- Part 1: Planning & Pre-Cruise Athens - September 28-October 1, 2022
- Part 2: Embarking Norwegian Jade, Ephesus & Patmos - October 2-3, 2022
- Part 3: Rhodes & Mykonos - October 4-5, 2022
- Part 4: Argostoli & Corfu - October 6-7, 2022
- Part 5: Santorini & Disembarkation - October 8-9, 2022
- Part 6: Prague: Arrival, The Augustine & Old Town - October 9-10, 2022
- Part 7: Prague Castle, Cold War History, & Musical Evenings - October 11-14, 2022
- Part 8: Barcelona: From the Vltava to the Mediterranean - October 14-15, 2022
- Part 9: Embarking Valiant Lady, Ibiza & Day at Sea - October 16-18, 2022
- Part 10: Virgin Voyages: Malaga Heights & Madeira Green - October 19-21, 2022
- Part 11: Virgin Voyages: Crossing the Atlantic & Miami Arrival - October 22-30, 2022
Eight Days of Blue
After leaving the emerald hills of Madeira behind, we settled into the rhythm of the Atlantic. For the remaining eight sea days, the schedule was simple: relax, eat, and repeat. Without the distraction of ports, we had the luxury of truly exploring the ship and finding our own little rituals on the open ocean.
Sea Day Life: Lounging and Games
Whenever the weather was nice and sunny, our favorite spot was the signature red hammock on our balcony. There is something incredibly hypnotic about watching the waves while swinging over the ocean.
When we felt like being a bit more social, we headed to the Social Club. It’s a great midship hangout where we’d play arcade games or a round of shuffleboard, all complimentary. While they have a massive assortment of board games available to borrow, we surprisingly never found the time to settle into a long game—there was always something else happening!
We also had fun exploring the ship’s various design nooks, taking advantage of the many quirky photo ops that Virgin has integrated into the ship’s decor.
Some nights, we were able to reserve an hour in the private karaoke rooms. I love this feature on Virgin Voyages!
Shake for Champagne
One of our favorite Deep Blue Extra benefits was the “Shake for Champagne.” It’s a bit of a gimmick, but a fun one: you open the Virgin Voyages app, shake your phone, and voila, a gold button appears! Press it to order a bottle of Moët & Chandon to be delivered anywhere you are on the ship. We had a bottle sent to our cabin, which made for a very celebratory afternoon.
A Tale of Two Brunches
With eight days at sea, brunch becomes the premier event of the day. We made sure to sample both of the ship’s primary sit-down options.
The Wake: Traditional and Decadent
We visited The Wake for brunch twice. Our first experience was very traditional. I cannot recommend the fennel and citrus salad enough—it’s light, bright, and my favorite starter here. For the main, the Wake Benedict is a must-try; it’s incredibly decadent, served with pork belly and a bone marrow hollandaise.
If you’re in the mood to imbibe, they offer a bottomless drink deal for $35, which includes sparkling wine, rosé, mimosas, Bloody Marys, and select beers.
Pro-Tip: If you book your reservation closer to noon at The Wake, you gain access to the lunch menu, which adds a filet mignon choice to the offerings!
On our second visit (the noon “lunch” slot), we took advantage of that tip and enjoyed a filet mignon entrée. Crepe cake for dessert hit the spot.
Razzle Dazzle: Creative and Veggie-Forward
We also did brunch at Razzle Dazzle. They have an excellent selection of baked goods; the apple cruffin was a particular standout. I also gave their sage-flavored Impossible sausage patty a try. Even as a meat lover, it was quite tasty and a great meatless alternative.
Midday Bites: Beyond the Buffet
Lunches on board usually found us at The Galley. Since it’s set up like a food hall rather than a traditional cruise buffet, we could mix and match depending on our mood—grabbing a spicy ramen one day and a bento box or burger the next.
The Pizza Place was another favorite for many guests. Because everything is made to order, the wait times could get a bit long, so we didn’t frequent it as often as we might have liked, but the quality of the pie is undeniably good for a ship.
I also finally managed to make it to the Sun Club Cafe out on the deck. It’s a bit more tucked away, but it’s the place to go if you want a fresh poke bowl while soaking up the Atlantic sun.
Of course, who could forget ice cream? I visited “Lick Me Till Ice Cream” many times.
Dinner Rotations
Even with eight days at sea, we never felt like we were eating the same thing twice. We ended up returning to Gunbae, Pink Agave and Test Kitchen once more, and managed to do two repeat visits each to Extra Virgin and The Wake. The menus are deep enough that you can pivot to entirely different flavor profiles even at the same venue.
Pink Agave Upgrade
Since we had eaten many of our favorites on the menu, we decided to splurge for the “Treat Yourself” option: $55 for the Pescado Zarandeado, which consisted of halibut, lobster and bay scallops. It was fun to try once, but I probably wouldn’t get it again.
The chocolate taco dessert was a decadent end to the meal.
Test Kitchen: Menu B
For our second visit to Test Kitchen, we were excited to try Menu B. This menu was a recent addition to the ship’s rotation, which is a fantastic update for longer voyages like a transatlantic crossing where serving the same food would spoil the surprise and get a bit repetitive.
True to the restaurant’s concept, the menu reads simply as a list of ingredients, leaving the exact presentation a mystery until it arrives at the table.
The meal opened with a sweet corn course, followed by a beautifully prepared salmon dish. Next up was a colorful beet presentation, leading into the savory lamb course as the main event.
