CruisingWalter

Alright, alright, alright! Margaritaville At Sea Islander! 6 Nights spent onboard over 2 cruises. Key takeaway from the experience, Fun! First off, if you need a shiny new ship, everything has to work perfectly, this is not the ship for you. Islander is a 24 year old ship that has been beautifully renovated by MAS. However she's got warts and things that may not always work correctly, like automatic doors. But she has a lot of charm including original Teak decks both on Deck 4 and the cabin balconies. I LOVED having teak on our balcony, it's so rare anymore. This ship will definitely draw from Carnival along with NCL and Royal Caribbean folks who want a cheaper alternative. This is probably not an "every cruise" cruise line, but a nice alternative to add to the mix. I highly recommend getting the priority boarding upgrade. Islander is the largest ship to homeport in Tampa using the smallest terminal. The Fire Marshal kept stopping the line due to maximum folks being inside. Nothing Islander can do about that, though I did send some suggestions to the team, suggesting they incorporate the Virgin Voyages corrals to alleviate the congestion. The Cabins are lovely, we had both a Breezy Balcony and an Extended Balcony. On the deck plans they look identical, but the Extended Balcony is about twice as deep as the Breezy. We were told they took them down to bare bones and it shows. The bathrooms are original, but were fully restored. Did I mention, there is TEAK on the balconies.It's so great to see teak being kept and restored on these ships. You may have seen posts about toilets that would stop working. That's becuase they descaled the entire system during the crossing and it turned out to be a mistake. As the team explained to us, when you do that, you must continually flush the system to move all the deposits out of the pipes. Nobody was on the ship during the crossing or really until we all got on board June 12. They expect the system to fully work itself out shortlly if it has not already. Muster Drill was hilarious on the Inaugural, we had not been part of an 'old school' muster since about 2016. It was very quick, only about 15 minutes, and the crew made it fun. Yes you're in the heat for 15 minutes, but the same people complaining about that are also going to be spending hours on the outdoor decks upstairs, so what's the difference? Food started out mostly cold and room temperature but improved over the course of the 6 nights to the point where the last night dinner was perfect in Fins Dining Room. VP of F&B Eric told me they were working through some issues that did not come up until the systems were stressed with actual guests. Frank and Lola's Pizza is awesome. Cheeseburger in Paradise might be better than Guy's though Guy's has more choices. Far Side Sushi was good and Mexican Cutie Cantina was good. Overall the flavors were good with most of the dishes, it was the temperature that needed correcting and it looks like they are on their way to getting that corrected. The buffet is not very inspiring but you won't go hungry. There are 13 lounges and bars. Each has their own take on a Margarita so try your own Margarita Crawl. Hemisphere Dancer Craft Bar was my favorite. I didn't expect a high quality craft bar on this ship, but it was great. Smoky Old Fashioned is delicious! Pools and top deck areas were lovely, really fun Jimmy Buffet Vibe. Music was over the top loud at times, but I guess that's expected these days. Really fun mini golf course and a cool corn hole 8 part course. Of course Pickelball is on the top deck too. Conky Tonkin was a fabulous live show and I was really impressed with everything they could do with the stage. Multiple lifts and rotation were unexpected from that ship. Caribbean Remix you may or may not enjoy. It was a miss for us, but it was obvious folks in the audience enjoy it. Music throughout the ship was lovely, they have a lot of live performers in a variety of styles. Zee Jay was an AWESOME cruise director! Overall a very fun and cost effective cruise that you can book for 4, 5, 6, or 7 nights. We'll be back in Sept / Oct and we have a Grand Terrace Corner Suite booked for February. Again, she's not a perfect ship and they have issues with Embarkation / Debarkation due to big ship, small terminal. But they will get it figured out. I'm really looking forward to where MAS goes next!

As others have noted, TAs have access to the full inventory on all ships and can easily book you into a specific cabin. Or you can call VV to ask them to assign you to a cabin.

