With a striking gun metal grey, Y shaped, hull and touches of Virgin red on the lifeboats, running track, the iconic funnel (designed by super yacht designers RWD in England) and the logo at the stern,  it is hard to miss ‘Valiant Lady’ moored at the World Trade Center in Barcelona.

She is the second of (currently) four ships which will make up the Virgin Voyages fleet of ‘Lady Ships’ – based on the title ‘your Ladyship’ (synonyms, especially slightly naughty ones, are very common place with Virgin Voyages). As well as a nod to its British heritage, a signature mermaid guide adorns the hull. Central to the brand, mermaids are also meant to keep Sailors (aka guests) safe during voyages. Each ship has its own mermaid with the one on ‘Valiant Lady’ designed by American artist, Hillary Wilson. Again in keeping with Virgin Voyage’s core idealogy of diversity, this mermaid celebrates the embodiment of a beautiful, friendly, strong, black American woman.

The ship has been built with great attention to detail and a high standard of craftsmanship and materials. Her design ethos is the ‘Modern Romance of Sailing’ and as with the newest Celebrity and Cunard ships, Virgin Voyages have also worked with a Creative Collective of interior designers and architects more used to designing luxury boutique hotels. This is an attempt to move away from traditional cruise ship design and attract a younger audience, new to cruising. Virgin Voyages aim to target the ‘young at heart’ rather than a specific age demographic, in an environment inspiring personal connection and allowing personal expression (uniquely the cruise line allows crew to have visible tattoos). The crew themselves come from literally all over the world, they are young and encouraged to be themselves. Without exception, I found them to be helpful, chatty and happy.  The only age stipulation is that the ships cater for ‘adults only’ (over 18s) – no kidding!

‘Valiant Lady’ is designed for one area to run into another in a seamless fashion, yet there are plenty of seating areas everywhere and lots of different, brightly coloured, seating options from pouffes, to long, winding settees, circular day beds to The Net, a suspended catamaran net.  They are not necessarily as in as such secluded spots as on other ships, but do allow you space for yourself, if that is what you are looking for.

The ships are described as midsize and can carry 2700 passengers (with all possible berths filled). There are 1150 crew members. The ship has 1330 cabins, 78 Rock Star Quarters (suites) and 2 Massive Suites with their own turntables and private hot tubs. 86% of cabins have a balcony and 93% an ocean view. There are cabins for solo Sailors (46 in total, mainly inside cabins aka Insiders) as well as some accommodating 3 or 4 Sailors (6 of the Sea Terraces on deck 14 will sleep 4 Sailors). There are 30 accessible cabins. Cabins are a decent size and comfortable rather than luxurious. Insiders are 105 - 177 sq ft, Seaviews (with a porthole) are 130 - 190 sq ft and VIP suite accommodation on decks 8-14 are mainly balcony cabins aka Sea Terraces (225 – 265 sq ft). Rather than talking about port and starboard sides of the ship, cabin numbers have the codicil A (port) or Z (starboard), to denote sides. An ingenious feature is the bright red hand woven hammock on the balcony – easier to get in and out of than it sounds and incredibly relaxing, especially when actually sailing. The cabins have a flexibility that divides opinion: whereby the Queen size seabed can transition into a sofa (day bed) during the day. It does allow for more floor space which might be useful if there were more than 2 Sailors in the cabin. Similarly, when the room is in the bed configuration, there is a low lying shelf to one side of the bed which is of questionable use and traditional under the bed storage for suitcases is not possible. This means that luggage has to be placed in the wardrobe area, which is adequate, rather than roomy and you may want to pack some of your own coat hangers as there were only 10 on my rail. Whilst twin bed configurations are possible, in some cabins this may be an ‘L’ shaped arrangement. All cabins have a large wall mounted flatscreen TV, plenty of US and European sockets and USB charging points, as well as a tablet that runs the TV (think music & film streaming of 175 films and 20 series), lights (6 settings allowing intuitive mood lighting, day and night), temperature of the cabin and curtains. Initially, the small size of the bathroom and shortage of space for toiletries appears to be a negative point, but you do soon get used to its compactness and the rain shower head is a nice touch in the more than adequately sized shower cubicle.

