u/SilasPort

I am from the US but moved to Italy this year. I am planning to visit home for 3 weeks in September. I told my MAGA mom I would like to buy my plane ticket this week before airfare goes up due to rising oil prices. She insists the war will be over in a couple of weeks and I'll get a better deal than what's available now.

I am tempted to wait and then ask her to pay the difference in airfare between now and then. What are your thoughts? She clearly thinks the war is for the safety and betterment of the US and that President Trump knows what he's doing, so she rationalizes everything that is going on, including the cost increase of everything.

When we took our first VV cruise in 2024, I remember the app was a monstrosity. It crashed about 80% of the time and it was virtually impossible to make reservations on it.

The app worked better this time around for our cruise last month, but it seemed to require an update every single time I opened it. However, dinner reservations and Shore Things bookings all went through smoothly, and I'd get push notification reminders which were convenient. It still had some very frustrating moments of freezing. Their whimsical "Oops" messaging when their app screws up is also grating.

For a company that spent billions of dollars on their ships, it seems like they could afford to hire a small team of UX designers and mobile engineers to maintain a functional app given that is Sailors' primary lifeline whilst on board. They could probably cut down on the amount of onboard inquiries Sailor Services gets too. I've seen the line for SS spilling out into the elevator area at times.

What has your experience been like?

I know it’s a cruise but given their wellness lifestyle branding, I thought the gym would be bigger, especially the weight area. People tended to hog the weights (sometimes multiple sets). I realize that’s more of a people problem than a VV issue, but still the weight area seemed unusually small. I guess given its position on the upper deck, there’s only so much space along the perimeter they can use for the gym without invading the pool space. Great cardio equipment though and there’s space for more body weight stuff outside. Next time I’ll plan to go during off-peak hours.

I’ve only sailed Virgin so their gym may be massive compared to other lines for all I know!