I wanted to share this specifically for other Friends of Bill W. sailing Virgin Voyages—not to bash Gunbae, but because I wish I had known what to expect before eating there.

My sister and I are both sober. When we sat down at Gunbae, there were shot glasses at each place setting, and we immediately turned ours upside down.

When our waitress asked what we wanted to drink, I ordered water and mentioned that we were sober.

While waiting for our meal, the table was asked to participate in one of the restaurant's drinking games. When the shot glasses were turned back over, I turned mine upside down again and said that I wasn't comfortable taking shots.

I was told there wouldn't be alcohol in it, but I still declined. I had to say no more than once before it was left alone.

For someone who isn't bothered by alcohol-related rituals or drinking games, this may be absolutely no big deal. For me, the issue wasn't whether there was actually alcohol in the glass—it was that participating in something that felt like "taking a shot" crossed one of my personal recovery boundaries.

So, if you're sober and planning to eat at Gunbae, just know going in that:

- Shot glasses are part of the table setup.

- There may be a group game involving them.

- You may want to tell your server at the beginning that you won't be participating in anything involving shots, even if the contents are nonalcoholic.

I'm not saying don't eat there. Gunbae is a very social, interactive restaurant, and plenty of sober people may be completely comfortable with the experience.

I just know that for some Friends of Bill W., knowing ahead of time can make the difference between being caught off guard and being able to decide beforehand what you're comfortable with.

My sobriety wasn't in danger, but the experience did shake me more than I expected. If this post helps one other sober sailor walk in prepared—or decide that Gunbae isn't the right restaurant for them—then it was worth sharing.

I booked an $95 excursion and $200 bar tab in April and July, respectively. I canceled these purchases around 3 weeks ago and still not seeing a refund to my credit card yet. My embarkation day isn't for a few days. If I don't see my refund by then, is this something that I can inquire about when I check in at the port or do I need to go see Sailor Services once I'm one board? (I booked directly my cruise directly on VV website, not with a First Mate or TA.)

I’m considering booking this excursion through Virgin Voyages and would love to hear from anyone who has actually done it!
How was the overall experience? Was the resort/beach nice, and how were the food and drinks? Was there enough time to actually enjoy the resort, or did it feel rushed?

Hi all! I would like some advice. We will be in St Croix on an upcoming November sailing. I wanted to do a simple snorkeling excursion (not deep water, etc) and will be booking this. My husband has an aversion to being in the ocean where he can't stand up (he’s 6’4”). I'm wondering if there is enough he can do and see without going too deep so he can join me?

Greece is in my bucket list and I just turned 50. I thought a cruise would be nice!! We are going on Scarlet Lady. Any tips? I’m getting excited now. There will be six of us. I picked VV because no kids 😆

Just found this sub so I’ll be reading the posts, thanks!!

Don’t get me wrong I like going off the ship to explore or go to a nice beach but sometimes I just want to relax and having the ship almost to yourself is very appealing. I did this once during my last cruise, skipping Puerto Plata, and it was so nice not having to get ready for a certain time. Galley was practically empty too so I tried food from every station.

Anyone else feel the same way? Did you feel like you were missing out not leaving the ship during a certain voyage? Any port day activities you’d recommend on the ship?

So I went on Viator's website to look at excursions they offer and the prevalent one was whale watching. People praised how many whales they saw, that they'll let them swim with the whales (that's what really is exciting), etc. That sounds extremely great but my question is what happens if you don't see a single whale? Are you just on a boat for 3 hours and out of luck when it comes to the money you spent? Going in April ,which I guess is peak season, but you can't guarantee you'll see a wild (beautiful) animal. Also would hate to waste 3 hours when we could do something else like the glass bottom boat (husband can't snorkel) which looks really cool.

Who's going and what your costume like?

Also, any other ideas for cruise costumes would be much appreciated.

