Day Two – Virgin Voyages Casino Comp Cruise: Santorini (Resilient Lady)
How it (my Virgin Voyages Greek Isles Glow Cruise) started. Oof it’s the second consecutive cruise not off to a good start and again just a bit of an understatement. And this is excluding the gaslighting by the VV casino department (that’s another post for another day)…friends, this is the cautionary tale of how when things go wrong, they can go south quickly.
I do acknowledge that some of this was of my own doing by changing my flight into Athens. Yes this was a classic example of do as I say not as I do that came back to nip me in the bud.
VIRGIN VOYAGES’ SEA VIEW (OCEANVIEW) CABIN TOUR
STATEROOM TYPE: Sea View (VV’s Oceanview)
STATEROOM # : 5278Z – forward/starboard
STATEROOM SIZE/CONFIGURATION: All of the 89 sea view/oceanview cabins on the Resilient Lady are the same size measuring 190 square feet / 18 square meters. There’s a comfortable window seat area under the porthole window that makes a cozy reading nook or relaxing place to gaze out at the ocean or even watch TV on the 43-inch smart 4K Ultra HDTV (with access to the infotainment system – Internet, movies on demand, ship info channel, real-time outside camera views)
I never tried it out but apparently the bed can be converted from a full European queen-sized bed to a comfy L-shaped lounger by selecting “day mode” on the cabin’s tablet. Lots of lighting in the room from wall-mounted reading lights to mood lighting behind the vanity mirror to desk lamps
SMART STATEROOM with mood lighting and sensors auto-adjusting cabin’s lighting according to sailor’s (what VV calls passengers) movements. ie the lights and AC would come on when I came into the room or in the evening, the mood lighting would activate. There’s a tablet (pictured below charging in the left photo) that can be used the cabins’ mood lighting, thermostat, smart curtains, and TV + also assists with room service requests.
CLEVER AND THOUGHTFUL DESIGN: See below for more on the well thought out ways that VV designed their cabins and items – especially those to be multi-use/purpose.
First there’s the multi-use: mirrored vanity table / writing desk with stool
Mini bar area with a slated (vs solid) wood door enclosing the spacious mini fridge helps it run better to actually keep your stuff cold that also has extra storage area. It’s completed with an ice bucket, bottle opener and glassware
Convertible c-table can be used as a coffee table, side table, ottoman, nightstand to my favorite use: a tray for a cozy breakfast in bed
Utilization of underbed area for storage but helps keeps things organized with drawers.
Power outlets: There’s a total of 10 power outlets (1 European socket, 3 US sockets, and 6 USB sockets) strategically spread around the cabin
Beautiful Tips: If you are like me and don’t have your room serviced daily, it’s easy to request to have your water carafes refilled via the tablet. Also for us carbonated fans – there’s the choice for sparkling water!!
Flexible closet area: featuring a full-length hanging rod with a top shelf and a spacious two-tier cube, plus a single-door wardrobe with 7 shelves and an electronic safe box (17-inch, in the closet)~ again one of multiple storage areas in the cabin (which in my haze from my ailment I neglected taking photos of the closet and videos of the room!)
BATHROOM SIZE/CONFIGURATION Bathrooms are glossy/iridescent cream and white, storage within the s shelving and lit mirrors, and they are all about the same standard size until you move up to premium suites. The showers are pretty roomy with have oversized rain showerheads, glass doors, a second handheld shower sprayer. There are dispensers of red flower-branded bath gel, shampoo and conditioner. Note that Virgin Voyages does not provide lotion
STATEROOM LOCATION The casino was directly above my stateroom but luckily Virgin Voyages restricts smoking to one room so I never had to deal with cigarette smoke. *This is a very big caveat as I was feeling so horrible/alone/raw on the first evening so it seemed a bit noisy (possibly from the casino or the Manor) and lol other evenings I was out myself so I can’t confidently say that it is or isn’t a noisy room
NO SANTORINI FOR ME
I finally am able to make it to the medical center and am advised that I should spend the day rehydrating and not heading ashore. It is July in Greece so it is hot and humid and the island will be crowded. Honestly, I
More on my experience with travel insurance coming up…on one hand, it was nice that I had it so I didn’t have to go ashore to find/wait for a clinic but it was also not as seamless as one hopes it would be in times like this!
