First time Virgin cruisers comparison to Norwegian

[MNcruisingcouple]

As experienced cruisers, we wanted to share our first experience on Virgin Voyages and provide some comparisons.  For reference, my husband (53) and I (48) have been on 15-ish Norwegian and 4 Royal Caribbean cruises, including Alaska, Hawaii, Europe, and the Caribbean.  We’ve seen Norwegian’s quality and selection decrease over the years and so we’ve been wanting to try something different.  Clearly this is just our experience on one VV ship, your experience may vary.

 

Pre-cruise planning- The app is definitely glitchy for planning & scheduling.  Also, I find it very annoying that there isn’t a clear schedule of where you are going to be on each date.  Online check in was simple.  If you have enough loyalty status with other cruise lines, be sure to take advantage of Virgin’s loyalty match while it’s still available.  That will get you what they call the Deep Blue Extras (DBE) which includes an extra amount of bar tab, priority embarkation, $10 value each day at the coffee shop, one bag of laundry.

 

Embarkation- Because we had the DBE, we had priority embarkation, so we arrived at the port at about 12pm.  We entered the port building and waited in a holding area for a while.  Then we were asked to check-in, we got our wrist bands, and we went back to the same holding area.  At the time I was confused but when boarding actually opened we were able to walk right on whereas those that arrived later still had to do their check in.  While we waited before boarding I went to the windows closest to the ship and was able to access the wifi, which allowed me to book or reschedule reservations.  It worked really well for me, but I did have to be right up to the window.  Once I was using the ship’s wifi, the app wasn’t glitchy at all and I didn’t lose signal.  It did seem like they were enforcing the arrival time that you chose at check-in because we saw people waiting in the plaza.  This seemed to make embarkation go more smoothly because people were more spread out.  Norwegian asks you to choose an arrival time, but I’ve never seen it enforced.

 

Food/Beverages- This is hands-down the biggest reason we tried VV and the biggest reason we’ll go back.  Far and away better food and beverage quality and variety.  Norwegian has consistently gone down hill in both areas.  We are used to having a beverage package with Norwegian and were worried about missing that.  However, we took advantage of the VV bar tab offer(s) and had to work to use up our tab.  The last two days we splurged on some nice champagne and Scotch.  The quality of cocktails and the variety of both liquor and wine was a huge step up from Norwegian. 

Also, the food quality was outstanding.  The included food venues were better than most the specialty restaurants on Norwegian.  People sometimes complain about not having a main dining room, but we didn’t see the issue at all.  We made the reservations that we could ahead of time.  We made additional or changed reservations as soon as we got the ship’s wifi.  And we were able to walk into The Wake one evening right at opening time without having a reservation.  We’ve also heard complaints that the food is too fussy or pretentious, but we didn’t find that the case at all.  You do have to understand what you are getting into at Test Kitchen but we love tasting menus.  If that’s not your thing, there are plenty of other options.

Bar staff was fabulous!  We primarily went to On The Rocks, with a few detours to Sip and the pool bars during the day.  At On The Rocks, the bartenders were engaging and talented; able to customize drinks to our taste and make good recommendations.  They also were very quick to remember your favorites.  All this despite being completely swamped with guests.  The servers in the seating area were also really good.  Similar experiences with the staff at other bars, too. 

 

Stateroom- We booked an obstructed view sea terrace because of the fabulous price and we bid for an upgrade to a non-obstructed view for a very reasonable amount.  Yes, the room is minimalist but it’s modern, instead of the outdated rooms on many Norwegian ships.  We loved the hammock on the balcony.  We appreciated always having water in the room, whereas on Norwegian you either have to get it yourself or pay for the water package.  The bathroom is small but has adequate storage, and a larger shower.  There is a good amount of storage, we didn’t use it all.  The laundry bag is fabric and large, which contrasts with Norwegian’s shrinking paper bag.  We used the laundry service but definitely didn’t fill the bag.  On both lines we’ve been very happy with the stateroom attendants.  Obviously, we’ve had more experience on Norwegian so we’ve had ones that are better and worse.  But overall it’s been good service.  We liked the ability on VV to make a request (for towels, water, ice, etc) through the stateroom iPad.

 

Entertainment- The sail away party was high energy and they offered complimentary sparkling wine.  The entertainment staff seemed to have much more energy and be more engaged than on Norwegian.  Our entertainment preference is listening to live music in the evenings, and this is one area we found a little lacking.  Obviously, it will vary as guest musicians change and it definitely varies on Norwegian as well.  Sometimes we find musicians we love and sometimes it’s a struggle.  Our genre of choice is classic rock, and we didn’t really find a group to fit that.  Dustin & his band were much more blues and felt a little flat (like all the songs had a similar energy).  Kennedi & the Groove had great energy, very engaging, and we enjoyed the song choices.  Sophie(?) was a very sweet girl with great story telling.  I feel like every group did their same set every time we watched them.  They could benefit from variety in sets. 

We didn’t go to any shows in the Manor or the Red Room.  Group participation isn’t really our thing.  In the future we may do the PJ party and more of the Scarlet night events.  Just how we were feeling this time, we didn’t.