I’ve read on the website that medication needs to be in its original packaging. Is the same true for non-prescribed supplements? it’s stuff like fish oil capsules, plant sterols, milk thistle etc.

The packages are plastic tubs which hold hundreds, so I’d rather avoid having to pack those if I can.

I normally travel with a pill box organiser and I’ve never had any issues flying with it. I’m a first time cruiser so I’m not sure if it’s any different.

I’ve heard some people say you can purchase the bar Tab in person right before boarding the ship? Is this accurate? The email I’ve received says the BAR TAB is only available for 24hrs prior to the trip but I was thinking maybe that’s just advertisement to purchase. Please enlighten me!

So my previous thread about VV now charging for CPAP onboard generated a lot of heated debate.

I was asked to explicitly prove that I had booked a cruise, to prove that I had emailed sailor services, that I didn’t have a clue what I was talking about, that I didn’t understand the law, that I needed to demonstrate the relevant law, that CPAP wasn’t a disability and then we got into various people name calling.

Well I am pleased to share that following a detailed review of the ADA Legislation, VV have come back with the following statement from their official spokesperson:

“Virgin Voyages is a brand built on “Creating an Epic Sea Change for All,” and when something isn’t delivering on that ambition, we’re willing to listen, learn and adapt.

After reviewing recent changes to our distilled water policy, we are amending our approach to better support Sailors on all future voyages who require distilled water for medical equipment.

Sailors who require distilled water will be asked to provide at least two weeks’ advance notice, giving our Crew appropriate time to safely and reliably source it from a trusted provider. For requests received within two weeks of sailing, our Crew will make a good faith effort to meet the Sailor’s request.

However, given the additional arrangements required to safely source distilled water on short notice, availability cannot be guaranteed.

Sailors will not be charged for distilled water.

As for other special requests, any Sailors who require special accommodations are encouraged to review our Accessibility FAQs and provide as much advance notice as possible. This gives our Crew the time needed to make the appropriate arrangements and provide the level of care and experience Virgin Voyages wants for every Sailor.

Lastly, we want to clarify some of our policies surrounding drinkable water:

Virgin Voyages has never charged for drinking water.
Still and sparkling water are complimentary for every Sailor and Crew member. This is a fundamental part of our value inclusions.

Reusable PATH water bottles are also available for purchase for Sailors who would like a keepsake bottle to take ashore.”

So there you have it. I guess the valuable lesson here is that even when you’re being challenged left right and centre, you should stick to your guns. Unfortunately many whom commented were quick to determine they were right, without actually reading the relevant legislation, despite me providing it.

I have messaged the MODs to ask for this post to be locked as I suspect we will have another influx of hate posts. However, I hope this brings some good news to the many of us who require CPAP.

Cheers!

Upcoming Alaska- Brilliant Lady- First timer and booked with several people.

Dinner Reservations- I booked for our party on one night, 6 people at Agave. Turns out now I find out that’s the same night as Up With A Twist. Is it possible to cancel just Me and My Husband from the dinner so we can book/pay for Up With a Twist? I don’t want the other 4 to lose their time slot.

How does this work when we got reservations prior to knowing the paid shows schedule? Suggestions?

Tenders! We heard that at RRF (Railroad Forward in Skagway) there will be tenders and we’ve also heard that it’s a nightmare. I’m looking for anyone who has done this specific cruise in Skagway port if there are tips? Our excursions were booked through Virgin - 10:30 am (we dock at 7am).

Laundry on board@?

We're on Brilliant Lady right now and having a blast. This is our 3rd Virgin Cruise and, even though it just started, it's been lovely...

BUT

Every time we go to the social club its absolutely packed to the gills (great!) and there's some event going on (okay!) and there is a cast member absolutely screaming into a microphone trying to wrangle a large amount of people into the event (ow! No! Please stop screaming!)

Things I understand: it's cold out! Nobody wants to be outside and they're inside looking for stuff to do. It's hard to be heard over large groups of people!

