Virgin Voyages

On any vacation, you are bound to experience things that you loved and things that you wish you could have changed, and cruises are no exception. Sailing on a new-to-me cruise line is exciting, as I get to experience everything with fresh eyes, and I don’t always know what to expect.

I recently returned from a 4-night cruise to Key West and Bimini onboard Virgin Voyage’s Scarlet Lady. Virgin Voyages is an adults-only cruise line and is known for their trendy, sleek, and modern cruise ships.

I recently went on my first-ever Virgin Voyages cruise. My 4-night sailing onboard Scarlet Lady departed from Miami, Florida and sailed to Key West, Florida, as well as Bimini, Bahamas. 

Having cruised 15 times in my life, I am no stranger to the cruising world.

While I typically cruise with Royal Caribbean, I had been tempted by all of the marketing I’ve seen focusing on the relatively new Virgin Voyages brand. They promote adult-only sailings, with upscale food, a private beach club, themed parties, and a trendy vibe.

Mainstream cruise lines have never advertised an all-inclusive experience; however, within the past year, many lines have made changes to their product, from reducing the number of times that staterooms are serviced per day to charging for extra entrees in the Main Dining Room. 

Virgin Voyages is a relatively new adults-only cruise line, first setting sail in August 2021. Her launch, however, was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, as she was initially slated to set sail in mid-2020. 

Virgin Voyages is one of the many cruise lines that offers a private destination for their guests.

I recently returned from my very first sailing onboard Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady. Our itinerary featured two stops: Key West and Bimini, Bahamas. With our stop in Bimini, we quickly realized that the highlight was Virgin's exclusive, adults-only beach club.

I recently took my first cruise onboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady and stayed in the cheapest cabin available. Scarlet Lady is Virgin Voyages' first ship that debuted in 2020, and there are a total of 1,408 passenger cabins onboard this realtively new cruise ship. 

Virgin Voyages is a brand-new cruise line with two ships currently at sea. Scarlet Lady sails year-round from Miami. Valiant Lady sails from Barcelona in the summer and Miami in the winter. Their third ship, Resilient Lady, is scheduled to debut later in 2023 with home ports in Greece and Australia.  

Due to the pandemic, maiden voyages for Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady were delayed until 2021 and 2022 respectively.  In 2022, I was a passenger on multiple sailings, including the first Transatlantic crossing of Valiant Lady.

Virgin Voyages announced today, June 8th, that their newest ship, the Resilient Lady will have a delayed launch.

Virgin Voyages notified impacted guests via email, saying that the reasoning behind delaying the launch of their newest ship was due to supply chain issues, staff shortages, and regional challenges. Virgin Voyages said that these challenges, “meant we couldn’t guarantee the epic vacation you deserve,” adding “we don’t want to fall short with your valuable time off, so while this decision was difficult, it was necessary.”

When Virgin Voyages first announced the start of their new, adult-only cruise line, the inaugural voyage was planned for 2020. After a Covid-related delay, the first ship, the Scarlet Lady, is now sailing out of PortMiami. While we are used to sailing with kids, we took the opportunity to check out this new way of cruising, and really enjoyed our Virgin Voyages experience. Here’s what it’s like to sail on Virgin Voyages now.