Up next in 10
Many people have ask me if they should consider cruising on the new Virgin Voyages cruise line. They launched at the worst time possible, just as the pandemic started to sweep across the world. However, I was one of the few fortunate people to spend time and actually get to stay on their first ship, Scarlet Lady, before lockdown.
I want to share with you what I discovered, and what you need to think about before you even consider booking a cruise on this line, including if one of the big design flaws could mean they are a no-go for you. I also reveal if I decided to book, and why.
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0:00
they launched at the worst possible time
0:02
just as the pandemic started to sweep
0:04
across the world however i was one of
0:06
the few fortunate people
0:08
to spend time and actually get to stay
0:10
on their first chip
0:11
scarlet lady before lockdown i'm gary
0:14
bembridge this is another of my tips for
0:16
travellers
0:17
i want to share with you what i
0:18
discovered and what you need to think
0:20
about
0:20
before you even consider booking a
0:23
cruise on this line
0:24
including if one of the big design flaws
0:27
could mean they are a no go so what
0:31
do you need to consider it's new and
0:33
untried
0:34
which will inevitably mean some or many
0:36
things will not work
0:38
this of course makes it exciting if you
0:40
want to take some risk or be adventurous
0:42
with your cruise plans that certainly
0:43
appeals
0:44
to me although headed by a very
0:46
experienced cruise
0:47
ceo tom mcalpine ex of disney cruise
0:50
lines
0:51
many many of the people involved are new
0:53
to cruising including
0:54
much of the leadership team and the
0:57
designers
0:58
this definitely shows in some areas
1:00
which do not feel that practical
1:01
cruising wise
1:02
like certain aspects of the cabins which
1:04
i will talk about later
1:06
there will be adaptations and there will
1:09
be changes based on who finally cruises
1:11
what they use what they like what they
1:12
don't like
1:13
and what they are demanding that's not
1:15
fair but if you want to be part
1:17
of that changing experience then
1:19
definitely consider them it certainly
1:20
appeals to me from that perspective
1:22
these are new ships with a new approach
1:24
although in practice not as much as some
1:27
have
1:27
argued in my personal view firstly it's
1:29
more around the look and feel the
1:31
exterior looks very different the
1:32
interiors
1:33
are more like a trendy hipster hotel
1:35
than other ships for sure
1:37
secondly the way they provide services
1:39
so there's no main dining room for
1:41
example just a myriad of alternative
1:43
venues and thirdly their focus is very
1:45
much on music-based partying on and off
1:48
the ship so that the bimini
1:49
beach club in the bahamas their
1:51
partnerships with dj producers like
1:53
mark ronson if it helps they describe
1:56
the ships as rebellious lux no it didn't
1:58
help me either
1:59
that didn't help me at all but i have
2:01
also heard them say
2:03
casual sophistication which what i saw
2:06
is a good description of what they do so
2:08
if that appeals to you
2:09
then definitely consider them one of the
2:11
key appeals for me anyway is they
2:13
are adults only you have to be over 18
2:16
although if you're 18 to 20 you can only
2:18
come on board with at least an adult
2:20
one adult over 21. early on virgin
2:23
voyages seem to be implying that their
2:24
core was the millennial generation but
2:26
they now
2:27
talk about being for the young at heart
2:29
from 18 to
2:30
80 and especially people who have not
2:33
thought cruising was for them you've got
2:34
to remember
2:35
richard branson is well into his 70s and
2:38
has never cruised before
2:40
we will not know until the line has been
2:42
selling for a while who really comes on
2:43
board and how that settles down
2:45
age-wise i think it will have a hefty
2:47
amount of the
2:48
older crowd of cruisers like me aged
2:51
from 45
2:52
and upwards i'm in my 60s simply because
2:54
like me
2:55
they are the ones who cruise a lot have
2:57
the money to take some risk to
2:59
try new lines prepare to take the risk
3:01
and of course
3:02
have grown up with the virgin brand it's
3:04
a brand we know and love also as i
3:06
discuss more later this is not a value
3:08
or budget line it's
3:09
a much more premium offer and i think
3:11
younger cruisers may actually be drawn
3:12
into the value
3:14
lines in the end but if you're on the
3:16
old age spectrum like me i
3:18
don't think you should reject them for
3:19
that reason alone i don't think it's
3:21
