EAT & Drink > BURGERS
All the Burgers on Virgin Voyages
You might not associate Virgin Voyages with burgers, but maybe we should. Sir Richard Branson said “no” to buffets on his cruise line, and instead instituted The Galley. It’s essentially a food court or cafeteria that serves a variety of dishes throughout the day and night.
And The Burger Bar station has top real estate in The Galley. It’s on the main line, just right of the 24-hour Diner & Dash station where breakfast is served all day long. Burgers are served from 12:00 noon until 5:00 PM before dinner time.
A basic Classic burger is served all day long, with the option to make it a vegan Impossible burger, along with a daily special. Let’s look at all the daily specials served on Scarlet Lady in 2024.
SIDE NOTE: Cruise lines that travel American waters — or who want American customers — formulate their own burger identity. Carnival ships have Guy’s Burger Joint restaurants on board, and Royal Caribbean serves burgers at Johnny Rockets and in Jamie’s Italian eateries.
The Classic
The Classic is Virgin’s basic burger, and it’s served every day. I need to double-check, but I think it’s available 24-7 from Diner & Dash and room service. It’s your basic-quarter pound beef patty with lettuce, tomato, and onion, and a slice of unmelted American sliced cheese. It’s served on a hamburger bun.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
No. Don’t get it. It’s boring, a total snooze-fest. The bread is boring, the patty is boring. It’s been sitting in a warming basket for a little while, so it’s dry and hard to swallow. And that cheese…it’s some kind of bland, single-serve American cheese that you’d find at Walmart. Foodies don’t waste their money or calories on this kind of cheese. No.
On a Scarlet trip, I mentioned to another sailor that the classic burger was boring. An older guy on the elevator retorted that “sometimes boring is good.” Nah…dude you’re wrong. Boring on Virgin is not good. We came for amazing, not boring. This is definitely not worth the calories.
The Impossible Burger
The Impossible is Virgin’s basic burger with the patty replaced with an Impossible burger patty. It’s served every day, and (again I need to double-check) I think it’s available 24-7 from Diner & Dash and room service. It’s your basic-quarter pound non-meat patty cooked well-done with lettuce, tomato, and onion, and a slice of unmelted vegan cheese. It’s served on a hamburger bun.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
I dunno. Personally, I’m not a fan of Impossible or other fake, constructed meats. Gimme tofu or a true, whole veggie patty, or just sub in an egg. (Diner & Dash can fry up an egg all day and night long.)
The Oink Oink Burger
The Oink Oink is pure piggy indulgence. Pork and sage patty, chorizo slices, Manchego cheese, pickled onion, and an herb aioli. There’s also some arugula for color.
INGREDIENT NOTES
Chorizo is a Mexican or Spanish sausage made from pork and pork fat and seasoned with garlic, smoked paprika pepper, and salt. Manchego cheese is a hard cheese made from sheep’s milk.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
The Green Pirate Burger
Meat fans should give this veggie-forward burger a chance. Instead of beef or pork, the patty on The Green Pirate is made with sweet potato, chickpea and quinoa, and it’s served on a moringa brioche bun.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
The Green Pirate is some serious yum. The patty is juicy and veggie, nothing fake or lab-manufactured about it.
About the bun — I’ll admit that I had questions. (Yes, I have trust issues.) I really wondered if Virgin added a little moringa for marketing and then colored the bun with food dyes. So I asked a chef, and he confirmed, this bun is colored fully by moringa. Moringa is also called the Tree of Life. It’s edible from root to seed pod, and it provides nearly every nutrient humans need to live and thrive. I have a few moringa trees in the yard at home, and I process my own moringa powder from leaves. So yeah, I was thrilled to learn that Virgin is using moringa powder.
Fisherman’s Friend
Next up is Fisherman’s Friend. No, this isn’t inspired by the cough drops with the same name. It’s a piece of crispy fried fish, with some seaweed and tartar sauce, on a rustic bun.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
Ask for extra tartar sauce and garnish, and eat the sammy hot and fresh so the breading is still crisp.
