All aboard!  Yes please!  Nate and I were all aboard the Virgin Voyages Cruise recently and enjoyed every second of it.  When we vacation we like to do absolutely nothing but eat great food (that we don’t have to cook) and lay around and rest.  We didn’t want to rent a car, drive and travel more, so the Virgin Voyages Cruise was what the Dr. ordered for our vacation.  Oh, and it was a vacation because we did not have children.  Virgin Voyages are adults only.  Keep reading if you want to learn all about the Virgin Voyages Cruise.  

The Virgin Voyages Cruise excursion we went on started out of Miami, Florida. We went on a five day trip and stopped at Bimini, Bahamas and Costa Maya Mexico.

The Gallant Lady is the name of the ship we sailed away on for five days.  From check in, to security, to the moment we left the ship, everything was very organized, professional, smooth with no lines and accommodated by lovely, pleasant staff happy to serve sailors (passengers.)   

Pre Boarding and Boarding

Sailors will download the Virgin Voyages Cruise app at home before sailing on the voyage. This is where sailors reserve restaurant experiences, workout classes, put your picture in, credit card info for easy payments, and to check out all the ship’s amenities and entertainment.  

Sailors have a designated time to board. We check in with a Virgin Voyages staff and then are given a red bracelet.  Upon arrival, sailors sit at the security checkpoint and wait their designated time to go through security and board.  Every sailor has a designated time to board the ship. This allows for no crowds or lines and easy boarding process. This bracelet is all you need for the sailing experience.  This bracelet gets you into your room, pays for anything you may want to buy and checks you in and off security checkpoints when boarding and getting back on the ship.   Once on board a DJ is playing bouncing loud party music, staff is greeting excited sailors ready for a vaca!  

The staff are all extremely lovely, and pleasant and ready to serve and say hello at all times. They are trained well and appear to enjoy what they are doing.  They have a commitment to be on the ship for 6 months at at time so they live on the boat pretty much.  

The Ship and Events. 

The Lady Valiant is the ship we were on.  We did upgrade our cabin and paid an extra $500 to have a small porch with a red hammock which was worth every penny. We both were out there often and relaxed. Nate woke up early one morning and went back to sleep in the hammock. The bathroom is super tiny and compact so keep that in mind.  Maverick gave us his little bear to think of him while we were gone so we brought him around taking pictures.

There were events and entertainment; however, we didn’t partake in any of those.  Someone told me they heard the experience was really wild because it was adult only so they were hesitant to go. I shared with her that we did not notice anything that was crazy and wild but we also didn’t partake in any of the parties or entertainment.  We were out by the pool and there was some fun and DJ music with the staff but that was expected and fun for me. There was a feeling of adult only vibe when it came to male swim attire and I’ll just leave it at that.  

The pool was crowded and more of a wading area. Our ship was only half full of people so I can imagine how much more crowded it would be if it was at capacity. They created a different atmosphere for the pool with music depending on the time of day. The DJ would play popping dance music in the afternoon so I loved that time. There were 2 small pools and crew were always available to assist.

Virgin Voyages Cruise: The Food

The Food was everything! You can be on  any kind of nutrition eating plan and be happy as can be! So many options. 

There were about 6 fine dining restaurants. Anything from Korean BBQ, Mexican and steakhouse style.  My favorite place was The Test Kitchen. It was very fine dining and formal.  Think very french artistic style.  Every day is a different menu and you don’t know what you will get.  The manager was from France and shared his love and experience of fine cuisine.  Our meat had dark chocolate on top.  The Test Kitchen is for you if you are open to unique foods and enjoy the art of cuisine.  

The other place we ate at was The Wake. The Wake is a fine dining steakhouse.  I didn’t think the dinner was anything fabulous but I did like the brunch.  For brunch I first got the “vegan” dish on accident and that was humorous because I was like…”umm where’s my egg.”  It did say egg on the title and I failed to see the small “vegan” print. I didn’t realize it was vegan.  Needless to say, I ordered the steak and eggs  (after that was a fail) and french toast for dessert.  The french toast had a caramelized drizzle over it. The clam chowder was not your average clam chowder. Nate got the clam chowder and that was amazing.  He loved his steak as well.  I did not love the salmon I got.  Very salty and it tasted like I could have cooked it at home.   I liked the salmon I got at the food court area better than the restaurant.

Razzle Dazzle was another restaurant we went to once. The food was fine but not our favorite. The middle picture above and top right is from Razzle Dazzle. The salad and tuna tartare is middle and far right is the lamb Nate got.

Although the fine dining was lovely, they were not my favorite spot to go eat.   My favorite two places to get food were only opened during the afternoon so we couldn’t get dinner there which was a bummer.  

The Dockhouse is an outside lovely hang out overlooking the back of the ship and we hung out there for hours ordering small mediterranean plates such as the ones below.  So yummy!  Think shrimp skewers, hummus mezzo plate, grilled chicken kabob, mediterranean dessert plate.  

