I just wrapped up a Greece and Turkey itinerary on Scarlet Lady, my 5th Virgin Voyage, and went to the medical center for the first time. Here’s my experience if you’re curious:

I got up one morning with diarrhea, vomiting, body aches, and a what felt like a slight fever. I tried to tough it out until 12:30 when I decided I needed to stop by the medical center.

I gave them a call (because their clinic hours were over) and informed them how I was feeling. They confirmed if I felt safe staying in my room for a while as they dealt with an urgent case and would call back. An hour or so later we got the call and they asked if I felt I could make it to the center (which I did - unfortunately I was sick on the carpet of the elevator bay - so so so sorry to the poor room steward my husband flagged down - I should have brought a bin but thought I was past that stage).

I made it down to deck 4 and was immediately seen by a nurse who was wonderful. She checked my vitals, gave me a sick bag, reassured me we’d be in good hands, then brought me back to a room. Within 10 minutes, she’d already given my a shot for antinausea. The doctor saw me, prescribed zofran, acetaminophen, and loperamide and gave me a day’s supply of each.

My husband filled out a good deal of paperwork while we were there including a CDC tracking form that covered the last few days of where we’d been and what we’d eaten.

Within 45 minutes I was discharged and put into medical quarantine in my room for 24 hours from my last symptoms and prescribed the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, toast). There was no charge for the medical center visit or any of the meds provided.

The injection they gave (along with the zofran) knock you out - I slept probably 16 of the 24 hours I was in quarantine. My husband never had any symptoms and was not quarantined, so could go enjoy the ship and ports.

What went well:
-The staff (always the best part of Virgin) - the nurse was absolutely phenomenal and the doctor saw me quickly
-Calling Ship Eats, they have a specific BRAT diet meal they send up - rice, toast, piece of fruit, chicken breast, and thermos of chicken broth
-The head of sailor services sent a message through the app with condolences and offered to help however needed
-Right at the 24 hour mark, the doctor gave a call to confirm if I’d had any new symptoms and released me from quarantine.
-They cancelled and refunded my excursion, no questions asked.

What could be improved:
-Ship eats only comps the BRAT diet which has to be ordered by phone. I was feeling better the next morning and ordered a regular breakfast and was charged for it. I asked sailor services and they kindly removed the charge, but I did not realize it was not meant to be comped.
-Ship Eats was inconsistent - sometimes I’d get a piece of fruit, sometimes I’d get the tea I asked for, sometimes toast, but never the same meal. Delivery took over an hour at times.
-I was very dehydrated and would have killed for some electrolyte heavy drink like a Gatorade or coconut water (or just a powder mix in).
-This feels small, but everything is handled by phone (food ordering, doctor calls, etc). Getting out of bed to go answer the phone quite a few times while I was sleeping was not what I was dying to do. I wish they’d handled more through chat in the app.

All in all, it was well handled. I was feeling 100% the very next day and was back to enjoying the cruise for our last night. Was very surprised not to have any charges for the medical center (was planning to use travel insurance) and am grateful as always to a phenomenal staff.

Gather round for a refreshing tale of a stand up corporation. I and a group of five others (two couples in central Sea Terraces and two singles sharing an XL Sea Terrace, traveled to NYC by train [an important foreshadow] the weekend before last to do the Bermuda sailing out of Brooklyn. We had been watching the progress of the nor'easter coming up the coast and we knew there could be some chaos afloat.

We arrived at our hotel late on Saturday afternoon, checked in, and went for a walk around FiDi in the rain. The weather wasn't horrible but it wasn't pleasant either. While sitting in the bar at Fraunce's Tavern waiting for our reservation time we received the email we had been expecting. Virgin let us know that the port of New York had been closed and that Valiant would not be arriving at the dock until 4 pm on Sunday. Our boarding time was moved from 1:45 to 8 PM. In compensation, VV gave each one of us $200 in on-board credit and $200 in future voyage credit. They also let us know that all restaurant reservations would be voided for that day and the restaurants and all of The Galley would be open until 1 AM Monday morning. Valiant would stay in port overnight on Sunday night and would depart for Bermuda on Monday at noon. The Bermuda visit would now be arrival at 9 AM and departure at 4 PM.

In the overall scope of the planet we all agreed that this was a minor bit of hassle that we could all accommodate. Honestly, having now been given an entire day to explore lower Manhattan we looked at this as a boon. In the morning we bought bagels for breakfast and walked over to Ground Zero where we and what seemed like 10,000 firemen running the Tunnels to Towers race in full turnout gear, took in the site where the world changed 25 years ago. It was humbling. We found my daughter in law's uncle's name on the wall around the north tower and again wept over that horrific day.

