One of our Personal Travel Consultants, Diane Ware, sailed on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady. She described her time onboard as an ‘older sailor’ and here’s what she thought.
Picture this… You find a bar on holiday that quickly becomes your favourite. It’s overlooking the sea, playing chilled out music and has every drink you can imagine. You go back every night to quietly chat and watch the world go by. The waiters are friendly and always smiling, plus they bring everything to you so you can completely relax and catch the sunset. You can experience all of this with Virgin Voyages!
After hearing so many incredible things about the cruise line, I knew that Valiant Lady would be an incredible ship. I expected us to be a lot older than the majority of the other guests onboard so I was a little apprehensive that it wouldn’t be suitable for us. How wrong we were!
As we were waiting to check in, I noticed that there is no typical Virgin sailor. There were people of all ages heading onboard, some younger than us of course but also some much older! In fact, the average age of sailors onboard Virgin Voyages is around 49 years old!
Tradition Stops Here
What I personally loved about this cruise was that it wasn’t at all traditional. After your luggage being taken off you to be delivered to your cabin, you are free to do whatever you want. There are no tannoy announcements, no ‘Meet the Captain & Crew’ and no main dining restaurant with fixed dining times.
Fabulous For Foodies
After hearing that Virgin Voyages had the ‘best food at sea’, I had such high expectations and it did not disappoint. All of the restaurants are included within your cruise fare and they are all utterly fabulous. They are all different, so each day it was so exciting to try something new.
Some of my personal favourites were fine dining in The Wake, testing Asian food in Gunbae – a Korean BBQ -, and the fantastic Mexican food at Pink Agave. There is truly something for everyone onboard. If you love a classic Italian meal, visit Extra Virgin or for a superb selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes, Razzle Dazzle is the place to be. Simply wonderful food wherever you choose to eat.
For a quick bite to eat throughout the day or a more casual dining option, the Galley is perfect. This is a food hall that houses more than 8 food stalls and different food trucks with breakfast, lunch and dinner options.
Spectacular Service
The service is second to none. The crew are there when you need them but completely unobtrusive and laid back. I loved that they seemed truly happy onboard too. We could get to know them a bit better as they dined in the main restaurants with us which was a really nice touch.
Evening Entertainment
Entertainment in the evenings for us was a leisurely dinner with good wine, and cocktails in The Dock afterwards. The Dock was our favourite outdoor bar, located on deck 7. It was our go-to venue for nibbles and pre-dinner drinks as they served tapas in the early evening. There were so many places onboard to enjoy a tipple and listen to live music. On The Rocks was our particular favourite.
When we were full of great food, and more than a few drinks, we loved seeing younger sailors all dressed up heading out to the various parties onboard. This is what makes Virgin Voyages so amazing, we could head back to our cabin but there was so much available to party the night away for those that want to.
We didn’t actually go to the Pyjama Party or Scarlet Night but they did look so much fun. That is the true essence of a Virgin Voyages cruise, you can do exactly what you want, when you want. Plus, there’s no dress code! Dress up to the nines or wear shorts and a t-shirt if you prefer. Anything goes! And best of all, no-one cares.
Final Thoughts
A few of my colleagues have been lucky enough to sail with Virgin as well and we have all loved it. I’ve loved seeing pictures of Lisa’s time at Scarlet Night, Martin and Stan enjoying the spa and Jess in the gym. We all spent time onboard doing what suited us and what we wanted to do and had a great time doing it! – and I for one can’t wait to do it all again.
For more information, call us on 02380 658 386 or view our Virgin Voyages deals.
