xerenthar

my favorite part is the description of Diner and Dash being super inaccurate. "Craving an egg and bacon dish in the morning? BLT at lunch? Chicken and potatoes for dinner? You're in luck" .... only one of those is true!

hi all/mostly roger, sorry. first off, can't believe you answer questions day in and day out here! that's so helpful and kind and i appreciate you!

since COVID has changed the landscape of restaurants/bars/etc, a lot of the old advice may be out of date so -- any favorites in Palma for wine bars/sangria, paella, general snacking, and where to find a good ensaimada? finally, our ship offers excursions to two wineries/vineyards - Ramanya and Ribas - any thoughts?

I have three cruises booked through the end of the year, and yesterday, I received an email for each of them stating that "Based on feedback from you, our Sailors, we're excited to share that you'll now have a bit more time to spend onboard our beautiful lady ships." Some of these changes make sense based on that intro, some it's sort of funny and not at all based on sailor feedback (like the Med one), others are welcome I think.

8/28 Spanish Obsession - depart Gibraltar 6pm (was 8pm), depart Ibiza 4pm (was 6pm)

10/19 Fire and Sunset Soiree - depart Miami 6pm (was 7pm), depart Key West 5pm (was 7pm), depart Bimini 7pm (was 8pm)

11/19 Eastern Caribbean Antilles - depart Miami 6pm (was 7pm), arrive Puerto Plata 10am (was 9am), depart Puerto Plata 7pm (was 6pm), arrive San Juan 12pm (was 11am), depart San Juan 10pm (was 12am), depart Frederiksted 6pm (was 7pm), depart Bimini 7pm (was 8pm)

redeemed for 200% FVC, booked a Med cruise and then was going to use the Access Key for a Caribbean cruise, realized it'd be cheaper to flip them. even though i was past the cancellation/modification deadline due to the Med cruise being close, the VV CS people helped me out and modified my Med cruise to a Caribbean booking, then booked my Med one with the Access Key. two cruises booked and a solid $2k in FVC left!

31 minutes ago, Maisee Jane said:

This boat actually look amazing for a commercial cruise line. I'm totally on board with the 18 and older rule. Has anyone noticed if the crew is younger too? If I was on this boat I'd want the crew to be closer to me in age so the party would never stop. I feel like a crew closer to me in age would just get me more, you know?

yes! crew is younger and permitted to hang out with guests when not working. i'm friends with some of the crew from our sailing on instagram now and we did shots on the final night.

20 minutes ago, cementhands said:

Great information and pictures! Seems like the ship was empty in pictures. Curious about activities like Zumba classes and yoga? This is why we’re considering a virgin voyage, we love to be active. Was there any live music and dancing opportunities? Thanks 🙏 namaste!

the group fitness classes are all very popular and there are several per day (they are free)!

5 hours ago, WIBadgerFan said:

All true, but... the no kids thing.  That's the selling point for so many of us.  I'll put up with many things I don't like to not see babies in diapers in the hot tub, strollers blocking primary walkways screaming toddlers in the steakhouse, etc.  Those of us with our own kids probably appreciate that the most!  🙂

 

Doesn't that tell us that the major lines could be successful with adults-only cruises or even separate AO lines, i.e. just make Celebrity AO.  $$$

The AI resort companies almost all have AO locations.  Why not cruise lines?

oh no doubt. the no kids thing is the linchpin - i was just rambling about who the target audience would be of people who are looking for that experience. personally, i won't sail a line that allows kids while VV exists, and yes, i'd love for Celebrity AO to launch!

18 minutes ago, PiperHolliday said:

 

I absolutely, positively agree that Virgin needs to quickly address everything you have said (I really, really wish more suppliers would get onboard with self-automation), but I don't think you need to find my suggestion laughable. The user I directed my post to said he used a travel agent and I was letting him know that was probably the best course of action to get his refund taken care of since I had an easy time.

