Cruise lines similar to Virgin

[the_fh_mets]

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.  

[Flafun888]

1 hour ago, the_fh_mets said:

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. 

 

 

 

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. 😅

[Flafun888]

1 hour ago, Travel-and-See said:

All areas of the ship have different styles of background music playing.  They do play louder dance style music as you board and at the sail away and other parties and of course in the dance club.  
 

live music is lots of variety, there is always a solo guitarist on board as well as a guest band.  The bands vary in styles but I’ve seen some excellent musicians on board.  
 

I’ll also mention that the virgin ships are less open than other like celebrity - this means that noise levels don’t affect all areas of the ship. Always easy to find a quiet area to relax 

thank you for sharing your experiences!

[jon81uk]

14 hours 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. 😞

In most of the bars and common areas you’ll find generic pop music most of the time, same as any other bar or cafe would play really. The Dock bar tends to be a bit more instrumental. The pool area will have dance music or beach club style dance mixes, with a live DJ most afternoon.

 

There will be two or three live music acts onboard. Typically a solo busker style artist will play in the Dock outdoor bar or the central atrium roundabout. Then a full band plays On The Rocks bar each night. The genre varies depending on the band booked but can be blues, rock, country or soul.

[the_fh_mets]

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. 

[jon81uk]

55 minutes ago, the_fh_mets said:

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. 

whereas the music did feel correct at the pool for me, like you say like a Vegas or Miami pool party.

[Flafun888]

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

whereas the music did feel correct at the pool for me, like you say like a Vegas or Miami pool party.

Thanks everyone for your helpful context. Yeah...unfortunately, that's one element of a more "traditional" cruise I do prefer- relaxing, vacation-style music. I genuinely dislike contemporary club music and avoid vegas, miami culture. Not judging of course...it's totally a "me" issue, as I'm sure many in their target audience do like it. 

[jon81uk]

18 minutes ago, Flafun888 said:

Thanks everyone for your helpful context. Yeah...unfortunately, that's one element of a more "traditional" cruise I do prefer- relaxing, vacation-style music. I genuinely dislike contemporary club music and avoid vegas, miami culture. Not judging of course...it's totally a "me" issue, as I'm sure many in their target audience do like it. 

I wasn’t looking for the pool party myself but found plenty of spaces elsewhere, the Dock bar on deck 7 has a completely different vibe compared to the main pool and the Athletic Club space at the back of deck 16 is slightly quieter than the pool even if it’s a similar genre of music.

[fsdorado]

I would agree with what the others have been saying about loud music.  In general, we only really noticed it around the pool during the day (and during Scarlet Night by the pool and the PJ Party in the Athletic Club).  The variety of musicians during our cruise was very good.  We had an excellent blues group playing in the Roundabout area most nights.  On sea days, there was some great acoustic music being played live in the Dock House.

 

 

Frederick