Virgin Voyages Cruise Review

We just got back from our FIRST Virgin Voyages Cruise on the Valiant Lady and we wanted to share our review.

We sailed from Miami to Costa Maya, Mexico and then to Bimini in the Bahamas and then back to Miami.

This was a 5 night cruise.

This review is broken down by days and includes our embarkation (getting on the boat), a room tour, a ship tour, food and restaurants, Pajama Party, Scarlet Night, shows/entertainment, excursion to the Bacalar Lagoon in Costa Maya, Mexico, self-guided excursion on a golf cart to all the top 6 best beaches and snorkeling on North Bimini including the Beach Club at Bimini included with the cruise, and the debarkation (getting off the boat), and my top 5 pros to this cruise and my 2 cons.

I hope this helps you decide if a Virgin Voyages cruise is right for you.

Our cruise left from Miami. You can see our ship passing South Beach in the pic below.

We arrived in Miami a few days early. We rented a condo called Ocean Walk on South Beach in Miami Beach. We rented here so we could enjoy the beach and it was only about a 20 minute Uber ride to the cruise port.

On the morning of our cruise we took an Uber over to the cruise port. Virgin Voyages is at Terminal V. 

When we got dropped off, they had curbeside checkin for our larger suitcases. We showed the person proof of passage and our room number. They put a sticker on our suite case with our room number.

Then we went inside. You'll see a sign above the doors that says "Ahoy Sailor". We went through those doors and got in line to get checked in.

The check-in process verifies everything and they give you a wristband with a fob attached that acts as your key and billing system for the cruise ship. For example, instead of a room key, we would just put our wristband over our room door and it would unlock. If we needed to charge anything to our room, we would use our wristband to charge it. This made it really easy for the cruise.

The check-in process was fast and then they asked us to wait outside in a line with our embarkation group.

We didn't have to wait very long and then they had our group go back inside, up the escalator and to the security checkpoint.

After scanning our bags, we headed to another lobby area.

This is where we waited to be called to board the cruise ship.

Then they called our embarkation group and we walked over to some kiosks where we scanned our wristband and then we were allowed to board our cruise ship, The Valiant Lady.

As we boarded the ship, we were greeted by a very energetic staff giving us high fives and making us feel really welcome and excited to be aboard.

We made our way to deck 11 as that is where our room was located.

We made it to our room, Room 11038A. We used our wristband to scan it. As you scan it, the light turns green and your door unlocks.

As we walked into our room, there was a closet on the right hand side, the bathroom on the left hand side and straight ahead was the bed, a flat screen tv, a desk, and a chair.

We were excited to have our own balcony with a hammock too.

As we came back into the room from the balcony, we noticed that we had a little refrigerator, water flasks instead of water bottles along with some glass cups.

On the desk was a tablet. This tablet controlled the entire room. You could turn off the lights, open and close the curtains, and watch TV. 

When you first turn on the tablet, you will see that you need to watch the safety video first.

On the other side of the room is the closet. It has drawers, shelves, a safe, hangers, and a rod to hang your clothes on.

The bathroom was pretty standard. Not big, but not too small. It had a toilet, sink, and shower.

We put our bags in our room and we were feeling hungry so we decided to go check out the Galley on Deck 15.

We loved the Galley because they had food to go or plenty of room to eat a hot meal.

The "Grab & Go Quickeze Snack it Up" station has open refrigerators with food and salads that you can take to your room or on the go.

Because the ship is for 18 years old and up, there were a lot of innuendos like the "Grab & Go Quickeze Snack it Up", "Tap That Hot" for hot drinks and "Tap That Cold" for cold drinks.

Virgin Voyages prides themselves on not having a buffet. Each food station is like a little restaurant where the food is prepared for you.

We decided to get a burger and fries, but this is what they also had to choose from:

There's plenty of seating inside, but you also have the option to sit outside and enjoy the views while you eat.

After eating we decided to explore the ship. We found lots of places to sit or layout and enjoy the sun, hot tubs and showers, basketball courts, pools, seesaws, a large chess set, workout areas, and much more. This is what it looked like:

The bigger pool is where they have the send off when leaving Miami, the Pajama Party, and Scarlet Night as long as the weather cooperates.

The pool area has plenty of towels, so you don't need to bring a towel from your room. You just pick up a towel and then drop it off when you're done.

You can take the staircase up to the track. The track goes around the ship and has the Virgin sign that lots of people like to get their picture taken with.

