Virgin Voyages does not play by the rules of the standard cruise industry. They don’t have a “buffet”, or a main dining room, or a theatre, or CHILDREN!!
How we Sailed Vrigin, for basically free....
This is the most mind blowing thing you will read in this blog post – but it’s true. We got this cruise and a bunch of extras for….free. By free, I mean 62k AMEX points. If you haven’t read that post, check it out because it was WILD. Alright on with the show.
The Ship, Resilient Lady
We cruised Virgin Voyages newest ship, the Resilient Lady, around the greek islands (round trip from Athens). The Resilient Lady is the newest ship in Virgin Voyages fleet (at the time of this writing) and the newest ship we boarded out of 5 cruises! I will break it down by section and then the good and bad within.
Lets Start with the Good
The venues are out of this world beautiful. From the dining venues to the many terraces, there is plenty of seating that is truly well made. The pool deck is the perfect size for the number of passengers aboard, although it may seem small from pictures. Without a main theatre onboard, you would think there were no venues to host shows, but there are actually several!
The ship felt empty a good portion of the time…it was strange. We often found ourselves in the Dockhouse or laying on some sofa beds on the promenade deck all alone asking ourselves, “where is everyone?”. I don’t know if our sailing just had a bunch of partiers who needed their recovery sleep or what. I asked a waiter about the capacity and he said we only had 200 people below capacity so it wasn’t just an empty ship.
The most unique part of the journey was how they used venues for more than one purpose. Pink Agave turns into a dance party, the Dock house hosts Opa Hour with special menu every day between 4:30-6:30. The social club has piles and piles of board games to play.
The parties! Oh my gosh, the parties are so much fun. Scarlet Night is a requirement and you must bring something Red. Don’t be like us and try to make Pink and Black work. Apart from Scarlet night, there was an 80’s night and Fancy night on our voyage
Towels! and Wifi!! Oh my god the towels are fricken amazing and you don’t have to check them in and out! In fact, they are often laying on the loungers ready for you with a large stack waiting between the pools. The Wifi is actually good..like really good. We had the premium version for status matching to MSC Gold which allowed us to stream.
The bad
The actual layout of the ship is horrible and very confusing. We talked to many people on the first day who had the same utterly confused looks on their face like we did. The corridors, stairwells and all the spaces inbetween are very industrial looking. It just makes the ship feel unfinished. They do have paper maps at sailor services however. Get one and you’ll figure it out by day 5 or 7 at the latest.
The naming scheme of the cabins is not useful. And by not useful, I mean…why would you have the same cabin numbers on each side of the ship and just add an “A” or a “Z” onto the end? It makes no sense. Unless of course… you partied too hard at Scarlet night and are trying to find the GIANT letters that represent your side of the ship… that could be it. Yeah, let’s go with that.
Venue entrances are from very odd locations. For example, The Manor is entered from the casino even though the signage says you can enter from the next level as well… Maybe we just weren’t cool enough to get access via that deck. Extra Virgin and the Test Kitchen are tucked was in the aft of the ship but to get to them, you have to wind your way through the shops that people didn’t even know existed.
The elevators are particular as to which floors are accessible by which elevators, so don’t go taking the mid or forward elevators to get to the Perch because you wont make it there. That is pretty normal on ships but Virgins’ signage just makes it 10 times more confusing.
My biggest pet peeve about the newer ships are that the dang safety railings are way to high and tinted!!! Why are they tinted!? We loved spending time napping on the promenade deck in the sunbeds but often times, moved to The Dockhouse to get an uninterrupted view of the ocean. It just takes away from the ocean which is why we love to go cruising in the first place!
The Maybe
Everything is run from the phone application. All of the restaurants, many shows, and some supplemental events all appear here. Reservations are required for everything… except when they are not. It is confusing but if you are really into planning a trip, this can be super relaxing! Just plan everything and be notified when it is time to go places.
Entertainment venues
The Manor
A two story nightclub that is completely glitz and glam. This venue transports you through a lighted mirrored portal into a vegas-like show setting that will blow your socks off. I’m not going to spoil your experience on this ship but let’s just say, the adults only aspect of this ship brings a whole different show experience. This venue is stunning and a must not miss.
The only downside of this venue is there just simply isn’t enough seating that can see the stage. We rewatched one show, Lola’s Library, again because the first time, we were on the balcony and could not see or experience the entire show.
Red Room
This venue is similar to a traditional theatre but more versatile. The seating can be retracted back into the wall, set out like a traditional theatre, or split up to make an alley for performers.
We only went to two performances in this venue in the theatre style; The Miss. Behave game show and Tape Face (a variety show). Both of which were set up in the traditional seat setting. The Persephone show was switched to the cabaret style.
This venue felt very industrial and unfinished. This is a running theme on the ship…that we will get to.
The service and Crew on Virgin Voyages
I don’t think most people know that Virgin pays their crew more than the other big cruise lines. There’s no data to indicate by how much but the internet people say about 50% or more. Also, they do not have a gratuity added to your bill at the end! Halleluiah!! Virgin just did away with it because the crew are paid a living wage and there’s no point in hiding fees from the passengers…we’re not stupid.
The service you get on Virgin is more intimate. They really care to hear how your day went or where you are from. There are so many staff that they have the time to just talk with you!
