I’m excited about this cruise. I had booked it a while ago (June 30th) and did not expect it to be the third cruise sailing from the US for Virgin Voyages. They had hyped up the luxury experience and the fact there will be no children. With the cruise being 100% vaccinated this also means no masks are required onboard the ship, which makes it a much more enjoyable experience.
As you can see the original itinerary was supposed to be the “Dominican Daze”, however the first sign of trouble was that the pier in the Dominican Republic would not be ready and they would visit Mexico (Costa Maya) instead of the Dominican Republic. The entire reason for selecting this particular cruise was to visit the Dominican Republic as I had not yet. Of course I did manage to visit while on the Carnival Mardi Gras, so I was not too concerned now.
I did finally get ‘The Band’ a couple of days before the cruise, although they were supposed to be sent 45 days before the cruise. ‘The band’ is used to open the cabin door, pay for beverages (besides the free basic bevvies), and pay for items in the shops. They are also used to get on and off the ship. The package also included luggage tags (stickers, which is nicer than the self-print and staple tags from other cruise lines).
I managed to get a round trip flight on American Airlines for $96.80 in September, which I thought was amazing.
I checked in for my flight tomorrow and was upgraded to first class. The flight is shortly after noon, but as I am planning to stay at South Beach I will attempt to get on an earlier flight tomorrow morning so I can enjoy some more time in Miami before the cruise.
I had done most of the check in procedure on the Virgin Voyages App, but it will not let you proceed with the health survey until the day of the cruise. I managed to make reservations for the Test Kitchen for the first night on the cruise, although it was very difficult to make reservations for other nights. The ship isn’t full and it is still very difficult to actually make reservations for dinner and entertainment.