Avoid Our Mistake: Virgin Voyages XL Sea Terrace Review

[@938quilt]

I just got back from a 6 night Virgin cruise and upgraded to sea terrace- the hammock and rainfall shower are my 2 must-haves. I booked 2 more while onboard and I better have my hammock!

[@SuiteNatured]

Hi Susanna, so glad you loved your time on Virgin, we can't wait for our next cruise with them next August. Don't worry there are only a couple of cabins with the Birdcages, and if you check with your Travel agent, or ring VV once you have your cabin allocation, they will confirm that it is a hammock one :) Linzi & Mark

[@kayluv184]

So the sea terrace is better in terms of location? Is it a special floor to be o

[@kathryncashner3294]

I couldn't imagine from the title what your problem had been. You are totally correct that some of the XL cabins do not have the hammock because the location on the ship doesn't provide for the proper supports. There are lists on line that tell you which cabins these are, or if you contact VV directly, they can tell you and move you to a cabin that HAS a hammock. This is not an issue with all the XL cabins, only those near the ends of the ship....move toward middle = hammock. People need to be particularly aware of this if they bid on an upgrade or take a "lock it in" rate as they will have no choice in their cabin assignment. (yes, they can call and try to be moved). THe cabins are not fancy, but compare to our experience on Princess and Celebrity. The Sea Terrace cabin has been perfectly adequate on our 29 days on board. One advantage to the curtain on the closet is that it doesn't creak or thud like some on other lines do! Sorry, but I don't know any ship other than those British based that provide a tea kettle in the room. US based ships typically say that it is a fire hazard. As noted, you can get tea, coffee, hot water, etc. 24/7 in The Galley and limited hours from room service or Grounds Club.

[@SuiteNatured]

We completely agree Kathryn. The cabins themselves are great and we have no issues with decoration. It is all very good quality, sure some people say it looks a bit IKEA like but ikea is very popular and personally we like it. It was absolutely our mistake not realising this. When we saw an XL cabin on Scarlet near the front it had a hammock so we never thought to even check. We would absolutely be happy in an XL cabin again but we’d make sure we were in one of the hammock ones. We know most US lines don’t have them but it is one of those things we love to have and a large number of cruise lines do, so not entirely convinced by their fire safety arguments 😉 We’ve been on cruise lines out of Australia and the med that had kettles too. As we said we can just pop out to grab a cuppa no problem but it’s not the same as sliding to the edge of you bed in your PJs to make one and then heading straight out onto the balcony. But that is just our personal preference. Thanks for watching Kathryn and taking time to let us have your thoughts. Have a lovely day 😀 Linzi and Mark

[@Seren3ti]

Great tip, I'm about to book the XL Sea Terrace, great timing for me to see this.

[@SuiteNatured]

So glad we could help Linda, the room is lovely, as we said, just avoid the Birdcage one and you;'ll be good. Is this your first Virgin Cruise? If so you are going to absolutely love it. If it's not then not, you know you are going to love it 😂

[@lordpaulm]

Thanks guys, I am on of the plepol that already subscribed

[@SuiteNatured]

Cheers Lord Paul, and thank you so much for being one of our subscribers 😀 Hope you are having a lovely weekend, Linzi & Mark

[@paulgilchrist2520]

Thanks for this review! We had been assigned 11350Z and were oblivious to "the birdcage", so we rang Virgin and got our room changed! Many thanks

[@SuiteNatured]

You are so very welcome Paul, and glad you spotted it and Virgin got it changed for you. Have a lovely day Linzi & Mark

[@BarnFresh]

Ive booked an XL Sea Terrace and cannot wait - hubby doesnt like heights so hes secretly hoping he gets the metal balcony !!

[@SuiteNatured]

There are only a very few of the metal fronted ones, but if you really want to make sure you get one, just give sailor services a call and we are sure they will be able to help, as generally, it is people wanting to change from them, but the heights thing is a genuinely good reason to have a metal front.

[@Dilaxan123]

Does virgin voyage require mandatory travel insurance?

[@sharoncook9694]

I’m always surprised about comments re: leg shaving. I shave my legs BEFORE vacation or wax them then there’s no need to do it again!

[@SuiteNatured]

Its the hairy northern legs Sharon, even a good pre-cruise shave/wax and they still come back within a few days. We should get shares in Gillette 😂

[@travelwithdebandnick]

great video again ;) that's a shame about "the birdcage" when I saw your first video I was really happy to see it as I could not physically get into a hamock. so was really happy to see it was more like a seat. so it's disappointing to hear your final review on it

[@SuiteNatured]

Hi Debbie, thank you and glad you enjoyed it. The birdcage wasn't our preferred choice but it would be massively easier for anyone with accessibility to get it to. The other issues were the bigger issue. Rather than just our personal preference; the water running down from above, and much more so the wind tunnel effect created by the shape and position of the balcony. However it was still not a massive issue on the grand scheme of things and the rest of the cabin was very good. Just those bits were such a shame which if we'd known in advance we would have asked for a different location and all would have been fine. We've the full cruse review coming up this weekend where we get to talk about all the other stuff, which will be MUCH more positive 😀 Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark

[@travelwithdebandnick]

@@SuiteNatured sounds great :) ill keep an eye out for it :) hoping you had a fantastic cruise overall :) ive been loving your videos :)

[@SuiteNatured]

We did have an amazing cruise, so no spoilers, but we suspect it won't be a low score for the overall cruse review 😂

[@Allthingsgreeneyedwa]

Great Content! What camera did you use??

