Up next in 10
BEST FIRST DAY onboard Virgin Voyages π’β
Apr 27, 2025
β¨ We dive into why your first night aboard a Virgin Voyages cruise is so important and how it sets the tone for your entire holiday. Discover essential step-by-step tips for a smooth and enjoyable embarkation, including how to quickly connect to onboard WiFi, reserve your favourite restaurants and events using the Virgin Voyages app, and take advantage of the ship's quieter moments to explore amenities at your leisure.
We also showcase the vibrant social scene on board, highlighting opportunities to connect through solo traveller meetups, the spirited Let's Set Sail party, the legendary Grog Walk bar crawl, and the unforgettable PJ Party.
For even more insider tips, detailed guides, dining recommendations, and booking tools to enhance your cruise experience, visit https://vvinsider.com.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, and ring the bell icon for more exclusive cruising insights from VV Insider! πππ³οΈ
00:00 Introduction to Your First Night on Virgin Voyages
00:51 Boarding the Ship: First Impressions
02:01 Maximizing Your First Day: Bookings and Reservations
04:02 Exploring the Ship: Venues and Activities
07:09 Safety First: Muster Drill and Cabin Setup
08:26 Socializing and Events: Meeting Fellow Sailors
09:26 The Let's Set Sail Party
12:13 Dinner and Evening Entertainment
14:19 The Iconic PJ Party
16:19 Conclusion and Additional Resources
π LINKS:
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0:00
so today I want to talk to you about
0:02
something that we at VV Insider think is
0:04
super important when it comes to your
0:06
Virgin Voyages vacation and that's how
0:08
you spend your very first night on board
0:11
The reason why we think this is so
0:13
important is because what you do on your
0:15
very first night of your voyage can have
0:17
a huge impact on the rest of your
0:19
vacation I want to talk through why that
0:21
is and how you can make the most of your
0:23
very first night to have the best
0:24
vacation possible V Insider is the
0:27
number one resource for the latest
0:29
Virgin Voyages info guides and news From
0:31
picking the perfect cabin to booking
0:33
dining or simply just making the most of
0:35
your voyage and saving money while you
0:37
do it vinsider.com has helped thousands
0:39
of sailors around the world sail smarter
0:42
Support our work by hitting subscribe
0:44
and stick around to hear how you can get
0:46
exclusive perks by booking directly with
0:50
us So you've done it You've checked in
0:52
You've got your sailor wristband on and
0:54
you're ready to have a really fantastic
0:56
vacation on your Virgin Voyage Now as
0:58
you walk down the gang way and onto the
1:00
ship the very first thing you'll notice
1:03
is there is going to be a fantastic
1:05
lively atmosphere on board So when
1:08
you're actually embarking on your Virgin
1:09
Voyage as soon as you step in there's a
1:12
live DJ playing music and there's also
1:14
members of the entertainment team ready
1:16
to welcome you on board as well The
1:18
members of the entertainment team will
1:20
be dressed in red jumpsuits And the
1:22
entertainment team on board Virgin
1:24
Voyages are called the Happenings cast
1:26
And there's lots to say about the
1:28
Happenings cast And we'll be making a
1:30
video about that in the future But for
1:31
now we have a fantastic guide which
1:33
explains exactly who the Happenings cast
1:35
are and what they're responsible for on
1:38
board You may have already heard of some
1:40
of the roles like the hostess or the
1:42
diva But actually there's a list of 12
1:44
different roles in the happenings cast
1:46
and many of them are responsible for
1:48
different types of activity on board So
1:50
I'm going to put a link to that guide
1:51
down in the notes so you can have a read
1:54
But for now they're simply there to
1:55
welcome you on board and welcome you to
1:57
the Virgin Voyages experience We'll talk
1:59
more about them in just a moment So now
2:01
that you're on you'll be wanting to know
2:03
what to do next So here's my first bit
2:05
of advice Do not use this time just to
2:07
wander around the ship aimlessly What
2:09
you want to do is get connected to the
2:12
Wi-Fi and make sure you're doing
2:13
everything in the Virgin Voyages app
2:15
that you need to do as everyone else is
2:17
wandering around and trying to get their
2:19
bearings on board You've got plenty time
2:21
to do that later on today Right now you
2:23
want to make sure that you're booking
2:25
any experiences or any dining that you
2:27
didn't manage to book before you boarded
2:30
So if you read our Vegan Insider guide
2:31
on booking dining you'll know that quite
2:34
a lot of the dining actually opens up
2:36
