Guest Post by Claire Gilligan‑Murrell, Kiwi in London, 43, F, countries visited: 52

In her first guest post, Claire shared how she was preparing for a month-long Mediterranean sailing on Scarlet Lady with Virgin Voyages’ Summer Season Pass. Now back on land, she reflects on what it was really like to live, work, and cruise for four straight weeks.

Read her original post here: You’re Thinking About the Summer Season Pass… Now What?

A Month at Sea

Across 29 days of sailing, I worked remotely for 16 of them, took four days off to explore ashore, and enjoyed five full weekends onboard. I didn’t take a single sick day and managed to visit 12 different ports around the Mediterranean during June.

The Fears That Didn’t Happen

Leaving London for a whole month was a big decision. I had concerns about being so far from home and how things would go while I was away. But nothing went wrong. Time zones weren’t a problem at all, and working on ship time, which matched Barcelona, made everything easier. My usual 9 to 5 flowed straight into Richard’s Rooftop for sunset Moet & cocktails.

Switching from daily London life to no cooking, no cleaning, and endless fresh coffee was very easy to get used to. My balcony gave me space to breathe, and the change of pace did wonders.

Voyage swap days were no trouble. In fact, those midday hours when the ship emptied out became one of my favorite parts of the week. The Sip Lounge made check-in easy, and having the ship mostly to myself was surprisingly lovely. Full credit to Sailor Services too — they worked hard and were consistently kind.

Food, Glorious Food

You’d think a month onboard might lead to food fatigue, but I didn’t get bored for a second. If anything, I didn’t manage to try everything. I missed out on some Dock House dishes I’d wanted, and often chose sushi or Galley specials for lunch. Dinner reservations were sometimes hard to juggle, and I made peace with skipping a few in favor of flexibility.

As for weight gain, I came home just 1 kg (2.2lb) heavier, which honestly feels like a small miracle.

Packing Lessons

Did I pack too much? Yes. Did I pack enough shoes? Not quite. Two pairs of sneakers and two pairs of flip flops got a little repetitive over a month. I had plenty of outfits, including enough for three Scarlet Nights and a few of the fun themed evenings.

Themes onboard were hit or miss in terms of participation, but I always find it more fun to lean into them. I just wish more of my clothes had pockets. I also wasn’t the only one who packed a full pharmacy — turns out a lot of us Summer Pass sailors came prepared for anything.

App Glitches and Workarounds

The Virgin Voyages app had some quirks during the Summer Pass. In theory, we were meant to have Rockstar-style booking access for dinner 60 days out. In practice, it didn’t work. We could see availability, but kept hitting a “Glitch in the Matrix” error. Thankfully, a dedicated team stepped in and manually confirmed dining reservations.

Midway through the trip, we were asked to download the new version of the app and run both. It was fine, some features were better, but I still preferred the old one for reliability.

Working Remotely from Sea

Setting up a cabin office was easier than I expected. I worked from the in-room table with my notes pinned to the metal walls using magnets. My boss even video-called to check out the view from my balcony.

The Work From Sea Wi-Fi was excellent. I also needed some help with forwarding calls from our landline, but the onboard IT team was brilliant.

Housekeeping worked around my schedule with ease — shoutout to Ariel and his team — and we built a lovely routine where I’d take a quick coffee break when they needed the room. Also, I’m glad I brought a spare AA battery for my mouse. It died on day three.

Entertainment and Community

If you’re bored on a Virgin Voyages ship, you’re doing it wrong. Between the shows, live music, Scarlet Nights, and impromptu performances, there was always something happening. My trivia team came second (I demand a rematch) and I loved spotting the pop-up dancers during the ship wide Scarlet Night events. Being on board for so long also meant getting to know the Happenings Cast — Hannah the Hostess, David the Charmer, and Ashlynn the Artist were all standouts.

The friendships I made were just as important as the entertainment. I met two Rockstar sisters on night one who became fast friends, plus two other Summer Pass couples who I saw nearly every evening at Richard’s Rooftop. We shared port stories, toasted sunset together, and quickly became our own little group. We even started calling ourselves “Ultra Rockstars” for the month.

One of our group arranged for all six of us to have dinner at Gunbae together and even adopted one of the Rockstar Agents, since we weren’t officially assigned any. That sense of connection made the month more special than I expected.

Would I Do It Again?

Absolutely. The chance to live and work at sea gave me a reset I didn’t realise I needed. It was flexible, exciting, and full of small joys — from sushi lunches to balcony sunsets and inside jokes with new friends.

Upcoming Book

Claire has a book coming out later this year about her experience — we’ll share an update once it’s available.

Summer 2025 Season Pass Still Available

As of writing, Virgin Voyages hasn’t confirmed whether a Summer Season Pass will return in 2026. But there is still availability for August and September 2025. If you’re interested in jumping aboard for a month at sea, you can read more about the offer here or reach out to us directly to start planning your own Season Pass adventure.