Wednesday, April 3, 2024

What it's really like to sail with Virgin Voyages

virgin voyage cruise

In April 2024, the ship will sail an epic 14-night transatlantic cruise to Barcelona, which will be Scarlet Lady's homebase at least through October 2024. From Spain, it will sail seven-night itineraries to ports in Italy, Spain and the French Riviera, all with overnights on the party island of Ibiza. I did not have the normal dinner experience at Extra Virgin, the ship's Italian restaurant, due to the themed sailing I was on, but I still got to try some of the venue's popular dishes.

Night Adriatic Sea & Greek GemsDetails

Virgin Voyages Is Offering a Summer Pass to Remote Workers - Travel + Leisure

Virgin Voyages Is Offering a Summer Pass to Remote Workers.

Posted: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Bain Capital (1984-founded) is based in Boston (Massachusetts USA) and specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, life sciences and real estate, with assets (under management in FY2018) ~USD 105 billion. Gunbae's Korean fare was not only delicious but served in a setting that was an absolute blast to experience. It really captured how Virgin markets itself by offering staff-led drinking games and communal seating that encourages socializing.

We architect our emails as carefully as we do our ships.

Virgin also operates one-off sailings out of Miami around the winter holidays. Typical is a six-night "Valiant Caribbean Holidays" sailing out of Miami on Dec. 20, 2024, visiting Puerto Plata, Nassau and Bimini. These are sailings that stop in more distant Caribbean destinations such as St. Croix and Roatan, Honduras, and will appeal to cruisers who find trips of just four or five days too short. Virgin Voyages got its start offering short sailings to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of Miami, and that's still the line's biggest cruise destination focus. In fact, one of Virgin Voyages' two vessels currently in operation, the 2,770-passenger Scarlet Lady, does nothing but short sailings to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of Miami. We’ve reimagined the way people holiday at sea from the hull up — so that epic service becomes the norm.

Ship speed

In April 2019 was signed a partnership with Emerald Brand to supply the fleet with "Tree-Free" (disposable) paper products, including facial-bath tissues, paper towels, napkins, hot cups. Those are made from % Tree-Free materials via technologies that use by-products of agricultural crops usually wasted or burned. On April 1, 2020, the company launched its "Jet Transfers Direct to Ship" service.

In international waters and in places like Europe, where the drinking age is 18, the onboard drinking age is 18. The Band — an adjustable cord bracelet with a scannable device attached — is your room key and charge "card" when you sail. More importantly, perhaps, it allows crew members to locate you when you shake for Champagne delivery.

As a result, you can dine at whichever restaurant you prefer at a time that works for you. Besides the main restaurants, there's the previously mentioned Galley, where you can savor everything from sushi roll bento boxes to 24-hour diner food. It is a hybrid of a grab-and-go and dine-in experience, meaning how you order will vary depending on which station you visit. Given all the options available, there were more places than we could try on our first Virgin Voyages cruise. Still, we sought to sample as much as possible during our four-night sailing.

(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021

In addition, you will need to check in for your cruise online, fill out the appropriate information and select an arrival time for embarkation day. Citizens will need to check requirements based on destinations visited. For the ship's transatlantic crossing and all subsequent cruises from Barcelona, you'll need a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the date you return back to the U.S. If you're a U.S. citizen on one of Scarlet Lady's round-trip Miami sailings, you'll need a current passport or an official copy of your birth certificate and a driver's license or other government-issued photo ID to sail.

McAlpin and Branson hinted that those experiences might take some cues from other successful Virgin ventures, like Virgin Hotels. Virgin Voyages does not simply give its amenities and activities quirky names — like "Lick Me Til Ice Cream" for the onboard ice cream shop. The overall experience is a bit different than what you'll come across on traditional cruise lines. On-island entertainment is available as well, though I can't speak to what happened as the afternoon wore on, as we hit our sun quota by midday. However, rumor has it there was a pool float party that occurred after our departure. While I appreciated the array of options at our disposal, I found the quality of the food and service to be hit or miss.