The Rockstar Quarters are the top suites on the ship and come with additional benefits – similar to NCL’s The Haven, MSC’s Yacht Club and Celebrity’s The Retreat, ship within a ship experiences. It includes exclusive access to ‘Richard’s Rooftop’ a private sundeck at the top and front of the ship, complete with hot tubs and lots of lounge space, as well as an in suite bar and priority concierge services. The Mega Rockstar Quarters additionally have a dedicated on board Agent (aka a butler) as well as premium Wi-Fi, complementary access to the Redemption Spa, a generous bar tab to use on board, a bottomless in suite bar and private transfers to and from the ship. Designed by Tom Dixon, these are the areas of the ship that feel most different to other cruise ships. The nods that are seen about the ship to Virgin’s airline and record store past are also evident in these accommodations in the shape of wall mounted guitars and record turntables for your use. The bathrooms are larger and decked out in marble with ‘peek a boo’ showers that have rainbow coloured dichroic glass windows looking into the bedroom area. The names of the Quarters are also a move away from traditional cruising – The smallest are Serious Suites (252 sq ft), increasing in size through Brilliant Suites, Gorgeous Suites, Posh Suites and Fab Suites to 2 very sumptuous Massive Suites. These are the largest Suites on the ship at 2147 sq ft and have a music room that doubles as a second bedroom. The terrace has its own hot tub and outdoor shower. There are also appealingly named Cheeky Corner Suites (located at the corners of the ship and aft) – the higher up you go, the bigger the suite – hence Biggest Terrace, Even Bigger Terrace and Pretty Big Terrace to differentiate.

Virgin Voyages boasts 20+ eateries on board each ship and claim that with the cost of essential drinks (tea, coffee, a choice of 4 pumped carbonated offerings, a selection of fruit juices, still or sparking water), specialty dining, Wi-Fi, tips and unlimited fitness classes included in the cruise cost, that there are over $600 worth of savings included. The food quality and diversity is excellent. There are 6 bookable, specialty restaurants (via the App), although ‘walk ups’ will also be able to secure a table. Each restaurant has its own dedicated bar where you can sit and have a drink, even if you are not eating there.

The Wake – as the name suggests, is right at the back of the ship. It is a surf and turf style restaurant, perhaps the most upscale restaurant on board and great for a special sunset timed dinner. Walk down the staircase into a sophisticated, calm environment reminiscent of the old steakhouses of Madison Avenue. It covers an area of 5800 sq ft and has private dining rooms for groups of 10+ Sailors. The Wake is also open for breakfast (as is Razzle Dazzle) and offers a brunch/lunch menu which is actually a shortened dinner menu – this concept didn’t work for me as I didn’t really want to eat clam chowder at 10am! Whilst the menu is steak and fish heavy (8 mains – 5 steak and 3 seafood choices), chicken, lamb chops and even vegetarian stuffed peppers are also on the menu. Dishes at an additional cost include a raw (seafood) bar (petit plateau (an additional $40) – half Maine lobster, oysters, poached shrimps, steamed mussels, snow crab claws and clams) and a 32oz aged Tomahawk steak at $65.

Razzle Dazzle is the other specialty restaurant offering breakfast cum brunch/lunch as well as evening meals. It has a busy, bold décor with angled black and white stripes and serves mainly vegetarian and vegan food. All the starters, sides and desserts are vegetarian/vegan, as are all but 2 of the 6 main dishes. There are items like mushroom tartare, ‘fish’ and chips (made with banana blossom) and even a plant based Impossible burger - impossible to tell it apart from meat!  But turn to your ‘naughty’ side for meat based dishes and the ‘secret’ menu for top cuts of steak. Desserts include milk with a selection of cookies and Coconut Milk Fairy Toast (brioche dipped in condensed milk, coconut and sprinkles, then cooked). This restaurant is also purported to host a Drag Queen lunch, but there were no dates advertised for our cruise.

