23. All About Virgin Voyages

I'm joined by Rebecca Gonser from Virgin Voyages to delve into all the specifics of the upcoming "Sex and the City" themed group cruise to Greece, set for June 2024! Tune in to get a sneak peek into the luxurious accommodations, breathtaking destinations, and fabulous activities that await you on this once-in-a-lifetime journey.

You're invited to join us! Learn more and register by the end of October for the best deal: https://traveljoy.com/bookings/DevK23iobk5cBuR95APchcyQ

Find Rebecca's full presentation, including visuals, in the Makin' Memories Insiders Facebook group.

Download my free guide: 10 Tips for A Luxe Disney Vacation or connect with me on Instagram @michelevisitsmickey.

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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

Transcript

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Michele:

Hello, everyone. This is Michele, your OG memory maker from Makin' Memories Travel, And you are about to hear a recording of a virtual cruise night that I did with Rebecca Gonser of Virgin Voyages, Where we rolled out and talked all about the Sex and the City fan cruise with very special VIPs that is coming up in June of 2024, June 2nd to be exact. It is a Greek island glow, so a cruise of the Greek Isles.

Michele:

In the spirit of Carrie and all of her friends, and it was recorded in early September, so you can actually see the video of this on the Making Memories Insiders Facebook group. So if you don't know how to join that, be sure and check out the show notes. And without further ado, here is past me! Rebecca, take it away.

Rebecca:

Thank you so much, Michele. Thank you everybody for being here, and that's Right. My name is Rebecca Gonser. I'm here with Virgin Voyages, and I'm here to tell you guys what it means to set sail the Virgin Way. I'm gonna go through what sets us apart from other cruise lines, what that onboard experience is like. So you do have to be 18 years or older to sail with Virgin Voyages, So you can imagine not having kids running down the hallway, screaming by the pool.

Rebecca:

It just creates a much more relaxed Adult focus vibe on board, and that is exactly what we are going for. Something else that really sets Virgin Voyages apart from other cruise line is our dining. You will not find a single buffet on board. There are no main dining hall, no assigned seating, no assigned dining times, and no forced formal wear. So this is a metropolis style dining experience with a reservation system that is similar to OpenTable. We have 20 plus eateries and 6 specialty restaurants, and they are all included. There's no upcharge on those specialty restaurants. You just have to make a reservation.

Rebecca:

Inclusions, I'm gonna talk about on the next slide in more detail. We also have a wellness focus. So we are, as we say, passionate about the detox and the retox. So for retox, you've got plenty of options. We have our pajama party on the 1st night. We also have our scarlet night. We've got all that amazing fresh made to order food, and we've got all kinds of amazing bars and restaurants on board as well. The For detox, we have an award winning spa.

Rebecca:

We are also including all of the amazing fitness classes onboard as well. We also like to say that you can curate your own experience with Virgin Voyages. If you are someone that wants to have every single moment of your day planned, you can do that. We will have the event lineup available for you in your app about a week before you actually voyage. You can go in there. You can make a favorite list. You can get yourself all excited and started to go. But if you would like to just relax on your hammock, Hang out by the pool or just spend your time in the spa, you can do that as well.

Rebecca:

You have that ability to just curate your own experience. You're never gonna hear a cruise announcement while onboard other than the muster drill on the 1st day. So again, just adding to that relaxed vibe onboard. And then our yacht inspired design. I am gonna show you guys a really awesome drone video here in a little bit, but just keep in mind that we are combining the luxury of a yacht with the options of a larger vessel. So it does not have that, traditional cruise feel on board. So our always included luxuries, I've already mentioned here those 20 plus eateries. The food is absolutely amazing on board here.

Rebecca:

I am gonna go through those amazing six specialty restaurants, but they are all included. Twenty plus eateries, 6 specialty restaurants. Another thing, we are never going to charge you for a Coke package, a soda package. We are gonna include all of your soft drinks. We have Coca Cola products on board with our essential beverages. We also include your still and sparkling water, your nonpress juices, and your tea and drip coffee. That is all included. There's also no tipping on board.