[@SuiteNatured]

Thank you. We mainly use an iPhone 15 Pro Max and Insta360 X3, although we use that very little to be honest. We used to take four or five different cameras with us, but in truth the 15 Pro Max, with the DJI Omni Gimbal (for the ship tours) is more than a match for most things, and it is much more discrete in the dining and other public areas too

[@stevehattrick1946]

I feel the room and the hallway as well seemed a little stark. As well some of the designs seemed more for making a statement rather than function. I must be getting old, I prefer the more elegant rather than the trendy.

[@SuiteNatured]

It is definitely on the trendier end of the design scale Steve. To be fair to them it is all really good quality, really comfortable beds and the entertainment system was brilliant. But it is very different to say Celebrity or Cunard. Linzi and Mark

[@bobdrane5224]

What does up and under mean,nice one chaps

[@amandahollingsworth8312]

I've never seen this type of balcony on virgin. Good to know too avoid!

[@SuiteNatured]

We didn't see it on Scarlet or Valiant Lady Amanda. The cabin itself is great, and we would happily have an XL again but we would make sure not to have the solid balcony in this type of position on the ship. Hope you are having a lovely weekend. Linzi and Mark

[@Travel_Day_Dreams]

We can't shake the feeling that the room is more Holiday Inn Express than premium cruise line, the curtain hiding the wardrobe is a particular bugbear, student living anyone?

[@SuiteNatured]

We get where you are coming from. Especially the curtain. However the components that make up the cabin are really good quality. Really comfy beds, great entertainment system, lighting, air con is powerful, fantastic bed linen. Great shower gel and shampoo. And thing such as sparkling water on demand make a really good experience.

[@angelwingz892]

It isn't a premium line UNLESS you book a suite. Yw

[@KrisswUK1]

Virgin class their cabins as mid range. But after all how long do you spend in them.

[@angelwingz892]

The irony of reviewers not doing their research and getting a balcony that doesnt have a hammock.

[@SuiteNatured]

This was our third sailing on Virgin, the previous two on Scarlet & Valiant, on those ships, at the time of sailing on both, neither had any of the bird cages on any balcony. Even on Resilient Lady, they still had the mounts fitted for the Hammocks, but they later decided to change these cabins to the bird cages. As we were on only the 2nd sailing of the new ship, there were no reports on this, and Virgin hadn't put anything out either. Normally, ironically, as you stated, we do watch and read plenty of content about ships or destinations we are going to, but in this particular case, there was no data about it to find. Whilst we have put up reviews, we are not in the cruise industry, we go on holiday, like everyone else, which we pay full price for, and then share our thoughts & findings. Have a lovely day, and thanks for taking time to comment. Linzi & Mark

[@susantwining2879]

love your videos dont like that cabin

[@angelwingz892]

"Suite nature" chose not to do 1. Not a suite 2. Did zero research on the cabin booked. Why would people follow you?

[@SuiteNatured]

Thanks for taking time to comment. Just to clarify for you, 1. Suite Natured, our channel name, is stating our preferred choice is to stay in a suite, but not that we always do. On our first two sailings on Virgin Voyages we were in the Rockstar Suites. 2. You do not select your cabins on Virgin when you book them, you are allocated them based on the type you select (more like a hotel, than other cruise lines), secondly, we were on the second ever sailing of Resilient Lady, and this type of cabin did not exist on the previous two with the birdcage seat, so there were no reviews of it. We always do, extensive research, and talk about this at length on our videos and podcasts. You will find from other comments on this video, that this was useful for other cruisers who had this room type, and were able to swap it, so we guess that is why the would follow the channel? Obviously, we are not the right type of channel for you, but thanks for giving us a go, and have a lovely day. Linzi & Mark

[@alanwignall3016]

The first poor choice was choosing Virgin. I would never sail that cruise line.

[@SuiteNatured]

Out of genuine interest, why Alan? There seems to be this preconception of Virgin, different to other cruise lines. They really are a fantastic cruise company with amazing staff, food, and entertainment and get to some great ports.

[@deenawoods5885]

Why did you even watch? They have provided a good number of reviews of Virgin, with focus on various aspects of the ship experience. Seems like someone that would "never sail that line" wouldn't watch, LOL

[@paulgilchrist2520]

Virgin is a brilliant cruise line. Not for everyone, as its not your "traditional" format cruise. It may not suit you, but i wouldnt be saying anyone made a poor choice by picking VV, particularly if you havent actually experienced it yourself. We've done two with them so far and are on Resilient in September. We do vary our cruise lines but we do try to do Virgin once a year as its so much fun and the food is exceptional. Just back off MSC World Europa as we wanted to see what a new Mega Ship could offer, and then doing Cunard Queen Victoria later in the year. The trick is to be open minded, but i guess some people arent.

[@krystelm8553]

​@@paulgilchrist2520I liked my cruise with VV and will be on the valiant in September again. I was on NCL in May and it was absolutely fine but I liked virgins outdoor spaces better and appreciated more all the nickel and diming that doesn't happen on virgin compared to NCL. For me Virgin was the first cruise I took so I didn't have anything to compare it with. I do want to try MSC, I've heard mixed things, but as you said I will experience it myself first before making judgment.

[@paulgilchrist2520]

@@krystelm8553 We've done two with MSC now - Virtuosa and World Europa, around Northern Europe at Christmas and the med last month respectively. We do like what they do. I was particularly impressed with World Europa just for the sheer size of it. Virtuosa is a real wow factor ship. They do some fantastic offers too, which makes a cruise with them very compelling. Oh - if you DO look at their cruises, get a drinks package WHEN YOU BOOK. It can be as little as £200 per person per week for the top premium drinks package, but it goes up to around £350 a week if you try to book it afterwards online, and up to £500 a week if you wait until you are onboard. Also worth doing their premium restaurants bundle. Four speciality restaurants for £109 each.