Introducing Summer 2028: Two Ships. Two Sides of the Mediterranean. Seventeen new ways to experience the Mediterranean, from iconic coasts to unforgettable overnights.

Some trips are worth dreaming about. Others deserve a spot on your calendar before everyone else gets there.

Summer 2028 has officially arrived at Virgin Voyages, bringing our biggest Mediterranean season yet: 41 sailings, including 17 new itineraries, running April through October. Two lady ships, two sides of one extraordinary sea. Scarlet Lady sails the Eastern Med from Athens. Valiant Lady sails the Western Med from Barcelona. Brand-new destinations, unforgettable overnight stays, and longer journeys designed for travelers who believe getting there should be every bit as memorable as arriving.

The Mediterranean hasn't changed. The way you'll experience it has. One sea. Two completely different stories.

This season is built around two distinct Mediterranean personalities, each with its own 7-night rhythm.

• Eastern Med, aboard Scarlet Lady from Athens: Heads deeper into ancient civilizations, colorful waterfronts, and slower moments. Sailors can choose a Mykonos overnight paired with Santorini, then rotate into either Crete and Kusadasi or Rhodes and Bodrum for the second half of the week, weaving Greece and Turkey into one sailing. Sunrise coffee overlooking whitewashed villages, evenings that stretch well past sunset, and destinations where every street has centuries of stories to tell.
• Western Med, aboard Valiant Lady from Barcelona: Heads into the glamour of the Riviera. Rotating 7-night combinations mix Cannes, Nice, Provence, Corsica, Florence, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Palma de Mallorca, and Sicily with an Ibiza overnight, the only sailing in this release with a party-island overnight, and a new maiden call at Portofino/Santa Margherita, one of the most glamorous ports on the Italian Riviera. No two weeks are the same.

Whichever direction calls your name, you're not choosing between better or worse. You're choosing the kind of Mediterranean story you want to tell. Go beyond the expected.

​Everyone has heard of the Mediterranean. Far fewer have experienced this version of it.

​Summer 2028 introduces four brand-new maiden ports, places no Virgin Voyages ship has ever called, all sailing aboard Scarlet Lady from Athens:

• Trieste (for Venice), Italy: The Habsburg-era coffee capital of Europe, and a gateway to Venice itself, just an hour and a half away by train.
• Koper, Slovenia: A medieval Venetian walled city, with Lake Bled, one of the most photographed places in Europe, about 90 minutes inland.
• Ravenna, Italy: Home to the finest Byzantine mosaics outside Istanbul, and a UNESCO city most travelers have never set foot in.
• Portofino/Santa Margherita, Italy: The glamorous heart of the Italian Riviera, new to Valiant Lady's Western Med rotation.

Along the way, this itinerary also calls at Sarande, Albania, one of the last unspoiled coastlines in the Mediterranean, and Kotor, Montenegro, a medieval walled city set on a fjord-like bay. Stay out after everyone else leaves.

Some destinations deserve more than a few afternoon hours. That's why four Summer 2028 voyages include overnight stays:

• Mykonos: Sunset dinner, a second morning with no alarm, aboard Scarlet Lady's Eastern Med sailings.
• Ibiza: The release's only party-island overnight, aboard Valiant Lady's Western Med sailings.
• Istanbul: Two full days in a city that simply needs the time, aboard Scarlet Lady.
• Alexandria, for Cairo: Arrive Sunday morning, depart Monday night, a genuine two-day window in Egypt. Cairo is about three hours from Alexandria, close enough for a full day at the Pyramids.

It's a different way to travel. Less rushed. More rewarding.

Journey through the Mediterranean, not around it

Some vacations begin and end in the same place. Others tell a bigger story.

Summer 2028 adds one-way, open-jaw sailings across both ships for travelers who want to experience the whole region in a single voyage instead of circling back:

• Barcelona to Athens: Cannes, Tuscany, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Catania, Malta, and Mykonos, all in sequence, available aboard Scarlet Lady in May and Valiant Lady in June.
• Athens to Barcelona: Including a stop in Palma de Mallorca and, on Livorno days, a choice of Florence or Pisa, ending in Barcelona as a natural launchpad for a land extension.
• Athens to Rome and Rome to Athens: Mid-season options for Sailors who'd rather fly in or out of Rome, calling at Santorini, Bodrum, Mykonos, Malta, and Catania along the way.

Every day introduces somewhere new, creating a journey that feels expansive, immersive, and complete. The sea becomes part of the adventure.

Not every unforgettable travel moment happens on land. For Sailors seeking something even more transformative, two Grand Journey transatlantic crossings open up Summer 2028 before it even begins:

• San Juan to Barcelona: Aboard Scarlet Lady, 12 nights, departing April 22, 2028. A Caribbean warm-up at St. Maarten, then six sea days broken up by stops in Madeira and Tangier before arriving in Europe already decompressed.
• Miami to Barcelona: Aboard Valiant Lady, 14 nights, departing April 16, 2028. Seven sea days, the deepest decompression in the entire release, with a call at Ponta Delgada in the Azores, remote, volcanic, and long on Sailors' bucket lists, plus Madeira and Tangier along the way.

Sleep in. Watch the horizon stretch endlessly ahead. Order another coffee. Stay for another sunset. Sometimes the destination is the feeling you bring home. Why book early?

The best journeys begin long before embarkation day.

Booking early means first access to the widest selection of itineraries, sailing dates, and cabin categories before demand builds. It's also the ideal time for Sailors holding a My Next Virgin Voyage placeholder to unlock even more value while planning ahead.

For our Sailing Club members, Summer 2028 opens with exclusive early access before the general public, along with a limited-time Bar Tab offer during launch.

Planning a milestone celebration? Family reunion? Friends' getaway that's actually going to happen this time? Our enhanced Groups program makes it easier than ever to start planning together while securing the sailing you really want.

Your Mediterranean story starts now

There's no single way to experience the Mediterranean.

You can chase hidden cultural gems across the eastern shores aboard Scarlet Lady. Follow the glamour of the western coastline aboard Valiant Lady. Stay overnight in Mykonos, Ibiza, Istanbul, or Alexandria, where others only stop for the afternoon. Sail one-way from coast to coast. Or cross the Atlantic and arrive already unwound.

What matters most is choosing the story that's yours.

Summer 2028 is officially open. The question isn't whether the Mediterranean is worth exploring. It's which side you'll choose first.