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Virgin Voyages Embarkation MISTAKES (and How to Avoid Them)
Jun 15, 2025
Virgin Voyages sailings are busier than ever – and we’ve got you covered! 😎 In this episode, David from VV Insider shares must-know tips to breeze through embarkation and start your cruise stress-free. 🙌
From choosing your embarkation slot ⏰ to knowing what not to pack 🚫🎒, you’ll get insider advice to help you maximise your holiday from the moment you arrive. 💼✨
✨ Book with VV Insider:
📅 https://vvinsider.com/book/
We’ll also cover:
♦️ What to expect at the port 🛳️
♦️ How to nail the dress code for themed nights 🎭
♦️ Luggage handling made easy 🧳
♦️ Priority Boarding perks with VV Insider 💼
♦️ Disembarkation tips including transfers & luggage storage 🚗
💡 Stick around for our bonus tip on the ‘My Next Virgin Voyage’ placeholder offer – perfect for planning your next escape! 🌴📅
🔗 LINKS:
🧳 Guide – Luggage Tags, Handling and Allowances:
https://vvinsider.com/guides-and-faqs/guide/luggage-allowances/
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
virgin Voyager sailings are more popular
0:02
than ever which means it's really
0:04
important now to make sure that you're
0:06
getting imbarcation off to a smooth
0:08
start so you can get on board and start
0:10
enjoying your vacation as soon as
0:12
possible i'm David from VB Insider and I
0:14
want to collect a few tips that we've
0:16
gathered across the years of sailing
0:17
with Virgin Voyages to help you embark
0:19
on your Virgin Voyages cruise as easily
0:21
as possible vb Insider is the number one
0:25
resource for the latest Virgin Voyages
0:27
info guides and news from picking the
0:29
perfect cabin to booking dining or
0:31
simply just making the most of your
0:32
voyage and saving money while you do it
0:34
vinsider.com has helped thousands of
0:36
sailors around the world sail smarter
0:39
support our work by hitting subscribe
0:41
and stick around to hear how you can get
0:43
exclusive perks by booking directly with
0:47
us the first thing about a successful
0:50
embarcation journey with Virgin Voyages
0:52
actually starts from the point where you
0:53
book your voyage by which I mean as soon
0:55
as you've booked your voyage you're able
0:57
to choose an embulcation slot for the
0:59
day that you depart to do this you just
1:02
need to go into the Virgin Voyages app
1:04
we've got specific details on the VV
1:06
Insider website on how to do this but
1:08
once you've reached that point in the
1:09
app you'll be able to choose an
1:11
embarcation slot which will be a
1:13
15-minute slot that you can choose
1:15
starting from4 to 2 in the afternoon
1:18
1:45 leading all the way up to sail away
1:21
now of course everyone wants to get on
1:23
the ship early so you need to make sure
1:25
that as soon as you're boot you're on
1:27
the app choosing your slot because the
1:29
earlier slots will go very quickly the
1:31
sooner you get on the app the better the
1:33
chance that you're going to have an
1:34
early slot and you'll be able to start
1:36
your vacation off as soon as possible of
1:38
course these embarcation slots don't
1:40
really matter if you have priority
1:42
boarding which I'll get on to in just a
1:44
moment now a quick word from us about
1:46
what you can and you can't pack before
1:49
you arrive at the port now there are a
1:51
few prohibited items stuff you cannot
1:53
bring on board things like kettles irons
1:56
or steamers you can ask for a steamer to
1:59
decrease your clothes when you're on
2:00
board and of course there is pressing
2:02
services available in the laundry but
2:04
you're not allowed to bring these
2:05
devices yourself there are of course a
2:07
few obvious items you can't pack for
2:09
example firearms weapons things like
2:11
that we have a comprehensive list
2:13
available on BB Insider for the things
2:15
that you're not allowed to pack but of
2:18
course make sure you do pack the things
2:19
that you do need of course you're going
2:21
to need everything that you would
2:22
normally pack on a vacation but
2:24
something to really watch out for while
2:25
you're packing for your Virgin Voyages
2:27
cruise is to make sure you've got those
2:29
themed outfits packed by which I mean of
2:32
course make sure you're packing for
2:33
Scarlet Night so you've got a red outfit
2:35
for Scarlet Night that's very very
2:37
important but you may also want to
2:39
participate in the other dress up events
2:41
on board one of the events that happens
2:43
across all of the ships is the VHS
2:46
morning workout which is a 1980s Jane