Well first off I'll say we sail many cruise lines and enjoy each for what they offer. It'll be 11 cruise lines for us in June and hopefully at least 12 before the end of this year. All cruise lines bring different things to the table and no cruise line is perfect. They're all awesome at many things and they're all terrible at some things, I personally can't sail one cruise over and over because I get bored of the repetition. As awesome as VV is, it would get old pretty quickly for me if it was the only cruise line I sailed. There are way too many cruise ships and experiences out there for me to limit myself, but that's just me. Celebrity Cruises has over 20 departures in Summer 2025 in the Med from 9-12 nights, including multiple Edge Class sailings, so they are definitely not limited themselves to 6 nights or less. Looks like at least four ships are doing the longer sailings including 2 new Edge Class ships. As for VV, you should enjoy how they do things so differently. The biggest positive for me is the lack of photographers and lack of 'package barkers' trying to get you to purchase the wine package, drinks package, dining package, etc... when you board the ship. The food can be among the best at sea for the mainstream cruise lines. What makes it so enjoyable is the fact that you're not paying anything extra for what would be specialty dining experiences on any other ship. The downside is the restaurants are too small for the amount of passengers so as their popularity has grown, it's become a bit of a challenge to book the restaurants you want on the day and time you want to go. That's where it's a huge advantage to work with a TA because they can go into the booking engine when the reservations open up and secure your reservations quickly. The VV app crashes and burns many Sailors due to the system getting jammed up when reservations open. VV knows they need to address these issues and are working on some pop up dining ideas to help spread people out. The 'structured dining' is one complaint we hear from sailors who have become accustomed to 'anytime dining'. On most sailings you can't simply walk up to a restaurant at any time like you would with a Main Dining Room on many cruise lines now. You pretty much have to have all of your dinners planned out for a VV cruise. Razzle Dazzle, Pink Agave and Extra Virgin are the standouts for me along with the Pizza Place, Sun Cafe and Opa Hour at The Dock. The pools are incredibly weak if you're coming from Celebrity. The Solarium on any Celebrity ship is our jam for any cruise. It's our favorite pool experience so far of any cruise line we've sailed. VV has the tiny lounge pool that's more of a plunge pool with a very small sun deck around it. Plus the oversized 'hot tub pool' that looks like a massive hot tub, but it's cool water. We love nice big pools that we can actually have a swim in the morning, but you won't find that on VV. We give the pools a pass because the overall experience is fun on VV. Some of the best entertainment on the ship for us is at On The Rocks. VV finds a great selection of artists to play there and many evenings may be spent enjoying the vibe there. Of the Red Room shows, Duel Reality is still my favorite. Anything with a Diva is usually fun. The beds in the standard cabins are not particularly comfortable, they are convertible sofas that are more like IKEA furniture than the super comfortable beds you may be used to on Celebrity. The Rockstar Suites have fabulous real beds, but the Sea Terraces on down have the "Ikea furniture." Again, we give the beds a pass because we do enjoy the overall experience and of course, the hammock is amazing in the Sea Terraces. For me the very best cabins on any Ladyship are the Cheeky Corner Suites. Those massive wraparound balconies are sublime. We had one for our very first Scarlet Lady sailing and it was amazing. What's really fun about VV is that it truly is a 'come as you are' vibe with no pressure, no rules (other than the dinner reservations) and because so much is included, you're not constantly paying for things. It's a great social atmosphere to meet others because there is so much seating everywhere on the ship, you naturally join conversations and meet new people. As one crew member said on our first sailing, "It's like Summer Camp for Adults." That pretty much sums up a VV experience. When you sail VV you should have an amazing time.

Call Sailor Services to find out if you truly do have until July 18 or you need to make the payment within 24 hours.

If you are young at heart, love to cruise, enjoy good food and a 'come as you are' attitude, then yes, Virgin Voyages should be on your list of cruise lines to enjoy. 🙂

While we wait for someone from the Sun to answer, here's the original Cruise Critic article from March. They do point out that the actual Magic Castle in LA enforces formal attire for the dinners. The one thing that's interesting is that originally Spellbound was supposed to have 3 seatings at 5, 7 and 9. But when we booked our reservations for October there are only 2 seatings offered. https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/magic-castle-spellbound-sun-princess

Our October 19 sailing had Spellbound come online this past week. A bunch of our Group was able to book the same day and seating. Looking forward to this experience!

Yep, the first 2 guests in the cabin must have it. Guests 3 and 4 can purchase it separately if you ever have a 3+ cabin.

We've used them often for many cruise lines. Here's how Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Gift Cards work. You have to pay the deposit for your stateroom(s) via normal payment methods like a credit card. You can use the AARP Royal Caribbean Gift Cards to pay for the rest of the balance of the cruise fare. Each Card can only be applied towards ONE reservation. So you can't take a $500 Gift Card and split it $250 each to two reservations. When you get down to those last dollars and cents, you pay the balance with your credit card or other payment method. There is no limit to how many you can use for your cruise fare. We've had friends use up to 16 of them for multiple staterooms in the Med for example. The only limit is that you can purchase 5 per month, per account from AARP. So if you need more than 5 in a single month, you'll have to purchase them from two different accounts. They must be redeemed via an email account (this is the stupid part) rather than simply being applied to your booking. It can take up to 10 business days for those cards to be applied so make sure you send in your final cards at least 14 business days before final payment. Princess, Carnival, Holland allow the agents or TAs to apply the gift cards instantly to your booking. You must now provide a picture of each card when you email them in. You used to be able to just supply the numbers, but now they are requested the image of the card that has been issued. AARP Royal Caribbean Gift Cards cannot be used onboard the ships. You cannot convert them to OBC, nor can you use them to settle onboard account. They can only be used towards the cruise fare, other than the Deposit. When you go to AARP Rewards, simply click on the Royal Caribbean Gift Cards. The Terms and Conditions are actually pretty straightforward. It's that last rule that catches folks on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. They don't realize the cards are not available for use on the ships.

