Mega RockStar on Virgin Voyages – Review

If you’ve spent any time reading my work, you’ll know that I’m a fan of Virgin Voyages. In fact, all of us at Far Far Away Travels love the line. I’ve sailed it three times in less than a year because it’s just that much fun.

Each time I’ve sailed I’ve booked a sea terrace cabin. They are lovely rooms, very comfortable, and don’t even get me started on the hammock! Yes… the legendary hammock. It’s so good, I’ve watched it convert hammock haters to lovers, right in front of me. My only complaint, which isn’t much of one, is that the beds could be more comfortable.

On my most recent sailing, however, we got lucky with our upgrade bid. We were upgraded to a Gorgeous Suite, part of Virgin’s Mega Rockstar class of cabins. We’ve had a fair number of questions about what it’s like to sail as a Mega Rockstar and now I can describe it from personal experience.

What’s the Mega RockStar difference?

Before we begin, let’s give a simple breakdown of benefits by comparing standard bookings, like a Sea View or Sea Terrace, the “basic” Rockstar cabins, and the Mega Rockstar – Virgin’s highest category of cabins, literally.

Mega Rockstar	Rockstar	Sea Terrace	Sea View	Insider
Views and Balcony Accommodations
Hammock Table Outdoor Shower Lounger Chairs	Hammock Table Lounger Chairs	Hammock (on most but not every terrace)	Window seat or porthole	No window. (It’s an inside cabin.)
Amenities
King Size Bed Large, marble covered bathroom Bottomless in-room bar (meaning it’s restocked every day) Flat Screen TV	King Size Bed Large, marble covered bathroom Curated in-room bar (meaning the bar comes stocked and is filled only that once.) Flat Screen TV	Rain Shower with glass door bathroom Flat Screen TV	Rain Shower with glass door bathroom Flat Screen TV	Rain Shower with glass door bathroom Flat Screen TV
Extras
Richards Rooftop Access Early Booking/ Priority Access Daily Bar Tab Daily Spa Access Transfer Service or Complimentary Parking Mega Rockstar Agent Work From Sea Wi-Fi	Richards Rooftop Access Early Booking/ Priority Access Rockstar Agent

That’s a quick breakdown of the perks you get, but reading some bullet points doesn’t really get the point across, so let’s dive in.

The Perks Start Before the Cruise

To adequately describe the experience, we have to start before we even board the ship. Everyone in Mega RockStar and RockStar suites gets early access to dining reservations and excursions (Virgin calls them Shore Things) and priority boarding to the ship.

Those perks never seemed all that special to me personally. The priority boarding is okay, but I’ve always been able to find a way to enjoy a city or hotel before a cruise. Early booking to excursions and restaurant reservations is also not that exciting. I mean it’s nice, but I’ve never had a problem booking a dining time or excursions with standard access times. But everyone’s got their own priorities, so these may be a big deal to you.

What was a big deal to me, though, was the private transfer. You see, when you sail as a Mega Rockstar, you get a complimentary transfer to and from the port. That means that they arrange for a luxury car to pick you up, both before and after the cruise. Most folks use it to go from their hotel to the ship and then from the ship to the airport. The only limitation is that the pickup/drop-off point must be within 50 miles of the port.

Now, yes, they also cover parking if you’d rather have that, but let’s be honest, most people will take the transfer service.

This is what a Red Glove email to Mega RockStars looks like, with some information removed for my privacy.

Before your sailing, Virgin Red Glove service will reach out to you to arrange for the parking or transfer service. Red Glove is Virgin’s dedicated customer support reserved for those sailing in RockStar and Mega RockStar cabins. You’ll share when you are flying in or where you would like to be picked up from and Red Glove handles the rest. Our transfer driver came to our hotel and found us easily, then loaded the SUV with our bags.

It was only a short drive of around 2 miles to the port for us, but it was still nice. If we’d had a longer drive I imagine that it would have been… a longer drive in a nice car. Regardless, the pickup and driving isn’t the cool part. The cool part is when you get to the port.

When we arrived at San Juan terminal 4, our driver drove right up to the security gate and was waved through. Then, we were dropped off mere feet from the terminal doors and met by someone who directed us up to the boarding area. Our luggage was handled by a special team member for RockStar sailors. Once we’d checked in, we were directed to a designated seating area for Mega RockStar quarters and several Mega RockStar agents came down to greet us personally.

