As an adult-only cruise line, you might be wondering if Virgin Voyages is good for young adults. Since Virgin Voyages was founded in 2019, the new cruise line has built a reputation for being fun, having great food, and being a very different cruise experience!
Cruises are a great vacation for young people. However, it’s important to choose the right cruise line for you.
As a guy in my mid-twenties who just took my first Virgin cruise, I know first hand if Virgin Voyages if the best cruise line for young adults.
With that being said, here are the pros & cons of cruising with Virgin Voyages as someone in your twenties and thirties.
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10 Reasons Why Virgin Voyages is the Best Cruise Line For Young Adults
1. Cruise Ship Aesthetic
When it comes to the decor onboard Virgin Voyages cruise ships, it seems like it was designed for younger people. The decor, design and furniture in public areas is trendy and modern.
Virgin cruise ships have a very nice aesthetic that many young adults would appreciate. When Virgin Voyages was designing its ships, they wanted to create a super-yacht aesthetic, and they succeeded.
Virgin’s cruise ships have a beautiful and modern design. Restaurants and lounges are each decorated in a unique and fun way. The main pool area has bed style loungers for extra comfortable seating.
The cruise ship cabins are different on Virgin than most other cruise lines. For example, Virgin’s Sea Terraces (balcony cabins) have a red hammock hanging on the balcony, which is definitely pretty cool.
Walking around a Virgin cruise, every section of the ship feels picture-perfect for Instagram.
2. Best Night Life At Sea
If you’re a young person who loves to party, you’ll probably love a Virgin cruise. Since Virgin Voyages is an adult-only cruise line, it really does have the best nightlife at sea.
The Manor, a two storey nightclub on Virgin Voyages, has a amazing live DJ and occasional performances by crew members. It can definitely get wild!
The party can go on until 2:00 or 3:00 am, and the club will be busy until closing. After the club closes, everyone goes to The Galley for 24/7 breakfast at Diner & Dash.
Throughout your cruise, there are different themed parties at the club. The first night is pyjama night, so make sure to pack and prepare for this. There’s also a dress-to-impress night and Scarlet Night, where everyone wears something red.
Scarlet Night is a pretty big deal on Virgin Voyages. The cruise ship’s lights turn red, including the cabin hallways. There are pop up performances and photo booths in the early evening.
Then, around 10 pm, everyone is encouraged to come party on the pool deck with the dancers. This party gets crazy, and many people jump in the pool with their clothes on. The party then continues late into the night in the Manor nightclub.
If you like to party and have fun, you will love the Virgin Voyages’ nightlife.
3. Unconventional Entertainment
Before cruising with Virgin Voyages, I heard it was quite different since it is an adult-only cruise line. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I would like it. Even though the entertainment was super unconventional, I was pleasantly surprised.
Compared to other cruise lines, which often have Broadway-style musicals, comedians, and magicians, Virgin Voyages was very different.
We saw several shows including Duel Reality, Untitled Danceshow Partything, It’s a Ship Show, and Miss Behave Game Show. All of Virgin’s shows incorporated audience participation, keeping every passenger engaged.
Another thing that I appreciated about the entertainment is that it was suited for an adult audience. This means there was edgy humor, occasional swearing, and some innuendo.
Every show I saw on Virgin Voyages was funny, entertaining, and, most of all, different.
As someone who has cruised for years, I felt the entertainment was always the same. Experiencing the entertainment on Virgin was a breath of fresh air and an enjoyable experience that many young adults will like.
4. Fun Activities
Since Virgin is an adult-only cruise line, the activities differ from those of traditional cruise lines. Typically, the activities on a cruise are family-friendly, but that’s not the case with Virgin.
On Virgin Voyages, there is the “Grog Walk,” which is a pub crawl around the ship. This activity is super fun and a great way to meet other passengers onboard.
There’s also a tattoo parlor (Squid Ink) onboard. Many passengers get matching tattoos with their friends or loved ones while they’re on a Virgin Cruise.
Another activity that people love is Karaoke. The cool thing about Virgin is that you can get private Karaoke rooms, in The Groupie, with your friends, which is a blast!
Virgin Voyages has some focus on wellness, so you’ll find interesting physical activities as well. In the basketball court area, there’s dodgeball and pickleball. There are also outdoor gyms, a yoga studio, group cycling, dance, and art & crafts classes.
5. Lounge Style Seating
One thing you’ll find on Virgin Voyages ships is a lot of lounge-style seating. This means several beds, lounge chairs, and long chairs are located around the ship.
This is great for couples or those who enjoy laying out on a sun bed during a day at sea. Even friends who enjoy lounging comfortably while playing board games, have oversized couches to hang out on at the Social Club.
In the balcony cabins (Sea Terraces), there are hammocks on the balconies, which are super comfortable. Virgin is the only cruise line with hammocks on their balconies, and they are amazing!