Then we went down 2 decks to see the indoor workout areas:

After exploring the workout areas, we stumbled upon my favorite place on the ship. The fresh gelato ice cream shop called "Like Me Till...Ice Cream". This gelato was so delicious and I have to admit I came here a few times per day.

By this time, it was time for our cruise ship to leave Miami and start heading to the port at Costa Maya, Mexico.

We all gathered around the large pool deck and they had music, free drinks, and we all danced as the boat set out.

After the ship left Miami, we headed to the Red Room. The Red Room is where they have all of the shows and entertainment. We watched the Miss Behave Show.

After the show we headed to our dinner reservatino at the Pink Agave Mexican Restaurant. We booked all of our meals in advance, but they do open up slots when the cruise starts so you can still book through the app while on the ship with limited availability.

The food here was delicious and I love being able to order two deserts.

After eating, we headed back to our room to get ready for the PJ Party. It was raining outside, so they moved it to the Manor Nightclub. The hallway leading to the Manor Nightclub has all of the little white lights and mirrors. We had a fun time dancing at the PJ Party.

We had a late night at the PJ Party, so it was nice to sleep in on Day 2. Day 2 was a day at sea on our way to Mexico.

We used the ships ammenities during the day and in the evening we went to the Red Room again for the Duel Reality Show. This show was a lot of fun.

Then after the show, we went to our dinner reservation at the Gunbae Korean BBQ Restaurant.

This food was delicious and it was fun to watch them cook it in front of us.

After eating we went to bed earlier as we were going to be in Costa Maya, Mexico on Day 3.

When we woke up in the morning we went and got breakfast in the Galley and then headed out.

We were excited for our 3rd Party excursion with Shore Excursions Group to explore the Lagoon of 7 Colors called the Bacalar Lagoon.

In the line on our way off the ship there is a tv with all of the information of when to get back on the ship.

You'll scan your wristband so they know you are getting off the ship and then you'll walk the long pier to the main complex of the Costa Maya port.

Costa Maya, Mexico is located on the southeastern side by the border of Belize.

This is about 2 hours south of Tulum.

We are so thankful to Shore Excursions Group for hosting us on the Bacalar Cenotes and Lagoon Exploration Excursion.

This was our 2nd excursion with Shore Excursions Group and it was awesome! The first excursion we did was in the Dominican Republic doing the Damajagua Waterfalls Excursion. We loved the small groups and the ability to do more than the large groups so we decided to go with them again in Costa Maya, Mexico.

Note: I am an affiliate with Shore Excursions Group. When you click on the links provided, it lets them know that I referred you. This doesn't cost you anything extra. If you end up booking the excursion through this link, I will make a small commission. If you do, I want to thank you in advance as every little bit helps me get out and record more adventure videos.

Getting Started at the Costa Maya Cruise Port: We arrived at the port in Costa Maya. After we got off the cruise ship we walked the long pier to get to the port. This is what the pier looks like at you walk to the entrance of the port at Costa Maya.

As we walked the pier we could see the port off to the left. The port looks like an old Mayan village.

As we reached the port entrance there is a big Costa Maya sign.

As we walked in there is a big post with multiple signs hanging from it. You'll also see some people dressed in authentic Mexican outfits.

We saw a green sign that said PreBooked Tours and headed to the right. We found out that this is only for pre-booked tours that are hosted by the cruise ship.

Third Party Excursion Groups are not allowed to meet you in the port, so you have to navigate your way out of the port where they will be waiting for you.

The port at Costa Maya is a little tricky to get out, but the map and signs helped out a lot.

Directly behind the post with the signs is a blue map of the port. Below you can see the path that we took to exit the port.

So instead of going to the right side of the signs, we headed straight and saw some men dressed up in authentic Mayan costumes and just past them a sign that says "Port Entrance".

We walked through the port entrance, which is a shopping area and into the port. We followed the path past some pools and flamingos.

We followed these signs that say "Port Exit". This took us all the way to the exit where you will see a parking lot, a roundabout, and a guard gate.

We walked over to the guard gate, crossed the cross walk to the middle where there is a sidewalk that you can take to the other guard gate at the entrance of the port. This is where Shore Excursions Group was waiting for us with a sign with my name on it.

After we met up with our guide, we walked over to their parking lot where we got into our assigned van along with the other members of our group and headed out.

Our guide told us that we would be stopping at a small village first called Pedro Antonio Santos. This is about a 50 minute drive. (The van shuttle was included with the excursion).

