Spa and wellness on Virgin Voyages

Quick answer: Group fitness classes on Virgin Voyages are part of the fare and are booked in the app once you are aboard. The Redemption Spa’s treatments, its salon and barbershop, and day passes to its Thermal Suite cost extra. There is no tipping at the spa. If one specific treatment matters to you, look into booking it early.

What is included and what costs extra

Virgin does not publish spa or pass prices on its website, so check the price when you book. The one cabin with spa access built in is Mega RockStar Quarters, which Virgin says includes complimentary Thermal Suite access.

The Redemption Spa

Redemption is Virgin’s spa. Its centerpiece is the Thermal Suite: a mud room, a salt room, a sauna, a steam room, hot and cold plunge pools and heated marble hammam benches. You get in with a Thermal Suite Day Pass, so it suits someone who wants a slow afternoon rather than one fixed appointment.

The treatment menu covers massages (including hot stone), facials, wraps and other therapies. Nearby:

• The Tune Up handles manicures, pedicures and medi-spa services such as injectables and IV therapy.
• Dry Dock is the salon: blowouts, color, conditioning, brows and lashes.
• Stubble & Groom is the barbershop: haircuts, fades, shaves and beard grooming.

Virgin’s FAQ gives usual spa hours of 6 AM to 10 PM and says to check the app for the hours on your sailing. Drinks are fine at the reception desk and in The Tune Up, but not in the changing rooms or the Thermal Suite.

Fitness, included

This is the part of wellness that costs nothing extra, and it is substantial. Virgin runs group classes such as HIIT, barre, yoga, spin and bungee, plus boxing in the Training Camp. The B-Complex gym (midship on Deck 15) has cardio and weight equipment, and the outdoor Athletic Club adds a boxing ring, a basketball court and outdoor training gear. The Runway circles the ship, and The Perch hosts sunrise yoga.

Classes are booked onboard only, in the Virgin Voyages app. There is nothing to reserve before you sail, and gym hours are listed in the app.

Booking treatments, and what is worth doing early

Virgin’s FAQ says treatments are booked onboard, in the app or in person at Redemption. Its spa page also mentions pre-voyage spa reservations. Because those two pages read differently, check the Virgin Voyages app and your account before you sail, and ask your advisor if a particular treatment is the reason you are going. Things worth securing early if you can:

• Sea-day slots. With no port to explore, sea days are when everyone thinks of the spa.
• A treatment before Scarlet Night or a salon blowout that afternoon. See our Scarlet Night guide.
• Back-to-back times if friends want to finish together and head to lunch.

Cancel at least 24 hours before the treatment starts. For changes, Virgin points you to Sailor Services.

Tipping

Virgin says it does not add extra gratuities to spa services, and that there is no need to tip onboard. The daily service gratuity, charged per Sailor per night, covers the crew. Our gratuities guide explains how that works.

If you are sailing with a group

A spa morning is one of the easier group plans to pull off, because the Thermal Suite runs on day passes rather than single appointments. Pick a sea day early, agree on it before booking opens, and let anyone who would rather be in a fitness class meet you afterward. If you are sharing a cabin and splitting costs, agree up front who is paying for which treatment, so the folio is not a puzzle on the last night. Groups on our hosted group sailings meet in the Nautir app before boarding, which is a handy place to agree on the day.

If you are sailing solo

Group fitness classes are an easy way to meet people without committing to an evening plan: same faces at sunrise yoga, a nod at spin the next day. The Thermal Suite is also a good solo afternoon on a sea day. See our solo sailings page for Virgin voyages with other solo Sailors already going.