Virgin Voyages Reviews 1,159

This was my very first cruise, so I tried to tune out the noise of friends that cruise all of the time. All of the check points for embarking, getting on and off at various locations and disembarking were easy and hassle free. The food was ok in the beginning, however it got better as the days went on. There were a lot of food options and everything was easily accessible and we knew what items were not included in our package. Staff was friendly, professional and helpful when needed. I loved that it was an adult only cruise. I definitely will be taking another cruise soon. Based off of videos and speaking with experienced cruisers, I wish, I could have experienced some of the secret/exclusive parties or events. Other than that, I had an amazing time!!

The staff, the service, the food, the ship - BRILLIANT LADY IS JUST SUPER BRILLIANT!!!! I am so blessed to have experienced such an incredible cruise ship experience - Virgin is BEST OF THE BEST and I can't imagine attempting another cruise line.

We had an amazing time on our cruise around the Greece Islands. This was our first time on Virgin Voyages. We had a lot of trouble with the app. Which is essential for everything from start to finish. It would not accept our credit card. I eventually managed to sent up a bar tab with my debit card. However this some became an issue with I booked a treatment at the spa. The app would not process the payment and it blocked us from access our bar tab. We visited sailors services on more than one occasion. They assured us I would get off tag shop. But the morning of departure my account was blocked again and I was not able to get off the ship. Had to once again explain this to staff. Thankfully this all happened on the last day of the cruise. All the staff are amazing and the food is fabulous! Five stars for them. But Virgin need to sort out their app and scrap the bar tab system for a drinks package!

We took the cruise line Virgin, our first time cruising with this line for a 13-day cruise. It is a brand-new ship, the Brilliant Lady.
We likely will not take them again for various reasons I will list, but many people love them and continue to book trip after trip with them. Their claim to fame is no children on the cruise. We have never seen more than two or three kids in all our other cruises, but we are often traveling when they are in school. We had heard that this ship was made smaller in order to easily pass through the Panama Canal, in doing so it seemed that they reduced space for its guests. Very limited space made it challenging to get into some of their venues. At one venue the first floor barely seated 100. We were in the overflow on the second floor, unable to see over the first row who were seated, we had to watch it on a TV screen. The nightly entertainment was mostly comedians, one magician, one awesome show with lots of costume changes, and one acrobatic show that was excellent.

Our room was nice and large but had limited drawer space. We chose a balcony and really enjoyed it as 1/2 of the days on ship were at sea. The weather was cold for our trip, so it was nice to look out through the slider. A nice touch on the balconies was a hammock.

Because of the cold weather, people were not using the outside seating, so it was crowded and difficult to find a place to sit in the interior of the ship. The hot tubs were lukewarm and no jets, so they didn't help with fatigue from walking in the ports. The exercise venues were usually booked up as again they only had limited space for a dozen sailors. I was able to attend one outside and it was excellent except quite cold. Because of that, they moved it back inside and then it was filled up or sold out so I couldn't attend again. The sailors aboard ship were mostly physically active, and so because of the space allowed they could not participate in most activities. Only one pickle ball court with people lined up frustrated at not getting to play. Their dance exercise classes were great, but very crowded in the space which made it difficult to move.

They do not have any buffets, instead, walk-in eateries. It was extremely difficult to find seats when one went to eat at peak hours. Instead of having a main dining room, we had access to all 5 restaurants on board at no extra charge. You had to make reservations ahead of time. It being our first time we had no clue that one had to make their reservation at midnight when they first made them available a month prior. So, most of the time we had our evening meal after 9:00 p.m. Many people we talked with also had this problem and sometimes the Virgin AP didn't work properly. They advised us to go to sailor services, and they were able to book 2 brunches and 2 restaurants dinners that we had not been able to get into at all. The dinner times were still after 8:30. Also, Virgin requested that their sailors only eat at each restaurant once for a 7-day cruise or twice for a longer cruise.

