Just booked... when do I reserve dining?

[kad56]

So I just booked a voyage I'm super excited about, and I'm excited to try out virgin. I know I'll need to reserve dinner every night and that people have issues getting the dining they want last minute. How early can I book dinner? The trip is about 150 days out, so I should have time. Also, I'm vegetarian, and I've heard that theres a vegan/plant-forward restaurant on board (Razzle Dazzle?). I get the sense that's not where the omnivores want to go for dinner, but it's what I'm interested in.... 

Also, how early should I book the shows? I heard there's a drag show and I really want to go to that.

Thanks for all your pointers. I'm excited but pretty clueless.

[jon81uk]

32 minutes ago, kad56 said:

So I just booked a voyage I'm super excited about, and I'm excited to try out virgin. I know I'll need to reserve dinner every night and that people have issues getting the dining they want last minute. How early can I book dinner? The trip is about 150 days out, so I should have time. Also, I'm vegetarian, and I've heard that theres a vegan/plant-forward restaurant on board (Razzle Dazzle?). I get the sense that's not where the omnivores want to go for dinner, but it's what I'm interested in.... 

Also, how early should I book the shows? I heard there's a drag show and I really want to go to that.

Thanks for all your pointers. I'm excited but pretty clueless.

Book dining 45 days out (unless in a a suite when it’s 60 days). Over half the time slots can only be booked onboard though so if you don’t find what you want then book something and move it once onboard.

 

Razzle Dazzle has more vegetarian/vegan dishes than the other restaurants but half the menu is still meat & fish. See menus here  https://vvinsider.com/restaurant-menus/

 

Shows are no longer booked, its first come, doors open in the main Red Room theatre half hour before and 15 minutes before at the Manor (which is also the nightclub). The main drag show is Around the World in 80 minutes and will be done a few times, often including a sea day afternoon.

 

Fitness classes, paid-for activities and the dinner show can be booked once onboard.

[kad56]

Thank you! I did just find the menus online and I'm actually kinda dissappointed there are non-veg options at Razzle Dazzle. I was hoping to have the place all to myself. Thanks for responding. 

[cantgetin]

All food outlets on VV have vegan and vegetarian options.  Test Kitchen offers a vegan menu and a vegetarian menu (different nights) as well as A and B menus for omnivores.  Razzle Dazzle is plant forward, but also has a "naughty menu" that includes meats and fish.  Bottom line, each restaurant will have items that will meet your dietary desires, as will The Galley.  Dining reservations start at midnight Eastern time 45 days before embarkation day; 60 days for suites.  When the app crashes, you can contact your TA or shoreside sailor services at VV.  MY TA will make reservations for me at midnight Eastern time.  She asks me to send her a list of what I want on what nights and preferred times and will do her best.

More reservations will open on embarkation day and after boarding there will be a place to go for dining assistance.  It is usually in Razzle Dazzle, but on our most recent cruise, was at Pink Agave.  THere will be plenty of crew on deck 7 to tell you where to go.  Sailor Services does not make dining reservations....not on embarkation day or ever.  Don't waste your time standing in their line.

There are multiple drag shows--Around the World, THe Diva Sings her Secrets, Bingo with the Diva, Cabaret with the Diva, etc.  As above, show up and line up 30 minutes in advance--no more reservations.  If you are in a site, you will be escorted to the front of the line.

Excursions book in advance.  Other things that can be booked must wait till you are on board.

 

[kad56]

Thank you! So I've heard that dining reservations can be tricky to get. Which restaraunts are the most popular? I'd like to book those as early as possible. I'm probably not interested in the wake... looks all meat with a few side dishes, so I won't be competing with omnivores for that one.

Edited August 14 by kad56

[jon81uk]

5 minutes ago, kad56 said:

Thank you! I did just find the menus online and I'm actually kinda dissappointed there are non-veg options at Razzle Dazzle. I was hoping to have the place all to myself. Thanks for responding. 

The original Razzle Dazzle menu was a bit more forward in being plant-based and labelled all the meat/fish dishes as “naughty” but a year ago the dinner menu was re-done to be  New American cuisine and although still heavy on the vegetarian dishes, it removed the “naughty” branding from the dinner menu to make it feel more accessible. The brunch menu still has the “naughty” section.

 

They also dimmed the lights and tried to improve the ambience when the new dinner menu came in a year ago.