Rebecca:

All of your gratuities are also already included in the price that you're paying. Your Wi Fi, we feel that, Wi Fi is a basic human right here at Virgin Voyages, so we are that's right. We are including your basic Wi Fi. This is going to allow you to, check your email, post on Facebook, browse. If you are wanting to download and stream movies or do Zoom calls, which I hope you're not gonna do that onboard, but if you do, you're probably gonna need to get the premium and it is $25 per day, but we have got your basics covered. All All the amazing onboard entertainment is included and then all of our fitness classes are included as well. What is not included? Your alcohol, your smoothies, your fresh pressed juices, and your specialty tea and coffee. But, again, it's Virgin.

Rebecca:

We do things differently. We don't like to follow the herd. So we don't have traditional drink packages here. We have made it very simple and easy. We have a prepaid a $300 bar tab. What is amazing about this is when you prepurchase it, guys, we're gonna throw on an additional $50 of bar tab. That's our gift to from us to you, so you'll get $350 of bar tab that you can use on your smoothies, Fresh pressed juices, your specialty tea and coffee and your alcohol. And remember guys, your gratuities are already included.

Rebecca:

Another really fun feature of Bar Tab, when you are out with your friends or if you've made some new friends and you wanna buy everybody a round of drinks, you can totally do that. So you can purchase beverages for other people with your bar tab. Now, when you check-in at the port in Athens, you are going to receive this a beautiful band. This is gonna act as your room key. It will also be attached to your credit card, your bar tab. If you have any sailor loot, That's all gonna be here on your, band. So when you do purchase your beverages, you're just swiping that band and it'll come off a la carte, and then you get to keep this nice, take home souvenir with you as well. So let's take a look at our ships.

Rebecca:

We currently have 3 ships. We have Scarlet Lady launched October 6, 2021, Valiant lady launched last year, and then resilient lady, which is the ship you guys were gonna be sailing on. This is our newest lady ship. And all our ships, they are less than 3 south 3,000 passengers, so I like to say they're kind of midsize. It's not a mega ship that you're gonna be on. We've got 1,408 cabins and suites. The majority of those are going to be our sea terrace with our famous red hammocks, which you're going to see here in a little bit. So as I mentioned, you guys are going to be sailing on Resilient Lady.

Rebecca:

She is our newest lady ship. She's beautiful. I was just on her in June. I absolutely love. She has some small decor variances from our other ships, and I absolutely love it. Love it. Definitely gives you some of those grease vibes while you're on board. And this is gonna be your itinerary.

Rebecca:

I'm gonna go into more detail on this itinerary as We go further through the presentation, but I wanted to go ahead and give you guys a quick snapshot so you can be thinking about it as we go through this. But you guys are gonna be visiting Santorini, the Rhodes, Bodrum Turkey, and you'll get to spend 36 hours in Mykonos. So this is Scarlet lady. You guys are gonna be on Resilient lady. The only difference are gonna be some of those light decor changes, which in my opinion, I really like the way, Resilient Lady looks. So I'm just gonna brag a little bit here. We were the 1st brand ever to sweep the cruise critics' cruisers choice awards for 2023. We won best overall cruise line, best dining, the best cabins, best service, and best value for money.

Rebecca:

We also won Travel and Leisure's number 1 megaship ocean cruise line of 2020 3, although I don't think we're really a mega ship because we're just under 3,000 passengers. It's a very comfortable, the passenger load on our ships. Now we're gonna take a look at our cabins and suites. Before I talk about the sea terrace, I do just wanna say that solo travelers are very important to Virgin Voyages, and we do have 46 solo occupancy cabins. We have 40 insider and we have 6 Seaview. Then the majority of our cabins are going to be our beautiful Sea terraces. We really feel like when you are sailing with us, you are gonna wanna have one of these beautiful balconies. So let's talk talk about the sea terrace.