 

Of course, I totally understand wanting to be in control and have a handle on everything yourself because I can be that way, too! Travel agents definitely aren't for everyone. But I am not your mom's travel agent and perhaps you only have experience with less-than-mediocre agents that only know how to game the booking systems looking for the highest commission and never visit the places they sell. I am mid-thirties, I do not care for traditional cruising. I don't do mega ships. I do not care for large all-inclusive resorts in all the common Caribbean and Mexican destinations. I have experience travelling independently to nearly 100 countries. I do not book Disney, theme parks, etc. I would never consider letting any of my clients set foot on a tour coach. The majority of my clients are my age or younger and enjoy detailed, authentic, custom trips in Europe and Asia. They want the expertise of someone that has been where they are going without paying extra. And someone to take care of issues like this when they arise - faster than they could on their own (I take calls 24/7). There are great agents out there that can be a fantastic tool if you are willing to forget what you think you know about travel agents. Don't write us ALL off just yet. I promise some good ones do exist! 😊

(admin: not trying to break rules - this is not an ad, I do not want more clients)

my wife and i are mid-30s DINKs and to be honest we couldn't tell you what a travel agent does beyond our viewing of The Americans. we have "used a travel agent" in the mega-ship realm as the cruise industry seems to be the one that still operates on the travel agent exclusive model, but by "used a travel agent", i mean we put in a cruise we have chosen and someone emails us an OBC offer that isn't available on the website.

i generally think of travel agents in the same category as like traveler's checks. i genuinely don't know what they're for, but i'm cautiously interested?

the target audience really seems to be ~28-49 (with a generous + or - 5 easily) DINKs or empty-nesters. there was a LOT of playing on millennial-to-Gen-X nostalgia, from the neon Instagrammable signs that were super popular in clubs and cool-kid-Brooklyn-lounges when millennials were turning 21 to the playlists and even the Rocky Horror Picture Show inspired safety video. same for Bimini - it's a Vegas pool party without the bouncer/influencer/judgmental BS. i think 55+ could enjoy this line easily but it'd need to be a tech-savvy and open-minded 55+ rather than someone who is just going to be disappointed this line isn't RCCL/CCL/etc. i have seen a lot of poor reviews of VV that can be summed up as "i wish this was more like other lines and served food like other lines and had entertainment like other lines" -- the concept is literally that VV doesn't do those things.

ugh damnit. i don’t entirely understand the credit option. it’s 200% FVC, but if i use that FVC and rebook by July 31, i also get a second free cruise (but not the cruise i just rebooked)?

On 2/22/2022 at 8:52 AM, raphael360 said:

Sorry to get off topic but,  sellwingri, did you go to the casino on Virgin and if so what is your impressions of it.  I'm a BJ and Holdem player and, traveling as a single, would love to spend hours at the BJ tables.  Are they 6/5 or 3/2?

3/2!

On 2/17/2022 at 9:00 AM, _tacocat_ said:

oh wow! when we were on in early december, we tried to get food at pink agave bar, but they said they weren't doing that.  would have loved to grab a drink and quick bite there pretty much every night hahah.  hope they still do small plates at the bar when we're back on this summer.

oh rip, it was basically page 1 of the restaurant menu available at the bar. when are you going?! 

alright i moved and work got busy but i did not forget about you. this post is dedicated to bars and all the stuff on decks 5, 6, and 7 

deck 5

pink agave bar - mentioned above this felt like a cool bar rather than a cruise ship restaurant bar. loved it. they serve some solid snacks and have great cocktails. like all the restaurant bars, this is the full booze menu from the restaurant with about 50% of the menu. great pre-dinner spot.

razzle dazzle bar - crap. the ONLY bar we didn't get to.

sailor services - always helpful and always open. even when we had issues/during busy embarkation time, it wasn't so bad. they aren't 100% informed on how stuff works though - example, a sailing companion was told the upgraded wifi was faster and included wifi calling - it's not faster (just allows streaming) and includes VoIP calling

redemption spa - very cool. we didn't buy spa passes, but did have a massage. it was expensive because it was on a cruise ship, but comparable to massages at nice hotel spas. it was great and there was no upselling. the spa area looks super cool and has the truly empty hot tubs!

deck 6

extra virgin bar - i love italy and italian drinking culture, so i love this bar. aperitivo (low ABV cocktails) nights!

shopping - i kept meaning to look through here but forgot. sry. all of it. even duty free.

on the rocks bar - cool place and best whiskey list. whiskey is on the high end even for a cruise. lots of secluded/quiet areas.