just going to be about young people
3:22
one thing that may be a no-go for you
3:24
though is it's not for those looking for
3:26
an educational
3:27
or enrichment star cruise with immersive
3:29
historic ports of call
3:31
they're much more around having a good
3:33
time drinking dancing and so on
3:35
and calling on popular well-trodden
3:38
tourist ports
3:39
the itineraries on offer in both the
3:41
caribbean and the mediterranean are
3:43
limited
3:44
and they repeat the same itineraries
3:45
across the season
3:47
in the caribbean scholar lady has three
3:49
key itineraries out of miami
3:51
they're four or five days long they
3:53
include mayan seoul
3:55
basically costa maya dominican days
3:57
which goes to puerto plata
3:59
and fire and soiree which is going on to
4:02
key west
4:02
or spend a day then at their private
4:04
beach club at
4:05
the mini in the bahamas in the
4:07
mediterranean
4:08
valiant lady also has three key
4:10
itineraries and these are out of
4:11
barcelona they're seven nights
4:13
their french days which includes french
4:15
ports like marseille monte carlo
4:17
spanish obsession spanish sports
4:19
obviously and
4:20
irresistibly mediterranean which is a
4:22
mix of both spanish and french ports now
4:24
all of these cruises
4:25
spend time overnight on the party island
4:28
of ibiza
4:28
one of the most hyped features of the
4:30
ship by the line were the cabins
4:32
however the cabins would definitely not
4:35
be to everyone's taste but they
4:36
are something different and are
4:38
distinctive you
4:39
certainly will not get them confused
4:41
with other cruise ship
4:43
cabins at all the regular cabins have
4:46
what are called
4:47
sea beds these beds they turn into
4:49
couches during the day in like an l
4:51
shape now a skeptic could argue this is
4:54
designed to make the cabins which are
4:56
quite small
4:57
feel more spacious but on the plus side
4:59
they do mean more room in the day
5:01
not great if you want to nap before a
5:03
hard night of partying
5:05
because it's a bit cumbersome to make
5:06
the bed up i did though find them
5:08
comfortable once made into a bed there's
5:10
also
5:11
a hammock on the balcony which is fun
5:13
the bathroom
5:14
looks great it's fairly small and
5:15
cramped i didn't mind it i thought it
5:17
was fine but others on the ship with me
5:19
were less
5:19
keen so the bathrooms again are going to
5:21
be a bit hated love it
5:23
there's definitely less storage than
5:24
other ship cabins because you can't
5:25
store cases under the bed
5:27
overall i quite like the cabin so i did
5:28
actually struggle to find the light
5:30
switch
5:30
tip it's in the open front of cupboard
5:32
it's not easily spotted first and it's
5:34
just sort of behind the door
5:35
there are 78 rock star suites of varying
5:38
sizes they look fantastic
5:39
and all the suites have access to
5:41
richard's rooftop area
5:43
a suite only access area which really is
5:45
great when it comes to dining if you
5:47
love buffets and have been put off
5:48
virgin voyages
5:50
by the reported lack of a buffet don't
5:52
be there is
5:53
really a buffet but on the plus side
5:55
it's more like a food court
5:57
than a traditional buffet and so already
6:00
was more curved protocol ready
6:02
it's called the galley and as a series
6:04
of themed
6:05
food stations or outlets much as a
6:08
food court or food hall does i
6:12
liked that there wasn't a main dining
6:13
room without sign tables
6:15
set times i'm not a big fan of maine
6:17
dining rooms often
6:18
partly because i cruise solo quite a lot
6:21
and i tend to avoid going therefore so i
6:23
feel like i'm wasting money
6:24
there are 20 included restaurants in the
6:27
fair
6:27
no paid for extra specialty dining on
6:30
costs it includes things like wake
6:31
which is taken seafood razzle dazzle
6:33
which is a sort of a vegetarian it has a
6:35
drag
6:36
brunch test kitchen which is a lab come
6:39
restaurant
6:39
they have a korean barbecue they have a
6:41
mexican street food and right through to
6:43
the pizza place
6:44
if you just want a pizza so a nice range
6:46
all included if you like the formality
6:49
and process of the main dining room
6:50
this line's not for you as every night
6:52
you'll have to choose and book a
6:54
different venue to eat in
6:56
the different approach to entertainment
6:57
is actually very refreshing but it's
6:59
definitely not going to please you if
7:00
you love those themed song and dance
7:02
shows
7:03
that are so prevalent on cruise lines
7:05
today personally i find them all so
7:07
similar and i really liked the new fresh
7:09
approach on virgin voyages they have the