We visited The Test Kitchen on the first night of our cruise – it is based on Escoffier’s Ma Cuisine and is a laboratory like restaurant (there is a food Periodic Table design on the ceiling and walls as you enter). All you know when you sit down to dine are the 6 main ingredients of each course you are going to eat. We had Mushrooms (four ways), Egg (yolk served on a bed of peas), Scallops (with pancetta), Venison (with blueberries, a chocolate shard and sauce), Blue cheese (weirdly as an ice cream) and Chocolate (a deconstructed mousse style cake with red berries). It is designed to be educational (offering classes in the future), experiential (dishes to challenge your taste buds and expectations) and social, with vegetarian options. COVID requirements to some degree prevent the social aspect at the moment and the concept is still evolving to include more than one menu per voyage.

Gunbae is the Korean BBQ style restaurant and a cruising first. Meaning ‘cheers’ there is lots of grilled meat and drinking games (you may choose to drink soju, or not). It is a bit like a Teppanyaki restaurant with food cooked in front of you on flameless grills. The menu offers three small dishes, six mains (three BBQ and three rice/noodles/stews), and soft serve ice cream (including black sesame flavour). You can try marinated galbi, banchan, bibimbap rice bowls (a bit like egg fried rice), jiigae kimchi (belly pork) and savoury pancakes stuffed with seafood and onions, usually in a group of 6 or more people in a booth.

Extra Virgin serves Italian food in a five course feast – there’s antipasto, a lovely charcuterie sharing board, a pasta course, then a main course and dessert, with 4 choices for each course. I must confess, we didn’t stay the distance: we had Ribollita (cannellini bean soup) or Braised Meatballs to start, then the charcuterie board (3 types each of cheese & ham with wild honey, pear mustard, nuts and aubergine caponata), followed by Nero Gemelli Seafood Pasta (with mussels, shrimp, chilli and sea urchin sauce) or Braised Pork Cheek (with Chanterelle mushrooms and spinach). At this stage we staggered out of the restaurant! Each of the specialty restaurants has its own kitchen as well as a separate bar, serving authentic drinks & cocktails peculiar to the particular restaurant, so for example if you didn’t want a full meal at Extra Virgin, you could sit at the bar, sip on a Negroni or a glass of Tuscan wine and share a charcuterie board.

Our favourite restaurant was Pink Agave which we visited twice (on a 7 night voyage you can visit each restaurant up to 3 times). It is a dark, brooding trendy Mexican restaurant, designed by Tom Dixon (who also designed the Rockstar Quarters on board). Inspired by Mexican street food, the menus have been curated by Mexican American chef and activist Silvana Salcido Esparza and features dishes from the Yucatan and Mexico City. Your waiter talks you through the menu and recommends dishes – typically all of them, but with a guiding hand to personal favourites! Plates are meant to be shared and whilst this would be great in a big group, we managed to try everything anyway. They come in three sizes – small (botanas), medium (entradas) and large (fuertes), with the smaller two sizes working out as sharing plates. All dishes are reputed to be gluten free. We particularly enjoyed Esquites (street corn salad which is a mix of lime and spicy Aoli), Cochinita Pibil (an exquisitely smoked pork) and Aquachile (tuna with Avocado and jicama – like turnip). The menus are constantly evolving and at the moment there is a choice of at least 4 dishes per plate size (as well as dessert). The restaurant also has a Mezcal Bar (a drink similar to Tequila, but with a smokier flavour), boasts the largest selection of Mezcals and Tequilas at sea and is a favourite late dining spot on board.

As part of Virgin Voyage’s attempt to reimagine cruising, not only have they dispensed with the main restaurants (replacing them with the specialty eating venues as described above), but they have also swopped the traditional cruise ship buffet restaurant for a more pop up style food hall (The Galley). It features an incredibly diverse range of food choices and styles in a combination of grab and go stations (changed throughout the day), serve yourself and cooked to order (waiter served) dishes. Additionally, each vendor has different opening hours, with the ‘Diner and Dash’ being the only outlet open almost 24/7, serving all day omelettes and traditional cooked breakfasts.                                    

Other outlets include:

The Daily Mix – cereal, bagels (and accompaniments) at breakfast, soup & DIY salads for lunch & dinner

Bento Baby – fruit and yogurt Bento boxes for breakfast, Sushi Bento boxes – cucumber and avocado, salmon, tuna, prawn or combos for lunch & dinner.