specialty retail/services - tattoo place was busy and cool but closed for a couple days, i think because someone got covid. barber/hair place - i got my hair cut because i literally had no time pre-cruise; was a solid cut. shave is with a gillette mach3 blade, not a straight razor, which was sad. some moderate upselling of skincare products. makeup bar - they weren't doing applications/makeovers because of COVID, so this was just a MAC store.

casino bar - oof. bar open the latest (this is a major negative tbh). every drunk person on the ship will be here by 2:30. fun, debauchery, random drunk friends. p.s. they sell beers to go.

casino - small, especially for a no kids cruise. cruise 2 it was difficult to get a blackjack seat if you weren't willing to play $50 tables. roulette was often very very crowded. no one was ever playing poker which was sad.

the manor - holy ***** guys. i am not an avid nightclub person. but we've all been to the sad cruise ship "clubs." a sad kind of dark room with a bar and a disco light/light system from 1994. this is a two-floor legit sound system having club with a legit light system. tons of nooks and crannies, bottle service tables on the dance floor, balconies to people watch. SO impressed.

the red room/the den - actually didn't go to these

deck 7

the dock bar - forgot to mention above that the view here is top tier, goes well with the blackberry sangria.

the social club - this is where the board games events are. i agree with other posters that board games should be available 24/7 - the random 2-3 hour chunks were weird.

the arcade - super cool and free play

the loose cannon - underutilized! cool spot, though not a 'dive bar'. why was this the only bar with a painkiller? the theme is totally lost when the drinks are the same price and the shot/beer combos are served at a different bar. bar trivia was here!

grounds club - open until 7, a lifesaver

get lost/chart room - cool little VV trinkets and model ships. future voyage people explained all the stacking credits/sails and were NOT pushy. noted that the 'on ship' discount is good for 60 days after embarkation.

voyage vinyl - cute and kitschy

draught haus - love this place and it suffers deeply from closing at 10. this is a 12/1/2am bar. shot-and-beer specials, growlers to go, and where craft beer exclusives live. about 60% of the menu was available.

sip lounge - adore this place too - it's the wine/champagne bar. high-end bottles and glasses, great cocktails. caviar snacks. caviar food. should also be open later.

groupie/karaoke - hell yes! don't understand why this 'closes' at 12, since there are no hosts. cruise 2 they closed off every other hour for COVID restrictions. solid selection of english songs, all with the same weirdness every karaoke bars that there are weird gaps. lots of international too.

also here's some thoughts about scarlet night - on scarlet night, the whole ship turns scarlet. lighting throughout, balcony lights, sides of the ship. it's fun in a weird way. also there are inflatable fish everywhere. the night begins with a sparsely-attended meetup at the coffee shop where a staff member explains the "scarlet night myth", which was well done enough i wondered if they made it up or if it's based on a real myth. there's a lot of [i]Sleep No More[/i] type improv-y scenes all over the ship (through dinnertime which is sort of frustrating to navigate), all culminating in the Scarlet Night deck party. it's a Vegas-style dance/acrobatic show using the main pool as a stage in front of a giant smoking Cthulhu-inspired inflatable octopus. i can probably upload some good videos later. some people dressed in floor-length red ballgowns, others wore red t-shirts. all accepted and super fun. 

still to come:

- ports

- post specifically about b2b experience

- final thoughts / props and slops 

9 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

Haha I witnessed a LOT of pearl-clutching by TAs on my voyage, so probably some of that. 

 

The other frequent "complaints" I overheard from TAs on board were how different VV was, which I think is what made VV so great!

• No cruise director (Worked for me, as I like to make my own decisions about where I should go/what I should do each day.  I don't need an agenda on vacation, as I have too many of those at work already). 
• "Lack" of activities (I felt 5 nights wasn't enough to do all I wanted onboard.  We made it to all the restaurants except Test Kitchen, but weren't able to fit in all the activities - we missed bingo, most of the trivia sessions, the ice cream contest thing, and karaoke.  We prioritized live music, which was aplenty on our voyage in December)
• No campy/overproduced shows (I can choose to go see a full production show on land if I want)
• No professional photog (honestly who actually loves awkwardly posing for marginal quality prom pics, then being shaken down for prints that will go in a drawer forever?)
• Relaxed dress code (yes, it is a-okay to get KBBQ in shorts and flip flops.  No need to dress in your formal tails just to have them smell like cooked meat in perpetuity)
• No gold by the foot or art auctions (I can't tell you how much I appreciated not being nickeled and dimed or flat out swindled every time I turned around)

thanks for stealing my pros list of my pros and cons, really rude

9 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

Yeah, trying to figure out where this idea came from too hahaha.  It's an adults only ship, not an "adults only" ship.  As in... an option for people who want to enjoy their tropical vacay without kids running around and screaming everywhere.

so actually it's got some basis in truth. there were definitely 50s/60s aged people in a swingers group on our cruises. our kbbq pals on cruise 2 dished on it. apparently bimini got weird after we left.

