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3rdCoastFan

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  1. Can't say I'm thrilled about the rebooking options. From the TA we used to originally book a Feb 2024 Caribbean cruise that we turned into a March 2025 AZ/NZ cruise: Sailor Offer 1: Rebook On Any Voyage We Offer — At Their Current Pricing Rebook on any available voyage of their choice, and we will protect their original voyage fare as long as it's in the same cabin category. Plus, we'll still honor any previous promotions they had when they first booked, including their Bar Tab. Sailor Offer 2 — Refund: 100% of Your Voyage Fare Back to Your Sailors Should they decide not to rebook at this time, they have the option to request a full refund of the total amount paid, or we will automatically process their refund starting either 11 March, 2024 (for UK/EEA Sailors only) or 27 March, 2024 (for Sailors residing outside of the UK/EEA). • 100% Refund of the amount paid to the original form of payment
  2. Happy to share my experience. As others said, you can usually find out which artists will be on your sailing in advance. The ship has a sheet of flash that is always available - all black designs, no more than a half-dollar in size. I was hoping the artists on my voyage would have their own flash but no such luck. I didn't have a design in mind but saw some art on the wall that looked fun. The attached picture is the final result. This was my 8th tattoo. It seems that artists can't pick their own inks - they use what's provided by the ship. Mine is about a year old at it's still vibrant. I was quoted $300 and that was an absolute bargain compared to what this would have cost where I live in Chicago. If/when I sail with Virgin again and I have an idea for something palm-sized, I would get another one. Between the two artists on your specific sailing I wouldn't count on a specific one - when appointments opened up and they processed the line two artists took quick consultations as they became available but your mileage may vary. Slots at the end of the cruise book up the fastest (for obvious reasons). Though they use a heavy 'second skin' type bandage, I still wouldn't want to expose the tattoo to sunlight or submerge it in water (habits die hard).
  3. That's good to know! My experience with the voucher has been that Virgin holds firm to the rule about auto-assigning a cabin unless you work through a TA. I had no issues calling in with my first Virgin cruise to select a specific cabin but was kindly rebuffed when I tried to use the voucher for a subsequent cruise. It's great that that's been changed since an unfavorable cabin could potentially ruin an entire trip.
  4. Re no 2 - my group of 4 ate at Gunbae and were seated with another couple. It was fine. Odds are good that if you are seated with another couple, that couple may not have wanted to share a table, either, so everyone already has something in common! Kidding aside, the drinking game is about the only time you have to interact with other people. Don't get me wrong, I don't like communal dining and prefer to avoid it whenever I can -- however, if you are really excited about Gunbae, then I wouldn't necessarily let the communal dining aspect keep you away.
  5. The only downside I'm aware of is that if you book directly using a voucher, then you cannot select your specific cabin. Easiest way around that is to work with a TA who will be able to select a specific cabin for you.
  6. We had an actual egg-crate style mattress topper on our Feb 2023 Caribbean cruise on the Scarlet Lady. It helped, though I suspect an extra comforter would have been better. We found the mattress firm for our tastes but not rock hard and we ended up sleeping just fine. Diner & Dash in the Galley is open 24hrs, though the menu is limited to American diner breakfast staples. Ship Eats (room service) is also an option. Most shows and events, including live music in On The Rocks, wrap up around 11 but there’s usually a party in the Manor that can go until 2-3.
  7. Right. It's been a few months since I was on my cruise but I think it was more that a macchiato was the cheapest drink available. Either way, easy way around the delivery fee.
  8. Quick tip - you can order direct with free shipping in 5lb bags, dropping the price to $1.14/oz. I was disappointed that the coffee bars didn't have drip coffee, as well, making it a slightly longer trip from my cabin on 9 up to 14 to get a mocha for my wife and drip coffee for me. Minor problem, though, all things considered. Ordering a macchiato via Ship Eats was our big discovery - one of the few paid items that was less than the delivery charge!
