Virgin Voyages says they’ve revolutionized cruising. Have they?

The Virgin Voyages cruise line was formally launched in 2021, founded by Virgin mogul Richard Branson. Since then, the company has made quite a splash—pun intended. Michael and I have heard all about how they’ve supposedly “revolutionized” cruising and how they’re just plain fun.

So last month, we booked two back-to-back week-long Mediterranean cruises on the Scarlet Lady, one of the company’s three — soon to be four — almost identical boats.

Here are some of Virgin’s most obvious changes from other, more established cruise lines:

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• The passengers are surprisingly diverse. We saw all ages, but the crowd skewed younger than on most cruise ships. There were many different races and lots of LGBTQ+ folks. Virgin is drawing a markedly different crowd than other cruise lines, which tend to be full of old, white Republicans.
• The ships are adults-only, and the vibe is “hip and edgy” — but not pretentious, in-your-face, or off-putting. There is a strong emphasis on “inclusion,” but in the happiest, most broadly defined way possible. Some of the shows have off-color jokes, but you mostly have to seek this out.
• The prices are all-inclusive — mostly. Your fare includes all service charges and gratuities (there’s no tipping, even in the spa). It also includes basic wi-fi, fitness classes, access to all restaurants, and juices and sodas (but not pressed juices, specialty coffees, or alcohol, although everything is reasonably priced; there are no “drink packages,” but you can start a non-refundable “bar tab,” which will also give you a credit of 10% or more). You can also “treat yourself” with upgraded food options at all the restaurants, and you can pay for faster wifi-fi. Spa services and shore excursions — called “Shore Things” — also cost extra.
• There are no grand dining rooms, no “early” or “late” seating, or suggested dress codes. Instead, you eat at any restaurant you want, giving passengers almost endless dining options.
• Because they serve a younger demographic, Virgin Voyages claims to be taking “a commitment to sustainability and the environment” more seriously than other cruise lines — but this is probably just your typical “greenwashing.”
• The crew on our boat was friendly, upbeat, and extremely professional, and it all seemed fairly genuine.
• They’re taking chances with the onboard entertainment, which mostly pays off. There’s also a lot of it.
• There are quirky little touches all over the boat. Some are a bit silly like the “front desk” is a line of crew members sitting with laptops at tables that look like big strawberries. But there are also some genuinely passenger-friendly little quirks:
  • They do long port stays and sometimes even overnight ones.
  • On the day of your disembarkation, you can stay on the ship as late as 10:30 a.m.
  • No laundromats are on board, but the ship will do your laundry: everything you can stuff in a massive bag for a very reasonable $30.

Here’s the bottom line: Virgin cruises really are different, and the whole experience is a cut above most mainstream cruise lines — Royal Caribbean, say, or Princess.

But even if they’re more all-inclusive, they’re also more expensive. What about value? Is a Virgin Voyage worth the extra cost?

I’ll have an answer to that at the end of this article.

In the meantime, the devil is always in the details, so let’s break down the individual elements of a Virgin cruise, shall we?

The ship design is bold — but the exterior wasn’t our cup of tea.

Virgin boats were bigger than I expected: around 2700 passengers. In other words, this is still a mass-market product. It’s not a full-on “luxury” cruise but upper-end.

The exterior is industrial chic, but honestly, we both found it a bit garish and cold.

The interior is more understated, and I liked that a lot more, especially the cool mood lighting in the elevators and hallways.

Also, the gym is massive and amazing.

Overall, Virgin seems to value form more than function: the washrooms had cool sinks, but the awkward faucets made it hard to wash your hands, and the soap dispensers often didn’t work.

We were both confused by the overall theme of the ship. One on hand, they emphatically refer to passengers as “sailors,” which is a very “cruise ship” thing to do. And there are little nautical touches here and there: an anchor on your wristband and a toy octopus and sextant wine-opener in every room.

But on the other hand, the Scarlet Lady is very defiantly not a typical cruise ship, and it usually seems like they’re trying hard to make you forget you’re even on a ship.