Overall, we’ve been happier with Norwegian’s entertainment, both musicians and shows, but again we have a much larger experience with them.  And some of this can be attributed to our demographic, in comparison to VV’s target market. 

 

Onboard account- Absolutely loved having our account update real time in the app.  It was so easy to see just how much credit/bar tab we had left; how much we used each day & where we used it.   Norwegian’s way of calculating and updating the account can be confusing, not always accurate, and it not up to the minute. 

 

Internet- VV had unlimited premium wifi on multiple devices versus NCL having one device and a limited number of minutes per person.  We also found VV’s wifi to be faster.

 

Overall pricing- Factoring everything in (daily service charge, tips, specialty dining) and comparing similar itineraries, the pricing is not much different; plus, food and beverage quality is so much better on VV.  We love the inclusive nature of VV’s pricing and that there are much fewer sales pitches.  Also, no photographers taking pictures and trying to sell them on VV.

Honestly, we would be happy to cruise either line in the future, as it meets our needs.  We currently have both lines planned for the future. 

 

I know this got long!  If you're still here, thanks for reading.

Let us know if you have any questions or would like more information!  We’re happy to help fellow cruise lovers.

[CruisingWalter]

Nice job. It's really hard to compare VV with just about everyone else because it's so different, but you did a great job laying out your experience and the contrasts.  I love VV, but then I also love cruising. We've been on 10 cruise lines (so far) and have yet to have a bad cruise. We're really excited about our NCL Aqua cruise next springs, looking forward to the AquaCoaster!

 

Glad you enjoyed your sailing on VV and happy cruising! 🙂

[MNcruisingcouple]

25 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

Nice job. It's really hard to compare VV with just about everyone else because it's so different, but you did a great job laying out your experience and the contrasts.  I love VV, but then I also love cruising. We've been on 10 cruise lines (so far) and have yet to have a bad cruise. We're really excited about our NCL Aqua cruise next springs, looking forward to the AquaCoaster!

 

Glad you enjoyed your sailing on VV and happy cruising! 🙂

 

Thanks!  I tried hard to be balanced with my review.  We love cruising as well.  

[Travel-and-See]

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). 

[MNcruisingcouple]

5 minutes ago, Travel-and-See said:

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). 

 

Thanks for the tip!

[jon81uk]

18 minutes ago, Travel-and-See said:

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 agree, the OP mentioned not being up for interaction, but the major shows on Scarlet Lady don’t really involve it, Duel Reality is just a fantastic circus show. 

[MNcruisingcouple]

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

I agree, the OP mentioned not being up for interaction, but the major shows on Scarlet Lady don’t really involve it, Duel Reality is just a fantastic circus show. 

 

Thanks for that assurance.  I saw a video of the "Dance Party Thing" and that looked way outside our comfort zone.

[jon81uk]

40 minutes ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

 

Thanks for that assurance.  I saw a video of the "Dance Party Thing" and that looked way outside our comfort zone.

UntitledDanceShowPartyThing is different, but only one section about ten minutes maximum encourages spectators to join in doing the Macarena and Hokey Cokey type group dances. The other 40 minutes or so is watching the very talented dancers (and singer). The opening  warm-upnumber is a bit strange but there are plenty of great moments and it always manages to make me cry!

[Travel-and-See]

50 minutes ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

 

Thanks for that assurance.  I saw a video of the "Dance Party Thing" and that looked way outside our comfort zone.

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. 

[Gretchendz]

Thank you for the excellent review. 

 

I should note for others in case they start to look for it that Virgin has discontinued the status match with other cruisers as of December 31, 2023.  On a recent call some of us asked if it would return and were told " No plans to return it." So good for you you got it when you did.  They do plan to announce a revamp soon of the Deep Blue Extras, hopefully making it even better. But I consider it pretty darn good right now.

[basenji56]

50 minutes ago, Gretchendz said:

Thank you for the excellent review. 

 

I should note for others in case they start to look for it that Virgin has discontinued the status match with other cruisers as of December 31, 2023.  On a recent call some of us asked if it would return and were told " No plans to return it." So good for you you got it when you did.  They do plan to announce a revamp soon of the Deep Blue Extras, hopefully making it even better. But I consider it pretty darn good right now.

When you say "discontinued" does that mean that new people don't qualify, or that existing sailors lose their Deep Blue Extras?

[Gretchendz]

I mean if you did not qualify for a status match before December 31, you no longer can qualify for a status match. People who qualified previously still have it. I did it before December 31 and it showed up on my January sailing no problem.

 

The higher ups seemed quite clear that there was no intention to bring the status match back, but you never know!

As you may have read elsewhere, at some point this year they intend to reveal a revamped loyalty program.

[herdfans4]

Great review and agree with a lot of your points having sailed multiple lines.  Headed back for our second VV soon.  

[MNcruisingcouple]

1 hour ago, Gretchendz said:

Thank you for the excellent review. 