Burger Bar – pancakes and French toast for breakfast, burgers & fries all day long!

Let’s Taco About It – choice of (2) breakfast burritos and (3) tacos for lunch

Noodle Around – pork based ramen and mushroom miso soup for breakfast and lunch

Hot Off The Press – breakfast and lunchtime paninis and open sandwiches with daily specials – heavy on the Avocado and whole wheat toast!

The Sweet Side – a changing choice of breakfast pastries, muffins and croissants, as well as cakes, cookies and desserts in the afternoon

Well Bread – breakfasts breads, toast and flatbreads

Pop Star – fruity popsicles

It is an astonishing range of food options with attentive waiting staff constantly asking for any known food allergies. All menus indicate vegetarian, vegan and gluten free choices. As with the more usual buffet restaurants there is also an outside area for al fresco eating. Sit towards the rear of The Galley if you need USB ports or US power outlets. Apart from the all day breakfasts and a few other items, most of the dishes available here are on the light side and  I am not convinced that you could eat a full evening meal from The Galley, as you would from a conventional cruise buffet restaurant.

Perhaps you could graze all day from The Galley and then continue into the other off site Eateries:

The Pizza Place is open from 12 – 6.30pm and then 9pm – 1.30 am for a limited choice of 5 pizzas. Having said that, my white truffle and egg topping with mozzarella and tomato sauce, was one of the nicest pizzas I have had for a long time. There is a pleasant shaded area outside where you can sit and wait for your freshly made pizza to appear (on the buzzer), an adjacent cool cabinet with premade salads and dressing as well as tins of beer and wine and even boxes to take left over slices away with you.

You may fancy a mezze plate instead – so head down to The Dock House with its outdoor seating area (The Dock), also a venue for musical entertainment throughout the day and evening. The indoor area has a brightly coloured bleached wood, chic Mediterranean resort vibe with a large selection of seating types, including a huge lounger at the entrance whilst the outside probably has the best wake views on the ship and all under cover, like an enormous cabana. Small portions of shrimp, octopus, chicken and steak, some on mini pitta breads can be paired with signature cocktails or a chilled glass of rose wine. Virgin Voyages has partnered with mixologists like Charles Joly and Julia Momose as well as those from Bar Lab and Cocktail Cartel to create an exceptional drinks menu with each of the bars and restaurants offering a different range of drinks (Aviation gin in The Loose Cannon (and a few other bars) was my favourite).

Lick Me Til Ice Cream (Scoop Shop) is the place for ever changing flavours of home made ice cream in an array of different cones (alas, no salted blue corn ones on our cruise) and cup sizes. There are 6 different flavours each day with vegetarian and vegan options too. Our favourites?  Green Monster (vegan apple) and Malted Strawberry Milkshake. Close by is Grounds Club selling speciality teas and coffees (as well as cookies, pastries and muffins). There is a second outlet in The Galley – Grounds Club Too. Just round the corner you will find The Social Club which is kitted out like an old fashioned American milk bar with tiled floors, booths and tall stools. There are wall mounted TVs tuned to sports channels and air hockey, fusball and shuffleboard tables (sandwiched in between The (games) Arcade and the Loose Cannon bar (a popular venue for quizzes and trivia events). You can get milk shakes and floats here (including alcoholic ones) as well as hot dogs, sweets, marshmallow bites and other snacks. A bit out of the way, tucked up near Richard’s Retreat is The Sun Club Café and Bar where Hawaiian poke bowls were served in the afternoons. Not something I had heard of before they are a combination of raw fish and rice with a dressed salad (sort of Polynesian sushi).

Deck 6 houses many of the ships entertainment venues with The Red Room, The Manor (named after Richard Branson’s first recording studio) and Casino all found here. The main atrium, with a midship spiral staircase connects decks 6 and 7- where the majority of the ship’s bars and lounges can be found.

The stand alone bars include Draught Haus (deck 7) a combination of a modern microbrewery and a British pub with 8 beers and craft brews on draught. When we were on board this included Strongbow cider. Virgin Voyages not only offers a wide range of top end branded alcoholic drinks, but a decent selection of non ABV drinks as well.