2:49
Fondonder style aerobics class and they
2:52
do encourage you to dress in 1980s
2:54
aerobics gear while you do that that of
2:56
course is completely optional you can go
2:58
along to the class it's great fun and
3:00
you can show up in your normal gym gear
3:02
but if you want to make it a little bit
3:03
more fun add some sweatpants add some
3:05
neon and have a great time there are
3:07
also a number of different themed
3:09
parties around the cruise some other
3:11
club nights where you can dress up and
3:12
have a great time again always optional
3:15
but if you do want to go all out and
3:17
dress to the theme make sure you visit
3:19
vbvinsider.com and we have a list of the
3:21
themed nights depending on which ship
3:23
that you're on for example Resilient
3:25
Lady has things like we fancy which is a
3:28
golden glittering event it also has Club
3:30
Rubik's which is another 1980s event but
3:33
do check on the VV Insider website for
3:35
more details about the different events
3:37
that are available on the different
3:38
ships and the different themes you might
3:40
want to pack for so now that's packing
3:41
out the way here's a few tips for having
3:44
a really successful imbarcation and the
3:46
first tip is the most important tip and
3:48
that's make sure you arrive to the port
3:50
in enough time the ship will not wait
3:53
around for you if you're not on board
3:55
the ship in enough time it will go
3:57
without you so make sure you're prepared
3:59
for any possible travel disruption the
4:02
best way to do that is to make sure that
4:04
you arrive at the port city at least a
4:06
day in advance so making sure you're
4:08
there at least the night before to make
4:10
sure that you wake up and get down to
4:12
the port with bags of time ready to get
4:14
on the ship so just to be extra sure VV
4:16
Insider have teamed up with an excellent
4:19
transfer service called Welcome Pickups
4:21
we've trusted Welcome Pickups for years
4:22
to get us to the port on time so if
4:24
you'd like to support our work and our
4:26
website you can book your transfer
4:28
through Welcome Pickups using a link
4:30
that I've listed in the description
4:32
below of course that begs the question
4:34
of when should you arrive at the port so
4:36
you know that you've got an embarcation
4:38
slot you've done that on the app and you
4:40
did that after you booked so you know
4:41
what time you should arrive now you may
4:44
be asking yourself the question if I
4:46
arrive early will I be able to get on
4:48
the ship a little bit earlier and the
4:50
answer is no do not arrive any earlier
4:53
than that time states and the reason why
4:56
is because depending on the port it's
4:58
not going to be a particularly
4:59
comfortable experience if you arrive to
5:01
the port early the most you'll be able
5:02
to do is sit on bus station style
5:05
seating waiting for you to get on the
5:07
ship in Terminal V in Miami it's a
5:09
little bit nicer but generally around
5:11
the world cruise ports are not made for
5:13
people to sit around and wait they are
5:15
made just to pen people in until they're
5:18
ready to get on the ship it's not a nice
5:20
experience you're better to just wait
5:22
until your embarcation slot it means
5:24
when you arrive there'll be minimal
5:26
waiting and you'll be getting on your
5:27
Virgin Voyages lady ship in plenty time
5:30
use the time in the morning and the
5:31
early afternoon to just enjoy the port
5:33
that you're in so you might be in Athens
5:35
in Miami in New York enjoy the city you
5:38
can drop your bags at the port from 9:00
5:40
a.m so if you'd prefer to get down to
5:42
the port and just leave your luggage
5:44
there you're very welcome to do that
5:46
with the porters and they will keep it
5:48
for you and get it on the ship when
5:49
they're ready h and that will give you
5:51
enough time to explore the port and you
5:53
can return back when your allotted time
5:56
comes up another quick note on luggage
5:58
is that luggage is not limited in any
5:59
way you're not restricted to how many
6:01
bags you can bring on you're not
6:03
restricted to how heavy those bags can
6:05
be so if you want to pack all of the
6:07
outfits all of the themed outfits have
6:09
changes every day that's entirely up to
6:12
you bring as much as you can carry i'd
6:14
like to make a quick note here about
6:16
priority boarding and that's something
6:18
that is available to certain sailor that
6:21
includes all of the Rockstar sailor so
6:23
that's Rockstar and Mega Rockstar as
6:26