Rebecca:

I'm gonna draw your attention to the bottom left hand corner where you see that split screen. We have these really amazing custom made beds in Germany. We call them our seabeds, and you do have the option to have your room set up as a sitting area or as a bedroom. And you'll actually just let your room steward know and they can switch it up for you however many times you want. How do you contact your room, Stewart? There's a little button inside your closet or you can use this amazing tablet that is inside inside your room. So, every single room will come equipped within a tablet and you can do, control all of the room controls with that tablet. So you can lay in bed and you can open and close your curtains with a tablet. We have all different kinds of mood lighting.

Rebecca:

We have an amazing library of movies, TV shows and news channels that you can control there. You can order your water, your ship eats, or anything that you would like, you can do from that tablet, But don't worry, we do also have manual controls on everything in the rooms as well. Now, I've talked about this amazing red hammock, you will be the how many times you'll take a nap in there and wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning. It does happen, but this is your sea terrace, balcony. We don't have any sea terrace to see terrace connecting rooms, but what we can do is that little gray partition you see behind the hammock, we can push that all the way back and we can create a shared the terrace between rooms. So if you get 2 or 3 rooms next to each other, you're going to have an amazing fun terrace that you can hang out on, see the views, Have your own little party there. It is a good time. So those are our sea terrace cabins.

Rebecca:

Now, I wanna talk about our rock star experiences. If you wanna have a rock star experience on Virgin Voyage, you can pick any of our 78 rock star suites. The we have 63 of our 1st tier rock star suites and then 15 of our mega rock star suites. So let me talk about what each level comes with. Your rock the Star Suites, you are gonna get to book your shore excursions, and your dining before anybody else can. You'll also have the 1st round of that in room bar on us. Notice I didn't say mini bar, I said bar. There's a fully stocked bar in your room the With full size bottles, there's a little drawer you can kinda push out and it's got all the different cocktail glasses, your cocktail shaker, you have a recipe book so you can get cocktail creative in your very own room.

Rebecca:

You'll also have access to Richard's rooftop, which is our members only rooftop lounge, and you'll also have 247 access, to our team of rock star agents. So that's kind of like our concierge service. They're there to help you get into restaurants, to help you make your show, Reservations or anything that you want. If you wanna have a party on your cheeky corner suite balcony there, they will help get that all set up for you as well. Now if you are a go big or go home kind of sailor, and I'm sure we have some on here, then you're gonna wanna check out one of our 15 mega rock star suites. This is, really the most all inclusive experience that we offer at Virgin Voyages. You're gonna receive everything that the rock star gets, Plus you'll receive premium WiFi, you will have a bottomless in room bar, you'll also have a daily bar tab. So this is gonna include all of your beverages on board up to a $25 maximum per beverage.

Rebecca:

So that's gonna cover most of the beverages that we're gonna have on board. You'll also get daily spa access. So this is a 3 hour pass per sailor per day, to do the hydrotherapy suite at the at our spa. So this is gonna include a mudroom, a salt room, a steam room, a sauna. We also have cold plunge pools, Jacuzzi, the hydrotherapy pool, the And then we have a these amazing, like, heated marble beds that you can just zen out to at the end. So you'll get that every day And this the spa area is open from 6 AM until midnight. You'll also have private transfers included up to a 50 mile radius to and from the ship, And then you'll have your very own mega rock star agent that is there just to make your rock star dreams come true within reason. The And then all of our rock stars are going to have access to Richard's rooftop.

Rebecca:

This is our members only rooftop lounge, and it is as cool and glamorous as this photo looks. We've got 2 private Jacuzzis here, a fully stocked bar, all these amazing day beds. And then every day from 5 to 6 is our Moi and Shandon hour, where you get to go up and get your free bubbly, and it's the kind of experience where when you have that much little bit left in your glass, another glass will kind of magically appear. So you do have to swipe your rock star, mega rock star bands to get into this area. Very exclusive, very fun. We have all kinds of little pop up events that happen here as well. Health and wellness, I know, we like again, we like to do the detox, we like to do the detox as well. We do have amazing, indoor outdoor spaces.

Rebecca:

All of those fitness classes are going to be included and I'm just gonna take you on a quick tour of some of those spaces. So, we have b complex balance where we do yoga, we have our bungee yoga, other kinda fun yoga classes, b complex build where we have our strength training and hit classes, burn for cardio, and bike for spin. So, you the and join any of the classes that are in session. If there is not a class in session, then you can use this space for your own personal workout. Then we have our outdoor spaces. You saw a lot of this when we when we were doing the drone tour. Training camp is where we have our boxing boxing rings and all of our gymnastics equipment. The athletic club, this is where we have the largest day bedded seats, also where we have those Big rope swings, we have two way and four way seesaws, so even though there's no kids allowed, we do want you to get in touch with your inner child.

Rebecca:

Then we have the Perch, this is located on the 17th deck at the very very top of the ship. This is where we have sunrise yoga and meditation classes if you can Get up that early. It's worth it. You'll get to see the sunrise, and then it just kinda turns out into a chill out zone in the afternoon. And then last but not least, we have the runway or as I like to call it, the walkway. You can grab your your tea or your coffee and go up there, Early mornings and really get some of the most incredible views. When I did the Greek Island Glow this June, that is definitely what I did. I went up there and just did a little walk around while we were pulling into It's a small track, but we have to go around it 6 or 10 times, to make a mile, but it's absolutely gorgeous.

Rebecca:

And then after all that working out, you need to know where to go to pamper yourself. We have the tune up where you can get manis and patties with a view. We have redemption spa. What you're seeing right there is the hydrotherapy circuit. So you can, for any, spa treatment that you get that's a 100 minutes or longer, you'll get access to this area. If you don't have time to do a spa treatment or you just wanna hang out in the hydrotherapy circuit, You can purchase a week long pass or you can purchase a day pass. It is $39 on port days and $59 on c days. And remember, it is open from 6 AM until midnight and you get that pass for 3 hours per day. Then we have -

Michele:

or all get together into to a go big or go home mega rock star suite, and that comes with it.

Rebecca:

Yes. It does. Exactly. When you're in that mega rock

Michele:

star fashion, we, all the girls. You can just

Rebecca:

do a takeover. I would love to see that. Yes. And then for Scarlet Night, you guys, we have the dry dock. That's where you're gonna wanna go to get your Scarlet Night Dew. We also have a Mac store. We do makeup on board, And then we have Stubble and Groom, which is our barbershop, Oasis. If anyone is bringing their plus one with them, this is a great place to leave your guy while you go and do other things and they can get their, have their own barbershop oasis moment.

Rebecca:

Okay. On board experience, guys. Our entertainment is so different. It is definitely not your traditional Broadway style cruise entertainment here at Virgin Voyages. We have 2 types of events or as we like to call them, gigs on board. We have those that are out amongst the sailors. This is gonna be our pajama party, our scarlet night. Every single night, we have live music.

Rebecca:

We'll have a full band at On the Rocks, which is our central bar. If you remember from the drone video, the lady in the red dress cheersing the drone, that is on the rock. So there'll always be a full band there, And then we'll have acoustic music in the Dock House, which is kind of our Mediterranean meze style restaurant. And then we do just have pop up performances that happen throughout the voyage as well. The Then we have gigs that will happen in a venue. So we have 2 venues on board. We have The Manor. They're all multiuse space.

Rebecca:

The Manor is our nightclub. That's where you saw that the sparkly hallway, and then it's also where we do our dinner theater, but it's also where we do our VHS workout, which is our eighties inspired workout and our nineties boy band workout. So if you wanna workout, but you don't wanna have that gym feel, I totally recommend doing one of those 2 classes. And then we have the red room. This is the 1st multi transformational theater at sea. That means it can be set up into 4 different configurations. And then we have festival style acts. So it is gonna be different programming.

Rebecca:

I already know the programming that's gonna be on Resilient Lady and it's absolutely amazing. I I highly recommend that you make sure to go see Persephone, which is the story of, Persephone who spends Half her time in heaven and half her time in hell. So, it is it's a great show. All the shows are amazing, so don't miss out, on seeing some of these amazing shows we have on board. Other fun spaces on board, we have the groupie, this is bookable karaoke, we've got 4 different sizes of rooms. You guys are definitely gonna have to check that out. We have a smoke free casino, and then 2 of my favorite spots are the social club and the arcade. Hey.