Even in the terminal seating you’re not just a RockStar, no, you’re a Mega RockStar! We had a special seating are just for Mega RockStars. See the nylon divider, it means I’m special.

Whether your specific agent comes to greet guests in the terminal is just up to chance, but everyone is greeted by the agents. As it happened, the agent that greeted us was our personal agent for the trip and he explained all the benefits of the Mega RockStar suites. He asked if we needed any help getting our bags on the ship, which we didn’t and he said he would meet us in the room after he helped some other guests with their bags.

The Mega RockStar Gorgeous Suite

Every cruise line has suites on their ships. I’ve never gotten to sail in them personally, but others here at Far Far Away have. They’re always nice, of course. A little more room, often a table and a sofa, sometimes more balcony or lounge chairs. But these Gorgeous Suites on Virgin’s Lady Ships are something else. Let’s give a detailed breakdown starting with the biggest difference, the bathroom.

Oh the bathroom!

The picture doesn’t really do the size justice. It does accurately show that the lights around the mirror are nice and bright for makeup!

It’s as large as my bathroom at home and nicer too. Marble covers the floors and walls, no plastic pan beneath your pampered feet here. The toilet has a separate room, all to its own, allowing for privacy even if your suite mate needs to use the sink.

The sink and counter are massive. Often times, on a cruise, you need to condense your toiletries and neatly organize them. Not here! I spread my things all over the counter! But even with my makeup – and I brought a lot of makeup – it was barely noticeable. There’s this little shelf that runs the length of the counter and it let me place all my things on it very neatly. Tiny (or not so tiny in this case) organizational pieces like that just make me happy.

The best part is the shower, no question. I like Virgin’s standard showers, especially the glass door that is normally a flimsy curtain on other lines. The Gorgeous Suite shower is something else though. I’d say it’s a new goal, actually. I want one at home now. I mean look at it!

Those control knobs are at the entrance to the shower and control the rain showerhead.

Just like the standard showers, there’s both a wand and a rain shower head. However, with the extra space afforded to the suites, the shower controls are divided. Immediately next to the door, there’s two control knobs. They manage the rain shower head. That means you can let the water warm up before you step into it. It only takes about 1.5 seconds to warm up, but that’s 1.5 seconds of not standing in cold water raining on you.

Further inside, you’ll find two more control knobs that manage the wand. Unlike the standard showers on the ship, the suites can use both the rain head and the wand simultaneously. The bench seat is also marble. It gets warmed up with the water splashing on it, so it doesn’t have to be cold.

Separate controls for the wand head, which was amazing, but I still wasn’t in love with the bottles.

The shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are, as far as I could tell, the same as the rest of the ship. That’s good news because I really like the amenities Virgin provides. However, the suites have the liquids in separate bottles as opposed to push button dispensers. I rather prefer the dispensers over bottles. The dispensers are easier to use and simpler to get the right amount of shampoo or whatever out. I suppose the dispensers are less “elegant”, but I would honestly still prefer them.

The Bar

A big perk of the Mega RockStar status on Virgin is the bottomless bar. Your Mega RockStar agent will fill the bar as often as you request and will work with you to stock it with your preferred alcohol. It comes with mixing soft drinks, like Coke, Sprite, and ginger ales in addition to whatever liquors you choose. I’m sure that there are some reasonable restrictions on what the line is willing to put in your room, but they certainly accommodated me.

To be clear, I don’t drink very much and Nichole doesn’t drink at all, so we didn’t ask for many additions or changes to the stocked supply. In fact, our Mega RockStar agent even remarked that it’s unusual to have guests to hardly consume the alcohol. I think that means we’re a bit of an outlier here. That being said, I did ask for the addition of a reposado tequila in the room. It’s my favorite sipping alcohol and I do enjoy a small pour in the evenings while I watch a movie or read. To accommodate that request, our agent brought a full bottle of Patron reposado to our room. So, I have no idea what the upper limit on complimentary bar stocking is.

This is the standard bar stocking that we arrived to. If you want to make any changes, they are happy to help.

