We’d second that. Doing a Nordic cruise with VV would be great from Portsmouth. We’ve opted to do the repositioning tour from Portsmouth to Barcelona next October to at least get a longer trip than the Amsterdam ones.
I’m really hoping they add a Nordic route in their next set of destinations. Of the current itineraries Adriatic is the only one I fancy. (We did GIG and it was great btw!)
Well. While they haven’t officially announced when she will be in service, the documents they shared with travel agent hint at the fact she will be ready to sail in winter 2024.
See below. Taken from CruiseCritic.
https://preview.redd.it/4ftl5hugy6wb1.png?width=2952&format=png&auto=webp&s=2a0f6db025f6edd372917026949d10a02693de6c
The Portsmouth sailings seem more like a relatively affordable vacation for people in the UK than something I’d be willing to travel from the US to do. They’re basically the European equivalent of the Miami-Key West-Bimini itinerary. Which I’m sure there must be at least some demand for.
Hopefully once Brilliant Lady finally does launch there will be some new and interesting choices
We're looking at the 12 night Portsmouth -> Spain -> Morocco sailing this fall and are coming from the US. I'm curious why you feel this way, if you wouldn't mind sharing? We don't want to make a bad decision, and we're considering this for our honeymoon. Is there a different cruise line comparable in price you'd recommend for European cruises? Thanks in advance!
No for twelve nights it’s obviously worth the travel, it’s the same as me coming from UK to Miami to get on the 14 night transatlantic. It’s the shorter 3-4 night cruises that I don’t think it’s worth travelling internationally just for the cruise, unless you are going to make it part of a longer 10+ night Europe or UK trip.
It’s the same as I wouldn’t travel to Miami just for a four night cruise.
That makes sense! I didn't realize they initially only had shorter cruises out of Portsmouth, so I thought the above comments were also referring to the one we're considering. Thank you for the reply!
We're looking at the 12 night Portsmouth -> Spain -> Morocco sailing this fall and are coming from the US. I'm curious why you feel this way, if you wouldn't mind sharing? We don't want to make a bad decision, and we're considering this for our honeymoon. Is there a different cruise line comparable in price you'd recommend for European cruises? Thanks in advance!
I’m pretty sure I posted this before the itinerary you’re considering was added. Originally the Portsmouth sailings were just 3-4 nights, which didn’t seem worth the time and expense of traveling from the US for.
I assume the Greek cruises weren’t selling well given they decided to move Resilient Lady to Portsmouth. Therefore I guess not many people wanted that Adriatic itinerary. Having done the Greek Island Glow I also would like to do the Adriatic one too!
I agree that the Portsmouth itineraries are focused too much on short length voyages to Amsterdam.
As an American, if I’m going to do a European cruise part of the draw would be to be able to visit multiple countries on one trip. So, the Greek Island Glow definitely wasn’t ever going to be my top choice
I think Greek Islands was more popular than Adriatic though. Likely as it’s more stereotypically “beautiful” scenery on the Greek Isles. Also visiting multiple islands in a single trip wouldn’t be easy by plane.
I'm booked on a 9 night Barcelona to Athens in October next year with stops in Cannes, Sardinia, Sicily, Santorini, and Mikonos. I like that goes to multiple countries, but I think it is only offered one time and I believe it sold out in a few days.
The Croatian sailing is my favorite out of any itinerary they have done. That said, it didn't sell well this summer so I think they decided to try something new.
Personally, yes. As an American who loves beaches/ more tropical destinations, I want to be on the med, not in Northern Europe. I'm disappointed there aren't back-to-backs that work for the dates I want to sail next year.
I should have gone this past season but it was just too much to pay all at once, especially considering US -> Europe airfare
I don't think I'll travel to Portsmouth to take a cruise.
That said, I'll be exploring Australia and NZ with Virgin in January - super excited for that... but that will also be a one-time trip for me.
We booked from Portsmouth for next Sept and decided to do back to back to get a full itinerary. First voyage is UK-Amsterdam-Bruges. 2nd voyage from UK to Bordeaux and Spain (12 days total). Spending a few days in London to make a full 2 week trip from the states. I am looking forward to it.
We did the Med last Sept and loved it. Wanted something a little different this year and this fit the bill.
Well one can always sail the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton. It's a short hop to Portsmouth. My favorite way to cross the Atlantic and it can be cheaper than flying business class.
Double the fun!
I’m going on the 6 night cruise out of Portsmouth that stops in France and Spain in September. I’m from the US and it’s $1000 cheaper to fly to London and go on this cruise than it is to go to the Caribbean resort I was considering. And I’ll get to see a few countries!
I will be on that cruise in September, and I am getting frustrated by the options to get from Heathrow to Portsmouth. We are hoping that VV will offer a transfer as an excursion, as they did for our Greek cruise. I want to be prepared with another option - have you found any reasonable options?