My other favorite place was at the pool called The Sun Club. The Sun Club had poke chicken bowls and amazing dips.  I got an amazing poke bowl there for lunch with black and white rice which I love.  I could pile on the mango as much as I like.  More mango please…two more scoops! I love me some fresh (not frozen) mango in my poke bowl’s. They had this “spicy” popcorn bottom right in the little basket. I did not eat that. It was covered in red 40 probably. LOL One thing to notice that I appreciated is the portions are always small. Just enough to fill you up to the next delicious tasting experience.

There is a place on the ship that has the majority of the eating 24/7. Let’s call it the “food court.”  I hate to call it a food court because we naturally think gross chains and unhealthy food. It’s where a a majority of all the food is.  Here is a list of many of the items you can get. 

Bagel Bar, Salad Bar, Coffee Bar, Paninis, street breakfast/dinner taco stand, bruschetta, avocado toast, pastries and treats galore, french toast, egg bar, your typical breakfast, lunch and dinner station, popsicles and bubblies bar, bento box station. In the morning the bento box has granola, yogurt and berries in the boxes and sushi the afternoon and evening.   You can check out my video reel here for all the details on food.

I loved the grab and go options. They have fridge area where food is prepared in containers such as granola bars, acas parfait, charcuterie box, overnight oats, sandwiches, and trail mix.  Below I feature the chocolate granola bar and date bar.

There is another eatery that is like a snack shop diner.  It’s open afternoon and evening.  It has hotdogs, popcorn, big soft pretzels with beer cheese, candy you can fill a bag with, and other treats like cake pops, cereal bars, fudge, chocolate bark, marshmallow treats etc.  Nate liked to play cards there.

There is a wood fired pizza restaurant that was decent too. They do keep it very simple though. Not many toppings to choose from and they do have gluten free options.

The Gelato station was lovely. You can get ice cream in a cone or a cup.   

Drinks

As far as drinking on Virgin Voyages they have water all over the ship.  We did bring our water bottle to fill up but there are glasses by water stations.  There is a coffee shop with pastries with gluten free options too.   

As far as purchasing drinks, Virgin Voyages charges for fancy coffee shop drinks, fancy energy drinks, and other fancy non alcoholic drinks.  They do have a  juice bar station and the juices are available at any bar throughout the day.  They are made fresh every morning and distributed to the bars so you can get a glass whenever. I did not purchase any drinks.  They also had a protein smoothie option.  The juices were $10 for a small glass and the protein shakes were $15.  Nate got a couple beers and I think those were around $7 a beer.  They do allow 2 bottles of wine to bring on the ship.  

Fitness Area 

The Virgin Voyages has a fitness area that has different options to get a workout in. I was bummed to not to get a spot in the bungee class.  I tried to reserve a spot before I boarded and the app said I couldn’t reserve it until I got on the ship. Once I tried to reserve a spot, all classes were booked. No sure of the process on how that works.   The gym was always crowded so it was hard to get a good workout in without waiting around for equipment and our ship was only half full.   Nate and I would go up on the top deck where the track was and he would run in the beautiful sea morning air and I would do some yoga. They also had a small basketball court to shoot hoops.

There is not much to say about this experience.  We would have been on and off there really quick if it wasn’t for the massage I got.  This experience was a sales funnel pretty much.  We got off the boat and we were off for about 30 minutes and started walking back to the boat after getting bombarded with people trying to make a sale. That’s when the massage place caught my eye.  It was my birthday and I was ready to lay down and get a massage!  I enjoyed a 1 hour massage in an outside hut for $65. It was lovely. I felt like I was in paradise with the beautiful weather getting a massage. I highly recommend not paying the $200 on the boat for the 1 hour massage and getting one in Mexico for $65.

The Bimini, Bahamas

The experience at The Bimini Beach Club was glorious. Virgin Voyages rents out the whole place and their staff is there to serve delicious food and party in the pool with the whole entertainment team, including a DJ.  The weather was glorious and food was tasty.  Sailors have the option to tour the whole island by renting a golf cart which will get you around the small island. We decided to sit on the beach and relax while eating delicious food and feeling that sunshine. The food is already prepared and pictured above is ceviche, street corn, chicken, curry and fruit.

There are shopping area to get clothes, fine jewelry and handbags, as well as a spa and a salon.  

We had a a fabulous time and look forward to going again to relax and just be. We may even be open to experiencing the entertainment next time.  

Here is what I recommend and what I’m still dreaming about now that  I’m on land again.  

The Test Kitchen: Fancy food dining.  Think a $200 a person type of restaurant and small portions. It’s all about the experience! It doesn’t cost to eat there, it’s a metaphor for what to expect.

The grab and go granola bars and overnight cashew strawberry oatmeal.  

Relaxing at The Deckhouse for mediterranean appetizer food and a relaxing view, especially at sunset. 

The french toast and chowder at The Wake

The Sun Cafe for poke and amazing dips and crackers.  

The Bimini Beach Club 

Hope this helps you make a decision if you go on a Virgin Voyages Cruise.

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