  9. My own experience was incredibly quick - our 6-night Western Caribbean Charm itinerary in Feb 2024 was cancelled and we decided to leverage that into an 11-night New Zealand/Australia itinerary in March 2025. Submitted the form late Sunday night and had a confirmed rebooking late Monday morning. The confirmation message indicated my bonus $600 would be a bar tab but when I logged into my account I saw it was properly described as sailor loot. A few minutes on hold after that, I was able to change my assigned cabin on deck 14 to one on deck 11. Only 531 days to go now...
  10. Our Loteria game awarded prizes of $10 or less - branded merch or games that you could find onboard. Everyone walked away with something, though - I got branded sunglasses and my wife a branded aluminum straw. Definitely an event more for fun than amazing prizes. We also got 5 drinks by the end of it, so I guess there’s that, too (a cocktail before each or the three rounds, plus a shot of tequila and mezcal each while playing).
  11. I had an easy time making dinner reservations at the 45-day mark - even a little earlier as reservations opened up around 5pm (US central) for me the day before. There’s also some value to leaving an evening open. A few days into our cruise, more events were added - including a set by the Hostess at On The Rocks - and while it’s not hard to rearrange or even cancel a dinner reservation I almost felt too locked in with my full slate of dinner reservations.
  12. Agree with @periodic itinerant - I wouldn’t expect to pay any less for a tattoo. But I would also talk to the artist to maybe add some color or other details even if it means adding another $100 to the price. My tattoo showed up on their IG account. Both pictured in this post are great, but I’m partial to the mermaid skeleton (for obvious reasons). https://www.instagram.com/p/Co9xxJUNCaA/?igshid=MDM4ZDc5MmU=
  13. As noted above, best way to see who is working on your voyage is follow the various Squid Ink accounts: https://www.instagram.com/squidink.vv/ https://www.instagram.com/squid.ink.official/ There is a small sheet of flash available for $150/piece. None are larger than 2x2", and I found them pretty uninspiring. I was expecting the artists to have their own flash but neither did on my voyage. You also didn't get to "pick" your artist - they started taking reservations at 7pm (people were in line by 6:30), and you just walked up to one artist as he finished with one client. If you connect ahead of time like AtSeaWithChris did I suppose it would be a little different. I'd pick a time as late in the voyage as possible to minimize the hassle of aftercare while sailing, but those spots are likely the first to go. I came up with a design on the spot and was quoted $300 ($150 deposit, the balance to be paid after the session) and I'm really happy with it. I sat for about 90 minutes. It's palm-sized, mostly black and grey with some color highlights. I didn't get a chance to take a picture before he wrapped it and it's still healing. No matter what the artist prefers or focuses on at home, this is more of a street shop and both artists I saw were good with all styles. But definitely come with an idea and as many reference materials as you can. As with other services on board, gratuity is included but I have always tipped tattoo artists in cash afterwards and did so here (good thing I won some cash off a slot machine the night before!). And I found a picture of the available flash:
  14. I found this a helpful resource in advance of my recent Sunsets & Soirees cruise (Feb 8-12, 2023): https://spark-aws.virginvoyages.com/api/v1/ext/ddp/5a3193a0af8e4c3fb714386b/2023-02-13#events We saw people dancing during most performances at On The Rocks. The Manor is a nightclub, and music will vary depending on the event (ie. Heartbeat will run more EDM, but the Disco Night... well, disco) but that venue was designed for dancing until late at night. I didn't see any acts at The Dock on my voyage, but I don't know that there's much room for dancing there anyway.
  15. Speaking of sharing a bar tab, I'd like to hop in and ask this - how does sharing a bar tab work, exactly? That is, if I get the bar tab on my account and I'm not physically with my wife, can she still put any drinks on "my tab"? Before the end of the cruise, can we ask someone in guest relations to simply move her drinks to my account? If anyone can share specifics of how it works to share a tab that would be much appreciated! I imagine I could give her my bracelet but then I couldn't order any drinks - solve one problem and create another!
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