Resilient Lady, the third (of four) Virgin Voyages ships, is heading to Australia in November 2023. Quentin Long jumped aboard the inaugural sailing, a seven-day Greek Island cruise from Athens, to give you the lowdown.

Typical of the Virgin brand, Virgin Voyages is setting out to ‘disrupt’ the cruise industry, bringing its sexy, provocative Branson-esque freedom and fun to the high seas.

Is that possible in an industry with so many brands? How can you really disrupt offering a room at sea with meals and entertainment?

I spent seven nights onboard Resilient Lady, cruising through the Greek isles, to give you the best possible overview of Virgin Voyages.

This review, like all our extensive cruise reviews, is divided into several posts. Below is an overview to give you a relatively quick but comprehensive understanding of whether Virgin Voyages is for you.

There are several more detailed posts that break down every… single… aspect… of the ship to help you make really informed decisions (you can thank me later). Find all the links below.

Restaurants and bars | Wellness | Cabins | RockStar Suites | Entertainment

Virgin Voyages’ Resilient Lady verdict

Virgin ships are cruise ships at heart; you’ll find rooms, suites, restaurants, bars and entertainment.

But there’s no other cruise brand that’s an easy comparison, so I can’t say “if you like X cruise brand, you’ll like Virgin Voyages".

That’s because the Virgin experience is undoubtedly unique. It comes from the Virgin brand essence, which is a dedication to anything-goes, open-minded fun; being provocative without being offensive.

Virgin Voyages simply do most things with a very different attitude. The attitude starts and ends with the staff, who are fun and easygoing and bring that energy. It is impressive.

To achieve this differentiation, Virgin Voyages eschews some of the more conservative elements of cruising. There’s a lot of swearing, camp entertainment and festival high-energy performances that transform into parties with a big dose of dance music.

I was torn between staying on the ship and exploring our destinations, which tells you a lot about the attraction of the Virgin Voyages experience. In future, I would look for more sea days to enjoy the adults-only experience.

Who will love Resilient Lady and Virgin Voyages

Some avid cruisers won’t enjoy the Resilient Lady experience (and may even hate it), while guests who have never cruised before will have their preconceived ideas dismantled.

I’ve never sailed with such an eclectic group of Sailors (that’s how the Virgin Voyages team refer to guests) who all universally loved the experience. I met 30-year-old honeymooners at the blackjack tables and enjoyed a long lunch at a Santorini winery with great female friends who’d left their partners and children behind for a girls’ getaway.

And at 11pm, at the Scarlet Night party on the pool deck, I met a 70-year-old with face gems dancing up a storm with his wife (who’d opted out of the face jewellery). In short, a Virgin Sailor is young at heart.

If you love a party, a nightclub, energetic entertainment and a joyous celebration, and have thought that a cruise is just a floating RSL or for games of trivia and adapted theatre productions, then this may be your cruise.

By not allowing children the focus is on adult entertainment options with a Virgin sensibility; risqué, carefree and fun.

What makes Virgin Voyages and Resilient Lady different

It’s all in the attitude. By leaving children at the pier and setting out to deliver a celebratory atmosphere for the young at heart, the onboard experiences are perfectly tailored for carefree fun.

It starts with a tattoo parlour

Virgin Voyages’ Squid Ink is the first tattoo parlour at sea. That says a lot.

It’s not the centre of attention but is a small space with two chairs. Even more interestingly, it’s almost fully booked for the entire seven days. When I finally decided ‘hell yeah’, I would mark the voyage with my first ever tattoo (OK, a few negronis were involved), I was too late.

Virgin Voyages has a casual, energetic and fun service culture

The crew uniforms are relaxed. The staff are always enthusiastic and happy, and there’s a lot of smiling and laughing with themselves and Sailors. It’s an infectious energy that creates a sense of joy that penetrates all aspects of the experience.

For example, in Gunbae, the Korean BBQ restaurant, the service staff orchestrate raucous drinking games with the diners. That is certainly different.