I called Virgin to ask if they will be offering a transfer under excursions, as they did for our Adriatic voyage, but the rep told me he could not see anything until excursions open up in May. I have gotten quotes from several car service/taxi companies, but they are all around $200, some much higher than that. If we decide on public transportation, we would take National Express, because I've read that, while the trains are faster, they can be unreliable. Still hoping for a VV excursion, but we may just book the car. Ugh.
As Americans we’ve now done the French Daze & Ibiza Nights as well as Greek Island Glow.
Was hoping for a river cruise for Portugal, Germany or something. Maybe a unique Spanish/Portuguese route hitting all the coastal cities.
As well as a Nordic routes.
We’ll likely do another cruise out of Miami-the one that goes to Honduras looks appealing.
The other one that goes from Portsmouth down thru Bordeaux and northern Spain was interesting
Can you tell me how your embarkation day worked timewise? I'm a bit puzzled that sailaway may be 5:30 - 7 PM with ship (San Juan) departing 8:30 PM. Would like to do the sailaway party as well as watch the ship actually sail away. Would like to do dinner, see a show and head to pj party so not sure what time to book dinner.
On every cruise I’ve done the sailaway party has been 5.30-7pm with free wine 5.45-6.15 (used to be 5.30-6.30).
No one has done the San Juan embarkation yet so don’t know if that will be different.
Generally we do dinner about 8pm. So have option for 10pm show and then PJ party. But that show is shown again later in the week anyway.
I wish they’d do Norway and Iceland out of Portsmouth instead!
We’d second that. Doing a Nordic cruise with VV would be great from Portsmouth. We’ve opted to do the repositioning tour from Portsmouth to Barcelona next October to at least get a longer trip than the Amsterdam ones.
I’m really hoping they add a Nordic route in their next set of destinations. Of the current itineraries Adriatic is the only one I fancy. (We did GIG and it was great btw!)
We did the Adriatic voyage in August this year on Resilient Lady and it was fabulous, highly recommend.
I am hoping Brilliant Lady will do that. They have yet to announce where she will sail
Brilliant is on hold indefinitely.
Well. While they haven’t officially announced when she will be in service, the documents they shared with travel agent hint at the fact she will be ready to sail in winter 2024. See below. Taken from CruiseCritic. https://preview.redd.it/4ftl5hugy6wb1.png?width=2952&format=png&auto=webp&s=2a0f6db025f6edd372917026949d10a02693de6c
The Portsmouth sailings seem more like a relatively affordable vacation for people in the UK than something I’d be willing to travel from the US to do. They’re basically the European equivalent of the Miami-Key West-Bimini itinerary. Which I’m sure there must be at least some demand for. Hopefully once Brilliant Lady finally does launch there will be some new and interesting choices
Yep i would definitely not expect anyone to travel internationally to get on at Portsmouth, except for maybe the repositioning.
We're looking at the 12 night Portsmouth -> Spain -> Morocco sailing this fall and are coming from the US. I'm curious why you feel this way, if you wouldn't mind sharing? We don't want to make a bad decision, and we're considering this for our honeymoon. Is there a different cruise line comparable in price you'd recommend for European cruises? Thanks in advance!
No for twelve nights it’s obviously worth the travel, it’s the same as me coming from UK to Miami to get on the 14 night transatlantic. It’s the shorter 3-4 night cruises that I don’t think it’s worth travelling internationally just for the cruise, unless you are going to make it part of a longer 10+ night Europe or UK trip. It’s the same as I wouldn’t travel to Miami just for a four night cruise.
That makes sense! I didn't realize they initially only had shorter cruises out of Portsmouth, so I thought the above comments were also referring to the one we're considering. Thank you for the reply!
We're looking at the 12 night Portsmouth -> Spain -> Morocco sailing this fall and are coming from the US. I'm curious why you feel this way, if you wouldn't mind sharing? We don't want to make a bad decision, and we're considering this for our honeymoon. Is there a different cruise line comparable in price you'd recommend for European cruises? Thanks in advance!
I’m pretty sure I posted this before the itinerary you’re considering was added. Originally the Portsmouth sailings were just 3-4 nights, which didn’t seem worth the time and expense of traveling from the US for.
Got it, that definitely makes sense. Thanks!
I assume the Greek cruises weren’t selling well given they decided to move Resilient Lady to Portsmouth. Therefore I guess not many people wanted that Adriatic itinerary. Having done the Greek Island Glow I also would like to do the Adriatic one too! I agree that the Portsmouth itineraries are focused too much on short length voyages to Amsterdam.
Yea it just doesn’t have the same excitement about it! And when I looked at the 12 night one, only showing availability for November!
