Virgin Voyages' Horseplay Seahorse Auction & Race
On our latest Virgin cruise on Valiant Lady, we discovered a new and very unique activity. We didn’t have it on our previous cruises, because we were told that it was only offered on cruises that are five nights or longer. The event is called the Horseplay Seahorse Auction and Race and actually potentially breaks down into three events. It is ideal, we feel, for sailors with an excessive amount of sailor loot. We decided to participate without really knowing what it was. It’s pretty different and I will do my best to describe it fully.
The first of three events for the seahorse race is the auction. For this event, everyone gathers and receives a numbered paddle. There are six seahorses that you can bid on. They will describe the seahorses and give the audience their “back stories”. Then, the audience will bid on the seahorses, starting at $50. The first couple of seahorses usually go for a higher amount so we learned that it would be wise to wait and bid on seahorses 5 and 6 (This was true on our cruise but may not be on all cruises). The total amount bid on the seahorses goes into a pot, which the winner of the “race” receives (minus a 10% cut by the house). Both Chris and I bid on and won our own seahorse, which increased the chances of the Flurys coming home victorious. Alas, this was not to be.
The second event is exclusive to the winners of the auction. The auction winners are invited by The Artist from the Happenings Cast to come and decorate their seahorses while drinking glasses of bubbly. We painted our seahorses and also had the option to add gems or glitter. You could paint both sides of your 2D seahorses and then you would need to come up with a name for your seahorse. This is a fun and, once again, unique event that requires that you bring out your creative side. Also, we enjoyed talking with our competitors as they also designed their seahorses. Spending some quality time with The Artist only added to the fun.
The final event is the actual seahorse race. The race occurs in the evening and is open to everyone’s enjoyment. During the race, each contestant and their seahorse is presented and the rules of the race are explained. The race involves the rolling of dice to move seahorses down the field. Once a horse has made it to certain checkpoints, then the contestant can choose to spin the wheel. The wheel might cause you to move forward or move back, win a free drink or even switch places with another seahorse. The first seahorse to make it to the finish line wins the pot of money. The whole race lasts about thirty minutes and was definitely, once again, a fun and unique experience.
When asking Chris if he would choose to participate again, he said absolutely. He said that it can be viewed as another way to gamble, but this opportunity comes with a fun, social component. We feel that $125 is a good amount in which to cap your bidding (however we have seen that on other cruises that seahorses go as high as $400), especially if you have the sailor loot available. It would have been nice to win the money in the end but the experience itself was very enjoyable. Our next Virgin cruise is 8-nights, so we will definitely be taking part in the seahorse on that cruise.
If this sounds like an activity you would enjoy, contact me so I can get you booked on a Virgin cruise, maybe even the one with us.
