CineGraphic

Anyone with DBE gets to board after the Rockstars (suites), so ignore the time on the app. Boarding order is Rockstars, then DBE and SOR (Splash of Romance), then everyone with assigned times.

I just told Pam, this is how I want to go….in the waters we love to sail in.

That's the demographic they wanted, but in reality it skews older. The average age as reported by Virgin is 43.

Virgin does not tack on 18% to the drink prices, and the variety of top-shelf liquors is vast. https://profcruise.com/virgin-bar-menus-2024/

The activities on board are fun and inclusive. They have a retro arcade, a gaming area, an artist on board who will install a giant coloring book canvas for anyone walking by to stop add to it, painting classes, karaoke, tastings, pub crawls, trivia, etc.... The Halloween costume contest during our TA was great, and 1st prize was a free cruise!

18 to Alta-Kaker. It's a judgement-free vibe that might be too much for the closed-minded. We are in our 60s, and love it. You can have a quiet cruise without feeling left-out, or join the party. There's enough space for everyone, except for the pool which doesn't bother us as the pool has never been our scene.

We've had a Princess mattress in our home for years and had zero complaints about the bedding on Virgin, even during our 14 day transatlantic. It should be noted that the food on Virgin for the most part is cooked "ala minute", and not your typical hotel banquet fodder that's been sitting in warmers. Each chef is only allowed to work on 3 dishes at a time. They are also prepared to handle all sorts of food allergies. The worst dish we had was still better than anything we had on 15 Princess sailings.

Virgin was a record label before anything else, so sound is very important to them, and the average ship with all of it's hard surfaces can become a large echo chamber. Virgin has spent a small fortune on acoustical engineering, and several members of the various bands we've heard on-board have stated that they've never sounded better.

P.S. We sent John Padgett a thank you note for making us look for another cruise line.

During our first Virgin sailing, we called our TA and had her cancel all of our future Princess bookings. In the past year we've sailed with them 4 times and have 3 more on the books. No kids. No photographers, No cruise director. No announcements to interfere with your day. Great music. Great shows. Great crew, and they matched our loyalty status which entitled us to early boarding, free laundry, $10 daily for specialty coffee, $100 bar tab, and a private sail-away party. The status-match program is currently on-hold, as repeat sales have been very strong.

Sometimes they use other colors.

Our sister-in-law wanted to book something which would have sailed 2 months after the expiration date. I hooked her up with our TA, who is one of the top 100 for VV, and they were able to get everything booked, despite the expiration date. Glad you enjoyed the cruise!

I'm assuming that you've bought at least one MNVV for a future booking.

We had an emergency drill during the October TA, but no warning was given and a few first-time cruisers panicked and showed up at their muster stations with their life preservers on, even though there were no horn blasts. The tabloid press tried to make a big deal of it.

There will be a letter in your cabin explaining everything.

The newer ships really do run smoothly compared to the older grand-class ships we were used to sailing on with Princess. Even when pulling into dock, and using the thrusters you don't experience any of the shuddering/vibrations of those older ships. Look at this glass of wine shake on what ended up being our last Princess sailing. IMG_0933.MOV

Our place to go in Antigua is Limerz. They have a deal that includes lunch, 2 drinks, beach chairs and an umbrella, although I heard that they recently lost their beautiful beach to a storm. The food was local, and fresh. https://www.beachlimerz.com/ Edited to add: According to their Facebook page, the beach has come back. https://www.facebook.com/BeachLimerZ/ These pics are from our 2017 visit.

When I was working backstage security, people used to ask me how I could put in an 18-21 hour day for a concert, and I'd say, "When I'm in the middle of the Caribbean, soaking up the fresh air and sunshine, and enjoying 3 meals a day with my wife aboard a beautiful ship, it's worth it".

We've spent 31 days on board in total last year, and Gunbae is the only place we haven't patronized, only because we live in a suburb of Atlanta that has hundreds of Korean restaurants, cafes and bakeries.

Sailings show up on San Juan's port schedule. Since it's Spring Break, they are probably sold out. https://sanjuancruiseportterminal.com/schedule/schedule-march-2024-san-juan-cruise-port-terminal/

In the past, on longer sailings they have chosen not to sail at 100%. "Sold out" in this case is just a term.

My TA is on the phone with the "displacement department" at this very moment. This is what she just sent me, "they say so far it's going. Confirming it's sold out. First person I spoke to said it's cancelled but I was transferred to Displacement, and they say otherwise. Went to supervisor. Sailing not cancelled but ship is full."

All of the previous cancellations and offers are listed here: https://www.virginvoyages.com/travel-advisories/stories

We scored a great deal on an aft suite for this one after having our Brilliant TA cancelled, and we've spent several grand on flights and hotels at this point. I think this is a bit of a stretch. If they do end up cancelling, the offer will most likely be similar to what they offered us when the cancelled our TA on the Brilliant: Book any cruise, any length, same cabin category, at the exact same price.

Everyone clearly has different opinions, and I appreciate it when people take the time to share their experiences. Keep those lives coming!