When I boarded Virgin Voyages I was apprehensive. I arrived with a whole set of preconceptions
and concerns based on all I had heard, seen and read. But once on board, those were soon forgotten
and replaced by a series of totally unexpected things that no-one had spoken about. So, I want to share those as I think you need
to know about them, especially if you are wondering if cruising with Virgin Voyages
is something you should consider, as I don’t think they have been spoken about enough. By the way, I was invited by Virgin Voyages
to go on this cruise, to see what they’re all about. And so importantly, I'm also going to answer
if I will be back as a paying passenger based on all of this. Before I get into the two biggest things that
threw me, let’s get the ship out of the way! Their ships divide opinion as they look so
different. The shape, the grey colour, the swimming pool
and the beds we all hear about, and the in-your-face design. However, having cruised I found a much more
dramatic issue that I think you need to know about, that has been overlooked. These are pretty big ships, holding 2,770
passengers (or sailors as they like to call us), but instead of the usual big showpiece
atriums, grand theatres and mega lounges, Virgin Voyages ships are filled with lots
of small venues and with many little nooks and crannies inside and all around the decks. As you walk around the ship, or out on the
decks, you move from small venue to small venue. Unlike other ships of a similar size I have
been on recently, it was such a drastic change. The venues in size were more like being on
some of the smaller ship lines I love. A kind of “small ship venues on a big ship”
experience. There is no grand and dramatic multi-deck
atrium packed with bars, restaurants, casino, shops and lounges opening onto it and acting
as the central focal point of the ship. The closest is the two deck “Roundabout”
with a little bit of seating, the Chart Room help desk, Vinyl record store and on lower
level the “On The Rocks” bar. Instead, a multitude of bars, restaurants,
coffee shops, lounges, guest services, retail shops, Tattoo Palour, ice cream venue and
so on are dotted all across Deck 6 and 7. And they are smaller than on ships of a similar
size. They are high on themes too, so you constantly
drift into different experiences and vibes. This is also true out on the decks. There is a wide full promenade on deck 7 full
of small defined spaces to sit, including the Dock at the rear, which was a favourite
of mine. Up on Deck 15 and 16, the same is true. Compared to similar sized ships, there is
no vast pool deck, but instead a series of smaller venues to laze about in are dotted
around, rather than having most passengers around the pool. The “Aquatic Club” area has two pools,
one (which has been much discussed) is definitely more plunge, pose and cool off pool than usual
cruise pool to swim in, and then there is a round pool for lolling about in, which I
saw was popular for socializing. Instead of a vast pool deck as the focal point
for sun bathing, there are many other themed places to sun, such as the “Athletic Club”
at the rear on deck (with the infamous “Net” to lie on) and then various smaller spaces,
some with covered seats, dotted around the decks. Those in suites also have Richard’s Rooftop
for sunning themselves. It feels very different, and I had not appreciated
this as think all the buzz got caught up on the look and design aspects. I did wonder if these have been created for
a world where our attention spans are getting shorter. The variety makes this ship very “Instagrammable”
as there's so many different venues and as you walk about you're constantly entering
new zones and areas. Probably the biggest venue you ever go to
is The Red Room, which is the theatre. And then that's not particularly massive and
the layout changes based on the show. The Manor, the nightclub, is also surprisingly
cosy considering the numbers. Again, because there are so many alternatives
of places to go. I found this refreshing and unexpected. It did remind me that many lines use exactly
the same ships and alter the décor by brand. The two cruises I did before Virgin Voyages
were on two sister lines and were the same ship structure and layout, so this ship was
different a-nd personally I liked that as felt it brought some of the intimacy I like
on smaller ships to a bigger ship. It’s not for everyone. Some people I spoke to, who were less keen
on the ship, missed a more classic cruise ship layout, and mostly the big central atrium
as they felt there was no big focal central buzz and energy. Then some missed having the larger pool to
do more of a swim in. So, certainly if those are something that
are important to you, something to consider. The next thing that surprised me about Virgin
Voyages was the biggest one of all, and threw me somewhat. I knew that Virgin Voyages had scrapped the
main dining room, and instead have 9 dining venues where you book a time to eat on the
App, and can only visit each one once for dinner. I knew they argued they had scrapped the buffet,
although I’ll talk a little bit about that as that’s not strictly true I knew that all food was included, so no charges
for any of the restaurants, unlike other ships with specialty dining charges. There was one surprise aberration to that
rule though: Afternoon Tea cost me $19. As an addict of afternoon tea that was disappointing. But the bigger surprise than having to pay
for afternoon tea, is just how good the food is. That I hadn't really expected at all. I thought the food was very good, and more
