r/VirginVoyages • u/Single-Wheel3546 • 6h ago
Review / Advice Virgin cruise review by typical Celebrity Elite cruisers
As the title suggests, my wife and I are loyal Celebrity cruisers with Elite status who just returned from our first Virgin cruise (11 day onboard the RL) and so thought that I would share my thoughts. I read many reviews on the forum prior to booking but found it difficult at times to determine how much weight to put into their comments since different backgrounds and experiences can shape their perspective.
Spoiler Alert: for those who do not wish to read through my brain dump (which turned out to be much more content than I orignally set out to write) …We really liked the Virgin Line. All things considered we would probably prefer to stay with Celebrity (by a slight margin) however it’s easy to see why Virgin has a strong following
I’ll try to break it down:
Food: The food onboard Virgin was very good. A few items were hit and miss but the same holds true for all cruise lines. In my personal opinion, I would say the food on Virgin was significantly above standard food from Celebrity and on par with the food at Blu (for those who travel Aquaclass). I would rank Virgin’s food just below the Celebrity specialty restaurants…but it should be noted that a specialty dinner is an additional $45-$60 per person. I did prefer the galley concept better than buffets, however the wife prefers the buffets as they provide her more freedom to try small portions of various items. The deserts were far better on Virgin
Passengers: We are both 57, non-drinkers (do not interpret this to mean prudes), and an advocate for our gay daughter so I was very apprehensive on if we would fit the crowd demographic. All in all, the passengers were pleasant, respectful, and expressive (in the way that they dressed and acted). Although I would guess the key age group was in their 30s, there were certainly a significant population that were older than us. We met a lot of great people that had very diverse backgrounds. For the record I didn’t meet the guy who ran around the ship barefoot nor the guy who tried to choke him out. :) (you may need to search the forum for this if you need more background)
Ship: With such a new fleet the ship was clean and crisp. At one point we were next to a Viking ship and the RL made theirs look tired and old. The common areas did feel tighter than Celebrity (especially the Edge series ships). The furniture and decor were minimalistic and modern but had a hint of IKEA. I’m not an engineer by any stretch but the Virgin propulsion was very quiet and smooth…to the point where you couldn’t feel when you left the dock. As far as the room, we stayed in a Central Sea Terrace and it felt small. It was well planned out though and accommodated all of our belongings without issue. The bathroom was certainly small but functional. The shower was awesome with strong pressure and no wandering temperature. At first I thought the hammock was a tad gimmicky but it quickly won me over and the wife and I fought over it every time we were on the balcony.
Service: Service on Virgin was good but certainly behind Celebrity, As an example only, when returning to the ship after a day in port at Virgin you are met with a friendly member of security who performs an initial verification and then sends you on the ship for the real screening. On Celebrity, you are welcomed by a group of employees who set up an outdoor seating area and are passing out flavored waters, iced face towels, etc. As a second example, on Celebrity it’s impressive the number of staff that learn your name (and address you by your name) within a few days of sailing. Note that this is less about the ego of someone knowing your name and more about the recognition of the effort it takes for them to do this with every cruise. On Virgin, after 11 days some of the staff recognized me (and had friendly chit chat) but I don’t think that they had any idea on my name. Note that I was sharing this feedback with a fellow passenger and he stated that he loves Virgin because they don’t know your name…so to each their own. :).
“Adult vibe” or “Virgin vibe”: This was one of the things that I was curious about because it’s often referenced but seldom explained. Probably because it means something different to each person. In my experience, I will provide a few things that I felt made the “vibe” which was appealing and lacking on Celebrity.
- Music: There’s music playing all over the ship at just the right volume where it engages you but does not over power you. Some of the song I knew, other I didn’t but liked right away due to the foundational beat. Something about music wakes the soul so I loved having it playing
- Staff: One of the baristas had some face tattoos (nothing offensive). He was very polite, efficient, and made great drinks. I would think that Celebrity HR would not be able to get past the tattoos so it was cool that Virgin embraces individuality.
- The Diva: We met a nice couple in San Juan prior to the cruise and they recommended the Bingo with The Diva show. Wow…what a blast. The Diva was hilarious and very entertaining (and the bingo winners won thousands of dollars). I can’t see this style show would be welcomed on other cruise lines
- Pink Agave after dark: While having a very nice quiet dinner at the Pink Agave the time hit 9pm and the mood changed. The lights dimmed, a DJ started pumping out some great music, the staff and passengers started dancing, and they were walking around with trays giving out free shots. It was really cool to see them flip the mood
Value: I do feel that when you factor in all of the things that are included with the Virgin fare that it is an incredible value. As stated in the beginning, although in our case we will probably still default to Celebrity as an initial preference…we did purchase 2 Virgin future deposits that we will gift to our kids (26F and 28M). I feel that what Virgin has to offer is right in their sweet spot
I hope you find the review helpful.