3 hours ago, NC State said:

I heard the cabins are more like a college dorm. Plus...."it's a swingers cruise"....I didn't say that but that's what I had a friend to tell me that sailed this fall. Jump over to VC page and read up on some of the nightly sessions they have. 🤣

the what page now

20 hours ago, drewdawg199 said:

Huh? that sounds really off.  Did you order a double or give like a $7 tip?

i ordered many pina coladas with extra rum floaters and they were $15 

post was getting long so now i'll briefly discuss the rest of the food options.

the pizza place (deck 7) - solid cruise ship pizza in the super thin crust fashion. had all the pies - the classics were great, the truffle and egg was decadently wonderful, etc. no reason this should close at 1:30am. carnival's is 24 hours. 4am would be a good closing time.

lick me until ice cream (deck 7) - way better than the classic soft serve. butter pecan is the sleeper hit. red velvet cone was tasty, the creamsicle cone didn't taste different from the regular.

the social club (deck 7) - the hot dogs were REALLY GOOD. like shockingly good. the philly hot dog is clearly cursed but it is really good. pretzels and cheese are WONDERFUL. this also had the little counter of sweets. the white chocolate coated cake pop was a hit, as was the peanut brittle and giant jar of licorice twists. hours were unclear as to what is served when.

the dock house (deck 7) - the open-fire grill menu was easy to order from and everything was really good - octopus a top shipwide dish, with the hanger steak close. the mezze cart is rarely spotted, though everything on it was good. we saw it only a few times and were in the dock area a lot. the blackberry sangria is a top shipwide drink.

sun club cafe (deck 16) - the poke bowl place is way better than the sushi. i don't get it. anyway, the tuna is also way better than the salmon. a nice and light lunch. wish it was open longer. 

the little grab and go areas - no idea when these were open, why, what was stocked where. truly sporadic between the pizza place, the dock, and the galley. sometimes they were full of stuff like tres leches and ceasar salads, other times they were actually closed entirely.

we're back, bbs!

as i said above, this post will be the restaurants. thankfully, between a B2B and a group of four, we were able to try almost all the menu items at quite a few places, and went to all the restaurants at least once. i discussed The Galley above. we'll start with the sit down restaurants on 5, 6 (other than The Test Kitchen), 7, 15 and Ship Eats and if i feel inspired i will continue with the food places that are more casual that are outside of the galley.

razzle dazzle (deck 5) - went for brunch twice, not for dinner. didn't really know what to expect from this one. this definitely does not feel like a restaurant on a cruise ship. it looks like a weird and quirky diner. we had most of the starters. the pastries were all great, especially the banana muffin. the mushroom "tartare" was interesting and really good. avo toast is hard to screw up so of course it was good, but it was on extremely crusty bread that made it hard to share (and we preferred The Galley's). the fairy toast was a letdown - it was just sort of generically sweet.

for the mains, the razzle dazzle breakfast was the good standard diner breakfast. i was blown away by the impossible breakfast sando. i hadn't had impossible products before, and this tasted like a super greasy bodega sausage-egg-and-cheese (in a very good way). the fried chicken sandwich was a great take on an overdone concept. the beet aioli was super flavorful and worked really well. 

desserts - oof, we had them all. so much food. the blueberry matcha cheesecake with a pistachio crust fell short - it didn't resemble a graham cracker cheesecake crust, and the pistachio crust was pretty grainy. rainbow churros were awesome. it's deep fried dough. of course they were. ube ice cream was really nice, but i am a huge ube fan. okay so the cookies and milks. these are not individual desserts. each comes with three to four GIANT cookies. everything was at minimum good - highlights were the vegan oreo take, the stuffed red velvet, and the matcha white chocolate. all the milks were interesting and good, but the cereal milk stood out. 

