Loved not having kids running and screaming. The cabin was quiet and the hammock was divine! The staff was super friendly, easy going, and really seemed to enjoy their job. Loved there were no announcements in the staterooms or photographers hounding you every night. Most of the ship was decorated beautifully with only a few exceptions (like the stateroom hallway carpet ... it was dull pastels instead of vibrant and fun colors).
Didn't like how difficult it was to get dinner reservations and the speed of the experience was sometimes right on and other nights had long waits between courses.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Apparently we qualified to go through VIP boarding line but we had no idea. It's unfortunate Virgin didn't make this clear beforehand. Everyone who arrived to the port early had to wait in long lines outdoors. Thankfully we arrived on time and the boarding went smoothly with minimal waiting in line.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Great concept for having all restaurants available instead of main dining rooms but the execution needs work! It was difficult to get reservations for the times we wanted before the cruise in the app and during the cruise. No walk up spots were available for The Wake, Pink Agave, or Extra Virgin. Most of the food was high quality, presented beautifully/uniquely, but most dinners took entirely too long between courses. We waited 45 minutes between appetizers and our entree at The Wake one night. We waited more than 30 minutes between apps and entree at Pink Agave one night too. The drinks are on point though for sure! Wish The Dock and The Dock House stayed open later than 6:30pm. There were two nights when we couldn't get reservations anywhere and wanted to eat there instead.
The Galley concept is outstanding versus the traditional cruise buffet but again waits for custom orders took entirely too long. My husband put up the flag to order a burger through a server and waited over 10 minutes to be helped and then another 13 minutes for the burger to arrive. I went to the counter and ordered myself (in order to compare the two options) and my burger was ready in less than 5 minutes using the buzzer system. Relatively the same thing happened with tacos there days later. My husband finally stopped using the waiter system too.
The free on board ice cream is a dream! So very good. My only complaint is they were out of the regular vanilla cones after the first 3 days and they serve it with wooden spoons which are a sensory nightmare for me.
The pizza was pretty good although they were sometimes burned on the bottom and took much longer than it should have for not doing a special order.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There were numberous options to accommodate all people.
Entertainment
We missed the show reservations we had because our dinners took too long.
Children's Programs
Virgin doesn't allow kids. YAY!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Seriously incredible staff! Everyone was genuinely friendly and encouraging. It really felt like you were cruising with a bunch of new friends. The room attendants did not try to stop you in the hall and have endless conversations with you which was especially nice; and they did an incredible job working around our schedule and providing super clean rooms.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Loved the ship design and it was always tidy. Only a few spaces felt closed in while most were well designed to hold a lot of people without feeling like it was crowded. So many great spaces onboard.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I can't get over the amazing hammock! I don't know why all ship balconies don't have this feature. I literally spent hours each day swinging and reading in that bit of luxury! The hammock is what will bring me back on another Virgin ship.
The stateroom is minimalistic in design but well thought out. We loved how the lights and drapes welcomed you when you entered your room. That was special.
The bathroom is the smallest I've seen at sea but the shower is the largest I've seen in a regular cruise stateroom.
When the beds are in the together configuration though, there is a large, unmovable storage drawer sticking out into the room just waiting to crack your shin open on. That part was the only thing about the cabin that didn't make sense.
The room was super clean and the room attendants were amazing!
Ship tip
The bathroom walls are not very magnetic but the stateroom walls are so if you want extra hangup storage for bags, hats, etc bring some magnets with hooks. Also, you can use your on board credit in the shops to buy a hammock! Ship Ship Hooray!
We rented a car from Budget at the port area. You have to rent early or all the cars will be gone and you will have to take a 30 minute taxi to and from the airport to get a rental car. This is an incredible DIY port. So many amazing beaches, snorkeling and diving opportunities, excellent local food, and gorgeous jungle to explore.
This was not Virgin's fault but we were delayed being able to start disembarkation and then there was a tractor trailer wreck at the entrance/exit to the port so no cars, taxis, etc could get in or out for almost an hour. The taxi line was backed up so far in the direct sun. It really ended up being a mess.
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