29/11/2024
Cyber Weekend Alert with Virgin Voyages! 🌟
Don’t just take our word for it—hear from one of our valued clients who recently booked the cruise of their dreams! 🚢✨
Still on the fence? Virgin Voyages offers an unforgettable experience for aspiring sailors of all ages. Now’s the time to make your sea-bound adventure a reality! 🌊⚓
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Wow Wow on our Virgin Cruise
We have recently returned from our first ever cruise on the Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady, sailing from Barcelona, stopping at Marseille, Cannes, Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza before heading back to Barcelona. We booked it a year in advance using The Luxury Travel Company in the old town of Paphos. Both Neil and Sofia were instrumental in our choice, recommending a number of cruise options to suit our requirements but this Virgin Voyages cruise came out tops. Neil's enthusiasm for the brand and Sofia's recent experience of a Virgin Voyages cruise had us hooked.
We were joined by two other family members, we were celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and they were celebrating 70th birthdays so as you can see we are not youngsters. Our biggest concern was "Are we too old? Isn't it a party boat for twenty-somethings?" Absolutely not, we fitted in comfortably with the wide range of ages on the ship, probably the average age on our full sailing was around the fifties but we were certainly not the oldest (or youngest!)
The main deciding factors for us when choosing this cruise was the food, excellent food is very important to us and two of our party have a strict gluten free diet. The food did not disappoint, in fact it was amazing and the gluten free knowledge and creative offerings were outstanding. There is no main dining room, no buffets, no dress code and no supplements for speciality dining. Instead there is twenty plus food outlets including six main speciality evening dining restaurants all with Michelin inspired menus. "Eat as much as you want" they say and they really do mean it, have as many choices from the menus as you want, eat as many meals as you can and then if you have room enjoy the best homemade pizza and don't forget the daily selection of ice cream and cakes to die for. And it is all included in your cruise price. Our favorite restaurant was The Test Kitchen, a dining experience not to be missed, The Wake for brunch and dinner was very classy, Extra Virgin offered a wonderful Italian menu and Pink Argave offers a modern twist on upmarket Mexican food.
We booked our main restaurant bookings in advance via the Virgin Voyages App 45 days in advance. This was not as easy as Virgin make you believe, with the app crashing frequently while I was making the bookings, it took over two hours to make six restaurant reservations and we didn't get all the times or days that we had hoped for. Amending or making these reservations once on board is no easier with a two hour queue on the first day and also a forty five minute wait at Sailor Services to change a booking. This booking system is something that Virgin Voyages need to improve but don't let this put you off.
One amazing dining area that has to be mentioned is The Galley on deck 15 where there is a wide range of food and drink outlets, some open 24hrs and offering everything you can want throughout the day
There is a fantastic room service menu called Ship Eats where full meals and drinks are available 24hrs a day and all the food is fully included in your cruise and just a small delivery charge that is waived if you order a chargeable drink.
The service throughout the ship was excellent, lots of staff everywhere and all very friendly but not stuffy or formal. Our cabin (and the entire ship) was exceptionally clean and comfortable and we chose an XL Sea Terrace which is a really good size cabin and the bathroom had separate shower and toilet. The balcony was good and had the iconic red hammock but we felt the other balcony metal chair and table to be rather basic and uncomfortable. Be careful when choosing your cabin as some do not have the hammock or a clear screen on the balcony.
The entertainment is varied, modern and something for everyone. The Sail Away Party made for an exciting start to the week and the Scarlet Night was great fun with most sailors wearing something red. The Pajama party on the first night was too late for us especially after a busy first day. We particularly liked wandering between the many bars and listening to a range of live music and even played "Bingo with the Diva" where the top prize was $1600 and in total $4000 in prizes were given out.
When we booked we told Neil and Sofia this was a once off cruise for this special occasion. Now we are wondering which Virgin Voyages to do next...