I also think it’s strange that all four Virgin boats are the same (or almost the same). Part of the joy of sailing on different boats on the same line is discovering the differences.

Expert tip #1: Don’t arrive before your designated boarding time — they don’t let you board early (unless you have a spendy Rock-Star Suite).

Expert tip #2: Explore the ship. There are fun little touches everywhere — a (free) video arcade in the back of the Social Club, for example.

Expert tip #3: A crew member told us Caribbean cruises are much fuller than Mediterranean ones, so if you prefer a less crowded boat, consider Europe. But the word is, the parties are more raucous in the Caribbean.

Our “standard” room was disappointing, and the better rooms are really expensive.

I’m all for rethinking and reimagining things, I swear. But I’m not sure the traditional cruise ship cabin needed much reimagining. Of all the possible changes, making rooms smaller seems like the worst choice.

Of course, bigger rooms are available. They’re called Rock-Star Suites, and they’re reportedly absolutely fantastic. Some have hot tubs on their decks, and all have access to Richard’s Rooftop, a private sun area.

But they’re really expensive.

As for the standard rooms, well, almost every one has a balcony, which is good—there are only a handful of “interior” rooms on the whole boat. Most of these balconies have one of Virgin’s celebrated hammocks—hand-woven by an indigenous tribe, we’re told—and they’re pretty cool.

But we hated almost everything else about the “standard” rooms:

• The bathroom is small and oddly positioned, with no shelving and very little counter space.
• The main room has almost no storage space, and the “closet” has no doors, just a flimsy curtain.
• The bed is small-ish and mediocre. You can have your cabin stewards turn it into a sofa every morning, which you should do; otherwise, the bed will overwhelm the room. But the couch wasn’t particularly plush or comfortable either, and we felt guilty making our cabin crew do all this extra work.
• The walls are unusually thin for a cruise ship, and it was easy to hear other passengers.

I did enjoy the room’s fancy mood lighting, but everything is controlled by a touchpad, which always seemed to be on the other side of the room. Honestly, I wanted more good, old-fashioned light switches.

For us, the disappointing room was the single worst part of the cruise.

Expert Tip #4: Avoid decks 8 and 14, which are closer to the common areas and are even louder than the other cabins.

Expert tip #5: If you book a cheaper cabin and the boat doesn’t fill up, you’ll be allowed to “bid” on an upgraded room. This can lower the cost of the pricier rooms a bit.

Expert Tip #6: You can’t stream movies on the free basic wi-fi, but we found it perfectly fine for everything else, if a bit slow — there’s no need to pay for the upgrade.

The food choices on board are endless (but the quality is hit-and-miss).

Each Virgin ships has six major specialty restaurants:

• The Wake: steak and seafood.
• The Test Kitchen: “experimental” with unusual dishes.
• Extra Virgin: classic Italian.
• Pink Agave: upscale Mexican.
• Razzle Dazzle: trendy fusion.
• Gunbae: Korean barbecue.

We both loved Extra Virgin, liked Pink Agave a lot, and didn’t care for Razzle Dazzle at all. I was also fairly disappointed by the Wake — which had mediocre sides and almost no seafood, given it’s a “steak and seafood house.”

Meanwhile, Gunbae and the Test Kitchen are notable because they’re dining “experiences.” Michael and I loved Gunbae, which requires sitting with other passengers and includes a silly drinking game. I appreciated what they are trying to do with the Test Kitchen, even if I found some of the individual dishes awful.

But this is all just us — your mileage may vary. The whole point of the different restaurants is that you get the fun of trying them all.

My biggest complaint is that the food is too rich—often fried and covered in heavy sauces. Ironically, for such a progressive boat, the vegetarian options were limited and sometimes subpar. By the fourth day, I desperately needed a simple bowl of brown rice and steamed broccoli.

On the other hand, Michael was very pleased with how they dealt with his lactose intolerance. Any time you order anything, they ask about food allergies. More importantly, they have genuine choices — for him and anyone with any intolerance.

