Though highly polarising, JetBlue and Virgin Voyages have teamed up to create a child-free vacation experience titled ‘No Not Disturb’. This has re-opened the age old debate on the morals of adults only traveling.
A Traveller’s Dream
Any frequent traveller can attest to fantasising about kid-free travel and holiday destinations. Now thanks to a collaboration between JetBlue and Virgin Voyages, this dream has become a reality.
Next year from Mar 4. to Mar 8. the Do Not Disturb travel package experience offers a four night stay on board the Brilliant Lady cruise with 60 cabins (or 120 passengers) available on board. The accompanying flight includes a return service from JFK to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International airport, while the cruise route involves a visit to Key West and Virgin Voyages’ Bimini located beach club.
On the topic, CEO of Virgin Voyages, Nirmal Saverimuttu, said:
“People have wanted this kind of kid-free from takeoff to sail away for a long time, and now it actually exists. Virgin Voyages has always been the adults-only, award-winning name at sea, and JetBlue brings that same spirit to the air. Put the two together, and this is just the start of what we can build.”
Tickets are yet to go on sale- but we do know that a package for two totals at USD$2,750 (£2,052) including tax, fees and a full holiday package which covers a Welcome Party and complimentary cocktail, $100 bar tab per cabin, exclusive in-cabin surprises and access to JetBlue’s BlueHouse at JFK.
The ‘Child-Free Travel’ Debate
In 2023, Clare Muldoon, broadcaster and mother-of-four, featured her opinion of unruly children on Good Morning Britain, explaining that the last thing passengers on a plane want to experience is the dread of sitting next to a screaming child or having their seat kicked from behind. She argues that misbehaving or crying children is a fault of bad parenting, while presenter and mother-of-two Ashley James rebutted and explained that crying cannot be a fault of a parent as the nature of lashing out being due to distress or discomfort, and that the best reaction that other passengers can have towards a bawling child is empathy.
The twos’ debate is part of a larger argument that has been ongoing since the conception of commercial air travel. The industry and the internet have spent years questioning the ethics of child-free travel, ultimately for airlines to shy away from such a controversial consideration.
Many raise the point that kid-free travel would create a relaxing space where adults wouldn’t have to endure the horrors that come with being stuck near a screaming and ungovernable toddler, though the more recent argument against vacation stag do’s (Amsterdam’s city council even going so far as to launch the 2023 ‘Stay Away’ campaign against English male tourists aged 18 – 35) provokes an even more prevalent contention; unruly adults can be far worse than unruly children.
On Facebook, user Liz Koehler replied to an information post on the JetBlue x Virgin Voyages collaboration:
“I don’t care for kids, but… I will admit that most children behave better than any drunken adult ever does. Give an adult alcohol and they’ll turn into a petulant, obnoxious brat. So, in conclusion, while I would pay extra to avoid kids, I’d pay EVEN MORE to avoid people who have been drinking.”
Under the same post, user Mark Parnell encouraged the partnership:
“SIGN me up! Every time I get on a plane, someone’s kid is behind me kicking the seat. It’s so bad my wife felt sorry for me once and switched seats and the parents switched the kids seats!”
President of Paisly, Jamie Perry, which supports JetBlue Vacations, said:
“We love creating vacations for all kinds of travellers, including families, but we also know there are moments when adults are looking for a different kind of getaway.”
While the context of this partnership is widely disputed, it cannot be faulted if airlines and travel companies want to create a one-off packages for demographics looking for a certain kind of getaway, especially as child-free travel is a dream for many tourists.
How do you feel about child-free travel? Let us know in the comments!
