Considering Virgin

[alwaysfrantic]

I’ve been on a number of different lines, with the most being on Holland America.  Virgin looks interesting and the date in Europe works best for our schedule.   Odd question…….is it loud?   I see the whole rock star theme but is there loud music everywhere? Are the cabins quiet in case we had an actual rock star next door?

 

And smoking……I have not cruised in Europe previously but read smoking onboard is more common there.  Any experience with VV in Europe to comment?
 

If I’m in a Rock Star suite will I have any trouble getting dining reservations where I want? I like the idea of the variety instead of a fixed dining room.  We can get tables for two each place?
 

we can carry on two bottles of wine each to start, yes?  

what is the typical age demographic on VV? We are younger than a typical HAL regular.  Our other option is Celebrity this trip.  

[mbfrenc0586]

I have never been on Holland American so I can't compare anything to that but I can give you my thoughts on my VV cruise from November.  ( I have two more booked for this year if that gives you a glimpse at my thoughts).

 

It wasn't loud at all in most places.  A few of us were actually wishing there was more music, especially on the pool deck.  The music was very quiet out there.  I actually found most places to be very calm and relaxing.  I spent a lot of time at The Dock and On the Rocks.  I had an inside cabin mid ship deck 13 and it was silent.

 

No experience with VV in Europe but I can there was very little smoking on my cruise.

 

I have had no issues making reservation for dinner on both of my cruises so far in a regular room so I'm sure you won't in a suite.  The food was amazing everywhere!  You can book for multiple people  Only restriction is you can only my reservations for each restaurant for dinner one time.  You can try to walk up without a reservation but that seems unlikely to work from what I have read.  

 

My cruise was only may 30% capacity and the age group was very wide.  Plenty of people from 20s and up.   

 

It was an amazing cruise. I highly recommend giving it a try!  My wife and I will be booking a European cruise with them for 2023.

[alwaysfrantic]

Thank you so much for your reply! I think I’m getting excited.  The website is not great. I was in the middle of reserving a certain room and got a pop up that it was no longer available.  Not a lot of information on the site, but I’m finding it here.  So, thank you!

[britincanada]

You can call in to make your reservation, that way you can have a better choice of cabin. The website automatically assigns them - when we booked I pulled up the deck plans and phoned in to book. That was Oct '19, and we have had 2 cancellations!

 

The only European cruises so far were the 'staycations' out of the UK last summer, as yet there haven't been any European cruises for Virgin Voyages.

 

You can carry on 2 bottles of wine (no beer or liquor). Rockstar cabins get the first set up of alcohol included, Mega Rockstars get unlimited booze in the cabin, and drinks on board (& Bimini beach club) up to $25/glass & 2 bottles up to $90. As Rockstars you get to book restaurants & shows in the app before other sailors, and then if you need to change anything once onboard the Rockstar agent can help you with that. 

 

We are going in a Gorgeous suite (Mega Rockstar) in May, VV gave a 200% future cruise credit when we were cancelled - so we are using the entire amount and making the most of it!

[CruzinMermaid]

VV is definitely different from traditional cruise lines. There's no art auction, gold sales, shipboard photographer, daily events paper, etc. I say this as one who detested all those things so was delighted.

 

The restaurants are phenomenal. Test Kitchen was created by a Michelin star chef as was The Wake. One of the restaurants comes from a James Beard recipient, and the others are also award winning chefs. The food is pretty amazing. Not just amazing for a cruise but for a place you'd go to in an urban environment.

 

The entertainment is unexpected. There was some stuff I didn't understand but seemed to mesmerize others and stuff I enjoyed immensely. Lot's of pop up music. I was at the Dock having a drink when an acoustic guitarist showed up to play and sing - it was so beautiful I was almost sorry to have to leave for dinner.

 

The cabins are more European traditional than American  - meaning smaller than many Americans are familiar with. I've traveled overseas a bit so was ready for it and fine with it.

 

The crew is the best, they are so incredibly helpful and informative. They are encouraged to utilize the ship when not on duty so you might end up having a drink with someone you met at Sailor Services or as your wait staff or saw at a show. I had breakfast with one of the tech experts who sorted my app on day 1. She immediately remembered my name, which I hope was not a reflection on bad (memorable) behavior on my part.

[Jasukkie]

I felt like overall noise onboard was quieter. There are no kids, so no big extended families who can tend to be noisy or make things seem crowded. The overall vibe is relaxed and friendly. I didn't hear a peep from inside my cabin but the adjacent rooms may have been empty, not sure.

 

The dining experience is the best I've ever had on a cruise. My only regrets were not having a long enough sailing to try everything I would have liked to. 

 

I'd say the age range is 35-55 or so. This is a little pricier so you don't have as many young people. You also won't see many elderly. Again, no kids, something they should be marketing hard. This also seemed very non-straight friendly, plenty of same sex couples. The crew is great, just a really friendly experience.

[Bxc53]

We are considering our first Virgin cruise with the April '23 Transatlantic on Valiant Lady.

Lots of good information in this thread, thanks.

 

This cruise would be to celebrate my 70th birthday, DW is in her early 50's, so we are probably a little older than the typical Virgin Sailor. However, transatlantic itineraries tend to run to an older crowd, so who knows? 

 

We are wondering what the shipboard activities and entertainment may be for the long stretch of sea days? We like pool and hot tub options, Virgin seems a little lacking there. We also won't be wearing out any of the gym equipment. 😉  

Of course a lot can change in the next year or so, but we'd welcome any thoughts on the anticipated TA experience. 

[jon81uk]

16 hours ago, Bxc53 said:

We are considering our first Virgin cruise with the April '23 Transatlantic on Valiant Lady.

Lots of good information in this thread, thanks.

 

This cruise would be to celebrate my 70th birthday, DW is in her early 50's, so we are probably a little older than the typical Virgin Sailor. However, transatlantic itineraries tend to run to an older crowd, so who knows? 

 

We are wondering what the shipboard activities and entertainment may be for the long stretch of sea days? We like pool and hot tub options, Virgin seems a little lacking there. We also won't be wearing out any of the gym equipment. 😉  

Of course a lot can change in the next year or so, but we'd welcome any thoughts on the anticipated TA experience. 

 

We did the UK staycation last August and have booked the transatlantic next October.

 

There are four hot tubs, two next to the jacuzzi in the main pool area and two at the back of the ship on the top deck. We used them during the staycation, the ones in the middle of the ship were busy, but the other quieter.

Two more are in Richards Rooftop which is only for those with suites.

 

In terms of entertainment there was plenty of bands and parties for the staycation. As well as informal bingo and a pub quiz. In the evenings was the circus show and comedy shows. It felt like there was plenty in evenings, but daytimes were quieter. If you aren't going to be doing fitness classes you might want to bring several books.

They do have a large selection of board games which was available several times.

[Bxc53]

Thanks for the feedback. Virgin seems to have much we like ( great food, refined ambiance) but we are concerned that the currently limited onboard activities may be a negative on a long cruise with many sea days.. so we have decided to not decide until after this fall’s Virgin TA reviews come in and our 11 night Hawaii cruise on Royal in October. This should give us enough info to determine which Spring 2023 cruise fits us best.  

Edited February 11, 2022 by Bxc53

[SkaterJasp]

They accommodate walk ups if you don’t have a reservation. The reservations just guarantee you’ll be seated at whatever time you had reserved it for. You can reserve each venue once for dinner during the cruise but if you want to eat at the same place multiple times for dinner… you can.. you just have to show up and add yourself to the waitlist.