We are plant-based eaters and although they did have some vegan options on their menu it still was quite a challenge. Other cruise lines fine dining allowed us to place our order the night before and then the chef would make it vegan. Virgin really didn't accommodate us like others have, many of their items were premade. Finding vegetables on the ship was almost nonexistent and when they did have them, they were overcooked and swimming in oil. In the restaurants their menu said there were veggies, but when the plate arrived, they were in a puree as a decoration. There was a nice assortment of fruit on the ship.

The Test Kitchen was our favorite! Exotic food with flavors that burst in your mouth, decorated and cooked to perfection. They had great vegan options. Ariel, our server who we requested after the first time, made a dining experience that was fun. He was experienced and was diligent to every sailor in his care. He became family and was hard to say Goodbye to.

Their employees were awesome, many were new as the ship, but they gave their all into making us feel special.

Perfect cruise company to have a vacation with! Huge selection of food, including all restaurants for free with a different type of food. Good program with evening shows. Plenty of sport and entertainment activities. Huge rooms with balconies. Definitely recommend!

This was our first virgin cruise and it was just ok. As a group traveling together we felt disconnected with our rooms being far apart, the entertainment was ok, Lola’s Library was good, long but good and I heard Persephone was also good, but other than that it was meh. I felt like most entertainment was catered to certain types of audiences not necessarily me and my husband.

The food was decent, but interestingly enough the ramen restaurant and tacos would close by 3. I spoke to one of the managers who told me they don’t want waste so they don’t open late. That they only get about ten people ordering in the evening when they used to have it open. That was weird because I heard and spoke to at least 15 other folks looking for something like tacos or ramen late night.

I don’t know this was different. I’ll stick to RCL, Holland, Norwegian and Celebrity.

I love it. We are taking our third cruise in Jan 2026. The food is excellent, the entertainment is great and the cruises they offer, along with the excursions are excellent. My only issue (and it's been an issue since we started sailing with Virgin) is the darn app. It's glitchy. They just overhauled it and required us to move to a new app. No better. My husband can't even get in..... But it doesn't ruin the fact that for 7 days I am in paradise on a boat with no children running around screaming.

My husband and I recently returned from a cruise that promised a true crime themed adventure, and while there were many highlights, some aspects left me a bit disappointed.

The ship itself was clean, modern, and well-maintained. The crew truly made for a wonderful experience; they were always friendly, approachable, and went out of their way to help, which really enhanced the overall atmosphere onboard.

The food during the trip was generally excellent, offering a range of delicious options that satisfied almost every palate. However, there were a few hiccups when it came to dining logistics. At times, it proved difficult to locate food because the galley restaurants had limited hours, some closing before dinner. Moreover, securing reservations at the ship’s restaurants was challenging, which was frustrating during busy periods. We also appreciated that tips were included in the cruise fare, and we are concerned that the recent changes will affect pricing.

One of the main reasons many of us booked this cruise was for its true crime themed experience. Unfortunately, the theme seemed more like an afterthought than a fully integrated part of the journey. Not only did the theme feel underdeveloped, but the additional expenses associated with themed events and activities were disappointing, especially since we were drawn to the cruise primarily because of its advertised theme.

In conclusion, while the cruise offered fantastic service, a clean ship, and tasty food; however, the dining logistics and the underwhelming execution of the theme detracted from what could have been an unforgettable adventure. If these issues are addressed for future voyages, this cruise has the potential to be truly exceptional.

We will cruise with Virgin Voyages again.

I guess I would best describe the ship as “kitchie.” Nothing luxurious about this ship, but it’s cute. At 60 though, not really looking for cute. The food was mediocre at best. If you don’t book the specialty restaurants, there are very limited options, and the restaurants were just so-so. It feels like there’s 1 million people on the cruise because there aren’t enough spaces for everyone. For instance, there’s a rock band playing in a venue that has 20 seats, on a ship with 3000 guests. There’s a lot of nice activities planned but also very crowded. They’ll schedule a stretch class in a room that holds 25 at most, then squeeze 50 in, and leave 25+ standing in the hallway, wishing they could get in. The beds were hard as rocks and there were very limited electrical outlets in the room so it was hard to charge all of your electronics. You have to blow dry your hair in the living space rather than in the bathroom where there are no electrical outlets. 2 bright spots were the Social Club counter where you can get milkshakes, candy, pretzels, popcorn, etc. and the poke bowls on the 16th deck. Will not sail with them again unless the venue is so fantastic that I can’t say no and the prices are so cheap that I would be foolish to pass it up.

