the_fh_mets

YMMV, but the itineraries departing Puerto Rico had very late sail away times and I was never charged additional sales tax on drinks. (San Juan has an 11.5% tax on alcohol so it was a pleasant surprise.) I would assume that Virgin just ate the cost. 

Outside of the US, prices are typically inclusive of taxes, but I don't know what Virgin usually does about that. I know that depending on local laws, some cruise lines have different menus for different regions to account for needing to include tax and gratuities in the up front cost. 

I'm trying to remember the specific brands, but Valiant has several different options (a Louisiana style, a Sriracha style, and a Mexican style) in the Galley at the condiment station across from the burger bar and also either Tabasco or Cholula either already on the tables or in the condiment stations that were set up for the servers to be able to easily bring condiment to the tables upon request. 

Outside the Galley, the only restaurant that I know for a fact has hot sauce is Gunbae, but my guess is all of them can provide it upon request.

The pizza place has chili flakes, but I don't recall seeing hot sauce. 

I would assume Scarlet Lady is the same. 

1 hour ago, Daruma said:

Hiya, folks. 

 

I don't drink alcohol, but do enjoy the occasional "Mocktail," Milk Shake, maybe a Specialty Coffee or Tea... maybe. 

 

First, in all the reviews and YouTube videos I've watched... I don't think I've seen mention of Milk Shakes... though given there's an ice cream shop, there must be Milk Shakes, right? 

 

Can anyone tell me roughly the cost of Mocktails & Milk Shakes please? 

 

I know of some bars that charge the same price for virgin cocktails as they do alcoholic ones, and some places that reduce the price. 

 

I'm just wondering, based on approximate price, if I'd drink $300 worth of those items over the course of 5 & 6 days, (the length of my two different VV  cruises). 

 

Thank you for your help. 

Most mocktails are $5 (mojitos, daqueries, bloody marys, etc.) The exceptions are the ones that contain non-alcoholic spirits, such as Seedlip, which are $7-12, depending on the drink. (Some of these 'spirits' retail in stores for more than the alcoholic equivalents, so this makes sense). I believe the non-alcoholic sparkling wine is $7. The agua frescas at Pink Agave are $3. 

Social Club has alcoholic milkshakes, which can be made non-alcoholic, but I don't know the price. 

14 hours ago, Flafun888 said:

thank you. That's great to know and quite different from what some reviewers described. Perhaps they tweaked things recently. I'm a mellower yacht rock gal - or hardcore rock....or trop rock or really ANY music genre other than hip hop or EDM.

I'm very uncool, I guess. 😅

One complaint that I heard recently from fellow passengers about the music is that they don't play music in the pool area that some people would "expect" to hear on a cruise, like reggae and yacht rock and the beach boys, etc. (I assume what is being played on other cruise lines).  Instead, the music by the pool is more club music, ala trendy Miami and Vegas beach/pool clubs. I think when you hear the complaints about the music, this is specifically what they are referring to. The way one person phrased it is that the music lacks the "context" of where you are. 

I suspect this feeling is what's behind the music complaints you've read. 

Top 3 things for me on Virgin:

- On average, I found the food is very good and fresh, featuring a wide variety of fresh produce, not even factoring in the volume of people they are feeding on a given day (Emphasis on the 'on average' part. There is some no-so-great food sometimes but it seems like the exception, rather than the rule). 

- The service I've personally experienced ranges from great to outstanding. Servers everywhere are all happy to accommodate dietary restrictions and can easily and quickly lookup ingredients and make substitutions, and they don't act like you are bothering them. Bartenders are happy to make complex off menu cocktails and put their own spin on them. The shore excursions folks genuinely want to ensure you will have a good time. Room attendants are responsive to requests.

- The featured entertainment is not just jukebox musicals. 

After starting this thread, I looked at Celebrity and Princess more and I do wonder if they can be truly comparable on these metrics.  

20 minutes ago, Flafun888 said:

Can you share any insights re: the music? I was so close to booking this past week, but then dove into the reviews and read some that said music volume was pounding loud everywhere on the ship and mostly hip hop, EDM and Latin. Did you find that, as well?

