Can a cruise really appeal to a younger, party-going crowd?

Turning 30 this year I naturally felt ancient, instantly experiencing the same time-crunching existential crisis every person departing their 20s endures, but I didn’t expect my first major holidaying port of call to be – well, a port.

For many, cruises have unfortunately become known as floating buffets synonymous with wrinkles, bingo nights and rotund westerners in Hawaiian shirts dancing to the Birdie Song.

But that scenario seems to be changing.

According to a survey commissioned by tour operator Barrhead Travel, who report a 200% rise in cruise bookings since last year, 41% of 18 to 24 year olds have a cruise on their bucket list.

Accordingly, my partner and I find ourselves spending our summer holiday on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady, cruising the sunny shores of Spain and the south of France for seven nights.

It’s an adult-only cruise with no one under 18 allowed. Encouragingly, the mix of sailors boarding seem predominantly aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Once onboard, beaming staff members present us with waterproof wristbands which act as our ID and credit card on board. Almost all food is included in the price – but booze and specialty drinks – such as lattes or cappuccinos – are paid for in US dollars with a tap.

Having settled in, we tour the Valiant Lady’s hospitality offering, which includes a fully-kitted gym, multiple swimming pools, a running track, numerous bars, a night club, casino, arcade, a theatre and over 20 top quality eateries.

Bubbly is beloved on this ship, indeed for $95 (£73) staff will bring you a bottle anywhere on the ship if you shake your phone while using the Virgin Voyages app – which is also used to book the restaurants on board.

Back on the main deck, we discover a pool party, complete with modern music, flamboyant staff entertainers vibrantly-dressed and glittered in red, and – you guessed it – more champagne.

That evening, we eat at an Italian restaurant on board called Extra Virgin, where we’re presented with a charcuterie board of meats and glorious cheeses. My main is a succulent steak and a seafood pasta, accompanied with a rich and sweet $29 (£22.50) bottle of Sangiovese house red.

I soldier on for a pudding of berry jam doughnuts with mascarpone, pausing of course to see the irony in my criticism of overconsumption on traditional cruises – but here, somehow, it all feels more considered and classy.

It’s 40 degrees Celsius outside, but we decide to hike to the city’s highest point, the stunning Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, where the Catholic priests marching up its long steps for mass presumably have glutes of steel.

Tuesday, we arrive in Cannes for a £90 Virgin tour along the French Riviera via a bus to Nice and then Monaco, stopping at local markets, town centres and gazing from viewpoints at the Cote d’azur.

That night, we eat at the Pink Agave, where we’re served a selection of Mexican-inspired dishes, including a mouth-watering achiote-marinated smoked pork with sour orange habanero pico de gallo. Coupled with an $11 (£8.50) mezcal cocktail, the meal is bliss.

Several tequila shots later, we stagger to the Manor, the ship’s premier two-tiered nightclub.

Glitzy, fun and with good music, it becomes a frequent haunt on our trip – as does the all-night breakfast served in the Galley at 3am.

It is meals like this, where a mushroom parfait is prepared with tweezers in front of us and golden egg yolks are coupled with caviar for a culinary education, where the cruise’s price tag starts to look absolutely worth it. I pay the extra $40 (£31.10) for the wine pairing; a pinot noir is the perfect accompaniment to a main of venison with blueberries and a thick, unctuous jus.

We make it back on board for champagne in a hot tub on the top deck, where we meet a fellow 30-year-old who perfectly articulates why this is not a normal cruise. Jordan Cohen from Miami tells me he has been on seven Virgin voyages in the last 12 months.

“I never thought I’d ever go on a cruise, because I always thought they were tacky,” he tells me as we fizz in the sunlit Jacuzzi.

“But I’ve met so many like-minded, fun people that are similar in age to me on these cruises. It’s not tacky, it’s fun.”

I wake late the following day to find we are on our way to Ibiza. After plenty of clubbing and karaoke, my partner and I forego a big spend to watch Calvin Harris in residence, and instead enjoy sangria, Spanish music and rich conversation with a couple from Glasgow, atop the hill of the Castle of Ibiza.

We spend a relaxed Saturday on a beach a short walk from the port where our vessel is docked, trying not to let our eyes water as we pay €45 (£38.50) for sunbeds before a dip in the crystal blue sea.

After our second Test Kitchen set menu, complete with a puzzling but eye-opening strawberry, white vanilla and wasabi pudding, it’s time for our final evening out with our now tightly-knit group of fellow sailors – which inevitably ends with Toploader and the Spice Girls at the karaoke, before a dazzling acrobatics show at the Manor nightclub.

Waking on Sunday again as the gut-wrenching realisation it’s all over starts to sink in, I ponder: are cruises for younger people? Well, with fine foods in my belly, miles in my legs, new friends in my contacts book and a collection of aptly incomplete memories, I feel this one is.

I boarded Valiant Lady with plenty of doubts, but with further Virgin Voyages also touring the Caribbean, Greece, Indonesia and many more destinations, I am sorely tempted to follow my young friend from Miami’s example.

How to plan your trip

Barrhead Travel (barrheadtravel.co.uk; 0330 094 8364) offers the seven-night Virgin Voyages French Daze and Ibiza Nights cruise from £1,199 per person, including return flights from the UK to Barcelona, one pre-departure night in a Barcelona hotel and $900 (£699) in onboard spending money per cabin. Departs September 16, 2023.