Is Virgin what I'm looking for?

[ubarpants]

I'm starting to gather ideas for a late summer/early fall cruise for 2023.  No one seems to have itineraries out yet but I see a few things I like this year.  One of them is the Adriatic Sea & Greek Gems on Virgin but I'm not sure if it's the best choice for what we're looking for and would love feedback.

 

It would just be me and my husband traveling, and we'll be in our early 40s. We've gone on three cruises before: NCL Sun to Alaska, RCL Serenade to the Baltics, and RCL Harmony to the Caribbean. I liked how the smaller ships felt less crowded but I didn't like how they both seemed outdated.  

 

We're looking for something a little different/higher level this time.  We haven't been impressed with the food on our past cruises--it always seems a little cafeteria-like unless we spring for the upcharge restaurants.  We aren't heavy drinkers but generally find the free coffee to be super gross. In terms of entertainment, we do like the cheesy cruise game shows but don't enjoy jugglers, magicians, or song/dance routines (usually the music for these is not from our era).  We dress up for work so we like to chill out on vacation and aren't fans of formal nights at all.  Also, we've never been in a pool or hot tub on a cruise; it just doesn't appeal to us with the crowds and the sanitary conditions.

 

I'm currently considering Azamara, Oceania, and Virgin.  It looks like a basic suite on Virgin would be about the same cost as an oceanview on the other two.  Assuming we're equally happy with the itineraries, what do you think?  I'm concerned about the entertainment on Oceania, and the free food on Azamara, but I recognize those are both smaller and more intimate than the Virgin ships.  At the same time, I don't really care one way or the other if the staff remembers my name or if I make friends on board.

 

Maybe it would just be better to wait until there are more sailings and make a determination at that point? What do you think?

[twodjs]

I would wait until Virgin has cruised for a few months in the Caribbean with normal cruise itineraries. Virgin is the least traditional of your three choices. I think more reviews will confirm whether it's a good fit for you.

[garymfreedman]

1 hour ago, twodjs said:

I would wait until Virgin has cruised for a few months in the Caribbean with normal cruise itineraries. Virgin is the least traditional of your three choices. I think more reviews will confirm whether it's a good fit for you.

Concur. They still have not had a NORMAL sailing.....There are also LOTS of videos on youtube that go over the ship..

[gumshoe958]

Also concur - to a degree.

 

All the cruises so far have been specifically tailored to the UK market, particularly the entertainment, so no-one can say for sure what they’ll offer in the Med/Adriatic. But if the UK cruises are anything to go by, the entertainment will be quirkier and more ‘adult’ than NCL or RCL. Certainly no song & dance production shows.
 

The restaurants are definitely a cut above the MDRs on the traditional lines. They’re smaller so feel more intimate and less like cafeterias. And the food quality is also much better - definitely up there with the speciality restaurants on other lines.

[pl281]

@ubarpants

 

Having been on Oceania - I can at least comment on them.

 

For both Oceania and Azamara, I would put them in a different class than Virgin.

I just turned 40 this year. My wife and I have been on Oceania a few times with my parents (about 10 years ago) and we were very happy with it. Both of these lines in my opinion tend to be more about the destination you are going to than the ship.

 

Due to the smaller ships of Oceania and Azamara - you don't typically see any stage shows - they typically have various types of music (a piano lounge, a string quartet) that sort of thing. Their cruises are typically longer (9+ nights) and typically everything is included - in some cases airfare and excursions are included as well. In terms of dress - at least when we were on it, I would call it business causal.

 

While food is subjective, I can almost 100% assure you that you will have better quality than the previous cruises - think of Oceana and Azamara as fine steak house.

 

As others have said it's hard to comment on Virgin until they have done some "normal" cruises - but as I said - I think you are comparing apples to oranges in the comparison 

 

 

[sarakenny]

I can comment on Azamara - haven't done Oceania and my Virgin cruise is still a few weeks away. We loved our Azamara cruise mostly because it was small (I believe just under 700 passengers) and the food was excellent. Didn't have the annoying announcements or big stage productions - but it did include food, drinks and tips. What we loved the most was the amount of time we spent in port on our cruise through Spain, Italy, Corsica and Monaco. Because it was a longer cruise during the fall, the demographics skewed older: we were in our early 50s at the time and we were definitely on the young side. But, frankly, that didn't bother us: we spent so much time exploring ports that when we got back to the ship we ate, had a few drinks and were zonked out. My husband is wary of Virgin because he hates large ships and he's afraid we'll be the "olds" lol. We shall see. I, for one, am psyched. I think you need to see the reports out of Virgin once they get their footing to make an informed decision. Have fun whatever you decide!