 

Did they offer any other music genres on a daily basis? Traditional rock, 80s-00s Top 40; country, blues, jazz, standards - anything? If I'm stuck hearing nothing but hip hop and EDM for most of the trip, that would be pure torture for me - and a deal-breaker, sadly. 😞

The only music that I found that was too loud and not my style was anytime the DJ was playing, which is generally:

- In the atrium on boarding day (mostly avoidable, unless you want ice cream or that's where you're mustering)

- In the pool area in the afternoons, when the pool is most crowded anyway.

If you don't like the volume at the pool and you aren't actively in the pool, which would be full and loud at that time anyway, I found you can generally go up one deck (to the sundeck level) and there are lots of options for areas to lounge facing the water and the two bars on that deck serve the same drinks as the pool, and the sound didn't really carry. It's also more relaxing in general because there are fewer people around. 

The volume of the live music is much more tolerable, however, if you don't like the volume or the genre, there's always a more quiet area. For example, if you hate the band playing at On The Rocks one evening, you can just go up the stairs to Sip and it's much quieter. 

The live bands play all sorts of genres, from pop to soul to country to Latin, depending on the band. 

Other than the DJ, the non-live music is typically mostly 90s and 00s pop played at an appropriate volume for background music.

Sound doesn't seem to carry, so if you aren't in the immediate area of where music is playing, you really don't hear it, so you can pretty much always escape music you don't like. 

Most bars can make pretty much any classic cocktail, and even some you might not think of, such as chocolate martinis. If you're ordering something less common off menu that a server may not be familiar with, it might be better to order directly from the bar, but the bar tenders are generally skilled enough to make pretty creative off-menu cocktails and the servers are pretty knowledgeable as well. 

In terms of non-alcoholic options, many bars have both Seedlip and a non-alcoholic sparkling wine, even if neither is listed on the menu, and can turn many drinks on their menu into non-alcoholic options, and pretty much universally can make non-alcoholic mojitos and bloody marys.

Sometimes they show up early but say they are  sold out, so if you see them all sold out on the first evening, don't freak out.

I think it's pretty rare for any of them to sell out the first day (although not unheard of). They also sometimes add more options closer to the cruise. 

Thanks everyone! Really insightful.

This may actually all be moot now that it sounds like Resilient is heading to San Juan...

3 hours ago, Travel-and-See said:

 any-time dining, no reservations for shows and events

The reservations (and the pressure I put on myself surrounding them) may be my least favorite part about Virgin. That and the pool. 

How does the included food on Celebrity compare to VV? One thing I like about VV is that all of the food is plated nicely and seems to be cooked fresh, and can be customized on the spot to meet dietary restrictions, compared to other cruise lines where the MDR, at least in pictures, seems to be "banquet food", for lack of a better term. 

Virgin's currently available US itineraries for 2025 aren't particularly exciting (a downside of only having three ships and a contractual commitment to Port of Miami). For those who have cruised with Virgin and other lines, which line do you sail when you can't sail Virgin? Why?

On 2/12/2024 at 7:39 PM, Steelers0854 said:

Also, it appears the coffee shop on 7 may have cold brew, the one on 15 doesn’t for sure. I’ll confirm tomorrow for my fellow cold brew fans.

Did you manage to find any cold brew?

I've seen other mentions of shore excursions issues for the sailings leaving San Juan. It's not really acceptable, but it sort of makes sense because they're a newish company that's only been going to these ports for a few weeks now, and is only visiting each port a handful of times, so it's probably difficult to vet providers and maintain relationships. 

I'm a little concerned about a specific shore thing I have booked in Curacao that only seems to exist through Virgin, with no private providers I can find conducting similar tours that go to the same places, but fingers crossed that I'm wrong.

2 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Still waiting. 🤦🏼‍♀️

In your experience on Virgin and other lines, how common are immigration delays at ports? Should they be a factor in booking excursions outside of the cruise line or are they relatively rare?

15 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

DW got the bait and switch. As you see below this really shouldn’t be called eggplant parm as it really doesn’t resemble it at all.

Out of curiosity, Is the "Eggplant Parm" a secret menu item available upon request or is it an accommodation for allergies? Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't think I've seen it on a menu nor do I recall anyone else mentioning it. Also thinking about potential accomodations for my own special dietary needs.