should be made of this. I think that is what word of mouth will be
saying. There are five dining venues out of the 9
that were my big favourites. The first was The Wake, which is the seafood
and steak restaurant at the rear of the ship. I felt that was probably the most upmarket. I really liked the Mexican restaurant, which
is called Pink Agave, were I first came across an issue that some passengers had about Virgin
Voyages dining that I will come on to shortly Thirdly, I liked the Italian, Extra Virgin. Exceptional and a real favourite with everyone
I spoke to. Fourthly, was Razzle Dazzle which is the (mostly)
vegetarian restaurant. Though I did have many of their non-vegetarian
options. Fifthly, I really loved The Galley, both from
an area to eat in but also food options. The Galley is their reinvented buffet. It’s more like a food hall concept that
has become trendy in cities. There are stations and small almost concessions
offering things like Mexican, Noodles, Sushi, Burgers, Paninis and so on. It’s close to a traditional cruise ship
buffet I guess, but just done differently. I liked it, and I don’t think I ever said
I loved a buffet on any other ship. There was a couple of other restaurants like
the Test Kitchen 6-Course tasting menu concept and Gunbae Korean BBQ which are very popular,
but more experiential and so best visited if travelling as a couple or with friends. As a solo traveller I preferred the others. Overall, the dining on Virgin is a bit like
going specialty dining every single night on a cruise, but it's included in your fare
so you don't have the on-costs. It worked for me as I hardly ever use the
Main Dining Room on most cruises. However, for some people I spoke to, they
were less keen on it. The reason, which I hadn’t thought about,
is for those who like simple and plain foods. They told me they missed the main dining room,
where they can more easily and consistently find more of the basics and classics, rather
than Italian, Mexican and so on and navigating a different venue’s menu each night. Some also said they still prefer having a
set dining time and importantly the same serving staff every evening. So, again if these are important to you then
something to consider. Definitely, the biggest surprise of everything
on Virgin Voyages for me was the quality of the food. I had not even thought about it, nor expected
that to be one of the things the line would do well. I guess I, like many, were so focused on what
quirky things they are doing different to others – I didn’t consider how they may
be focused on getting one of the basics done well. Which leads me to my next surprise, again
a core activity that had not crossed my mind as all lines I have been on have pretty much
the same approach, and I guess I expected that to be the same here too. Everyone I spoke to spontaneously, mentioned
this one by the way. And that is around the crew. What was interesting on Virgin Voyages, which
was visibly different, is that the crew appears to be quite distinct to that on other cruise
lines. They've recruited what appears to be a younger,
trendier and more diverse crew, and definitely allow more individualism and personality. You will see visible tattoos and even piercings
that would have to be hidden on other lines for example on some crew. There's a lot of Eastern Europeans, Europeans,
South Americans, British, South Africa and Americans. And, of course, still representation from
Asia, including crew from Philippines, Indonesians and so on. But it was definitely a younger, hipper, trendier
crew. And it was impossible to tell rank and everyone
wears the same casual uniform, even the senior officers The service was very good. It was really quite remarkable. I found crew were prepared to go out of their
way and across the ship remembered my likes and preferences, even in venues like The Galley,
barmaid in the Manor that I only went to occasionally remembered I don’t drink alcohol and would
produce a fruit punch before I even ordered, through to Ravi on the help desk that sorted
out an issue with my App on boarding who would come up to me around the shop to check all
was working okay and give me tips on things to do. I felt it was closer to what I have had on
smaller luxury ships than premium large ships that Virgin Voyages operates in. I just hadn't expected service to be of that
level. And as I said, everyone I spoke to, both people
I didn't know and people that I knew from the channel, this was the one thing that they
commented on too. The next area that surprised me was one that
I should have expected, but once I was on board, I just didn't appreciate the degree
that Virgin have committed to this whole area. And that was in the area of fitness and wellness. If you are a big fitness and wellness fan,
then Virgin will cater for you massively. Many areas around the ship are taken up with
fitness and wellness, and lots of the daily program is taken up with it too. On an average day, there was between 10 and
12 fitness classes including yoga, spin classes and high-impact training classes. They also ran Retro work out classes on deck
and in The Manor. There was between four to six seminars around
wellness every day. And that was everything from posture to nutrition
to massage to skin. Of course, then they have a lot of facilities. The obvious thing is the spa but then on deck
15, there are two huge fitness rooms known as the B-Complex. One is Burn and Bike, which is the cardio
