When Virgin Voyages launched in 2020, and then re-launched in 2021, it redefined the experience of ocean cruising. From its wide variety of inclusions — in terms of restaurants, experiences, and onboard diversity — to why-didn’t-they-think-of-it-before luxuries like a hammock on every balcony, Virgin’s decision to cut a different jib really differentiates them in an increasingly crowded market.
My six-night trip across the Bay of Biscay to A Coruña, Bilbao and Bordeaux from Portsmouth, paid via 170,000 of my Virgin Atlantic/Virgin Red points was incredibly thought-provoking from an experience design point of view.
The experience is different right from the beginning: the pricing as you’re choosing your cruise. A key part of the Virgin Voyages philosophy is inclusion, including in terms of not feeling nickeled-and-dimed by paying separately for everything from gratuities to water, wifi and soft drinks, fitness classes and specialty dining restaurants.
Most cabins on board are, like this, the Sea Terrace with balcony. Image: John Walton
Virgin has six large restaurants (Korean, Italian, Mexican, American steakhouse, plant-forward, and molecular gastronomy) and more than a dozen more options scattered around the ship, including The Galley, a food hall-style replacement for the usual cruise ship buffet, with options such as ramen and patisserie to a choose-your-own-adventure salad bar.
The food on board is truly brilliant — here, a selection of the hot skewers outside on The Dock. Image: John Walton
Soft drinks and water are also included throughout. Espresso-based coffees, kombuchas and alcoholic beverages are extra, with your average cocktail hovering around $11. Room service comes with a $5 delivery charge, waived if you buy a chargeable drink like a morning latte or evening beer.
Unusually for a cruise line, Virgin doesn’t offer an all-inclusive booze package, which I genuinely think is a smart move, promoting more mindful alcohol indulgence rather than the all-inclusive mentality of “well, I paid for it, I’m gonna drink it!” Instead, pre-purchase credit and get a bonus: $100 for $500 of credit, for example, while there are also a few free-flowing events like the sparkling wine at the sailaway party on the top deck.
That philosophy is perhaps one of the reasons why the cocktails on board are so good, and so varied, with each bar having their own signatures.
The K-Pop Disco Water cocktail is a highlight of the onboard Korean BBQ joint, Gunbae… but so’s the chicken. Image: John Walton
The Dock outside area, low on the ship’s stern, offers a mediterranean gin and tonic with a speared piece of feta, which is astoundingly good, while the Sip lounge features a range of Champagnes and other wines, and Mexican restaurant Pink Agave offers both refreshing aguafrescas (spiked or not) and a massive wall of tequilas and mezcals.
Spaces on board are unique, like the elegant Sip Lounge. Image: John Walton
The minute you step on board, the redefinition of cruising continues with the cruise director — there isn’t one. Instead, you’re welcomed onboard at the gangway by several members of the 12-person Happenings Cast, who replace the cruise director role. Each has a name and either a specific role or a generalist one, and on this cruise they included Milly The Hostess (a caberet-lounge singer), Gila Moonstar The Diva (the resident drag queen), and Chris The Charmer (the onboard magician), plus five generalist dancers and party people including Hope The Bounce and Andrei The Hype.
Intimate, small-scale entertainment is part of the programme, including with caberet performances from the resident drag queen and, here, Milly The Hostess. Image: John Walton
Wifi is, unusually for cruises, included as well. SES-provided onboard Internet is complimentary for the basic package (which is fine for emails and light socials, with streaming largely blocked), while premium, streaming-level wifi for the six-night trip was US$125 and genuinely impressive, whether for FaceTime or 4K YouTube.
Relaxing in the hammock might be one of my favourite things about Virgin Voyages. Image: John Walton
Standard cabins are cruise-line compact but compare very well: much like Virgin Atlantic’s seats these days are similar to other airlines’ with a bit of extra glam, so is the cabin hard product on Virgin Voyages, with the exception of the brilliant ethically sourced hammocks on the balconies — although the plan to have the housekeeping crew swivel beds from an L-shaped sofa (also the configuration in twin mode) to their large double bed layout every day has largely fallen by the wayside.
The bed notionally transforms from a double into two twins in an L-shape, and the L-shape that swings over the black platform here also doubles as a sofa — although this is now on request to your cabin crew. Image: John Walton
Virgin Voyages’ entertainment, too, is a redefinition, with the line working with circus specialists and show producers to create really thought-provoking experiences that are often immersive. It’s all for grownups, too, with no under-18s on board. Almost all is included with your fare, but Another Rose, for example, is a kind of theatre in the half-round with dinner and drinks ($50, which includes free-flowing rosé bubbles and several cocktails), driven by four incredible singers and with a story that’s kind of a queer ménage-à-trois Romeo-Juliet-Romeo.
Immersive, in-the-round performances are a signature part of the Virgin Voyages experience. Image: John Walton
Where other cruise lines might have a formal night or white night, Virgin goes full red with Scarlet Night, an evening of micro- and macro-sized pop-up and discovery-based experiences around the ship that mean you can have a different night every time at your own pace.
Watch the dancers, pop into the improv Mad Libs wedding, or the group charades, or be spirited away by one of the Happenings Cast to a tiny party, then visit The Hostess in her cabaret persona as the Octopus Goddess of Scarlet Night. It all culminates in a poolside dance party that usually involves dozens of people jumping into the pool as the music and the dance teams swirl around them.
Entertainment also includes options like the wacky enthusiasm of the interactive Miss Behave Show. Image: John Walton
But perhaps the part of the experience that I appreciated the most was how proudly affirming Virgin is of both passengers and crew of all nationalities, backgrounds and identities. It’s rare that I feel as safe as a queer person as I do on Virgin’s ships, with many of the Happenings Cast and onboard crew identifying within the LGBTQ+ community as well.
A criticism from cruise habitué-es has been the small size of the main pool — this is a space for sunning rather than for swimming, really. Image: John Walton
Virgin got an early reputation as a party cruise, but passengers of a variety of ages (18 to 80+ on each cruise I went on), sizes, physical abilities and disabilities, national origins, skin colours, backgrounds, sexualities and gender identities are welcome.
So too are tattoos on the crew — who are as diverse as the passengers, and who are encouraged to celebrate their whole selves at work.
That diversity helps Virgin to create the kind of environment that I’ve fallen in love with for a vacation: relaxed, friendly, and welcoming, yet with options to be as energetic as you like at a VHS-inspired 1980s workout or a bungee exercise class, or adventure excursions in port.
I wouldn’t hesitate to book on Virgin Voyages again — in fact, I already have one in the diary for 2025.
80s night Club Rubiks features the eponymous cube as a dancer. Image: John Walton
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- When a cruise line designs an airline
- Press Release: Virgin Voyages powers Internet with SES MEO-LEO service
Featured image credited to John Walton
