Travel-and-See

The buffet on Celebrity has way more options but the Galley Food Court on Virgin has much better quality and is fresher. The pizza on Virgin is 10 times better than pizza on celebrity that’s for sure! It’s a little tricky comparing Celebrity MDR to the restaurants on Virgin… I’ve had some hits and misses on both. When Virgin hits, it’s way better than Celebrity - my first meal in Razzle Dazzle was one of the best meals I’ve had anywhere. But on my next cruise, the same items were not nearly as good, and one of the items was obviously sitting around for a long time before served to me. The restaurant food on Virgin does seem higher quality, but it’s also more experiential which may or may not be your thing. Service is also more hit and miss on Virgin. Again, I’ve had a couple of waiters on Virgin that were the best I’ve ever had, but also that were the worst on any cruise I’ve taken. Celebrity is way more consistent in my experience.

Same. I’ve never been on Princess though so can’t compare there. Both Virgin and Celebrity get some things right and wrong. I’ve had extremely inconsistent service on Virgin compared to Celebrity and Virgin misses lots of little details.

I like Celebrity. Usually less kids but still a more modern feel. A few things I love about Celebrity vs. Virgin is any-time dining, no reservations for shows and events, much nicer cabins (they feel more luxurious and are much better designed in my opinion), and the little touches like chocolates each night, water stations when you come back from sight-seeing, etc. The staff is also extremely friendly on Celebrity- everyone greets you with a smile. plus the on-board lectures are nice. There’s things I really like about both lines.

It’s really nice - I love taking a stroll up there and seeing the water all around (or an island if one is in sight or we are at a port). I think you can walk all around deck 5 if you don’t want to be in the sun… a few obstacles but that makes it fun! Haha

Virgin has a private beach club at Bimini. You take an open air tram from the ship to the beach club and they have lots of beach access, large pool, nice sitting areas, lots of free food, and they have the DJ and happenings cast having a pool party and activities. Pretty ideal for a beach day. There’s also a casino, fishing area, public beaches, etc. it’s a pretty nice - very relaxing.

definitely try for a walk up - I’ve always gotten in to every “sold out” shows on Virgin - often there is plenty of open seats even after they let the walk ins. the red room has a good number of seats so you have great chances.

Virgin is walking that line of not wanting to explain things too much and let you find surprises while on the ship - but I agree it’s easy to miss things. I’m 50/50 on the happenings cast - at worst they can come across as camp counselors trying way too hard to be cool and sexy (but that describes a few things on virgin). But there have been some standouts that are wonderful and I kinda like the concept.

Love the trip report - be sure to see “Duel Reality” the circus show in the red room. I promise you’ll love it - it’s crazy good!

Maybe it’s just an American thing. “Hash browns” for me are American diner style hash browns like you are served at Dennys, Waffle House, etc. the grated potatoes. Or breakfast potatoes that are cubed - like they serve at razzle dazzle.

When you say “smaller ones” were they still the hash brown patty like you’d get at fast food? I mean like real hash browns or breakfast potatoes. The kind a diner would serve.

Weird. Did you tell them how much fun you were having? I watched his masterclass and I really enjoyed it, he’s done some pretty cool things.

I’ll still get a small bar tab and coffee credits so I’m good. I’m a strange one, I think I prefer inside rooms although the hammock is comfy (got a free upgrade once).

Looks like bar tab promotions are only available for balcony and above now.

I’ve never seen the galley become “a zoo” the way I see the buffet on celebrity for breakfast. I’ve always been able to find a seat, and you can put up your table flag if you’d like table service - super easy.

I do wish they had “real” hash browns or breakfast potatoes- those little tater tot like things don’t count for me!

I’m really sorry that scared you away from the other excellent shows in the red room. Duel Reality (Circus show) and Ships in the Night (production show) do not have audience participation and are both incredible. They were produced by the 7 fingers - a fantastic contemporary circus company from Montreal and they are by far the best cruise ship shows I’ve ever seen. And the ship show dinner show is a really fun old time variety show with minimal crowd participation.

On your next cruise PLEASE don’t miss the Duel Reality Circus show - it’s the best show you’ll ever see on a ship. (I’m my humble opinion of course haha).

I’ve been lucky on both virgin cruises and gotten in to restaurants but I really don’t like dealing with the app. of the restaurant choices, Test Kitchen and Gunbae are experiences more than traditional restaurants, and Razzle Dazzle has great food but is really lacking in charm. That leaves 3 legit “fancy dining” experiences in my book and big surprise, those are the 3 that are usually always sold out. they really need a main dining option that doesn’t require a reservation. I can’t tell you how much more relaxing my celebrity cruise was this summer with anytime dining…. SO much better. virgin does a lot right, but they need to fix this.

I enjoy both Celebrity and Virgin - one of the things I LOVE about being back on Celebrity is the cabin. They are so much better designed with comfortable couch or chair for sitting, luxurious soap, better storage etc. - the virgin cabins feel like a cheap college dorm to me but the bed is still comfy so it does the job. Definitely doesn’t feel like a luxury vacation though the way Celebrity rooms do.

I don’t think people understand the idea of test kitchen - it’s supposed to be pretty out there flavors and preparations. The idea is you try new things! You may like it, you may not. I liked the asparagus ice cream! The guy across the counter from me did not. That’s the whole point of the place. If you don’t want to try new things and have fun, go someplace else! Haha.

The zero proof flight I had was insanely good. I didn’t realize there was this much hate for test kitchen! Haha

My biggest complaint with celebrity is how difficult it is to compare prices to see what the solo price is actually going to be. Other lines I can put it into the search and see what I’ll be paying before selecting each individual cruise and going down all these booking paths.

yeah, I agree with this. I’ve been on 2 cruises with virgin and couldn’t get dinner at the wake on either. The dining reservations and show reservations are definitely frustrating compared to other cruise lines.

I don’t expect or desire anything - I just don’t want to pay MORE for 1 than others pay for 2!

For what it’s worth - I can get a solo insider on the Ascent for $1441 for a 7 night this month vs. $1470 on Virgin Voyages for a 5 night. now virgin includes more, but still celebrity still has some comparable pricing for solos.