I have to admit that the world of cruises was never on my radar. When I was younger I vowed I’d never go on a cruise, as my perception was one of frail retirees dressed in evening wear, desperate for a seat at the captains table.
So when my wife convinced me to cast aside my pre-conceived notions, along with all thoughts of adventure travel to indulge in a little ocean going luxury, my enthusiasm remained a little restrained. However I thought why the hell not, I can’t judge a cruise until I’ve actually tried one!
Following some research we soon realised that the range of cruises and ships on offer is vast. From a few days booze cruising on the English channel, all the way through to live on, round the world super liners. The choice can be overwhelming. So having narrowed our parameters to the mediterranean, adult only, for one week, the options became more manageable. It’s then we stumbled upon Virgin Voyages Cruises.
Virgin Voyages are a new comer to the cruising game apparently, so their ships are only a few years old. We’re fans of Virgin Atlantic, so their brand ethos is familiar to us and Virgin Voyages were doing some amazing deals with 80% off for the second passenger. So we decided on Virgin Voyages cruises. They offer a wide range of cruise options, so we went down the decision making rabbit hole once again and eventually opted for the “Irresistible Med” sailing.
The Irresistible Med is one of the Virgin Voyages cruises taking a tour of the Mediterranean and it’s islands, which sets sail from Barcelona along to the French Riviera to Toulon, and then onto the western coast of Italy. Stopping in Tuscany, it then sails onto Corsica, with a final overnight in Ibiza, before returning to Barcelona.
So what did I discover as a first time cruise ship passenger and what was the Virgin Voyages experience like?
1. Fine dining: Discovering the food options onboard was my first real surprise. The cruise is essentially an all inclusive (other than alcoholic drinks and premium coffees which are paid for). However forego any ideas of packed buffets with pile your plate high consumers. The Scarlet Lady offers 20+ eateries including six fine dining restaurants. The latter needed to be pre-booked online or via the Virgin Voyages app to secure a place and you can eat at any or all during the cruise.
If you’re a foody, there’s a lot to love about a Virgin Voyages cruise. Onboard our vessel we ate at The Wake, an upmarket New York style steakhouse, Gunbae a shared eating and drinking Korean BBQ, Pink Agave for 5 star Mexican, Extra Virgin for Italian and The Test Kitchen for a multi course tasting menu which was a real culinary experience.
With my hand on heart, every single restaurant we booked was exceptional, with Michelin star chefs creating menus, incredibly attentive staff and different vibes at each, the experience was unforgettable. Although most guests dressed up for dining in these venues it remained laid back and informal with no official dress codes. These restaurants are almost worth a return trip on their own!
As well as the restaurants there’s also a food market where food is cooked to order, including breakfast, Asian cuisine, pizza, sweets, an ice cream parlour, coffee shops and more. There’s also 24 hour room service and a 24 hour diner. The food is varied, fresh, fantastic… and endless!
2. The cabins: Having previously only ever sailed on overnight ferries! our cabin on the Scarlet Lady was another pleasant surprise. The ship has 1,330 cabins with five different cabin options. We opted for a “Sea Terrace” cabin. The size of the room, the furnishings, wooden panelling, the in-room entertainment and lighting were all impressive. And the terrace with seating and a hammock was wonderful. It’s a window onto the world, watching as it glides by, a place for sunset cocktails, for reading a book and for waking up to a new port every morning.
The staff who serviced each floor were also brilliant, always friendly, always there to help out and the cabin was beautifully presented.
3. The Band: This wearable smart tech wristband is game changer. So why is it worthy of one of my top five discoveries on Virgin Voyages Cruises? It’s a small wrist worn device but it helps make the cruise seamless.
Tied on with recycled ocean plastic band, the wearable tech gives access to everything you need onboard;
- Access to cabins, no need for a room key.
- Board the ship with ease – tap in and out.