Ahoy! The Resilience Lady is sad, very sad that the staff on this ship would/could not smile. Being on so many cruise ships over the past 30 years, I have never seen such an unhappy crew on a ship. And I would not blame the staff. It only means they were treated unwell!

One example, when I opened my cabin door one day to see my room attendant outside. I smiled and said Hi. She did not have any expression and asked if I needed anything.

When I was dining in the so called “Extra Virgin” Italian restaurant, they played Spanish music the whole time. When it’s time to order dessert, the waitress told us they don’t have tiramisu. When asked why, the answer was “if we offer tiramisu, everyone will want to order it”. So if customers like it so much, they will avoid it?!!

The entertainment was pathetic. Other than profanities, they even make jokes of Royal Caribbeans and Carnival.

During shore times, we pass security check pints to get on and off the ship. No smiles as usual. And they would tell me to take off my hat. When I did, they didn’t even look at me and I just walked away. What’s the point?

In conclusion, sad ladies of Virgin Voyages will not see me again. And I would not recommend it to anyone. Don’t tell me you are not warned about the cruise pit if you are planning on a cruise trip.

This was our 1st experience with 13 day Virgin Brilliant Lady headed to Nova Scotia. We had a Sea View room w/Balcony. Unfortunately, I was not impressed!! 1st of all, accommodations on the ship, rooms and baths were fit better for midgets. One could barely move around in the bath and shower. Elevators were very small squeezing as many in as possible. Restrooms on each main floor were few and well hidden! Restaurants varied with many different foods that were mostly indigestible!! Most of all...having to wait in lines up to an hour or MORE to see any shows, that were really not worth seeing...(UNLESS(you were a Rock Star paying much more for your room)!! Bad comparison to ships such as Royal Caribbean and others! Last but not least, we had to switch rooms because of noise to an identical room on different floor and had to pay an UPGRADE of $275. Will NEVER sail with Virgin again!!

Virgin was an exceptional experience. The quality of the ship, food, and service was top notch everywhere we went! Our room was great - I have never been on a cruise with as much technology and capability. The food is almost too good - some of the best I've had outside of Michelin star restaurants in NYC.

The staff were helpful and the amenities on the ship were great. We also enjoyed the entertainment - there's something for everyone.

My wife and I just got off the 13 day Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona to Rome. Apparently I can’t copy my original review that I sent to Virgin on their feedback request, My wife and I are both in our mid 50’s, we planned to spend 3 months in Europe and include this 13 day cruise as part of our 90 days traveling abroad, we are from Dallas, TX and also own a Villa in Southern Italy. We planned to spend a month in Spain, then leave on the cruise out of Barcelona, tour parts of Southern France then end back in Italy to stay for the remainder time. My wife and I were under the impression that Virgin Voyages would be far superior over the other cruise carriers, finer cuisine and dining options, upscale clientele, exceptional service, fabulous entertainment, great workout facilities, and carefully curated worthwhile excursions at each country we visited. Without a doubly this was the worst let down and complete waste of time out of vacation. The food and dining was the biggest let down, nothing we ate was good, mostly over cooked and always we were rushed through our meals, the quality of food is buffet quality as in the cooking, tThis was also in their best restaurant The Wake seafood and steakhouse, we tried another restaurant Lucky Lotus as well we were not lucky in this night as well, rushed through dinner again, food was cold and over cooked. We cancelled our remaining night reservations as we were so discouraged and food was not good at all. We filled out three online surveys when asked how we are doing sailor’s? I put this exact feedback and Never heard back from anyone ever! I can go on and on but trust the Galley or their version of a upscale food court was nothing more than a buffet, same desserts daily and the worst Taco, salad, Ramon, and Hamburger bars.

The service was Ok but spotty depending who helped you, most seem friendly but we got the feeling many didn’t want to be there? Many employees occupy the gym equipment, they can’t figure out how to re-rack dumbbells and the gym attendant never did anything to keep the gym tidy and weights put back in the proper spot.