drinks - some of our group did bottomless brunch - the "YAASSSS QUEEN" is appropriately named, but gets too sweet quickly. the scotch-and-cream goldfish drink is really good and comes in a big goldfish. the grasshopper was a wonderful boozy shake, which i definitely needed to go with my six cookies. gym bunny is an improved mimosa (bc passionfruit improves everything). the electric fizz was one of the best drinks on the ship - so was the agave colada.

pink agave (deck 5) - this was probably the most hyped pre-cruise. also does not feel like a cruise ship restaurant. the bar is cool and feels like a cool bar in a restaurant, not a waiting room. 

apps and medium plates - guacamole was a lowlight, sorry. not sure how it gets hyped. big chunks, suspect it's frozen. esquites were a standout shipwide - Mexican street corn is basically cheating too but it is what it is. the aguachile was a wonderful ceviche-adjacent dish and one of the precious few acidic/light dishes anywhere. get all the medium plates. especially the shrimp.

big plates and desserts - cochinita pibil is a top 5 dish on the boat. pato and bistec are both solid too. pescado was wonderful. but really, just eat more pork. as per usual, the desserts were all good if not exceptional. chocolate tamale probably the most interesting.

drinks - fresca spiked! coconut or passionfruit agua fresca with your choice of booze! hot tip - coconut/mezcal. top shipwide drink along with the oaxaca in fashion - a take on an old fashioned made with tequila and mezcal and mole bitters. the scorpion and cricket drinks were not as interesting as they wanted to be, and wouldn't be interesting at all absent the bugs. the what's up doctora is really interesting and good and also orange.

extra virgin (deck 6) - honestly i struggle to say much beyond this food was all heavy and rich. i understand that the trattoria style food is going to be like that, but i think a lot of it was one-dimensional. there were some standouts - oxtail agnolotti (bonus for being a reasonable portion such that i was the only member of our group not KO'd to bed from being full), the charcuterie plate. affogato bar is super cool and delicious and also espresso and gelato is great. whiskey crema flavor is the best imo. the drinks have some good takes on the spritz (Hugo is consumed as widely as an Aperol Spritz in Italy, get one!), the lavender/gin drink is wonderful. if you're on the bar tab promo, $345/375 for bottles of ornellaia and sassicaia aren't horrible, if that's your thing.

the wake (deck 6) - ah yes the cruise ship steakhouse. we went twice for dinner and failed consistently getting in to brunch. this looks like a cruise ship steakhouse. it is opulent in a very cruise ship way. the tables where you can see the wake of the ship (i get it now!) next to the windows are the best. the bone marrow is all the decadence you want it to be. over xmas, they had prime rib with traditional sides and it was amazing. the steaks (NY strip) were always cooked as requested and good. twice baked potatoes, asparagus, and brown butter mushrooms all quality sides. baked alaska dessert because of course. cute meyer lemon thing was really really really good.

gunbae (deck 15) - located just off the galley, this looks like an Iron Age or other landside KBBQ place. but one of the nice new ones with super filtration, not the super smoky ones with TVs blasting k-pop. there are sinks outside and you're requested to wash your hands as you enter because..... you'll likely be seated with strangers. this gave me pre-cruise agita because that was one of the things i dread having to avoid on the Big Five. we went 3 times - twice our group of four was sat with two strangers, once we got a table for four. you meet your table companions in part by playing a classic korean drinking game, complete with a shot of free soju for all (and sometimes an extra one for the winner). maybe we just got lucky but both times we had great conversation over dinner -- VV being such a new cruiseline provided ample opportunity for conversation starters. shoutout to the Korean couple we sat with that were blown away i could pronounce kimchi-jjigae correctly.

banchan - solid spread of banchan - kimchi was great and very fresh and had a small kick (we ordered so much extra kimchi that on our return, my wife was greeted with an extra bowl already in her spot); there was also eggplant, potatoes, daikon, and something else i cannot remember.

small bites - literally get all of them. they're so good. the dakgangjeong crispy chicken is a top dish shipwide (get 2 they're small). both the traditional seafood pancake and the small snacky bindae-tteok are definitely worth getting. the seafood corn dog is great and interesting.

rice/noodles/stews - the kimchi-jjigae was legitimately wonderful - also a top dish. bibimbap and japchae were both faithful adaptations and good.

