Asian Night Market: What does it Look Like on a Virgin Voyages Cruise Ship? (Including Pictures)
One of the things that I love about Virgin Voyages is their food offering. I’ve taken many cruises with this relative newcomer to the cruise market, and I’ve been repeatedly impressed with what they offer from a food perspective.
That said, one criticism that I’ve always had of Virgin Voyages is that I feel that their food offering can be pretty repetitive - in all the time that I’ve been cruising with them, their menus have changed very little. While I think this is OK as the cruise line gets ‘up and running’, I do feel it’s important that Virgin ensures that their more loyal cruisers don’t get bored of what they’re seeing in the restaurants, by offering them something new.
I took a cruise onboard Resilient Lady, and was delighted to find out that I was sailing during Virgin’s biggest (yet) ‘Eat & Drink Festival’, which would mean there would be a whole host of events taking place onboard during my cruise. In this post today, I’m going to tell you more about this ‘festival’, when it’s held, and dive into the ‘Asian Night Market at Sea’ in more detail.
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So, before we go into detail on the Asian Night Market from Virgin Voyages, I need to first of all explain what the wider ‘Eat & Drink Festival’ is. This is a fleet-wide event that Virgin Voyages have launched, and it saw its’ biggest event (yet!) in 2024. You can expect to find lots of the dining and drinking venues onboard offering unique experiences, new menus, and generally some things that have never been seen before on Virgin ships.
If you’re cruising over the Summer season, then there’s a decent chance that you might find yourself on a ship with the festival - in the past, it’s been held in July.
There are some events that will cost you extra, but things like the Night Market at Sea (which I’m going to show you today in this post) are totally included in your cruise fare. That’s right - just by buying your cruise ticket, you unlock access - great result, right?!
What events take place as part of the ‘Eat & Drink Festival’?
In the past, there’s been real variety on offer at this festival. Below, here’s a list of most of what was available during my time onboard:
Asian Night Market at Sea - more info to follow…
The Test Kitchen - a brand new menu
Seven Sea Sippers - a bar crawl that you do in your own time, which you go on using a treasure map delivered to your cabin
Shhh… A pop-up Speakeasy
Amuse Bouche in numerous dining venues - start your meal in the ‘perfect way’…
Spirited Dinner at the Wake - a special four-course meal paired with a selection of drinks. The venue is the Wake - the stunning aft-facing restaurant.
Let’s Get Choco-Lit - learn how to make some of your favourite chocolates!
Meat & Cheese, if you Please - Want to learn how to make the perfect, and also instagrammable charcuterie board? If so, this event’s for you!
Acai What You Did There - Want to create the perfect Acai bowl? You’ll enjoy this event!
Afternoon Tea (Cocktail Extravaganza) at Sip - Afternoon Tea, but with a twist…
Master the Art of Wine (Red, White & Rose - separate events)
Shot for Shot - this one mixes photography and mixology - you get the picture…
Some of the above events do come with an extra charge, while others are included in your fare. Anyway, let’s now move on to talk about the Asian Night Market at Sea, which is just one part of the wider ‘Eat & Drink Festival’ from Virgin Voyages.
What is the Asian Night Market at Sea?
In short, this event is where the Galley (Virgin Voyages’ answer to the traditional cruise ship buffet) is transformed into something that feels more like street food market. All of the food you’re used to at the Galley will go for one or two nights only during your cruise - don’t worry, you’ll still get your favourite burger or dessert the rest of the time…
In the below photo, you can see the usual map of the Galley has been replaced. On the new map, you can see the temporary named venues. If you think of each of these venues as a ‘food truck’, you’ll totally understand the concept. Also, don’t worry that it looks temporary - that’s the whole point!
The Asian Night Market at Sea map…
This is the Galley, but like you’ve never seen it before. Each of the venues above speak for themselves, but keep reading as I’ll share the menus for each with you further down this post to help you picture what you can expect from each one! Here’s some pictures of some of the counters all branded in their own unique style - which would you go to first?!
Eastern Express Eats (this is where ‘Diner & Dash’ usually is): fried rice, spring rolls and other street food favourites.
Grill Garden (this is where ‘Burger Bar’ usually is): Tasty meat and vegetable skewers.
Dumpling Around & Sweet East Treats (this is where ‘Well Bread’ and ‘Sweet Treats’ usually are): Dumplings and Bao Buns with a variety of savoury ingredients, and a selection of sweet treats & desserts.
Market Novelties (this is where ‘Daily Mix’ usually is): Bespoke Asian Night Market gear for purchase.
There’s even a counter for board games. If you’re anything like me, and enjoy a good board game after dinner, this could be right up your street. Note: this doesn’t replace the games that are available elsewhere on the ship - just an addition! My thoughts on this - it did feel like they put games here because they ran out of imagination from a food point of view - I’m not sure that these board games worked with the theme of street food, or a night market…
During the other points of your cruise, this is the Sushi & Bento section of the Galley - you won’t always have games available to you up here!
Gamer’s Bay (where ‘Bento Baby’ usually is): where you can choose from an array of board games for some after dinner entertainment.
What is the menu for the Asian Night Market at Sea?
Below, you’ll find the menu available for you to scroll through. Top tip - don’t scroll through if you’re currently hungry - that would just be cruel on yourself…!
So, is it worth going to the Asian Night Market at Sea?
In a word, yes. To give my full thoughts on this question, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that this is trying to go for a bit of a street/food market vibe. Therefore, it’s ok that it’s not as ‘polished’ as elsewhere on the ship. It’s great to see Virgin Voyages trying to do new things from a food point of view, and I’ll always support them when I see things like this.
That said, I feel like more could be done to make more of this - where’s the music, the festoon lighting, and more theming, rather than just putting banners over the existing Galley counters and giving the crew in this area branded aprons? There’s so much more that Virgin could do to make this more of an experience, but maybe that’ll come in time…
For now, Asian Night Market at Sea - good start. Let’s see where Virgin Voyages take this next… How exciting!
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