Rebecca:

They're both right next to each other. The social club really wins its name. It's kind of right in the middle of the ship. This is the only place you can get junk food on board. We've got all kinds hot dogs and boozy milkshakes, pretzels and nachos, all kinds of things there. This is also where we have our pop up game nights, Our pop up karaoke. We have a big cupboard that's just full of games from Operation to Cards Against Humanity. It's where you're gonna go to meet.

Rebecca:

It's where you're gonna go to meet and make new friends. Right next to the social club is the arcade. This is our 247 arcade, and everything is set to free play. So if you need to play, Tapper or Donkey Kong at 2 AM, you can do that and you the live and die as many times as you would like. And then Scarlet Night, this is our ship wide experience. I don't wanna give too much away because I do feel like the mystery around it is what makes it exciting, but this is our ship wide experience. We recommend wearing a splash of red. Yes.

Rebecca:

You have inky right there. Wearing a splash of red and enjoying the unexpected. It's about 3 hours of pop up shows and all kinds of fun. You definitely want to interact with the happenings cast. So we don't have our traditional cruise director on board. We have 12 characters, which are our happenings cast, and you wanna interact with them and see if you can get invited to a secret party or 2. But at the end of the night, it is all about the Pool party. I'm going to show you guys just a taste of what Scarlet Knight is all about on this next slide.

Rebecca:

So, for anymore you are just going to have to come on board and experience it. Now food, this is probably my favorite part to talk about. I'm a big foodie, and I definitely feel like we are a foodie cruise. We also won Travel Age West 2023 best dining for pink restaurants. So remember, no buffets, all the food is fresh made to order and I'm gonna take you through those 6 amazing specialty restaurants. So first up, we have The Wake. This is our elegant steak and seafood restaurant. This is also an amazing place for a lingering brunch.

Rebecca:

We have bottomless mimosas here, bottomless broccolini's, and my personal favorite is the crepe cake. So write that down and don't forget you've got to try the crepe cake. Next up, we have Gunbae. This is the 1st Korean barbecue at sea. This was the 1st Korean barbecue I ever had. This is Great for groups. We're gonna try and sit you guys together. If you are going there solo, we are gonna sit you at a table with other people and you'll have 6 new friends before the end of the evening.

Rebecca:

We cook all the food at the table for you and we do include the 1st round of soju and there may or may not be a fun drinking fucking game you get to play here. Then we have Razzle Dazzle. This is a fantastic restaurant open for breakfast and for dinner. We have a secret menu here, so you wanna make sure when you're there that you ask for the secret menu. All kinds of fun cocktails. What you're seeing in the middle there is our popcorn old fashioned and then this restaurant has a plethora of vegan and vegetarian options as well, but it's also the best place to get bacon on board. Then we have Test Kitchen. This is a really unique experience.

Rebecca:

I like to call this sort of your, deconstructed molecular cuisine. It is definitely a culinary adventure. You will arrive, you'll receive a menu that has 6 different ingredients, you'll let chef know if you have any food allergies and then just sort of sit back, relax, and enjoy that culinary adventure. You're going to get an explanation for each of the 6 courses And you can do a wine pairing, a beer pairing, or a cocktail pairing. We will have 2 different menus that will, They'll alternate while onboard and then we also have a vegan menu that's available every evening as well. And we have extra virgin, this is probably one of our most popular restaurants. This is our Italian restaurant. I always recommend starting with that charcuterie board that you see right there and then making sure that you end with the table side avocado cart.

Rebecca:

The pastas are amazing. They're all made fresh on board daily. If you wanna try all the different pastas, you can ask small dishes and they'll bring you out small dishes of all the different pastas, but it is definitely more than pasta. We do have a really great steak dish that we do here at Extra Virgin as well. Last but not least, we have Pink Agave. This is our modern upscale Mexican restaurant. We like to say it's where you can order as much guacamole as you like, but literally everything at this restaurant is phenomenal. Yeah.