Look, this perk wasn’t a big deal for us, it’s just not what we do, but it is a big deal for many people. If you like to host parties with some friends on the ship, you could very much do that with this benefit – and I know people do. As far as I could tell, the staff want you to enjoy yourself and will work to provide you with the libations to do just that.

There’s also a touch of class to the in room bars that I really appreciated. There’s a whole drawer of glasses, neatly stored in bespoke foam cutouts. A glass for every occasion. I think that’s just one touch of sophistication that might have been overlooked elsewhere.

Bed, Couch, and Room Conditions

Straight away, let’s make this clear. I see conflicting information online about this point, so here’s the facts:

The king size beds in the RockStar and Mega RockStar suites cannot be split.

Yes, that is different from the other, non-suite rooms. The only suites that accommodate separate beds are the Mega RockStar suites and the Brilliant Suite in the RockStar category. These each provide a pullout sofa to sleep on.

The pillow is blocking them, but there were outlets on both sides of the bed.

Now, are these beds comfortable? Yes, but not like you’d probably hope. They aren’t as soft or supportive as many would like. I’ve made my feelings on Virgin’s beds clear, saying, “They are like the most comfortable futon you’ve ever slept on.” I didn’t find much difference in the suites for bed quality. It’s not bad, but neither is it what I’d hope.

I also didn’t have any trouble sleeping on them. I’ve got scoliosis so I’m sensitive to bed quality, but these don’t bother me.

We didn’t use the pullout bed, because there was no need, but I doubt the mattress improves from being in a foldout. The sofa that it’s stored in was quite nice however. The position in the room made for a lovely place to dine and watch TV or look out the windows.

I took a picture with the laptop in it so you can get a sense of scale for the table and couch.

I also found that these rooms stayed quite cool if you wanted them that way. Often, balcony rooms on cruise ships get warm and the AC has a hard time keeping up. Not in the Mega RockStar suites it seems. I like a chilly bedroom, and I sleep much better when I’m a bit cold and I had no problem here. I even had a nightstand with an outlet that I could set up my favorite travel fan on.

Storage

Cruise ships are well practiced in the art of storage. They must take a small space and figure out how to allow for the maximum amount of luggage in it while not impeding anyone moving in the room. Virgin is pretty good at that, with well designed closets that treat the space as the limited commodity it is. In the Mega RockStar suites, though, space is not a problem.

Mega RockStars get a nice closet!

The closet had drawers in it, about the size of a small dresser. You also get a dresser next to the door. Then more drawers in the bar. And even more drawers in your nightstands. Then, somehow, there’s even more drawers to be found under the bed on one side. On the other side of the bed there is storage space for luggage, and there’s a lot of it. I had no problem fitting my full size luggage in it along with my rolling carry-on laptop bag.

https://flic.kr/p/2qWmTcG

Scale is hard to get in this picture, but in that dark area I fit a fullsize suitcase and two carry-on rollerboard bags in. There’s tons of room for luggage.

If you need more storage than they provide in the room, I’m not sure what to tell you. I went overboard and brought three bags of clothes with me. Because, of course I wanted an outfit for each night, plus my makeup, and a lot of exercise clothes as well. Still, I couldn’t fill everything up.

The Balcony

There’s THE hammock, obviously. People love the hammocks, I love the hammocks, and Mega RockStars are no exception. I’m honestly surprised that there’s only one of them here, but oh well. The loungers are quite nice. They have a pad on them to make them soft and I spent a number of afternoons simply napping on them. It was like relaxing at the pool, but private and covered. It rained several times on the cruise, and it didn’t bother us on the balcony at all. It’s completely roofed by the deck above and it creates a shelter.

It’s also much, much, larger than a standard balcony. It also has a table on it. Okay, most of the balconies have tables, but this is a full table. If we’d wanted to, we could have had breakfast on it. Just look at the difference.

The chairs themselves are also different, being mesh back, as opposed to metal ones on the standard Sea Terrace balcony.

An outdoor shower is also available, but there’s a couple of caveats to that. One, it’s only available on sea days. Technically it’s only available when 14 miles away from land, but in practical terms that means sea days. If I you’re curious why that rule exists, it’s because it’s a shower that’s outdoors and people might forget that you are still visible to the people in port…

The second caveat is that it doesn’t have much temperature control, which is to say that it has no temperature control.

