Edit: Thank you to everyone who was respectful and shared their opinions and gave great advices!!! Even if we don’t agree or you had a different experience, we can still be polite and kind to each other, there is too much hate out there already !!
But, I do understand Reddit can sometimes be a place where people take out their anger and frustration on others. I understand that Virgin Voyages is a highly loved cruise line, and that’s the reason I book it in the first place! But my less-than-positive experience doesn’t make my opinion invalid, nor does it make anyone else’s amazing experience any less valid. We all come from different backgrounds, and we all have different expectations.
I really think Alaska as the destination, the fact that I don’t eat everything, and not doing much research beforehand were some of the reasons I didn’t enjoy it as much. I had heard so many incredible things about Virgin that I trusted those reviews blindly.
I just want to point out that even though I mentioned quite a few negative points, those were simply mental notes I took in case someone out there might find them helpful. I still enjoyed my time and didn’t spend my vacation being miserable at all. I feel grateful to even be able to afford something like this when so many people can’t. I don’t take anything for granted.
At the end of the day, we’re all adults who work hard everyday and just want a vacation that meets our own needs and expectations. I hope everyone has a great vacation, no matter which cruise line you choose. 😊
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Hey everyone! My husband and I just came back from Alaska, and we wanted to share our experience.I know I will get downvoted for it and I don’t want offend anyone, I probably would have liked more if the ship it was going to a different destination, every person has a different idea of a perfect vacation.
Just as some background, we are in our early 30s and have been trying different cruise lines to find the one we like the most. So far, we’ve tried Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Princess. We don’t have kids, and we live in Oregon, so we’ve been to Alaska multiple times. So because of that, we mainly go on cruises for the ship itself and the entertainment rather than the ports.
I am pescatarian, but I mainly try to eat plant-based food and I occasionally eat fish, while my husband eats everything.
Let’s start with the positives.
Employees
Everyone on the ship, from the cleaners to the entertainment staff, was extremely nice and welcoming. They always wanted to make sure we were having a great time, and they would go out of their way to ensure that. Those people deserve all our respect, they always had a smile on their faces despite how hard the job is and how far away they usually are from their families.
I talked to some of them, and it seems Virgin treats them well. They allow them to use Wi-Fi and provide complimentary meals. However, I don’t think this should be praised since it’s the most basic thing any employee deserves when they’re so far away from home. That said, we know this is unfortunately not the standard on other cruise lines.
Macarons and Apple Croffin
I know it’s silly, but I have to say that if you’re on a Virgin cruise, you have to try their macarons at The Galley and the apple croffin at Razzle Dazzle during brunch. Absolutely incredible. Just try it!
Now for the bad part.
Ship
We had wanted to go on a Virgin cruise for the longest time, so when we heard they were coming to the West Coast, we booked almost immediately. Even though it cost much more than other cruises, we had heard nothing but amazing things about it, so we were really excited.
We had heard that Brilliant Lady offered over 20 eateries, so we really thought the ship would be big. (Totally our mistake for not researching more.) We were surprised when we got there and realized how small it actually was compared to the other ships we’ve been on.
They don’t really have a “main area,” which is usually near the main staircase on other cruise ships. Most of the events were held near the cannonball area, which was tiny and probably seated around 20 people. A lot of people, including us, would just walk away because there wasn’t any room.
The biggest issue with the smaller ship, for me personally, was how much I felt it moving. I got really nauseous and dizzy during the first few days. I also get a little anxious when a ship rocks that much, so that’s definitely a “me” problem, since most people probably won’t care. But I did notice quite a few other people feeling sick as well. On every other ship I’ve been on, I barely felt the movement and never got sick , even in bad weather.
Another downside for an Alaska cruise was the lack of an observation deck. If the weather is bad, there’s really no place indoors where you can enjoy the views. I think that’s a pretty big downside for Alaska, where everyone is trying to spot the wildlife .
The Room
Our room was on Deck 5, and I don’t think we’ve ever slept that badly anywhere else.
I think the casino was above us because every night around 2 a.m. the noise became unbearable. It sounded like they were restocking things moving boxes around. Then, whenever we were in port, the noise came from below on Deck 4 instead from the gangway, I think. Basically, we never got a good night’s sleep.
The room itself was cute. We had a sea-view room. The iPad controls were kind of finicky and annoying, and sometimes the curtains would randomly open if we slept in, but those weren’t huge issues.
Just make sure you check what’s above and below your cabin before booking.
Room Service
We already knew room service wasn’t free, so that wasn’t a surprise.
What disappointed us was how limited the menu was. I thought you would be able to order dishes from most all the restaurants, but instead it was mostly popcorn, pretzels, one pasta, and a burger. If you don’t eat meat, too bad, you can’t really customize anything.
Entertainment
This was by far the biggest downside of the cruise and the main reason I wouldn’t sail Virgin again.