main event - okay they added kimchi fried rice literally in between cruises and it's of course wonderful. it's kbbq, your favorite thing is whatever thing you like grilled the most. it's about the freshness of the ingredients and the simple sides/sauces. so for me, the kalbi was the best along with the veggies. the seafood was all good, but i like kalbi a lot. we did the wagyu once. it was of course wonderful - whether it's worth the $45 over infinite free kalbi is another question. it's served with the classic accompaniments - a sesame oil/salt sauce, ssamjang, and a soy based sauce, as well as lettuce wraps. lettuce wrap + ssamjang + kalbi. do it. 

dessert is soft serve ice cream in black sesame or sikhye - get the swirl, obvs.

drink list was great, though they were often out of flavored soju or have only one flavor. the cocktails were all soju based and quite inventive. the k-pop disco water (what a name) is served in a disco ball. the give me that dong-lip is a really delightful yogurt-soju thing you see a lot at kbbq places but would be easily skipped as 'too weird' on most lines.

ship eats - first off, the app is so annoying with this. it accurately uses the wifi to find where on the ship you are. it continues spinning red if you aren't in a cabin and eventually notes that delivery to your location isn't supported yet (which is a bummer), but you can't even click that you are ordering delivery for your cabin. it'd be nice to order at the bar given the 40min wait time. half our order was missing, but the stuff that came was solid. burger was as good as it was in the galley, for example. wedge salad was great and still crisp (not clearly sitting out premade for hours). i am told the charcuterie plate is good and the one from extra virgin, but ours was missing. i spent 4 days DMing sailor services following up on a promised refund of the $5 fee, and i still had to ask after disembarkation via email. upon reviewing the menu, i now realize the heartbreaking fact i missed out on nutella stuffed french toast and guava pastelitos.

On 1/7/2022 at 5:02 PM, britincanada said:

This made me laugh - as a Brit (now living in the USA)!!

The UK is known for it's amazing curry houses, and UK curries and comes in varying spice levels depending on the type of curry ordered! I'd never heard of butter chicken until we moved to Canada - and we used to get Christmas cards & calendars delivered from our local Indian take away as we were regulars!! 

The Brits on the summer 'staycations' were all complaining that despite Virgin being a British company Scarlet Lady was clearly aimed at the American market....because of the lack of electric kettles, tea bags & milk in the cabins!

 My response would be that the chefs are probably American.... 😉 🤣

Thanks for sharing your experience...we are counting down until May '22. We booked in Oct '19, had 2 cancellations, and I cannot wait to board Scarlet Lady!

tbh i would kill for a Dishoom outpost in the US…

i haven’t forgotten you all. next post coming soon…

On 1/6/2022 at 1:23 PM, _tacocat_ said:

I think this is why VV is so interesting.  I am not a traditional cruiser by any means.  I'd been on one cruise ever before Scarlet - NCL.  The inedible food, cheesy entertainment, activities and constant nickel-and-diming on that trip turned me off from cruising for almost a decade. 

 

Everything that you didn't like about Scarlet was what drew me to her.  I like minimalistic, modern design vs. over the top artwork and drippy crystal chandeliers. It felt more like being at a Kimpton Hotel that happened to float than a cruise ship, which I appreciated.  I don't need to get black tie dressed-up to enjoy a dinner.  I hate being pressured into getting professional pictures, especially when I know there is zero chance of me actually buying any prints.

 

Entertainment on Scarlet was great for me too - I live by a ton of great comedy clubs and can go see full production theatrical shows when I want.  I LOVE live music, and that was aplenty on Scarlet.  I also realized that I am an absolute savage when it comes to trivia, and I can't wait to do that again on my next voyage.

 

I also especially liked the crew - you could really tell that VV treats them well, they're allowed to be themselves, and they love their jobs.  We chatted with a few different crew members who all defected from other lines to join VV.  Happy crew = happy guests.

i could have written this word for word. i was so thrilled the crew seemed happier and were able to chat with guests if they wanted to (or have a drink etc). i learned a lot from all the ex-RCCL staff. imagine being upset the staff don’t have their hands clasped behind their back when idle like RCCL requires. 

4 hours ago, resstation said:

Totally agree with your review, so far! PLEASE tell me you had the pistachio macaron at The Galley. That was FABULOUS and I still think about it. lol

oh yah this was available like later on. shockingly good. 

