What is it like eating on a cruise ship without a buffet? Head to The Galley with me and find out!

Virgin Voyages does not operate a buffet style casual eatery. Instead, they have an area called The Galley with several themed food stands reminiscent of a mall food court. However, instead of lining up at the stand of your choice and receiving your food from them to take to a table, Virgin has it set up where you choose a table first and then get brought your choice. We experienced the table system of having a little stand on each table with a QR code for the menu. Those little stands now have a little flag that you lift up when you want one of The Galley servers to come take your order. The server will slip the little flag back down once they've taken your order. I've read that the flag system is fairly new having been recently added before we sailed. Several past cruisers were glad to see this new flag system in place because they felt it was tough to get crew's attention to their table. For us, it was the opposite. Some days we didn't even get the chance to put the little flag up before a crew member appeared at our table. Most of the time we got asked 2-3 times if someone had taken our order yet if they saw us sitting without food yet. Rarely did a table go uncleared for too long either. In fact, we had empty dishes cleared while still eating the rest of our order several times. 

"The Classic" from Burger Bar described as "american, lettuce, tomato." The onion apparently was an extra bonus. I also ordered "Side of Fries." If I'm putting pickles on my burgers, I'd much rather have the thin ones like they use on fast food burgers versus the pickle chips sold in jars. So I was happy to see that this dish came with a true deli style pickle spear. Plus I always get double pickles because Dad acts like the one that came with his order is about to jump off the plate somehow and attack him. I have to save him by quickly consuming the evidence. 

The Galley crew uses a system of table numbers and a checklist of menu items on their devices when you place your order. A few times it was the same crew member but for the most part it seemed that the person who received the order in the system and retrieved it from the appropriate stand to bring to your table was a different team entirely. I liked that aspect because it helped keep the first crew members taking care of tables with new orders so there was no one waiting too long. At one point, Dad walked up to the taco themed stand to look at the options and asked for his choice right there. The crew member working on the food prep asked for his table number encouraging him to go sit and wait for it. Dad explained that he had no table number and the gentleman had him pick from the nearby table numbers as he had to assign the order to a table. Other places like the Sweet Side did not list their sometimes changing options so you had to walk up to the stand and ask to be served.

"French Toast Burger" from Burger Bar described as "bacon, egg, american cheese." Quite the interesting assembly as the layers went 1) French Toast slice, 2) burger patty, 3) American cheese, 4) scrambled eggs, 5) second French Toast slice, 6) two slices of chewy bacon, and held together by 7) a plastic version of the toothpicks they stick in club sandwiches. I've recently gotten into eating more hash browns and these were fairly good. As far as the burger combination - I like chewier bacon in general, would have rather had a fried egg so it stayed on the burger, and the French Toast needed syrup. Ended up having to separate the layers and eat it as more of a burger patty served with a side of French Toast. 

There are also paper menus that you can either request from the server or find sitting next to several food stalls. Some moments it felt a little odd to have to take a table and wait for service like when I simply wanted a snack. On a cruise I'm just as likely to grab a hodgepodge of stuff from the buffet when I want something quick and light so having to choose something from a menu that was mostly full meal options was tough. It was nice that each table had fast food style condiment dispensers for ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. It took me a bit to realize there were other options for various menu items like soy sauce and maple syrup if you asked one of The Galley crew.

"Tonkotsu Ramen" from Noodle Around described as "pork chashu and soy marinated egg." The dish comes with chopsticks and a small ladling spoon for the broth. There is a spicy version of the same dish but this regular version was plenty flavorful. 

The All Day Breakfast options from Diner & Dash. There are omelet combinations or you can put together your own from the list of ingredients. You can also request two eggs any style, various kinds of proteins and sides, and a few versions of toast including gluten free. This picture was two eggs over medium, sausage, hash browns, and sweet potato tots. I'm not normally a sweet potato eater so I've mostly only eaten it in the form of fries. These were a nice balance of crispy and seasoned well so you had the sweet potato taste without being overly sweet. Another day I tried a cheese omelet and it was fairly goopy leaving a puddle on the plate.

"Buffalo Mozzarella" from Hot Off The Press described as "tomato, basil, balsamic reduction." Basically a caprese salad in sandwich form. I enjoy caprese salad and I enjoy sandwiches. Unfortunately, in this case the balsamic reduction stood for a reduction in the bottom slice of bread. Top half was nice and toasted with a crunch you'd expect from a panini. Bottom half was a soggy mess. I have yet to try a dish that pairs something chewy like the mozzarella with other ingredients and doesn't result in everything else sliding out while you're working on that mozzarella in the same bite.

I loved that in the Galley there was self service drink stations that included water, ice, juices, and a miniature version of a Freestyle Machine from Coca-cola. Signs encouraged everyone to refill as often as they desired but to please use a new cup each time. Crew members were routinely restocking the racks with fresh clean glasses. Only downside is that as the cruise went on, I noticed more and more issues getting a proper drink dispensed from these machines. Choices like orange juice and/or Diet Coke would come out as a fizzy version of water. There's watered down Diet Coke and then there's Diet Coke that came out so clear it looked like water. Usually a sign that the wells are nearly empty or something needs to be cleaned. 

There were some peak times like any cruise such as breakfast time on a port day that made getting an available table to start the process difficult. Other times I took advantage of some grab and go pre-made boxes and took them out to a quiet spot. A moment of praise for the young female crew member who saw me walking through the galley with a pizza box, a salad box, a salad dressing cup, and a cup of hot chocolate and stopped to offer to help me carry it all. When I explained that I was simply headed out to find a quiet spot with fresh air, she insisted on running ahead to hold open the door for me. Once outside in an otherwise empty seating area at the time, I had barely put the boxes down on a table when a gentleman crew member appeared out of nowhere offering to get me anything. 

