- I bought Virgin Voyages’ $250 A Splash for Your Bash package to celebrate my 30th birthday.
- Our drinks at the bottomless breakfast were good, but we could get them for only $25 per person.
- We didn’t take advantage of many of the benefits of the package, so this add-on wasn’t a great value for us.
My childhood best friend and I always said we would celebrate our 30th birthday in style. So, to mark this milestone year, we decided to go big and book a five-day Mayan Sol cruise with Virgin Voyages.
Because this was a big party and we hadn’t seen each other in 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 an all-you-can-eat brunch, a curated beverage and dessert dinner, and a bottle of Moët & Chandon. It’s valued at $375, so I thought it sounded like a great deal.
Here’s what I thought of the package.
The endless branch felt a little helpless
We enjoyed our drinks, but didn’t think the bottomless brunch was a great value. Emma Kershaw
We chose to enjoy our bottomless breakfast at Razzle Dazzle – a vegetarian restaurant accessible even to Virgin Voyages passengers who did not purchase the package.
However, as package holders, we got to take advantage of endless drinks, including cocktails and rosé, during our meal.
For food, my friend ordered avocado bread and mushroom tartare and I opted for a fried chicken sandwich.
The service and restaurant were fun and lively, and the drinks were delicious. However, neither of us enjoyed our meals as we felt our dishes were bland and overcooked.
Plus, according to the menu, bottomless drinks would have cost passengers without the package just $25 per person — so, at the end of the day, that perk didn’t seem like that much.
However, dinner at The Wake felt extra special
Although we didn’t order from the premium section of the menu, we still loved our food at The Wake. Emma Kershaw
For the dinner portion of our package, we chose to eat at The Wake, a steakhouse-meets-fine dining restaurant provided by Virgin Voyages. Although all passengers were able to dine here, our package gave us access to specialty drinks and desserts, as well as an enhanced menu.
When we walked in, I was blown away by the beautiful interior design. Our table was decked out in birthday decorations and a staff member even gave us a Polaroid camera to use while we ate. We were also served sparkling wine upon arrival.
As part of the experience, we had access to premium menu items that passengers didn’t the package can be purchased for an additional cost. Although we didn’t take advantage of these items, I really enjoyed the filet mignon, which was cooked to a perfect medium temperature. For the wine pairing, I chose a glass of red, which our server refilled during the meal.
My vegetarian friend wasn’t interested in any of the food options, but she was perfectly happy ordering all the 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 how the curated desserts promised in this package would be, but after we finished our meal, the wait staff left our table without asking if we wanted anything else.
Although we didn’t take advantage of many of the perks of the dinner packages, 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 had received our bottle of Moët & Chandon sooner
As part of the “A Splash for Your Bash” package, we were thrilled to receive a bottle of Moët & Chandon — which costs about $45 at most liquor stores — in our booth. This is considered an upgrade from passengers’ free bottle of bubbly without taking the package into their cabin.
However, even after following up with the seaman service crew, we didn’t get the drink until the last evening of our five-day voyage. The bottle was also delivered without an ice bucket or glasses, and I wish it had been chilled before we received it.
Although 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 important to us
We had a great time on our cruise but didn’t get much use out of the A Splash for Your Bash package. Emma Kershaw
Overall, we didn’t think the A Splash for Your Bash package was a great value for us.
Without the $250 package, we might have paid just a little extra 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 benefits included in A Splash for Your Bash, I don’t think it’s worth the money.