6. Amazing Food and Dining
When it comes to food on a mainstream cruise line, it does not get better than Virgin. Virgin Voyages raised the bar for dining options, menu items, and food quality. This is especially impressive, since all restaurants are include on Virgin’s cruise ships.
As a young adult, I felt as if the food options were specifically designed for Millennials and Gen Zers.
The Galley
Instead of an all-you-can-eat buffet, Virgin Voyages has The Galley. In The Galley, there are different fresh food options that you can order to your table.
A few options include Diner & Dash, which serves breakfast 24/7, and Burger Bar, which has pancakes and french toast in the morning and burgers in the afternoon.
Other options include Noodle Around, which has ramen and miso soup, Let’s Taco Bout It, which serves breakfast burritos and tacos. There’s a lot to choose from, and the best part is that the food is made fresh.
Casual Dining
The casual restaurants are great on Virgin.
You’ll find The Dock House in the aft, or back of the cruise ship. There are light bites of Mediterranean food and it’s a great place to enjoy a drink.
The Social Club is a bar-style venue that serves hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn, and other snacks. This is a great area to play free arcade games, foosball, shuffleboard, or watch a sports game.
The Sun Club Café is one of my favorites and is located towards the top of the ship on deck 16, next to Richard’s Rooftop. The Sun Club Café offers Poke Bowls, Bao Buns, and sweet popcorn.
The Pizza Place serves delicious pizza that can be taken to-go or eaten on site.
There If you like ice cream, it’s great on Virgin. Lick Me Till Ice Cream! is an included ice cream shop next to The Pizza Place.
One of my favorite things about cruising with Virgin is their takeout boxes for casual food. At Bento Baby in The Galley, you can get takeout boxes of sushi and fruit platters. However around the cruise ship, you’ll find places that have takeout boxes of charcuterie, salads, nuts and other snacks.
This is great as you can take food back to your cabin or even to another area on the cruise ship.
Main Dining
The main dining options of Virgin Voyages are phenomenal. Instead of a main dining room, Virgin has multiple restaurants located around the cruise ship.
Every restaurant on Virgin has the feeling of a specialty restaurant. The service, menu, and food quality are on a whole different level from other several other cruise lines.
A few restaurants onboard Virgin’s Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady, Resilient Lady and Brilliant Lady include:
- Pink Agave – Mexican food
- Extra Virgin – Italian food
- Razzle Dazzle – Vegan (or vegetable forward. You can actually get some meat dishes here).
- Test Kitchen – Experimental tasting menu
- The Wake – steakhouse and seafood restaurant
- Gumbae – Korean BBQ
Two of my favorites were The Wake and Gumbae.
The Wake, the steak and seafood restaurant is located at the back of the ship and has a stunning view of the ship’s wake. The food rivals the extra charge steakhouses on other cruise lines.
Gumbae, the a Korean BBQ restaurant, was so much fun. You sit with other cruise passengers and play drinking games while the waiter cooks your food in the middle of the table.
7. Passenger Demographic
As a young adult, one of my favorite parts about cruising with Virgin is the passenger demographic. Of course, there are no kids on board, but plenty of cruisers are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.
While you don’t have to be “young” to have fun, it does seem like Virgin is attracting Millennials, as well as some Gen Z and even Gen X.
Some other cruise lines may have few kids onboard or are adult-only, like Viking. However, they are more traditional and tend to attract an older demographic.
While Virgin Voyages has older passengers as well, in my experience these passengers are “young at heart” and are there to have a good time.
Many passengers onboard Virgin like to party, have fun, and enjoy their cruise vacation.
8. Friendly Crew
Many cruise lines have friendly crew members. However, the crew onboard Virgin had a different vibe. They were friendly and seemed much happier than crew members on other cruise lines.
From what I hear, the crew are pretty well treated on Virgin Voyages and feel free to be themselves. As an example, you’ll see Virgin crew members with visible tattoos. On some cruise lines the staff would have to cover their tattoos.
The crew members seemed to enjoy working on the ship and being around each other. They always did their best to be helpful, and they were super friendly to talk to.
9. No Dress Code
Many mainstream cruise lines have some form of dress codes in their dining rooms, including dressy or formal nights. However, Virgin doesn’t enforce a dress code, so you can feel comfortable wearing what you want on a Virgin cruise.
These days, many young people don’t want to be told how to dress when they’re on vacation. On Virgin it’s ok ton dress how you feel good and comfortable, which is a major plus.
The only time you’ll be asked to wear anything is on Scarlet Night, when wearing red is suggested. This is optional, but it is fun when everyone wears red.
10. Environmentally Friendly
Something that many young adults find important is supporting companies that care about the environment. Virgin makes an effort to be environmentally friendly by eliminating single-use plastics, protecting marine life, and having a fuel-efficient and smart ship design.
Bonus: Virgin Beach Club at Bimini
If you book a Caribbean cruise on a Virgin cruise, you might be lucky enough to go to Bimini, Bahamas. Bimini is one of the nicest ports in the Caribbean, and going to Virgin’s private beach club is an absolute blast.