The Bento Baby station changes over from sliced fruit with some granola and/or greek yogurt to holding a variety of grab and go boxes of sushi rolls. I tried a box of fruit with breakfast one morning that consisted of watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and pineapple sliced relatively thin. I liked the thin cuts but several pieces were too tough to eat. 

Pictured is the Cucumber Avocado sushi option. Usually I saw two to three flavor options and one section devoted to a variety box of each flavor together. I liked how each of these pre-made grab and go boxes were dated when prepared and noted of a time to discard that same day. The crew were very diligent swapping out each round of boxes when the times listed came around. They also routinely arranged the boxes so that the older ones were used first.

This is the other version of grab and go that was housed in small shelving units by the entrances to The Galley. There was usually a Caesar Salad or a Mixed Greens with Chicken option. Pro Tip- More salad containers were in the refrigerated case as you walk up to order in The Pizza Place. These little metallic screw top jars sat next to the salad boxes holding serving size amounts of different dressings. Only minor concern is that the label of what dressing was which was only on the shelf itself. If someone put the jar back wrong, it could be confusing. I liked that it was kept separate so the salad didn't get soggy. A few different types of sandwiches - I tried a turkey one with greens and a sort of beet mayo sauce that sounds odd but ended up being tasty. Other options more for small bites were available like veggie crudites and trail mix. 

Those same areas by The Galley entrances also had bins of whole fruits like bananas and oranges. Easy to grab and take to your cabin for that quick pick me up or something to consume quickly before a morning excursion. I did notice that the top bin that always held bananas went from full to nearly empty to covered entirely with a matching colored lid as if a box was never there at all after the first several days of the cruise. I've been on several cruises where fresh supplies run low until we reach a port where the ship can restock. Surprising in this case that nowhere in our four Caribbean ports was a spot to take on an order of bananas?

Virgin Voyages wants you to app-ply yourself

One thing that Virgin Voyages relies on for the onboard experience and even before boarding is technology. Most specifically for cruisers is the use of the Virgin Voyages app. Before boarding, sailors are required to download the app and set up an account. You will need the app to complete the check in process for your cruise that involves scanning your passports, taking a security photo, entering a credit card for your onboard account charges, confirming your health status, and picking an arrival time. Some cruise line apps allow you to take care of all of these steps from one device in case you're traveling with someone who isn't as technically inclined. In our case of having two separate booking numbers and separate cabins, I had to set up my account on my app on my phone and then repeat the process on Dad's app on his phone. 

It is also highly suggested that you book dining reservations and excursion reservations via the app before boarding. I find it interesting that while all of this is encouraged to be booked beforehand, booking any shows or onboard classes cannot be done until you get onboard. The app is still required then as well so its better to save those few moments and have your app already set up because those fill up fast. Plus you're wasting extra time trying to get the app to load on potentially slow ship internet. A word to the wise - unlike some cruise lines that have wised up to letting you use onboard credit to book items like shore excursions in advance, if you book an excursion before boarding via the app, you will be charged to your credit card. Book once you're on the ship and connected to ship's wi-fi and it will pull from the OBC or Sailor Loot. 

One plus for the app we found really useful was having to make dinner reservations pre-cruise for people in two different cabins. Thanks to the helpful previous cruisers on the Valiant Lady Facebook group, we learned that you can add the other person as a contact by scanning their app's QR code. Once we connected our apps, we were prompted to sign up for one or both of us regardless of whose app we were using to book. It just meant the extra step of having to select the other person as well versus the default only you option each time. Much easier than having to make my reservations and hope that Dad still showed those times as available when we switched to his app. In one evening of sitting at the kitchen table we spent more time debating how often to visit each restaurant than it took to book us at 6PM each evening. I discovered later that there's the added benefit of your contact getting a notification that you've included them on a reservation. A word of caution is that once linked as contacts, if the other person cancels a reservation made for both of you, it cancels you out as well. Definitely book before the cruise as soon as your app opens up for dining. We found that we wanted to switch around after loving a place we'd only booked once and there wasn't any availability showing to change our reservations on the remaining nights. 

We did have a brief issue trying to do a walk up reservation for brunch around noon at The Wake when the app showed no available slots. The common refrain for everything from restaurants to classes was to show up and ask because someone likely was a no show. The hostess gave us two options - go on a wait list with slim chances or have her make us a reservation for the next day instead. She insisted that no tables were available even though we could see a nearly empty restaurant. Our time in line and this brief exchange took around 10 minutes. The "line" was the couple in front of us who chose the option of making a reservation to come back the next day. We elected to seek out other places to eat and stepped momentarily around the corner to look at the options on the app. In that time it took us to step aside and bring up the app's page for dining, an option for the 12:15PM reservation slot showed up as available to book for The Wake. We rounded the corner and spoke to a different crew member who was now manning the podium and she had some trouble finding our reservation we had literally just booked. The main hostess returned while she was still looking and quickly found it on their system. She then proceeded to seat us in a far off corner that was routinely forgotten about by the waiters. 