The balcony is huge! You can also see the outdoor shower that’s only available in Mega RockStar suites.

We used the shower on the cruise because it sounded fun. To enable the shower, you’ll need to let your Mega RockStar agent know that you want to use it. The agent will then have to water turned on, so long as the first caveat is met. Once you turn the water on, it’s on and that’s it. During the day, the water was warm, but during the night it was cold. Honestly, this seems like more of a gimmick than anything. It was alright when it was warm, but without temperature control it wasn’t exactly luxurious. Although I wouldn’t book the room for outdoor showering, it was still amusing.

Mega RockStar Quality of Life Improvements

When cruising in warm climates, there’s rarely anything more pressing than planning your wardrobe out. When days are hot and humid, you tend to go through laundry quickly. Most cruise lines charge you an arm and a leg for their laundry service. Some, like Hurtigruten, have self service laundry that you can use at your discretion and pay a small amount for the machine use and detergent, just like a laundromat on land.

Virgin opts to have a laundry bag system with no self-service option. They really set themselves apart on value though. One bag costs $55 to do, but the bag holds a lot of clothes. Practically a whole suitcase worth can fit in one. It’s a flat rate to do it by the bag and it’s a steal when comparing the cost to other lines. In the Mega RockStar suites though, laundry is on Virgin.

The bag is picked up at least once per day, and sometimes returned by that same evening. Obviously, I took advantage of that perk. No smelly gym clothes for this gal!

As a Mega RockStar, you can get dishes from the ship’s restaurants brought to their room. They are not limited to the typical Ship Eats menu. We ordered some things from Extra Virgin.

Another perk that only Mega RockStars have is the ability to order food from Extra Virgin, Razzle Dazzle, Pink Agave, and The Wake to their rooms. Your Mega RockStar agent will arrange it for you, there’s no way to do it in the app. That means that you can get dinner from most of the restaurants on the ship delivered to your room. We took advantage of this on Scarlet Night, opting to forgo dinner out and instead have it brought to our room while we got ourselves done up for the evening. It’s not just the restaurants that can be delivered as Mega RockStars also get the normal Ship Eats service, Virgin’s room service, complimentary.

Upgraded Wi-Fi also is part of the Mega RockStar perks. You’ll get the top tier “Work From Sea” package for the voyage. We actually had a lot of work to attend to on our trip – such is life – and we tested the capabilities of the internet fully. We had Zoom calls, cloud uploads and downloads, emailing, and instant messaging. The speeds were slower than land, which is to be expected. But we accomplished everything we needed to, even if some downloads took a little longer than at home.

Around the Ship Perks

Arguably, the most coveted benefits of Mega RockStar status are the perks that apply outside the room. The biggest one, for now, is that Mega RockStar guests also are comped drinks up to $25. You simply order the beverage you want, have the crew scan your band, and the drink is now paid for. The benefit can be used to buy some drinks for other patrons, but only up to two drinks at a time.

Readers, let me be blunt about that last point. If you sail Mega RockStar, do not abuse that perk. It’s meant to be a luxurious way to cruise and make you feel like a true VIP. It’s not there to buy the whole bar a round of drinks.

This benefit applies to coffees, teas, smoothies, juices, cocktails, beers, anything that would charge to your Bar Tab is covered by that. However, if the drinks are more than $25, then the whole drink is on you, though you do get a 20% discount on it. Virgin doesn’t do anything like covering costs up to $25 and then letting you make up the difference if you go over. If you see something that’s over the maximum, just be ready to pay for it. That said, there’s not much over the maximum on the ship’s drink menus.

I bought people drinks from time to time, but I didn’t abuse it or flash it around like a jerk.

Another perk that many people love is unlimited access to the Thermal Spa. I wrote about the Thermal Spa in our Splash of Romance review, if you want to read more about it. For here, suffice to say, the spa is quite nice. It has hot and cold plunges, a Nordic style sauna, steam room, mud room, warm marble benches and beds, and a salt room. It’s a very nice place to spend an hour or two. Mega RockStars get to go whenever (so long as the spa is open) and however often they want. They do not need to make an appointment ahead of time either.