Also on deck 7 but forward, is the classy Sip Lounge – a meandering lounge with sofa style seating on one side and seats next to large port holes on the other, decked out in tasteful dark blue colours with accents of grey, lime green, peach and bronze. It is the venue for afternoon tea and everything bubbly where a glass of Moet et Chandon costs $21

There is often entertainment in the other bars: the nautically themed Loose Cannon hosts musical acts as well as quizzes. Look out for the black octopus shaped table lamps and the old fashioned diving helmets as well as the miniature cannons. While On The Rocks (deck 6, near The Roundabout) is the self confessed martini bar on board, as well as being very handy if you are listening to the live music that is a nightly feature of this whole Atrium area.

Pool bars like The Aquatic Bar and Gym & Tonic on deck 15 and The Athletic Club Bar and The Sun Club Bar on deck 16, as well as Razzle Dazzle are part of The Juicery concept – which offers healthy juices, frozen drinks, made to order shakes, tonics and elixirs, focusing on healthy drinks and wellness boosters. They also have a full bar service.

Virgin Voyages do not offer traditional (cruising) drinks packages – Sailors pre buy aliquots of $300, to which Virgin Voyages adds $50. This forms a Bar Tab which you use to buy any drink you want – just like putting money behind a bar in your local pub. This means that both people in a cabin do not have to buy a Tab. Note: each drink attracts 10% tax. You can also buy Sailor Loot which is more akin to general on board spend.

Entertainment is another area where Virgin Voyages have broken the traditional cruise line mould. Gone are the theatres with big west end style shows and variety productions by the ship’s performance companies, in come more edgy events based in two smaller multi functional spaces – The Red Room and The Manor (also doubling as the night club) as well as more pop up style performances, whereby members of the crew appear to spontaneously break out into unannounced routines at different locales around the ship. The one enduring act is ‘Dual Reality’, a semi immersive show where banks of seats in The Red Room face each other and look onto an amazing Olympic gymnast standard, acrobatic performance loosely based on ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Other shows were ‘Tape Face’ (a mime artist who appeared on America’s Got Talent) and ‘Cocktails and Revelry with The Diva’ (two parts). These shows were repeated throughout the cruise, so that you should be able to get to see at least one performance. One of the problems with booking things on the App (see later) is that bookable capacity can easily be reached, leaving the impression that the show is full – discouraging attendance even though there is usually always room for ‘walk ups’. Towards the end of the cruise, I did notice that the App was stating that any bookings not arriving 10 minutes before the start of a show would be cancelled – which is quite right, in my mind. Apart from ‘Dual Reality’ all the other shows include some element of audience participation – which is not every Sailors ‘cup of tea’. In keeping with Virgin Voyages ethos of encouraging individuality, there should perhaps be greater advertising of  ‘Voyeurs’ sections (see below) for people who just prefer to observe!

One of the most divisive shows on board is ‘Never Sleep Alone’ a raunchy voyage into sexuality, led by resident sex therapist Dr Alex. It carries a ‘not for the faint of heart’ health warning, as attendance equates with participation, unless you sit in the ‘Voyeurs’ section. Similarly, the ‘Untitled Danceshowpartything’ and ‘House of Yes’ dance parties are billed as events where anything goes as long as its legal and consensual!

Valiant lady does not have a Cruise Director, per se, leading the entertainment, instead there are a number of entertainment crew – The Happenings Crew, who all partake in heading up different offerings. As a result, the quality of a particular event is down to the personality of the leader and whilst this means you can undoubtedly find someone whose style you like, there can be a lack of consistency over the same event led by different crew members. For example, I was disappointed that Star Gazing was made to be much more of an astrological journey than an astronomical one. Similarly, some of the yoga sessions were led by eager amateurs rather than trained professionals (which as a beginner I would have found a tad unhelpful).

There is piped music everywhere on the ship – it was way too loud at embarkation, but did calm down to almost a background hum in the corridors, lifts and bars. DJs played sets at Voyage Vinyl  (where you can also buy vinyl albums a la Virgin Records days), in The Dock and on deck during the afternoons and evenings, as well as in The Manor late on some nights. Live music was played by The Journeyman (a singer guitarist), a 5 piece house band and best of all, the Slam Allen Blues Band a very slick 3 piece outfit that played to packed audiences wherever and whenever they played.