In addition to the specialty restaurants, the ships have many other dining options, including a pizza place, a bar called the Dock House with great appetizers, a nightclub with bar food, a poke bowl place, and a gelato bar. And even though Virgin has claimed not to do the cruise ship “buffet” thing, they also have a large dining area called The Galley, which includes, yes, a buffet and other sections serving sushi, tacos, ramen, and sandwiches.

The Social Club offers hot dogs, soft pretzels, popcorn, and candy, and certain decks during the sail-off offer free champagne.

Expert Tip #7: The specialty restaurants require reservations, and slots fill up quickly. Unless you’re staying in a Rock-Star Suite (which gives you better access to all the restaurants), you must be strategic. They open reservations 45 days before your sailing, but don’t send an email announcing that until mid-day. So, set a Google alert for the day before and log on first thing in the morning. (If you don’t make it in time, you’ll have another opportunity to make reservations once you get on the boat. But get an early boarding and do it right away.)

Expert Tip #8: Don’t forget that some specialty restaurants are also open for breakfast and lunch, and reservations fill up especially fast on sea days.

Expert Tip #9: Some restaurants have “secret menus,” which you must Google to find.

The entertainment was impressive, and “Scarlet Night” is incredible.

Cruise ship entertainment has a reputation for being very hokey and/or cringe, but the truth is, it’s dramatically improved in recent years, even on more traditional cruise lines.

Virgin is still a cut above.

They have a mainstage and currently feature one “traditional” show called Ships in the Night, a mashup of pop songs. But no ordinary cruise ship show is going to feature a male singer in high heels and fishnet stockings—much less one flying above the crowd on a swing.

The other current regular shows, Duel Reality and Untitled DanceShowPartyThing, are even more unconventional, and they both include audience participation. Michael especially liked Untitled DanceShowPartyThing, and he attended it twice.

Virgin ships also include a two-story high-tech nightclub called the Manor in the ship’s center. This is where comedians and the ship’s resident drag queen tend to perform.

The ships also include various parties and theme nights, but the premier evening event is an all-boat party called Scarlet Night. This culminates in a dazzling dance show and late-night party around and in the pool.

It was amazing. If our room was the biggest disappointment of the cruise, Scarlet Night was the most unexpected surprise. And that’s even after hearing all the hype!

Expert Tip #10: Earlier shows tend to be less crowded than the later ones, and the upper level of the Manor is less crowded than the lower one. But if you’re looking for a wilder time, go later and sit closer to the stage.

Expert Tip #11: For Scarlet Night, you’re encouraged to dress in red, and people go all out. The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Also, get to the pool deck early as it fills up.

So…is it worth it?

I shopped long and hard for our back-to-back Virgin cruises and ultimately found a very good price — even cheaper than cruises we’ve taken on more mid-range mainstream lines.

At that price, it was an amazing value. And overall, we definitely enjoyed the experience.

But would we pay more for a Virgin Cruise than a traditional cruise line? That’s a more difficult question to answer.

Yes, I’d pay a premium of 20-30%. But not much more than that. There were too many disappointments, the most frustrating of which was the room itself.

The other clear takeaway? Michael and I enjoy long-term living on cruise ships — sailings of a month or more. But I wouldn’t do that on a Virgin cruise. In the end, these are party boats, and people come on them to party — to cut loose and let it all hang out. That’s why the food tends to be so rich: folks are on decadent vacations.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of this, of course, but you can only live that way for so long. After two weeks, I was ready to move on—which is very unlike the sleepier boats, where Michael always has to drag me off.

We liked our back-to-back Virgin Voyage cruises a lot and will definitely do this line again one day, at least if the price is right.

But not anytime soon.

Brent Hartinger and Michael Jensen are a gay “digital nomad” couple — two men who travel the world continuously, living in different countries for anywhere from one to three months at a time. Subscribe to their newsletter at BrentAndMichaelAreGoingPlaces.com.