The Beach Club at Bimini: Our Guide to Virgin Voyages’ Bahamas Beach Day

Our April 2026 sailing on Resilient Lady was nicknamed “Bring on Bimini”, and there was a reason. Of all the days on a Virgin Voyages Caribbean cruise, the Beach Club at Bimini is the one people ask us about most: what’s included, whether it’s worth getting off the ship, and whether it’s more beach or more party. The answer is that it can be either. Here’s how to have the day you want.

What is the Beach Club at Bimini?

The Beach Club is Virgin Voyages’ own beach club on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, roughly 50 miles east of Miami. It isn’t a private island in the “whole island to yourselves” sense; it’s a purpose-built club with a long beach, a big lagoon-style pool, bars and an open-air restaurant, used only by Virgin Sailors on the day.

Virgin developed the Beach Club in partnership with Resorts World Bimini, and on the days a Virgin ship is in, it’s exclusively for Virgin Sailors. It really does feel like an extension of the ship: your Bar Tab follows you ashore, and many of the crew who look after you on board come over to work the bars and the restaurant, so you’ll spot familiar faces.

It appears on most of Virgin’s Caribbean sailings from Miami, from short 4-night breaks to longer Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.

Arriving: sunrise, the pier and the tram

If you’re an early riser, set an alarm for the sail-in. Watching the water turn from navy to that ridiculous Bahamas turquoise from your terrace is one of our favourite moments on any Virgin sailing.

The ship docks at a pier, so there’s no tender. From the end of the pier, a free tram runs every few minutes to the Beach Club. Walk off early and you’ll have the beach almost to yourself.

Beach or pool? Pick your vibe

The Beach Club has two personalities, and knowing that is the secret to a great day.

The beach is for switching off. Soft white sand, loungers, daybeds and hammocks, and water so clear you can see your toes at shoulder depth. In the morning it’s blissfully calm.

The pool is where the party is. By early afternoon there’s a DJ, inflatables and a pool full of Sailors, and it’s brilliant fun. If that’s not your thing, simply stay on the sand. By late afternoon the crowd heads back to the ship and it all goes quiet again.

For us, the pool party is the highlight of the day. The ship’s cast come ashore and dance around the pool, some of the ship’s DJs play, and there are giant inflatables to float out on. It’s Virgin at its most fun.

Our routine: beach in the morning, lunch as soon as it opens, an hour in the pool when the music’s at its best, then a last swim in the sea before the walk back.

Bimini on our earlier visits

April 2026 wasn’t our first time at the Beach Club. The aerial photo at the top of this guide is from an earlier visit, and these are from earlier trips ashore too. Very little has changed: the same soft sand, the same pool and the same rows of red parasols.

What’s included at the Beach Club

• Lunch, served buffet-style with Bahamian and Caribbean flavours, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.
• Water and soft drinks.
• Loungers, umbrellas, daybeds and hammocks on the beach and around the pool, first come, first served.
• The pool, the beach and the DJ.
• Morning yoga and meditation.
• Lockers, changing cabanas, showers and Wi-Fi.
• The tram from the pier and back.

What costs extra: cocktails, beer, frozen drinks and canned cocktails (all onto your Bar Tab), rented cabanas, and Shore Things such as shark and shipwreck snorkelling.

What’s for lunch?

On our visit, the lunch menu was honey jerk chicken, red snapper and mango ceviche, West Indian pumpkin curry, Caribbean rice and black beans, grilled corn, crispy cassava and rum cake for pudding. It was some of the best food of the trip, eaten with sand between our toes.

Virgin is rolling out a new Beach Club lunch menu from chef Rashida Holmes, with dishes such as curry chicken roti, snapper patties, tamarind BBQ pork skewers and coconut rice pudding. It arrives on Resilient Lady from 12 October 2026, Scarlet Lady from 25 October 2026, Brilliant Lady from 15 November 2026 and Valiant Lady from 10 April 2027. Our Virgin Voyages menus page has the photos.

Drinks at Bimini

Frozen cocktails are the thing here, along with fresh coconuts (ours came stamped “A dose of Vitamin Sea”), canned espresso martinis and beers. Everything is charged to your Sailor account or Bar Tab, just like on board.

If you’ve loaded a Bar Tab, Bimini is a great day to use it. Our drinks prices and Bar Tab calculator will help you budget.

Cabanas and Shore Things

For a group, or a celebration, a rented cabana gives you shade, your own space and service all day. They’re limited, so book in the app as soon as Shore Things open.

If you’d rather do something active, Virgin’s Shore Things at Bimini include snorkelling with nurse and reef sharks at Triangle Rock and over the wreck of the SS Sapona, Bimini’s most famous dive site. The line-up and prices change, so check the Shore Things list in the app for your sailing.

RockStar perks at Bimini

Staying in a suite? RockStars get their own RockStar Quarter at the Beach Club, with a private bar, reserved loungers and a golf cart from the pier. We’ve had RockStar access at the Beach Club, and on a busy day it was a genuine treat. Our RockStar guide covers the rest.

Our tips for the perfect Bimini day

• Get off early. The first hour on the beach is the best of the day.
• Have lunch as soon as it opens, before the pool crowd gets hungry.
• Bring a waterproof phone pouch. You’ll want photos in that water.
• Pack reef-safe sun cream and reapply after every swim.
• Wear water shoes if you plan to explore the rocks.
• Check the all-aboard time in the app and leave plenty of time for the tram.

Is the Beach Club at Bimini worth it?

If you go expecting a deserted desert island, you might be surprised by the pool party. But as a day to swim, eat well and properly relax, it’s one of the best-value days of a Virgin Caribbean cruise, and almost everything that matters is included. We’d choose a sailing with Bimini every time.

Beach Club at Bimini FAQs

Book a Caribbean sailing with Bimini

We’re award-winning Virgin Voyages First Mates. You pay the same as booking direct, and when you book cruise-only through us we add bonus onboard credit on top of anything Virgin is offering. We’ll find you a sailing with a Beach Club day and, if you like, add flights to Miami and a hotel the night before as an ATOL-protected package. Get a free quote.