We expected different but I was surprised at what Virgin have done well but perhaps more surprised at what they did badly.
First of all the App since your whole experience revolves around it functioning correctly. We were a party of 6 with a mix of IOS and Android phones and so can authoritively say the failings of the app are not down to the operating system of your phone. Everyone of us had to delete and reinstall the app at least once to get it to work - many just gave up. The app needs urgent work to make it useable - a fact that Virgin seem to be indenial about.
Embarkation is not something I'm going to comment on too much as the requirements of the pandemic clearly override any other concerns. There was the well publicised chaos on their first cruise a month or so ago and although lessons have been clearly learnt it remains a pretty fragile organisational process that wouldn't survive scrutiny from professional event organisers.
For catching a ferry, Portsmouth is excellent.
For a cruise, it is sub-optimal.