well as anyone with priority boarding
6:28
you may have priority boarding because
6:30
you have a Deep Blue extras loyalty
6:32
status with Virgin Voyages or you might
6:34
have booked it as part of a package if
6:36
you've got priority boarding you can
6:38
arrive at the port at 1:45 and enter the
6:41
ship shortly thereafter the way that
6:43
this works is that rockstars and mega
6:45
rockstars will have their own boarding
6:48
area so they will go down their own VIP
6:50
lanes and get checked in grab their
6:52
black wristbands and check in that way
6:54
and they will be led onto the ship first
6:56
to the Rockstars and Mega Rockstars and
6:58
then those with priority boarding for
7:00
other reasons so including Deep Blue
7:02
Extras including those packages you will
7:05
board shortly after the Rockstars have
7:07
entered the ship so you'll not be
7:09
waiting around too long and it's a
7:10
really good perk of the loyalty scheme
7:12
checking in at the port in general is
7:14
really really straightforward so it
7:15
doesn't matter if you're a rockstar or a
7:17
sailor you check in effectively in the
7:19
same way you're simply led into
7:21
different directions when you arrive and
7:23
that is you will arrive at the port you
7:25
will take your luggage over to the
7:27
porter there is a print at home option
7:30
that they're triing at the moment keep
7:32
an eye on your emails and you may be
7:33
invited to print your luggage labels at
7:36
home and put them on the bag yourself
7:37
which might save a little bit of time
7:39
otherwise they will have labels at the
7:42
port and the luggage porters will do
7:44
that for you the luggage porters will
7:45
then take your luggage and then you are
7:47
free to go and check in now check-in's
7:50
really easy make sure you've got your
7:51
passport out and also if you've got your
7:53
app open that will be really useful as
7:55
well so you can tell the agents at the
7:57
desk what cabin number you'll be staying
7:59
in and they can retrieve your booking
8:01
for you what will happen then is they
8:03
will check your passport make sure
8:04
everything's above board check you onto
8:06
the ship and then they will give you
8:08
your wearable your wristband that you
8:10
will use for purchases and also opening
8:13
your cabin door on the ship as well once
8:15
you've checked in you'll then be ushered
8:17
over to a holding area you wait in the
8:19
holding area until they're ready to let
8:21
you on the ship now you may be waiting
8:23
here a little while because it really
8:25
does depend on how quickly they're able
8:26
to check the sailors in front of you
8:28
into the system and onto the ship so you
8:31
may be waiting a short while after your
8:33
imbarcation time but don't worry they do
8:35
try and get through things fairly
8:36
quickly once your group has been called
8:39
you'll be then led through an airport
8:40
style security system and they're going
8:43
to check your hand baggage for any
8:45
prohibited items they're also going to
8:47
check that you're not bringing anything
8:48
that you shouldn't alcohol-wise on board
8:51
now you are allowed per cabin to bring
8:53
two bottles of wine you can also bring
8:55
some sodas as well we have details of
8:58
all the things you're able to bring on
8:59
board on vbvinsider.com so if you want
9:01
to make the most out of that wine
9:03
allowance do give that a read sailors
9:05
will also pass through a metal detector
9:07
as well to make sure that there's
9:08
nothing that you shouldn't be bringing
9:09
on board on your person as you pass
9:11
through and that is all you really need
9:13
to know about embarcation on Virgin
9:15
Voyages they do make it very
9:17
straightforward and if you have any
9:18
questions about the embarcation process
9:21
at all let us know at bbinsider.com and
9:23
we'll do our best to answer any
9:25
questions and if you spot something that
9:27
we've missed or the policies change at
9:29
all we'll be updating our guides as we
9:30
go along to make sure that we've got all
9:32
the latest information for you now I
9:34
just want to mention quickly about
9:36
disembarkcation so as much as we don't
9:38
like to talk about the end of our voyage
9:40
when we're talking about the start of
9:41
our voyage it is connected in some way
9:44
so there are two options available for
9:46
you for disembarking the ship with your
9:48
luggage so you can either decide to do
9:51
what's called express walkoff this is
9:53
where you carry all of your luggage off
9:55
the ship and you're very welcome to do
9:58