- Pinpoint location for delivery of Shake for Champagne (just shake the Virgin app and have champagne delivered to you onboard).
- Make onboard purchases and pay for the drinks tab (just pre-load your account and tap to make onboard payments)
- Game at the casino – tap out some chips for a flutter on the tables.
It’s a brilliant bit of kit. It also doubles up as visual signal to others while onshore that you’re a Virgin Voyager. It does shout tourist, but you do know who to turn to if you get lost or need to ask to share a taxi back to the ship.
4. The destinations. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the landing and disembarkation at each port as this was all new to me. But it was all pretty straightforward. Each location was a dock side landing so either a walk to explore or a bus transfer.
To start the cruise we had to fly down to Barcelona (for more on costs etc see number 5 below) and had a few hours to explore the city before sailing. We did a pre-checkin at the dock first, where they took our luggage. Barcelona city centre was only a 15-20min walk away. Checkin prior to sailing was simple, followed by time in your cabin to get ready for the sail away party. The latter is fun, with free bubbly and music on the top deck to get the cruise underway. Most passengers gathered on deck for the sail away so it was a great people watching opportunity. There were a great mix of ages and nationalities, with a large percentage being British or American.
The “Irresistible Med” cruise includes four destinations plus beginning and end in Barcelona. For each stop you can either explore on your own or Virgin Voyages offer various paid guided excursions. Not every port has direct access to sightseeing so in some cases a booked tour is highly recommended. The Virgin tours are fairly expensive so you could book alternative local excursions but they won’t be as convenient as departing straight off the ship on an official tour. The Virgin tours do book up quickly.
The first port of call was Toulon, which is walking distance to the town, so whilst excursions are available they’re not essential here. We took the cable car up above the city which has some fantastic views and walks.
From there we sailed overnight to Marina De Carrara in Italy. The port is a fair distance from any landmarks so most people we spoke to including ourselves booked an excursion, which include a trip to Pisa, a tour of Naples or a coach and boat ride to Portofino. We chose Portofino for those riviera vibes. It was a lovely day out but did feel like we were being herded around.
From there we sailed onto Ajaccio, Corsica where the port was a short walk to beaches, Napolean’s house and walks around the historic town. The next stage was a very slow cruise overnight at sea and arriving into Ibiza the following evening. Transfers on coaches were needed here to get into the beautiful old town but a lot of passengers jumped into taxis to spend the night clubbing across the white isle. The final sailing followed a full day in Ibiza and set off back to Barcelona with plenty of time to catch our flights.
So what did I discover when it came to travelling to each destination? Well I have to admit this is where some of my preconceived ideas of cruises did become a reality. The stop overs were fantastic but given the short period of time at each it never felt as though you’d really visited them properly. You’re more of a temporary observer, with one eye on the clock (I found out that fear of missing the ship is a very real part of the cruise experience!).
Also by their very nature, cruise ships drop thousands of passengers simultaneously at each port, so being an unavoidable part of that throng can isolate you from a sense of each destination’s character. It’s like having a taster tour of the med, where you get a glimpse into each location without a real sense of a place. I’m sure others will love this quick multi-stop aspect of cruises though.
5. Booking. Top tip here, shop around for the cruise as we purchased the holiday including the flights and an additional $200 spend onboard for the same cost as the cruise only direct with Virgin. We later discovered after chatting to other passengers that they found the same deal but with $600 onboard spending! The cruise was £2798 for two including flights from the UK to Barcelona, gratuities (so tipping wasn’t expected), fitness classes, evening entertainment, a gym, wifi etc
I hope these top 5 discoveries on my first cruise are a handy starting point for investigating a Virgin Voyages cruise holiday. The experience onboard the ship was fantastic, the food amazing, and the vibes chilled.
For a one off, short relaxing holiday, with a little bit of luxury, I’d sail withVirgin Voyages Cruises again. But independent adventure travel remains my default way to see the world 🙂
