jon81uk

Most of the time it’s fountain, only a few bars (Sip is one I think) have cans. Room service also supplies cans. But at most bars if you order a coke it’s fountain.

9 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

i liked the single cubicle setup - no waste of space from two giant mostly-unused locker rooms.  change into your bathing suit/robe before in one of the changing rooms (or just come wearing a bathing suit to begin with!) shower after, dry off and go about your day, or just go back to your room to shower.

that’s my thinking too, it’s like changing cubicles in clothes stores, single ones work fine. And as you say many people might put their swimwear on in the room anyway.

4 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Have you checked out any online videos of it? There are a couple of strange design choices that turned me off completely without even trying it.

First off, there are no locker rooms. There are individual unisex changing rooms within the spa and also individual unisex shower rooms. 

Second, instead of individual heated tile loungers there are heated flat marble platforms. So one would need to lay down a towel on the heated platform and use another towel rolled up to create a pillow for your head. 

 

 

out of interest what’s wrong with single cubicle changing facilities and showers?

1 hour ago, Fredric22 said:

Carnival just updated their policy and re-affirmed that all cruise passengers will be required to test before entering the Bahamas (vaxxed or unvaxxed) due to the local rules.  So... either Virgin is right or Carnival is right... not sure how both can be following the correct rules. 

the Bahamas website states vaccinated people don’t need to test to enter. Only unvaccinated need to provide proof of test.

see the big red banner on the website here https://travel.gov.bs

1 hour ago, Fredric22 said:

Carnival just updated their policy and re-affirmed that all cruise passengers will be required to test before entering the Bahamas (vaxxed or unvaxxed) due to the local rules.  So... either Virgin is right or Carnival is right... not sure how both can be following the correct rules. 

the Bahamas website states vaccinated people don’t need to test to enter. Only unvaccinated need to provide proof of test.

see the big red banner on the website here https://travel.gov.bs

Virgin have updated their site to state unvaccinated need to get a test.

The Bahamas haven’t changed their policy and have required unvaccinated to test to enter the country for a while

https://travel.gov.bs

i suppose Virgin could allow unvaccinated to board without testing and then stop those people from disembarking, but it’s probably easier to have the testing. 
 

13 hours ago, atanac said:

Tattoo shop, record store, no kids, no drink packages, must have a smart phone...these are a few of the reasons why bookings are so low. Royal, NCL, Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Carnival are all sailing full (or close to it) in the U.S. Virgin's business model is just to wacky to attract a large segment of the cruising public.

why would having a tattoo parlour or record shop make any difference? 
For many many people no kids is a massive plus point. 

At least in the UK giveaways and prizes are tax free so we don’t have to worry about that!

A friend got hot tea after dinner at no charge in Extra Virgin so I expect brewed coffee would be available.

Don’t think they are limiting numbers, just they are still a new line and some people are not yet travelling as much due to covid.

17 hours ago, lilyozma said:

A Sea Blazer purple bracelet and charm arrived after a 2021 cruise. Is this to be worn onboard in addition to the current cruise bracelet?  Will it provide something or experience onboard?  Thanks for the input!

The wristband doesn’t do anything except look pretty and show that you sailed in 2021.

If you go to the website or scan the QR code in the box it will show the benefits of Sea Blazer. You should have a $300/£225 off next voyage and if you add bar tab you get $125 bonus on every $300.

To my knowledge there are no onboard benefits.

15 hours ago, dippyblond said:

Last year I bagged myself a free 5 night cruise from the UK by paying for the cruise using my Virgin Points courtesy of Virgin Red.  I considered it to be a bargain and would happily welcome an offer like this to appear again.

It did happen again earlier this year (April/May) with both Valiant and Scarlet Lady offered at different rates.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/04/14/virgin-voyages-cruise-for-80000-virgin-points/

https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/05/16/virgin-voyages-cruise-95000-virgin-points/

It does work better on the ship because it’s connected to the local network there (and if you have Wi-Fi issues the tech team can help)

But that doesn’t really help when it’s so rubbish for booking the dinners in advance!

On 6/16/2022 at 12:33 AM, yarramar said:

Is there hot milk that you can take back to your cabin? 

Since we drink up to 5 or more espresso coffees a day I was thinking to bring our nanopresso and make my own but we need don't drink it black.

The complimentary drinks station only had cold milk and half and half.

Would need to order from the grounds club for hot milk I expect and that would probably be charged for.

There are two grounds clubs serving espresso based coffee, one on deck 7 and one in the Galley. 
The Galley also has two stations with complimentary drip coffee and hot teas.

If you want to take the free coffee with you I think you’ll need your own cup. But paid for coffees can be made in to go paper cups.

Brunch at Razzle Dazzle and The Wake offer the free drip coffee.  Not sure if they can serve premium coffee as I didn’t ask.

