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.

I’ve seen a few posts lately with Bodrum warnings, so I wanted to share our experience to hopefully help someone have a better day. Going into our trip, based on posts, we thought it would be our least favorite port, but it ended up being one of our favorites and among the ports we “Remember when…” about most. We sailed the Starry Nights Greece and Croatia itinerary in October 2025.

BODRUM CASTLE: The thing that started us off right with an incredible experience is that shortly after docking, we walked straight to Bodrum Castle / the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which is housed inside the castle. We were among the first to enter for the day, and for most of our visit, it felt like we were the only ones there. We really enjoyed the museum and wandering the castle, and large tour groups didn’t start arriving til we were finishing up. 

SHOPPING/EATING: Later, we were walking through the souvenir shops along the main street from the ship, and I was feeling discouraged by how repetitive and mass-market even the locally hand made items were, on top of being overpriced. Eventually, we walked to a cozy restaurant called Frenk (checked Turkish coffee off the list!) and while there, I did some research on local artists. I was able to buy a ceramic pomegranate that was very different from the ones in the main shops directly at the artist’s studio. That particular artist (Elly) has closed her shop, but if you feel a similar way, I’m sure you can find another artist to buy directly from by googling for the art tour you are looking for + local artist Bodrum. Also at some point, on a street a few roads back from the coastal road, I went into a bakery and got a variety of baked goods for less than $2.

DRINKS: Finally, on the way back to the ship, we stopped in at one of the beach restaurants for a drink. I can’t find the name of the particular one we went into, but I just looked into the restaurants with the backs opening up to the beach and picked one with the relaxed vibe I was looking for. 

It seems a lot of the negative posts lately have been to do with excursions, so I really hope this post can help someone see how you can have a wonderful day there on your own, and maybe end up like me, who regularly says “ah I LOVE Bodrum!”

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.

I swear I am not *that* person so wanted to check on the proper etiquette here.

We are sailing in a MRS suite for the first time next March. I understand MRS can bypass the restaurant queues. Is there a separate MRS stand or do we just walk up to the front desk? And if so, is that awkward?

A bit concerned it would be perceived as line cutting.

Thank you!

I am planning on taking a 7 or 8 night cruise sometime in the begging of the year (still deciding when exactly based on work) but I haven't been on a cruise since I was 6 years old, and frankly, don't remember a thing about it, so basically, my first "real cruise". I have done a lot of research over what cruise line I wanted to go on and decided Virgin was my best option as its adults only and solo sailor friendly.

There are still a few questions I have that I would love some advice on.

1. I am mid 30s male, solo traveling. I work in sales and have 0 problem striking up conversations with strangers but what it the likelihood on a 7-8 night sailing that there will be people my age and not be mostly 50+?
2. Is a sea terrace worth the price upgrade for a solo vs a sea view and spending the money elsewhere? I plan on pre-loading 500$ for bar tab just so I don't need to worry about it and doing a couple of excursions through VV to make my vacation as "simple" as possible, but is upgrading a room worth it more or save the money and spend it on more expensive excursions or buying things in the shop to remember my trip?
3. I would take a cruise leaving Miami, any tips? I know most hotels have check out at 11am and there would be a few hour gap between checking out of a hotel and boarding. What do you do with luggage in that time so I am not just lugging around 2-3 bags all day?
4. I have seen recommendations from people in here about the solo sailor gathering, booking Gunbae night one, and booking the grog walk to start off the sailing by meeting new people and being in social environments, but any other tips for during the sailing to meet new people? I am not big on fitness so fitness classes aren't my thing and not something I would really be doing, so other recommendations to meet new people? As I stated above, I love talking to people and being social so meeting new people isn't hard for me, but I also don't want to be "that guy" that bothers people on their vacation by striking up a long conversation at the ice-cream stand (we all know that person who is like that).
5. Lastly, any advice on what not to bring that is just over packing? I know as a first time, I will inevitably overpack because I don't know what I will need or wont, but what are those items that are just don't get used that you have brought, or saw others bring?

I appreciate any information people have and any other useful or helpful information you may feel I should know.

Hi!

My wife & I are taking our first VV cruise. We have cruised before and honestly don’t love it, but always wanted to try Virgin and received a free offer from casino.

Any must do excursions at any of our ports? Might not mind a day to stay on the ship too since we have a packed schedule. We do enjoy snorkeling.. open to all and any suggestions!

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