One quick tip – when you are at the pool, the servers expect you to wave them down when you are ready to order. Additionally, they are totally cool with you ordering soft drinks poolside and will bring them to you! Soda is included… so that is outstanding.
Pools
There are only two pools onboard, both fresh water, and 4 whirpools. Make it known they are NOT hot tubs and do not have jets…. They are slightly warmer than the pools but by no means warm enough.
The wellbeing pool, the one with the big cross in the middle, is best for relaxing and being waited on by the crew as it’s pretty easy for them to reach you. We probably spent most of our pool time here because there was a little more shade then the main pool.
The main pool has a 5′ deep section and about a 6″ deep section on either side. It is plenty big enough for the number of cruisers and never felt too packed. The sun loungers around the edge of the pool were so comfortable and with quick access to the pool, They are worth getting up earlyish for. By earlish, if you are out there by 10am, you will probably be able to snag one.
The main downfall of the pool deck is that there are poor ocean views. The wellbeing pool is flanked by the B-complex (fitness area) blocking the view. The main pool also has some pretty terrible views as you have to look through these large triangle shaped sofas that basically were used by no one. And to add on to it, the windows were severely tinted.
Relaxation stations
The Perch, the Net, and the deck 7 promenade are what I consider relaxation stations. Feel free to take a nap on the couches…like we (and others) did a few times…or just hang out and play a giant game of chess as sunset. We loved the amount of seating in all these locations and always found a spot.
The Perch is the Deck 17 aft open floor area where yoga, dance classes, and sunbathing is held. We did not spend any time up here as it was far too hot to be away from a pool but it would be an amazing spot for sailaway. Also, the crew loved to hang out here!
“The Net” is the famous red net elevated far above the lower decks but also has a lot of loungers and to sunbathe in. Climbing the net is very uncomfortable so it was often empty.
The Deck 7 promenade is where we hung out the most. It completely wraps around the ship, The Dockhouse is in the aft, the Pizza Place is on the Port side and tons of couches on the Starboard side. Additionally, the Dockhouse inside has excellent sofas and soft chairs with american style outlets. If you need to jump on the interwebs for a few, you can post up at a table, raise your red “Food Please” flag and munch on some steak bites.
The Entertainment
There are no typical shows on Virgin. Their intent is to have an inclusive, intimate experience and they came through! It is a voyage you will remember! From drag queen bingo to a show about a library, these are the highlights that we were able to attend on this trip.
Lola's Library
An immersive cabaret that is broken up into three distinct, themed chapters. Don’t sleep on this show!! Although the title seems a little dusty, it is anything but. Without spoiling anything, it is featuring Lola and her nerdy (but hiding a little something under his shirt) Dewey and the maid, Mary who take us through a collection of books. It is a mix of aerialists, acrobatics, dancing, singing, and comedy. Just go see it, please! On Resilient Lady it is held in The Manor and make sure you get there 30 minutes early to get a seat on the main floor! Remember, the ground floor entrance is in the casino….
Persephone
Before you go to this show, I suggest you read up on the history of Persephone, the goddess of the underworld, or you could just go and they will explain everything in a very…interesting way… Anyways, it is a rock and roll themed, acrobatic, open floor, immersive show that will bounce your eyes around the room. Trust me, don’t get in the way of the performers.
Miss Behave
This is a game show that takes timeliness and enthusiasm up a notch. I can’t give away anything because the game depends on it. Just know, you will not stay seated and if you’re lucky, you will be the first to be able to sit down (that’s for the people who have see the show) 😉
Maybe it was just the group of passengers playing, but this show was a bust for us. It was funny at time but without full audience participation, it doesnt work.
The Parties
Virgin has the best parties that last well into the night. Can you see where this is going? We didn’t make it to many….that’s what I’m getting at.
If you didn’t know, Virgin is making champagne their thing. The sailaway party has bottomless (if you just keep grabbing the flutes, its bottomless right?) champagne. It’s just a big ‘ole dance party up on the pool decks.
Pajama Party or don’t, like us. We don’t have sexy or sassy pajamas with us as we travel around the world so we didn’t go. My ratty, stained PJ pants are pretty pathetic.
80’s Party!! Also we don’t bring 80’s party clothes with us on a world tour. We actually were having a grand time at Gunbae with 4 young british blokes who drank way to much soju. Soon after, we popped our heads into The Manor to check it out but we’re not 80’s kids so it just wasn’t our dancing vibe.
Scarlet Night was everything you’ve heard. A pool party, a massive octopus, clothes going missing, glitter, and just a ton of fun. The entire ship gets decked out in sea creatures, the lights turn red, shows popup around the ship… It makes for a pretty unique experience. If you don’t want to get wet, don’t stand on the pool deck, go up one level.
We Fancy is Virgins take on formal night except they turned it into an explosive party, go figure. It was held on the last night of the cruise which really wasn’t the best planning because we had everything already packed and we were exhausted. We didn’t really want to party late into the night because we had to leave the ship early in the morning…
The Food
There’s far too much to discuss here so check out this post!
The Virgin Scene
Virgin is known to be exotic and it lives up to its reputation. The shows are scandalous, the pool party is a blast, the vibe is confident, the people are welcoming. We loved the spaciousness, children free environment. The crew were some of the most talkative and we felt extraordinarily comfortable.
