As a former “never cruiser,” I once believed all big ship cruises and cruise lines were relatively the same. Sure, some had differences like adults dressed as cartoon mice, but I was under the impression that no matter the ship, there would be engorged Americans in their Thanksgiving pants staggering away from midnight buffets, and octogenarians in Hawaiian shirts trying to recapture their youth. I avoided cruises for years based on those assumptions. But since my first cruise with Virgin Voyages in 2022, I’ve learned the stereotypes aren’t universal.
Photo: Virgin Voyages
On Virgin’s Celebration Voyages, You Can Rub Elbows With Richard Branson, Astronauts, and More
Virgin Voyages launched in 2021 as the sole adults-only major cruise line in the United States. After my first Virgin cruise, I returned again this year and was similarly impressed. Buffets are replaced with elevated restaurants, and there are no single-use plastics onboard. The company launched Celebration Voyages in 2023, which take things a step further when it comes to immersing in all things Virgin, and I joined for the follow up in 2024. There are TED Talk-style speaker sessions, sustainability-focused shore excursions hosted by senior Virgin leadership, and special guests like Sir Richard Branson himself. I was even lucky enough to hear his firsthand thoughts on the Virgin brand, disrupting the cruise industry, and Celebration Voyages.
“Our purpose of changing business for good is rooted in every decision we make,” Branson tells me. “I think that’s why Virgin fans are so loyal and enthusiastic about special moments like Celebration Voyages. It’s an opportunity for us to welcome them as part of our Virgin family through exclusive events and activities, with the very people that have helped shape the brand they’ve come to love.”
While Celebration Voyages will have different events and speakers each year, here’s an idea of what you can expect.
Party like it’s 1983
After founding Virgin Records in 1970, Branson went on to start over a dozen other successful ventures, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Hotels, and now Virgin Voyages. With more than 50 years in the travel, media, and consumer space, it’s not surprising that Virgin has a large and loyal fanbase.
Celebration Voyages are basically weeklong festivals at sea celebrating the Virgin brand, and while they certainly cater to Virgin fans, they’re for the Virgin virgin too. First launched in 2023 with a single sailing, Celebration Voyages returned in 2024 with three separate itineraries on three different Virgin ships. The voyage I went on, called French Daze and Ibiza Nights, was a seven-day, round-trip journey starting in Barcelona with stops in Marseilles, Cannes, Mallorca, and Ibiza. Sure, you could lose yourself in the glamor of the French Riviera or the delirium of Ibiza’s nightlife and easily forget about the lively activities happening right outside your cabin door – but you would be doing yourself a disservice.
Since this is, after all, a celebration of all things Virgin, you might as well dive right into the brand history. Don’t worry, these aren’t boring business school lectures. They’re a series of sessions onboard where Virgin senior leadership pulls back the curtain on the storied company’s decades-long journey. You’ll learn about Branson’s rise to quirky billionaire mogul status, how Virgin Voyages is disrupting and changing the crowded cruise industry, and Virgin Galactic’s ambitious plans for space travel.
Photo: Virgin Voyages
And if you’ve always wanted to meet an astronaut, this is your chance. In addition to speaker sessions where Virgin Galactic astronauts tell firsthand accounts of traveling to space (and answer your burning questions), they also popped up around the ship in more casual, approachable settings. Imagine my surprise when I showed up to trivia and bingo nights and found the games being co-hosted by astronauts.
Photo: Virgin Voyages
It wouldn’t be a true Virgin celebration, however, without Sir Richard Branson himself. He made a special appearance on the pool deck for an intimate chat with passengers, where he told stories and answered questions about the Virgin brand.
When I told him my travel friends often make fun of me for taking cruises because of the age-old stigma that “cruises are for old people,” he replied, “Oh, bollocks! Tell them that those days are gone. We’ve come a long way with our focus on the young and young at heart, and travelers are loving Virgin Voyages’s fresh take.”
Photo: Virgin Voyages
The voyage’s festivities culminated on Scarlet Night – the designated “party” night on all Virgin Voyages sailings, where everyone dresses in red – at a pool party DJ’d by Boy George of Culture Club fame. No, he didn’t just play Karma Chameleon on repeat for three hours. Sporting the flamboyant 1980s style he’s famous for, George spun a diverse mix of house music and throwbacks to keep the ship rocking until…well, let’s just say it was past most Royal Caribbean passengers’ bedtimes.
“You could feel the energy and excitement across all three ships,” Branson said, “and I only see next year’s voyages making more of a splash.”
Take the celebration to the shore
Photo: Michael Potts F1/Shutterstock
The celebration isn’t just contained to the ship, either. For many cruisers (like myself), the ship is mostly a vessel for exploring new ports on shore excursions. While all voyages have plenty of excursions (Virgin calls them “Shore Things”) to choose from, Celebration Voyages throw a few more exciting options into the mix.
On Celebration Voyages, many Shore Things are led by Virgin executives or partners. That includes VIPs like Virgin Galactic astronauts and the CEO of Virgin Voyages. It also includes sustainability-focused tours run by Virgin’s nonprofit organizations, like Virgin Unite. Just in case I didn’t quite get enough astronaut exposure on the ship, I had the option to join Virgin Galactic astronauts on a variety of Shore Things, including wine tasting in Cannes, Mallorca, and Ibiza, and chocolate sampling in Bruges.
Virgin breaks the fourth wall between the staff and passengers with the Shore Things on its Celebration Voyages. In Puerto Plata, passengers could take a cooking class alongside Virgin Voyages Chief Operations Officer Michelle Buntubo, or go on a vintage car tour with Virgin Innovator David Tait. They could also see the iconic Monte Carlo Racing Circuit in Monaco with Senior Vice President Frank Weber, or go canyoneering near Cannes with Innovator Will Whitehorn.
Photo: Virgin Voyages
Apart from its adults-only proposition, Virgin Voyages prides itself on its sustainability efforts. While cruising is inherently an unsustainable type of travel, Virgin takes some measures that other cruise lines don’t to mitigate the environmental impact, like banning single-use plastics onboard and eliminating buffets to reduce food waste. They’ve also partnered with eco-focused charities, including SeaTrees and Virgin Unite, which serve as official partners on Celebration Voyages.
In Puerto Plata, passengers can choose to take an Impact Tour of the north coast to the Laguna de Cabarete National Forest. There, you’ll meet a member of the Virgin Unite nonprofit organization and learn all about the importance of mangroves to the ecosystem before planting some of your own.
If you only associate Virgin with airplanes and an eccentric British billionaire, Celebration Voyages are the perfect introduction – not just to Virgin Voyages, but to the brand’s colorful history and infectious personality. And if you’re lucky, you might even get to see Branson himself and hear an ‘80s pop star relive his glory days. 