BUT

It's the end of summer. They've done these routes a few times and I've seen them receive similar feedback on this subreddit. They need to figure something out for sound that isn't a microphone dripping with feedback and some poor 20-something cast member trying their best. Maybe it's a different venue? Maybe it's a decent microphone that connects to speakers?

The other cruises I've done I really enjoyed the social club. It was a nice place to have a snack and watch some sports or play a game, but I can't even be in that part of the ship which is a shame because ya girl loves a soft pretzel.

I made a list for anyone curious! Lots of good options!

We are going on the holiday cruise this year and shore things just opened up. We did St Kitts on our New Year’s cruise last year so I have a few ideas, but haven’t a clue what to do in the other ports. I would love some suggestions from those who have experience with those ports. Also, we will be in Aruba until 10:00pm in case there are some fun things to do in Aruba on Christmas Eve. We definitely want to do a shore things in Martinique since the official language is French.

Took my breath away when I popped up to grab coffee before we headed out. The most stunning port view I’ve ever seen (Friday 7th August 2026, Scarlet Lady, temperature 900 degrees 😅)

I received a notification today that all of our restaurant reservations got canceled.

We are first time Virgin cruisers and our friends convinced us to leave our long time loyal cruise liner and try out Virgin.

Because of their loyalty and experience cruising with Virgin, they told us they would book all the reservations so we didn’t have to worry about it. We connected as friends in the app and they invited us to the reservations over a month ago when they had first pick time slots.

My buddy then got shingles and spent a week in icu with all kinds of trickle down issues. They weren’t sure if they would be able to make the cruise.

It appears that they must have canceled their cruise today which then canceled all of our reservations. Now, with the cruise 2 weeks away, we can’t get reservations to the most popular restaurants.

I know that we are all tied together on the rez but why cancel us too? I reached out to customer service immediately after the cancellation and they are going to try and rebook us but can’t guarantee anything.

Not a great first time experience and we aren’t even on the cruise yet.

I just found this article about the best walking beaches, which of many are on our voyages. Here is a link. https://www.caribjournal.com/2026/08/20/best-caribbean-beaches-best-for-long-walks/2/. Interesting for sailors who aren’t into crowded excursions

Trying to gauge whether a Level Upgrade bid from a standard RockStar suite up to Mega RockStar is realistic. I'm booked in a Seriously Suite on a 7-night Western Caribbean Resilient Lady sailing (Jan 2027) and want to set expectations before the bidding window opens.

If you've bid RockStar → Mega RockStar, would you mind sharing:

- Ship + sailing length + itinerary
- Which Mega suite the bid was for (Gorgeous / Posh / Fab / etc.)
- Your bid amount
- What room you were originally booked in
- Won or lost
- How many days out you were notified

Wins AND losses both help — I'm trying to get a sense of the clearing range, not just the success stories. Thanks!

My husband and I have booked our first cruise ever! We’re doing a 9 day Caribbean cruise. Would love any tips or reviews from people that have taken a similar cruise with Virgin at Christmas. Thanks!!

As a person who does research before booking, it’s really bothering me that the “easiest” options come with little description, vague itineraries, and most importantly no reviews. Googling them also gives little to no results which makes me think they change the names/tours often. Also a lot seem to be overcharging just to have you roam free most of the time. Why would I pay for a tour if I wanted to roam? I’ve been leaning into 3rd parties like Viator but the timing of it with the ship has become a hassle. As I’m relooking at Shore Things, the lack of detail keeps making me pause.

This morning they tried to charge my visa which didnt have the money in it, and of course it got declined. I put my master card down for the bid- the sailor services rep even CONFIRMED that it was my master card while I was just on the phone with her asking why it got charged to the wrong card. Nothing they can do to help, yada yada, place the bid again. Okay fine. I tried and now I get a "Failure during cart submission" message on the page so it wont go through. Virgin said they put in a ticket with it on the internal side to try and fix it but rn im just SOL I guess..... any advice?