The Food on Virgin Voyages: The Hype Is Real (Part 2)

As we have said, we make it our business to take advantage of the varied food items that a cruise ship has to offer.  But, we have become accustomed to the idea, on Royal Caribbean at least, that for the food to be specialty or especially good that it will require an additional cost.  This turned out to not be the case on Virgin Voyages.  The food was varied, all included, and did not disapoint.

Once on the ship, we walked around and began to become accustomed with where everything was located.  While we feel that the layout of the ship was confusing, we quickly discovered where all of the good eats were located.  A main area where you can get quick service food items is what they call The Galley.  The Galley is very similar to a food court, as it has a large variety of food options to choose from, but even better because you could choose to sit and order the food from one of the servers.  The food was excellent and mainly because it was made right then and there.  If you wanted a sushi roll, you could grab a bento box and take it back to your room or to the pool or wherever.  If you wanted some tacos with a side of freshly made french fries, you could order it.  If you wanted a banana flavored popsicle dipped in chocolate, you could get it.  And, it was all included.  Even on embarkation day, we went to The Galley for breakfast and I ordered an Eggs Benedict and witnessed the eggs being poached right then and there.  And, with everything being served by the staff, I wonder if the spread of viruses is kept to a minimum.  The Galley was really cool.

One of the first places that we checked out once we were on board was the pizza place.  We were used to cruise ship pizza coming from a place that rhymes with “Morentos” so we didn’t have high standards.  In fact, I usually skip the pizza, but on the Scarlet Lady, I was able to choose a personal pizza from a list of pizzas that they would made to order.  Chris chose pepperoni pizza and I had an egg and truffle pizza, both of which were so so good.  We did have to wait about 15 minutes for our pizzas to be prepared and cooked but it was worth the wait.

Also, one of the first things that we tried out was an ice cream place called “Lick Me Till Ice Cream”.  Each day they had 4 or 5 flavors that you could choose from and have served in either a cup or a flavored cone.  Over our 4-night cruise, I tried 4 or 5 different flavors and loved them all.  And, unlike on other cruise ships, the ice cream came at no extra cost and was much better than the soft serve offered on the pool decks.        

There were other delicious food places tucked away at various places on the ship.  Chris is a big snacker and found a place that served popcorn, warm pretzels and other tasty items. Another place had gummy bears as an item that we could just get a scoop of to bring back to our room.  One other place that was poorly placed up near the pool deck was a poke bowl spot, which was delicious and also included.    

I can’t end this article without mention of two other food related experiences we had during our cruise that stood out in our minds. We ordered room service one morning, in which they waived the service fee if you ordered any extra cost items, such as a fancy coffee which was $2 less that the service fee. It was served warm and in these cute carrying cases. Also, the food at The Beach Club at Bimini was just as good as the food served at another beach club that can cost quite a bit. We were very pleased with these discoveries.

This was how room service was delivered. So much better than a zillion plates to spread out.

We obviously really enjoyed the food and because it was all included we felt free to try all of it.  They had as part of their entertainment a dinner show which was so much fun and a pleasant surprise because it was once again included.  The fact that we weren’t “nickle and dimed” was refreshing and definitely had an impact on our view of the cruise line as a whole.