5 best destinations you can visit on the Virgin Voyages

Anyone looking for the best Virgin Trip Travel itineraries will want to start with trips to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

The two-vessel line has concentrated most of its energy since it Released in 2021 about creating relatively short, fun, adult-focused trips from Miami to the two regions, with their ships spending most of their time on such journeys.

For a route with so few ships, that makes sense, as the Bahamas and the Caribbean account for most of the demand for cruises.

However, as Virgin Voyages grows — it has a Tuesday and Wednesday ships arrive in May and Decemberrespectively — it is planning to significantly expand its services with more itineraries in other parts of the world.

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In addition to a year-round presence in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, Virgin Voyages has offered regular cruises in the Mediterranean seasonally, during the summer months, with a single ship. With the arrival of its third and fourth ships this year, the service will expand its services in the Mediterranean and also begin its maiden voyages to Australia and New Zealand.

While the latter rides won’t begin until the end of 2023, they are already open to pre-booking.

What are the best Virgin Trips destinations you can visit and itineraries you can choose from? Here are TPG’s top five picks.

Short trips to the Bahamas and the Caribbean

Virgin Voyages has begun offering short trips to Bahamas And Caribbean out of Miami, and it’s still the route’s biggest cruise destination. In fact, one of two Virgin Voyages ships currently in service, 2,770 passengers scarlet ladydoing nothing but short trips to the Bahamas and the Caribbean apart from Miami.

In any case, these trips include a stop in the Bahamas. Some later added stops in the Caribbean, while others added stops in Florida.

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Specifically, Scarlet Lady offers four different four- and five-night Bahamas itineraries outside of Miami year-round. All include a stop at Bimini in the Bahamas, where the service has a private beach club, as well as a single call in Mexico, the Dominican Republic or Key West, Florida. The four itineraries are:

• Fire and Sunset Soires Journey. Four-night cruise to Bimini and Key West, plus a day at sea.
• Riviera Maya Journey. A five-night excursion to Bimini and Cozumel, Mexico, plus two days of beach travel.
• Dominican Haze itinerary. A five-night excursion to Bimini and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, plus two days of beach travel.
• The Mayan Journey of Sol. Five-night excursion to Bimini and Costa Maya, Mexico, plus two days of beach travel.

In keeping with the adults-only “time to relax” feel, Virgin Voyages has arranged relatively late stays at some of the call points on these itineraries, allowing passengers to make the most of their stay. lots of fun time on the shore. A typical stay at Bimini — where it hosts DJ-led pool parties at its private beach club at the end of the day — lasts until 8 p.m., later than most ships staying at the port Bahamas. Visits to Cozumel, Mexico, also run until 8pm

Scarlet Lady has operated these voyages since it launched as Virgin’s first ship in 2021, and it will continue to rotate through itineraries until May 2024. At that point , Scarlet Lady’s nearly identical sister ship, the Valiant Lady with a capacity of 2,770 passengers, will take over these Bahamas and Caribbean routes.

Longer trips to the Bahamas and the Caribbean

Initially, Virgin Voyages only offered shorter trips of five nights or less to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. But its list of itineraries in the regions now includes longer trips of six to eight nights.

These are trips that offer stops in further Caribbean destinations like St. Croix and Roatan, Honduras, and will appeal to travelers who find trips of just four or five days too short.

Related: 11 things I love about Virgin Voyages and 6 things I kinda hate

Currently operated by the line’s second ship, brave ladythey are itineraries that are currently only offered seasonally, during the winter months.

For 2023, Virgin will offer two long cruises, both outside of Miami.

• Journey to the Eastern Antilles Caribe. An eight-night cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico; Saint Croix; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Bimini, plus two more beach days.
• Western Caribbean charm journey. Six-night excursion to Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Bimini, plus two beach days.

In 2024, Virgin Voyages will add two longer Caribbean cruises, both from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

• Sunset on the journey of the Lesser Antilles. Seven-night cruise to Aruba, Curacao, Martinique and St. Kitts, plus two days at the beach.
• Journey to the Southeast Caribbean Islands. Seven-night cruise to Tortola, Antigua, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia and Barbados, plus a day at the beach.

The two new cruises will be operated by Virgin Voyages’ fourth ship, the Brilliant Lady with a capacity of 2,770 passengers, after it launches in late December. These cruises are already available for booking.