[Solent Richard]

On 9/9/2021 at 12:00 PM, pl281 said:

@ubarpants

 

Having been on Oceania - I can at least comment on them.

 

For both Oceania and Azamara, I would put them in a different class than Virgin.

I just turned 40 this year. My wife and I have been on Oceania a few times with my parents (about 10 years ago) and we were very happy with it. Both of these lines in my opinion tend to be more about the destination you are going to than the ship.

 

Due to the smaller ships of Oceania and Azamara - you don't typically see any stage shows - they typically have various types of music (a piano lounge, a string quartet) that sort of thing. Their cruises are typically longer (9+ nights) and typically everything is included - in some cases airfare and excursions are included as well. In terms of dress - at least when we were on it, I would call it business causal.

 

While food is subjective, I can almost 100% assure you that you will have better quality than the previous cruises - think of Oceana and Azamara as fine steak house.

 

As others have said it's hard to comment on Virgin until they have done some "normal" cruises - but as I said - I think you are comparing apples to oranges in the comparison 

 

 

That's a pretty fine summary and I can only add that on a daily basis Virgin food was not a patch on Oceania's and that is where my money would go if I was required to make such a choice....

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2013/03/21/oceania-nautica-dawn-of-civilisation-cruise/

 

 

[sandero]

Some of those questions I can relate to!
 

Food - all of the restaurants are included, there are no "upcharge restaurants" like on other cruise lines, I think I saw two food menu items in total with a charge (Fresh Truffles in the Extra Virgin for example) but otherwise nearly all food in all restaurants is included. Someone posted the menus from the Portsmouth sailings for you to get an idea:

Drinks - All soft drinks, pre-pressed jucies, simple tea/coffee (what the cruise calls Basic Bevvies) is included in the price. Alcoholic drinks, you'd be looking at around $9 for basic up to $13 for cocktail type drinks. Link above also shows the drinks prices. 
 

Entertainment - the main show was a circus type act (there are plenty of youtube videos for you to see if it is something you don't want), there was also a couple risqué type shows, and a comedy show (in the theme of a Late Night Show). Other entertainment included a games area with hundreds of different types of games available (stuff like Cluedo, Monopoly, Scrabble, Carcassonne, humanity card games, I think I saw some obscure games there like Rail Baron, a Horse Racing game I think I saw like 30 years ago...) there was a games arcade with lots of the old style arcade games (including Donkey Kong, Pacman, golf and driving) all free to play, and a couple of air hockey tables (although I felt the air wasn't very good coming out of it, making it a little hard to get a rythmn going). I can't comment on if there was any cheesy gameshows, if there was any, I didn't see them, but that may be because I wasn't looking for it as it wasn't my cup of tea. In other entertainment, theres a range of nightclub type venues if you want to party. The music was pitched at people from our era (the 40-somethings) so you may feel the music is surprisingly okay. I didn't hear a single song that I thought "turn it off".
    
Dresscode - There's a Scarlet Night where wearing red and black is hinted at, that's the "closest" to a formal night on the ship. Formal isn't the right word for Virgin's take on it, it's just something red. Many sailors wore red t-shirts, and for me it was a red polo top. It also wasn't mandatory, I saw people dressed in non-Red attire too. 
    
Pool - For me, that was the big negative for the cruise ship as the pools were quite small, but if you're not interested in the pools, then that's not going to be a problem for you.
    
Destinations - Hard to recommend without knowing what you seek. For me, Tenerife was always somewhere my partner had wanted to go, so the 2022 UK to Tenerife Sailings came out of the blue and was very welcome news. Outside that, we liked the idea of Gibraltar, beaches of Malaga and I always wanted to see what the fuss about Ibiza was about, so it comes as no surprise to say we were originally booked on the 2021 Spanish Obsession, which we will likely reprise in 2023. 

 

[ubarpants]

Thanks for the insights, all!  Makes total sense to see what people think of the US sailings.  I agree that Oceania and Azamara are definitely a different class, but when a suite on Virgin is the same cost as oceanview on those two, wheels start turning in my head.  I appreciate all the info and opinions.

[garymfreedman]

A good article on CNN on why Virgin Voyages is the way she is-

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/richard-branson-virgin-voyages-scarlet-lady/index.html

[sarakenny]

14 minutes ago, garymfreedman said:

A good article on CNN on why Virgin Voyages is the way she is-

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/richard-branson-virgin-voyages-scarlet-lady/index.html

Thank you for sharing!