11 Tips We Wish We Knew Before Sailing With Virgin Voyages

After reflecting on our first cruise with Virgin Voyages, Connor and I put together a few tips that will help maximize your next Virgin cruise. How is number one not talked about more!!

Also, below is the link to the full face snorkel on Amazon that we swear by:

[lit_lee]

My wife and I are hopping on a VV cruise Thursday!! It's crazy how nobody has made a video as simple as this, bless you sweet souls for just telling us what we need to know. I can't explain it but this is just the first useful video we've managed to find lol thanks yall

[flooshoomoo]

My bar tab was combined with my bf because I clicked the “Sailor 1 is footing the bill” option when setting up the room. There was only one card so it was automatically merged

[limaim]

I have literally watched tons of videos advising about the charges in the cc, for those saying you had never seen anything before, do your homework. The ice cream parlor only changes one flavor per day, not all the flavors. The free champagne in sail away party is for 30 minutes. Thanks a lot for providing all these tips

[esmurphy]

2024 Pro-tip out of Miami- u actually can arrive early to the port bc they will check in ypur luggage & then u can hop on their free shuttle to Bayside shop area in Miami which is awesome to kill time. The rest of your tips are EXCELLENT. Best video ive seen for Virgin tips esp getting the required safety video out of the way 1st thing in your cabin. Our fav shows in sept '24 were Miss Behave & Diva Around the World. Fun tip: Pink Agaves steak is a rib eye. Extra Virgin's steak is a NY Strip. The Wake's steaks are a choice be a hangar steak, a NY Strip or a filet mignon. For a lot of extra $, you can get their huge Tomahawk steak option but we loved Extra Virgin's strip steak best just like you two.

[pakishia]

I just got off Valiant Lady on July 14th. So about buying the drinks, when we bought our cruise I got $350 bar credit so did my husband. So no problem buying drinks. While on the cruise we’ve decided to buy a back to back. We added $300 cash to our account for the bar tab. It was added to my husband’s name. So when I went to buy a drink, my name was not there BUT the bartender finds your sail mate and add the drink to his account. Was not a big deal. After that, every time I order drinks, Sailor 1 foots the bill. No need to go to Guest Services. And another thing I loved about VV, you don’t hear announcements. The only time I heard was when they were doing a crew drill and when we were sailing away, we heard the captain speaking. Big difference from other cruise lines. Loved Virgin.

[jena]

Tip You can watch the safety video on your App. Just let it play and keep on exploring the ship. Then it's done go to the station you were assigned to and finished

[stephanieeta]

Haven't even finished the video yet but so far these are the most useful practical tips thank you !

[schoat]

In the app, when your second sailor checks in, there is a check box for you to use the primary account holders payment method. When you check in at the port, always make sure all secondary sailor drink will be charged to the credit. They can set that up for you if you did not.

[dawnromanos]

You two are adorable! We did a Virgin cruise in April. You're correct on all accounts. We booked only 3 weeks before sailing so we were unable to book anything ahead of time. Tip is to book an early embarkation time and run straight to book your dinner reservations. I didn't like the fact that you couldn't reserve the same restaurant twice. Another tip which I didn't realize is room service at breakfast. I found the food hall (great food) very overwhelming with people and this isn't something I enjoy first thing in the am. The beach club gets CROWDED. We arrived later and could not find two chaise next to each other. Jealous you got to do the shark snorkel. The sea conditions were too rough when we arrived.

[denisejones]

I was there in July, you can arrive before your boarding time to drop off your luggage and do the prebroading. We then left and, to bayside, showed back up at my boarding time and walked right in.

[mikesabout]

great set of tips which I completely agree with. You did a good job of stating that it was an adult cruise without mentioning it has a 'rock horror show' vibe.

[tammyebee]

I have to say, I've watched a million videos about VV because we'll be going on our first one in a couple of weeks. But this is by far the best and most informative one I've watched. Thanks so much!

[dollardollarbudget]

We went in September too. Loved the experience. *You just need to allow the charging privilege on your card for your other sailor in your party. Our bands charged on 1 account.

[naomihowes]

I agree, Agave was our favorite restaurant and Extra Virgin steak was better then The Wake. We are headed for our second cruise with VV in a few weeks! Love it!

[taniademerson]

Very informative and providing not typical information given in other videos. I’ve watched a lot of videos and your info was the first I’ve heard. Thanks!

[tbratton]

Outside of just going to the bar, are there any activities designed for couples/socializing? I think we will do a few of the shore excursions and that may naturally come about. Any recs on these islands - St Maarten, Barbados, St Lucia, Martinique, St. Kitts. We are taking off out of San Juan Dec. 21st!

[munoz]

For tip #1, you can also have the primary traveler set up to "foot the bill" of the secondary traveler (on the app). Secondary person will have to sign in and add the primary person as the one who is paying for them and the primary person will have to "accept" to foot the secondary person's bill, but it can be set up this way.

[yvettejohnson]

Thanks soooo much for the tips! I’ll be boarding valient lady in august, and even though I’ve watched countless vids about the VV experience, I haven’t come across one like yours. Tips were super helpful!

[kathryncashner]

It you click the little button on the app that says you are responsible for all charges for both people in your cabin, either wearable can be used for all Since boarding on VV doesn't start until 1:30, you would definitely be waiting if you showed up before 12. VV recommends that you show up 30 minutes prior to your assigned terminal arrival time. Note, it is NOT a boarding time, it is arrival time. You can book dinner reservations 45 days before cruising, but 35% of reservations are held back till after boarding. And yes, The Wake does not have the best steaks! There is no "early" or "late" dinner--dinner is whenever you made your reservation. On our 14 and 15 night cruises, there were activities all day every day.... Did you watch any good videos (like Where's Walter Travels) before cruising? The best videos contain all this info and far more. It is a ship. For scarlet night, you can wear as little as a red headband or handkerchief or go all out in a red tux or ball will be out of place.

[zeroThreeSixHD]

I just completed my first Virgin cruise in the Med, and your tips are 100% perfect. The Virgin App was so wonky and busted, and make sure to BOOK your dinners since you'll be stuck on the ship and the free food offerings leave a lot to be desired. My girlfriend almost lost her mind the day at sea lol.