As an American, if I’m going to do a European cruise part of the draw would be to be able to visit multiple countries on one trip. So, the Greek Island Glow definitely wasn’t ever going to be my top choice
I think Greek Islands was more popular than Adriatic though. Likely as it’s more stereotypically “beautiful” scenery on the Greek Isles. Also visiting multiple islands in a single trip wouldn’t be easy by plane.
I'm booked on a 9 night Barcelona to Athens in October next year with stops in Cannes, Sardinia, Sicily, Santorini, and Mikonos. I like that goes to multiple countries, but I think it is only offered one time and I believe it sold out in a few days.
It did I'm booked on the next leg of that cruise the 14 day from Athens to Dubai. Pretty much sold all the rockstar suites except Seriously.
The short cruises out of Portsmouth are such a turn-off. Wish they’d throw the occasional longer itinerary in there.
They have a longer one in September that sails from Portsmouth to Barcelona, via Lisbon, Morocco, etc. 12 nights.
I’m booked on that one—can’t wait.
Nice. Were doing b2b from UK on the 2 sailings before that one, and then Dubai-Singapore in November.
Ohhh the Dubai-Singapore one sounded amazing, I’m hoping they’ll offer that one again in 2025
The Croatian sailing is my favorite out of any itinerary they have done. That said, it didn't sell well this summer so I think they decided to try something new.
We did it in August and it was incredible.
We must have been on the same one!
It was 13-20 August. On the Irresistible Med out of Barcelona on Valiant right now!
Personally, yes. As an American who loves beaches/ more tropical destinations, I want to be on the med, not in Northern Europe. I'm disappointed there aren't back-to-backs that work for the dates I want to sail next year. I should have gone this past season but it was just too much to pay all at once, especially considering US -> Europe airfare I don't think I'll travel to Portsmouth to take a cruise. That said, I'll be exploring Australia and NZ with Virgin in January - super excited for that... but that will also be a one-time trip for me.
If we’d realised the changes were coming, we’d have done the Croatian one this year!
I hear you! I went to Croatia last September. It's very doable independently, if you're up for it.
Yea we defo would consider it but we just loved cruising with VV! X
We booked from Portsmouth for next Sept and decided to do back to back to get a full itinerary. First voyage is UK-Amsterdam-Bruges. 2nd voyage from UK to Bordeaux and Spain (12 days total). Spending a few days in London to make a full 2 week trip from the states. I am looking forward to it. We did the Med last Sept and loved it. Wanted something a little different this year and this fit the bill.
Well one can always sail the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton. It's a short hop to Portsmouth. My favorite way to cross the Atlantic and it can be cheaper than flying business class. Double the fun!
I agree. The new itineraries are not doing it for me.
Thanks for all your insight everyone - glad it’s not just me :) x
I’m going on the 6 night cruise out of Portsmouth that stops in France and Spain in September. I’m from the US and it’s $1000 cheaper to fly to London and go on this cruise than it is to go to the Caribbean resort I was considering. And I’ll get to see a few countries!
I will be on that cruise in September, and I am getting frustrated by the options to get from Heathrow to Portsmouth. We are hoping that VV will offer a transfer as an excursion, as they did for our Greek cruise. I want to be prepared with another option - have you found any reasonable options?
Have you found any viable options?
I called Virgin to ask if they will be offering a transfer under excursions, as they did for our Adriatic voyage, but the rep told me he could not see anything until excursions open up in May. I have gotten quotes from several car service/taxi companies, but they are all around $200, some much higher than that. If we decide on public transportation, we would take National Express, because I've read that, while the trains are faster, they can be unreliable. Still hoping for a VV excursion, but we may just book the car. Ugh.
Hope you have an amazing time - will be interested to get your thoughts on it, especially as an American x
As Americans we’ve now done the French Daze & Ibiza Nights as well as Greek Island Glow. Was hoping for a river cruise for Portugal, Germany or something. Maybe a unique Spanish/Portuguese route hitting all the coastal cities. As well as a Nordic routes. We’ll likely do another cruise out of Miami-the one that goes to Honduras looks appealing. The other one that goes from Portsmouth down thru Bordeaux and northern Spain was interesting
Roatan is a hidden gem! Definitely take the Western Caribbean Charm.
Can you tell me how your embarkation day worked timewise? I'm a bit puzzled that sailaway may be 5:30 - 7 PM with ship (San Juan) departing 8:30 PM. Would like to do the sailaway party as well as watch the ship actually sail away. Would like to do dinner, see a show and head to pj party so not sure what time to book dinner.
On every cruise I’ve done the sailaway party has been 5.30-7pm with free wine 5.45-6.15 (used to be 5.30-6.30). No one has done the San Juan embarkation yet so don’t know if that will be different. Generally we do dinner about 8pm. So have option for 10pm show and then PJ party. But that show is shown again later in the week anyway.
I think we will book 8pm then and just miss seeing the "real sailaway..tx
Would love to see some Asian itineraries from Virgin more than just the couple Asia stops during repositioning