You will love Virgin’s Bimini Beach Club as a young adult. It has two resort-style pools, beach volleyball, access to the stunning beach, and a delicious lunch included.
You can also connect to the wifi and buy drinks through your Virgin account, so you won’t have to bring cash on the island. There is also free transportation by tram from your cruise ship to the beach club.
Virgin’s Bimini Beach Club is a giant party filled with drinking, dancing, and having fun! If you’re a young adult who loves to party, you will have so much fun in Bimini.
What You May Not Like About a Virgin Voyages Cruise
Small Pool Areas
Although I really enjoyed my cruise on Virgin Valiant lady, one thing I didn’t like as much were the outdoor pools.
Something to know if you don plan a Virgin cruise, is to expect small pool areas. Considering there are over 2,700 passengers onboard a Virgin cruise, this just isn’t the best ship design.
During my Caribbean cruise, the pool areas were jam-packed with other passengers, even on port days. In my opinion, this is the biggest flaw of on Virgin Voyages cruises.
The pools on Virgin Voyages are just too small for someone to swim or even relax in the pool.
Even though the pool areas were small, I found a good amount of hot tubs around the ship. So if you like hot tubs, you will be happy!
Fitness Classes Fill Up Quickly
One cool thing about cruising with Virgin is that they offer free group fitness classes. The downside to these free fitness classes is that they fill up extremely quickly.
When I cruised with Virgin, all of the fitness classes were fully booked on the Virgin Voyages sailor app within the first few minutes of boarding the cruise. Unfortunately, I never got to participate in a class since they filled up so quickly.
There us an option to show up at a class, as you can participate if other passengers don’t show up. However, I never wanted to wear my gym clothes for a fitness class just to be told I couldn’t participate.
Cruise Ship Design
Virgin Voyages is all about being different from a traditional cruise line, which can be both good and bad. There are some great design aspects of the cruise ship. However, there are many design aspects that I did not enjoy.
As someone who has cruised with several different cruise lines, this ship design was totally different. Although, it wasn’t always very practical.
For example, the bathrooms were often very small and hard to find. Virgin doesn’t make their bathrooms super obvious, and sometimes they have single bathrooms, resulting in long lines for the bathroom.
Another design area for improvement is that there are many small spaces around the cruise ship. Nowadays, most cruises have more open spaces, but that is not the case with Virgin. This can result in areas getting overcrowded and feeling small.
The final design flaw that I noticed was the gym. Since Virgin focuses many of its activities around fitness, health, and wellness, I was surprised with the gym layout on Virgin. The gym was relatively small, and the cardio machines and weights were in two separate gyms.
In the future, it’s always possible that the ship design may change on Virgin Voyages. However, the Valiant Lady, Scarlet Lady, Brilliant Lady, and Resilient Lady will all share these design features.
More Expensive than Other Cruise Lines
On average, Virgin Voyages is more expensive than other cruise lines that may attract young adults. Virgin Voyages is generally a pricier cruise vacation in comparison to Carnival, Norwegian, or Royal Caribbean cruise.
Virgin Voyages may not be for you if you’re on a tight budget.
However, it’s important to know what’s included on a Virgin Cruise. On Virgin Voyages your WiFi, specialty dining, and gratuities are all included in the price. Soft drinks, basic coffee and tea are also included on Virgin, as well as group fitness classes.
Most popular cruise lines don’t include these things, which means that you’ll usually have extra costs to budget for once you’re on your cruise.
Virgin Voyages is closest to the feeling of an all-inclusive cruise vacation, which I do think many young adults really like.
No Drink Package
One thing Virgin does not have, which is available on most cruise lines, is a drink package. If you like to drink alcohol or specialty coffees, then you may not like the fact that Virgin Voyages doesn’t have a drink package.
Instead of a drink package, Virgin has a Bar Tab, that can be shared with others including those in your cabin as well as new friends.
At the time we sailed, when you purchased a $300 Bar Tab online before the cruise, Virgin added an extra $50 value ($300 for $350 value). Virgin Voyages occasionally has booking promotions that offer a $100 to $300 bar tab as a bonus.
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Final Thoughts on Why Virgin Voyages is The Best Cruise Line For Young Adults
Well, there it is, the reasons why Virgin Voyages is the best cruise line for young adults!
Virgin Voyages is the best cruise line for those who like to party, enjoy a modern cruise ship, and love to eat good food! Although there are some drawbacks, the good certainly outweighs the bad on Virgin Voyages.
In this post, I shared the 10 reasons Virgin Voyages is the best cruise line for young adults. I also shared the 5 drawbacks of cruising with Virgin.
Have you cruised with Virgin or are you considering it? Please let me know in the comments below.
Happy Cruising!
Ethan
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Author Bio: Ethan Schattauer writes about fashion, travel and college advice on the website WhatToWearMen.com. As a frequent cruiser, Ethan shares his unique perspective on what cruising is like for teens and young adults.