 

I should note for others in case they start to look for it that Virgin has discontinued the status match with other cruisers as of December 31, 2023.  On a recent call some of us asked if it would return and were told " No plans to return it." So good for you you got it when you did.  They do plan to announce a revamp soon of the Deep Blue Extras, hopefully making it even better. But I consider it pretty darn good right now.

 

Thanks for clarifying this; I didn't realize that they'd discontinued the loyalty match when I wrote the original post.

I'm so grateful that we did the status match when we did.

[MNcruisingcouple]

2 hours ago, Travel-and-See said:

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. 

 

We'll definitely check these out on our future cruise!  Thanks

[Gretchendz]

Just now, MNcruisingcouple said:

 

Thanks for clarifying this; I didn't realize that they'd discontinued the loyalty match when I wrote the original post.

I'm so grateful that we did the status match when we did.

 

I think the benefits are really good. That laundry bag is BIG. And priority boarding. And the $100 Bar Tab and the $10/day coffee....

[MNcruisingcouple]

Just now, Gretchendz said:

 

I think the benefits are really good. That laundry bag is BIG. And priority boarding. And the $100 Bar Tab and the $10/day coffee....

 

Yes, I completely agree!

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, basenji56 said:

When you say "discontinued" does that mean that new people don't qualify, or that existing sailors lose their Deep Blue Extras?

DBE is supposed to extend thru 2024.  No new people can sign up for the status match. If you are part of Sailor's Club, either thru status match or 2 completed cruises within the appropriate dates, you'll get the goodies in 2024.  After that, ???????

Don't forget to add complimentary premium internet to the perks list above.

There are other smaller things, but those listed in previous posts plus the internet are the ones we enjoy.

 

Edited February 10 by cantgetin

[MNcruisingcouple]

10 hours ago, cantgetin said:

DBE is supposed to extend thru 2024.  No new people can sign up for the status match. If you are part of Sailor's Club, either thru status match or 2 completed cruises within the appropriate dates, you'll get the goodies in 2024.  After that, ???????

Don't forget to add complimentary premium internet to the perks list above.

There are other smaller things, but those listed in previous posts plus the internet are the ones we enjoy.

 

 

Yes, the premium internet on VV was definitely a step up from NCL.

[Freelancer3]

Great job reviewing. Thanks for doing it.

[MNcruisingcouple]

25 minutes ago, Freelancer3 said:

Great job reviewing. Thanks for doing it.

 

I'm glad you liked it!  I worked really hard to present a balanced view of both lines.  

[CruisingWalter]

On 2/9/2024 at 7:59 PM, basenji56 said:

When you say "discontinued" does that mean that new people don't qualify, or that existing sailors lose their Deep Blue Extras?

 

According to VV Rep Tamika on our YouTube live last week, a new loyalty program will be announced soon. I know we've all heard that before, but it seemed from the conversation that the plan is already set, it just needs to be rolled out. We honestly didn't discuss if that included Status Match, but some sort of a permanent loyalty program will be coming soon.

 

I would not be surprised to see the Status Match go away since MSC is the only other mainstream cruise line that does it, if you want to build loyalty in your brand, you want people to sail your own ships. Of course when you raise your cruise fares by 2 - 4x that can a bit a tough.

 

If you already have DBEs you should maintain those through the end of 2024. 

[basenji56]

37 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

According to VV Rep Tamika on our YouTube live last week, a new loyalty program will be announced soon. I know we've all heard that before, but it seemed from the conversation that the plan is already set, it just needs to be rolled out. We honestly didn't discuss if that included Status Match, but some sort of a permanent loyalty program will be coming soon.

 

I would not be surprised to see the Status Match go away since MSC is the only other mainstream cruise line that does it, if you want to build loyalty in your brand, you want people to sail your own ships. Of course when you raise your cruise fares by 2 - 4x that can a bit a tough.

 

If you already have DBEs you should maintain those through the end of 2024. 

Next next cruise is scheduled for February 2025. Prices are getting too high. Product is good but I found much of the food to be mediocre--especially the beef dishes.  Tastes vary.

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, basenji56 said:

Next next cruise is scheduled for February 2025. Prices are getting too high. Product is good but I found much of the food to be mediocre--especially the beef dishes.  Tastes vary.

Yup, we're cruising what we have booked for 2024, but no plans to book anything else.  I know the previous rates were a bargain, but the new rates are far too high.  We've found food quality to be inconsistent; some sailings were good, others less so.

[dazadelaide]

We were on resilient in nov 23 for 15 days and most of what you said was true for us with a few exceptions.

The food really is too fussy for us very nice but just too fussy.

Getting into restaurants was difficult unless you want to eat at 5.30 or 9.15.

Booked as many on app before boarding (45 days out ) and then tried to change and add but not much success.

Really only 2-3 choices at each venue was all we wanted to eat and as we didn't have a great deal of venue choices on a 15 day cruise they became a bit tiresome.

Main shows were not for us but all the other music around the ship was great.

Overall we had a great cruise but with a few irritations but not enough to dissuade us from going on Virgin in the future.

Daz