Virgin Voyages Recensioni 

Customer service is the worst of any cruise line that I've sailed. If calling by phone they say they will send a message to the appropriate team. It is rare that you will receive a response. If you send a message it is usually ignored. Then if you send a message to the CEO it will be ignored also. It seems like ignore and it will probably go away is their philosophy. On board it is about the same, messages are sent to appropriate teams and their it dies.
The mattresses are the worst at 4" thick on a steel grid which makes them uncomfortable at best and painful if it is an older mattress.
I experienced that on my transatlantic crossing in April 2026. I did request a mattress topper on embarkation day but found out the next day it was only a mattress pad which doesn't provide any cushioning. It was a horrible night sleep. I did ask for a topper again but was told there are none available. The pillows were also flat and hard. After the second night the pain was unbearable and I complained at customer service and was told I need to tell my cabin steward, I insisted on speaking to a manager of customer service or housekeeping but said the cabin steward would have to contact the manager. Cabin steward said he couldn't do that and I need to go to customer service. I went directly back to customer service this time insisting on speaking to a manager. They were very reluctant almost scared(possibly a punishment for disturbing a manager). The housekeeping manager finally came to the cabin. I told her I can no longer tolerate the pain and having a difficult time even moving after a night on the mattress. The mattress had a visible indentation for the hip area. Alledgedly the mattresses were replaced on Scarlet Lady in November 2024 during its refurbishment. I showed her the tags on the mattresses, October 2019 and pillows August 2019. Obviously these mattresses and pillows were not replaced. The manager became very short and said nothing can be done. I told her my cabin could be changed or the mattresses changed with better ones from the empty cabins on the ship. She refused and left. Once departing Miami there are 8 consecutive sea days. I tried sleeping the mattress on the floor which was slightly better because you didn't have the steel rods poking you but the hard flat surface of the floor was still hard. Pillow life is 1 year and 4" mattress life is 2-4 years per Google. Florida Law would consider this elder abuse. There is definite ageism in play and possible racism.
I did send a message to customer service once the cruise was finished since onboard customer service was of no assistance but no response as usual. My travel agent called his contact at VV and told nothing can be done because the cruise is completed. Nothing can be done onboard and nothing can be done when off the ship. Win win for VV.
I did send a message to the CEO and no response 2 weeks later.
How do you market yourself as a premium/luxury cruise line when your mattresses aren't even cruise standard of 9"? I know Princess are the most comfortable at 11".
The food is good but when you are tired and in pain because because of bad sleeping accommodations it doesn't even matter. The bad truly outweighs the good in this instance.
How a manager can adamantly refuse to remedy the situation especially when it would be easy to do is pretty much outright abuse.
I was on a previous VV cruise on a newer ship and over a year ago. I did not have this issue because the mattresses would have only been about 2 years old or less and still had sufficient cushioning.
You don't pay thousands of dollars to have an old camper mattress.

Unless customer service. Tech issues checking in and solution im told is pitch up to the terminal and check in there.

So risk this?

In the heat in a tent when all you want to do is get onboard?

No thanks.

Useless customer service and no help whatsoever. Log a case and resolve.

Im now more stressed than ever for what should be a relaxing holiday!!!

Where do I start i have never been on a cruise before and all I can say is it met every experience I could imagine from the staff to the food to getting off at each country and then some it was worth the money paid sometimes you don't know you are moving along the water it's so smooth I would definitely tell anyone to definitely book your self or with a few people or partner it's a trip you will want to do again like myself

The music on board never stops and is loud. You can only escape it in your cabin. In addition, the excursions are very poorly handled and signage/directions on how to get to them is almost nonexistent. One of the excursions on Bimini Island, the culture and heritage tour was a joke. I really expected a bunch of historic facts, and to learn something other than about the Viagra-like organ inside the conch animal. I will never take a Virgin cruise again. I will return to Viking cruises - where they know how to handle big groups smoothly and take people to where they need to be. They also provide real cultural experiences and know all about the history of wherever they go.
The Uber fiasco upon disembarking would never have happened on Viking. I did give the cruise two stars because the room was nice and clean and the food was excellent. The service on the ship was excellent!

I paid $3,500 for what was supposed to be a celebratory cruise. Two health and safety failures occurred onboard that Virgin Voyages has refused to compensate me for.

