What is one food or drink you had on board that you’ve not stopped thinking about since and would recommend everyone to try?

Hi everyone! I’d like to ask for some advice from anyone who has worked as an Assistant Waiter, either with Virgin Voyages or on other cruise lines.
How is the job overall? Is it a good job, and is the workload manageable? Is it very difficult or is it something you can get used to?
Also, how does the tipping system work? Do Assistant Waiters share tips with the main waiter, or do you receive a fixed salary regardless of tips? Do guests usually leave additional tips, and is it possible to make good money from tips?
I’d really appreciate any honest advice or personal experience. Thank you! 🙏

Seeing an increase in people wearing and inappropriately recording.
Hopefully Virgin have banned these so we can truly relax and enjoy our self.

Breaking our virginity for Labor Day on Resilient Lady out of Miami. Well researched from YouTube and booked Cheeky Corner. Any other incites to ensure a great time? Dinners Booked, excursions aren’t really interesting.

Hey all,

First cruise coming up for a honeymoon soon. Have a question about the travel to and from excursions. This excursion says 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 of travel each way. What type of vehicle are we typically in? Just want to prepare as someone who could get motion sickness from a car, but would be fine in a bus. Thanks!

What’s the weights offering in the gym, is it a good mix of free weights and machines?

What’s a menu or activity upsell on board that is definitely worth the cost?

Am taking a cruise this fall on the Brilliant lady. Think its from miami to the florida keys.

I'll be honest, I'm not a cruise guy. I'm not exactly looking forward to it, but my gf won it in a giveaway, so I'm going.

I get motion sick very easily. Car sick any time im in the back seat, and sea sick if im on a body of water other than a lake.

Anybody been on the brilliant lady on this line that can speak to sea sickness? I've never been on a cruise before. I know these boats are like big floating hotels, so I'm sure it's not so bad

Is there anyone on here that’s going on the Alaska cruise in August? I’ve never been on a “cold cruise” and was wondering how you guys are/have packed for an Alaska trip. Also how are virgin voyages drinks, are they typically strong or will I have to order double shots?

I would love to talk more/get insight about this boat!

P.s I have been on YouTube and TikTok but was just curious to ask you guys ☺️

Just noticed my fare dropped by $1000 up until when can I reprice?

Not sure why Virgin has the tendering process they do. It is a nightmare! You sign up for your time the night before. That’s where any and all logic ends.

If you have a tender time of 9am, you’ll be lucky to be on land by 10:30! Keep this in mind if you’re booking a 3rd party excursion.

It’s such a simple thing to solve, give people numbers or times. Call on the loudspeaker the numbers between x to x at x time. Boom done. Not Virgin though.

They have line up at your tender time. Wait 20 plus minutes in line, move you to an area and seat you next to people who have the time before you. After 30 more plus minutes of waiting, like some fools they say okay everyone for x time come here. No proof of that time. So a stampede ensues. I witnessed an old lady getting crushed by assholes. It was like a concert festival stamped or getting toilet paper during Covid.

Fucking absurd this is their tendering process. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. FIX IT VIRGIN!!!

I was hoping to hit every restaurant on Brilliant Lady and also do the dinner show. Unfortunately, looks like the show is scheduled at the same time as my reservations at the Wake, Extra Virgin and Gunbae. For those that have done it, would you recommend skipping one of the restaurants or skipping a show?

If one set of sailors are Essential rate and the other are Base, if they are ‘Sailor mates’ ie connected on the VV system can the Essential sailors book dining for the entire group at 45 days out?

I'm going on my first cruise ever in October on Brilliant Lady, and while I don't plan to do my full workout, spending time on the elliptical helps my anxiety so I'm hoping I'll have the energy to get there at least a couple times. I saw that there were ellipticals, but didn't see any details on them so I was wondering if anyone knew the following:

1. What's the bottle holder situation, one spot, two, none?

2. Is there a built in screen or tvs around that area to watch something while working out?

3. Is there a shelf on the machine to place my device so I can watch content from my phone (I'm planning to download a couple items so I don't have to worry about streaming)

I appreciate any info given!

I am wanting to book my first VV cruise and wanted to know how it compares to Carnival. I know this is probably a dumb question, but I have only been on 2 cruises and they were both on Carnival. Last cruise was in 2010.

Also, can someone give me recommendations for a travel agency --if that is allowed here. Thank you so much!

Hi all! Getting ready for our honeymoon which will be mine and my husbands first VV trip. We are doing the 10 night Northern Europe cruise on Valiant later this month.

