How “Adult” is an Adults Only Cruise Line?

How “Adult” is an Adults Only Cruise Line?

We all have heard the rumors of the “sex” ships, or the crazy out of control risqué cruise line. As someone who has been following Virgin Voyages before the first Lady ship was even completed, I have heard them all! I am not going to lie, I was really skeptical of sailing Virgin Voyages (VV). While I loved the concept of an adult’s only cruise line, I was worried of how away from the normal cruise experience they wanted to go and did not think I personally would enjoy the experience. I LOVE cruising and didn’t want anything ruining that for me.

I had many friends in the industry tell me how wonderful VV was, I was still a bit apprehensive. Well, FINALLY I had the opportunity to book and sail on the first lady ship, Scarlet Lady and her sister Valiant Lady, even at 4 and 3 years old they still looks fabulous. First a bit of a background for context. We sailed for the first time November 15th-19th on their 4 Night Fire & Sunset Soirees out of Miami and here is my experience:

Parking and Terminal V

We decided to drive to the Port of Miami, and just leave our car in parking lot G. G is the closest to terminal V which is home to Virgin Voyages amazing cruise terminal. As any other cruise line, you will have to download your cruise app and check-in on the app. You will pick a boarding time that start at 1:15pm.  Virgin has an embarkation system and in my opinion it runs like a well oiled machine. We had the 2:30pm time slot but we arrived 2 hours prior due to the fact we drove from SE GA. They do offer shuttles to Bayside to pass the time as you wait for your embarkation time but, it was raining so bad that we decided to just go to the terminal and wait outside until it was our time.

Once you line up based on your schedule time, things seem to move pretty fast and you board your Lady Ship quickly.

TIP: Try not to show up too early as they will NOT let you board until your time slot is called. Unless you are in a Rockstar Suite OR have pre-purchased the Splash of Romance package. These come with priority boarding along with other perks. ** I have booked Splash of romance, I will be letting everyone know if it is worth it at a later date*

Onboard Scarlet Lady

Once onboard, we were greeted by super friendly staff letting us know that our cabins were ready! This is something that its part of their selling point. We all know how much of a pain it is sometimes to get to your cruise and your cabin is not ready for another 2 -3 hours. That’s why embarkation times for VV start at 1:15pm so it gives the crew plenty of time to have cabins ready on turnover days.

We wondered for a bit at ” The Roundabout”, then we proceeded to our cabin.

Our Cabin

We were booked on “The Sea Terrace” aft of the ship. The ship is not as big as some others, so we felt like we didn’t need to walk forever to get from one place to another. VV is very tech forward. Your app is everything but once you are in your cabin, everything can be controlled via a tablet. If you follow my socials, you can see pictures and video of the cabin. I went live one day while we were in port. The cabin was comfortable enough for two. We found that we had enough storage space for Steve and I. One drawback was the height of the bed. It was much lower than what we are used to, therefore, our luggage did not fit under the bed like in out the cruise lines, we ended up putting our suitcases in the closet.

The bathroom, Sweet Baby Jesus! It was a nice bathroom with some great amenities however, it was very small. The shower was a bit smaller, but it did have a glass shower door and a rain shower head. If you do not want to get your hair wet, make sure you pack a shower cap. Honestly, I found that there was wasted space in the cabin that could’ve been used to extend the bathroom a bit more.

There are two carafes of water in each cabin, and that gets refreshed daily. Another thing that VV does that other cruise lines do not.

TIP: If you prefer sparkling water like I do, you can ask your room attendant to either make both sparkling water instead of flat. We did both, one was flat and one was sparkling. 

Let’s talk about the terrace (balcony” and those glorious hammocks! Listen, if you know me, you know I love me a balcony, I did not realize we were all missing one component to make that balcony magical. The balcony itself was very balcony-ish, you have your two chairs and a small table. But Virgin took it a step further. I am sure you have seen the red hammocks. They are the most comfortable hammocks I have ever sat on. You can sit, you can lay down, the way this thing stretches it is one of those things that you have to try for your self! Steve took a nice nap on it. I almost fell asleep on it. We were sitting there trying to figure out where we could hang one or two in our screened-in porch.

Myth Busted: We did not find any “good time boxes” in our cabin. There was a time (at the very beginning of VV) that they were trying to figure out how far can they push since they were an adults only cruise line, and one some of their new sailings guests got a little surprise in one of the drawers. The were brand new adult toys that were for sale, I think I even saw some condoms around the same time on some review videos I watched. As a new brand VV is always trying to improve and the toys were ironically enough, a trun-off for sailors. So, they did away with those and I did not see any condoms just laying around. It is safe to say that they are not the “sex ships” as some people called it. Sorry to disappoint some of you 😂.