At the Gunbae restaurant, the cook abandoned an actively cooking grill. The buildup of smoke was dangerous enough that another staff member had to intervene. That same staff member then redistributed drinks already consumed by guests at our table to other guests, at the same table..... a direct food sanitation violation.

I reported both incidents promptly during and after the voyage. What followed was weeks of templated delay responses, requests to reconfirm information I had already provided, and deliberate stalling. When I escalated directly to their executive team, their Executive Resolutions representative confirmed in writing that a $250 future cruise credit was their "maximum compensation." I will never sail with them again so a future credit is worthless to me and they knew that.

I filed complaints with the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau. Virgin Voyages told the BBB they would not respond further and closed the case.

They are not interested in accountability. Book elsewhere.

I absolutely love VV and this was my fourth cruise with them. However, this cruise was my least favourite!
It was my first sailing on Scarlet Lady and I found the ship disappointing. I had paid for a cabin upgrade, as it was a celebration for me starting my retirement. I wish that I had not bothered as the cabin was shabby and showing its age ( Scarlet Lady is their oldest ship)!
Carpet coming away from the wall, a cracked toilet and water damage to the headboard to name a few things.
VV do so many things well but here are my general issues.
1) Their check in on embarkation day is a shambles.
2) The restaurants are amazing but some newness is required in the menus. They always seem to stay the same.
3) Repeating shows over several years is disappointing for repeat customers. Persephone is great but I don't want to see it again.

They are great but could be better.

First time cruisers so imagine our disappointment when we had to cancel our shore tours as booking a tender was impossible. None of this was told before cruise except for Kotor.
Dinners very ordinary unless you booked a restaurant that again so hard to do.
Pool area very poor, overcrowded, pumping noise all day.
Not telling us about port shuttle buses until day before which meant booking things that were not needed.
Rooms pretty good. Staff generally good.
Information was not communicated well. Virgin cruise app lots of hiccups.
Overall it was an underwhelming experience.

The excursions were very unorganized and not what was expected. Food was ok, but almost no sugar free options for diabetics. This was our 1st cruise, so we don't have anything to compare it to, but if we do decide to cruise again it will n ot be with Virgin Voyages.

I just want to start this off by saying that the overall experience with our Virgin cruise was positive. We would cruise with them again, just with more...limited expectations.
First, I want to acknowledge that we had a Rockstar Suite and therefore had turndown service every night with amazing housekeeping staff and our own Rockstar Agent named Anastasiia, who was phenomenal and helpful throughout the voyage. We also had wonderful experiences with every staff person we met, like our server Julia from Test Kitchen, who was fun and very sweet. The service is definitely not an issue on a Virgin Voyages Cruise.

A lot of the issues arise from the boat itself. It. is. boring. Sea days are almost torture when there is (1) pool for 1,000 people to use. There is a plethora of hot tubs, but it was 80-100 degrees in the Bahamian sun and I'm not 70+ years old. Even in the Rockstars only area, it's just (2) hot tubs. There's karaoke, restaurants, shops, a board game area, events and shows but overall, it's just dull. My husband and I had been on a Royal Caribbean cruise before, a mid-level boat on that cruise line had an adult only area with (3) pools and (4) hot tubs, its own bar and was in a dome at the front of the ship. That was one area on the ship. One. In the cruises attempt to not be boring, they constantly have "partiers" running around the boat and just acting as forceable hype men. Which is truly the laziest attempt of creating atmosphere that exists. Labelling a dude "The Gamer" when all he does is host a Pac man game on the boat is a waste of time and honestly insulting to anyone who has picked up a deck or controller. The drag entertainer and the other host woman had this whole banter schtick that got old so fast. On Scarlet night the host woman even sang live like she was making her past Disney channel career mine and everyone else's problem. Felt like I was a captive audience to a grown-up theatre kid troupe most of the time I was on the ship. The Miss Behave Show was spectacular and funny though.

We had fun on our excursions; we did a Catamaran Sail away in Grand Turk and a Sapona Ship Wreck & Shark Excursion in Bimini. Those were memorable. However on Bimini, we had access to a Rockstars only Golf Cart shuttle around the island and we had to wait forever for it. In the span of time it took for the VIP Golf cart to get to the Virgin Beach Club, (2) regular shuttles came and there's no way to find out where the golf club is. It was annoying.