Of course, Mega RockStars also have access to Richard’s Rooftop, the suite-only area of the ship. It’s quite easy to get to for Mega RockStars as well, since it’s directly above your cabin. There are day beds, loungers, chairs, and hot tubs exclusively for the RockStar and Mega RockStar guests. There’s also a bar with exclusive food and drinks.

All RockStar and Mega RockStar sailors on Virgin Voyages get access to Richard’s Rooftop.

RockStars and Mega RockStars also have access to special lines for the shows. That means that you’ll get priority entry to all the shows Virgin offers, like Persephone and Miss Behave. There’s a special queue right next to the doors, indicated by a sign that says RockStars. You simply line up there and wait till the doors open. While this may not seem like such an amazing perk, I think it is. Virgin offers stunning entertainment, and the shows are often quite full. This gets your near guaranteed access to whatever seats you like.

If we’d sailed to Bimini, we also would have gotten access to the special RockStar only area of The Beach Club. Sadly, Bimini wasn’t on our itinerary, but the drink benefits do carry over to the Beach Club.

Mega RockStar Agent

I’ve touched on this throughout the article, but the most impactful and important part of sailing as a Mega RockStar is the Agent.

RockStars also get an agent, but their agent covers more cabins. In Mega RockStar, your agent typically covers two cabins – that’s it. Their job is take care of your needs and help arrange your schedule. When we wanted to adjust our dining reservations, he took care of it. If we wanted dinner in the room, he took care of it. We wanted something different to drink in our bar, he took care of it.

But that’s not quite illustrative of what they will do for you while onboard. When we first sat down with him in our room, he asked if there’s anything we want during the day, like coffee in the morning. We asked if he could bring two lattes from Grounds Club to the room each morning at 9AM. He said no problem and asked what else we would like.

We came back to this arrangement of fruits, cheeses, and meats (and champagne!) one afternoon. Our Mega RockStar agent noticed we were working in the room a lot and wanted to try and make it special for us.

We also asked if he could arrange for a carafe of hot water and two mugs to be left in our room each night at around 9:30. At first he was confused, but we explained that we liked tea before we went to bed (that’s our idea of a party) but that we would pick up the peppermint tea bags from the galley, because it’s just on the other side of the pool deck. He had never been asked for a carafe of hot water and thought that it was quite novel, but he wouldn’t hear of us grabbing the tea bags. Instead, he got loose leaf tea from Grounds Club and arranged tea pots and hot water for us, as well as some honey.

That was going beyond what we hoped for. Typically, I fill up a thermos in The Galley and make tea with the bags in the cups back at the room. All I really wanted was to not carry the hot water, but that’s not really the point of the class.

I’ve never stayed anywhere like that. I’m from the Midwest, where cleaning up after yourself and not being a bother are part of the culture. Mega RockStar is a way of cruising that eschews modesty and your Mega RockStar agent is there to help you do that. His version of the tea service was 1,000,000 times better than mine and I loved every night when I got back to the room.

Are you Treated Differently?

There’s been plenty of debate online about whether sailing as a RockStar or Mega RockStar changes your experience on the ship. Of course there are changes, you’re paying for them after all, but the focus of these debates is often on whether the staff treats you differently or not.

We are well aware of these discussions, and we tried to pay active attention to anything that changed. We’ve sailed Virgin a lot already, so we’re accustomed to how the staff interacts with you. And, while we did observe some changes, we also noticed that it didn’t change the staff’s approach with guests. Here’s what we did see change:

When we arrived at a restaurant for dinner or brunch, the host or manager would often seat us immediately, even before other guests. Now, yes, we had a reservation each time we went, so they were expecting us, but I’ve never been pulled out of the queue for seating before and I’ve always dined with a reservation. But that is the only difference we experienced.

This is from our first sailing on Virgin. We got to know Rupert and Rey and we keep in touch every time we sail. I was lucky enough to see Rupert on this last sailing and we caught up on the year since we last saw each other. They didn’t care if we were Mega RockStars, they are amazing to everyone.

Virgin’s staff is amazing. They are what make the line amazing – full stop. I don’t care how nice the rooms are, how many pools the ship has, or how good the food is. If the staff isn’t good, the cruise isn’t good. Virgin’s staff are spectacular, and they treat everyone with kindness and fun. They are both relaxed and attentive. Being a Mega RockStar or RockStar doesn’t change their behavior.