Entertainment wise, the highlight of the week is Scarlet Night. Signature deck parties on cruise ships are nothing new, think White Nights with Azamara. But this is more of a Las Vegas style pool party with an inflatable red octopus camped at the head of the pool and most people dressed in something red. It is a concept created by award winning producer Randy Weiner in collaboration with the Virgin entertainment team. The end result and experience depends on where and how far the individual Sailor wants to go …. with no two nights being the same!  Suffice it to say that what goes on during Scarlet Night, stays within Scarlet Night. The evening starts around 7pm with pop up action all along deck 7, ramping up at 10.45pm when DJs mix and blend 80s classics in a modern club style, for a hugely energetic pool floatie parade and dancing round, and then in the pool (akin to Sailors walking the plank perhaps) typically not as completely well dressed as at the beginning of the evening. Groups then break off to other venues like The Red Room and The Manor for after parties, often ending up at The Roundabout in the not so wee hours. You may be in the right place at the right time to be asked to join a ‘Secret Society’ – I wasn’t, so cannot elaborate further! So many Sailors had such a good time that they said the nightclubs in Ibiza (on Friday night) might be an anti-climax in comparison – even though Calvin Harris was due to play! But I am sure the crew were more than happy to see him, on their evening off.

Daytime activities on Valiant Lady were hard to come by: after the morning wellness/gym activities (see below), there was not much to do if you were staying on board or it was a sea day. This could well be by design: if stay up late, means stay in bed until lunchtime - but you would then miss all the early wellness classes? Alternatively, it may mean that Virgin want you to get off the ship in every port of call. You could visit the video arcade and hark back to a misspent youth with Pac Man or Donkey Kong, play any one of a large number of board games in The Social Club or book (for free) a private karaoke booth at The Groupie. All for some nostalgic fun! Then there’s The Casino ……

If wellness and exercise is your thing – then Virgin Voyages may be the cruise line for you: there are traditional cruise line fitness facilities –the two sides of B Complex Gym on deck 15, flank part of the pool deck and have the usual array of cardio equipment (bikes, rowing machines, treadmills etc) on one side (Bike & Burn side, decked out in dark coloured wood and with black lockers) and weight machines and free weights on the other (Build & Balance side, with a light airy and white colour scheme). But a unique area is The Athletic Club on deck 16. Here there is an alfresco boxing ring, basketball court, heavy bags and benches for abs work as well as static equipment for more body weight bearing exercises and spaces for outdoor classes. On deck 17 there is a bright red running track (The Runway), where 6 laps is a mile and The Perch, a covered area right at the back and top of the ship, used for open air yoga, meditation and stretching classes.

There are Training Camp (group fitness) classes for bungee training (On –the-Upswing), spinning, yoga, meditation and HIT available, as well as the slightly more fun VHS 80’s Style Workout (remember sweat bands and leg warmers) and all included in the cost of the cruise. Capacity is limited.so book as soon as you are able – but don’t forget, if you don’t turn up you may be charged $10 ‘no show’ fee.

The rest of the outdoor space on decks 15 and 16 is taken up by 2 pools (the main pool and the Well- Being circular pool, both are a bit on the small side for the size of ship and too small for swimming) but there is lots of sunbathing space to compensate. As with all the seating throughout the ship, there is a vast array of options, for socialising or solitude. Standout options are the made for two beds around the pool side, the Strandkorbs on the Sun deck (16), which are hooded red and white striped, 2 man chairs facing the sea, unless you get one in the second row when you will look at the chair in front of you, and 10 private cabanas which can be rented (they cost $300 for 8 hours, accommodate 4 people and include a drinks package).

The ship’s Redemption Spa is the area of the ship for a bit of pampering and is inspired by an underwater cave, but with sea views. Treatments are pretty much what you will find either ashore or on other cruise ships, including Himalayan salt stones treatments, acupuncture and dermal face fillers and the couples’ room offers a large bathtub for an optional pre (couples) massage bathing ritual. The Thermal Suite has a steam room, hydrotherapy hot and cold plunge pools, mud room, salt room, warm marble hammam benches and sauna. Day passes cost $125 pp on sea days and $75 pp on port days.

