Lightning Lane Changes Explained

Virgin Voyages Specialty Restaurants Are Truly Something Special

Virgin Voyages takes the concept of cruise ship “signature dining” and turns it on its head by making all specialty restaurants included in your cruise fare — no additional fees or gratuities required!

Food is arguably one of the most important aspects of any vacation. It’s hard to have a great cruise if you don’t enjoy your dining experiences. Virgin Voyages took this to heart when designing their offerings. There are no buffets and no large dining halls with assigned seating and times. Michelin-starred chefs worked to create the menus, so the food is definitely on the upscale side. However, classic American fare is easily found as well. And when you need a midnight snack, you can visit the 24/7 diner or The Pizza Place, which keeps late-night hours. (I’ll discuss those options in a separate post.)

Virgin Voyages offers the following dining venues across their entire fleet. First, let’s talk about the six restaurants that accept reservations. I highly recommend booking these as early as possible for best availability!

Extra Virgin — Irresistibly Italian

Extra Virgin is a must-do for fans of antipasti, freshly made pasta, and tableside Affogato. What’s not to love?!?

View a sample portion of the menu.

Gunbae – Lively Korean BBQ

Gunbae is a great first-night dining choice if you’d like to get to know a few of your fellow cruisers right away. This restaurant offers communal seating, with circular tables ranging from 6-8 guests. The evening begins with a fun (and loud!) Korean drinking game that includes a complimentary shot of soju. If you aren’t familiar with Korean food, bring your sense of adventure. You’ll most likely find something you’ll enjoy, but picky eaters may be best served elsewhere. Food allergies can be accommodated despite the shared cooking surface. Your server will make the allergy-safe menu items first and then prepare the other items.

View a sample portion of the menu here.

Pink Agave — Upscale Mexican

This restaurant is a far cry from your average Tex-Mex chain. With small, medium, and large plates to choose from — along with a huge selection of tequila and mezcal — there’s something for everyone to enjoy. I highly recommend all of the small plates as well as the ribeye steak. Beware: you may decide to share a small plate with your table companions, but the portion sizes are not conducive to that. Make sure everyone orders their own!

View a sample portion of the menu here.

Razzle Dazzle — New American Cuisine

Razzle Dazzle is one of two restaurants that offer reservations for both brunch and dinner. If you only have enough time for one visit during your sailing, I’d recommend brunch, especially if you’d like to try the bottomless Yasss Queen champagne cocktail! Here are some of my favorite brunch selections.

View a sample portion of the brunch menu here.

Moving on to dinner, the selections are vegetarian and vegan-forward, but carnivores still have plenty to choose from. Don’t miss out on the creative cocktails!

View a sample portion of the dinner menu here.

The Test Kitchen — Cooking Lab and Restaurant

This restaurant probably deserves its own blog post, but I’ll try to keep things brief. The Test Kitchen concept is inspired by Escoffier’s Ma Cuisine and features unique interpretations of one specific ingredient per course. In fact, that one ingredient is the only thing you will see listed on the menu. Each sailing offers each of the two main menus at least once per voyage.

Here is the “A” menu, often referred to as the “mushroom menu.” There are also allergy-friendly and vegetarian-friendly menu items, so don’t worry if you can’t have one of the courses. The alternatives are also quite photogenic and tasty!

Here is the “B” menu, often referred to as the “corn menu.” Again, don’t hesitate to let your server know if you have any food restrictions so they can bring you an alternate selection.

The Wake — Steak and Seafood

Finally, The Wake is the other restaurant that offers both brunch and dinner menus. Virgin Voyages marketing department describes this as a modern twist on the classic chophouses of the mid-20th century. I enjoy both brunch and dinner equally, so I highly recommend making the time to try both meals during your voyage.

Dinner entrées are just as impressive as brunch. Here is a sampling.

View a sample portion of the dinner menu here.

A Step Above the Rest

Having sailed with several other cruise lines, I found Virgin Voyages to be head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to full-service dining. The meals that are included in the cruise fare are comparable to specialty-dining restaurants on other lines. These carry a surcharge of $25–$175 per person, making Virgin Voyages a great value for the money in comparison.

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