Travel-and-See

I don't remember the exact specifics, but the Social Club is set up differently on Scarlet vs. Valiant. I think they have Table Shuffleboards set up where the tables and booths are set up for board games for example.

I just took a Celebrity cruise from Seward to Vancouver and I got off the Millenium and boarded VIA Rail's Canadian train that afternoon and took it to Edmonton Alberta. This is the same route that some of the Rocky Mountaineer trains take, you just travel overnight. You get a little bit of time to walk around in Jasper National Park as well. The train is very nice, and is a real vintage train from the 1950's - very retro. You can buy Coach tickets for real cheap (like me) or you can get a very simple sleeping car options, or a very expensive "Prestige Class" - all passengers have access to a dome car and the scenery is incredible. The train continues past Edmonton to Winnipeg and Toronto but the good scenery is from Vancouver to Edmonton.

For me, I will continue going back to Virgin for the high-quality entertainment, the good food, and the laid back vibe (you never have to dress up, I can wear a hat to dinner every night if I want to!, I'm never having anyone try to sell me anything, etc.). Because it's a smaller line there is a nice familiarity about returning, you know where everything is, and you want to revisit cool places. I also want to continue cruising with Celebrity - I find the ships to be more interesting to explore and a bit more "WOW" in the design. I've yet to meet anyone on VV who is as passionate about their jobs as some of the cruise directors and presenters I've met on Celebrity. And... Alaska! haha.

I don't think Virgin needs to take reservations for the Red Room shows. Just open the doors and make it "first come first serve." The Manor is a little small for how they use it, so they probably need to keep reservations for those shows, especially Ship Show since it's a diner show. Reservations for Restaurants and Shows are one of my biggest complaints about Virgin compared to other cruise lines - the one area where Virgin has complicated things compared to other lines.

As soon as I get on the ship I book the shows I want - a couple times I haven't gotten a booking and just went to standby and everyone in the standby line got in. I've also attended lots of "Sold Out" shows on Virgin ships and the theatre was 50% or so full - I've only seen the Red Room full once and that was for 1 show of Duel Reality (they showed it 4 times on that voyage and only 1 was actually full even though they were all "sold out").

I will say the 4-night has a more party crowd. When I was in line to get into the Circus Disco the girls behind me were saying they wished the ship had an upper age limit so it was only 18-30 year olds... The longer cruises definitely have a different vibe.. I'm sure that's true for any line. It sounds like you there was something unique about your particular cruise, some sort of meet-up. That definitely would have made me feel awkward about the cruise as well.

Yes, even when ordering things on the menu you'll get a "Oh let me see if we have that" from servers. I also found out that you can't order "Club Soda" you have to order "Sparkling Water" otherwise you may get a Sprite or a Coke. Another example, at the Test Kitchen they call the non-alcaholic drinks "Zero Proof" but other bars will act like they've never heard of such a thing as zero proof and offer you Coke Zero instead.

I think the Entertainment department might look at the average age on a sailing and decide on multiple showings of Untitled vs. Ships in the Night. - I know I prefer Ships in the Night personally.

I've been on both VV ships and I've never made a reservation before boarding the ship. Reservations always open up as people cancel and change plans. I've also been able to walk up sometimes as well though I prefer to make a reservation even if it's just an hour or so before the time I will end up dining. There are certainly times you will open the app and see all of the restaurants booked... but just check again and you're likely to see some availability. Now I can understand if you don't want to go to that trouble and I would argue that VV could come up with a better system for dinner reservations but the idea that you don't get to eat in the restaurants on an entire cruise because "everything is booked" is just not reality. Dine n Dash is not "omelets only" you can get eggs cooked any way you'd like as well as sides like bacon and sausage, toast, etc. - I agree they could have a few more options since they are the only 24 hour option.

Definitely not my experience at all on multiple Virgin Cruises. I will say the shorter 4-night Virgin Cruise had a more party atmosphere than the longer trips, but I think that's true for any cruise line.

The "Adults Only" just means kids aren't allowed - the vibe on the ship is very relaxed and actually is quieter than other ships in my experience because there isn't a large, central atrium. There are lots of places to relax. The bars are just like any other cruise ship, they are around but will happily serve you a non-alcoholic drink. If you go to test kitchen and you have money on your beverage package - try the Zero Proof Cocktail pairings... they are excellent! I will echo the above complaint though... I have had issues with smelling pot from my balcony as well.

How do you get the 10% discount on new bookings?

While this should really be unacceptable I'm not surprised. On my last visit to Extra Virgin the couple in front of me was told that the restaurant was completely booked but they could sit at the bar (which they did). I had a reservation and there were plenty of empty tables just in my section. I've also mentioned before how I waited in line for Brunch at Razzle Dazzle, the group of employees in front of me in line were seated, but I was told that they didn't have any room for walk-ups, even though the restaurant had a crazy number of empty tables.