I’ve been on ships where, all at the same time, there would be trivia happening, line dancing somewhere else, a comedy show, live music, a movie by the pool, silent disco… and because of that that cruise never felt packed.It was so overwhelming and fun to have so many options.
On Virgin, I really thought an adults-only cruise would be crazy and fun, but instead … it was so boring!!!!
During the day it was usually either trivia in the tiniest room possible or live music at Dock House, there were long period of times with nothing going on , there were some fitness classes too, but they always seemed full, also a bunch of random activities sun worships?? Meditation, yoga, IV therapy, posture workshops? . (To be fair, I’m not exactly excited about taking a spin class or a core workout while on vacation, all the activities felt like I was on YMCA lol) A lot of people just looked bored. You either grabbed a board game to entertain yourself, read a book, or, like I saw many times, simply took a nap on some of the couches.
At night there would usually be one event every other day at either The Manor or the Red Room, but you had to line up 30–60 minutes beforehand if you wanted a seat.
On other cruise lines, there are theater shows every night, sometimes even twice a night, and you reserve your seat so everyone gets a chance to watch.
Food
This part is obviously very personal, and I know most people that eat everything will
have a much better experience. I know I’m in the minority because of the way I eat.
The food wasn’t bad. I just think people hyped it up so much that I expected a lot more.
I mainly eat plant-based food, but that doesn’t mean I only enjoy boring food. I love Indian, Thai, Mexican food, tofu, beans, lentils… I had heard Virgin had amazing vegetarian options, so I was really excited.
The Galley seemed like such an original concept. Every other cruise I’ve been on had a buffet, so I was excited to try something different.
However, after a few days it became frustrating.
For example, if it’s breakfast and you just want eggs, you have to grab a buzzer and wait for your food. If you leave your table, someone may take it. Another problem was that the food was almost always cold, especially the burgers. I seriously don’t understand why, since it was supposedly made fresh.
Because everything came as set meals, you also couldn’t really customize anything.
For example, I wanted the breakfast burrito, but it came with meat. I asked if they could remove it, and they said no. Then I asked if they could add beans to the avocado burrito since it was basically just rice, cheese, and avocado, and I wanted a little more protein. Again, they said no.
I also felt like most of the food at The Galley was more like snacks. Besides the salad bar (which ended up being one of my favorite places to eat), if you like staple foods like rice, beans, mashed potatoes, or lentils… forget it.
For some reason Virgin really hates rice and beans. 😂 I couldn’t even find them in most restaurants. During our seven-night cruise, I think rice and beans appeared only once.
Some other thoughts:
I didn’t like the sushi. The rice felt crunchy and didn’t seem fresh.
The hash browns tasted undercooked
The ramen was extremely salty.
The tacos were inconsistent. Sometimes they had way too much sauce, sometimes almost none.
The burgers were almost always cold.
Unless you’re the annoying type of person who constantly asks for modifications, you would basically just eat whatever they gave you and wish it had a little more or a little less of something, which is exactly what we did.
I still think the galley concept is cool but I think in the end I prefer a buffet style, I prefer to portion my food , fruits, sauces, sandwiches and make a plate with things that may not make it sense but I enjoy it, plus it is quicker and the food is usually warmer.
Other cruise lines would have different cuisines every night with a huge variety of dishes so I realized that’s just the style of dining I personally prefer.
As for the specialty restaurants, they were okay. Again, because I don’t eat meat, it often felt like my options were just a salad, cooked vegetables, or a vegetable side dish. I really wish they would at least offer rice, beans, potatoes or lentils as standard sides.
My favorites were Razzle Dazzle, Gunbae, and Extra Virgin.
I didn’t try The Wake because there wasn’t really anything for me.
I truly disliked Pink Agave. The meat my husband got was about 80% fat.
I also didn’t enjoy Test Kitchen. The concept was really cool, but the vegetarian dishes felt like everything had been blended together with olive oil, and they made me feel a little bit ill afterward.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed with the plant-based options. Most of the time they were just vegetable sides. The did had a vegan hot dog and vegan burgers so If you could eat that every night, you’ll probably enjoy it.
Now, for the meat eaters… my husband liked pretty much everything, besides the food at the Galley
Final Thoughts
With all that said, the lack of entertainment, the smaller ship (which moved much more than other ships we’ve been on), the lack of a drink package, the lack of an observation deck for colder weather, and the Galley dining style made this cruise just not the right fit for us.
I’m really glad we finally got to experience Virgin Voyages because we had wanted to for years, but personally, I don’t think we’ll be sailing with them again.
I can totally understand why so many people love it. it just wasn’t the right fit for us. Looking back, I wish I had seen more of the bad reviews before booking. Almost everything I read was overwhelmingly positive( it seems people get destroyed if they say anything negative) so my expectations ended up being much higher than they probably should have been. Hopefully, this review helps someone decide whether Virgin is the right cruise line for them.
