5 spots you MUST check out on your Virgin Voyages cruise
Currently planning your Virgin Voyages cruise? Great - you’re in the right place! In this post today, I’m going to share with you 5 really cool spots onboard these beautiful cruise ships (or Lady ships, as Virgin call them) - all you need to do is schedule them into your itinerary at some point! Before we get started, if you do enjoy this article today, it would be amazing if you’d consider checking out more of my posts - I’ve got a whole bunch on Virgin Voyages specifically, so I’ll give you the link at the end of this post, or you can head to the tab at the top at any point!
Virgin ships are really impressive. Regardless of whether you love them or hate them, I won’t allow anyone to tell me that these aren’t absolutely beautiful ships. This post will be relevant to you if you’re cruising onboard ANY of Virgin’s cruise ships: Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady, Resilient Lady or Brilliant Lady - that’s the beauty of the ships all being almost identical to each other!
Ok, let’s get started with our first spot that you MUST check out on your upcoming Virgin Voyages cruise…
1) The Red Bar, Deck 5
Listen up, because this one’s a real hidden beauty! So many passengers (or Sailors…) will go through their entire trip and not even realise this bar is here, primarily due to its’ location - it’s really tucked away, and I’d actually say it’s pretty hidden. You’ll find this bar within the Razzle Dazzle restaurant onboard (the black and white abstract-themed one), and you’ll probably only know this bar is there if you’re specifically looking for it. Walk through the restaurant, and then turn left up towards the end of the venue, and you find yourself HERE:
This bar, in my opinion, is a true unsung hero onboard these cruise ships. You’ll find some amazing unique cocktails in here (including one served in a popcorn tub, with actual popcorn ontop as a garnish!). I absolutely LOVE the fact that people simply don’t know this bar’s here - I feel like I’ve discovered a little hidden place every time I walk in!
The tricky thing with this one is knowing when it’s open. I’ve found during my cruises onboard both Scarlet and Valiant Lady that this bar will open at the same time as the Razzle Dazzle restaurant, so I really enjoy booking an evening meal here, and arriving half an hour early to chill out in the bar with a nice cocktail beforehand.
One call out that I do need to make here is that you’re not going to get an ocean view from in here. If you look through beyond the bar, you’ll see the large round windows on the other side of the restaurant, but don’t expect to be coming in here to dolphin-watch - you’ll be quite far away. That said, if you’re coming here for a drink before (or after) your dinner, chances are that it’ll be getting dark anyway, and so you wouldn’t see out at all anyway!
2) The Dock, Deck 7
Do you like sunbathing? Do you enjoy soaking up the views while the ship’s in port? How about adding to this situation some beautiful tapas-style dishes, or Mezze-style dishes? Well, let me introduce you to the Dock, at the very back of the ship on Deck 7:
‘The Dock’ is actually the outside space associated with another venue - ‘The Dock House’. The latter is located inside, but this is essentially their outdoor terrace, where you can enjoy the (hopefully) sunshine while you chill out. You don’t need to be eating or drinking from the Dock to relax here, the down-side to this being that it can be BUSY out here.
Stopping by throughout the day will allow you to order a few light snacks, or grab some to-go options from the fridges just inside the door. You’ll also occasionally find live music here (usually acoustic, in my experience) - a beautiful vibe!
3. The Loose Cannon, Deck 7
You might not be overly attracted to this venue after you read the description on the official Virgin deck plan documentation - they describe The Loose Cannon as a ‘local Dive Bar’. Now, I’ve been in some Dive Bars on land, and they’ve looked nothing like this, so either Virgin are underplaying what they’ve designed here, or the places I’ve been on land hand been truly sub par…! Here’s a few photos to help you get a feel for what you can expect…
Gorgeous, isn’t it? I always find this bar to be the really casual option onboard - you’ll not find live entertainment in here, probably because it’s actually a pretty small venue. Instead, you’ll usually have music pumping through the speakers into here, or you’ll be enjoying the noise coming from the entertainment next door, at the Social Club.
