CHARLOTTE – Virgin Voyages

If you read my recent series here in the Mint Hill Times, you know all about this new Cruise Line by Richard Branson.

I will tell you a little about it here, and you can also read my article online at the Mint Hill Times website. This is a new, and daring adventure which, as Richard Branson does so well, defies norms. It is adults only so everyone on board is 18 years old or older. Instead of the main dining room, there are 5 distinct dining venues, plus the main dining court with about 20 different small venues. The court is where we consistently ate breakfast and lunch, by choice. There was such a variety available, and you could actually see them making whatever you ordered. You actually picked out the food items that you wanted, then sat down and ordered from a wait staff member. You could also order at the venue, then have a staff member bring your order. We ate dinner at a different venue every night, form a steak house, to Italian, to Korean. All the food was above average and some of the venues have a little table-side entertainment included. We took Virgin up on a limited offer they had to give us $100 toward onboard spending if we purchased a $300 room credit in advance. They actually allowed everyone registered in our room (Barbara and I), to share in the expenses. As it turned out, the $400 was just perfect for a week on board. Everything on board and pre-boarding was done on your cell phone. We even downloaded our passports and vaccination cards into the cell phone app. Virgin advertised the app was secure and we never heard of anyone having a security issue. The ship was brand new but there were very few glitches during the cruise. The stopover at a private beach in the Bahamas was just perfect. Pricing for Virgin is mainline but there are many specials this first year.

Phil and Barbara own Leisure Travel Experts here in Mint Hill and are proud members of the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce.