Adults-only Cruises for a Kids-Free Getaway at Sea

Table Of Content

• Our most brilliant experiences
• Resilient Lady's Australia-Europe repositioning itinerary (via Suez Canal) changed to an Around...
• The End Of An Era: Seabourn Odyssey’s Farewell Sailing
• Adult-by-Design: 18+ Adults Only Cruises by Virgin Voyages
• Luxuries and Pleasures, All Designed for Adults
• Destination: your inbox. Our mission: make it worth opening.

The main venue is tucked away on Deck 5 on the other side of the elevator bank from Sailor Services, Pink Agave and Razzle Dazzle. You'll find treatment rooms for massages here, as well as the thermal suite. I loved the tucked-away Dock House Bar for a pre-dinner drink and its outside extension, The Dock, for day drinking while lounging on a sun bed. The Grounds Club is Virgin's nod to Starbucks, with all the caffeine and baked-good carbs you crave.

Our most brilliant experiences

Scarlet Lady is a ship for independent travelers who don't need their hands held or want to be told what to do by a cruise director (there isn't one). While I loved the lack of announcements over the intercom system or at the end of shows, I did feel like it was easy to miss out on things on board. Food ranged from edible to excellent, but meals were always fun. I felt like I was eating out in a city, rather than at a hotel conference center, and that night-out vibe set the mood for the entire evening. The public spaces on the ship invite you to grab a friend, a drink and chill for a while.

Resilient Lady's Australia-Europe repositioning itinerary (via Suez Canal) changed to an Around...

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One of the cruise ships' features is the advanced clean energy system provided by the Swedish company Climeon Ocean. The new technology allows reducing CO2 emissions by converting the generated by diesel engines' heat into electricity for shipboard use. Each of the newbuilds has 6 such Climeon units, saving ~5400 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Virgin cruise passengers are offered complimentary water (filtered and sparkling) at all onboard bars and restaurants.

The End Of An Era: Seabourn Odyssey’s Farewell Sailing

Dining on Virgin Voyages ships is ticket price-inclusive - no extra charges are applied to any of the 20-plus onboard dining options. The cruise company doesn't believe in "paying more for great food", so it ditched traditional surcharges levied in specialty restaurants. All eateries offer "exceptional made-to-order eats" - complimentary. Still, the enrichment offerings from World Voyager's expedition team are just part of a wider entertainment program.

This is perhaps the most exciting, albeit intangible, aspect of being on a new ship. Your experiences onboard are invaluable to how the ship and other ships in the fleet will be operated. The cruise line is using your feedback to determine what shows work, what restaurants are popular and which cabin features click. The top cruise line executives are onboard to help work out kinks -- and evaluate concepts that might not be performing as well as they hoped. In many cases, upper management is very responsive to passenger opinions.

Change the name on your voyage up to 48 hours before you head out if you can’t make it, or want to change whoever is sailing with you. We've taken care (of taking care) of your servers, so we cover the gratuities for your onboard experiences. There’s no shortage of ways to score unbelievable ocean views from your room. With spacious balconies, extended ocean side escapes, and floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, there’s so much to see at sea. A family vacation doesn’t get any more VIP than in the first-ever Ultimate Family Townhouse — a sprawling adventure-filled pad with three levels of incredible surprises.

In addition, the restaurant's position low on the ship and above the engines means you feel and hear the vibration of the ship a lot and all the cups and saucers were rattling. You can make adjustments for dietary restrictions, but your waiter will bring out dishes with each of those items starring in it in an unusual way and will announce what you're eating after the plate is set in front of you. The drink pairings are worth the extra fee; you can choose from cocktail, wine, beer or alcohol-free pairings, and they're all superb.

Luxuries and Pleasures, All Designed for Adults

When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. The ship takes an unconventional approach to cruise ship dining, with no main dining room, no buffet and no extra-fee restaurants. In this way, your onboard dining experience will feel like a land-based trip, but with fewer Yelp reviews to read.

Destination: your inbox. Our mission: make it worth opening.

The pappardelle was lighter and chewier than my previous experiences, which I preferred. And there was just the right amount of sauce not to overpower the flavor of the pasta itself. I didn't feel overstuffed after my meal, as I often do when eating pasta. I've had this popular dish at various restaurants, but this rendition stood out because it was made with fresh pasta.

I was also impressed how the cruise line creates parties and events that everyone shows up for and gets into. On other cruise lines, a deck party might attract a couple hundred guests, but on Virgin's Scarlet Night, pretty much everyone turns out. The top decks (15 – 17) are the places to head for fitness, fun in the sun or a combination of both.

Deck 4 is home to the main public spaces, including the lecture auditorium, lounge bar, lobby, cafe (a quick stop for juice shots, smoothies, espresso coffee, pastries and hearty snacks), a small shop and the main dining room. Built in 2020, the ship initially sailed for Germany-based Nicko Cruises, owned by the same Portuguese company that owns Atlas Ocean Voyages. When the ship switched allegiances, it also received a design refresh. For 2024, Scarlet Lady will be based in Barcelona (taking the place of Valiant Lady), offering two western Mediterranean itineraries that mostly focus on stops in Spain and France. Virgin also operates one-off sailings out of Miami around the winter holidays.

I am generally not a fan of cruise ship buffets, but a five-night cruise on Scarlet Lady gave me new appreciation for them. No one tells you how the ship works, even though it's nontraditional for the cruise industry. If you don't know to get on board and immediately make reservations for all the restaurants, shows and fitness classes you want, you will find yourself locked out of meals and events you were looking forward to. On November 28, 2018, Richard Branson and Tom McAlpin announced in Miami the company's plans to build a new (Virgin-exclusive) cruise terminal in PortMiami. "Virgin Voyages Terminal" is sized 100,000 ft2 (9300 m2) and is on the seaport's northwest side.

The next image shows the ship's stern (aft) and the signature funnel shape - designed to be a major part of its exterior design. The aft of the superstructure also shows the Promenade Deck and 7 decks of cabin balconies towering above. In late-October 2019 was approved the agreement for Brightline Miami to be rebranded "Virgin Trains" and Virgin Group to build a train station (Virgin Trains PortMiami) at the cruise port. The new station serves high-speed trains and connects PortMiami directly with the USA's intercity railway system and Orlando International Airport.

The 110,000-ton ship features 1,330 cabins and 78 suites and can carry 2,770 passengers at maximum capacity. That's a lot smaller than the newest ships from lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line. The balance works well; the ship does not feel oppressively crowded, but there are plenty of restaurants, bars and attractions on board to keep you entertained at sea. RockStar Suite passengers benefit from complimentary food service, exclusive bar and outdoor terrace lounge, VIP beach cabanas. The 7-mile (11-km) long island offers extraordinary activities like boating, snorkeling, wreck diving.

Typical is a six-night "Valiant Caribbean Holidays" sailing out of Miami on Dec. 20, 2024, visiting Puerto Plata, Nassau and Bimini. These are sailings that stop in more distant Caribbean destinations such as St. Croix and Roatan, Honduras, and will appeal to cruisers who find trips of just four or five days too short. Virgin Voyages got its start offering short sailings to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of Miami, and that's still the line's biggest cruise destination focus. In fact, one of Virgin Voyages' two vessels currently in operation, the 2,770-passenger Scarlet Lady, does nothing but short sailings to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of Miami. Before you board, you'll link a credit card to your account (which you can do via the app prior to embarkation day) or put up a cash amount from which you can debit for purchases made on board.