I won’t give too much away, but the drinks menu in the Loose Cannon is really unique. See those octopus statues on the tables? Well, you can actually order a drink from the bar which then comes with a glass on each tentacle, and you can enjoy it as a drinking game - what a great way to spend some time on the ship with either new friends, or your travel companions!
In terms of opening times, this place doesn’t really open during the day - it’s more of an evening haunt. That meant that it was usually really nice and quiet in here during the day. If you’re anything like me, you’ll really appreciate finding quiet places to relax, do some reading, or do a little bit of work. I actually came in here to edit some YouTube videos, and it was SUPER EASY to get myself lost in my own little world in here!
4. The Runway, Deck 17
If you’ve watched any of my Virgin content on my YouTube channel (hopefully you have - if not, search ‘Fraser at Sea’ to subscribe now!), then you’ll probably know that I’m a huge fan of this spot onboard the Virgin ships. Lots of cruise ships have jogging tracks, but I don’t think I’ve EVER seen one this good on a cruise ship. Of course, I’d have expected something pretty unique from Virgin, considering they pride themselves on running ships that are amazing from a health, fitness and well-being point of view.
On most other cruise ships, the jogging track will be part of the main pool deck, meaning that you’re trying not to fall on your face after tripping on a sun lounger (or another passenger…!) on your journey round (and round, and round). However, Virgin have a totally different part of the ship dedicated to this, and I can’t even explain how much I love it!
Now, I probably shouldn’t tell you this (and I might get into trouble for giving this hint…), but the Runway is an AMAZING photo opportunity, either with the huge Virgin sign, or with the ports that you’re visiting as your background. The benefit is that it’s almost always lovely and quiet up here, and the other benefit is that the lighting up here is really great, even at night! So, whether you want to get up and go for a run, or go up for the perfect holiday snap, ENJOY!
5) Redemption Spa, Deck 5
It’s quite nice that we’ve started and ended this post on Deck 5 of the ship, isn’t it? Infact, the venues we’re talking about are almost right next door to each other, so should be pretty easy to find one once you’ve tried out the other! It’s time to stop talking about food, drinks and fitness - let’s talk about ‘you time’.
I’ve seen so many cruise ship spa facilities (I absolutely LOVE relaxing in a Thermal Suite), but I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen one that looks as high-end and premium as what you’re going to find onboard the Virgin ships. Here’s some of my shots:
One great thing about the thermal suite onboard Virgin cruise ships is that you’re not required to pay for a pass for the entire cruise. Some cruise lines force you into purchasing a pass that entitles you to unlimited access throughout your cruise, but I’d rather just pay for one visit (or two, if I’m REALLY in need of relaxation and once just isn’t enough).
Price-wise, I remember a pass being around the $50 mark for a port day, or slightly more for a sea day (you’ll always save some money if you visit the spa while the ship’s docked - remember that!), which I thought was a pretty decent price for the quality that you’re getting in return! It’s worth highlighting that the photos I’ve shown you above were taken late at night - I much prefer visiting the thermal suite on a Virgin ship at night due to the lighting and general ambience. During the day, you can expect lots of natural light flooding in through those huge rounded portholes, so you’ll get a totally different feel in here during those periods.
Or course, if the thermal suite isn’t your thing, or if you’d like to add to your level of ‘zen’ with a massage or other spa therapy, you’re able to do that really easily. Just visit the spa reception (it’s located at the entrance to this thermal area on Deck 5), and the team will gladly assist you!
Voila! 5 of the coolest spots that I’d say you MUST check out on your next Virgin cruise. If you’d like to see more from the Virgin ships I’ve been on, I’ve got a tonne of content over on my YouTube channel. Below, you can view my full ship tours of both Valiant Lady and Scarlet Lady - enjoy!
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Happy cruising, or VOYAGING!