little britain

My first VV cruise, we are DBE and will be going to the party at The Perch in 2 hours! Will report back! Sadly we didn’t get into Amsterdam so IJmuiden isn’t quite as scenic

This morning we had brunch in Razzle Dazzle - I was healthy …with a side order of sugar and pepper coated bacon 🥓 which was delicious. Then a walk in the sunshine to see the huge beach at IJmuiden and have a beer. There is a party later for the DB and DBE loyalty … let’s see what they do compared to RCI !

Tonight’s dinner was at Test Kitchen- a concept restaurant which alternates serving menu A, menu B or menu C. No clues! On this itinerary the rotation is A and C. Tonight was C night. You can also opt to have a drinks pairing of non alcoholic, a little alcohol or the full Monty. We got a bottle of Alsace wine. We sat at a long table, with a charming couple on one side; the other couple were “it’s not like this on Cunard..” who hated every mouthful and walked out. 6 courses. Beautifully presented. There were vegetarian options for each course. artichoke vegetable option eel Cheese chicken Yuzu - absolutely delicious. Food of this quality and presentation at no extra cost. I can appreciate that it could be a bit “weird” for some

Uber was under €20 each way last year! Dropped us right at Syntagna in time for changing of the guard

Outside seating aft of Galley. The whole ship gives off an impression of space. Of course no need for kids clubs or silly slides! 🛝. The pool is tiny though. Apparently 2250 onboard out of 2700 one of the beautifully presented cakes in The Galley! 😋

I don’t think you should need to book a suite to have to get a comfy chair!

I got DBE. I’ll have to look into how long it lasts for and what you have to do to retain status.

The cabin has more hanging space than the recent new ships. At least you can hang a full length dress which you can’t on Q class. I personally think it’s far better than Edge class which doesn’t have a comfortable chair on the whole ship, and has not enough bars …and everything looks the same in taupe. JMHO!

Welcomed to IJmuiden by about 10 ER representatives chanting “ cruise ships have got to go” and other ditties…

The ship seems very spacious with lots of clearly identified areas with different decors and seating. We are trying to figure out why… there is no space wasted on art auctions and there is no theatre as such. The Red Room is a space with no seating for the Persephone show we saw last night. There are a few seats upstairs on d7. The stage is small and the performers move among the standing audience. No live band and a loud backtrack so we suspect miming. RCI productions are far superior! The casino is small, of course there isn’t one huge dining room, variety of shops with quality merchandise, and there is a well stocked store for those forgotten toiletries and headache 🤕 pills! Another plus is you can message Sailor Services ✅ - the response was pretty instant and said the WiFi will be refunded by tonight.

Breakfast at the Windjammer equivalent which is called The Galley, is a million miles away from the WJ ! Firstly real china plates and mugs ✅ It is like a food court set up - each serving individually made items! ✅ It’s quiet, there is loads of seating ( walk to the back to sit in the Gumbae restaurant area). PG tips teabags and plenty of skimmed milk ✅ The long shared tables even have plugs and usbs! The French Toast burger is awesome btw!

Not sure I’ll be able to get out again! 😂

Yesterday’s drinks expenditures $129. Oops. 🙊 We should have complimentary Premium WiFi 🛜 as we were DBE but it wasn’t loaded against our account, so we went to Sailor Services ( 🤦‍♀️ yes the Sailor stuff is beginning to irritate ) - very short queue, people with iPads etc; the guy asked us to pay ($75pp) and it will be refunded today. Will keep a that.

The cabin is not as stark or IKEA like as I was expecting, there are even 2 small paintings 🖼️ ( no art in the corridors or stairwells which makes them very bare and drab). No cupboard doors but a curtain instead, shelves, some with baskets for your things, a few hooks, a very large lower ledge ( with hidden drawer) from when they used to rearrange the beds to a sofa during the day. And one side of the bed has a raised side which again would have been the sofa armrest. It does have a sliding wooden shelf on it which is very useful ( like a tray) to put your glasses/phone etc at night. The curtains automatically open, pita when you’re peeking out at night to see what the weather is like or if you can see land! We also have a chair and a small table - looks like something you would see in a hospital. Quite a few plug sockets and usb ports. There is a tablet for controlling the tv, thermostat, mood lighting etc. The balcony has 2 chairs and a very small low table, and the hammock but it’s a good depth. The bathroom is tiny. Not sure how larger people would fit through the shower doors. Huge bar of soap, shampoo etc in containers on the shower wall, nice thick toilet paper! 🧻. There is no low level night lighting though which is surprising for a new build ship. We have those sensor travel lights bought on Amazon which are very effective.