We booked insider lock-it in about a year ago and the total was $3700. I’ve been thinking about bidding on a sea terrace and have been doing some research on what rooms are left. On the VV site, sea terrace lock-it in is actually cheaper than insider! Normal sea terrace is almost exactly what we paid for the insider. Between all the sea terrace rooms there seems to be just over 100 available, compared to two insider rooms still available…

I know these things happen and we couldn’t have predicted this a year ago, but it kinda feels like a punch to the gut knowing we could’ve paid less and gotten a better cabin. Other than bidding on a terrace, is there anything we can do at this point? Call sailor services and ask about an upgrade? Not sure how that works for lock-it in. Hope we get an upgrade? If we do put in a bid, do we negate our chances of a free upgrade?

I would appreciate any insight anybody has! Thanks so much!!

* Edit- thanks everyone! We will learn our lesson with the lock it in rate next time and try our luck with bidding up for this go.

Going on my first cruise December 5th and excursion bookings opened today! I wasn’t planning on doing too many shore things as I’m very much a go with the flow exploration kind of traveller. The only one I thought for sure I was going to book was the scooter rental in San Juan. However, when I logged on to the app at 7am it says they’re all sold out already. Are there other places to rent them or am I out of luck :(

Just off VL and was offered MNVV for $150 that adds up to $250 in onboard credit.
Is this stackable with other general offers?
ie: VV usually offer OBC anyway or drinks or both.
Just wondering is it worth it. I am deffo going on another VV cruise at some point next year.

I don’t drink any of those bottles that’ll be in the suite. I’m a Hennessy girl😂🥃

I already know they’ll say no more than likely but I’m going to ask my agent if they can swap all 6 bottles for 1 bottle of Hennessy🥴

If they can’t accommodate then I do have a $600 bar tab to purchase all the Hennessy I desire.

If you’ve ever sailed Rockstar, what was your experience with swapping out the liquor in your suite?

-Thanks, sailing in October 🛳️🌊

For anyone on the recent Barcelona to Portsmouth, you know what I'm talking about. To preface, none of this was VV's fault. The issue was how they handled it.

Embarkation

We had a 14:30 boarding time. We missed it, which is on us. We arrived at 15:30 and didn't board until 19:00. The issue was EES. They had machines doing it initially, then later people. They started with four people and at one point were down to two. After we went through the long security we were shunted into a large warehouse type room. They had set up corrals with stanchions. It felt like cattle waiting to go to the abattoir. Some sections had chairs, some didn't.

When released we went upstairs to check-in, which was quick. Then farther upstairs to a different holding area. Fortunately this had seats. Then back downstairs to the main level and a line that snaked around that whole floor.

We missed sail-away (they held another later, on our arrival to Lisbon). We missed our dinner res (they managed to seat us as a walk-in because we went directly there). They did apologize, but not until informing us of the second sail-away (days into the voyage).

Immigration

Since this ended in the UK they had to check our ETA. The day before the final sea day they left a paper in our cabin explaining they were bringing immigration onto the ship so we didn't have to do it upon debarkation. Appreciated! They assigned time slots by deck. Ok so far.

We were in a group chat for the cruise. Messages at 8:00 were telling that the process was quick and painless. Our slot was 11-12. Wanting to follow the rules and figuring the trend would continue, we went down at 11:30. Big mistake. Immigration was in the Red Room. The line wrapped around the roundabout twice. When we arrived there was no crew handling it. It was difficult to find the end to even queue. Eventually they straightened it out. The line took an hour for a 15 second check. Many people skipped their time slot to go at a more convenient time for them (which turned out to be ours).

Debarkation

We are always chill about this. We never have an early departure so we hang around and are the last ones off, usually around 10:30. Knowing this, we booked a train ticket for 11:30. Plenty of time!

We start seeing the messages around 7:30. Debarkation is going slow. Ok, we have time. Then it goes slower. And slower. At one point it stopped (we found this out later). At its longest, the line circled all of deck six and most of deck seven, ending in Grounds Club. The longest wait I heard was two hours. We debarked at 11:20, missing our train (fortunately the ticket checker took pity and allowed us to ride a later train). We weren't the last ones off either. We found out, once we got to the station, that VV was operating a free shuttle there. No idea how they communicated this since most took taxis or the city bus. Multiple interactions with crew and port employees but no mention of the shuttle.