To cleanse the palate before dessert, we were served a unique asparagus intermezzo. The entire culinary experiment wrapped up with a refreshing strawberry dessert that brought a perfect balance of sweetness to end the evening.
Returning to The Wake
Our dinner visits to The Wake allowed us to try some of the seafood options. The salt-crusted dorade is a highlight—not just for the flavor, but for the table-side service as they crack open the salt crust to reveal the fish.
The desserts here are equally show-stopping. The Baked Alaska is a classic for a reason, but the coconut panna cotta and the apple tatin are equally strong contenders for the best “final course” on the ship.
Comfort Food at Extra Virgin
Repeat visits to Extra Virgin meant more fresh pasta and tableside theatrics, like the servers shaving fresh parmesan over our daily specials. The gnocchi here is pillow-soft, and the chocolate olive oil cake is a great dessert.
Dinner Theater: It’s a Ship Show!
One of the evenings, we decided to try out “It’s a Ship Show,” which was a newly offered dinner variety show hosted in the Manor. This experience operates a bit differently than the standard restaurants; there is only one seating for the night, reserved via the Virgin app once booking opens, the timing of which I had no clue. I had checked at random times during the days leading to the event and was fortunate to finally see it available to book.
The entertainment is a lively mix of music, comedy, and other variety acts performing right in the center of the room while dinner is served.
A set menu was offered: we started with a beet salad and a scallop crudo/beef tartare appetizer, followed by a choice of entrees including parmesan chicken and pan-seared sea bass. To finish off the night, dessert was a whimsical Bailey’s dark and white chocolate mousse.
It was a fun, distinct experience to break up the cruise, but I wouldn’t necessarily class it as a absolute must-see or must-eat venue. However, if you are on a very long itinerary like a transatlantic crossing and have already rotated through the standard restaurant options a few times, it is a great way to add some variety to your evening layout.
Onboard Entertainment & Rocky Seas
While dining took up a large portion of our sea days, we also made sure to check out the ship’s signature entertainment lineup.
A Rainy Scarlet Night
Virgin’s famous Scarlet Night occurred on the 11th night of our crossing. This is typically a massive, ship-wide celebration that culminates in a huge party out on the pool deck. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and it rained that night, forcing all of the festivities to move indoors to the Red Room.
Because of the venue change, we missed out on seeing the iconic giant inflatable red octopus on deck and the usual pool frolicking that we had experienced on Scarlet Lady. While the crew did a great job pivoting, the party definitely lost a bit of its usual energy by being confined indoors.
Duel Reality
The ocean also became a bit rocky during this final stretch of the transatlantic crossing, which forced the cancellation of a few high-flying acts for safety reasons.
Fortunately, the conditions calmed down enough for us to finally catch Duel Reality. This show is an exceptionally creative, circus-style acrobatic storytelling of Romeo and Juliet. The performance is incredibly intense and athletic, with the audience split into sides to cheer on the rival families. It was easily one of the entertainment highlights of the trip.
Planning Ahead: My Next Virgin Voyage
With so much time to enjoy the ship, it’s easy to start thinking about the next vacation. During the crossing, I decided to look into Virgin’s future cruise program, which is called “My Next Virgin Voyage.”
They were running a remarkably generous offer at the time, making it hard to say no:
The Future Cruise Deal
- Pay: $300, to be applied towards deposit on your next sailing
- Discount: $300 off your next sailing
- Bonus Onboard Credit: $600 to spend on your next sailing
- Extra Perk: A complimentary bottle of champagne (provided you didn’t already have one from another promotion)
I took a few days to think it over and run the numbers, but it was simply too good of an opportunity to pass up. The future cruise credit is valid for two years, giving us plenty of flexibility to figure out exactly when and where we want to sail next.
Miami Arrival & Disembarkation
Finally, our ocean crossing came to an end as Valiant Lady sailed into Miami, greeted by beautiful blue skies and the familiar skyline.
Disembarking the ship was an absolute breeze. Once outside the terminal, I hailed an Uber XL to comfortably transport the four of us to Miami airport. After checking our bags and gliding through security, we headed straight to the AMEX Centurion Lounge to enjoy a relaxing lunch before our respective flights home.
Final Reflections: Is a Transatlantic Cruise Worth It?
And just like that, our month-long European journey was officially over!
If you have the flexibility with vacation time and genuinely love sea days, crossing the Atlantic on a cruise ship should be on your bucket list. From a pure value standpoint, it’s incredible—for roughly the same price as an economy or premium economy transatlantic flight, you can enjoy up to two full weeks of fine dining, entertainment, and relaxation instead.
I really couldn’t find any fault with the Virgin Voyages experience itself, with just one minor exception: our specific cabin location.
Pro-Tip: Avoid Cabin Noise on Rough Seas
During the rockier sea days, the waves would ram up against the side of the hull, causing loud metal banging sounds to reverberate through the hollow areas of the ship’s interior structures. Because our cabin was situated right near a crew emergency stairwell, we could hear this loud banging throughout the day while in the room. I resorted to listening to music with headphones to get some relief.
Next time I book a long Virgin itinerary where rough seas are a possibility, I will look for a balcony cabin that has interior cabins directly across the hallway, which naturally dampens and reduces the risk of hull noise. My parents’ cabin was configured this way and they experienced no noise whatsoever.
Aside from that minor housing lesson, the journey from Greek mythology to the historic streets of Prague and Barcelona, then to the wide-open spaces of the Atlantic was an incredible adventure! What’s next? We’re going on more back-to-back cruises to the Caribbean…stay tuned!