We had a choice if we wanted to get freshly cut pineapple or freshly cooked empanadas. We were all really hungry so as a group we chose the empanadas.

After we ate the empanadas, we still wanted to try the freshly cut pineapple. We asked our guide and she told us that we could, but that we would have to pay for it ourselves since the excursion only covered one. We paid and it was only $2 US Dollars and it was totally worth it. It was delicious.

After eating, we headed to Bacalar which was about a 25 minute drive.

We drove to Papitos Marina where our pontoon boat was waiting for us.

We pulled into the parking area at Papitos.

We got out and we were able to use their bathrooms.

After using the bathrooms, we headed over to the docks.

Along the way we noticed that they have a store and a restaurant.

We walked by those and onto the dock where we met our pontoon boat drive and boarded the boat.

They also had lots of snacks and drinks for us on the boat.

After we were all on the boat we headed out. 

The views were amazing. We saw blues, turquoise, green, and lots of different shades in between.

Our first stop was Cenote Negro. 

We were boating through shallow turquoise water when all of a sudden we reached Cenote Negro that drops 250 feet deep.

Because of that drop off, it looks like a big black hole.

As we explored Cenote Negro, we saw that there are houses that back right up to it.

Then we headed out and farther south to Cenote Esmeralda. Along the way we went through really shallow water that backed up to a lot of rental properties that have their own docks.

This is an aerial view of Cenote Esmeralda. This cenote is wider than Cenote Negro and goes down about 229 feet.

We loved the contrast of the colors around the cenotes.

We then headed over to a shallow area where we put in the anchor. 

We got out of the boat and were able to swim around. The water was only about waist deep.

One of the things we loved about this lagoon is all of the cenotes.

As you look farther south we could see Cenote Cocolitos and Cenote Azul.

We didn't go to them on this excursion, but the views were beautiful.

After swimming and hanging out at Cenote Esmeralda, we headed north to the Pirates Canal/Channel.

On our way up we passed Bird Island. The views along the way were breathtaking.

As we pulled into the Pirate's Channel/Canal, we could see that this is a really popular spot.

The water is shallow for swimming and it has an old structure that was going to be a restaurant, but was abandoned that you can explore and jump off of. This old structure looks like a concrete boat.

Behind the structure is the entrance to the Pirate's Channel/Canal. That's where we saw the most fish. 

This area was absolutely beautiful

We spent about 40 minutes swimming and exploring. 

Then we got back onto our pontoon boat and headed back to the marina.

We had all worked up an appetite and were excited to go to a Mexican restaurant. This was part of the excursion.

We all got back into the van and we headed to El Taco Loco restaurant.

We ordered fish tacos, which tasted delicious.

We also had another person in our group that ordered chicken fajitas.

This was the perfect meal after a long day.

After eating we headed back to the Costa Maya Port.

Overall, we had a great time exploring the Bacalar Lagoon of 7 Colors and the two cenotes.

We would highly recommend booking this excursion on your cruise to Costa Maya.

Once we were back at the port we walked around, did some shopping, watched the flamingos and then headed back to our ship.

After walking around and exploring the Costa Maya Port, it was time to get back on the ship. We walked the long pier back to the boat.

We got cleaned up and then we went to our dinner reservation at The Wake Steak & Seafood Restaurant. The food here was delicious!

After eating, we went back to our room and put on our red outfits for Scarlet Night.

Note: a lot of people wore their red outfits for Scarlet Night to the restaurants for dinner too.

The weather was great so we were able to have this dance party on the pool deck. They had the DJ playing high energy music. It was a lot of fun dancing and hanging out with friends.

We stayed out late for Scarlet Night so it was nice that we had a day at sea for Day 4.

We slept in and enjoyed the amenities on the boat.

In the evening we went to the Red Room for the Around the World Diva Show.

After the show we went to dinner at the Extra Virgin Italian Restaurant. Again, the food was delicious. Virgin Voyages does a great job on their food.

After eating we hung out with friends and then decided to get a good nights sleep as we had a full day planned on Day 5 on the island of North Bimini in the Bahamas.

On Bimini, you can rent golf carts to explore the island. This is a normal mode of transportation on the island. 

The cruise included free entry to the Beach Club at Bimini, but we wanted to explore all of North Bimini so we decided to rent a golf cart for the day and explore 6 different beaches and snorkeling spots including Radio Beach, North Bimini Shipwreck and Beach, Northern Bimini Beach, The Beach Club at Bimini, Kayak Beach, and the Bimini Public Beach.

