club atmosphere with resident DJs.
- Strong social programming for solo travellers.
Terms worth knowing
- Sailor
- Virgin Voyages' term for a passenger. Crew are Crew and the cruise is a Voyage.
- Bar Tab
- A prepaid drinks credit that Virgin tops up with a bonus, typically 15 to 25 percent. Virgin sells no unlimited drinks package.
- Rockstar Quarters
- Virgin's suite tier, including a personal agent, a stocked bar, priority boarding and access to the private Richard's Rooftop sun deck.
- The Galley
- Virgin's casual dining space, organised as a food hall with individual made-to-order counters rather than a buffet line.
| Inclusion | Virgin Voyages | Royal Caribbean | Celebrity | Norwegian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gratuities | Included | $18.00 per day | $18.00 per day | $21.00 per day |
| WiFi | Included | $24 to $34 per day | Bundled or extra | Bundled or extra |
| All restaurants | Included | $25 to $75 extra | $55 to $95 extra | $30 to $75 extra |
| Group fitness | Included | $15 to $25 per class | $15 to $25 per class | $15 to $25 per class |
| Unlimited drinks package | Not offered | $89 to $109 per day | Bundled or extra | $109 to $138 per day |
| Children permitted | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Should you book Virgin Voyages?
Virgin is a strong recommendation for a clearly defined traveller and an obvious no for another. There is little middle ground.
Book Virgin Voyages
Choose it when: You want a guaranteed child-free ship and dislike the traditional cruise format.
Book a Sea Terrace cabin
Choose it when: You are booking Virgin at all. The terrace hammock is genuinely the best thing about the cabin and the premium over an Insider is modest.
Buy a Bar Tab, not a package
Choose it when: You drink moderately. Virgin does not sell an unlimited package, and the Bar Tab bonus of 15 to 25 percent beats paying as you go.
Book Celebrity instead
Choose it when: You want an adult-leaning ship with a proper theatre and more sea-day variety, and do not need children excluded outright.
Book another line
Choose it when: You are travelling with anyone under 18, or you drink heavily enough to want an unlimited package.
Ready to price a Virgin Voyages sailing?
Lead-in fares from $172 per person per night in our latest sampling. Compare live fares, then come back and check our cost guides before adding packages.
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Virgin Voyages questions, answered
Are children allowed on Virgin Voyages?
No. Virgin Voyages is strictly 18 and over, verified at check-in with no exceptions, including for family groups. There are no youth facilities, family cabins or connecting cabins anywhere in the fleet. It is the only major line covered on this site with a hard adults-only policy across all ships.
Are gratuities included on Virgin Voyages?
Yes. Virgin includes gratuities in the fare and adds no daily service charge to your account, which saves roughly $126 per person on a seven-night sailing compared with Royal Caribbean. WiFi, all restaurants and group fitness classes are also included. Alcohol is the main significant extra.
Does Virgin Voyages have a drinks package?
No unlimited package is sold. Instead Virgin sells a prepaid Bar Tab where you buy credit and Virgin adds a bonus, typically 15 to 25 percent, so $300 buys about $350 to $375 of drinks. For moderate drinkers this works out cheaper than an unlimited package elsewhere; for heavy drinkers it does not.
Is there a buffet on Virgin Voyages?
No, and it is deliberate. Virgin replaced the buffet with The Galley, a food hall of individual made-to-order counters, and more than twenty other eateries, all included in the fare. Every dish is served or cooked to order, which noticeably improves quality compared with a traditional cruise buffet.
How much does a Virgin Voyages cruise cost?
A seven-night Caribbean sailing runs about $155 to $195 per person per night in an Insider cabin and $200 to $250 in a Sea Terrace, based on 2026 sampling. Because gratuities, WiFi and all restaurants are included, the total is closer to a Royal Caribbean sailing than the headline fare suggests.
Is Virgin Voyages good for solo travellers?
Yes, unusually so. The social programming is well designed and does not feel forced, the bars encourage mixing, Gunbae seats strangers together at the same barbecue table, and there is no children's noise. Virgin also runs solo cabins on some sailings, though the supplement is less generous than Norwegian's.
About the author
Cruise Pricing Analyst
Daniel Okafor tracks cruise fares for a living. He maintains the price series behind every cost page on this site, sampling lead-in fares across the fifteen lines we cover on a fixed weekly schedule so the numbers we publish are comparable month to month rather than screenshotted once and forgotten.
34 sailings logged across 8 cruise lines.
This page was fact-checked by Priya Raman, family and accessibility reviewer, on . Prices and policies are re-checked against cruise line sources at least every 90 days. Read our editorial policy.