What It's Like To Sail on the First Adult-Only Cruise Line in the US

25.07.2023 - 10:42 / matadornetwork.com / Richard Branson / Cruises

I’ve been traveling regularly for the past eight years, and never been on a cruise. It was no accident. Either from arrogance or ignorance, I thought I knew exactly who cruising was for: The retired octogenarian looking for an easy, low-excitement vacation surrounded by other octogenarians, and parents with a masochistic urge to be trapped with their kids on a floating hotel for five days. Certainly not my demographic. So when I decided to sail on a Virgin Voyages adult-only cruise from the US, I was breaking character.

Virgin Voyages launched in the UK in August 2021, before moving operations to Miami in October. So far there’s only one ship in the fleet — the Scarlet Lady — which mainly sails four-to-five night itineraries in the Caribbean. Why did I break my no-cruise policy for Virgin? It wasn’t the eye-catching red color scheme or the prospect of catching a glimpse of Richard Branson. It was one very simple (and unique) rule: 18+ only.

Not only is Virgin the newest US cruise line, it’s also the first with an adult-only policy. Though at 31 I barely consider myself an adult, the idea of a kid-free pool deck was enough to pique my interest — not to mention Virgin’s promise of an edgier, more unconventional cruise experience. With some lingering hesitation, I boarded the five-night voyage to Mexico and the Bahamas with the lowest possible expectations.

Photo: Virgin Voyages

A responsible traveler would probably take it easy the night before embarkation day. Irresponsible travelers might opt to stay up until 6:00 AM hitting various rooftop bars, karaoke joints, and after-hours clubs, and board the ship running on fumes. It is Miami, after all. I wouldn’t dream of advocating one approach over the other, but the InterContinental Miami is located just five minutes from the cruise terminal, and a 15-minute walk to every nightlife black hole you could possibly want. But you didn’t hear it from me.

My preconceptions about cruises didn’t end at demographics. In my head, they were a cross between a summer camp and a bar mitzvah party — defined by lame community bonding activities and costumed cast members forcing the introverts to get up and dance. Chugging a Pedialyte before boarding, I vowed not to succumb to the lameness.

My first hint that Virgin Voyages didn’t conform to my preconceptions came on the first night: Super Bowl Sunday. The game was being shown in the Manor, a lavish onboard nightclub, across three huge TV screens. Toward the end of the game, I noticed, in a dark corner, two off-duty Virgin employees making out on a plush sofa.

“Huh,” I thought. “They either had a lot of money on the Rams, or this ship is really casual.”

It was a small observation, but it actually put me at ease right away. It