I got to know the staff at our favorite restaurants, just like I do every time I sail. I even saw some old friends on the staff that I made on other sailings. We shared updates about our families and friends. They introduced us to new people, and we all hugged each other at the end of the trip. That wasn’t because we sailed in Mega RockStar quarters, it’s because they are amazing, and we don’t take them for granted.

It’s not exactly a definitive end to the debate, but I can say, with a great deal of confidence, staff treat you as well as you treat them, no matter the cabin you booked.

Does it Feel Special?

Absolutely. No doubts there.

I mean, you’ve got a massive suite, a private balcony, a huge bathroom, a cool black wrist band, and drinks (under $25) are on the house. How could it not feel special?

My feet barely touched the ground the whole trip, I was just floating on a cloud… and boy does reality suck when you leave…

Oh boy do I miss it!

Honestly, this is sailing EXTRA! RockStar quarters get some nice amenities, but the Mega RockStar experience sets it apart. If you tell me that your 9AM latte, brought to you by your Mega RockStar agent, without you lifting a finger, doesn’t feel special, I will call you a liar. To your face if possible. Either that or you have lived a truly charmed life and could probably do with a reality check.

The whole cruise was divine and there’s no other word for it.

Are There Downsides?

Virgin made the decision to place all the Mega RockStars on deck 15 at the front of the ship or fore. They likely did this because the Mega RockStars would be very close to Richard’s Rooftop and to keep all the Mega RockStar suites together, because trying to fit the massive suite anywhere else on the ship would be nearly impossible. That positioning, though, does bring a few effects worth mentioning.

It’s well known that the fore of the ship usually feels effects of movement more than the aft. That means that when waves crash against the hull, you’re more likely to feel the jolt from it and other things like that. I’ve sailed fore, mid, and aft on Virgin and other lines and I have consistently felt more of the ocean’s effects at the fore.

More problematic for some people will be the amplification of movement when on higher decks. It’s simple geometry, when the ship sways from side to side, you’re going to feel it more the higher up you go. Sea sickness may become a problem for people who are prone to it during rougher seas because of this, so be prepared if that’s you.

I’ve also heard complaints that Scarlet Night is very loud because the pool is right next to the Mega RockStar suites. I didn’t find that to be true, but our suite was farther back than others. Suites closer to the pool may have a loud evening.

On Scarlet Night, a valid direction to the Mega RockStar suites can be, “Directly behind the octopus.”

What did turn out to be true is that when the staff is setting up and taking down chairs on Richard’s Rooftop, you can hear it in your suite. It’s louder than I expected, but it’s not some huge issue either. It’s about 10 minutes maximum for some moving of chairs above you. The only way I can see it being an issue is if you are dealing with a significant hangover. Hmmm……

Upon further reflection, I can see how that might be an issue for people in Mega RockStar.

The only other downside, which I don’t have confirmation of, is that I’ve read complaints that suites on the starboard side of the ship (cabins that end in Z) may get some smoke wafting toward their balconies from the smoking area on deck 16. The smoking area sits directly above several suites on that side, so I can imagine how this would be possible, but I can’t confirm it. In any case, maybe pick the port side suites (cabins that end in A) if they are available.

Is it worth it?

For us, yes. But here’s the catch that I haven’t mentioned yet. We were on a special rate sailing that made it significantly cheaper for us to sail this way. What this suite was listing for before we won our upgrade bid was just over $20,000. Meanwhile, a Sea Terrace on the same cruise was listing for around $5,000. To be clear, we didn’t pay anywhere near $20,000.

The robes are a nice touch.

Over a 10-night cruise that’s a difference of $2,000 per night for the suite and $500 per night for the Sea Terrace.

That’s a lot more money each day. A difference of $15,000 is significant. Like, that’s a used car worth of money.

However, if you don’t blink at $20,000 for a vacation, then this is absolutely worth it. If you are the type of person that likes to entertain, this is made for you. If you are taking a big family cruise and want to splash out and have a place for everyone to gather during the day, this is for you. Or perhaps, you just want to be pampered, and if that’s the case, beleive me, this is for you.

Sailing in Mega RockStar quarters is overdoing it, but that’s the definition of luxury, and if you want luxury, Virgin’s Mega RockStar quarters has it in spades.