Over the next year, Virgin also plans two seven-night trips out of Miami on the Valiant Lady over the winter holidays. Beginning December 16 and December 23, they include calls at Puerto Plata, San Juan and Bimini.

Mediterranean

Another top Virgin Voyages destination is Mediterranean because the cruise line is massively expanding the number of European departures it offers this year, thanks to the arrival of a third ship, the Resilient Lady.

Scheduled to launch in May, the Resilient Lady will join the Valiant Lady through May-October in the Mediterranean, allowing the route to double departures compared to 2022. The second vessel will also allow Virgin Voyages to offer seven- weekly night trips during those months out of both Barcelona and Piraeus, Greece (port of Athens) – the first for the service.

Valiant Lady will be based in Barcelona, ​​offering two western Mediterranean itineraries primarily focused on stops in Spain and France. Specifically, one will spend most of its time in the Spanish islands of Mallorca and Ibiza with stops in Marseille and Cannes in France, while the other stops in Ibiza; the French island of Corsica; Toulon, France; and the port of Carrara, Italy.

Resilient Lady will be based in Piraeus, alternating between eastern Mediterranean cruises centered on the Greek islands and the Croatian coast respectively.

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The Greek Islands itinerary, known as Greek Island Glow, includes stops at Santorini, Rhodes and Mykonos, as well as a visit to Bodrum, Turkey.

Just like Virgin’s Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries, the airline’s Mediterranean itineraries are specifically designed for fun-loving travelers looking for a nightlife experience.

In the case of trips to the Greek Islands, the Resilient Lady’s visit to Santorini will be a day call extending until 10pm The Mykonos stop on the same trip will be an overnight call with the ship in port until 2pm on the day after its arrival .

The itinerary focuses on the Croatian coast, known as the Adriatic Sea and the Gem of Greece, which also includes several late-night stops. The ship will stay in Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia until 9pm and 10pm, respectively. Port of Corfu, Greece will last until 9pm

Australia and New Zealand

Next year will bring Virgin Voyages’ first voyages to Australia and New Zealand aboard its new Resilient Lady. After spending her first summer cruise in the Mediterranean, the ship will return to Australia in December for a series of 11 cruises lasting between five and 14 nights.

Among them will be round trips out of Melbourne, Australia, as well as one-way trips between Melbourne and Auckland, New Zealand, with various port calls. The itinerary includes:

• Aussie MerMaiden. A 5-night cruise from Melbourne with stops at Hobart and Burnie in Tasmania as well as a day at the beach.
• Resilient Pacific New Year. 14-night cruise from Melbourne to Auckland with stops at Hobart and Burnie in Tasmania; Sydney; and Tauranga, Napier and Picton in New Zealand, as well as five days at sea.
• Tasman Sea, fjords and Maori . coast. The 11-night cruise from Auckland to Melbourne with stops at Tauranga, Dunedin and Christ Church in New Zealand, Hobart and Burnie in Tasmania, as well as four days at sea.

Trips to Australia and New Zealand will be capped off with a pair of 15-night, one-way trips between Singapore and Australia. Scheduled for November 2023 and March 2024, the two trips will allow guests to spend the night in Bali, as well as visit Airlie Beach, Cairns and Darwin in Australia.

transatlantic

Virgin Voyages’ expansion of sailings in the Bahamas and the Caribbean this year means the service will send more ships back and forth between Europe and North America than before. That is creating an expanded lineup of so-called yacht “repositioning” across the Atlantic Ocean offers a lot of sea days.

Among the transatlantic voyages on the service’s schedule for 2023 and 2024 are:

• The 15-night cruise from Miami to Barcelona departing April 22 includes 10 days of sea travel plus stops at Bimini; Cádiz, Spain; and Palma de Mallorca.
• The 14-night Barcelona to Miami cruise departing October 29 includes nine days of sailing plus stops in Ibiza and Malaga, Spain; and the Portuguese island of Madeira.
• The 11-night cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Lisbon, Portugal, departs April 20, 2024, includes six days of sea travel plus stops in the Canary Islands and Madeira.
• The 14-night Miami to Barcelona cruise departs April 21, 2024, including 10 days of sailing plus stops in Madeira; Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.

Additionally, Virgin Voyages will at the end of 2023 undertake its first repositioning excursions from Europe to Australia as Resilient Lady repositions to Australia for its first season in the region. Trips include a 14-night trip from Piraeus, Greece to Dubai, and a 15-night trip from Singapore to Sydney.

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