These promotions offer OBC (per cabin) for shipboard spending during the current voyage. The OBC is based on the stateroom category and ranges from US$ 100 (interior and oceanview) to US$200 (balcony) and up to US$ 400 (suites). I can’t believe I am going to say this after years of giving my mother grief for not getting off cruise ships and exploring, but my friend and I loved Valiant Lady so much that we wished we spent more time onboard! The rooftop lounge in the forward ship was dotted with shaded loungers and multiple hot tubs with a private bar, panoramic views, and nightly happy hour.

virgin voyage cruise

The ship’s food court-styled dining, found on Deck 15, was nothing like a traditional food court. Instead of pizza, burgers, French fries, and chicken fingers, the Galley featured Bento Boxes at Bento Baby, made-to-order salads at Daily Mix, and açai bowls at The Sweet Side. We could even find freshly made juices at Juice Sea on Deck 7 and poke bowls at Sun Club Café on Deck 16.

Virgin Voyages (formerly "Virgin Cruises", VirginVoyages.com) is a new cruise line company headquartered in Plantation (Florida USA). Virgin Voyages was created as a joint venture between Virgin Group Ltd (British multinational holding company) and Bain Capital LP (multi-asset investment company), with the latter having a majority (51%) shareholding. The establishment of Virgin Cruises was announced by Virgin Group on December 4, 2014. There are also no set dining times, restaurant rotations or dress codes, though you can — and should — make dinner reservations.

In early-April 2019, Virgin Voyages signed an exclusive 7-year partnership deal with OSW (OneSpaWorld Holdings Ltd) - a provider of health-and-wellness services and products on cruise vessels and in destination resorts worldwide. OSW provides all the wellness staff, services and products onboard Virgin ships, including yoga and gym trainers, massages, medispa treatments, salon (manicure-pedicure-hairdresser) services. The served facilities include Crow's Nest (outdoor yoga studio), Redemption Spa, Dry-Dock (blowout bar), B-Complex (Fitness Center). The expansion of Virgin Voyages sailings in the Bahamas and Caribbean this year meant the line could send more ships back and forth between Europe and North America than in the past.

This is a 750-acres (3 km2 / 1,2 mi2) beachfront resort-casino-marina-hotel complex operated by Genting Group (Malaysia-based multinational corporation). In December 2021 was announced the partnership with the House Spirits Distillery () for the fleetwide presence of the brand "Aviation American Gin" (aka Aviation Gin/alcohol volume 42%, produced in Portland Oregon since 2006). Signature cocktails (based on the Aviation Gin) available for ordering at each Virgin ship include "The Double Agent at SIP", "Razzle Dazzle's Electric Fizz", "Stella's Groove at The Manor", "Gunbae's French 75". In March was announced an expansion of onboard entertainment fleetwide.

If you do find them, they're usually in a dead end, leaving you to retrace your steps to figure out a way across a deck. Scarlet Lady is a ship for independent travelers who don't need their hands held or want to be told what to do by a cruise director (there isn't one). While I loved the lack of announcements over the intercom system or at the end of shows, I did feel like it was easy to miss out on things on board.

We’re seeking to redefine what you should expect from a holiday at sea and create an Epic Sea Change For All. Virgin Voyages is still a relatively small line with just three ships, and that means it can't offer too big a range of itineraries. But with at least one more vessel joining its fleet over the coming year, its destination offerings are growing. A pair of one-way, 15-night trips between Singapore and Australia will bookend the Australia and New Zealand sailings. Scheduled for November 2023 and March 2024, the two sailings offer overnight stays in Bali and calls at Airlie Beach, Cairns and Darwin in Australia.

If you've never cruised because you don't like kids, crowds, banquet-style dining or lackluster entertainment, this might be the ship that changes your mind. The top decks (15 – 17) are the places to head for fitness, fun in the sun or a combination of both. The Deck 15 Aquatic Club is where you'll find a standard pool and a well-being pool (essentially a large whirlpool), surrounded by day beds and lounge chairs. Additional sun-worshipping space can be found one deck up, including at the Athletic Club Bar at the back of the ship where you can perch on circular sunbeds or a suspended catamaran net with views to the wake below.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Cake House Battle Creek Info, Menu & Deals Weed dispensary Battle Creek, Michigan

Table Of Content Reviews of The Cake House - Vista More Delicious Chocolate Recipes to Enjoy The Cake House - Corona The Cake House - Battle...