When you get off the ship they have a free tram that you can take to the golf cart rentals or you can just walk. We decided to walk since it was only half a mile to Sue & Joy's Golf Cart Rentals. We payed $140 for a full day rental of a golf cart.

After renting our golf cart we drove the 2.2 miles south to Radio Beach. In the Bahamas you drive on the left side of the road.

Radio Beach had two different places you could order food and you also could rent beach chairs and umbrellas their too. We decided to just use our towels.

Radio Beach is absolutely beautiful. It has crystal clear water and good snorkeling around the rocky outcroppings. We brought our own snorkeling gear.

We did see some jelly fish, but we were able to swim around them and we didn't get stung.

After snorkeling and hanging out at Radio Beach, we drove 0.4 miles down to the North Bimini Shipwreck and Beach.

We were excited to snorkel the tip of the southernmost point and then snorkel the shipwreck.

This is where we got into the water to snorkel.

After snorkeling the southern tip of North Bimini we got out of the water and headed north to the shipwreck.

The shipwreck is surrounded by rocks so we got into the water in a small cove by the shipwreck.

After snorkeling the shipwreck we got back into our golf cart and headed 3.4 miles north to the northernmost beach.

We passed the free tram along the way. The free tram only runs on the north end of the island.

This beach was beautiful. It had really soft sand and crystal clear water. We didn't see many fish so this was more of a sunbathing/swimming beach instead of snorkeling.

Next we drove the 0.1 miles to the Beach Club at Bimini. This resort was included with our Virgin Voyages Cruise. We planned it this way so we could use the bathrooms, get some food and drinks, go swimming in the pools, and ocean, and to hang out with friends.

There is a designated area to park your golf cart. We found a parking space and then walked in.

At the front, you'll see the Beach Club at Virgin Voyages sign. This front area is where the free shuttle drops off and picks up guests.

We walked into the Beach Club and there is a bar right as you walk in.

They also have changing cabanas to put on your swim suit or to change into dry clothes.

There is also a wood trail system throughout the resort. It has a lot of signs so it is easy to find your way around.

The pool on the southern end has a volleyball net and a bar.

The beach chairs and umbrellas are free, but they are first come first served.

There are two places to eat. They are called Beach Eats. There is Beach Eats North and Beach Eats South.

We ate at Beach Eats South. We went up and they showed us the menu. We placed our order and took our food on a tray over to a table. The food was included as part of our cruise.

After we ate, we went over to the north side of the resort. This is where they have the DJ and loud music playing. They provide floats for the pool and it was a really fun environment.

They had this really cool firepit.

They do have cabanas available, but you do have to reserve and pay for them. It's considered an upgrade.

This resort is absolutely beautiful. We had such a good time eating, swimming, and soaking up the sun here.

We still had about 2 hours before we had to be back at our cruise ship so we drove back to Sue & Joy's Golf Cart Rental to return our Golf Cart. We had two beaches left to explore, but they are right by the port.

From Sue & Joys we walked the 0.1 mile to Kayak Beach. 

Kayak Beach is a small little beach with lots of kayaks, jet skis, and boats for rent. We didn't get in the water to snorkel here because of all of the water crafts. It was a beautiful beach.

After hanging out at Kayak Beach we walked the 0.1 mile to the Bimini Public Beach.

We loved hanging out and snorkeling at Bimini Public Beach. This is right by the pier to the cruise ship so we hung out here until it was time to get back on the cruise ship.

There is a sign that says that Cruise Ship Guests can only be on the south side of the pier at the Bimini Public Beach. The other side is for residents only.

Then we got in the water and snorkeled under the bridge/pier.

We had an amazing day exploring Bimini. Then it was time to get back on the cruise ship. It was nice that we were really close to the ship so we just grabbed our bags and snorkel gear and walked the pier to the boat.

We had dinner reservations at Razzle Dazzle. This is the American Food Restaurant. Somehow I lost my footage that I took there, but the food was delicious.

On our last night we had the choice of tagging our suitecases and put them outside our cabin door if we wanted them taken off the cruise ship for us.

We decided that we would just take our bags with us in the morning. This turned out to be easy and we didn't have to search for our suitcases after getting off the boat.

On Day 6, we had our debarkation time between 7:30am to 10:30am.

When we got off the boat we took an Uber back to South Beach where we had a condo for a few more days.