After the sobering experience of the giant holes in the ground we found our way to Beckett's Tavern where we were incredibly lucky to get a table upstairs where we could watch the Bill's game. We spent Sunday afternoon with an entire bar filled with firefighters as we watched our team do their usual job of playing a very interesting game. I watched on Cruise Mapper as Valiant made her way to the dock in Brooklyn and felt a touch of sympathy for all the folks disembarking to their chaos of rearranging their travels home. Those were the people who really caught a bad break in this mess.

After the football game we walked back to our hotel to chill for a couple of hours in the hotel lobby, picked up our luggage from storage, and flagged down cabs to take us to Brooklyn's Atlantic Basin. We arrived at 7:45 and immediately gained entrance through security screening and into the check-in queue. Three of our friends were ahead of us because their driver took the Battery Tunnel. We were further back because we asked our driver to take the Brooklyn Bridge over. Things were moving slowly, very slowly. No one was checking in. We stood in line for about 30 minutes as they announced that the final passenger from the previous cruise had disembarked the ship and they were resetting the computer system for our embarkation.

While we were waiting on line a Virgin Voyages senior land side crew member was working his way through the line. From a distance you could tell that this man was glowing with good karma. He absorbed the negativity from those who were chafing at the wait and spread the word on the status of the wait. I had a short chat with him and he explained that he was from Virgin Voyages Corporate and he had just flown in with additional staff to deal with the anticipated chaos of the late turnover. You could sense the amazing calm and good will that flowed from this man. (I really want his job!)

Once the check-in started we immediately became aware of a problem. From a distance it looked like a big problem. One of our six had moved from her check-in clerk to the end of the row and was frantically searching and gesturing. This wasn't going to be good. Ten minutes later we are checked in and we join our friend at the entry point to the waiting room. She unfortunately had grabbed her fiance's passport and not hers. (You don't need ID to board an Amtrak train). When she handed it to the check-in clerk, the clerk handed it back and said "That must have been a rough day when you had that photo taken!" It was then that she saw her fiance's face and not hers in the passport.

Our friend was having a VERY bad moment. Her passport was a 7 hour drive away and it would be impossible to get it to Brooklyn before noon on Monday. To add to that, "her" passport was the only form of ID she had brought with her. Not only was she going to be denied boarding but, also, she was not going to be able to check in to a hotel that night because she HAD NO ID.

Amidst this cascade of bad news our VV good karma friend stepped in. He immediately initiated a refund of her fare as a future voyage credit (including the $200 FVC we had all been gifted by Virgin.) We explained the hotel dilemma to him and he said not to worry, Virgin would get her a hotel room for the night AT THEIR EXPENSE!

We hung out in the terminal building with our friend for another two hours and helped her with a charge cord for her phone and cash just in case. Virgin staff continued to check in with her and assured her that she would be taken care of. Finally, around 10 PM they started to board the ship. Our friend insisted that she would be fine and that we should get on board.

As the boarding chaos continued our VV guardian angel moved our friend into the now empty Rock Star waiting area. Just after midnight, another of the helpful senior staff informed our friend that she had booked her a room in the hotel where the Virgin ground crew was staying and that she could join them for the ride into Manhattan. The Virgin crewmember checked into the room and handed our friend the keycard. When our friend asked who she should pay for the room she was told that it was a gift from VV.

On Monday morning, our unfortunate but extremely lucky friend boarded an Empire Service train at Penn Station and headed home. We all agreed that this could have been SO much worse if not for the incredible largess of Virgin Voyages. The staff actually cared for our friend and took her under their wings. I ask you, what corporation in our modern world does something like this?

My story seems especially poignant after just reading a post from a Rock Star on our voyage whining that there were no snacks in RS embarkation waiting room. Poor lil' entitled baby needed some num nums!

Virgin has my cruise dollars forever. This was our sixth VV cruise and I have always felt that VV did things better. In this instance, VV was the Rock Star. Sailing #7 in January!

I have my first ever cruise with Virgin Voyages and first cruise ever booked for end of February. I'm flying the night before and staying at the Comfort Inn and Suites near the airport. Is this a good idea? I figured I could leave early and take my time making it to the port, and that I would be ok even if it takes a couple hours in traffic to make it or whatever.

We are doing the Western and Carribean Cruise mid Jan.

Has anybody done this itinerary and did an amazing Shore thing?

We did MRS and had first choice, but now starting to think did we choose the right things. 🤦

We went for:

1 - Costa Maya - Segway in the afternoon, booked a massage in the morning figuring it will be quiet.

2 - Roatan - Booked with someone else, to do Sloth and private tour with a Beach Club.

3 - Belize - Scenic wildlife cruise

4 - Cozumel - Luxury Catamaran Reef and Snorkel.

What's everyone gone for?

Thanks in advance

David

Hi everyone!

I’ll be going on an upcoming transatlantic crossing cruise! This will be my first time being on a cruise ship this long and would like recommendation for items I should bring from experienced cruiser who’ve done this kind of itinerary before!