this it will give you of course a bit of
9:59
extra time to pack things so you can
10:01
pack things all the way up to the point
10:03
that you leave the ship in the morning
10:04
so that's quite a perk but of course it
10:06
does mean that you're having to lug all
10:08
of your luggage off yourself and of
10:10
course depending on how many bags you
10:11
brought with you that might be a little
10:13
bit of a struggle especially if you're
10:15
on one of the higher decks trying to get
10:17
down or you might be standing in cues
10:19
waiting to get off during
10:21
disembarkcation so do have a think
10:22
before you decide to commit to that the
10:25
alternative way and this is if you're a
10:26
bit more relaxed or a bit more planned
10:28
you'll be able to actually let Virgin
10:30
Voyages deal with your luggage for you
10:32
so as long as you're astute enough to
10:34
make sure that your luggage is all
10:35
packed before 1000 p.m you can actually
10:38
just put your luggage and leave it
10:40
outside of your cabin door before 10 p.m
10:43
and the luggage porters will come and
10:44
they will bring that down and they will
10:46
come and actually leave it in the port
10:48
for you so you can pick it up once
10:50
you've disembarked the ship so two
10:52
things to remember make sure your bags
10:53
are out before 10:00 p.m and they will
10:55
be available past 8:30 a.m in the
10:58
morning if you have an early flight and
11:00
you need to get off the ship before 8:30
11:02
do not use this service use the express
11:05
walkoff service so actually take your
11:06
baggage with you if you need to get an
11:09
early flight also make sure before you
11:11
leave any luggage outside of your cabin
11:13
door that it still has the original
11:15
luggage tag attached otherwise it won't
11:18
make its way to where it needs to go so
11:20
if you've misplaced that luggage tag you
11:22
can always go down to sailor services on
11:24
deck 5 and ask them for a replacement
11:26
luggage tag they'll be very happy to
11:28
help you with that when you get off the
11:30
ship past 8:30 all of the luggage that
11:32
is being used for the collection service
11:34
will all be separated by deck so you'll
11:37
be able to go to your deck and identify
11:39
your luggage and take it home with you
11:41
now leading up to the last day you will
11:43
have to book a disembarkation slot on
11:46
the app so this will be a time slot that
11:48
you'll have to adhere to when you're
11:50
leaving the ship now this is a little
11:52
bit flexible so if you do decide that
11:53
you need to leave the ship earlier or
11:55
later don't worry too much about the
11:57
time that you booked in there but it
11:59
does make sure that the staff on the
12:00
ship know how many people to have ready
12:03
to check people out and it makes the
12:05
journey a little bit smoother for
12:06
everyone if you stick to those
12:08
disembarkcation slots but if you do miss
12:11
your slot don't panic too much now a
12:13
couple of nice notes before you leave
12:15
the ship of course the ship is still
12:16
yours so you're able to grab a breakfast
12:18
or a brunch before you leave the ship
12:21
your band will still be active and if
12:22
you've got any remaining onboard credit
12:24
or bar tab to use up now is the last
12:27
time to do it so you can order a Bloody
12:29
Mary or a mimosa before you get off the
12:31
ship and that will still be charged to
12:33
your bar tab allowance and remember that
12:34
bar tab allowance is a use it or lose it
12:37
type of deal so make sure you check the
12:39
app to see what's in your wallet and use
12:41
every single penny before you get off
12:43
the ship to make the most of your money
12:45
the breakfast options that you've got
12:46
are going to be razledazzle you can also
12:49
go to the wake for things like steak and
12:50
eggs those two restaurants obviously are
12:53
quite popular so make sure that you have
12:54
a booking for breakfast if you're
12:56
planning to go there otherwise of course
12:58
you are welcome to go to the galley for
13:00
breakfast that doesn't need to be booked
13:02
that's the sort of food court food
13:04
market style area or of course you can
13:06
just grab a very quick bite to eat from
13:08
grounds club which is the coffee shop
13:10
and they will have pastries and
13:12
quasonons available if you just want a
13:14
very light breakfast like that one thing
13:16
to note with the bar tab that bottomless
13:18
brunch is not available on the final day
13:20
so if you're planning to use bottomless
13:22
brunch do that before the day of