One minor annoyance I discovered through my own attempts to save a couple steps in the check in process is that if you're using a joint credit card for your onboard accounts, make sure to change the name on the card to yours when filling out your own app information. For the entire voyage, the system treated my onboard account as if my fellow sailor contact (Dad) had agreed to pay for everything on his credit card. Normally you can view your onboard account and review charges on the app but I could only see a message that says "Your folio has been set up so your purchases are being paid for (and tracked) by your co-Sailor who has you on their tab." I would have to either ask Dad to show me his account summary or visit Sailor Services to get a printout. I was a little surprised when I did go to Sailor Services the first time and simply had to give my last name to be handed a printout. I wondered what would happen if you have a common last name or at least thought they would have asked me for a cabin number as well. I learned later how the crew uses your security photo to confirm for things like that.

When Virgin Voyages says that they include free internet for all, the caveat is that it's Basic level of internet. When you first connect your device to ship wi-fi (you receive a card with instructions at check in), it will prompt you to choose Basic (which is free) or Premium Voyage internet at an extra cost. Basic is described as simple internet browsing, checking email, and posting/checking social media. Premium Voyage is billed as for streaming music and movies and faster internet. Honestly, I was quite impressed with how well the internet was onboard. I had no issues whether in port or at sea connecting to everything including streaming YouTube videos on Basic internet. I even discovered unsent tweets that never made it onto my social accounts from the last cruise while on this cruise! 

One trick that I didn't learn until onboard that could have saved me having to uninstall/reinstall the app three times before boarding, is that the app is not a fan of having anything else in your phone's recent activity memory. I would open my app in the days leading up to the cruise to complete another step or check what we booked and get "the white screen of death." The trick (at least on our iPhones) was to press down on the misbehaving app and slide up toward the middle of your screen. Most likely you will find many apps now showing as open in a carousel of screen shots. Swipe up on all of them, including Virgin Voyages' app, until there is nothing in the list anymore. Then go back to your Virgin app and it will load perfectly. While slightly tedious, it worked every time. I did find a few moments where the app had no problem working while other apps were open but if the problem came back, the trick to fix it worked each time. One slight hiccup is that the how to connect card they gave us at check-in says to go to The Chart Room on Deck 7 for assistance. We went there and they insisted that Sailor Services on Deck 5 was the place we should have gone. Sailor Services (or guest services on other lines) is not the most pleasant place to be on embarkation or the night before debarkation day.

On day one, we sat down at the Roundabout (fancy name for a circular staircase that opened up multiple decks; more commonly referred to on other lines as either the Atrium, the Centrum, or the Piazza) couches ready to book shows. The loud music and the hustle of people boarding the ship made the fact that my app kept insisting that I couldn't book anything because I had to wait until I was on the ship all the more frustrating. I had already connected to the ship's wi-fi network that wouldn't work in the terminal like it has in the past. I was able to get so far as to choose Basic internet and got a message confirming I was connected. But alas, the app would not let me do anything toward booking shows or fitness classes. I wanted to hold up my phone and pan around yelling "Can't you see that I AM ON THE SHIP?!" I'm pretty sure at one point I'd resorted to pacing the space hoping that one corner over the other would magically trigger the app to recognize that I was on ship wi-fi. As a last resort, we decided to head off in search of sustenance to give the app a chance to figure itself out. By the time I thought to check it again hours later, it had conceded that I was truly on board but of course most everything was booked up.

I liked the fact that the app also showed drink and food menus for each of the restaurants onboard. Helpful for someone like me who likes to get a head start on what they would like to order. Also a good resource when you're trying a new dish and want to go back and read what's in it. Especially when you order a new drink to try and it comes with more than you expected in the glass. 

Another plus with the app is the feature where it sends a notification to your phone when an activity you signed up to attend is starting soon. It's easy to lose track of time when you're cruising and those notifications saved me a time or two. I've only seen this feature included on one other cruise line's app and that was pre-wearable days. 

A completely unique feature we experienced on the app was the multiple survey requests that were sent as messages throughout the cruise. Some evenings it would ask us to answer questions about a restaurant we tried, other times it would ask about the show/activity we attended. I appreciated the small change I noticed about halfway through the cruise. The first surveys about activities would only list theater/lounge performances and force you to choose one from the list to proceed with the survey. On a day when I hadn't attended any performance, I randomly chose an answer and included the flaw in their list when prompted for additional comments. Later surveys had a much longer list to choose from that now included other events like trivia games. 

One major positive that really impressed me is a praise for Naomi, the Wellness Manager onboard. Midway through the cruise, the survey question was to ask our opinion on how the cruise was going so far. It read more like a mini version of a post cruise survey that all lines send out. I took the opportunity to share about my first day's hinderances with the app and how all of the fitness classes were now sold out. If you don't share when there's a problem, and do so please with politeness and decorum, then the crew have no opportunity to fix it. I didn't expect a response but I felt compelled to share my disappointment. I also shared in the survey how classes need to be limited like dinner reservations where you're only allowed to book so many of the same option per cruise. I feel that this would give more people a chance to at least try one class if sailors were limited to only booking one session of each type of class. And then let them who have already participated previously this cruise be the ones walking up at class time hoping there is no shows. 

Within a day or two of filling out that survey on my app, I was killing time in my cabin when the cabin phone rang. Once I picked myself up off the floor after nearly falling out of bed, I made it to the phone and was surprised to learn that it was Naomi. She explained that she was calling in reference to my survey answers and wanted to apologize for the disappointment. Most of the time, the response from management would have ended there. However, Naomi took it further by asking me for more feedback and trying to see if there were any upcoming classes she could fit me in. When I used the bungee class as an example, she offered to hold a private session for me. I was shocked at the generous offer and didn't feel right accepting such an option. By the end of the conversation, Naomi had suggested that I at least accept a free visit to the thermal spa to which I agreed. Dad and I stopped by the next day and got to meet Naomi in person who was kind enough to extend the spa pass to Dad as well. 