Rebecca:

You can't go wrong with anything here. Chocolate tacos is a fan favorite to end on. If you are a mezcal lover, we have a very wide variety of mezcal. We do tastings here as well, and then we just started doing, Pink Agave after dark where we bring a DJ in and we take the tables out, and it's kind of like our number 2 night club at Pink Agave. So you have to give that a try as well. So those were all our specialty restaurants. Remember, they are included. There's no upcharges, but you do need to make a reservation for those.

Rebecca:

Otherwise, we have our other restaurants. We have the galley. I like to call this sort of a fresh food hall. This is still table service. We have 10 different international eateries here. The only one that's not table service is Bento Baby. You can always go by and grab a Bento box, and it's more than just sushi. We do breakfast Bentos, we do charcuterie Bentos.

Rebecca:

You can always grab one of those. We have a fridge in the room, so if you wanna just grab 1 and put it in the fridge and snack on it later, you can do that. But everything else is table service. We have well bread, which is our bakery potisserie, the daily mix for fantastic salads, let's talk about it for your breakfast and lunch tacos. Hot off the press for paninis, we have fantastic Ramen at Noodle Around. If you are a burger fan, we always have a burger of the day, an impossible burger, and just a good old regular burger and fries at the burger bar. And then for those that are kind of your, you know, midnight snackers, we do have diner and dash which is open 247. So you can have a full English breakfast, anytime you please at Virgin Voyages.

Rebecca:

Next up, we have the pizza place. This is my personal favorite, open until 2 AM. Just absolutely amazing personal made pizzas. You can eat them there or you can get them in a to go box. We do have a pizza menu, but you can also just let them know what you would like on your pizza. Last but not least, we have our the Famous ice cream parlor. I think this is Richard Branson's favorite spot on board, lick me till ice cream. We will have fresh rotating flavors every day.

Rebecca:

There's always a vegan flavor and then you've got about 4 or 5 different flavors of ice cream cone. This is always a popular spot. So, guys, now we're gonna talk about your itinerary, your group. I am so excited. You are doing the Greek Island Glow, the June 2nd to June 9, 2024. This really is just a spectacular itinerary. So let me just take you through it. I did the same itinerary, almost the same dates this year.

Rebecca:

So you're gonna start out in Santorini. So I'm just gonna take you through. For Santorini, you're gonna get a tender, so that means that we kind of anchor out, in the sea and you take a little boat in, there's a couple of different ways that you can kind of get up to Santorini. You can either take these winding stairs or you can take the cable car. We are going to include your tickets up and down the cable car, and you'll get those onboard before you head out. It is really a a beautiful beautiful area to visit. There's a couple of different things you can do. You can take one of our tours, you can explore on your own, or you can do what we did.

Rebecca:

We took a a Private car and driver and we just explored, Santorini on our own. We visited Fira, Oya, Emerovigli, that's where you have all the celebrities and the movie stars, that go and they stay in these beautiful kind of cliffside Villas and apartments with pools overlooking, the sea. There's all kinds of amazing shopping here, And then there's beautiful, beautiful little restaurants. That's my colleague right there, and we had to stop somewhere with a beautiful view And have just a beautiful traditional Greek lunch. It's absolutely beautiful there. Next up, we have Rhodes. This is fantastic as well and, again, we have all kinds of different, short excursions that you can join. You can walk around on your own.

Rebecca:

Here, we will actually dock, so you don't need to take a Tinder. You're gonna just actually walk right off the ship into the town. It is an old fortified town, so you can walk around the fortified town, and then we do have a fantastic shore excursion that will take you to Lindos. And this is where you'll get to see, the some of those Athena temples, some of the ruins. There's also beautiful beaches that you can visit. And, again, remember, This is a very walkable area as well. Your next destination is gonna be Bodrum Turkey. I probably say shopping on every single one of these destinations because the shopping is so amazing.

Rebecca:

When you get to Bodrum Turkey, though, you definitely want to Save a little bit to do some good shopping here. When you walk off the ship, you're gonna walk by all these beautiful, little Seaside cafes. You can grab a cocktail or a drink there, but then before you get into the main town, you are going to have to walk through these amazing bazaars. And it's just kind of, streets amazing around, with all kinds of amazing shops From everything from, you've got your knockoff Louis Vuittons all the way to your spice and shops. I'm not kidding. We all got knock off Louis Vuittons while we were there. It's fantastic. Lots see and do there.