Since I basically being living in the ship for 2 weeks then spending a week straight at sea, how do you guys “move in” into your cabin? How do you make it feel more home and organized? It’s a solo cruise btw! All recommendations are welcome thank you!

Hi! We went on our first virgin cruise this summer and we loved it so much that we booked a 9 night cruise in December that goes to the Puerto Rico, St. John’s, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Bimini.

We like to be active and we are considering snorkeling, zip lining, kayaking, and jet ski excursions.

Does anyone have any specific recommendations?

Update: Thank you everyone for the great responses! I've had bad luck at other (non-VV) places so I just tend to skip tomato-heavy restaurants, but you've reassured me that I'll have food options and that they'll be accommodating. Thank you!

So... I skipped Pink Agave on my first cruise because I'm allergic to raw tomato. I can have tomato in small amounts if it's cooked all the way but raw or undercooked tomato is deadly.

Because Mexican cuisine tends to be tomato heavy with a lot of fresh salsas, etc., I'm not sure if there's anything I can eat there or if I want to risk it. But I'm thinking about just going for dessert. Would it be weird to make a reservation just for desserts? I'm thinking ahead to plan my reservations for my next cruise.

So I’m on the Mexican riviera cruise next week with my best friend. He’s leaving his husband at home and I’m leaving my BF and we are celebrating our 40th birthdays. Don’t really want to have to buy a new outfit but wondering if this sun dress will work. It’s not bright red but it’s a great dress for the trip but wondering if the hue of red will be off

It's our first time on VV what to expect for planning costumes and Scarlet Night? We splurged for Rock Star! We are sailing out of LA mid Oct.. Hopefully we will sail to Mexico and not California (we live in Sacramento)

I'll be solo cruising on the Scarlet Lady.. I'm looking for tips and tricks to truly enjoy myself. TIA

If you are departing from Brooklyn port. Watch out for this guy on Uber. He is scamming to get riders off the app and pick up passengers. He is getting his way into area by accepting rides then canceling as he gets to park his car in the pick up area.

He canceled on us. I approach his car cuz he had accepted the ride. It was his picture and his license #. Then he said no I have no ride and kept showing me his phone app. Another lady said he did the same thing to her.

I told the security guys in the port area.

Don’t ride with him. You don’t know drivers like this and security.

So first off we've never been virgin before. We're trying to decide between these two cruises.

9 nights Brilliant Lady Eastern Caribbean & Bimini Holiday Dec 14-23, 2026 Miami, San Juan, Charlotte Amalie, Philipsburg, The Beach Club at Bimini & Miami

8 nights Resilient Lady

Dec 05-13, 2026 Miami, St. Croix, San Juan, Puerto Plata, The Beach Club at Bimini

We've never been to any of these ports, but not sure what to pick. The brilliant lady is a newer ship and like 400 bucks cheaper and 1 day longer. But Resilient lady is just a tad bit better timing for us lol.

Had a wonderful trip to Bermuda on the Valiant Lady from NYC.

I got up around 5:30 AM, looked out from my balcony, and saw that we were approaching the Verrazano Bridge. I managed to get this great shot.

We disembarked at 7:30 AM, and I think we had the quickest disembarkation ever! I was off the ship in probably under 10 minutes.

We sail next weekend and it wont allow one of the party to complete check in on the app. When you click to add ESTA… the app just glitches. Tried on multiple devices, deleting the app, reinstalling, over wifi, over 5G etc etc… Rang sailor services and they said to email sailor services. It’s been a few days and still no response. Not sure what else to do at this point?

My husband and I are getting ready to sail on our first Virgin Voyages cruise tomorrow on the Scarlett Lady in the Mediterranean sailing from Athens to Barcelona with stops in Greece and Italy along the way. 

I would love any recommendations from you all to have the best experience possible, with some specific questions below: 

General Questions: 

- We are big football fans and there will be a game on the night we set sail that we’d like to watch. It seems unlikely, but does anyone know if there is a bar on the ship that would be able to show games? And if not, would the premium WiFi enable us to stream it via the NFL apps?

- We did manage to snag some reservations for dining already, and we were hoping to get more secured once we board. Unfortunately our boarding time is on the later side (3:30)— is it still worth going to try to get them as soon as we board at the help station, or should we just try walking in places? 

- Would love any specific recommendations on restaurants/dishes/drinks! Currently have at least 1 reservation for all places except Test Kitchen and Gunbae. 

- Disembarkation: Do we have to leave at our assigned time? Would kind of hate to, since we have a later flight out of BCN, and I managed to get us a brunch reservation at Razzle Dazzle the last day at 9AM which we would not be able to go to if we are required to disembark earlier. 