Nix the pickle. Actually, you can probably nix the pickle on most of these burgers. The pickles and garnishes and sauces put on the burgers are crafted special each day. This is just a basic mass-produced pickle. Honestly, I make a point not to buy these kinds of pickles at the grocery store and buy better quality ones. Just my opinion.
The Hush Hush Burger
So you’re on a cruise and you’re like, how am I going to get my Chic-fil-a fix this week? Don’t worry, Virgin has you covered with the Hush Hush. It’s a piece of fried chicken with a drizzle of a a slightly spicy sriacha mayo, served on a bun which I think was a regular brioche and not a potato roll like the placard says. The placard also says the relish is rum pineapple. On this sailing, the chef used a raisin chutney. All good.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
This special doesn’t have a burger patty and that’s alright with me. It’s sweet, sour, spicy, crispy, juicy…all the flavors. I’m not a big fan of the raisin chutney, so I ask for no garnish and head over to one of the other counters to jazz up the Hush Hush. Maybe avocado from the salad station, or something Asian from the noodle bar. Or go bare and savor the crispy batter on the chicken.
The Miami Heat Burger
Ooh, baby. The Miami Heat is yum. Rick from the Burger Crew even said it was one of his favorites (if I’m not mistaken). It’s a big scoop of ropa veija on top of a classic patty, served with an orange mojo and some Requesón cheese. Instead of greens this burger has reds – some sliced red cabbage adds crunch and color.
INGREDIENT NOTES
Let’s deconstruct this. Ropa veija is a stewed beef, often made with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic. The name means “Old clothes” in Spanish, which refers to the shredded look of the beef.
Mojo is a traditional Cuban sauce, made from garlic, herbs, oil, and spices. Virgin adds orange for a bright citrusy, tangy flavor.
Requesón cheese is a soft, creamy, wet and crumbly cheese, kind of like a Latin ricotta. It has mild flavor.
Oh, the bun! It’s a a brioche made with red chili for a little extra spice.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
All these Latin flavors make this burger a nod to Miami, Virgin’s home base in the US. And yes, the basketball team here in Miami is the Miami Heat. Great name. Pro tip – skip the burger patty and focus your tastebuds on the slow-cooked beef.
The El Chimi Republicano Burger
The don’t you dare skip the patty if the El Chimi Republicano is served on your cruise. This burger has the most delicious marinated beef patty that fills your mouth with flavors from your best dreams. It’s topped with grilled tomatoes and what they call a chimi sauce, but it looks like the consistency isn’t right and all we see is chopped parsley. Not really a problem, just pointing it out, cause this burger is soooo good.
INGREDIENT NOTES
What’s in a name… El Chimi refers to the chimichurri burger, a popular street food in the Dominican Republic. In the DR, the meat can be beef or pork, and it’s ground up and marinated with garlic, onion, and serrano pepper for heat.
Traditionally, chimichurri sauce is like a pesto. It’s uncooked and made from parsley, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil. The sauce is a staple for barbecued meat.
These street food burgers are served on a thin, pita-like basic bread. So, El Chimi is for the chimichurri sauce, and Republicano likely refers to the Dominican Republic. It’s a clever name that connects the burger to its cultural roots.
Of course, it also draws attention to Virgin’s Dominican Daze itinerary, a 5 night round trip sailing from Miami for Puerto Plata and then the Beach Club at Bimini.
La Catalana
Moving on, the La Catalana burger. This beef burger sits on a black brioche bun with crispy serrano ham, tomato confit, and Manchego cheese. The sauce is called brava. With a name like Catalana, you’d be right to guess that the flavors on this burger are from Spain. And you’d be right to guess that many of Virgin’s European itineraries stop at Barcelona, which is in the Catalonia area.
INGREDIENT NOTES
Spain’s cheeses, like the famous Manchego, often come from sheep’s milk. You see, much of Spain has a rugged landscape with lots of hills and dry areas. While cows might not always thrive in these conditions, sheep and goats are perfectly happy grazing on the tougher terrain.
Serrano is a dry-cured ham from Spain, and it goes beautifully with Manchego cheese, which also comes from Spain. The these is made from the milk of Manchega sheep and has a nutty and slightly tangy flavor. It’s aged, so it’s firm.