Rebecca:

We decided that we were gonna check out this archeology and underwater archeology museum, but there are day trips that you can take as well from Bodrum to see all the different sites. Then you'll have a c day. When you finish with your c day, you're going to get to spend 36 hours in Mykonos. I can't tell you how amazing it is to have this extra time. It really, it really gives you a different perspective of the destination. If you are a person that likes to enjoy the nightlife, the island nightlife, Mykonos is a great spot for that. There is definitely a nightlife there you can stay out all night long. We are going to arrive about 8 or 9 in the morning and we don't leave until 2 PM the next day, so plenty of time.

Rebecca:

While we were there, we did a sure thing which is called Cooking Class in a Miconian Home. So I'm just gonna share you with you a little bit about that experience. Absolutely beautiful home. You take a bus from the ship to this home. As soon as you walk in, you can see already some of these interior pictures. Just an absolutely gorgeous home. The host right here, she is wonderful. She will tell you all about what it is like to live on Mykonos.

Rebecca:

The When you first enter, you're going to receive, a little ouzo and a little plate of a amuse bouche of kind of traditional, Greek and Miconian, little little tiny bites and then you're gonna get a full hands on cooking class on your Greek favorites. So you're gonna learn how to make spanakopita. You're gonna learn how to make tzatziki. By the time you finish, you'll be able to go home with her Famous recipe book that she doesn't share with anybody except those who do her cooking class and then you'll get to sit down together and eat probably one of the best meals I've ever had in my life. She will talk to you about her father's vineyards and you'll get to sample her father's wine. I say sample. You'll get to drink her father's wine, and really just enjoy an afternoon in this Myconian home. And then you still have plenty of time to explore Mykonos, even after that cooking class.

Rebecca:

We didn't explore the nightlife, we went into the nightlife on the ship. And then the next morning, we went back out into town. It is just absolutely beautiful. The way that, Mykonos was set up, Because it is such a beautiful island, it was very, attractive to pirates. So what the what the townsfolk did is they built all of the roads in a maze like structure so you can literally get lost in these beautiful shopping streets, and that is what I recommend doing. I recommend allowing yourself to get lost in these streets. There's amazing photo opportunities, amazing shopping opportunities, And then there's all these beautiful churches. If you're a person that likes to go in and look at churches, you're gonna have, an amazing variety of different tiny little churches that you can go in and visit.

Rebecca:

We also have a lot of different seaside restaurants that you can have, grab yourself a lunch or if you just wanna grab a drink coffee, and just really kind of soak up those last moments before you get back on the ship. Then we have beautiful, These, windmills. So that's something else that Mykonos is famous for. You also see them in roads, are these, the Windmills. So you can go and visit the windmills. You can either walk or, again, take a private car or do any of our shore excursions. So we have Several different shore excursions available here, from heritage and culture to, beach club visits. And then that's it.

Rebecca:

You're going to disembark. I do recommend giving yourself a lot of time at the airport. The check Lines are very long, so please make sure, and I know Michele will consult you on this as well. Make sure that you get a flight that's in the afternoon. You're not gonna wanna do morning flights because you wanna give yourself that extra time. There is, there is an amazing airport lounge in Athens Airport as well. They do accept any of your, the, US airline, lounge partnerships as well and it's fantastic lounge. You've got a whole all the tiny tiny cute little Greek desserts and sandwiches and things like that all at your disposal there at the lounge.

Rebecca:

So, Michele, I'm gonna pass over to you to talk a little bit about your speakers. I mean, I know we're excited about Virgin Voyages, but come on. I'm even more excited to hear about your speakers. So I'm gonna mute myself and let you take it away.