the day of the sailing So if you haven't
2:38
managed to get that perfect booking for
2:40
the restaurant that you wanted now is a
2:42
great time to check Now you're on board
2:44
open up the app and take a look at those
2:46
allimportant dining times and try and
2:48
snag the slot that you want Take
2:50
advantage of the fact that everyone else
2:52
who's just got on board is simply
2:54
wandering around aimlessly Now is your
2:56
chance to get on the app and snipe the
2:58
perfect dining times And that goes for
3:01
the onboard events as well So some of
3:03
the happenings events like the food and
3:04
drink events for example do tend to sell
3:07
out quite early on in the voyage So now
3:09
is the perfect time again as everyone
3:11
else is wandering around the ship to get
3:13
on the app and book those allimportant
3:16
experiences in there If you miss out you
3:18
can add yourself to a waiting list but
3:20
it is best to make sure that you get
3:21
this done early so you can just enjoy
3:23
and relax the rest of your voyage
3:25
knowing that you have all of your
3:26
bookings in place as they should be If
3:29
you're not sure about what dining and
3:30
what entertainment options you want to
3:32
book again make sure that you visit
3:34
vvincider.com We have a list of all the
3:36
dining options and all of those fun
3:38
events that you can book with the
3:40
Happenings Cast So make sure before you
3:42
get on board you know exactly what you
3:43
want to book and do that as soon as you
3:45
board to avoid any disappointment Some
3:48
of the things to look out for that book
3:49
up very very quickly are things like the
3:51
bungee classes and also some dining and
3:54
restaurants that are a bit smaller So
3:55
for example Pink Agave is quite a small
3:58
restaurant So make sure that you book
4:00
those and make those a priority when
4:01
you're booking those slots So once
4:03
you've done all of your admin and you've
4:05
done all of your bookings yes it sounds
4:06
pretty boring but you'll not regret it
4:08
Now would be a great time to do exactly
4:10
what you wanted to do in the first place
4:12
which is just roam around and get a feel
4:14
for the vibe of the ship Maybe grab
4:16
yourself a drink from one of the bars
4:18
and really enjoy the atmosphere of the
4:20
ship and use this time to get your
4:22
bearings So later in the voyage when you
4:24
see things in the lineup on the app
4:26
you'll know where to head So for example
4:28
if you see something like the speed
4:29
puzzle challenge is going to be in the
4:31
social club you'll know where to head
4:32
for that event when it comes along Also
4:35
now is a great time to visit some of
4:37
those venues that you wouldn't normally
4:38
be able to access when we're sailing So
4:41
what I mean by that is now is a great
4:42
time to go to those venues that you
4:44
would normally need to book So for
4:45
example you can head down to the
4:47
redemption spa and take a look at the
4:49
facilities The staff there will be more
4:51
than happy to give you a little tour of
4:53
the facilities so that you'll know where
4:55
to come if you decide to book one of
4:57
those experiences or one of the thermal
4:58
passes later on in your voyage It's also
5:01
a great time to pop your head into the
5:02
groupy private karaoke rooms They will
5:05
be available to book but it's unlikely
5:07
somebody would have booked a room for
5:08
the very first day So now is a great
5:10
time just to pop your head in try out
5:12
some of the equipment and see whether
5:14
it's something you want to book for
5:15
later on in your voyage And it's free so
5:17
you may as well pop your name down later
5:18
on in the voyage and give it a go You
5:20
can also go up to deck 15 and have a
5:22
look at the tuneup as well which is a
5:24
location on board where you can get
5:26
things like Manny Petties with a
5:27
fantastic view of the ocean Again all of
5:30
the venues that I've just mentioned
5:31
there I'll pop a link down below in the
5:33
description So you can have a look at RV
5:35
Insider description of those places
5:37
before you head on board Because the
5:39
boarding groups are staggered it's
5:40
likely that when you get on board
5:42
there's still quite a few hundred people
5:43
behind you ready to get on as well So
5:46
take advantage of that time where things
5:47
are a little bit more quiet If you want
5:49
to do a salon experience or something in
5:52
the redemption spa now is a great time
5:54
to do that cuz you're not going to be
5:56
competing with other people And
5:57
sometimes they do special offers where
6:00
you can get money off or a discount on
6:02
some of the treatments on the very first
6:04
day of the voyage So I encourage you to
6:06
go down and have a look and ask the