area, and the other is Build and Balance, which is the strength training side. Up on deck 16 you have what's known as the
Training Club, which is where they would have things like circuit class, high-impact training. There is a 250-metre running track, which
is elevated right up above deck 16. You have a basketball court, and The Perch,
overlooking the back of the ship, where you have yoga in the early mornings. Part of the Athletic Club, has an outdoor
workout area along the deck. I just hadn't really appreciated just how
much Virgin have committed to that whole wellness thing. The downside is people who were not into fitness
and wellness did tell me they felt there was less organised activities and things to do
for them across the day, especially on sea days. There were various non-fitness and wellness
activities, but fewer than on other lines, certainly on my cruise. There were at a number of gaming sessions
and a quizzes held, often in the evening in the Social Club, which also had games, games
tables and a small arcade available. There was also a Foodie based quiz held in
the Roundabout most days. Outside there was a Seahorse racing event
held in the Athletic Club, and an adult painting a mural event. But, I think it is fair to say there was less
organised non-fitness and wellness activities than on other lines. Certainly on my cruise. So that is something to consider if that is
important to you, and check in with recent daily progams to see how that evolves. There was one thing that I had expected though
that did not happen to the degree I thought it would. One of my big concerns coming on board was
that this was going to be a party ship and it was just going to be party, party, party,
party, party everywhere. And people were going to be going crazy everywhere. And what I realised, having been on board,
is if you want to party, you can party – but like with fitness – if it’s not your thing
then it will not take over your cruise. I did note that venues are open much later,
and every night usually after 10 or 11 there was some sort of party, often out on the pool
deck area or in The Manor. Themed ones like a Pyjama party or a retro
party. But in the earlier evenings, there would be
live music in the bars, cabaret and shows. There was some great cabaret I went to, including
cocktail cabaret evenings, one with Abbi The Hostess (sort of Cruise Director) and another
with circus acts. They also had the sex and relationship therapist
(Dr. Alex Schiller) cabaret show “Never Sleep Alone” which definitely was a bit
close to the bone, out there and not for everyone. In the Red Room, they have the shows. These are unlike other lines revue production
show style, and included things like the amazing Romeo & Juliet inspired “Duel Reality”
with acrobats. I was not surprised by the different approach
to shows, as they have made much of this. But it was very welcome for me anyway to see
different style of theatre shows. So certainly if you want to party, you can. But actually it was very specific venues and
it wasn't that the whole ship was just one big party ship. Except on Scarlet Night it becomes a little
bit more party-like, where they have a series of themed events and pop-up events around
the ship. I did expect Virgin Voyages to be full-on,
go-for-it partying. And that wasn't the case. So, that was a good surprise for me as I am
not a party animal. And headed off to bed as the parties started. As a note, if you are not a party animal like
me, I would chose a cabin that is not underneath the pool area as I do wonder if that music
and sound would travel. I couldn’t hear it in my cabin and I was
on the same deck but forward. The other thing that did not surprise me,
but may some, was the mix of the people on board. I will cover that in another episode in more
detail. But, as you will have seen through this, fellow
passengers were quite diverse and of course all over 18, as this is an adult only line. But this is not just a young person line as
many think or thought it is. On my cruise, I would say the average age
was likely 45 to 60, which also makes sense as this is a premium line and these make up
the bulk of kid-free or kids-left-home groups able to come cruising on an adult-only line Now, the big question is, will I come back
on Virgin Voyages? Will I cough up my own money to come and cruise
on one of their ships, whether that's Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady, Resilient Lady, or any
other ships that come? And the answer to that is as follows. When I am going on a warm climate cruise,
the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, I will definitely come on Virgin Voyages again. I think it's a ship that is very much designed
for warm climates. And I like the different interpretation of
cruising. I like the food. I like the service. I like the focus on fitness. I like the approach to entertainment. And for me, it's a line that I now have on
my list. However, this is not for everyone. The people I spoke to probably split into
two camps, people who craved and wanted to go back to a more classic cruise experience
and layout, and I like that too and I will still keep doing those lines, and then there
were those people who relished this different interpretation of cruising, much being familiar,
but enough having changed. If you want to know more about Virgin and
other things that I discovered and found out about, click and watch this video now, where
I also talk about, in more detail, the things that really concerned me, and how they addressed
those. So take a click on that and watch that video
right now.
