March 3, 2026
Solo travel isn’t new for me. Most of mine has technically been “work trips” and yes, I’m counting them. When you’re dining alone every night and exploring a city on your own time, that’s solo in my book. But this time? This was a true vacation. I grabbed a last-minute sailing on Virgin Voyages to try out solo cruising. My husband had officially tapped out his PTO for the year, and I wasn’t about to sit home waiting for him to accrue more.
If you haven’t sailed Virgin, here’s the quick scoop. Adults only (18+). No buffet chaos. Instead, The Galley feels more like a curated food hall. No main dining room versus “specialty” upcharges, it’s all included restaurants. And the parties? A first-night pajama party and Scarlet Night, where the ship turns into a sea of red and one big floating celebration.
They also genuinely make space for solo travelers and that’s where this sailing really impressed me as a great options for solo cruising.
Here’s what stood out.
1. The value (and the cabin).
Virgin and Norwegian are the only mainstream lines that truly think about the cabin experience for solo cruising. On Virgin, there are over 40 cabins designed specifically for a solo sailor and you can also book any standard cabin without that painful double-the-price single supplement.
I paid $1,155 for this Celebration Voyage. That’s about $231 a night. And for that price, it included the cabin, all dining, soft drinks and Wi-Fi. Try finding a decent U.S. hotel for under $150 a night lately and that’s before taxes, fees, and meals. My pre-cruise hotel alone would’ve been over $400 for one night if I hadn’t booked it with points!
The solo insider cabin? It was tiny, but that didn’t bother me since I was alone. There was ample storage space, including room in the closet for my suitcase. The bed is bigger than a twin, but smaller than a full. There was more than enough power available to charge all my electrics at once. And the best part of this tiny room is that the bathroom was not tiny. Well, it actually was, because most Virgin bathrooms are tiny, but it is the same size as all of the other cabins until you get to the XL Sea Terrace and Rockstar suites. Overall, I had no complaints about the room and I slept like a rock every night in all that darkness (and I routinely suffer from perimenopausal insomnia).
2. The solo meetups.
On embarkation day, there was a welcome letter inviting me to the solo meetup. I love that it referred to me as a “potential solo sailor” because while you might be traveling alone, you could also be traveling with friends onboard.
While the meetup itself didn’t have much value for me (I think because the weather was poor and several activities were moved indoors), I loved how we moved as a group to kick off the cruise with others instead of doing it alone. I was with a group of around 10 other solo cruisers and we decided to go down to deck 6 instead of 7 so it would be less crowded. This was the perfect plan as we could still chat and get to know each other, but we still had all of the fun of the party, including the complimentary sparkling wine! We also made plans to meet back at the same bar later that evening so we could go to the pajama party together.
There were daily morning meetups too. I made the first one and ended up at breakfast with new friends. After that? Port days and one gloriously sea day when I slept until almost noon thanks to that dark cabin.
3. The first-night solo dinner.
On the first night, Virgin always plans a large solo sailor dinner event. On this sailing, we met at Razzle Dazzle at 6:45pm. They had 4 large tables reserved for us, and I think we filled them all (our table was at least 20 guests – it was super long). I loved this so much because it took the stress of dinner away that first night (and even more so for me – since I booked 3 days prior to sailing, dinner reservations were scarce to book in advance). It was amazing being able to meet so many other sailors at once and make plans for the rest of the cruise.
4. The freedom.
This was my favorite part. No compromising. No negotiating pool time versus excursion time.
In Cozumel, instead of another beach day, I booked a chocolate and wine tasting. It was an intimate class, there were only 5 of us total but it was an amazing (and delicious) educational experience. We sampled Mexican wines from the Baja region paired with handcrafted chocolates overlooking the sea. Would I have done that with a group? Maybe not. And definitely not if I was traveling with my husband!
On a sea day, I bailed on afternoon tea and signed up for a champagne and fried chicken tasting instead. Three champagnes. Crispy, salty perfection. So fun. So worth it. I now suggest this class to all my friends and clients who sail Virgin.
I even dined solo one night at The Test Kitchen and was seated at the bar overlooking dessert prep. It felt intentional, not lonely, and I had a great time getting to know the couple I was seated next to.
Enjoying my alone time was the thing that surprised me the most about solo cruising. I thought I might feel sad to not have anyone else to automatically hang out with on sea days. Instead, I felt relaxed in a way that’s hard to describe. There was no one else’s schedule and no one else’s preferences. Just the space to do exactly what I wanted.
The one thing I’d tweak?
After the first group dinner, Virgin arranged for a few small reserved tables at a variety of the restaurants each evening. However, these solo dinners were set at 5:45pm and for me, that was way too early, especially on port days. Also, some sailors mentioned they wanted to join in but found all the spots were already taken when they arrived at the meeting spot. So in the end, I’d love to see both a later time option and more seating flexibility offered.
Overall? I loved this experience. Is solo cruising for everyone? Probably not. But if you’ve ever considered it, especially on Virgin, it might surprise you in the very best way.
Are you also interested in adult-only all-inclusive resorts for your solo trips? Check out my thoughts on Atelier Playa Mujeres and whether it’s the best option in Cancun or not.