I know you’re dying to see the pyjama party… the chocolate martinis 🍸 are definitely not as good as on RCI

Sailaway was quite spectacular- past the Royal Navy and the Gunwharf Quays ( an outlet mall) and old Portsmouth.. crowds waving us off as big ships here are still a novelty. Shhh 🤫 don’t tell ER! Our first booked dinner was in Pink Agave, the Mexican. Portions were sensible, ideal for sharing. DH had a green Fresco cocktail and then we shared a bottle of delicious Oregon rose ($40). The staff were interactive and friendly and because of the no tipping policy, they weren’t intrusive or fake, and certainly no begging for a 10 ✅. The maitre d’ even cleared the table so everyone was working as a team. Good to see. Tonight there is a show at 10 and then the famous pyjama party… I’ll post tomorrow!

Distance from terminal to Aperol Spritz…

the wrist band charging bracelet room key thingie Towels on the loungers Razzle dazzle pink Agave entrance Test Kitchen raise the flag when you want a drink free ice cream in many flavours for the gamblers a European roulette ( better odds! )

Home to on board took 1hr 5mins. There didn’t seem to be anything separate for DBEs but we were onboard quickly. Cabins were ready immediately ✅ We watched the very funky safety video, then off to explore. First impressions - wow. Very spacious, lots of places to sit many bars, all with a different vibe, and as for the food… items freshly prepared to order, boxes of salad, bento, tacos, freshly made individual pizzas….and the cakes!

You may have read of the disruptions caused by eco group Extinction Rebellion. Last week they chained themselves to the locks preventing cruise ships entering Amsterdam. So last night at 9pm we received an email saying to avoid this anticipated local disruption we will now be docking in IJmuiden and VV will provide complimentary busses to shuttle passengers into the city centre about 30 miles away. The irony of this must be lost on the ER people !

We set off today for a 4n cruise on Virgins Resilient Lady to Amsterdam from Portsmouth. We live about 30 mins from Portsmouth so an easy drive. Portsmouth is traditionally a big Naval base and a ferry terminal to get over to France. The ill fated Brilliance transatlantic next April was meant to end there too but for us it’s a first. The sail in/out should be quite spectacular through the very narrow gap by Old Portsmouth. Anyway; this was booked as a weekend away over our anniversary. I booked via the USA - they had an option to pay early and get a further 10% off the price so it ended up costing $1424 for 2 in a regular balcony with hammock. This included $300 in Bar Tab and a further $100pp in Bar Tab. That should be enough! We do not have any Sailor Loot which is the kind of OBC that can be spent on anything else ( and on drinks if your Bar Tab runs out) With Virgin you don’t have to buy drinks packages.. you just load up on your Bar Tab ✅ which is non refundable but it does mean you can order bottles of wine instead of by the glass. Very adult ✅ I’ve noticed Virgin is different. Sometimes annoyingly so. Every email greeting is Ahoy Sailor. The cabin numbers are the same on both side of the ship - the only differentiation being A for Port and Z for Starboard - 🤦‍♀️! So yes there are 2 cabins with the same number on each deck! You don’t get bag tags until the port. No children. ✅ They did a kind of status match which gets us DBE ( you get a lot of acronyms on Virgin!) Deep Blue Extra enables us to board after the RSs (rock stars in suites). Boarding starts around 1:45 and disembarkation is around 10am … much more civilised.✅ The app is pretty nifty. You make your restaurant reservations the second they open 45 days out. RS can reserve 60 days out. We have pre booked 4 dinners and one brunch. It kinda takes away the spontaneity but with only 4n we want to try as much as possible. There is no main dining room, all restaurants are included although there are some upsell options ( as the all you can drink brunch $25) No tipping. ✅ To prepare: we had to go shopping 🛍️. Red pyjamas for both of us for the first night pyjama party - starts at 11pm; then red jacket for him, and red dress, sparkling jewellery, shoes and handbag for me for the Red party on day 3. Ok perhaps I didn’t need another pair of shoes and another handbag !

No shops at Civ port. There is a little supermarket in town which has wine at good prices. However security in Civ is tighter - they have a Naughty Table set up for those who have extra stuff in their hand luggage as they go through xray

I do not think it’s a one time thing… as you move up in one you should move up in the other

Same can be said for actually being a P. On my last 2 cruises I was Not Pinnacle Enough to be allowed into CK or the lounge. In my mind you either are a P or you are not. My future cruise bookings reflect my frustration with RCI. The Zenith match could not have come at a more appropriate time

Yes it is. The ER idiots are planning a big day of protests on Saturday 31st. The irony of stopping cruise ships slowly gliding up the canal into Amsterdam and this being replaced with dozens of courtesy shuttle busses 🚌 continuously running backwards and forwards to get the guests into the city centre has obviously passed them by 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️!!!