While the food overall was fantastic, another big issue being on this cruise was our allergies. My husband is allergic to coconut and I'm allergic to legumes and nuts and the cruise just flips you off for having them. It's like someone in Richard Branson's life who has allergies wronged him at some point. I couldn't eat at some of the restaurants because they weren't "allergy friendly" according to the signs and they couldn't make substitutions or even avoid cross contamination. Like completely wrote off the Ice Cream place after I told them about my allergy and they said they couldn't do anything because they had used the scoop with all the flavors already, but I was staring at flavors that hadn't been touched AT ALL. I grew up with my allergies so I'm not terribly sensitive about not eating at places anymore but watching it happen to my husband pissed me off.

All and all it was a good trip, I liked the hammocks on the balconies and if you book, book a suite because the regular rooms are so small you'll hit your head sneezing. Our friends had a regular room and spent most of their time in ours or outside it.

Everything about this cruise was absolutely fantastic from the time we arrived at the Port of Seattle. Luggage drop off and check in was quick and easy. The staff was so welcoming and friendly. They were so excited for us to be their first cruise out of Seattle. Upon our return to board the ship, we breezed through security and were greeted with welcome drinks. The vibe on the ship was incredible, upbeat and friendly. Definitely ready to party! The fact that your room is ready as soon as you board is a huge plus to me. And the fact that our luggage was already outside our door was an added bonus. The ship was beautiful! Sail away party with free champagne? Chef's kiss! Bars, food, and shows were topnotch. Crew and cast were so friendly and helpful. They would just stop to visit. It felt like we were a part of the family. Rupert, at Gunbae, made the experience memorable. His knowledge and guidance through the menu guaranteed that we tasted the best of everything. Gede, at Extra Virgin, was equally helpful. Great recommendations. We thoroughly enjoyed every restaurant and the crew at each meal. We were lucky enough to try all three menus at Test Kitchen, even though I did one by myself because my party didn't want second dinner that night. Lol. Be adventuresome! Check them out! The room was perfect. The hammock...I spent so much time in mine. Didn't realize how much I would enjoy it. The perfect place to read, relax, and enjoy the scenery. We splurged and did Shake for Champagne and saw Up With a Twist, a dinner show with a cocktail pairing. Both were extras that make Virgin stand out. I cannot say enough good things. I cannot wait to book with Virgin again!

Customer service and staff efficiency were great. Virgin has it figured out with the bar tab and wristbands. Great food, entertaining shows, and plenty of things to do. Loved it.

I'm very conflicted writing this. There was so much that was great on Scarlet Lady, but enough negatives - and one in particular - that I can't give more than 3.

The pros: Great food (with a couple of exceptions) and eateries that would cost a lot extra on most lines. No kids. Mainly great crew (again, with a couple of exceptions). Our heroes were Mariane and Killian at the Draught Haus. Chilled vibe. NO DRESS CODE!! Modern, cool ship. Adequate wifi included. Brilliant Martin Audio sound system (British!). After initial chaos at Piraeus, easy embarkation. Disembarkation an absolute breeze. Scarlet Party was great with a super happy atmosphere.

We were a party of 4, each with our own balcony cabins. They were perfect for 1, but would be tight for 2. Small balconies but hammocks a genius idea - SO comfy it was hard not to fall asleep. Deck 11 mid, they were quiet and isolated from thumping music, clanking anchor chains etc. Beds very firm, but I found them fine and slept like a log (rarely the case for me). Water in the carafes had a ghastly chemical aftertaste and was undrinkable. No beverage facilities in the cabins, which I would have expected. A trudge up to deck 15 for a decent glass of water, or a coffee/tea was a pain.

Cons: Piped music everywhere. There was no escape other than one's cabin - and after cleaning, the maids would turn on and leave the TV on a music channel. I have a radical idea that will set the management reeling, but why not have a quiet bar, or quiet areas? At breakfast in the Galley it was too loud and too much nasty reggaeton. Given the demographic, do the sunbathers really relish the booming club music played in the pool areas? Sometime it was at a background level, sometimes deafening at seemingly random times. We knew it would be a noisy ship, but it's too much, too much of the time.

Circular staircase at the roundabout very difficult to walk up or down. Poor bit of design.

Can't speak for the shows as they're not my thing, but one friend did do one (with the Branson hologram) and loved it. I run a mile from drag of any kind (and I'm gay) so didn't appreciate that element at all. The same friend also did "Lights, Camera, Drag!" and left after few minutes, so awful was it.