[jon81uk]

2 minutes ago, kad56 said:

Thank you! So I've heard that dining reservations can be tricky to get. Which restaraunts are the most popular? I'd like to book those as early as possible. I'm probably not interested in the wake... looks all meat with a few side dishes, so I won't be competing with omnivores for that one.

The Wake and Extra Virgin are generally most popular with Razzle Dazzle and Test Kitchen less popular. So if you are avoiding The Wake anyway you should be fine as Extra Virgin will be the harder reservation.

 

Test Kitchen will change the menu part-way through the week so if you plan to do it twice ask at the host stand when it will switch.

[kad56]

That's great. I can focus on getting a rez at Extra Virgin, and I should probably be good winging some thing. How does test kitchen work? Is it like a regular restaurant, or do they only do one seating? Online, it's not listed with the restaurants, it's listed with other stuff like ice cream... so that's confusing.

[jon81uk]

10 minutes ago, kad56 said:

That's great. I can focus on getting a rez at Extra Virgin, and I should probably be good winging some thing. How does test kitchen work? Is it like a regular restaurant, or do they only do one seating? Online, it's not listed with the restaurants, it's listed with other stuff like ice cream... so that's confusing.

It’s like all the other restaurants, you get a table for your party size at a reservation time. They will show you the six ingredients that make up the courses but then explain the dish in full once it’s in front of you.

[kad56]

Thanks for all the feedback. I ran into a VV group on an excursion this spring, and some of the them couldn't stop talking about how annoying all the reservations were. Sounds easier than I thought.

Edited August 14 by kad56

[kaysha2004]

Razzle Dazzle was launched as a 100% vegan/vegetarian restaurant and it was empty most of the time, so they incorporated non-plant-based food, I think in 2022 or 2023.  It's still not popular for dinner, however, the breakfast/brunch is really good, and the restaurant tends to be very full during those hours.

[Wildcatllamas]

@kad56 I booked all my dining reservations last night for my cruise going out on September 29. The advantage of being a TA is we can access the Virgin site and book that way - so it is a lot faster and rarely, if any glitches. So definitely find a TA to work with, specifically a Gold leve, and save the headache. The friends, who are traveling with me emailed me their choices and then I put together an idea of dates, times and restaurants. Once we all were in agreement I was ready last night. Reservations for restaurants open up at midnight Miami time. So you can begin booking at your local time that coincides with that time in Miami. For me it was at 10 PM last night.

[jon81uk]

15 hours ago, kaysha2004 said:

Razzle Dazzle was launched as a 100% vegan/vegetarian restaurant and it was empty most of the time, so they incorporated non-plant-based food, I think in 2022 or 2023.  It's still not popular for dinner, however, the breakfast/brunch is really good, and the restaurant tends to be very full during those hours.

It was never 100% vegan/vegetarian. This is the original dinner menu with the naughty section of meat dishes https://eatsleepcruise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Razzle-Dazzle-Dinner-Menu.pdf There was also a “secret” steak and later butter chicken curry too.

 

The change to the new after dark menu didn’t significantly change the ratio of meat/vege dishes there was already five meat/fish main dishes and if you take into account the old “secret” specials it was seven. The new appetisers have one more meat item compared to old though.

It was as much about trying to alter the ambiance for dinner too, make it feel less like a canteen.

It presented its self as vege-forward on that old menu when actually there was plenty of meat dishes!

Edited August 15 by jon81uk

[kad56]

This is super interesting! I talked to someone on a cruise who told me there's a vegan restaurant on VV, and she hated it. This got me excited, because I figured if there's a well-hated vegan restaurant on board, I could get the restaurant all to myself, all the time. It's all good, I looked at menus, and it seems like there's plenty of options for me all over the ship. It's just funny how the game of telephone works. 

[kad56]

Is the entertainment schedule also available 45 days out? Or do you have to book random dining times, and then try to change them to go to shows you want? Also, do any of the restaurants have bar seating for meals? 

[jon81uk]

19 minutes ago, kad56 said:

Is the entertainment schedule also available 45 days out? Or do you have to book random dining times, and then try to change them to go to shows you want? Also, do any of the restaurants have bar seating for meals? 

there will be an outline schedule at 45 days but it changes in the last week before when a lot more stuff is added. 
Can generally assume there will be a show at 7 or 8pm and again at 10pm most nights. 
It will show at 45days what night Scarlet night is and that starts at 9pm with smaller events and pop-ups on deck 7, pool party at 10.45pm.