1 hour ago, ociana said:

@xerenthar Thank you for the excellent review so far, keep it coming! It is really interesting to compare our experiences on board with those of others and helps to see what the "norm" might become for future sailings.  

 

The Test Kitchen did not have a duck dish available when we went. The alternative to the venison was beef, served in an identical way.  The duck looks delicious, but I seriously considered licking my plate after the venison.  Also that blue cheese was divisive for my hubby and I as well. I loved it, he though it was weird.

 

As an FYI - the bubbles do work in the hot tubs, but I would call them "lukewarm" tubs.

the hot tub to the port side next to the plus pool was like ten degrees cooler than the starboard side. 
 

i saw no bubbles in the plus pool or the hot tubs! 

the review starts here

we arrived, as usual, the day before sailaway. what was not usual was wearing an N95 on the plane and in the airport, which was especially wonderful with the added on ninety minutes of taxiing/tarmac nonsense. what was also not usual was skipping our traditional Versailles trip to avoid dining indoors before boarding. so the 23rd was uneventful, really. we got delivery from Latin Cafe 2000 and had too much Cuban food and a half gallon of sangria. wonderful, would order again. we also went to EST.33, an outpost of a Thai brewery in a bizarre indoor-outdoor mall in Miami. solid beers, good apps.

i'll review things sort of in order of how i experienced them (or how they are listed on my bar tab receipt), but won't do a day-by-day breakdown because really who cares. notably, cruise 1 was 50% capacity sold and cruise 2 was 65%.

embarkation/check-in/sailaway - this went as smoothly as possible for the most part. they should probably email everyone a link to check-in for the COVID testing rather than have a poor employee holding QR codes up to everyone at the terminal. there was also some confusion as to baggage -- we usually carry on rather than use a porter, and at the terminal door, they told us to hand off our large suitcase. of course, we had no cash, which wasn't super helpful when confronted with a mandatory encounter with the famously aggressive Port of Miami porters.

the check-in line was long but moved efficiently. we had scanned our passports, vaccine information, etc. using the app already. like most people, we hadn't received our bands in the mail (and probably no one did, since they didn't even ask). we saw a loud proudly maskless lady that we suspect may have failed the COVID test. the wait for the COVID test was agonizing. though we didn't have any reason to think we had COVID, had been careful/isolated, and had no symptoms, it was still a tense hour or so in the waiting room. you could feel the anxiety for sure. three of our four got the results all at the same time, which led to a precarious 90 seconds for our 4th, but all was well. onward we went! 

the galley - this was our first stop, but i'll review it broadly rather than chime in every time we went there. i think we had basically everything on the menu between our four people and the two sailings. general thoughts - (1) i get that they want people not to line up and that's why they temporarily banned getting food at each station, but it doesn't seem they have enough people to walk the entire galley/outside area where there are QR codes to take orders. this was frustrating sometimes. (2) lmao why is the pour-your-own heineken $7 and it's $5 everywhere else on the ship. (3) they have to have a better system to convey what is open when. breakfast ending at 10:30 for most of the stations is a crime. the menu is confusing and not remotely intuitive to see what you can order when -- if you could just walk up to stations, this wouldn't be a problem.

coffee/grounds club too - actually our first stop. they advertise oatly but i think they have a different oat milk brand. reasonably priced lattes and such, and always appreciate the opportunity to add various kinds of booze. this was a 1-2x a day stop.

the daily mix - i don't think anyone actually got anything here. i wanted a bagel, but again, 10:30?

diner and dash - the all-day breakfast was solid. not a lot to say about omelettes. i do think that this should close at 1:30 and pizza be open until 4am rather than the reverse.

bento baby - appreciate the grab-and-go. sushi was good enough -- as good as a whole foods or something like that.. weirdly, the poke bowl place was way better.

burger bar - the person in our party who got one really liked it.

taco about it - i am still so mad i never got here early enough for a breakfast burrito. also how dare they put olives on the fish tacos. anyway, the tacos al pastor were a highlight of the food shipwide.

noodle around - very solid ramen. the 'spicy tonkatsu' was not spicy. nothing on the ship was spicy. even if they said it was. you can tell it's a british line. i made a jar of trader joe's curry yesterday and was blown away by how spicy it seemed because of all the cruise food i'd had recently.