Is the price truly cheaper online or are you looking at it without port fees and taxes? Until July 1 they are still advertising the prices without port fees and taxes until you put the cruise into the cart. I see that often where you think the price has gone down by $100 to $500 but the online fare is missing the fees. If you work with a TA, they can check your rate and make price adjustments on the fly without having to call Royal Caribbean.

We did the 8 night on Valiant for Thanksgiving last year and have done 4 overall VV cruises in the Caribbean. Holland and VV are 180 degrees apart in terms of overall experience. Holland is traditional cruising with proper European style service, Broadway style entertainment, beautiful ships and huge pools. VV includes all meals, WiFi, gratuities, soft drinks and exercise classes so the inclusive value is better than most other cruise lines. No MDR, no Buffet. 6 restaurants and The Galley that is your food hall. Plus the Pizza Place, Sun Cafe poke bowls, Lick Me Till Ice Scream, the Social Club Diner and Opa Hour and more at The Dock. The Sun Cafe is probably the most overlooked food spot on the ships because it's up on Deck 16 and I think people either never find it or forget that its there. VV is a very casual, come as you are, no dress code for anything type of cruise line. So expect to see shorts and T Shirts at dinner at every restaurant. I only say that because 'lack of proper dress for dinner' is a topic that comes up from time to time in the other cruise line boards here. At the same time, expect to see people dressed to impress. VV's biggest draw for me is the amazingly chill and relaxed experience onboard. It's summer camp for adults. The misconception is a 24/7 party ship. It's not. It's a great space to relax, make new friends and enjoy some innovative entertainment and great food. I did a food review on my first Scarlet Lady sailing and for the most part it still holds true. Though we no longer go to The Wake for dinner. The last 2 times we tried, it was not nearly as good as the first time. https://youtu.be/pBolzKvXjMU All that being said, the 4 night cruise is a younger and more party active crowd than the longer 7 night cruises. That's pretty much true of any 3 or 4 night cruise on any cruise line. It's still a pretty chill ship, but there are more people who are 'here for three or 4 nights and I'm going to get everything I can out of this cruise' than the longer itineraries. I would go on a 7 night minimum cruise on Valiant (or Resilient or Brilliant) than the 4 nighter for your first VV cruise.

It's not a 'true Korean BBQ' but a cruise line facsimile of one. The lack of the open flame does change the flavors and what they prepare, but safety on a cruise ship is paramount, so no open flames. The short ribs are among the best meat items prepared at the table, don't waste your money on the "treat yourself" wagu beef, you won't taste the difference. The items prepared in the kitchen are amazing. To me the best part of the meal. If your husband is a 'meat and potatoes' eater he may or may not enjoy the dinner but should enjoy the overall experience. And if he didn't get enough that he likes at Gunbae, you can head down to the Pizza Place or even another restaurant.

You can book each restaurant once for dinner and the Wake and Razzle Dazzle once for brunch. We were not able to book Disembarkation Brunch ahead of the cruise, but some people have reported success with doing so. Honestly we never really needed to book brunch on disembarkation day because we're usually down there by 7:30.

Virgin Voyages quietly dropped a series of new Brilliant Lady voyages for Winter 2025-2026 with voyages up to 12 nights from Miami. Many of them similar, but most of the itineraries are one-off, with each being slightly different. It's more akin to what I've seen with Oceania with similar, but different itineraries throughout the winter season. I do wish they sent one or two of these itineraries into the same southern caribbean islands as the San Juan itineraries, but I understand why they're not doing it. But for those of you looking for a much longer stay on the Ladyships, Brilliant will have you covered in Winter 2025-2026. Here's 2 of them. See them all on VVs site or reach out to your TA.

Definitely different than our experiences other than the longer lines for the DBE priority boarding. But once that line opened up we were inside the terminal in minutes. No lines onboard for the 4 cruises we've sailed on VV so far other than the Red Room and for the Diva show. Fortunately there are a lot of other cruise lines out there for you to explore.