The major negative for me was just how American the whole thing was. EVERYTHING is geared to American tastes including food and the predominantly awful beer, and Americans made up at least 80% of the passengers. On a cruise line that is still 49% British owned, and sailing within Europe I did not expect this, and found it intolerable. They were loud, brash, no manners but overwhelming and inescapable. As someone who won't set food in the USA again in the current scenario, and avoids patronising American businesses, this really impacted on me. The only benefit was that I felt a lot less body concious as a 66 year old with a belly, as there were people 3 times my size and with their tops off. I was shocked, as I'd anticipated gym toned milleniums (of which there were a few, but a minority).

It's a shame, as Virgin are definitely closer to my ideal than any other cruise line. Would I do another? Hard to say. I did enjoy it, but the crazy music-everywhere policy puts me off and the sheer Americanism makes it unlikely. If I wanted it, I'd go to America.

Seven days sailing through the Greek Islands on Scarlet Lady and I can honestly say this trip was everything I didn’t know I needed. From Athens to Santorini, Rhodes, Bodrum, and Mykonos, every stop felt magical in its own way with beautiful views, warm weather, great food, and the kind of ease that settles into your spirit.

The ship was stunning, the service was amazing, and the energy onboard was pure joy - sunsets on deck, sea days that felt like therapy, laughter, new friends, and memories I’ll hold onto for a long time.

Me gustó por haber adoptado cambios con respecto a los demás cruceros como son eliminar las fotos. Las noches formales, las comidas en un mismo restaurante o las cenas todos los días, la organización por horario en el checking para evitar el tumulto y también el desembarco fue bastante rápido eso me sorprendió.

So much fun! The food was epic. Only thing could’ve been a little more
Lively is entertainment. But cleanliness, drinks, food, comfort all 20/10!

Virgin was definitely an experience. Very modern ship. All adult guests. Great adult food options. Very adult content shows. Very diverse and gender inclusive.

Overall it was just OK. We had a "Rockstar" room which was nice. Compared to NCL's Heavan it's not as good at all. Food was not good. The Galley is a glorified buffet, but frankly if I was going to eat that style I prefer buffet. They serve to you, but the people are like robots, only slower and it forces a tone of lines at each station. The shows were not great and the constant LGBTQ Diva stuff was too over the top to the point of annoying if you are not gay.

I have only ever cruised NCL before. If you are a middle aged heterosexual - it's a no brainer - go NCL.

Scammed. That is the honest summary of my experience.

I care about the quality of my drinks and cocktails, and what I experienced fell far below the standard I expected from Virgin Voyages. This is not only about the type or brand of alcohol used. It is about the overall quality, taste, presentation, and finishing details of the drinks.

Champagne, prosecco, and several cocktails were served in plastic flutes or plastic cups across many bars. I fully understand and appreciate the need for safety around the pool area. However, serving drinks this way in venues such as Sip Lounge, the Casino Bar, The Red Room, and The Manor does not feel like a safety measure. It feels like laziness, cost-cutting, or a lack of care for the guest experience.

The cocktail execution was also disappointing. Espresso martinis tasted like they were made with cheap, artificial coffee, no coffee beans on top at times. Mojitos were served with mint that was not muddled. Margaritas came without salt rims, Tajín, or any thoughtful finishing touch.

These may sound like small details, but they are exactly the details that separate a premium experience from an average one. I chose Virgin Voyages, not Carnival or MSC.

The service culture also felt off. At times, it felt as though some staff members forgot that they were at work and that we were the ones on vacation. One example was the closure of the Athletic Club Bar and jacuzzis during popular port days, seemingly so staff could go ashore. We had chosen to stay on board, only to find facilities closed. I had to make a scene just to have them reopened, which should never have been necessary.

Another serious concern occurred while I was jogging on The Runway. The ship’s exhaust released soot, which landed on me and ruined my clothing. More importantly, I am concerned about the health implications of inhaling or ingesting concentrated carbon soot. This is not a minor inconvenience. It is a potential health and safety issue that should be investigated properly.

Room service was also poor, with many items unavailable. The Happenings Cast felt uninspiring and boring. The mattresses around the pool were extremely uncomfortable, visibly dented from overuse, and clearly in need of replacement. Housekeeping was below standard and lacked the consistency and polish expected from a brand positioning itself as premium.

Overall, the brand has lost its glow. Virgin Voyages entered the industry with strength, personality, and a promise to disrupt cruising for the better. Sadly, it now feels like it is becoming similar to the cheaper cruise lines, while still charging a premium price.