hot off the press - avocado toast was great and IMO better than the avo toast at razzle dazzle. the buffalo mozz sandwich was wonderful.

the sweet side/well bread - pretty impressed with their patisserie-style snacks. attractive and wonderful. the s'mores jar, passionfruit tart, and citrus cheesecake bite were all highlights. the cheese/caramelized onion flatbread was really good, the strange sausage flatbread with no sauce or cheese was kind of sad.

all the bars on deck 15 and 16 - these were all varying levels of good. i wish the menus for some of the easier stuff were more standardized - why are hard seltzer cans available at the deck 16 aft bar but neither of the main pool bars on 15? the deck 16 far aft bar was wonderful, and Bojan and Yanis were particularly amazing bartenders. Bojan in particular (when the bar was not busy) made custom drinks that took 5+ minutes to make when we were indecisive - they wouldn't be out of place for $18 at a nice bar here. the view from this bar was also great for sailaway (and right above the galley's outdoor area).

the other stuff outside on deck 15 and 16 including the pools - The Net was cool and more anxiety inducing than you think it will be when you walk over The Dock (deck 7) and then the open water part. not particularly comfortable, which probably keeps people from just sleeping on it. there are four hot tubs - two "secret hot tubs" on deck 16 that were not secret at all and in fact would be full every time i wondered if anyone found them yet, and two next to the aft pool (which i will call the "plus pool" due to the seating area that looks like a plus sign from above). i think they have jets, but they were never turned on? the plus pool was way bigger than i thought it would be, and we spent most of our pool time there. it also has jets that are anemic at best, i think they're broken. the main pool... alright, so it was in fact bigger than i thought. and after the Scarlet Night performance, i see why they did it this way -- it's also a stage in the two shallow/ankle-deep areas. on cruise 2's sea day, the main pool was F U L L. i don't see how this doesn't become an issue on 100% capacity cruises. the plus pool never got super full, so maybe it just will be busier, but it's far less sunny (which our group liked, but we're weird). 

sailaway - head to deck 15 or 16 for sailaway! there's not an organized 'party' like you see on Carnival, etc., but there IS free sparkling wine to be had. a lot. literally as much as you can drink. especially on a not full cruise. we weren't even trying and ended up with four glasses each. even trying to return your glass will get you a full one. if you're maximizing sparkling wine intake, i'd perch up near the bar on 16 that overlooks the plus pool. great sailaway views on 16 and doesn't have the rush of people for free wine that the bars on 15 do. miami is actually super cute and sailing away during the evening is different! 

on day 1, we did the test kitchen, which i wrote about in my last post. i think i'll do next posts as follows:

- restaurants

- bars and all the stuff on decks 5, 6, and 7

- ports

- final thoughts / props and slops 

10 hours ago, johnnylikely said:

Hi, does anyone know what/if Virgin have a future cruise benefit, if you book whilst onboard? Thanks!

onboard is the same as booking within 60 days of embarkation. it stacks with your future cruise credit from sea-blazers. so currently it is:

$300 onboard/60 days + $300 sea-blazers + 20% off (current promotion) + 10% off if you pay in full for a sailing 180+ days away

10 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

hah i was 12/5.  movin on up to 15 for our next one...

literally smelled like cigarettes in that hall on 12/24 and 12/29 sailings

5 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

You didn't miss much - the Sea Blazer gift was a super low quality tote bag with "SeaBlazer" pressed on.  After seeing the MerMaiden voyage trinkets, I was hopeful for a cup or something like that, but the Bar Tab bonus for life and $300 off our next cruise certainly made up for the crappy gift!

 

This was also really annoying and something VV has to get a handle on.  It's awkward for the crew to have to tell people who know they shouldn't be smoking to not smoke, but someone has to.  Also, the outdoor smoking area is right next to Richard's Rooftop, so depending on the wind and where you're seated, you could be sitting in a gross plume of secondhand smoke.

 

People were also smoking on their balconies with their doors open on our voyage.  We were on deck 11, and the entire Z side stunk of cigs and weed all the way from the mid to the aft elevators.  Vaping is gross too, but at least its stench doesn't linger for too long...

 

All that aside, we're also super excited to get back on the ship!

wait were we on the same sailing or does 11Z mid to aft always smell of cigarettes now