the_fh_mets

YMMV, but the itineraries departing Puerto Rico had very late sail away times and I was never charged additional sales tax on drinks. (San Juan has an 11.5% tax on alcohol so it was a pleasant surprise.) I would assume that Virgin just ate the cost. Outside of the US, prices are typically inclusive of taxes, but I don't know what Virgin usually does about that. I know that depending on local laws, some cruise lines have different menus for different regions to account for needing to include tax and gratuities in the up front cost.

I'm trying to remember the specific brands, but Valiant has several different options (a Louisiana style, a Sriracha style, and a Mexican style) in the Galley at the condiment station across from the burger bar and also either Tabasco or Cholula either already on the tables or in the condiment stations that were set up for the servers to be able to easily bring condiment to the tables upon request. Outside the Galley, the only restaurant that I know for a fact has hot sauce is Gunbae, but my guess is all of them can provide it upon request. The pizza place has chili flakes, but I don't recall seeing hot sauce. I would assume Scarlet Lady is the same.

Most mocktails are $5 (mojitos, daqueries, bloody marys, etc.) The exceptions are the ones that contain non-alcoholic spirits, such as Seedlip, which are $7-12, depending on the drink. (Some of these 'spirits' retail in stores for more than the alcoholic equivalents, so this makes sense). I believe the non-alcoholic sparkling wine is $7. The agua frescas at Pink Agave are $3. Social Club has alcoholic milkshakes, which can be made non-alcoholic, but I don't know the price.

One complaint that I heard recently from fellow passengers about the music is that they don't play music in the pool area that some people would "expect" to hear on a cruise, like reggae and yacht rock and the beach boys, etc. (I assume what is being played on other cruise lines). Instead, the music by the pool is more club music, ala trendy Miami and Vegas beach/pool clubs. I think when you hear the complaints about the music, this is specifically what they are referring to. The way one person phrased it is that the music lacks the "context" of where you are. I suspect this feeling is what's behind the music complaints you've read.

Top 3 things for me on Virgin: - On average, I found the food is very good and fresh, featuring a wide variety of fresh produce, not even factoring in the volume of people they are feeding on a given day (Emphasis on the 'on average' part. There is some no-so-great food sometimes but it seems like the exception, rather than the rule). - The service I've personally experienced ranges from great to outstanding. Servers everywhere are all happy to accommodate dietary restrictions and can easily and quickly lookup ingredients and make substitutions, and they don't act like you are bothering them. Bartenders are happy to make complex off menu cocktails and put their own spin on them. The shore excursions folks genuinely want to ensure you will have a good time. Room attendants are responsive to requests. - The featured entertainment is not just jukebox musicals. After starting this thread, I looked at Celebrity and Princess more and I do wonder if they can be truly comparable on these metrics.

The only music that I found that was too loud and not my style was anytime the DJ was playing, which is generally: - In the atrium on boarding day (mostly avoidable, unless you want ice cream or that's where you're mustering) - In the pool area in the afternoons, when the pool is most crowded anyway. If you don't like the volume at the pool and you aren't actively in the pool, which would be full and loud at that time anyway, I found you can generally go up one deck (to the sundeck level) and there are lots of options for areas to lounge facing the water and the two bars on that deck serve the same drinks as the pool, and the sound didn't really carry. It's also more relaxing in general because there are fewer people around. The volume of the live music is much more tolerable, however, if you don't like the volume or the genre, there's always a more quiet area. For example, if you hate the band playing at On The Rocks one evening, you can just go up the stairs to Sip and it's much quieter. The live bands play all sorts of genres, from pop to soul to country to Latin, depending on the band. Other than the DJ, the non-live music is typically mostly 90s and 00s pop played at an appropriate volume for background music. Sound doesn't seem to carry, so if you aren't in the immediate area of where music is playing, you really don't hear it, so you can pretty much always escape music you don't like.

Most bars can make pretty much any classic cocktail, and even some you might not think of, such as chocolate martinis. If you're ordering something less common off menu that a server may not be familiar with, it might be better to order directly from the bar, but the bar tenders are generally skilled enough to make pretty creative off-menu cocktails and the servers are pretty knowledgeable as well. In terms of non-alcoholic options, many bars have both Seedlip and a non-alcoholic sparkling wine, even if neither is listed on the menu, and can turn many drinks on their menu into non-alcoholic options, and pretty much universally can make non-alcoholic mojitos and bloody marys.

Sometimes they show up early but say they are sold out, so if you see them all sold out on the first evening, don't freak out. I think it's pretty rare for any of them to sell out the first day (although not unheard of). They also sometimes add more options closer to the cruise.

Thanks everyone! Really insightful. This may actually all be moot now that it sounds like Resilient is heading to San Juan...

The reservations (and the pressure I put on myself surrounding them) may be my least favorite part about Virgin. That and the pool.

How does the included food on Celebrity compare to VV? One thing I like about VV is that all of the food is plated nicely and seems to be cooked fresh, and can be customized on the spot to meet dietary restrictions, compared to other cruise lines where the MDR, at least in pictures, seems to be "banquet food", for lack of a better term.

Virgin's currently available US itineraries for 2025 aren't particularly exciting (a downside of only having three ships and a contractual commitment to Port of Miami). For those who have cruised with Virgin and other lines, which line do you sail when you can't sail Virgin? Why?

Did you manage to find any cold brew?

I've seen other mentions of shore excursions issues for the sailings leaving San Juan. It's not really acceptable, but it sort of makes sense because they're a newish company that's only been going to these ports for a few weeks now, and is only visiting each port a handful of times, so it's probably difficult to vet providers and maintain relationships. I'm a little concerned about a specific shore thing I have booked in Curacao that only seems to exist through Virgin, with no private providers I can find conducting similar tours that go to the same places, but fingers crossed that I'm wrong.

In your experience on Virgin and other lines, how common are immigration delays at ports? Should they be a factor in booking excursions outside of the cruise line or are they relatively rare?