Royal Caribbean fan trying Virgin?

[colesc15]

Has anyone who's done quite a few Royal cruises tried Virgin? My wife and I are considering giving it a try and curious about others thoughts. We're both late 20s/early 30s. 

[The sea calls my name]

43 minutes ago, colesc15 said:

Has anyone who's done quite a few Royal cruises tried Virgin? My wife and I are considering giving it a try and curious about others thoughts. We're both late 20s/early 30s. 

It appears to appeal and marketed for your age group. A dear friend of mine went on one ( 60's) she enjoyed it but very different. There are no  chest of drawers or drawers period in a basic balcony cabin. The beds are also sofas so are L shaped.  Her friends feet were toward her face at night.  All she said was different but good food and drinks. I seem to remember you can also get a tattoo on board. Look for some online videos to get an idea.

 

[publicpersona]

Check out Emma Cruises on YouTube for her review of it. The pool is postage stamp size. On the other hand, I give them props for the name of the ice cream shop.

[deliver42]

After seeing the ship in person last week when she was docked next to us in Roatan, and what I've seen and heard on You Tube, this ship no longer interests me, but I'm 79, not your age.

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, colesc15 said:

Has anyone who's done quite a few Royal cruises tried Virgin?

There are at least a couple of RC posters who provided feedback in the Virgin section and comparisions - check them out there.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Biker19

[colesc15]

1 hour ago, publicpersona said:

Check out Emma Cruises on YouTube for her review of it. The pool is postage stamp size. On the other hand, I give them props for the name of the ice cream shop.

Yeah I would say the pool is the biggest "what" for me. The Rockstar suite looks amazing though, the live music, the food is supposedly amazing. Just wish they were a little cheaper. 

[George C]

I like the adults only feature would definitely consider them and I am in my 70’s.

[gauchotex]

We just got off the Scarlet Lady on Wednesday, and my wife and I loved it (both in our early to mid 40's, though).

 

The food was probably the best we've had on any cruise ship/line so far, and the fact all the restaurants are included is great. We found a lot of places to hang out and chill, having said that, this cruise for us was all about relaxing, eating and drinking. 

 

We found most of the typical cruise areas to be small... the pool has already been described pretty much as a postage stamp, but also the thermal suite/spa area seemed cramped if more than 3 couples were in it... the casino was very small, though it was also pretty empty at current capacity. 

 

Some of the shows were really impressive (Duel Reality, unnameddancepartything), others were not for us... though lately I even struggle with most other cruise shows that require me to sit for 60 minutes watching people dance on stage.

 

We found a lot of it refreshing, and are very likely to do it again... at the same time, my next 3 currently booked sailings are on RCL... part of it is because of home port convenience, but also because when we want to go with our kids, that's our preferred option and those ships have a LOT more stuff for us to do (Slides, surfy-thing, etc)...

 

Hope this helps, and if you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Mike

[dcgrumpy]

I sailed on Scarlet Lady in  January. I'm 56 and my husband is 49. We weren't sure if we would like it. We ended up having a great time and will probably sail with them again next year.  Before I sailed I  thought the hammock on the balcony was gimmicky. I ended up loving it. I took a nap out there one day. I was worried about storage but there was a drawer under the bed and shelves in the closet. It was plenty for a 5 night cruise. 

Edited April 9, 2022 by dcgrumpy

[Carlos A.]

I think this was the layout of a balcony cabin

 

 

But after a lot of bad reviews they changed them to this:

 

[AlohaLivin]

Have fun! The  crypt keeper who owns it has made it very clear that if you’re over 35 you’re not welcome (I guess he wants to be the only old dude on the ships 😝). I would never step foot on the ship or share any of my hard-earned money with him or his company. But that’s me, you do you 👍🏼

[bmc alabama]

10 minutes ago, carlosalonsor said:

I think this was the layout of a balcony cabin

 

 

But after a lot of bad reviews they changed them to this:

 

That is the day configuration to night configuration.  Our steward would move it back and forth each day.  We loved it.

[not-enough-cruising]

6 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

Have fun! The  crypt keeper who owns it has made it very clear that if you’re over 35 you’re not welcome (I guess he wants to be the only old dude on the ships 😝). I would never step foot on the ship or share any of my hard-earned money with him or his company. But that’s me, you do you 👍🏼

When and how did he make this very clear?

[bmc alabama]

We aren't really RCCL people (only been on Serenade and recently on Oasis), but cruise a lot with DCL and Princess.  We went on Scarlet Lady in November and absolutely loved it.  The food is amazing.  Plus, everything short of alcohol is included.  No having to pay extra for things or watching the website every day trying to score a good deal on internet.  No "checking out of towels"  (that still bugs me about both RCCL and Carnival).  The ice cream is real gelato, and unlike Oasis, doesn't close at 5:30pm.