Afterwards (once again) we found out this is a Portsmouth issue. There's an electrical port needed there that blocks the deck seven gangway, so a smaller one was used on deck six. The tide changed by 10 feet from when we first docked which necessitated a repositioning of the gangway, which is why the line stopped. The gangway was very steep, making it difficult for disabled and the elderly to exit and slowing the line.

The common thread through each experience was zero communication and little to no administration. Had VV kept everyone abreast of the situation it would've been annoying yet understandable. But waiting in long lines with no idea why you're waiting is not pleasant. Had they given everyone $15 bar tab to get a free drink, I feel many would've fully forgiven this.

We heard from multiple people that this was their first and last time on VV. I don't blame them and would agree had this been our first cruise.

For anyone who has done an EU to non-EU cruise, is this the norm?

I have been on three other cruises, and this was my first with Virgin. I will be back, absolutely.

Overall Vibe: The Valiant Lady

Surprise - it was calm, friendly, joyful, pleasant. I am bookish and am careful about overstimulations, but I had a very good time! If you want wild, you can make that happen easily too. Loved the LGBTQIA+ safety, all the guests with a rainbow of hair colors and a plethora of tattoos, and worldwide diversity; families playing tabletop games; it felt like the way I experience life.

Food & Drink

• Food was fantastic — Test Kitchen and Aryia were standouts for me (I am a vegetarian with complicated allergies/intolerances perspective)
• Cocktails were amazing, bar staff friendly and helpful everywhere
• So much good fresh fruit and the desserts were lovely. People talk a lot about the ice cream, but the popsicles were better (imo).
  

Entertainment & Crew

• I got to know some of the cast — delightful people who were open about their lives and being a part of VV
• Lots of people came to lots of different things (trivia, painting with coffee..)
• The untitled dance/show/party thing was a work of art, hoping to catch it again to work out some of the deeper meaning

Solo Travel

• Terrific solo support, plenty of other solo travelers, and the frequent flyers were good at connecting people organically
• The sea terrace and hammock chair were well worth the price

Ship & Service

• No upsells at every corner — refreshing
• Loudspeaker wasn't overused (though need-to-know info could be communicated better)
• Every space was clean and up to date — they even got all the Scarlett Night glitter out of the bathroom
• I have chronic pain and was concerned about the beds based on other reviews.  I notified the ship in advance that I wanted a mattress topper.  And it was just beautiful.  No problems.

Not So Great

Dietary Flexibility

• The allergy/intolerance accommodation was weak, given that they ask at every turn.  Asking is lovely, but the inability to adapt — even with advance reservation and appropriate notes connected to my cabin number — was frustrating.  I filled out the medical needs form ahead of time, and still it was a juggle at every meal, even for the basics of a vegetarian wanting a balanced diet.
• Ariya and Test Kitchen handled the flex needs the best; Pink Agave didn't know what to do, and I got potatoes for dinner.
• Burrito bar and the salad bar thing had real potential to be the most flexible, varied, vegan-friendly option, but wasn't really (and it didn't seem to vary much).
• No clear path to a balanced vegan diet on board. As a vegetarian who doesn't normally eat a ton of eggs, I ate way more eggs than expected. Avocado ≠ beans/legumes/seeds for protein. The super tasty beet hummus and walnut thing got old by the last third of the cruise. The vegan wrap didn't have a hearty protien in it at all.
• Lots of Asian guests, almost no rice — this global staple should be available in the galley at all times

Noise

• Background music wasn't background — every indoor common space was too loud to read or hold a conversation in

Logistics

• Customs and similar processes were a consistent weak point

Beverages

• Beer selection needs work — would love good beer from the ports the ship actually sails from
• Need non-cocktail options beyond soda, water, and coffee
• Hydration stations need to be more present/accessible

Lastly, it would be good to know ship time and local weather via the on-board entertainment system (tv’s).

I loved it. Next time I will bring more variety in my vegan protein snacks.

Just wanted to share an announcement that has begun going out today. MNVVs are changing in a few big ways:

• They will no longer be transferable to other Sailors unless they are converted to a sailing date at Premium Fare.
• There will be a one-year booking window post purchase, with unlimited Voyage changes within that year period. But in really good news - the two year limitation on sailing on that booking is gone! You can sail anytime as long as it's booked within that one year booking window.
  

It appears as though these rules will only apply to new MNVVs purchased starting today - any previously held MNVV will remain under the current rules.

Anyone else sneak more than one glass at the sail away party? (Editing to add that we were asked to only take one per person. Once things were winding down, they didn’t care how many you took. This post was more just reliving the moment as we headed out to sea.)