Virgin Valiant Lady Day 15: Mass Exodus

I woke up early and walked around the empty ship. I needed to visit Sailor Services once more to get coffee charges removed from my bill. At 5:30AM it was no lines no waiting.

Even at 6:30AM the specialty coffee place was still not open.... I decided to skip the normal coffee and  to wait until I got to the airport lounge mid-day. At 7:30, my caffeine addiction decided I needed coffee so I had breakfast at Razzle Dazzle and bought a coffee. 

One of my friends tried to leave the ship immediately as we docked because of an early flight out of FLL. I was told it was a madhouse of long lines to leave the ship and clear customs. My flight wasn't until 12:45pm so I had booked a 10:30 departure time from the ship.

The reports of long lines and wait times scared me so I left the ship at 9. My entire debarkation process, including talking with the sailor services lady near the exit to remove my last coffee charge, took less than 10 minutes. I did not have Virgin take my luggage the night before as I never want to pack that early. That said, for folks who took advantage of that service their luggage was neatly and orderly sorted right before customs.

Once outside customs, I tried to walk the cab line to see if anyone wanted to split the cab fare to the airport. Unfortunately, there were no solos and all the couples had too much luggage. In any case, I didn't have enough cash left. I had tipped the room steward even though Virgin says tips are included. He seemed thrilled and it made me happy to give it to him.

The UBER line was about 200 feet from the cab line and the hardest thing was just figuring out we were in Terminal V to order a ride. The fare was $23 to get to the airport and it took about 15 minutes. I went to the Delta counter and checked my bag. 

PRO TIP: Be careful when you plan to only carry-on that you don't buy anything over 3oz or 110ml. I bought some gifts with my sailor loot on Virgin and had to check my bag. I trust Delta not to lose my bag and it will eventually make it home with me. For me, the issue is time. Once I land, I have to catch a 2 hour bus to get to my car. It can be stressful waiting for a bag and then running to catch a bus.

As I walked through the metal detector, a security guard yelled to a couple. Do you have sweatshirts. They were confused and said yes. He said, you need to put them on once you get through security. You can't wear THAT down here. They were wearing Buffalo Bills T-Shirts. Everyone laughed and the couple who were at first scared, eased up a bit.

Once in the Delta sky lounge, I was able to enjoy my first cup of really good coffee in 2 weeks. If you like Dunkin Donuts coffee, I think you would be fine with the coffee on Virgin Voyages. If you like Starbucks coffee, you may want to consider bringing your own.  The free coffee on MSC was amazing compared to the free coffee on Virgin.

PRO TIP: There was a pretty long line in TSA Precheck but CLEAR was pretty much instant. As mentioned in a previous post, TSA Precheck is great but CLEAR has always been one of my favorite Delta Diamond perks. Please check your credit card, as I discovered you can get a CLEAR membership as a benefit on some credit cards these days. Not waiting 15 minutes in airport security is a luxury in my opinion and I might even spend $189 for a membership if I couldn't get it for free.

Tomorrow I will discuss the harsh reality of coming back to normal life after a long cruise. In the meantime, I hope you are planning your next getaway.

Happy Cruising!