 

IMHO, Virgin had a real issue with their advertising.  Not sure what we expected, but I kind of thought it would be a floating tattoo parlor.  We were pleasantly surprised.  Virgin, to us, seemed very upscale more than "trendy", though it certainly tries to be "trendy" in certain areas.  We liked it so much so that we have 2 more cruises with them in the next year.  Also, like a previous poster, I kinda thought the hammock was a gimmick as well, but it is very legit. 

 

Of course, we liked Mardi Gras better than Oasis, so what do we know...

[AlohaLivin]

15 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

When and how did he make this very clear?

Early on, in interviews and in their advertising (particularly the early television spots). 

[Jasukkie]

I'm in my 50s and LOVED my VV cruise. I just wish they were at the same price point as Royal. I didn't feel too old, there were plenty of people my age, though most were younger. As nearly everyone comments, the food is several levels above standard cruise lines. I also think the beverage quality is so much better as well. 

 

The kid free thing is great. It changes the mood. No one is in parent mode so it just feels more relaxed. You ever notice how you didn't hear the kid acting up but you hear the parent yelling at the kid for acting up? There's none of that going on.

 

I appreciated the private karaoke rooms and classic arcade games had no upcharge. I wouldn't pay for those things on another ship but they were a lot of fun to do for free. I was fine with the entertainment. On Royal, I like the classical guitar players and the Latin bands more than the production shows. Virgin is more small scale. 

 

The service has a different vibe, more relaxed and friendly than the more over-solicitous service on Royal. Not knocking Royal, just sometimes it's a bit much.

 

I loved how fresh and new everything was, including all that "Ikea" furniture. The ice cream and pizza are superior. The hammock!! Okay, I better stop before I book another cruise with them.

 

[dunedinmaiden]

Friends of ours were in a Rock Star Suite on the Scarlet Lady.  When we discussed their cruise, they said they wouldn't sail with them again.  They enjoyed the all-adult environment but said there wasn't much to do (or entertainment).  If your plan is to simply chill, it may be okay.

[hannibal54]

14 hours ago, gauchotex said:

We just got off the Scarlet Lady on Wednesday, and my wife and I loved it (both in our early to mid 40's, though).

 

The food was probably the best we've had on any cruise ship/line so far, and the fact all the restaurants are included is great. We found a lot of places to hang out and chill, having said that, this cruise for us was all about relaxing, eating and drinking. 

 

We found most of the typical cruise areas to be small... the pool has already been described pretty much as a postage stamp, but also the thermal suite/spa area seemed cramped if more than 3 couples were in it... the casino was very small, though it was also pretty empty at current capacity. 

 

Some of the shows were really impressive (Duel Reality, unnameddancepartything), others were not for us... though lately I even struggle with most other cruise shows that require me to sit for 60 minutes watching people dance on stage.

 

We found a lot of it refreshing, and are very likely to do it again... at the same time, my next 3 currently booked sailings are on RCL... part of it is because of home port convenience, but also because when we want to go with our kids, that's our preferred option and those ships have a LOT more stuff for us to do (Slides, surfy-thing, etc)...

 

Hope this helps, and if you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

Mike

 

My son and daughter-in-law just got off the same sailing that you were on, they had a good time & enjoyed the cruise.

[colesc15]

I think we're going to actually bite the bullet and do one with them. We're getting close to diamond plus, so it's hard to give up a Royal cruise to another line, plus we're both prime in the casino with Royal so all the free drinks, but it's worth giving it a shot. 

 

I want to try one of the big aft Rockstar suites, so I think we're going to do the 5 nighter. The 5 nighter in a Rockstar ends up being more than the 8 night ABC island cruise on Explorer we were considering, but the room and balcony look too good to pass up. I just hate paying $3500 for two for a 5 night cruise. 

[shoptom]

I'm just off Virgin after two Royal Caribbean and a Carnival all this year and rank Virgin #1 (also over MSC and Norwegian).  It is very different with the biggest negative being less entertainment.  But small things like no one ever asked to take my photo, request a tip, or help find their parents really added up!  Top notch food and room service plus genuine conversations with the crew really sold me.

[luckyinpa]

14 hours ago, carlosalonsor said:

I think this was the layout of a balcony cabin

 

 

But after a lot of bad reviews they changed them to this:

 

 

is that a legit king bed now? for standard cabins there's no way i would have stayed in the changing sliding sofa seat.

[publicpersona]

15 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

is that a legit king bed now?

 

I haven't sailed Virgin but I believe as a previous commenter said, this is simply day and night configuration. The bed frame looks like the day bed's, and I seriously doubt they threw away all the single mattresses. It almost certainly two twins pushed together just as on Royal.

[luckyinpa]

bummer cause i like a 'real' bed and sofa available to me at all times. im funny that way. sometimes i like to eat room service on the bed...sometimes sitting on the sofa at the coffee table. and sometimes we like to take a nap during the day so need the bed fully open at all times.