You won’t find other beauty and grooming services within the spa – they are either on deck 6: Stubble and Groom – the barber’s shop, Dry Dock - blow dry bar and Make Up Porthole – the beauty shop. or The Tune Up - mani pedi spa on deck 15. Also on deck 6 is the Tattoo Studio – Squid Ink – the first tattoo parlour at sea. Tattoos can be traced back to sailors celebrating nautical firsts – like crossing the Atlantic or the equator. Teamed up with Tattoo Ink, Soho Ink and Freshly Inked Magazine, perhaps modern Sailors will celebrate a first voyage on ‘Valiant Lady’ with a tattoo? It certainly seemed a popular concept during our time on board.

Top end retail outlets can also be found on deck 6 in the High Street Retail area, selling bags, shoes, clothes, including Virgin own brands, jewellery and make up.

Coinciding with the launch of the ship, a fleet wide partnership with Jennifer Lopez was announced, so it is no surprise that her beauty products are available to buy on board and will also be used in the Spa.

The Wi-Fi included in the cost of the cruise is slow. It provides barely sufficient bandwidth to power the App, which also needs some refinements to be truly effective. The App is the ‘go to’ for most things on board: daily timetable, booking dining and shore excursions and checking your wallet (what you’ve spent on board). Like many cruise lines, with the App you can also order food to your cabin or to wherever you are on the ship – this function never worked for us, as it couldn’t find me on the ship!  For me the Apps best function was the Shore Excursion section: another stand out feature of Virgin Voyages cruises. Excursions are classified into one of 7 areas:  Once in a Lifetime, Energetic, Relaxing, Daring, Cultured, Richard’s Faves or Exclusives. Not each port of call includes every category and there was some overlap between classification of certain excursions. There were at least 10 choices of excursion in each port of call, as well as pre and post cruise options in Barcelona. Energetic excursions included hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, boating, and jet skiing, sometimes with a wine tour as well. Once in a Lifetime featured things like white water rafting or driving through Florence in a Vintage Fiat 500. Relaxing involved cooking classes, wine tasting or simply a day at the beach. Richard’s Faves, only available in Marina di Carrarra, was an off road jeep trip into the marble quarries. We opted for a ‘cultured’ coach trip to Cinque Terre – the string of 5 seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline, with brightly painted houses clinging to the steep terraces and leading down to colourful, little fishing harbours and terraces of olive trees and vines. The tour was reasonably priced and led by guides from Trumpy Tours, who are a local company with excellent guides, who we have come across previously. All excursions can be perused and booked on the App before even setting foot on the ship. There is also useful information about the ports of call, including bucket list places to visit, as well as local foods, port emergency contact details and current COVID advice.

Virgin Voyages is constantly evolving as a cruise line: it was originally launched as Virgin Cruises and changed to its current name in 2016, in an effort to attract a younger demographic and clients new to cruise. The same year it commenced a tie up with Climeon (to generate energy from the engine’s cooling water in an effort to reduce Carbon emissions), 3 years later it announced a ban on single use plastics on the ships, as well as a the development of a new private Bahamian island – The Beach Club at Bimini. Ambitiously it wants to create ‘an epic sea change’ in cruising. Indeed there were changes taking place as we sailed in terms of more dishes added to some restaurant menus (at the moment, if you are not a fish lover, there is not a lot of choice apart from beef in various guises), and an opening up of extra times for shows. It might be a good idea to have some sort of signage for ship plans – especially for Sailors new to cruise, who may be unaware of the general layout of a cruise ship. There was a Ship Map in each cabin, but apart from mid ship lifts having red interiors and aft lifts blue, there was only a list of venues and direction arrows helping you navigate to where you wanted to be!

A cruise on a Virgin Voyages ship at the moment is a very exciting work in progress – their ability to and timing of tweaking things and adding new ideas, to enhance the Sailor experience is to be applauded. If you are looking for interesting itineraries, with longer time spent in port, as well as occasional overnights, a comfortable cabin with a wonderful hammock, excellent food, edgy entertainment and a great fitness and wellness programme then you should definitely look at Virgin Voyages. I can’t wait to go back!