Travel-and-See

Are people lining up 30 minutes before doors so 1 hour before showtime? Or 30 minutes before showtime? there seemed to be such little demand for the red room shows on my previous cruises that it’s hard to believe they are really filling up

One of the mistakes Virgin made was expecting guests to make reservations for shows and restaurants - nobody wants that. but nobody wants to line up for shows either - that’s not something that I have to do on other cruise lines. I’m not sure what the solution is at this point.

June - on the Millennium. I definitely saw cuts to the buffet compared to previous Celebrity cruises but the MDR was very good.

Woah! My MDR meals on Celebrity were way better than that! No wonder you think Virgin is so much better.

Did any of the red room shows fill to capacity and turn guests away?

Can I ask why? I find Virgin and Celebrity very comparable with Celebrity having nicer rooms, better over all service and Virgin having better quality food and beverage ingredients, better quality entertainment and a lovely lack of announcements, upsells, and children lol.

I’ve seen it once and that was on a sailing where it was shown 4 times so plenty of other options to see it. I also think they didn’t turn anyone away just sent them up to the upper seating where they don’t usually seat for that show. I see it every time I can! I don’t think any of the red room shows need reservations- it’s big enough to meet the demand.

I just think it’s funny that so many people act like Virgin is beyond compare to other lines. They do some things better, and some things worse but at the end of the day it’s pretty much the same.

I do that constantly. When I’m on VV I miss things about Celebrity and when I’m on Celebrity I miss things about VV lol. im not sure what comparisons shouldn’t be made.

Been about a year but they used to have an Intelligensia blend specific for Virgin. I’ve definitely had better coffee on Virgin than on other cruise lines - and the prices are quite reasonable. Literally half the price of Celebrities coffee bar.

I think it’s pretty comparable- nothing that different from my celebrity experiences - pros and cons to both.

All areas of the ship have different styles of background music playing. They do play louder dance style music as you board and at the sail away and other parties and of course in the dance club. live music is lots of variety, there is always a solo guitarist on board as well as a guest band. The bands vary in styles but I’ve seen some excellent musicians on board. I’ll also mention that the virgin ships are less open than other like celebrity - this means that noise levels don’t affect all areas of the ship. Always easy to find a quiet area to relax

I never said that it did.

A Virgin rep did present it to me as though it were a park of the DBE’s

I have gotten really good deals on Celebrity, but those Edge class ships are $$$! I’m also always shopping for solo deals and virgin has better solo pricing so that might make a difference. I really like both lines. Celebrity has very consistent service which I love.

do they? Celebrity prices are climbing pretty high! its all optics. I like how virgin does the lack of tipping, but on my last celebrity cruise all my tips came out of OBC so I still didn’t pay. So both can be a win.

Oh not at all! Virgin is very comparable to Celebrity. The drinks aren’t free, but you usually will end up with a “bar tab” included. And additional drinks are reasonably priced. I’m more of a coffee drinker than anything else and I can tell you that an iced latte on virgin is about half the price compared to celebrity.

I mean… the silent disco is one of the cheesiest things I’ve seen on a ship haha.

You’re definitely right about the staterooms - Celebrity is way nicer and more luxurious feeling. Also just better designed to be useful. I also really like all the unique art on Celebrity ships - virgin has some pretty generic looking spaced in comparison. entertainment, for me, is way better on Virgin. The Duel Reality Circus show is the best thing I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship and even the musicians in the bars are way better than a typical cruise. celebrity, to me, has theme park level production shows and a total gamble on guest entertainers.

Can I ask why? Since this is in the Celebrity section my cruise lines of choice are Celebrity and Virgin and I find them very comparable. definitely some things that both lines get right and wrong but no tips, no charge for Wi-Fi, no drink packages, etc. are huge wins for me.

No, you aren’t pre-paying anything. No gratuities are added on to your bills. Virgin pays their staff more than other cruise lines. They also let staff have visible tattoos, fun hair, and they provide them with free wi-fi. They take better care of their staff.

If you don’t pre-pay before your cruise they will take tips out of any OBC you may have. On my last cruise I didn’t pay any tips and still got a couple pairs of socks from the gift shop and a couple of drinks and still had $7 leftover!

It may be inconsistent- my first cruise drinks were free at Untitled and the second cruise they weren’t.

Same! On my first cruise I never thought of it either. On my second cruise I asked for sparkling water and my attendant said “would you like me to put that in the refrigerator for you so it stays cold” and I was like…. Yes. And why didn’t I think of that!? Haha.

It will be interesting to see how you like Virgin. Based on some of your complaints on the equinox, I’m not sure if Virgin will be your style but maybe you’ll love it.