If they don't want people who like burgers, hot dogs, and pizza they shouldn't offer all of that on the ship. I'm not sure why it seems so odd to expect some typical beach food at a beach club.

Yes, and I highly recommend it. I did the zero proof pairings and thought that it added SO much to the experience. On a future cruise I'm going to see if I can get the zero proof cocktails from the bar even when I'm not dining. (I know Pink Agave and Extra Virgin have a bar where you can order drinks). The couple next to me did the wine pairings so I got to hear about them as well - this is definitely a great use of that bar tab!

Try to sit in the front row of the raised seats (so the first row AFTER the 1sst row that is literally on the stage). If you can sit towards the center, even better. Red / Blue side doesn't matter. After seeing the show once I reccomend going back and sitting in the very front row - you are literally on the stage and the performers will shout at you and include you. It's so much fun.

They aren't "actors" they are extremely high-level circus artists. The choreographer and directors for the show have worked with and for Cirque du Soleil on many projects. It's a different style of show than Cirque, but the quality is absolutely the same. (One of the casts that I've seen included one of the best teeterboard artists in the world who currently holds a World Record... these are literally the best of the best). That being said, a good friend of mine who loves the show said "it's a pretty artsy show for a cruise ship" - while that's the point that Virgin was going for I do get it. It's not as commercial as a Cirque show.

There is a shopping center in the port - lots of souvenier stands I'm sure that one of them sells sunscreen. Roatan is not a really great port though, if you walk outside the gate you WILL be followed by a "local tour guide" who will not take no for an answer. There's not much to see right by the port - the city is in pretty rough shape from what I can tell. If I'm ever back in the area I might try to take a taxi to the botanical gardens - not sure if anyone has any better suggestions for this port.

1. No upsells / extra charges. No tips, no extra cost restaurants, no photographers - no one is trying to sell anything. It's SUCH a great change compared to other lines. And while the Bar Tab isn't always going to be included, I like how the Bar Tab is good for anything you want. 2. High-Quality Entertainment. I've certainly enjoyed shows on other cruise ships but it always felt like cruise ship / theme park entertainment. On Virgin the entertainment is insane. Duel Reality is a show that I would totally pay to see if it comes to my town. Some of the guest musicians I've seen are also incredible (Morf and Oscar Ornelus band).

It seems the majority isn't particularly crazy about the food options at Bimini. On my first cruise I had lunch there and it was fine, but on my second cruise I intentionally had lunch at the Galley before heading over to the beach. I feel like they could do alot more with the food service at Bimini if they wanted to, but what they have is fine. If it was me, I would retheme one of the food stands as "Social Club on the Beach" and serve hot dogs, popcorn, pretzels, milkshakes, etc. and then have some games and activities around it. This way people would have snack options as well.

I very much agree with this assessment. While I agree that Service on Celebrity is more consistent - it's not really fair to compare Celebrity Aqua Class.... I can assure you that Virgin food is better than Celebrity MDR. (at least in my experience and taste). I agree that this is an issue that VV needs to address. I went to Brunch at Razzle Dazzle and a group of employees in front of me were seated and I was told that they didn't have room for walkups. (I was solo, there were plenty of tables available). The amount of staff hanging out is definitely noticeable and yes the "cheering" section at shows is very noticeable although this didn't bother me too much. Agreed... On my second sailing I made sure to hang out on the ship until AFTER I had lunch haha.

For me... there were empty seats between me and the 2 other groups at the counter but the server addressed us all together. We certainly conversed a bit. I got the zero proof drink pairing and the couple next to me got the wine pairing so we compared drinks for sure. I would have felt a bit closed in if the seats directly around me were filled.

This may have been something about my phone's settings but when I sailed on the Scarlet Lady - I could not make phone calls over wifi. When on the Valiant Lady I could. But on BOTH cruises I could not when at the beach club at Bimini. Your mileage may vary of course.

I wouldn't say the ship shuts down as much as it feels like a ghost town since most guests are off the ship. The bars are still open, I had a drink and watched all the guests file off the ferry that comes in from Miami I think? It was parked right next to us. Based on my personal experience though I wouldn't recommend Razzle Dazzle when in Bimini- I think the regular staff still goes to the island and they fill in with other staff - it was VERY slow and unorganized for brunch that day and the Churros had been sitting forever and were pretty much not edible. Lunch at the Galley was great though - nice and calm and chill. I like heading over to the beach after lunch and seeing some of the pool party and then just walking along the shore. They also have very nice covered seating areas where it's nice to relax. Plus the tram ride through the island is kinda fun haha. I might walk around the Fisherman's village a bit on my next visit.

It depends on which section you are seated in. The Wake, Razzle Dazzle, and Pink Agave have tables for 2 that are EXTREMELY close together. As far as conversation goes, Test Kitchen is also set up where you are seated close to other groups but in my experience, they leave a seat in between you and other groups which actually separates you MORE than in the other restaurants.