You can also use the app to request items for your cabin or to have your cabin serviced. The app also has a feature for ordering Ship Eats (their name for room service). There is a charge for using Ship Eats but if you order anything that normally costs like a coffee or alcoholic drink, it negates the delivery charge. A great little tip especially if you have a Bar Tab amount to cover that drink cost. 

The crew largely relied on technology as well. In the shops, they used their devices to scan barcodes to get prices as well as scan the items we bought, scan our wearables, and have us sign on their screen to approve the charges. The Happenings cast would use their devices to record when they used their accounts to gift us the free drinks we won at activities. When we had issues, we could use the apps to report problems and ask questions of Sailor Services saving us more time standing in line at the desk. 

To Virgin or not to Virgin? And I'm not talking about olive oil...

While I am an adult and I have never had a reason to travel with children, I've never sailed on an adults only cruise line. That all changed when I sailed on Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady for their eight night Eastern Caribbean Antilles itinerary that left out of Miami and visited Puerto Plata, San Juan, St. Croix, and Virgin Voyages' Beach Club at Bimini. To be honest, I'd seen videos and read blog reviews about other cruisers' experiences on Virgin and it wasn't a high priority for me to try. While the premise of all dining included (short of a few extra cost dishes) was a big plus, the large focus on fitness (aka only young and fit people) and the small cabin spaces were a big negative. The deciding factor came when we stumbled upon an offer for no single supplement that allowed us to each get our own cabins. We did pay completely for our own cabins, airfare, pre-cruise hotel, and transportation to each step. 

We decided that the XL Sea Terrace cabins were the best option and had our travel agent book us two close by. We ended up with cabins two doors apart from each other. The XL and the regular Sea Terrace cabins are what Virgin Voyages calls their balcony cabins. The main difference with the XL versus the standard Sea Terrace is that instead of a door where the bathroom starts and the toilet out in the main part of the bathroom, there is no door separating the bathroom from the main cabin space. Privacy is instead offered by moving the toilet into its own little cubicle with a closed door next to the shower stall/cubicle with its own door. Our particular cabins were also ones that could sleep three so it included a large cushion on a base that could be connected to the couch base to allow for two people sleeping in the double bed and one in the single bed that lays against one wall with the rest of the bed's headboard. You can choose to have the double bed converted back into a couch during the day but we both elected to have ours remain beds the entire time. The cushioned extra piece made for a nice spot to toss things after I returned to the cabin for the night and to sit on when I needed to tie my shoes. 

Rarely not being in the same cabin, we wondered pre-cruise how we would keep in touch to make plans for meeting up and attending activities. On the first day, Dad tested out calling between cabins and that worked fine. Later that evening, after we each got the included "Basic" internet enabled, we tested out using iMessage to text each other. This worked as well so we stuck to texting to make plans.

Instead of right and left or starboard versus port when it comes to locating your cabin, on Virgin Voyages your options are you are either on A side or Z side. You check into restaurants by giving your cabin number and they are very specific that you include that A or Z. The numbers themselves are the same on both sides. Usually ships split up the numbers by having all odd or all even cabins on the same side of the ship. Fear not if you forget as they also have your photo and can look up both cabins to confirm. 

The first thing you encounter at your cabin is the interactive door sign. Since Virgin Voyages uses an electronic sensor known as your "wearable" that you wear like a bracelet versus a cruise card or seapass card, everything is reliant on being able to scan this wearable. I appreciated that this version of a wearable is held on by an adjustable rope style bracelet that hooks closed with an anchor charm on the end. It made it easy to take off when I was settled back in my cabin but it also did become loose routinely. At one point, I wrapped it around my crossbody phone bag's strap to avoid having to wear it. But then I kept checking to make sure it was still there and hadn't fallen off. If you are someone like me who doesn't care for wearing something tight like a watch for too long, you can alternatively keep it in a purse or pocket until you need to scan it. You get marked on and off the ship in ports, processed for everything you charge to your onboard account, and enter your cabin by having your wearable scanned. You also scan your wearable if you want to keep track of your slot play in the casino or charge to your onboard account to use in the slot machines. 

At check-in, you can choose which saying you want on your wearable. I couldn't resist the pun and chose "Feelin' Nauti." Then they scan your wearable so it has your account information on it and show you how to put it on. The felt ribbon pictured below it is to show that we have the Deep Blue Extras loyalty perks including priority embarkation.

To unlock your cabin, you put your wearable up against the part of this sign that looks like a central dot and parenthesis radiating out. It will light up green and you hear the click of the cabin lock once it confirms that you are the correctly linked cabin owner. There never seemed to be one right way to get this door sensor to read my wearable. Some days I'd bump it, other days it would take dragging the wearable across the entire sensor. Other days I'd be yelling at it to let me into my cabin because it would take multiple tries of many configurations to finally work. Sometimes it took turning the wearable over so the sensor piece was directly touching the door sensor. Once or twice I'd walk up, raise my wrist ready for battle and it opened right away.

One of the features Dad found entertaining was the fact that each cabin had a doorbell. Not sure I've ever seen that on another cruise ship unless it was a suite cabin. I don't recall whether there was any sort of feature for blinking the lights in your cabin when the doorbell rings for cruisers who may be deaf or hard of hearing. I've seen other cruise lines offer a device that you can put on your cabin door so it recognizes the pressure of a knock and blinks the lights. Perhaps that is something one can request here too. 