6:07
staff to see if there are any offers
6:08
available One of the fantastic things
6:11
with Virgin Voyages is that you don't
6:13
need to wait around for your cabin to
6:15
become available So as soon as you're on
6:17
board you can use your wristband to
6:19
unlock your room door Your luggage might
6:22
not have arrived in that time but you
6:24
can pop in there and drop your hand
6:26
luggage down You can drop your backpack
6:28
off You can maybe even freshen up a
6:29
little bit So you'll have full access to
6:31
the room And it's also a great time to
6:33
meet your cabin host Your cabin host
6:35
will likely be operating in the corridor
6:38
and they'll check to see if you've
6:39
entered the room and they'll introduce
6:41
themsel and ask if you need any
6:42
configuration done in your cabin This is
6:45
the exact time that you want to tell
6:47
them about any preferences So if you
6:48
want to ask for a mattress topper or a
6:51
steamer for your clothes or extra
6:53
pillows or any changes in the bed
6:55
configuration now is a great time to do
6:57
that Now you can do this at any point in
6:59
your voyage by using the controls on the
7:01
tablet or asking sailor services in the
7:04
app but your cabin host will want to
7:05
make sure that they get your preferences
7:07
right from the outset So that's a great
7:09
time to do it Now when you're in your
7:11
room you'll want to make sure that you
7:13
finish your part of the safety muster So
7:16
there is a video that you need to watch
7:17
You can either do this on your app or
7:19
you can watch it on the TV screen in
7:21
your cabin It's a fun animated video and
7:24
it will tell you about the safety
7:25
information that you need to know
7:27
because you're of course on a sailing
7:29
vessel So you'll need to know about life
7:31
jackets where to go when you hear
7:33
particular alarms for example All of the
7:35
information that you'll need is in the
7:37
video So make sure you pay attention to
7:39
that Later on in the afternoon there
7:41
will be a shipwide announcement to say
7:43
that the muster stations have opened
7:46
Make sure you have watched the safety
7:47
video because you will be asked about it
7:49
at your muster station If you're having
7:51
any problems at all finding your muster
7:53
station it will be on your app You'll
7:55
have a letter which will correspond to
7:57
the location that you'll need to go to
7:59
And if you have any problems finding it
8:00
at all simply ask any member of staff
8:02
and they will point you in the right
8:04
direction Once you're at the muster
8:06
station make sure that you have everyone
8:07
in your cabin there because what you'll
8:09
do is you'll check in to that must
8:11
station So they will scan your band and
8:13
check you in on their device Once you've
8:15
done that that's your responsibility for
8:17
the mustard drill done and you can get
8:19
on and enjoy the rest of your voyage So
8:22
now all of the formalities are done with
8:24
Now we can get on with really enjoying
8:25
the voyage In our opinion at VV Insider
8:28
one of the best things about any Virgin
8:30
Voyages are the other sailors that you
8:33
meet while you're on board We have a few
8:35
tips in this regard to try and meet new
8:37
people and have the best time possible
8:38
Now of course you don't have to pay any
8:40
attention to these tips if you prefer to
8:42
keep yourself to yourself but I do
8:44
encourage trying to meet new people when
8:45
you're voyaging It just makes the whole
8:47
experience so much more enjoyable in our
8:49
opinion So with that being said Virgin
8:51
Voyages actually run a fantastic event
8:53
for solo sailor So if you're sailing
8:55
solo you can go along to the solo sailor
8:58
meetup This meetup is specifically for
9:01
other solo sailors When you join this
9:03
meetup it will be hosted by a member of
9:05
the Happenings Cast which I mentioned
9:07
earlier The Happlings cast will guide
9:08
the event and lead some activities to
9:10
help solo sailors get to know one
9:12
another You can form a little bit of a
9:14
group that you can stick with for the
9:16
rest of the voyage which is lovely
9:18
Towards the end of this meetup the
9:19
happenings cast will then lead you
9:21
upstairs to the sail away party This is
9:24
where the fun really begins This is the
9:27
let's set sail sail away party and this
9:30
is the first opportunity that you'll get
9:32
to really experience that Virgin Voyages
9:34
vibe So late afternoon the let's set
9:37
sail saila away party normally happens
9:39
at the aquatic club which is around the
9:41
pool Now of course weather dependent if
9:44
the weather isn't looking so great they
9:46
might have moved the party into the
9:48
roundabout which is the atrium style
