How to spend your Virgin Voyages port days

Virgin Voyages ships visit multiple ports during each sailing. Each itinerary offers different port visits with unique activities and places to explore. How you spend your port days is up to you. Sailings out of Miami also spend a day at the Beach Club at Bimini, reserved exclusively for Virgin Voyages sailors. I will cover this more in a future post. What is there to do during port visits? Read on and I will share some of my favorite things to do when you’re in port. 

Virgin Voyages Shore Things 

If you’re feeling a little adventurous, Virgin Voyages offers shore excursions for every sailor. Virgin is famous for its cheeky puns and calls its shore excursions “Shore Things,” so that’s how I will refer to them going forward.  

Virgin Voyages classifies its Shore Things based on the type of experiences they offer. Daring, Cultured, Energetic, and Relaxing Shore Things can be found at every port. Select voyages also offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences, such as SCUBA diving with Great Hammerhead Sharks. Virgin Voyages also strives to give back to the communities it serves. “Richard’s List” Shore Things do exactly this. Specific shore things are listed on the Virgin Voyages website, but I provided some examples below: 

• Explore Mayan ruins and swim in a cenote in Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico 
• Go on a pub crawl in Key West, Florida
• Snorkel at a shipwreck and with sharks at Bimini, Bahamas 
• Live like a local for a day and learn how to make a Dominican lunch using local plants in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic 

Popular Shore Things will sell out, so be sure to book these in advance. You will want cash when you leave the ship. Most places happily accept US currency. I recommend you get cash either before your voyage or on sea days. We found the ATM at the casino was closed during our stop in Mexico. Fortunately, we had enough cash to get by. 

How to book Virgin Voyages Shore Things 

After you book a voyage, you can book Shore Things via the Virgin Voyages Sailor app, the Virgin Voyages website, or by working with your travel advisor. Shore things can be booked 120 days before you set sail (or 135 days for sailors staying in rockstar suites.) Booking is easy. Simply click “Book a Shore Thing,” in the app.

Every available shore thing will be listed, so you can be sure you don’t miss any fun. If you prefer to let someone else do the heavy lifting you can either call Sailor Services or work directly with a Virgin Voyages First Mate (ahem, me) who will take care of all your reservations for you. Popular Shore Things will sell out, so be sure to book any must-dos as soon as you can. 

Spend port days onboard your ship 

One of my favorite parts of Virgin Voyages port visits is the ability to come and go from the ship as you please. In fact, port days provide excellent opportunities to explore your ship with smaller crowds. The Virgin Voyages Sailor app includes a full list of onboard activities, services, and hours for both sea and port days. Some services and dining hours may be limited, so be sure to plan ahead using the Sailor app. 

Spa passes are typically more affordable on port days. Port days are a good time to get that couples massage, melt away in the sauna, or refresh yourself in the mud room. You will also have the pool mostly to yourself on port days as well. Nap poolside, take a dip, and get your fill of frozen mojitos. Unfortunately, the casino is not open on port days due to local laws but reopens once you sail into international waters.  

Port days also provide a tremendous opportunity for spontaneous dancing anywhere you want. Virgin got its start as a small record label, and music is a key piece of every voyage. My wife and I got back to our ship early in Bimini. I am not much of a dancer, but my wife and I danced our hearts out on the pool deck, and it felt as though we had the entire ship to ourselves. 

Explore ports on your own

Sailors can choose their own adventures at port, independent of Virgin Voyages. We chose to haggle with local vendors at Cozumel, Mexico, where I found a sweet NDSU bag (never pay full price in Mexico!) Other sailors took a cab to Mr. Sancho’s Beach Club for an all-inclusive beach day. Most stops allow you to rent vehicles to explore on your own. Of course, Virgin Voyages is not responsible for anything that happens while you’re venturing solo, so be sure to do your research and make sure you know what you’re getting into.  

Now it may be obvious, but it is important you don’t miss your ship leaving port. Departure times are based on ship time and may or may not be the same as local time at your port. Be sure to synchronize your watch to ship time, and do not miss your return time. Cruise ships operate on tight schedules and will leave you behind if you are not onboard when you are supposed to be. For this reason alone, I recommend you stick with Virgin Voyages Shore Things on your first cruise, rather than striking out on your own. If you are on a Virgin Voyages Shore Thing and something goes wrong making you late, Virgin will make sure you are not stranded at the end of an empty pier. 

Conclusion: Spend your port days however you like, but plan Shore Things in advance

You are sure to have an exciting time, no matter how you spend your days in port with Virgin Voyages. The most important part is to plan ahead. Use the Virgin Voyages app and book your shore things as soon as they are available. Better yet, book your Virgin Voyages cruise with me and I will be happy to schedule your Shore Things for you. If you have questions or want to share your Virgin Voyages experiences, please do so in the comments below. Until next time, happy sailing sailor!