4 Reasons To Sail During Virgin Voyages’ Inaugural Eat & Drink Month

As the end of the year is near, it might be time to think about what to do with those unused vacation days—especially if your company has one of those use-it-or-lose-it policies. Maybe a cruise is on the horizon? For the entire month of November, Virgin Voyages will be amping up its food and beverage offerings with its inaugural Eat & Drink Month.

If you’re not familiar with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages, they take a totally different approach to cruising. There’s no buffets or set dinner times, instead guests (or Sailors as they call them) have access to six signature restaurants, several smaller eateries, and quite a few bars. Currently, their ships can be found departing from Miami and Barcelona—with Athens, San Juan, and Melbourne on the way.

With the addition of Eat & Drink month there are even more on-board activations focused around elevated dining and drinking experiences.

“When Sailors step aboard one of our ships, they’re immediately drawn into a sensory experience centered around making sure we’re offering everyone who joins us the vacation of a lifetime. Our food and drink menus were put together by award-winning chefs and mixologists who have taken their land-based gastronomy experience to our restaurants and cocktail bars on-board,” says President and Chief Experience Officer, Nirmal Saverimuttu. “Eat & Drink Month is a way for us to turn up the heat and celebrate Sailors’ favorite part of coming aboard with a recurring event our guests can look forward to for years to come.”

Here are four reasons Virgin Voyages is making its inaugural Eat & Drink Month one worth sailing.

Everyone automatically gets a $300 bar tab credit

During the month of November, each guest on every sail will be automatically granted a $300 bar tab credit. Cocktails by the pool, bubbles before dinner, nightcaps—whatever you fancy. On Virgin Voyages, that can get you pretty far with their drink pricing as beers tend to cost around $5, cocktails $9, and glasses of wine around $10-12 (42% of the ship’s wine by the glass is less than $10)—and these prices include tip.

Feast on Michelin star-worthy dinners and demos

Some incredible chefs have taken part in creating the dining experiences on board and during Eat & Drink month, a few of them will be on board taking their menus to another level. With Creative Collective activations, Sailors will have the chance to take part in cooking demos and special dinners.

• Creative Collective: Matt Lambert – From New York City’s Michelin-starred restaurant, The Musket Room, Matt Lambert created the original menu for The Test Kitchen and will be on board with an appearance and cooking demo. Meet Matt Lambert on the November 13th sailing on Valiant Lady.
• Creative Collective: Brad Farmerie – Known for the Big Apple’s Michelin-starred PUBLIC and Saxon+Parole, Farmerie created the limited-time Flavors Uncorked experience at The Wake. He also inspired Eat & Drink Month’s three-course Mediterranean menu offered at the nautical chic Dock eatery and indoor Dock House. Three-course menu at The Dock & Dock House included in the voyage fare.
• Creative Collective Silvana Salcido Esparza – Featured in Esquire Magazine and on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” Silvana Salcido Esparza created the menu at Pink Agave and will be back to offer an amuse bouche and an interactive guacamole demo for Sailors. Silvana is setting sail on Scarlet Lady November 16 and on Valiant Lady November 19.
• Creative Collective: Sohui Kim – Known for NYC’s The Good Fork, Insa and Gage & Tollner, Sohui Kim brings a taste of Korean tradition to the ships with her dynamic dumplings dish. Learn to make this delicious comfort meal at Gunbae, the only Korean BBQ at sea. Demo class with Sohui offered on the November 25 voyage on Scarlet Lady.

Experience cocktails by world renowned bartender, Charles Joly

Rumor has it Charles Joly will be on board Virgin Voyages this November. A James Beard-awarded bartender who has taken home global bartending championships, Joly has been the creator of the cocktails served at the Emmys and the Oscars for the last five years. Catch him making appearances during the ship’s Shot for Shot and Beyond Tequila programming. As the designer of the menus at on board bars, Sip, Champagne bar, and On the Rocks, you may find him behind the bar there too.

Ship guests are all +21

So this is a perk even when it’s not Eat & Drink Month, but for adults looking for a vacation that doesn’t involve children—this is a big win. While most cruises do make sure to have a few adult-only areas, all ships in the Virgin Voyages fleet are meant for only passengers who are of age, making it quite a bit different from any other cruise you may have experienced.