I think Richard’s Rooftop only has a bar, I don’t recall seeing coffee making facilities at any bar except Sip.

4 hours ago, baelor said:

Reading, wading in the pool, water aerobics, water trivia/music competitions/whatever, archery, tasting events, water polo, pool blackjack, various lessons and tastings, etc.  Then dinner and nighttime activities.

 

I guess I am still stuck on having one pool the size of a hot tub.  Does no one get in it?  How does it even work?

there is also a large whirlpool that seats a lot of people and six (including Richard’s Rooftop) hot tubs. 

if you don’t want to swim and just sit there is space. 

We were in cooler weather out of England and the jacuzzi whirlpool was busy and the hot tubs were full but of course in overcast weather no one was in the regular pool!

there are not really lessons on Virgin, but there are some cocktail making classes (and how to photograph them) at an extra charge. To be honest I wouldn’t be interested in lessons myself. 
there is trivia and similar. 

15 hours ago, baelor said:

I am just confused about what "sailors" do all day given that the pool is the size of the hot tub and there do not seem to be many entertainment venues.  I am all for reading by the pool for hours, but not at VV's price.

What would you do at a beach resort?

For me I sometimes go on holiday to a warm place and do sunbathing, sitting in the pool or jacuzzi and wandering to the beach in the day and then drinks/clubs in the evenings. I can do exactly the same on their ships. 
But last time we were on board (March from the UK so not warm enough to be outside much) we also did the VHS retro group workout one morning and a quiz, saw a comedy/magic show and watched a guitarist in the afternoons.

maybe I’m swayed as the cruises we’ve been on have been reasonably priced though, as you say there is a limit to how much it’s worth paying for a poolside holiday. 

19 hours ago, WIBadgerFan said:

, actual performance talent (please at least get a comedian and actual bands for the public spaces).

Ive done both Scarlet and Valiant cruises from the UK and there was both house and guest bands on both and guest comedy acts on both. One was the travelling nerd with a rubix cube magic/comedy act. Also saw a UK indie band last summer and a blues band this year. For the shorter cruises it felt like a good mix of house and guest entertainment to me.

I think one reason many others rave about the food is because it isn’t just the tex-mex staples of fajitas and enchiladas or standard Italian classics of lasagna (although they did offer bolognase and carbonara I think). The fact it is more interesting Mexican and Italian food similar to what you would find in Mexico and Italy, rather than what is normally served in US chain restaurants is a big plus point for me and many others. 
 

I agree about the desserts though, there was very few stand-outs. But the starters and mains more than made up for it. I don’t think I had a bad starter or main anywhere.

Also agree about the limited menu in the Galley, I’ve posted before that they need to add a daily special to each counter as there were ingredients in some of the dishes my partner doesn’t like, which rules out the tacos for example.

No charge for the video games or for Air Hockey. Also a selection of board games were out all the time, with the more premium board games available in the afternoons when the cabinet was staffed and open.

1 hour ago, queenschick9b said:

Thank you so much for this review.  All of your photos are amazing!  I see a cruise on VV that I am interested in, but I feel like i can't figure everything out from their website and I'm trying to before reserving.

 

I have a silly questions. 

 

It says soft drinks on their website, what type is available? I can live without diet coke for one week, but I like to know my options 🙂

 

I know your sailing was a lower capacity, but was making dinner reservations challenging?  

 

You took a lot of those fun chair photos -- how was seating on the trip? I'm short and the photos look like everything would be uncomfortable to me.  I'm a lounge around during the day reading around the ship person.

Virgin Voyages serve Coke products. 
Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke and Sprite were all easily available as well as basic juices.

Can’t comment so much on what Scarlet Lady is doing right now from Miami but when we’ve been on Scarlet and Valiant form Portsmouth there was both the house band and a guest band so most nights there was live music on offer either in the On the Rocks bar or the Manor club. There was also sometimes a guitarist in the Dock House. 
After midnight the Manor switched to being a nightclub through to at least 2am.

The server will ask if anyone doesn’t drink alcohol and just not pour a shot for them. You can still play the game, just you don’t drink when you go wrong.

There is a cocktail and food photography class and a pub crawl that are both charged for. Think there is bingo on Scarlet Lady too (we didn’t see it on Valiant).
Otherwise not many activities are extra costs, except for the obvious like spa, treatments, haircuts etc.

pub quiz (trivia), game shows, shows, karaoke, workouts are all free.

15 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

That's kind of weird they allowed that loophole in the first place since it's a drink tab. I didn't realize they were allowing non-drink purchases for a while. The profit margins on drinks vs. products in their shops is quite different. 🙂

I think it was a bug not a feature. The rules didn’t allow bar tab to be spent generally, but the computer system hadn’t been set up to differentiate the bar credit from general credit, that’s now been fixed.