9:50
area but that is rare and generally the
9:53
entertainment's manager will try and
9:54
make sure that the party does happen on
9:56
the pool because it is much more fun up
9:58
there to be honest So grab a place by at
10:01
the pool because the DJ is about to get
10:03
the party started So the volume of the
10:05
music will be turned up This is where
10:07
they transition from the mustard drills
10:10
the safety the administration of getting
10:12
on board and moving over to the full
10:15
party mode of Virgin Voyagers Now of
10:17
course this full party mode that I talk
10:19
about is completely optional If you
10:21
prefer to stand on deck 16 and simply
10:24
watch everything happen that's entirely
10:26
up to you Me personally I like to be
10:28
downstairs on deck 15 and dancing around
10:30
the pool with a drink in my hand That's
10:32
just me After a while as the music's
10:34
been playing the crew will meander
10:36
around the pool with glasses of free
10:39
bubbles This is a free sparkling wine
10:41
that's provided to really toast to the
10:43
new sailing So do make sure you grab a
10:45
glass because now is the time that
10:47
you'll start to see the happenings cast
10:49
start to join the party So the
10:51
happenings cast will come out in their
10:53
iconic red jumpsuits and start dancing
10:56
around the pool and getting people in
10:57
that party spirit This will generally be
11:00
your first opportunity to have a little
11:01
conversation with the Happlings cast and
11:03
get to know them one- on- one So make
11:05
sure you take the opportunity because of
11:07
course these are the people that will be
11:09
leading the entertainment activities for
11:11
the rest of your voyage So getting to
11:13
know who they are earlier in the voyage
11:14
is a really great way to build that
11:16
rapport and have a really great time
11:17
with them And if you're having a great
11:19
time in these entertainment events and
11:21
become somewhat of a familiar face it
11:23
can lead to fun surprises and special
11:25
events later on So do try and make sure
11:27
that you attend these happenings events
11:29
During the let's set sale party the
11:31
hostess and the diva will make their
11:33
appearance on deck 16 The hostess will
11:36
command the crowd and raise a toast and
11:38
do individual introductions for members
11:40
of the happenings cast And once the
11:42
happenings cast introduced there is a
11:45
fantastic toast raised to the voyage
11:48
ahead So raise that glass of free
11:50
sparkling wine and toast to the voyage
11:52
ahead It's a really fantastic way to
11:54
start the Virgin Voyage experience and
11:56
that's generally where the ship will
11:58
actually be setting sail So leaving port
12:01
So you might see people disperse at that
12:02
point to get a view of the land as you
12:04
start leaving port Once the let's set
12:07
sail party is over and done with That's
12:09
when it's time to probably get ready for
12:11
dinner and start planning the night
12:12
ahead Because there is so much planned
12:15
on the very first night of a Virgin
12:16
Voyage This is a really good tip Try and
12:18
book your dinner reservation a little
12:20
earlier on in the evening So try for
12:22
around 6:30 to 7:00 just to leave you
12:25
enough time after dinner to do all of
12:27
those fun activities that come up later
12:29
on Or if you prefer to keep things
12:30
really really quick you can just go to
12:32
the galley or the pizza place for
12:33
example And of course don't forget there
12:35
is also the ship eat option as well
12:37
which is the room service that's
12:39
delivered to your cabin So after dinner
12:41
is generally when the evening's
12:42
entertainment will begin One piece of
12:44
entertainment which is always offered on
12:46
the first night and is always a
12:48
fantastic thing to do if you're
12:49
interested in meeting new friends and
12:51
meeting new sailor on board is the grog
12:53
walk And the grog walk is effectively a
12:57
bar crawl So it will start in a
12:59
particular location and the happenings
13:01
cast there will generally be two or
13:03
three of them guiding your group around
13:05
will lead you through some fun
13:07
activities to get to know new sailor Now
13:10
some of these activities are a little
13:11
bit tricky to get involved with at the
13:13
beginning cuz everyone's a little bit
13:14
nervous but you are provided with
13:16
included drinks as part of this
13:18
experience So the experience itself has
13:20
a cost attached to it but the drinks
13:22
that you receive on the experience are
13:24
included So once you've had a drink or
13:26
two it'll be a lot easier to do these
13:27
activities to get to know the rest of
13:29
the group Now I'm such an advocate for