The Food & Drinks

The food alone is worth the experience! Another thing that VV does differently is dining. Every restaurant on board is considered specialty dining and the best part, it is included in your fare! Are you feeling like Italian, make reservations at Extra Virgin, felling like a fancy steak house? Make sure you reserve your table at The Wake. Our favorite is Pink Agave, this is their Mexican restaurant, I highly recommend! If you have any dietary restrictions, please let the staff know and they will accommodate. Razzle Dazzle, what a surprise! This is their vegan restaurant. If you know me, you know I am definitely not a vegan, I’m more of a Ketovore/ Carnivore person however, Razzle Dazzle offers a “Naughty Menu” with meat options and oh man, the BEST chicken sandwich is at Razzle Dazzle, there, I have ended the “best chicken sandwich” war. Virgin Voyages and Razzle Dazzle win! Want to try something fun while getting to know other sailors? Gunbae Korean BBQ. Yes! This is the first at sea Korean BBQ restaurant, and it was a blast! There is a game to get to know others at your table and that helps break the ice. The food was yummy and it was a good time watching our waiter prepare of food right at our table. 

The Test Kitchen, hmm I think you either love it, or you really don’t. I didn’t hate it, but I wouldn’t go back. On our first VV cruise, I met up for dinner there with other agents, I believe we were a group of 11. The service does not start until your entire party arrives. Our dinner lasted almost four hours. I really did not enjoy the food and both Steve and I ended up grabbing pizza afterwards. We decided to skip it all together on our second sailing. Not sure if I will book it again during our Greece sailing, I will keep you all posted.

The Galley is something else VV decide to do differently. VV does not have a traditional ” self-serve” buffet. There are different stations like a sandwich station, ramen, tacos, pastries, salads, and diner food. What we like to do is walk around, see what they are offering then we make our way to out table to order and the waitstaff brings your meal. This is so much easier than waiting on line. There will be a QR code at the table with a sign and a little flag, when you put that flag up, it lets your waiter know that you are ready to order! Diner & Dash is also open 24/7 they offer breakfast all day and all your burgers, fries, etc. All your non-alcoholic drinks are included (sodas, water, drip coffee, tea) and you can also have this brought to your table or you can grab it from any of the stations!

Another controversial topic: Best Pizza at Sea? Now, I have tried pizza on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and MSC. Up to that point, MSC was ahead, their pizza is really good, a friend will still argue with me that MSC is still better however, Pizza Place on VV wins. Pizzas are made to order and they are more of a personal size pizza. We order one each and share, any leftovers come back to our cabin for later.

I know this food section has gone way too long but, I can honestly say that Virgin Voyages does food very well. Whether you are grabbing small Mediterranean bites from The Dock House, some popcorn and candy at The Social Club, or an ice cream cone at Like Me Till Ice Cream, you will find something you will like, you will not go hungry and the best part, IT IS ALL INCLUDED in your fare!

Entertaiment 

I like to say that VV is to have a relaxing day and to party at night. Steve likes to call it ” Gen X’s playground”.  While there are some activities going on around the ship, I did notice is not as much as other cruise lines. That is not a huge issue for us as we like to lounge around and enjoy the ships. If you are the type of sailor who loves that entertainment VV may leave you a bit disappointed. If you are like me, a big child, you will love the Social Club and their many arcade games (no extra charge). If you like board games, there are plenty onboard, and Scarlet Lady had 2 air hockey tables! (we played on those too).

The shows are definitely for adults, and some are a different take on shows that have been around for a long time.  The entertainment team is so talented that we just enjoyed their performances.  Plenty of parties to attend, PJ Party, Fancy Party and Scarlet Night. I can only talk about Scarlet Night as it is the only party that I have attended. It is fun but chaotic. If it’s your first time, I highly recommend attending to see what it is all about. Plenty of live music around the ship for you to enjoy if you do not want to wait for the parties.

The Happenings Cast

Cruise Director and Cruise Staff are out on VV and in comes the Happenings Cast!  Composed of 12 people in which each member of the cast focuses on a specific topic or theme they are experts in and pass that passion and knowledge on to the Sailors all voyage long. From art class to bar crawl, Happenings make it all happen. They are beyond talented and really entertaining! 

TIP: Try to attend the Happenings Cast events. You may be invited to a special secret event at a later date. 

Ok, I can go on and on about Virgin Voyages, they are a the top of my list now. The question is, how adult is it?  It is very adult in the sense that you get treated like an adult. No ten announcements every day, the shows are targeted to an adult audience, there are no slides or bumper cars on board. As far as the rumors, in my experience we did not come across anything that was too scandalous. I say, if you like to cruise, excellent food and drinks, and are ready for a more of a luxury experience, give Virgin Voyages a try!

Have you sailed on any of the lady ships? What did you love? What did you hate? Let me know in the comments!

Never miss a wave, subscribe to my newsletter at www.journeysbyzahi.com . Stay social, follow me on Facebook and Instagram.