“Is it really worth the extra money?” YES. I want to throw out a couple of highlights and FYIs from our trip to help set expectations.
- Virgin Voyages in Miami is Terminal V. This used to be Terminal H. Some apps like Lyft still have it labeled Terminal H. The signage for driving to this particular terminal is a bit confusing so lots of drivers accidentally end up just outside of the proper drop-off spot, but there are stairs you can walk up to it. If you can’t do stairs, maybe mention to your driver to keep to the right.
- If you get there early, there are lines for each check-in time to wait in.
- You’ll need to use your smartphone to scan a QR code to sign up for a COVID test.
- Crew will come and pull each line to go through the testing process. I was surprised how efficient this was.
- After your test, they sit you in the terminal to wait for the results to come back, which will be emailed to you. Get on the ship’s Wi-Fi, hop on the Virgin Voyages app and start booking your events while you wait! Some popular group exercise classes have extremely limited slots, like the Bungee class, which only has 6.
- The app indicates if you book a class and cancel within 24 hours or don’t show up, that you will be charged a $10 cancellation fee (which gets donated). There was a class my husband wasn’t able to attend due to sea sickness, and thankfully we did not get charged. But do try to be cognizant of what you book.
- There is a Sail Away party on the pool deck. They have free glasses of champagne. You can have as many as you want.
- Throughout your voyage, keep an eye on the Messaging section of the App. While we were onboard, the notifications were broken (for everyone) until about 7:30 PM on the third day. Our excursion in Puerto Plata, which was for that very morning, ended up being cancelled. I only knew about it because I had gotten up early for Sun Worshippers Yoga (highly recommend) and happened to be poking around on the app and saw this in my Messages. Fortunately I had time to run down to Sailor Services and get booked on another excursion. (I was supposed to be able to do it on the app, but that feature was also broken) I was supposed to get a push notification to my phone when the cancellation happened, but didn’t. Otherwise, I would have been standing around at the starting place and time wondering where everyone was, and it would have been too late to get on another one.
- There are limited food options between 10:30 AM and noon. Not no food options; only about 3 restaurants open during this time. They’re all in The Galley.
- If you’re traveling with a small group, book a slightly later seating at Gunbae. I’d recommend 7 PM or later. Part of the experience is sitting with a big group and playing a drinking game. We had a seating about 6:30 and the other two people sat with us didn’t quite seem to understand how the game worked, or how drinking games work in general, so we missed out on the experience a bit.
- If you order the Grasshopper at Razzle Dazzle, it comes with a cricket. In the drink. I recommend asking for no cricket. No, I’m not kidding.
- If you’re having some downtime, try to do it in a public area of the ship. There are tons of places to sit and they have fun little pop-up entertainments that you’ll miss if you’re just laying in bed.
- If you do choose to lay in bed, there are lots of free movies on the TV in a wide variety of genres and release dates. I would guess about 75 to pick from! We watched The Eternals, Pulp Fiction, and Baby Driver while onboard, for free, which would have cost money on most other cruise lines.
- If you see anything you really want in the shops onboard, buy it when you first see it. I held out until the last day to blow the rest of my Sailor Loot (onboard spend) and get all of the souvenirs I wanted all at once. Unfortunately, the ship’s entire payment system went down on the last day, so they didn’t open any of the shops (or the casino) and I couldn’t get any souvenirs.
This was absolutely one of my favorite cruises I’ve ever been on. The crew were absolutely lovely (I loved that a lot of them had dyed hair and tattoos), everything was sparkling clean, everything we ate was delicious, and there was no nickle-and-diming. I tried so many foods and activities I usually miss out on because I don’t want to pay extra. I honestly can’t wait to go back so I can try out the spa and some more restaurants.