My childhood best friend and I always said we would celebrate our 30th birthdays in style. So, to ring in this milestone year, we decided to go big and book a five-day Mayan Sol cruise with Virgin Voyages.
Because this was a big celebration and we hadn’t seen each other for a while, I decided to purchase Virgin Voyages’ “A Splash for Your Bash” party-planning package as an add-on to our cruise.
The package costs $250 per cabin and includes a bottomless brunch, a dinner party with curated drinks and desserts, and a bottle of Moët & Chandon. It’s valued at $375, so I thought it seemed like a great deal.
Here’s what I thought of the package.
The bottomless brunch felt a bit underwhelming
We opted to have our bottomless brunch at Razzle Dazzle — a vegetarian-forward restaurant also accessible to Virgin Voyages passengers who didn’t purchase the package.
However, as package holders, we got to take advantage of bottomless drinks, including cocktails and rosé, during our meal.
For food, my friend ordered avocado toast and mushroom “tartare,” and I opted for a fried-chicken sandwich.
The service and restaurant were fun and vibrant, and the drinks were tasty. However, neither of us enjoyed our meals, as we felt our dishes were bland and overcooked.
Plus, according to the menu, the bottomless drinks would have cost passengers without the package only $25 per person — so, at the end of the day, this perk didn’t feel like it was that great of a value.
However, the dinner party at The Wake felt extra special
For the dinner-party portion of our package, we chose to eat at The Wake, Virgin Voyages’ take on a steakhouse-meets-fine-dining restaurant. Although all passengers were able to dine here, our package gave us access to specialty beverages and desserts, as well as an upgraded menu.
When we walked in, I was wowed by the beautiful interior design. Our table was decked out with birthday decorations, and a staff member even gave us a Polaroid camera to use as we ate. We were also served sparkling wine upon arrival.
As part of the experience, we had access to premium menu items that passengers without the package could purchase for an additional cost. Although we didn’t take advantage of these items, I very much enjoyed my filet mignon, which was cooked to a perfect medium-well temperature. For the wine pairing, I opted for a glass of red, which our server refilled during the meal.
My vegetarian friend wasn’t interested in any of the entrée options, but she was perfectly happy ordering all sides, including asparagus, creamed spinach, fries, and a twice-baked potato served with caramelized onions. She also ordered a mix of white and red wines to pair with her food.
I was curious to see what the curated desserts promised in this package would be like, but after we finished our meal, the wait staff cleared our table without asking if we wanted anything else.
Though we didn’t take advantage of many of the package perks during dinner, we thought the food we did get was delicious. In fact, our dinner at The Wake was our favorite meal of the trip.
I wish we’d received our bottle of Moët & Chandon sooner
As part of the “A Splash for Your Bash” package, we were excited to receive a bottle of Moët & Chandon — which costs about $45 at most liquor stores — in our cabin. This is considered an upgrade from the complimentary bottle of bubbly passengers without the package receive in their cabin.
However, even after following up with the sailor-services crew, we didn’t receive the beverage until the last evening of our five-day trip. The bottle was also delivered without an ice bucket or glasses, and I wished it had been chilled before we got it.
Though this may have been a one-off issue specific to our cruise, we still felt disappointed.
Overall, the ‘A Splash for Your Bash’ package wasn’t that great of a value for us
Overall, we didn’t feel the “A Splash for Your Bash” package was a great value for us.
Without the $250 package, we could’ve paid just a little extra money to get bottomless brunch at Razzle Dazzle or choose from The Wake’s wine-pairing menu.
We also didn’t end up using every perk we could have, like ordering from the premium menu at The Wake. The Moët & Chandon was a nice perk, though we wish it had been chilled and delivered to our cabin sooner.
Unless you decide to take advantage of all the perks included in “A Splash for Your Bash,” I don’t think it’s worth the money.
The post We paid $250 for Virgin Voyages’ ‘A Splash for Your Bash’ package. It had cool perks, but it wasn’t a good value for us. appeared first on Business Insider.