13:31
the Grog Walk because doing the Grogwalk
13:33
I have met lifelong friends But that is
13:35
just testament to how fun of an
13:37
experience it is and how good it is at
13:39
getting people talking and getting
13:41
people to know one another which will
13:43
have such an impact on the rest of your
13:45
voyage If you can meet a like-minded
13:48
group of people before the rest of the
13:50
sailing that is half of the battle
13:52
You'll be able to go to events go to
13:54
club nights with this group of people
13:56
and have a fantastic time So it's really
13:58
important to try and get out of your
13:59
shell a little bit on the very first
14:01
night to meet new people and have the
14:03
best time possible At the end of the
14:05
Grogwalk your very last drink is going
14:07
to be at another special event which is
14:09
available for everyone sailing not just
14:11
those in the Grogwalk This is something
14:13
that's fairly iconic on Virgin Voyages
14:16
and you've probably heard about it if
14:17
you've done any level of research at all
14:19
and that is the PJ party Now the PJ
14:23
party is essentially a '9s or naughties
14:25
sleepover where everyone arrives in
14:28
their PJs and there's fun music being
14:30
played which generally comprises of
14:32
cheesy pop that's from the '9s and
14:34
naughties So something that you can
14:36
always sing along to and have a dance to
14:38
It's a really fun atmosphere and
14:40
everyone has a smile on their face at
14:42
the PJ party The PJ party itself is
14:45
studded with little activations which
14:47
are done by the Happenings cast So the
14:49
happenings cast will come out and
14:50
perform silly dances or do a PJ
14:53
competition for example There's even a
14:55
live performance by the hostess The diva
14:58
will be out as well It's a really
14:59
brilliant event and again one of those
15:01
ways that Virgin Voyages sets the scene
15:03
for the rest of the voyage It's silly
15:05
It's interactive It doesn't take itself
15:07
too seriously And that is exactly what
15:09
the Virgin Voyages experience is for
15:12
those that want to go to these type of
15:14
events So you will see more of them
15:16
coming up on the schedule as you go
15:17
through your voyage There probably won't
15:19
be another PJ party but there will be
15:21
other events and that is generally
15:23
depending on which ship you're sailing
15:25
on To get a good sense of what events to
15:27
expect on the ship that you're sailing
15:29
on go to vbvinsider.com and find the
15:31
ship that you're sailing on There will
15:33
be a list of all the events that are
15:34
available on board And it's good to know
15:36
which events are coming up especially
15:38
when it comes to club nights because
15:39
some of them have a little theme that's
15:41
attached to it And although this is
15:43
totally optional you can dress to that
15:45
theme So for example we fancy is a
15:48
golden and glittering experience Club
15:50
Rubik's is an 80s inspired party and so
15:53
on and so forth And again we have all of
15:55
the information that you'll need for all
15:56
of those themed parties at
15:59
vbvinsider.com So that's it The PJ party
16:01
finishes in the early hours of the
16:03
morning and that is your very first
16:05
night on board You will probably be
16:06
exhausted and with any luck the next day
16:09
will be a C day If it's not and you're
16:11
actually in port or have an excursion
16:12
the next day just go steady at the PJ
16:15
party That's a top tip from me
16:16
personally and it comes with a little
16:17
experience let's say So if you found
16:19
this advice in any way useful we have a
16:22
number of videos that go through guides
16:24
just like this including how to save
16:25
money on drinks and also picking the
16:27
right cabin before you sail We're
16:29
building up this catalog of guided
16:31
videos to make sure that you have the
16:32
best time on board Virgin Voyages as
16:34
possible But for now if you want more
16:37
guides like this you can read through
16:39
our written articles which are on
16:41
vvincider.com If you click on the guides
16:43
tab you'll see everything that you'll
16:45
need to know about having the best
16:47
Virgin Voyage possible And if you want
16:49
to support the work that we do including
16:51
these videos the best way to support us
16:53
is to book your next Virgin Voyages
16:55
using our voyage booking tool So go to
16:58
vvincider.com hit book voyage and there
17:01
you can browse all of the prices for
17:03
every single itinerary that's coming up
17:05
There's also a really nifty feature
17:07
where you can see the pricing history
17:08
for the voyages as well so you can make
17:10
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