I didn’t ask what’s in the quote “Brava” aioli sauce, but brava in Spanish means “fierce” or “brave,” so it probably incorporates spicey spices like paprika, cayenne pepper, or other chilis. Maybe a tomato base? With garlic, olive oil, a sherry vinegar? Its kind of an orangy-yellow…I dunno. Let’s leave it a mystery.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
The bread choice and the burger overwhelm the delicate and special flavors of the serrano ham and the Manchego cheese. Virgin doesn’t have a buffet with a cheese spread – like one of my other favorite lines MSC, and Italian cruise line – so I suggest just asking the Burger Crew for only the ham, cheese, greens, and sauce – on the side – and then going over to the bread section or the salad bar, and getting a few slices of beget or another bread. You can make your own cheese platter and savor.
The Quack Quack Burger
So here’s the Quack Quack, yes, a duck patty. The Virgin duck burger made my eyes pop – a duck burger on a cruise. Wow! It’s topped with blue cheese and red wine shallots, and garnished with an apple and raisin chutney. With some arugula.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
My first thought was that this was going to be a hockey puck of a patty…but no, ma’am, this duck burger is juicy good. I don’t care much for the chutney, which is basically marinated raisins with some kind of little balls. What are these balls? They’re soft and chewy. No tails, so I don’t think it’s quinoa. Personally, I think it would be better with just a thick and chunky spiced apple compote.
The La Nazionale Burger
Here’s La Nazionale, The National Burger. I think Virgin needed to make sure they were referencing Italy and the Italian national football team instead of um, the first four letters of the second word. Anyhoo, this burger is sounds simple but trust me, it isn’t.
Arugula, smoked mozzarella – I could be wrong here, but it’s probably burrata, which is an fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It’s also served at the bagel station in The Galley. And what what now? Pistachio pesto. How Italian.
SEAFOODIE SAYS
I can’t help but say that I wish this burger had a special patty and not just the basic classic patty. Maybe a pork-based burger, since Italy is known for its cured meats like prosciutto, salami, and pancetta, which are al made from pork? Or even a grilled chicken so more attention can be put on the cheese and pesto?
And, when pistachio pesto, or pistachio spread or cream or whatever chef wants to call it, is on the menu, you order it. 🙂
The Batifarra Burger
Take the Batifarra burger. It’s a smoked turkey burger with a salsa criolla, a deep fried onion ring or two, and an Amarillo mayo. So, Salsa Criolla is a type of sauce or relish found in Latin American cuisine. It’s made with finely chopped onions, tomatoes, garlic, chili peppers – which would be Aji Amarillo in Peru – vinegar, olive oil, and herbs.
INGREDIENT NOTES
Chef might have saved the Aji Amarillo peppers for the aioli sauce. Aji amarillo peppers are long, yellow peppers that range between 30 to 50 thousand on the Scoville Scale. There’s heat there, but it isn’t overwhelming since it’s mixed with mayo in the aioli.
The name Batifarra might be a play on words to reference a type of Spanish pork-based sausage called botifarra. But…why not a pork patty with some kind of garlic sauce?
The French Toast Burger
And we’ve reached the last special burger – the French Toast Burger, a heart attack on a plate. It’s served at breakfast time, alongside pancakes. What is this monstrosity? It’s two pieces of French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, the singles cheese, and a classic patty. It’s served every day. It probably should be renamed to The Hangover. Or the Heart Attack Hangover?
SEAFOODIE SAYS
Virgin does most things food really well, so of course this burger tastes great. The thing, it’s too much. But that’s my opinion. I’m sure you have yours!
Overall…
Virgin Voyages gets burgers done right, when you opt for their daily special burger. Chefs have created great flavor profiles by pairing the right cheese, the right sauce, the right bun, and importantly, the right patty.
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Jenny Claire is an award-winning educational materials writer, travel journalist, and food critic, formerly based in New York City and Taiwan. She calls a cute cabin in the woods of rural North Central Florida home, but lately she’s been spending most of her time cruising and traveling. She also was a secret travel critic and writer — but her lips are sealed on those details!
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