Overall, we had an amazing time on our first Virgin Voyages Cruise.

These were our Top 5 Reasons we loved this cruise:

1. We loved the destinations of Costa Maya, Mexico and Bimini, Bahamas.

2. We loved our room with the balcony and hammock. The bed was really comfortable and we had everything we needed.

3. We loved the festivities and entertainment on the boat. We had a great time at the PJ Party, Scarlet Night, and all of the shows.

4. We loved the food. It was so cool to go to a different restaurant each night.

5. We loved that this was an 18 and over cruise and that everything was catered for adults.

I only had 2 cons for this cruise:

1. I'm not a big fan for days at sea (5 night cruise with only 2 ports), but Virgin Voyages did a great job at keeping us entertained. I usually look for cruises where we are hitting a port per day, but this cruise was still worth it.

2. On other cruise ships we have gotten a printed itinerary every morning so we would know what's happening throughout the day. With Virgin Voyages, you use the app for everything. This was new for us and we missed a few things because we didn't know where to look at first. This isn't a huge con, you just need to make sure you dive into the app and really get to know it so you can hit all of the activities on the boat that you want to go to.

Overall, there were way more pros than cons for this cruise and we would definitely do it again!

The Virgin Voyages V Terminal Cruise Port Map:

718 N Cruise Blvd, Miami, FL 33132

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.) 

Costa Maya, Mexico Excursion:

We booked our excursion through Shore Excursions Group. At the time we went, the price was $169 US Dollars per person.

That is a total of $338 for Julie and me. Shore Excursions Group hosted us so we didn't have to pay that, but after going we can say that price is totally worth it.

We did tip our guide $20, the pontoon boat driver $5, and our bus driver $5. That came to $30 in tips. Tips are not required, but it's a great way to show your appreciation.

We also paid $2 for freshly cut pineapple.

Total Cost = $370

North Bimini, Bahamas Excursion:

We rented a golf cart in Bimini at Sue & Joy's Golf Cart Rental. We just showed up and they had a whole fleet of golf carts. We rented ours for $140 US Dollars for the whole day.

Total Cost = $140

Virgin Voyages Cruise:

We didn't book directly with Virgin Voyages for this cruise. We actually went through the Sidewalker Daily Creator Wave Retreat for $2,698 per person. This was a retreat for content creators. So our tickets included our cruise plus the retreat. I'm not sure how much it would have cost just for the cruise. On the Virgin Voyages Website it says that the Sea Terrace cabins start from about $1,992 depending on when you book. (Prices are always changing)

You can see it at VirginVoyages.com/itinerary/caribbean/mayan-sol-5-day-cruise.

Total Cost = Approximately $1,992 for the Sea Terrace Cabin

Costa Maya, Mexico Excursion:

These are the things that I recommend you bring:

• Bring your confirmation ticket printed out on paper to show when you check in.
• Wear your swimsuit under comfortable clothing.
• Wear shoes that can get wet. (Watershoes or flip flops)
• Bring your own hat and sunglasses.
• Bring your own towel.
• The Bacalar lagoon has Estromatolitos which are very important in the ecosystem as they release oxygen into the atmosphere and keep the lagoon healthy. Because of this sunscreen is not allowed, so you will need to bring a rash guard or shirt that you can wear in the water if you want to avoid getting sunburned.
• Cash to tip your guide, boat drive, and bus driver.
• Extra spending cash. We stopped on the way back and purchased fresh pineapple for $2 US Dollars.

Bimini, Bahamas Excursion:

These are the things that I recommend you bring:

• Bring at least $140 cash in US dollars to pay for a golf cart rental. (The highest price one when we went was $180)
• Bring your own snorkeling gear (Mask, Snorkel, Fins).
• Wear shoes that can get wet. (Watershoes or flip flops)
• Bring your own hat and sunglasses.
• Bring your own towel.
• Wear Reef Safe Sunscreen.
• Extra spending cash if you want to spend some time shopping.

Virgin Voyages Cruise:

These are the things that I recommend you bring:

• Bring an outfit to wear at the PJ Party.
• Bring a red outfit for Scarlet Night.
• Bring your own snorkeling gear (Mask, Snorkel, Fins).
• You don't have to dress up for dinners so bring some comfortable clothes to go out to eat.
• Book your restaurants before the cruise to get the times that you want. If you forget, they open more times when you get on the boat so you would want to do that first thing when you get on the boat.
• Bring some workout clothes if you want to workout, cycle, or jog on the track.