The final item on this door sign replaces the typical "Please Make Up My Cabin" or "Please Do Not Disturb" door hanging signs. That white line at the bottom will light up blue if you select the "Make Up My Cabin" button just inside the cabin door and light up red if you choose "Do Not Disturb." At one point, I noticed a couple cabins including Dad's would display as no lights versus the default white light pictured above. We stopped to ask our cabin steward and she said that there was nothing except the two choices of red or blue. 

Top icon that looks like the old door hanging signs is the signal for Do Not Disturb. It lights up red in addition to the line on the outside of your door so you can tell how you have it set without having to open the door. The bottom icon picturing a spilled drink is to request cabin service and it will light up blue. Tapping either button again turns them off and returns the white line to your outside cabin sign. There's been some debate and changes on various lines about whether the cabins get serviced twice a day or only once now. Here, the pattern seemed to be a full clean in the morning with bed making and towel replacing but at night, the only thing noticeably changed was the balcony curtains being drawn. Virgin Voyages, in their efforts to reduce use of plastic and paper, do not put a daily schedule in your cabin each night for the next day. You have to go down to Sailor Services (aka Guest Services) and pick one up if you still want a paper copy.

As a travel blogger, I'm always on the lookout for what kind of accomodations are made for those with a physical disability or limited mobility issues. I love that on lots of cruise ships, they have taken to including the cabin number in Braille. However, I witnessed a cruiser who had a handicap accessible cabin struggle because he had to lift up out of his scooter to reach the sensor. Having the sensor panel lower on the wall for those cabins would have made such a difference. I'm 5'7" and all of the panels were in line with my collarbone.  

Welcome to the inside of my cabin. Standard emergency information and the location of your muster drill on the back of the door. There is a deadbolt knob to turn to lock your door from the inside. Close to the door on the left in these photos is the little black panel with your do not disturb buttons. Continuing on the same wall is the thermostat with basic up and down buttons to make it warmer or colder. I was constantly altering the temperature in my cabin feeling like I was too hot or too cold. Below the thermostat is the light switch for the bathroom. This light switch works all bathroom lights so you need to turn it on whether you're just using the sink or going into one of the toilet/shower cubicles. That could be a slight disruption if you're sharing the cabin as the bathroom main space has no door to block light if you get up during the night to use the bathroom. 

On the opposite wall, there was two large rounded knobs for hanging items. Pictured here is my crossbody purse that I used to carry my phone around the ship. Also handy to hang up your coat or hat for quick grabbing on your way out the door to an excursion. There is an extendable clothesline in the shower stall but it's only as long as the cubicle space and stays damp inside the area if you have the door closed. I tried hanging up my swimsuits to dry on the shower clothesline and they were still damp the next morning. Moved them to hang on these hooks and it worked much better. There is also a full length mirror next to the hooks in addition to a mirror above the bathroom sink and a small one above the desk. 

On a side note - by nature of proximity, any cruise cabin can hear noise from the next door cabin. And always do your research when choosing a cabin as cabins above venues like the theater will have noise late into the evening. However, I had the most noise from other cabins as I think I've ever had on a cruise. Door slams, conversations, cabin TVs - I'm pretty sure my neighbor needed to lay off the spicy food because I heard every bathroom flush. Dad would occasionally hear his neighbor on the other side blasting music in their cabin. I was a little surprised to see someone bring a portable speaker out to the pool deck to play their own music but I have a feeling I know what cabin they had. 

Moving on to standing in front of the bathroom door. In a standard Sea Terrace cabin, the toilet would be where those towels are on the opposite wall. That is not a buck toothed beaver photo on the opposite bathroom wall but instead two more rounded knobs for hanging above the towel rack. The door closest to the towels is the toilet space and opens out toward the towels. The other door is the shower stall and opens out toward the bathroom opening. Both require a step up over the threshold to enter but the bathroom floor itself does not. It is a narrow space in the main bathroom area so you can't easily have the doors open and someone standing at the sink. I found a few times that the toilet door would easily swing open and goose me while standing at the sink but was so tightly hinged that it would slam shut on me as soon as I stepped inside to use the toilet. 

Very little in the way of storage inside the bathroom. A shelf on each side just below the mirror that also held glasses. Part of the shelves were slotted like a soap dish. We had two larger towels on the rack plus two washcloths wrapped around two hand towels left on the counter. A small towel was left on the bottom shelf for spreading out and stepping on when you finished in the shower. I'm not one for doing a lot of primping so the mirror and lighting was plenty for my getting ready needs. I routinely put away my toiletries and in this case stow away the bag so I had plenty of space for my limited storage needs. Ladies who have tons of makeup and skin products etc might find it to be more crowded. The one random thing I found annoying is that the shelf by the faucet is designed to be a mirror image of the shelf on the other side. Fine for aesthetics but every time I lifted the lever to turn on the faucet, I bumped into that glass hanging down. Something tells me the quality checkers for cabin design never tested out using that faucet while a glass was in the slot. 

I found it interesting that while our cabin steward never introduced herself to me, she did so to my Dad since she had to find him his suitcase that evening. (We randomly passed by mine left by itself down by the midship hallway so I delivered it to my own cabin on embarkation day.) Having to occasionally pop into Dad's cabin, I noticed that he had slightly better things like larger brand name bar soap and better water carafes. There were other discrepancies like not having my trash emptied and some evenings where it was clear she hadn't been in at all.

