Cruise ships are great for all ages, but we get that sometimes you might want only the adult version of loud. Adults-only cruises let you be more openly sexual and swear like a sailor around (actual) sailors, but does the experience get boring after a while? After focusing on cocktails and dating, do you miss the silly characters and kid-based extras? As reported by WanderWisdom and MSN, there for sure are tradeoffs, but it’s worth it to ride on an adults-only cruise. That’s according to Jack Nolan who posts on TikTok about working for Virgin Voyages, a 21+ cruise line.
First, let’s dwell on the negatives; it’s Monday. Virgin Voyages doesn’t have kid-based features like rock walls, water slides, and wave machines in the pool...and those are things you still like as an adult. Nor will you have Minnie Mouse circulating around the ship waving at you in her starched red skirt, but that loss is easier to swallow.
Instead, you’ll swap out those kid standards for pub crawls between various onboard bars, drag performances, sex advice comedy shows, vibrators for sale in the commissary, and tattoo parlors (get an anchor! You’re at sea!). On Virgin’s Valiant Lady, a sex advice show led by a psychologist required audience members to wear an Eyes Wide Shut carnival face mask and possibly be pulled into participating, reports Escape.com. And while you lose the thrill of a waterslide, you can get your heart rate up at expanded exercise options, like The Runway running track to work off all those fruit-based drinks.
And the biggest change, of course, is that you are probably not seeing others having tantrums or melting down because they didn’t get what they wanted and are resisting their naptime. (On the other hand, adults seem to get into fistfights and throw beer bottles, so maybe seeing Caillou’s counterparts whine is not that bad).
All of Virgin Voyages' four ships are adults-only: the Scarlet Lady, the Valiant Lady, the Resilient Lady and the Brilliant Lady. As the company’s website says, “Sure, the little ones would probably love life at sea, but we want you to discover your inner child—not have to look after one.” While you decide whether you’d rather cruise with or without kids, here’s a little help on what to pack in your suitcase—or is that too much like mom advice?