It’s also worth noting that the crew’s own ‘ink’ is very visible (something that would be unheard of on other cruise lines). I’d estimate that a third of the crew have tattoos and piercings of their own.

Risqué entertainment onboard Resilient Lady

The Resilient Lady entertainment is not standard cruise fare.

“What the fuck fucking just happened," screamed a character on one of the huge onstage LCD screens in the middle of the signature show, Persephone. That is different.

The show itself is a dance party/acrobatics show based on the eponymous Greek myth.

The final number of the show is Icona Pop’s I Love It, erupting into a massive dance party, with the performers and audience all laughing and cheering.

The Miss Behave Game Show is a riotous hour of fun that would sit easily on any fringe festival program. The audience is divided into two teams to win points that don’t matter. Sometimes it may be a question like “What’s the opposite of Ellen Degeneres?"; the team that shouts the answer loudest and fastest gets the irrelevant points. (The answer, in case you were wondering: Ellen De-selfish.)

Another way to win points is to confess. For example, at one stage the crowd is asked for “porn confessions" – let’s just leave it at that and agree that it’s different.

The Another Rose dinner show is risqué with homoerotic acrobatics and a ménage á troi storyline. It needs work, and while I would rush back to the other performances, one Another Rose viewing is probably enough for this Sailor.

Virgin Voyages App takes cruising into the future

Another differentiator is the Virgin Voyages app. You’ll find everything on it: you can make dinner reservations and find all the activities and experiences there too (and not on the typical daily newsletter slipped under the cabin door).

The claim is that you can open the app, shake it and confirm your order and a bottle of Moët will be delivered to you wherever you are in 10 minutes, at any time. Gimmick? Maybe, but it is a statement of intent.

Virgin Voyages are serious about health and wellbeing

There’s a real focus on health and wellbeing on Virgin Voyage ships. The gym is split across two areas on the upper deck: the traditional gym with weight machines and a yoga studio, then treadmills and rowing machines with a spin gym on the other side. But there’s also meditation, sunrise yoga and a host of other seminars and information sessions.

The greatest hit is the VHS Workout (videos, headbands and Simmons). Think ’80s fluoro leg warmers and headbands all inspired by the legendary Richard Simmons, with a camp instructor who brings the fun.

Virgin Voyages itineraries give more time on shore

Some tweaking has gone into the traditional itineraries and timings. In Santorini the departure is at 9pm; this not only enables a dinner on the island in a local restaurant, but as the rest of the cruise ships depart at 5pm, you get a good four hours when the island is far less crowded and more enjoyable.

We spent a night docked at Mykonos. When I returned to the ship at 11pm after a sumptuous onshore dinner, the tender was being filled with Sailors ready to hit the famous clubs of Mykonos.

That’s the summary of the experience; very different and for the young at heart.

Virgin Voyages and sustainability

Without the legacy of 30 or 150 years of operation, Virgin Voyages has been able to start with a relatively clean slate.

All single-use plastics have been banned from the beginning. Guests are only served sustainable seafood onboard, the sunscreen is reef safe, and there’s a stated commitment to net zero by 2050.

The ships are new and therefore fuel efficient, however, they aren’t LPG or battery powered; the brand seems to have come in at the tail end of the era when these options weren’t viable. There’s no commentary on the waste in the documentation we’ve viewed, and we didn’t have an opportunity for a back-of-house waste management tour (oh they are fun!).

Virgin Voyages itineraries and pricing

Resilient Lady will arrive in Australia for her “MerMaiden" five-night return from Melbourne to Tasmania on 11 December. Current pricing starts at $1306 per cabin (that’s for two people).

Other voyages are currently selling at far cheaper daily rates, with some as little as $135 per day.

The itineraries are being finalised, with predominantly short trips from Melbourne. The shortest cruise is a two-night dash across the Bass Straight to Burnie and back.