We spent 13 days on the ship and never was able to ever sit in a Jacuzzi not even once, the same usual suspects occupied them every day and never got out except to eat.

The entertainment was Not good and we didn’t enjoy any of it, it was like they missed the mark on who their audience was. The ship had 40-75 year olds so pajama party’s, 80’s dress up themed nights and their Scarlet Red party which we didn’t get at all were all flops and many didn’t attend, how do we know because we saw them all in the Galley each night bored juts eating. The singers and musicians were not great yet Karaoke singers in the bar some had better vocals than the actual entertainers. We were ready to get off this cruise by day 5 and staying all 13 days was a huge chore to keep from going stir crazy. We enjoyed Cannes and Naples but the other stops were huge tourist traps or not worth the time to drive hous.

We wouldn’t recommend this cruise and we know for a fact entertainment on other cruise lines are far better. This was a huge miss for us and regret we even lost valuable vacation time. Do your homework, do not listen to travel agents who get commission, read the fine print especially on excursions, see how long transportation round trip is for each excursion and what real time you actually have to see what you think you want to do I.e. in Florence it was a 5 hour round trip shuttle to only get three hours in Florence, wasn’t worth it! They try to push excursions on you but don’t really explain much until the night before your actual excursion. They also try to push out notice after notice on your apps while onboard to get you to sign up for the other cruises, again not with it!

We really had high hopes but we left feeling disgusted and disappointed, nobody took the time to ever get to know us or offer to make rectify any of our food issues and we filled out nightly onboard surveys so they were notified but we never heard from nobody. The morning we arrived in Rome, it was bitter sweat like we got the feeling thanks for your money now leave the ship!

We met many others onboard that expressed the same feelings and sentiment’s that we had, honestly we thought about figuring a way to just get off and head back to Spain or Italy and just write the whole experience off. If your the type of person that doesn’t care about quality food, like all you can eat buffets, beer is Heineken or Corona as your only beer of choice, drink sub par coffee or espresso, just want to sit at the pool or Jacuzzi all day and not move or dress up, then this would be cruise, Virgin this was a huge disappointment and we still never heard back from anyone on all the reviews you asked of us.

Ship was nice and crew were great! Rooms were nice with lots of storage. Food
was overall good, but quite limited. The wrist band and app process was very confusing — no one ever had a full view of the room account balance. The app was being revamped and was confusing as to when we needed to be in the new app vs the old. Drinks were very expensive and weak. We were told by the onboard sailor services that the sailor loot remaining on our room (not the non-refundable bucket but the other one) would be put back on our credit card post disembarkment (we specifically went the night before disembarkation and asked about the process). Virgin home office declined doing that and kept our money. These experiences outweighed the good crew and clean ship, resulting in my rating (which we believe is a generous rating to be honest…no one likes to feel taken advantage of and stolen from, regardless of the amount). Overall, disappointed.

Everything was great had a fantastic time

Alright, let's get this out of the way. We were Virgin Voyages virgins. After sailing with lines like Costa, MSC, and Holland America, we thought we knew the cruise world inside and out. We were wrong. Our trip from Barcelona to Civitavecchia on the Scarlet Lady completely reset our expectations of what a vacation at sea can be.