 

Extra Virgin has bar seating you can eat at and Pink Agave has one small high top (plus some low bar/lounge seating). Razzle Dazzle has a seperate bar, but I’m not sure if you can eat there.

[CruisingWalter]

On 8/14/2024 at 5:44 PM, kad56 said:

Thank you! So I've heard that dining reservations can be tricky to get. Which restaraunts are the most popular? I'd like to book those as early as possible. I'm probably not interested in the wake... looks all meat with a few side dishes, so I won't be competing with omnivores for that one.

 

If you work with a TA getting dining reservations is super easy. Just send them your list and they take care of it. Some agents even get access to the dining reservations a little before everyone else.  If you're going to try it yourself via the app, have a lot of patience! 

[Bluebury]

Do you really have to book or can we just turn up when we feel like it and wait? Also, does each restaurant have a set menu for the whole cruise or do they offer alternatives on some nights?

 

[Essiesmom]

Set menus except for the Galley.  You can just show up and see what they can do.  EM

[jon81uk]

8 minutes ago, Bluebury said:

Do you really have to book or can we just turn up when we feel like it and wait? Also, does each restaurant have a set menu for the whole cruise or do they offer alternatives on some nights?

 

Walk in can be possible but on busy sailings they will put you on a waitlist and send a message via the app if it becomes available. Much better to have a booking, if you can’t make them before the cruise more slots will open up once onboard.

 

All the main restaurants only have the menu. Occasionally there might be a special (especially on long sailings like transatlantic) but not normally. The Galley food court however will have specials everyday often including some kind of carved meat or similar for dinner.

[Bluebury]

3 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

Walk in can be possible but on busy sailings they will put you on a waitlist and send a message via the app if it becomes available. Much better to have a booking, if you can’t make them before the cruise more slots will open up once onboard.

 

All the main restaurants only have the menu. Occasionally there might be a special (especially on long sailings like transatlantic) but not normally. The Galley food court however will have specials everyday often including some kind of carved meat or similar for dinner.

Thank you

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, Bluebury said:

Do you really have to book or can we just turn up when we feel like it and wait? Also, does each restaurant have a set menu for the whole cruise or do they offer alternatives on some nights?

 

Depends hugely on how full your sailing is (and recently most sailings have been quite full). Set menu for the whole cruise, but and jon noted, there can be occasional special dishes, particularly on longer cruises.  The Galley has a nightly special, and some of these are excellent.  If you don't make reservations in advance, you can make them after boarding.

[DCGuy64]

On 8/14/2024 at 5:37 PM, kad56 said:

Thank you! I did just find the menus online and I'm actually kinda dissappointed there are non-veg options at Razzle Dazzle. I was hoping to have the place all to myself. Thanks for responding. 

As a carnivore married to a vegetarian, I am glad Razzle Dazzle is inclusive of everyone, regardless of their tastes. 😊

[DCGuy64]

On 8/15/2024 at 11:42 AM, kad56 said:

This got me excited, because I figured if there's a well-hated vegan restaurant on board, I could get the restaurant all to myself, all the time

Based on this next post, you might have had the place all to yourself. 😉

On 8/14/2024 at 8:11 PM, kaysha2004 said:

Razzle Dazzle was launched as a 100% vegan/vegetarian restaurant and it was empty most of the time,

I know my vegetarian wife is going to love VV based on this. The abundant selection of veggie-friendly meals was a major selling point when I suggested we try Virgin.

[Travel-and-See]

On 8/14/2024 at 4:37 PM, kad56 said:

Also, I'm vegetarian, and I've heard that theres a vegan/plant-forward restaurant on board (Razzle Dazzle?). I get the sense that's not where the omnivores want to go for dinner, but it's what I'm interested in.... 

Virgin is really good about having several Vegetarian options on all the menu. I'm pescatarian and I loved all the options at Pink Agave.  I may cheat on the next cruise and try the Chicken Enchilada cause I've heard it's really good. 

 

On 8/14/2024 at 5:44 PM, kad56 said:

Which restaraunts are the most popular?

The Wake is the most popular followed by Extra Virgin and Pink Agave.  The others are pretty easy to get reservations for up to the day of in my experience.