Virgin Voyages - What you need to know from first hand experience!
Virgin Voyages - What you need to know from first hand experience!
Virgin Voyages is one the newest cruise lines to date and they’ve been a hot topic lately.
What is Virgin Voyages?
Virgin Voyages is an adults - only cruise created by Richard Branson. They take a different spin on cruising than other cruise lines do. They’re extremely inclusive of all ages, genders, sizes, sexual orientations and ethnic backgrounds.
What’s included in your fair:
Basic Bevys - Tea, soda, water, juice and basic coffee
Tips for on board staff
Basic WiFi
All eateries on board
Fitness Classes
Virgin packs their daily agenda with plenty of things to do for every person.
You can spend hours laying on the pool deck catching some sun, hit up the gym for a few hours or maybe you want to learn to paint while you have drinks, the options are limitless. Every person who hops on board will have their own unique experience and that’s one of the reasons why we love Virgin.
We’ve been on 2 Caribbean sailings, they were both on the Scarlet Lady to Playa Del Carmen/Cozumel and Beach Club at Bimini.
Here’s our reviews:
Cabins: 5/5
We had a Central Sea Terrace (Room with a balcony) both times and we highly recommend them. They are plenty spacious for 2 people, the bed is extremely comfortable and can also be converted into a couch. The shower has phenomenal pressure and gets very hot, which I personally love. The Balcony is the perfect spot to pop on in the morning and watch the sunrise or drink your afternoon coffee. We also picked ones with the famous red hammocks and let us tell you, it’s probably one of our favorite spots on the ship. Bonus, if you’re room next to friends or family, Virgin can open the Balcony Separator for you and create a larger space for you all to share. Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Food: 5/5
Virgin has 20+ eateries on board and you’re going to love them. These eateries had their menus developed by Michelin star chefs and it shows! There is no buffet on Virgin, which we love. They have an area called the Galley that has 9 different spots to pick from. You order from your table and they bring it to you within minutes. Having the ability to order as much food as you want in increments helps you from overloading your plates and wasting food. Virgin Voyages is very conscious of the planet so this model helps support that. They also include grab and go containers that are reusable and they don’t allow any single use plastic on board.
For the main eateries you can pick 1 of each per day for dinner with a reservation. We did 5-day sailing so we omitted Razzle Dazzle ( A vegan restaurant on board, which is out of this world! ) the first trip and Test Kitchen the second. They’re all spectacular and honestly, the amount you're paying for your voyage would probably be less than what you would pay if you went to this level of dining in a big city like Chicgao or New York, and they’re INCLUDED in your Vacation Package!
Entertainment:5/5
Virgin has fun shows throughout the day like Around the World in 80 minutes with The Diva, musical artist and karaoke which are all wonderful. The big shows that happen in the evening are artistic and creative. They have performers of all colors, shapes and sizes, which being retired professional dancers isn’t something you normally see. That already gets bonus points from us. Duel Reality is a take on Romeo and Juliet performed through Circus and Acrobatics and if we’re being honest, I cried the first time we watched it. #UntitledDanceShowPartyThing,yes that’s the longest name ever. It’s an semi interactive, out-of-the-box show that may not be everyone's cup of tea but YOU HAVE TO SEE IT! Ships in the Night may be the most beautiful show they have on board. The dancers are athletic and diverse in their quality of movement and bring this unique story to life.
Gambling:4/5
If you like to gamble and try to win money, you have a few options on this ship that we think you’ll love. Drag Bingo is great because not only are you playing bingo but you’re also getting an amazing show from The Diva. The money is also a decent amount, they start around $900-$1,100 and the last round was upper $2,000 to lower $3,000. They also have a decent sized casino with slot machines as well as tables with dealers. Virgin is also the only cruise line that now has the World Poker Tour on board and they hold classes for newbies for Free. They also have things like the Sea Horse Races and other ways you can win money.
Staff: 5/5
The entire staff was amazing. We became quick friends with the Happenings Cast, who helped run the entertainment on the ship. They’re in place of a cruise director. We also became fast friends with our housekeepers, who have always done a splendid job at keeping our place clean and quick to the call if we needed something. The servers work at all different restaurants on the ship, so you may see them in different places. However, on Virgin you don’t have a set seating time for dinner so your waiting staff will most likely differ from location to location. Sailor Services have always been able to help us with any hiccups we’ve had on our trips, usually the initial internet connection or linking of people in the room. Overall, we’ve never met someone on board we didn’t enjoy.
Fitness: 5/5
Virgin Voyages is all about health, fitness and being environmentally conscious. There are a ton of fitness spots and wellness places for any level of activity. We’ve taken a few dance classes like the “Boy Band Dance Class” and “VHS Videos, Headbands and Simmons' ' which got our heart rate up and were extremely fun. The Bungee classes and Sunrise Yoga book up extremely quick. While they’ll have other types of workouts like HIIT, Cycle, Yoga, etc, you can always just go to a gym space and throw around weight or hop on a bike, even do some body weight outside on the deck.
Overall, we highly recommend Virgin Voyages for a vacation. It’s the perfect way to relax, see the world and make new friends. While this is just an overview we will go into more detail about each one in later Blogs.
Would you go on a Virgin Voyages Cruise?
If you have questions, have something specific you’d like us to chat about or wanting to book your vacation. Send us an email at Info@magicalkeysvacations.com and we will start getting everything booked for you.
Have a Magical Day!