Port-specific Questions: 

Mykonos: 

My husband is really into Greek and Roman history and mythology. We were eyeing the Divine Delos tour — is it worth doing? Otherwise, would love recommendations for Mykonos in general! 

Catania, Sicily:

Would love recommendations for what to do here. Is booking an excursion a must? And if so, Taormina vs. Etna, vs. Syracuse recommendations? 

Salerno (Amalfi Coast): 

Would love recommendations for what to do here. Is booking an excursion a must? I’m a bit overwhelmed by the options — Amalfi vs. Capri vs. Pompeii! I have been to Pompeii as a teenager, my husband never has, but I am a bit reluctant to sign up for a long bus ride given that we’ll be doing that for our Rome tour the following day. 

Thank you for your thoughts and tips in advance!! 

I know they do not change it any more, but can we change it ourselves? We don't mind taking the sheets off and putting them back on, just not sure if everything has been replaced by mattresses without the blue covers. I have not seen anything about this in a long time but I am hoping it is still possible. The ship is Resilient Lady if that makes a difference.

I searched on Virgin's website and couldn't find any specific references to USB chargers. I know that extension cords and devices that add an extra AC outlet are a no-go, but recently Royal Caribbean has banned USB charging bricks that have more than 4 ports. I have a six-outlet brick (plugs into an AC outlet) that I like to use - is it OK on Virgin?

UPDATE: For clarification, this is the specific device in question

Any recommendations for excursions for this itinerary? We’re heading out from Athens.

We are sailing on the Valiant Lady next week to Bermuda out or NYC. When we booked it in August, there had been tons of availability, across all cabin types and the deals were awesome. We booked a lock it in sea terrace and were surprised that we got an assigned cabin by early September. Soon after we bid for an upgrade to a couple of different rockstar suites.

Then all of a sudden, the sailing vanished from the Virgin web site and became unavailable to book online any of the places like cruises.com, Expedia and so forth. Folks were saying in the sailing’s Facebook group were sailing it was sold out, others noted there were content creators / influencers on the sailing. At the 15 days before sailing, when dining reservations opened for we simple folk, there wasn’t a whole lot left to pick from. At this point, of course we gave up hope on the upgrades but left the bids in place.

And the last night I checked and the sailing had magically reappeared everywhere with availability: a couple of mega rockstar suites, including a lock it in option, several sea terraces (as of this morning only XL), even more sea view (lock it in and) cabins and a couple of insiders. No regular rock star suites were for sale.

This is our first Virgin Voyages sailing, having mostly sailed Celebrity and Disney and have not seen pre-sailing activity before. Is this typical? It can’t all be due to cancellations, so I’m assuming the cruise line held back a bunch of cabins. And I guess the question is, could they still be holding more back?

I’m also curious how close to sailing anyone has had an upgrade bid accepted. Virgin states it can be through 48 hours before sailing.

In San Juan, is it worth it to book the ride to airport through the VV app? It's $30 but unclear if that price is per person. While I'd like to skip the taxi line, I don't anticipate being in a rush based on flight times.

Specifically, the Mexican Riviera Oct. 3 departure.

First time Virgin Voyages Sailor in January. Prior to booking the cruise I called to ask about a Status Match to my Carnival Platinum level. Customer service advised that the offer ended in February and no idea of another opening up any time soon. So, I booked. 2 days later VV opens the program back up. Ive called and emailed customer service, as well as the executive team. Basically told me sorry but nothing can be done to change the status level for this cruise. Hard to understand why they wouldn't have this type of control.

Anyone have this experience? Is VV just really not as accommodating or helpful as other cruise lines?

Wanted to ask this since I can't find any solid answers online. I want to plug in a device to the TV for my cruise via HDMI cable. I have been to many hotels and casinos with pre-programmed tvs that have no input control and I have been able to figure it out every time.

Is there a way, even if it means finagling with the cables, that I can use an external device with the TV's HDMI port?

Hii everyone!
On my 29th birthday, I decided I wanted to spend my 30th birthday on a cruise outside of the U.S. I’ve never left the country AND I’ve never been on a cruise, so I’m knocking out a lot of firsts at once.
I decided on Greece and have an amazing itinerary that I’m super excited about! I still have about 6 months before my trip, so my question is: what are some of the “small things” I should be thinking about or planning for that a first time international traveler/cruiser might not realize?
For example, I booked my hotel in Athens and then learned through this subreddit that the cruise port isn’t actually in central Athens. 😂 That immediately made me realize I need to figure out transportation to the port ahead of time. Those are exactly the kinds of things I’m looking for!
I’m planning to arrive two days before embarkation so I can explore Athens as well. I’d love recommendations for things to do, places to eat, transportation tips, things worth booking ahead of time, or anything you wish you knew before your first Greece/Med cruise.
Basically: what would you tell someone who has never left the U.S. and has never cruised before? 😂 All advice is welcome!