Inside the shower stall there was the clothesline starting on the right wall. A rainshower head and a shower wand were available to use. The top knob on the back wall controlled which showerhead the water came out of with picture representations. To turn the water off totally, you return the knob to its center position. The bottom knob controlled the temperature. There is a grab bar on the side for safety but nothing on the floor for traction. I liked how the dispensers were set up as part of a hanging holder with pump tubes containing body wash, "hair wash" and conditioner. I used the body wash and hair wash and it was good enough to get the job done. The top part of the holder allowed me to keep the bar of soap and my face wash at arm's reach while I showered. It was nice not having to bend down and grab what I needed. The holder even had little hooks underneath to hang up my loofah. Usually I have to hang that from the water on/off knob so that was a nice touch. I admit I'm the kind of person who ends up taking semi long showers but with the rainshower head and the fact that you don't have much space to not be always under the water flow, I became one of those people who can be in and out of a shower in 5 minutes flat. I never felt claustrophobic or like I was constantly bumping against the door or walls. I deem this shower to be very fluffy friendly!

Inside the toilet stall - like the tissues, the toilet paper was environmentally friendly. It reminded me of bamboo with its light brown coloring and rougher texture. I know a cruise ship bathroom is never going to offer Ultra Soft Charmin but let's not take away what little ply a girl can get. Not sure why there needed to be two mounted toilet paper rolls. Unopened rolls were on the bottom shelf two steps away in case you ran low. That shelf was handy for having a place to mount the holders and to hold the sanitary napkin disposal bag supply but it was not handy for my knee and elbow. Seemed like a useless addition to me when a simple mounted holder above the toilet paper holder to house the bags would have sufficed. 

Looking back toward the main part of the cabin with my back to the door.

The other side of the bathroom sink's wall is the "closet" space. These cabins are so narrow like long train boxcars. I can only imagine how much squeezing past each other you'd have to do if you weren't a solo cruiser. There was a lot of give to each wall. I could feel the wall push in to the point that it reacted like a compressed water bottle popping back out. Made me feel like I was contributing to the noise between neighboring cabins because I couldn't help but bump or lean into the wall as I moved around the cabin. 

Immediately to your left after passing into the main part of the cabin is your desk area. Virgin Voyages has a wooden tray like this in every room with two drinking glasses and two carafes of water that get refilled as needed. There is no ice bucket like other cruises. If you want cold water to drink, Dad had the idea of putting one of the carafes inside your cabin's fridge. I tried that a few days into the cruise and the steward brought me a third carafe so there was still always two on the tray. I'm not sure if she ever looked in the fridge to find the other one or just assumed it grew legs and walked out on its own. Note the little seafaring trinket left in the middle of the tray. That's a price tag and you will be charged if you take it home.

In my cabin, the water carafe toppers barely fit inside the bottles. Dad's lids fit so much more snugly because they were long enough to reach the water level inside. Halfway through the cruise, I started noticing how the bottles would no longer pour without spilling down the side. I took to carrying both glass and bottle into the bathroom so I could pour over the sink. 

One funny moment happened when I decided to leave the water carafe I'd had in the fridge out on the tray with the other two since it was almost empty. I had spent some time getting ready in the cabin and had sat down on the cushioned stand opposite the desk to wait the few extra minutes checking my phone before we met back up for dinner. All of a sudden I hear this loud noise and I glance around the cabin trying to figure out what happened. In the time it took me to turn my head back to the desk, I saw the top from the cold water carafe falling back down onto the tray. The act of taking it from a cold space to putting it on the tray in room temperature made the bottle expand just enough to literally flip its lid! 

The fridge could easily fit two of the water carafes (why Virgin doesn't automatically have one in the fridge I don't know) or some bottles if you decide to bring back your beer etc. It however, is not big enough to house one of the pre-made boxed sandwich containers laying flat. I fit it laying sideways inside the door of the fridge. If I had taken the sandwich itself out of the container, than it probably would have fit flat on the bottom.

There is a small stool for sitting at the desk if you need to do some work. The small black trash can has two inserts fit like Trivial Pursuit wedges that show a trash can symbol on one and the recycling symbol on the other. I liked the fact that we could have a hand in recycling and took care to check for the right side when I used up the small toiletry bottles. I learned to double check because the steward would occasionally flip the can the other way when putting it back or a couple times not even bother to empty it.

There was a desk lamp but also lights behind this circular mirror. There are several switches around the room but I never did seem to make sense of what they all controlled. The first night it got so dark when I needed to get up in the middle of the night that I nearly fell over the furniture. I played around with the zoned lighting controls on the tablet and got it to where only the smallest glimmer of light from a far ceiling bulb acted as a nightlight. Could I ever recreate that perfect setting? Nope! Spent many a night after toggling options on the tablet wondering why the room still looked so bright with only this mirror (glowing blue instead of yellow/green) and the lights along the trim above the bed on. There was an option that just said "desk lighting" but half the time it turned off the desk lamp and half the time it didn't. I remember reading on our sailing's Facebook roll call complaining that his neighbor was using the balcony light as a nightlight. I couldn't even tell where a balcony light was on mine. I can only imagine what all my light switch testing and tablet pressing looked like from the outside. Surprised no one came to help thinking I was sending out morse code!

And for all the gadget lovers and those who work on a cruise - here's the outlet options at the desk. The one thing plugged in is the charging cable for the room tablet. Keep in mind, if you need more than one USB port at the desk, you will need to unplug the tablet momentarily. The tablet held a pretty decent charge off its base. I would bring it to sit next to the bed so I could control the TV and the lights during the night and put it back on the charger before I left for breakfast. 