13:23
disembarkcation because it's not
13:25
available as you're leaving the ship
13:27
your last morning is your final chance
13:29
to take advantage of the my next Virgin
13:31
Voyages offer so if you'd like to put a
13:34
placeholder in for your next Virgin
13:36
Voyage and get an exclusive offer in
13:38
order to do that you can visit Future
13:40
Voyage sales and they will help you by
13:43
booking in one of those placeholders
13:44
which means you don't need to decide on
13:46
a voyage just yet but you're locking in
13:48
that great deal that you can use on a
13:50
future sailing and if you want to
13:52
support the work that we do at VV
13:54
Insider and also get some exclusive
13:56
perks you can actually link the Getaway
13:58
Guys who are exclusive travel advisor
14:01
partners to your booking to make sure
14:03
that both the Getaway Guys and VB
14:05
Insider can take care of your booking
14:07
and answer any queries or questions that
14:09
you have as you book your next Virgin
14:11
Voyage as well as getting those
14:13
exclusive perks that you can only get
14:15
with vincider.com one thing you will
14:17
always need to make sure of is that
14:19
you're leaving the ship before 10:30 a.m
14:22
now it may be a little bit earlier or a
14:24
little bit later so listen out for
14:25
announcements but they need the time to
14:28
be able to get the ship cleared by
14:29
immigration and make sure that there's
14:32
nobody left on the ship that there
14:33
shouldn't be before they start their
14:35
next sailing so do make sure that you
14:36
get out the ship when they're telling
14:38
you to do that one really important
14:39
point to note here is that when you
14:41
leave the ship you are not permitted to
14:43
return to the ship under any
14:45
circumstances so once you've left the
14:47
ship you may actually have a little bit
14:48
of extra time before you head to the
14:50
airport or onto your next destination
14:52
there are a couple of options as you
14:54
leave the port you'll not be able to
14:55
store your luggage at the port itself
14:57
because the luggage storage will only be
14:59
for those arriving to the ship for the
15:01
next sailing so you'll not be able to
15:02
leave your own baggage there but you can
15:04
use a service like Bounce bounce is a
15:07
luggage storage service that we use and
15:09
we endorse at viviansider.com so if
15:11
you'd like to support our work you can
15:12
use our bounce link down in the
15:14
description below and you can use that
15:16
service to store your luggage go and
15:18
enjoy the port city for your last day
15:20
before you then go to the airport and
15:22
talking of the airport again if you want
15:24
to use a very trusted and reliable
15:26
service we use welcome pickups the link
15:29
is down in the description below and
15:31
they will help you get from the port to
15:32
the airport or even take you from the
15:34
port to another point of interest or
15:36
your next location so that's all the
15:39
tips that we have for you from VV
15:40
Insider for both embarking on and
15:43
disembarking your Virgin Voyages cruise
15:45
if you want to know what to do next now
15:47
you've embarked on your Virgin Voyage
15:49
I've put together a list of all the
15:51
things that you should do on your first
15:53
day on board to have the perfect first
15:55
day and I'm going to link that video
15:57
just after this and remember if you want
16:00
to support the work that we do here at
16:01
vvincider.com by bringing the latest
16:04
information guides and news about Virgin
16:06
Voyages feel free to get in touch with
16:08
us to discuss your next voyage booking
16:11
we can help you do that and we can also
16:13
make sure that you get any exclusive
16:15
perks that you're entitled to including
16:17
things like exclusive offers with
16:19
onboard credit and it'll also enable you
16:22
to become a member of our Red Diamond
16:24
Club which is an exclusive loyalty
16:26
scheme offered by VV Insider which means
16:29
that you'll get exclusive planning perks
16:31
for your next voyage including ad free
16:34
access to
16:35
vvincider.com for more tips and guides
16:37
just like this as you plan for your next
16:39
Virgin Voyage make sure you subscribe to
16:42
our channel and also gain some extra
16:44
credit with your fellow sailor by
16:46
sharing this video ahead of time with
16:47
them before you sail thanks again for
16:49
watching i've been David at VV Insider
16:51
and we'll see you next time happy
16:52
voyaging
16:55
[Music]
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