That gap between promise and reality is exactly what made this experience so disappointing.

- The entertainment onboard was underwhelming. The performers appeared to do their best given the material. Virgin's performances are written in house (though none of the music is original), and they should rethink this method. We tried to go to every show scheduled. However, both the Red Room and The Manor venues do not have adequate capacities. This resulted in many standing in the back, if they were allowed in at all. Most performances were not worth the hassle and felt like older people were forced to write for a younger target audience but had no idea what younger people like, so they used ChatGPT to compensate. We managed to see the following performances: Out of Time (a bad time travel story), Red Hot (This was by far the worst show, a weird cult-like love for Richard Branson coupled with seemingly AI generated background images. I could go on about how terrible this show is and how much it irked me, but I digress), Murder in the Mansion (Also a meh show, suffered from poor writing), Dual Reality (the best show, but the acrobatic performances were poorly executed and required more rehearsal), and Love, Love, Love with the Hostess (This lady sexually harassed people for an hour, and it was extremely cringy.).
- Virgin Voyages needs to do a test run of an itinerary before having guests sail on it. When we booked the cruise, I was under the assumption that this was not the inaugural cruise to Alaska. They didn’t seem to have any forethought, resulting in a lot of headaches for the guests. First, they botched the glacier talk with the naturalist, where they had it scheduled for noon on the Hubbard Glacier day. However, we had already departed the glacier before noon. The onboard naturalist informed us that the talk was at 9 am. When we mentioned it wasn’t on the schedule, the naturalist told us that she discussed this with the entertainment staff the night before, requesting an earlier talk while at the glacier. This should have been communicated to guests. Simply, add a 9 am talk to the schedule and/or notify us through the app; they notified us about buying a spa package several times a day and were able to broadcast last minute updates about performance schedule changes, so they were capable of sending this notification. Well, friends, that is not the case. They refused to add it and said better luck next time when we brought the issue up to Sailor Services.

The second major issue that arose with their itinerary was tendering in Juneau. The crew seemed ill-prepared for operations in every aspect from lack of cold weather gear to lack of boat handling. The app notified us to book tendering reservations during the cruise, two days prior to the Juneau in port. If you didn’t see the notification as soon as it was sent out, you missed almost half the day in Juneau and possibly missed your excursion. To remedy this, there was an unannounced standby line that was sheer chaos and frankly a safety concern with the trampling. There was a family we sat next to on the tender that wasn’t able to get a reservation because they wanted to have less phone time while on vacation. It took about 45 minutes to make it to shore, when Sailor Services told us it would be less than 10 minutes. After this mishap, I jokingly commented that there was absolutely no plan to get everyone tendered back to the ship. Unfortunately, I was right. The last tender was supposed to leave the dock at 4 pm, but this was delayed due to no plan to address peak hours. Only two tenders ran the entire day. This resulted in an hour wait in the pouring rain. Additionally, Virgin didn’t have enough umbrellas for everyone, and they didn’t bring out another box until the line was mostly gone. They had all day to unbox the umbrellas, but the crew was extremely reactive rather than proactive, resulting in a miserable time. Sailor Services was not willing to admit any wrongdoing, and even gaslit me and claimed that it only took 10 minutes for tendering. They used the time I boarded the tender, NOT the time we got to shore. I asked for compensation but Sailor Services refused and could not provide any policy documentation that Virgin does not allow partial refunds. They offered free admission into the spa but no treatment, an offensive offer.

- Lastly, the food was good but it became repetitive quickly. My significant other is vegan, and it really limited the variety of food that she could eat. With this being said, we picked Virgin Voyages based on the fact that they supposedly had a great variety of vegan options available. Even for me, the food got old really fast because the menus never changed in The Galley or in the restaurants (with the exception of Test Kitchen who rotates the menu once at the halfway point of the cruise).

While the service around the ship was great (especially Monique in Extra Virgin, Wawan in The Wake, Pernanda in Rojo and Kodak in Pink Agave) the food in The Galley was all cold and the venue needs to be redesigned. There was also never anything different on the various menus. While we went to 4 different restaraunts, we went to 3 of them for more than one dinner and each time the choices were the same. The cabin was small - I had to turn sideways to get to my side of the bed - with hardly any storage and a LOT of wasted space. There was no storage room in the bathroom at all. And while a rainhead shower seems like a great idea, it doesn't work too good for someone like me (who is 6'4") and the shower head is about an inch from the top of my my head.