If you'd rather use a regular remote for the TV, you can find it sitting on top of the fridge cabinet tucked under where the desktop overlaps. Otherwise, these room tablets are supposed to control everything in your cabin that is electrical. The top left corner of the screen has a TV on/off button. Next to that says Lights and the two all or nothing options. The bottom choices allow you to toggle between TV watching with free on demand shows and movies as well as a few live TV channels (hope you like BBC) and access your stateroom controls. The two "Virgin Voyages" labeled live TV channel options were the daily schedule listings and the bridge cam footage. I missed having a channel option devoted to showing our sailing progress on a map.

The stateroom controls section had two circular graphics that you could slide back and forth for how much ceiling lighting and how much TV volume level. There was also lighting zone options that referred to turning on and off desk lighting or ambient lighting. There was options for requesting things like cabin service and extra towels etc. One of the perhaps most unique things you can do with the tablet is choose a pre-programmed mood for your cabin. The categories fit with the young clientele such as Photo Shoot, Hangover, and Let's Get It On. Choosing one of these options would alter things like the color of the lights, the amount/intensity of lighting, and whether your balcony curtains opened or closed. 

Each cabin had a phone with instructions printed on it for how to call other cabins. There was also pre-set buttons for calling Sailor Services etc.

This "The Red Book" I either totally glazed over seeing sitting under the phone or it wasn't there at the beginning of the cruise. This little book is in every cabin and gives you a good rundown of how to use the app and what each zone in your room controls. Did I sit down and study it like I was back in school so I could finally learn how to set the lights at night? Nope, that would have been too intelligent of an idea. 

If you turn your back to the bed, you now face the closet area. As you can see, the top cubby fits your assigned lifejackets. Next cubby is the provided pool towels. Next down is your safe which is touchpad code controlled. Word of advice - Dad held onto all of our important documents etc in his safe so I had nothing to put in my safe. As a result, I didn't even consider setting a code to lock it and keep it closed. The steward would pull the curtain closed about 85% of the time after cleaning my cabin. I completely forgot about the safe being open since I couldn't see it behind the curtain and got a nice jab in the arm when I walked by and the ship's rocking made the safe door swing open. Look for my harrowing story on the next episode of "When Cruise Ship Safes Attack! Are You Ever Really Safe From Harm?"

Continuing down the right side of this closet is another open shelf where the hairdryer in a bag sits. I don't use hairdryers so I can't comment on how strong it is. Nice to see that it's not attached to the wall or the desk drawer. Underneath is four shelves. The top two are very shallow - I had to split up my underthings between the two. The bottom two were big enough to hold my few pairs of pants and the dirty t-shirts so I could keep my worn ones separate. The small cubby under the drawers is where I stowed my bathing suits until I wore them. There was only a handful of hangers but I'm sure a request to the steward would have brought more. They are normal hangers that you can easily remove from the closet to hang your clothes. That black thing hanging that looks like a jacket is actually the laundry bag. We status matched with our Elite loyalty level from Princess pre-cruise and got into Virgin's Deep Blue Extras where one of the perks was a bag of laundry included per cabin. Dad chose to send out a bag of laundry mid-cruise and got it back the next day. Everything came back clean and the same size as he sent it out.

There are removable baskets along the top shelf to serve as extra drawers and storage. I didn't use them because knowing me I'd end up forgetting to repack something. Out of sight/out of mind. You can stow your suitcases under the bed (assuming you leave it set up as a bed) but it was easier for me to wheel my suitcase to stand up inside the closet. Plus it took me a day or so to bother unpacking. I chose to use the rest of the closet floor space to hold the laundry bag I took from the hotel which housed my other laundry. I left my three pairs of shoes sitting against the wall by the cushioned stand so they would be nearby when I sat there to put them on. 

Here is what the cushioned stand looked like closed (above) and opened (below). It has a metal bar on the left side that seems to hook up somehow with the metal bar on the end of the couch base. Somehow another mattress lays on the couch side to line up with this cushioned stand to create the third person's bed. This cushioned stand slammed down with the littlest of effort while I was closing it again so watch your fingers if you have one of these in your cabin. 

Here is a better view of the couch base. There are also light switches and plugs on this side so you can access them while sitting on the couch or being the third person in bed. Those three silver lights can be controlled by pulling the chain under each one. In this picture, you can see the track lighting underneath the wood trim above the bed. Celebrity Cruises has similar wood trim boxes above the bed but theirs opens up for storage. This is just for decoration. When the bed is unmade, it doesn't take much to see where the two twin mattresses meet to make a standard king sized bed in cruise cabins. However, this was one of the few full sized put together beds I've been able to sleep in that didn't feel like two separate mattresses. The whole couch to bed configuration had me expecting a futon style mattress sleeping experience but it truly felt like a regular bed. 

That wooden bedside table was light and easily moveable around the room. I could see it coming in handy if you were sitting on the couch but it would be in the way if a second person slept in that bed. I kept it there for the most part and used it to hold my water glass and the tablet each night. Dad chose to move his over by the closet out of the way. 

When you've spent many a night on a sofa bed, you learn the art of getting in and out around the rigid arms of the couch. I mostly slept facing the balcony or on my side spilling over onto the center of the bed. Never came close to bumping that side table. I would spread out the two small pillows to be side to side instead of stacked in front of each other. That rectangular pillow in front caught my OCD tendencies a couple times because I kept thinking it was a red pillowcase that had slid off from the rest of the pillow. In reality, it's an extra layer of red fabric stitched into the pillow 2/3rds of the way across. 

