Unlimited Margaritas and a Game of Bingo? Lotería Gigante it is!

I wouldn't stop reading just yet though, because there's one thing nobody tells you and it changes the entire session.

So what actually is it?

Ok so if you’ve not come across it before, Lotería is a Mexican game that works a bit like bingo, except your card is covered in pictures rather than numbers. Virgin use a Millennial version of the classic game, so instead of the traditional artwork you get a funny, Millennial themed card covered in squares like El Coachella, El Latte Art, La Succulent, El Ghosting and, my personal favourite, La Student Debt. You mark them off with little counters as they’re called out.

It runs somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours, it’s hosted by two absolute pros who work the room, and it comes with shots and a fair amount of shouting. There are dance offs too, although you’ll only have to get up and dance if you’re tied to win, so your dignity is only at risk if you’re actually any good at the game!

The drinks, and where it all went sideways

Here’s the bad bit, and honestly it’s the only one. Nobody tells you the margaritas are unlimited.

We made quick work of the first margaritas and were ready for round two, at which point the question became fairly urgent. Being the raccoons we are, we asked. And we were told that yes, actually, we could get up and help ourselves as much as we wanted! Needless to say, the whole thing descended into chaos from that point on.

So $35 is genuinely excellent value, no bar bill at the end and no counting, but only if somebody tells you. Cocktails on board usually run $13 to $15 each, so you’re square after three and everything after that is profit! We’d have had roughly a third of the fun if we’d never thought to ask.

Top tip: the margaritas live in a jug on the bar and nobody comes round offering them. Ask as you finish your first one, then help yourself.

UPDATE: we went back in summer 2025

Worth saying, because it wasn’t quite the same. We did it again in summer 2025 and the whole session was noticeably shorter, so there simply wasn’t the time to drink anywhere near as much.

To be completely fair to Virgin, that’s only disappointing because we were measuring it against the first time, which was a very high bar and possibly not a bar anybody should aim for. As a standalone couple of hours it was still great fun. Just go in expecting a tighter run of it than we got in 2024.

Final thoughts

Great value, 5 out of 5, and one of the easiest recommendations we’ll make about anything on board. $35 for up to two hours of unlimited margaritas is hard to argue with, the hosts are brilliant, and the game is genuinely funny even before the tequila does its work!

Just ask about the drinks when you finish the first one, they’re in a jug on the bar, don’t wait to be offered. It’s the difference between a nice afternoon and the chaos we had.

Same $35 gets you into Lolz Super Club for unlimited drinks and stand up, though that one is a gamble on the comedians, and into the art class for bottomless prosecco and a painting. The Grog Walk is $45 for four cocktails and the best way we’ve found to meet people on night one.

If you fancy it yourself, you can find a voyage here.

Prices are what we paid in September 2024. Things move, so check before you book.