7:11
red room
7:12
which is a huge space and it can be
7:14
configured in all sorts of formats
7:16
i saw an acrobatic dance show where the
7:18
seats were on either side of the room
7:20
and the show was in the middle
7:21
then later that evening had been turned
7:23
into a large open space
7:25
where the audience stood and the dancers
7:27
performed around us on a ramp on a stage
7:29
and on sort of boxes it's quite
7:31
experimental it's quite different
7:33
but if you're looking for something out
7:34
of the ordinary in evening entertainment
7:37
then virgin will definitely please you
7:38
and so it's definitely worth considering
7:40
for that reason
7:41
the other venue of note is the manor
7:43
it's a multi-level
7:44
nightclub venue it's named after richard
7:46
branson's first recording studio
7:48
it's a great space great music and
7:51
great light effects and it's a really
7:53
big booming hub there's a huge choice of
7:55
bars
7:56
including things like draft house brewed
7:58
beers and a champagne bar but pretty
8:00
much
8:00
it's the same as other large ships it's
8:02
not that different in terms of choice
8:04
but you know it's very high in design
8:06
and look the fares are on the pricier
8:08
side certainly on the surface this is
8:10
not a value line
8:12
offer and when comparing fares before
8:14
you reject them
8:15
look at what is included when comparing
8:17
fares their fare
8:18
includes all the dining options as i've
8:20
mentioned it includes all the gratuities
8:23
wi-fi fitness classes filtered water
8:25
sodas it
8:26
excludes alcoholic drinks especially
8:29
coffees and short excursions so they
8:30
could be quite of on costs still
8:32
you will definitely find cheaper cruises
8:34
in the caribbean and the mediterranean
8:36
on lines like norwegian and royal
8:37
caribbean but if you're looking for a
8:39
more premium line experience with more
8:41
bundled in
8:42
you might find the total cost of cruise
8:44
is not
8:45
that different as it first appears so
8:48
compare
8:49
carefully before rejecting just on the
8:50
headline fair sign up for the emails as
8:53
there are often deals and offers i'm
8:55
seeing
8:55
the swimming pool is ridiculously small
8:58
but the fitness office and gyms are
9:00
massive and extensive
9:01
i'm not sure what the designers were
9:03
thinking when it came to the swimming
9:04
pool
9:05
there are very few or no sea days on
9:07
their cruises and so the size of the
9:09
pool may not be a deal breaker for you
9:10
but
9:11
if you love hanging out around the pool
9:13
taking a dip then look carefully at the
9:15
pool
9:15
before booking because you may actually
9:17
be disappointed personally i think some
9:19
of the headline grabbing gimmicks
9:21
seem to be trying a bit too hard but
9:23
they are fun and not sure if they'll
9:25
survive
9:25
but they do add to the fun so you've got
9:27
things like the tattoo parlor
9:29
which is squid ink and bearing in mind
9:32
in my experience you can't get a new
9:33
tattoo wet
9:34
and you're cruising the caribbean or
9:37
somewhere in the med and i'll want to
9:38
swim so i'm not quite sure how that's
9:39
going to work and if that'll survive
9:41
there's also a voyage vinyl record shop
9:43
which i guess
9:44
is more about building the brand than
9:45
selling records it doesn't really matter
9:47
if some of these gimmicks don't work
9:49
because they are a novelty to check out
9:51
at least and they don't really add to
9:53
your costs taking all of this into
9:54
account what did i do well i've actually
9:56
booked
9:57
to cruise on both scarlet lady in the
9:58
caribbean and valiant lady in the
10:00
military
10:01
i think it's going to be interesting
10:02
enough even with some of those concerns
10:04
and watch outs that i've covered
10:06
i think it's worth getting on board
10:07
trying them out i think the caribbean
10:09
and med cruisers
10:10
will be quite different not just because
10:12
the passengers will be different
10:13
you know there'll be fewer europeans are
10:15
likely to travel to miami for four or
10:17
five night
10:18
cruises but also the length and the port
10:20
mix i think in the mediterranean will
10:21
attract different types of people
10:23
so i do think it was worth finding out
10:25
and being adventurous and i decided on
10:26
balance
10:27
to give it a go and i'm going on both
10:29
ships in those two different regions
10:31
what do you think about virgin voyages
10:33
based on this is it a line you will book
10:35
when you head out cruising again
10:37
remember i have loads more episodes of
10:40
cruise tips advice and update
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