This is how narrow the space is to move between the foot of the bed and the wall where the TV is mounted. Even with doing the sideways shimmy shake I couldn't help banging my Italian booty into the wall a few times.

This removable wooden tray was probably meant for several uses but I always slid it up against the headboard. Then it became the perfect place to charge my phone at night and hold it still but within reach on the tray. I like to be able to check the time when I wake up during the night so often keep my phone by my bed when traveling. Also with the tray pushed up, there was just enough room left on the arm of the couch to hold my personal tablet when I was done playing games etc to wind down before bed. 

And on to my favorite part of any balcony and above cruise cabin! Has anyone ever watched Mighty Cruise Ships where they cover a specific sailing on a cruise ship showcasing everything from certain passenger stories to behind the scenes crew activity? The narrator on that show always refers to a balcony as not only a terrace but pronounces it with the accent on the last syllable. So instead of "terris" it sounds like "ter ass." Now I can't see the word terrace like on this sign without hearing "ter ass" in my head. I think these switches were partly to control the balcony curtains but I couldn't quite figure it out. I probably undid something along the way pressing the buttons over and over. 

I had just read a statement from Carnival Cruise Line Ambassador John Heald insisting that keeping your balcony door open to hear the waves or enjoy the ocean breeze will not affect the air conditioning. Guess Virgin Voyages didn't get the memo? I do like the fact that they felt the need to add "opened AND unlocked" to this sign on the balcony door. If you can manage to have your balcony door opened AND locked, I'm sure Virgin Voyages would likely hire you as their next illusionist magician. 

The balcony curtain setup had this layer directly in front of the balcony door that was thicker serving as a blackout curtain. It was on a motorized track as part of the tablet settings so the littlest tug at the top would get it opening on its own. One of the features of the cabin is that it will automatically turn the lights on when you open the main door to enter the cabin. Not sure if that's a setting but I can see how your cabin mate who went to bed early might be peeved by that. I also noticed maybe about 3 out of 5 times, the thicker curtains would move apart as well. I often would open them anyway since I liked to see the ocean when I wake up in the morning. 

You also had the option of using just these more sheer curtains to block a little light or give privacy. I found myself having to play a few rounds of curtain ninja trying to get back out from the sheer curtain after moving apart the thick curtain.

Seeing as this is an adults only cruise line, I won't make my usual comments about children and balcony safety. However, there is still a little locking latch in the middle of the two glass panes. Just in case you're traveling with someone who sleepwalks or someone who tells you that you didn't need dessert.

There are a few balcony/Sea Terrace cabins on Valiant Lady (and probably also Scarlet Lady) on several decks that don't have the famous red hammock. They also have metal railings instead of the see through glass. Taken from Cruise Critic - the list of cabins without hammocks are as follows: 

Deck 9 - 9366 A & Z, 9370 A & Z, 9374 A &Z. 

Deck 10 - 10354 A &Z, 10358 A & Z, 10362 A & Z, 10366 A & Z, 10370 A & Z. 

Deck 11 - 11286 Z, 11346 A & Z, 11350 A & Z, 11354 A & Z, 11358 A & Z, 11362 A & Z, 11366 A & Z, 11368 A & Z. 

Deck 12 - 12338 A & Z, 12342 A & Z, 12346 A & Z, 12350 A & Z, 12354 A & Z.

The balcony is fairly spacious and the width and depth seemed to be uniform across all of the Sea Terrace cabins in my area. There is plenty of room to step out without having to move furniture to the side, especially since this is a sliding door versus opening out like some older ships. I researched online pre-cruise to confirm that I was below the hammock's weight limit. However, among the many things I learned on this cruise experience, I also confirmed that I am not coordinated enough to get into a hammock. My multiple tries and tests of whether it would support all this gorgeous fluffiness was hindered by the visions of me flipping right back out and cracking open my head with no one around to help. Don't think that's the kind of Scarlet Night decor Virgin Voyages was expecting.

Dad tried out his hammock and said while it was tough to get in and out of, (he's even less coordinated) it was comfortable to relax in. You will most likely momentarily lose the use of the chair on that side unless you want the hammock person's outstretched legs in your lap. Or of course if you want to be practical about it, move the chair to sit next to the other one. None of the balcony furniture was heavy or too bulky to move around as you desired. Just don't use it to get up on the balcony rail no matter how many rounds of free drinks the Happenings Cast bestows upon you!

As someone who has experienced a variety of balcony furniture, I commend Virgin Voyages on being the first I've seen to offer chairs without arms! While they are metal with no cushions, they were still comfortable. I found myself coming out to the balcony routinely to enjoy the fresh air and watch the water. 

Did I miss not having a lounger to stretch out on? One of the extra perks of not having to share a cabin is that no one complains when you line up all three pieces of balcony furniture to make your own lounger!

The view from my self made lounger wasn't too shabby either!

Our balconies had a nice view of the glass panel portion of the bridge wing. This panel is used by the bridge crew so they can see where the side of the ship is in relation to the pier while docking. I stepped out on a port day to watch the sail in and spotted one of the bridge officers standing on the panel. Thanks for the game of footsie!

Thank you for tuning in to my XL Sea Terrace on Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady cabin tour walkthrough! More to come including plenty of food porn photos. 

Sunset At Sea - you in the next post!