Michele:

Thank you. Thank you so much. And so I just learned stuff that I didn't even know about virgin voyages. And when I sailed, it was in October at the very beginning. So Now I am so pumped. But, this was hatched, before The season finale of And Just Like That when Carrie ended up in Greece with Sima. So I've been planning it for a long time Because of this woman on the very left, her name is Cindy Schupic, and she is a former producer, creative developer, and writer on the original Sex and the City series.

Michele:

And I was fortunate enough to meet her when we were both single, and She helped write my j date profile for me. And she also wrote my most favorite episode of sex and the city, so I'm really excited that she is joining us. She's just got a great sense of humor. Her books are great, and one of you is going to win an autograph copy At the end of this presentation, I will let you know about that tomorrow, whoever wins. In the middle, we have Molly Rogers. Molly is the, A senior costume designer for the reboot and Just Like That. She was also an assistant to Pat Feld on the original series. So she's got both experiences to share, and boy, does She spilled a tea.

Michele:

I've heard interviews with her on podcasts, and she is just a delight. She has some really exciting the swag that she is bringing to give away to people, including some really cool stuff from the original show that you can't buy that was given to her as a member of the team. So super excited about that. And then our moderator is Richard Lawson. He is the chief, television and film critic for Vanity Fair. If you wanna hear a sneak peek of him, he helps host. He's the lead host on the And Just Like That the podcast which is really called Still Watching, and and they are now doing another series. So every week, he and his cohost kinda debrief and spill the on their opinions on another episode, and they just recently interviewed Michael Patrick King.

Michele:

So Those 3 are our VIPs, and everyone who gets to go is going to really get to have 1 on 1 FaceTime with all 3 of them. And that is because, as Rebecca said, it's not a mega ship, so So we're gonna be a group within a a small group within the ship, and so we're gonna have a private welcome cocktail with all 3 of these. You will get to then join one of them in one of the signature restaurants, and and get up close and personal during a mealtime. And then, of course, we're gonna have a 90 minute panel. Actually, it's gonna be in the red room during one of the days. And, Richard's gonna moderate, and there's gonna be plenty of time for q and a. They will all make themselves available to sign autographs. Cindy is gonna bring some of her great books with her, and, Richard is gonna be sailing, and you might just end up on a sure thing with 1 of any one of these people.

Michele:

They are going to be sailing. They are our fellow sailors, And I am super excited about that. There is an additional cost in addition to the cruise to get into those activities, And you can find out more about that. Rebecca's gonna tell you how in just a second.

Rebecca:

Yes. Thank you. I am so Excited for I wish I wish I could come on the cruise. I don't know. Maybe I maybe I will. This looks like an amazing, amazing time. It's gonna be very, very special. I would call it, like, once in a lifetime experience.

Michele:

Definitely. I never thought I would meet Cindy again. So and now, I mean, I love Molly and Richard both, so I'm I'm so happy. What an amazing experience.

Michele:

Can’t wait. I am so excited about this cruise, and, apparently, everyone else is very excited about it too because we are completely sold out of sweets on this ship. They are gone. So we have lots of terrace available for you. And we have a special through the end of October that is 25% off your cabin and up to $600 in free drinks. So you don't even need the stocked bar in the suite. You get a $600 bar tab for your cabin. So if you're flying solo, that's $600 in free drinks.

Michele:

And they don't have to be alcoholic beverages. It counts for the premium type coffees, teas, Smoothies, mocktails, and alcoholic beverages. And the beautiful thing about the bar tab that we said earlier is You can buy a round of drinks for anyone, so you can be everyone's BFF. Think about buying Cindy, Molly, or Richard a drink. I mean, come on. That's definitely worthy of Instagram and a once in a lifetime story. So the link to book is in the show notes, And I urge you to hurry. That current special of 25% off plus $600 bar tab is only available through the end of October, And there will be more specials, but by then, who knows? We could be completely sold out of sea terraces.

Michele:

And one more point, Rebecca did say that we respect solo travelers. If you are going to be a solo traveler and want a single cabin, they are not listed on the website. You do need to, direct message me, And I can get that booked for you that way. So come 1, come all, bring your best friends, bring yourself, And check out the show notes to get booked on this cruise. Thanks, Rebecca and everyone else. I will see you real soon.