Virgin Voyage Review: What You Need To Know Before Going

I’ve been raving about the Virgin Voyage cruise line ever since cruising in December of 2022. This was my first cruise ever, and I think it’s going to be a hard one to beat! We took this trip  for my sister’s golden birthday, and it did not disappoint. An adults-only, yacht-inspired cruise line has voyages that hits over 100 different destinations. No buffets, 20+ eateries, no overpriced drinks, no kids, no subpar performances! I naturally have an expensive taste and love anything luxurious so this cruise line was right up my alley. Luxury style at a fairly affordable cost. 

What really stood out to me is their oath to sustainability. I will stand by any business that makes an effort to work towards minimizing their carbon footprints. A few things Virgin Voyages does to do their part is having smart and efficient tech in each cabin. Such as tinted windows, LED lighting, and room sensors to use less energy. Unnecessary single use plastics, including straws, water bottles, shopping bags, food packaging, stirrers and takeaway cups are banned from the sailor experience. This is a huge step they are taking towards sustainability, in my opinion.

I was very hesitant going on a cruise for my first time. I’m a bit of a control freak and going into the unknown was a bit nerve wracking. I wanted to compile all my tips and some details of the trip to give you some insight on what to expect!

Things to know before setting sail

Download the Virgin Voyages app

I definitely recommend downloading the Virgin Voyages app – although it does have a lot of glitches and sometimes doesn’t work. If you are working with a travel agent, they can help take care of dinner reservations on their end. If the app doesn’t give you troubles, you’ll want to upload your passport and documents, book dinner reservations and excursions ASAP, and share your agenda with the other sailors in your party. 

In the instance that the app isn’t working for you and you aren’t working with a travel agent, make sure to call the helpline and have them book your reservations and excursions for you. The app wasn’t working well for us, so we ended up just having to wait until we got to the cruise port to give them our travel documents.

Prioritize what entertainment, spa & fitness classes you want to book

Although you can’t book these until you’re onboard and have access to the ship’s WiFi, I recommend having an idea of what you’d most like to book before you get onboard as they get booked quickly. Which leads me to my next tip:

Book your entertainment, spa appointments, & fitness classes ASAP

As soon as you can get access to the ship’s wifi, book it all! We made the mistake of waiting until a couple hours after being boarded and there were barely any openings left. We were still able to snag a few shows that require you to book prior. And honestly it was more than enough as we didn’t mind lounging with our drinks by the pool. Make sure you read descriptions on anything you book. I did notice some of them warned we would be charged for any no shows/late cancellations. 

Choosing a cabin

Of course everyone’s needs and preferences are different, so this is purely based on my opinion and preference but make sure to do your research before choosing a cabin. Alex and I booked the Sea Terrace and it was the perfect fit for us! We really wanted the balcony with a hammock to be able to relax on, and I absolutely needed a view of the outside world due to my motion sickness. Being able to focus on the clouds helped quite a bit when I was feeling queasy. One of the downfalls of the Sea Terrace was the restroom being so small. Although I did hear from other reviews that the restrooms were pretty average compared to other cruise ships.

My mother and sisters got the XL Sea Terrace, and it seemed to work out just fine for them. They tend to overpack on trips and still made room for all of their stuff. The XL Sea Terrace has a larger restroom too, so if you’re okay with paying the extra, go with the XL. 

Side note: If you are prone to motion sickness, it’s recommended to choose a cabin in the middle of the ship on a lower deck.

Shore Excursions for the Dominican Daze Voyage

First Stop: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

For our first stop in the Dominican Republic, we decided to do the Jungle Buggy Ride & Beach excursion. I will say the views weren’t exactly what I was expecting. In the description of this excursion it states, “buggy ride through the jungle ending at the beach”, but it wasn’t the jungle I imagined. It was more or so riding through back alley dirt roads with some poverty-stricken homes. It was actually a little depressing. I was feeling so guilty just cruising through people’s back alleys while they were taking baths in their backyard.

Don’t get me wrong – it was still a fun adventure, especially if you like getting down and dirty! The ride was very muddy and we got caked with mud. Just be prepared and bring clothes that you don’t care to trash. 

The ride was supposed to end with us dipping in the ocean on a beach, but it was deemed unsafe due to the tides, so they took us on a little downtown tour. It was cool to see some culture and support some of the locals. We ended up back at Taino Bay, Port Plata, where we shopped, laid back while drinking out of a coconut, and danced a little to the live DJ. 

Second stop: Bimini, Bahamas

Our second, and last, stop was in Bimini, Bahamas. We decided to just explore the island that day and eat some food at a local restaurant. I recommend renting a golf cart to get around the island, which was about $90 for the whole day. We went and saw the Gallant Lady shipwreck on North Bimini, and then found a little shopping area where they were also feeding sharks. I wish I could remember the name of this place, but if you ask the locals, I’m sure they would know exactly what you’re talking about as we had about 3 different people telling us to go check it out.

After we ate Sherry’s Paradise Beach Bar, we headed back to Virgin Voyage’s Bimini Beach Club and chilled on the beach and had some drinks! I was a little bummed that we weren’t driving-distance to the pig or iguana beach, but that just gives us another reason to go back. 😉

Things I recommend packing

Nausea bands, Dramamine, or Bonine. If you experience motion sickness, or even if you don’t, you may want to pack this just in case! I prefer Bonine as it’s a non drowsy motion sickness medication.

Wrinkle fabric spray or travel steamer. Most tropical vacations I go on, I mostly pack lightweight, linen pieces which tend to get pretty wrinkled in my suitcase. I brought the Downy Fabric Spray with me on this cruise and it worked decently. I would suggest unpacking everything right away and de-wrinkling your clothes ahead of time since the clothes will be damp for a little while. 

Linen & layers. Depending the time of the year, you may want to pack some layers. We went in December so it got a little chilly at night. I was glad I brought cover ups and jackets. Linen is always a good idea on vacations because it’s lightweight, breathable, easy and comfortable to do things in. 

Red Outfit or Dress for Scarlet Night. If you do your research on the Virgin Voyages cruise line, you’ll recognize almost everyone wearing red in the entrance of one of the nightclubs on the ship. I believe Scarlet night happens on the second to last night of every voyage. It was so much fun so definitely make sure you participate! 

Extra Tips

Even though you are instructed to pick a selected check-in time after a certain time, we checked our bags in at the port at 8am. Our flight landed at 5:30am, so unfortunately we had nowhere to go but the port. Thankfully they held onto our luggages so we could explore Miami a little before our check-in time. 

If you happen to arrive early like we did, they’ll most likely let you check-in early. When they start boarding, you’ll hopefully be one of the first to be let in regardless of the check-in time you selected. At least that’s how it happened for us! No guarantees. They recognized us and saw us hanging around since 6am so I think they felt bad for us, LOL.

Final thoughts

The Virgin Voyages cruise line did not disappoint! There was plenty to do at all times, everything was pretty seamless and all the employees were extremely friendly and helpful. The food was 10/10 – a foodie’s dream, and so many ‘instagrammable’ spots on the ship. Gotta love a good Instagram shot 😉

If you have questions about the Virgin Voyages Dominican Daze cruise, please reach out to me on Instagram or via email at ashleigh@thetrendyidea.com