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We had shades up on sea days- they actually came around and asked us if we wanted them up. Guess it depends on the weather that day.

We had 1,600-1,700 onboard December 5th depending who you asked, but that would have been a mostly-different crew given how their contracts work.

yeah FVC is a payment method, so that makes sense. you're able to combine the my next voyage offer with any current promotions, you just can't combine my next voyage offers with each other. so you can either book 1 cabin on multiple cruises or multiple cabins on 1 cruise, but if two people have the $300 deposits, you can't get 2 discounts in 1 cabin on the same cruise.

for an upgrade from sea view to sea terrace, you'll likely get it. there are a zillion sea terraces on board, and i haven't seen anyone (on caribbean sailings at least) post about them not getting that upgrade. solo insiders have had success upgrading to terrace too. if you were bidding on a suite, i'd say highly unlikely, but you'll find out no later than 48 hours prior. if for whatever reason you don't get upgraded before, you can ask at check-in or even at sailor services once on the ship. re: calling, i see you're in CA - unfortunately the best way to get through to them is to call when they first open, which for us is 5am on weekdays/6am on weekends. the brits definitely have the time zone advantage there, so they're probably calling right when they open and getting through! waits get pretty abysmal in the middle of the day, but they usually offer a call back option so you don't have to actively wait on hold for hours.

forgot to mention - they're transferable, so if a friend/family member is interested in going on a VV, you can use one of those deposits for them and get them whatever perks are applicable at that time.

some have said here that megas are black with gold hardware and regulars are black with silver hardware, but i've sailed as both, and they've always been black with gold ... or at least started off that way. The gold finish wore off to plain silver after being in the pool/shower. womp womp.

the offer that is typically given now is put down a $300 deposit, get $300 off you next voyage + $300 onboard credit. you can make up to 4 deposits with this offer (can only use 1 offer per cabin per voyage), but you can do "open deposits" if you don't have a specific date in mind. you just need to call to book and sail those within 2 years. they offered $600 OBC for those who were on Richard's Bday Bash last week, as well as those who were on the next voyage, but I'm not sure if they'll extend that. the "my next virgin voyage" promo is combinable with other offers - apparently the one starting next monday will be 50% off the second sailor (or 50% off solo cabins). that's only applicable to standard rooms, not suites.

This is how to do it from a computer (not sure process on mobile): Go to your account. On the Dashboard tab, scroll ALL the way down. There is a big box that says "Share the Love! Get $50. Give $50." and has 4 circles at the bottom of the box - for facebook, twitter, email and a link. Click the red circle (see below), and it'll switch to "Link Copied" - you can then paste that link on here, send it to a friend, or whatever.

Shhh don't give these secrets away 😉 We did the same in Costa Maya and Cozumel in June/July, and having a 90% empty ship was an absolute delight. Plenty of room on the pool deck/in the pool, no lines at bars, fun mid-day trivia game. We did Cozumel last year and were underwhelmed. I didn't want to sign up for a 12 hour bus tour to only have 2 hours at ruins in the buggy, humid summer weather.

Guess that's what happens when you have 3 years' worth of extra bonus future voyage credit floating around... probably trying to actually turn a profit on suites now

I made a conscious effort to actually make it to Lick Me Till Ice-cream last trip. Those brown butter financier and key lime pie ice creams... SO GOOD

I'm actually not sure if regular brewed coffee is available at dinnertime in the sit-down restaurants. I've only gotten cappuccinos/espressos after dinner, but never thought to ask about brewed coffee. I think brewed coffee is available all day at the beverage stations in The Galley. It is not available at the coffee shops on 7 or in The Galley. Weird but picky eater over here - e.g., I puzzle waiters at Mexican restaurants on land when I say no sour cream, but cheese is okay - I just can't stand the taste of sour cream! No one batted an eye at any of our requests. Obviously within limits - like you can't have red sauce without tomatoes 😆 We finally mustered up the courage to eat at Test Kitchen on voyage #3, and we were able to swap things on the normal menu with the vegetarian menu. We basically got the veg menu but subbed beef for the entree. The casino does not offer free drinks, unless you are booked via a casino offer and have drinks through them. I'm not sure exactly how check in for those folks work, but you'll eventually get (or request?) a tassle that goes on your band that shows you can get free drinks in the casino while playing. We saw a couple different colors (at least silver and red, mostly red), so not sure if that reflects a higher tier of playing/ability to order more $$ beverages, or if it just corresponds to whatever group you booked through.

Oct 23-28, 2022 Mayan Sol https://virg.in/omro

Only the suites have lotion- weird, but that’s how they do it.

We were in 15299A a couple weeks ago and didn't really have any issues with noise. The pool party wraps up around midnight, then it's pretty quiet up there!

You can only use it once you're onboard - you can't prebook with sailor loot.

Richard's birthday was 1,600 or 1,800, depending who you asked.

No cabanas included, but your drinks are all included, similar to on the ship. They have fresh coconuts that you can add rum/vodka to, and those are also included.

If it's not raining/crappy out, it's outside on deck 16 by the net (the Athletic Club) and starts at 11pm. Most people on our voyages have worn PJs, but you'll see everything from lingerie to onesie PJs to folks in their normal clothes. There's a DJ, and the Happenings Cast will dance/try to get everyone up and having fun. You can dance or just people watch. The Diva (drag queen) and/or The Hostess will do a quick performance, then it's back to party. It goes pretty late - I think I've been up there until 2:30 on at least 1 voyage. For inclement weather, the whole thing gets moved to the Dock House, and it is definitely a different vibe. There's not a ton of space down there, a bottleneck to get to the 1 bar, and hot as hell and sweaty. We ended up leaving after like 5 minutes and heading over to late night drag queen bingo on the voyage we just got off of.

I'm onboard now, and they've actually had a few Q&A sessions with leaders and former leaders across Virgin Group this week. The other day, the CEO of Virgin Group noted that they're in the process of launching their Virgin Red loyalty program in the US. I think it's already in the US with hotels, and they're expanding to VV at some point either this year or next. Not sure what it'll look like or what the perks will be, but it seems more focused on building loyalty across the Virgin brands (mobile, finance, hotels, air, etc.) - earning/using points across the ecosystem vs. chasing elite status clout.

100%!!! I would go like every other month if they did that!

we debarked around 10:30-10:45, and folks were already there dropping luggage for the next voyage. i think they must generally be there from 9-4 or so to deal with offloading all the bags, then loading the new ones on

The phone lines open at 8am ET on weekdays and 9am ET on weekends. Call as early as you can. I had luck calling around 9am last Friday and got a callback within 10 minutes. I'd been expecting to wait for hours for a callback.

We found out after our first voyage that you can order half portions of pasta, so on the last one, we split two half portions of pasta so we could have some variety, then split a main too. had to save room for affogatos!

you might make friends haha - we had seen that you could "buy" rounds a while back, but they seem to have cracked down on that in recent months. now you just can't order more than the number of pax registered to your suite at one time, but you get unlimited drinks, so deduce from that what you will...