​A Whole New Way to Cruise
​I'll be honest, it takes a day or two to get into the groove. If you're used to the traditional cruise routine—set dining times, a massive main dining hall, formal nights—you have to unlearn all of that. Virgin throws that old rulebook overboard. The freedom is incredible. The ship has a vibe that's more like a cool, adults-only boutique hotel than a classic cruise ship. It’s relaxed, it’s modern, and you do things on your own schedule. Once we got used to it, we absolutely loved it.
​The Food is a Game-Changer
​Let’s talk about the food, because wow. Forget everything you think you know about cruise dining. There are no buffets with lukewarm food sitting under heat lamps. Instead, you get over 20 different eateries, and they are all included.
​And then there's The Test Kitchen. This place isn't just a restaurant; it's an experience. It’s part cooking school, part science lab, where you get a tasting menu that is creative, surprising, and absolutely delicious. The chefs are pushing boundaries here, and honestly, the quality and innovation are Michelin-star worthy. It was a culinary highlight, not just of the cruise, but of our year.
​Beyond that, from the incredible steak and seafood at The Wake to the amazing Korean BBQ at Gunbae, the quality was consistently high. This alone makes it worth it.
​Entertainment and a Crew That Cares
​The entertainment is fresh, modern, and genuinely engaging. But the real secret weapon of Virgin Voyages is its crew. On many other cruises, the staff are friendly but often seem rushed off their feet. On the Scarlet Lady, the crew has time for you. They stop for a chat, they remember your name, and they seem genuinely happy and relaxed themselves. This creates a level of service that feels personal and authentic, not just scripted. It makes a huge difference.
​The Verdict
​For us, this trip was a 10 out of 10, hands down. It was a completely different experience that ruined us for other cruise lines in the best way possible.
​One pro tip: the best restaurants are popular, so book your spots through the app as soon as you can. It guarantees you won't miss out on amazing meals like the ones at The Test Kitchen.
​If you’re looking for fantastic food, a relaxed atmosphere, and service with a genuine smile, you have to give Virgin a try. We boarded as first-timers, but we definitely left as converts.

The cruise was wonderful and well organized. The staff was friendly and helpful. The food choices were good however, there is room for improvement in the restaurant food selections and adding more shows/entertainment. Test Kitchen, Lucky Lotus & Pink Agave have much room for food choices and brunch. I also felt the excursions were overpriced for what you actually get. I'd suggest planning excursions outside of the Cruise line. But overall we had a great time and made memories with our adult children. Would recommend.

Noticed a significant decline from Scarlet Lady to now my 3rd cruise (Resilient Lady). Food is still great - waiters are rushed and seem overwhelmed at times (eg affogato at EV where they used to make it a display and now they hastily scoop half melted ice cream and if they forget, get the pot of cool coffee and dump it in the cup).

The shower backed up (Scarlet 2nd cruise) and after being in gym nowhere to shower for a few hours and the room smelled disgusting.

We received email about now being a Blue level sailor but no record of this when onboard. This took a day to sort out and I had to prove to services that I received the email as if they can’t track how many Virgin Cruises I’ve sailed.

I ‘won’ some casino credit, received confirmation at my room only again to find no record at the casino. I was so embarrassed, didn’t even pursue it.

On a port day I went to a dance class later in the day. I was the only sailor. The instructor looked at me and said ‘sorry no one showed up’ , shrugged their shoulders (but I showed up!). Turns and starts talking to another sailor how the average age on this particular cruise is so much higher than the average like it’s a tragedy.

In honesty, if my third cruise was my first exposure to Virgin voyages, I’m not sure I would’ve sailed with them again. Wasn’t tempted with a future cruise credit this time.

Shout out to Katrina the Balancer. She was always bright, energetic and sunshine to be around.

My wife and my first ever cruise had been with virgin .now we are on our 3rd our mistake I'm being told is started at the top. Because our 2nd cruise was carnival food was horrible all is in my review of carnival here on trust pilot. 3rd was Norwegian cruise mechanical issues and ect also in my reviews. Virgin is smaller and more personalized . It was also all adult. The food was amazing on virgin and everyday was a new different restaurant! And all day food our ship was called the scarlet lady and that was December of 2023 September of 2025 virgin had a party for the new ship brilliant lady .300 for two open bar and pick of a restaurant. It stayed docked in ny harbor but gave the feeling of being on the high seas . It was a little more pricey than the other two but the experience priceless.

I have sailed exclusively with Virgin Voyages since their launch and have always been one of their most enthusiastic supporters. Their original model was distinctive and refreshingly different: one clear price, no hidden costs, strong entertainment, good food, and a modern adult-only environment. Unfortunately, this most recent cruise was deeply disappointing and has made it clear that Virgin Voyages is moving away from the core principles that once made it exceptional.

This was not simply a poor individual sailing; it was a clear warning sign of a brand that has shifted direction. Virgin Voyages has moved from being the disruptor to becoming almost indistinguishable from the very cruise model it once sought to improve upon.