rebeccac

No, I was just curious. I've been wanting to prepay them even before I read this, but I will just have to mentally set aside a new amount from my OBC for tips. I am trying to end up without owing anything at the end.

Does anyone know if there is a way to prepay the gratuities online without having to call in? Is it possible to use OBC?

I can't speak directly to a scooter/walker situation, but I did see a few people using assistive devices. I have bad knees myself and I will say that some of the seating around the ship is very low which did make it difficult to get back up, but fortunately there is a wide variety of seating, so that should be easy enough to avoid. I hear a rumor that there is an assistive device for the pool, but I never saw it and the step up onto the pool ledge and back down into the wading area of the pool is not the easiest thing with bad knees. All of that being said, I don't see that the SL would be any more difficult than any other cruise ship.

Google the menus for Virgin and that should give you some idea of what is available. I can't say that I paid a whole lot of attention to the health conscious aspects. I do know there is a salad place in the Galley. I suspect that for the most part Gunbae is fairly healthy. I can tell you the portions at The Test Kitchen are not large, so that might be another good option. You can also get some small sized grilled meats (shrimp, chicken, steak and octopus) at the Dock.

The risque stuff is very easy to avoid. I am also in bed early and I found plenty besides the in-cabin movies to keep myself amused. That being said, the only way to truly know what you personally think of Virgin is to sail Virgin. Perhaps, if you wish to try VV, you might be better off on a shorter cruise rather than a TA. We have been on 8 different cruise lines now. None of them are perfect. There are things we like about each and things we don't like, but ultimately we have never been on a cruise that we hated. Being on a ship is my happy place.

The number one reason to book VV is the food. It is pretty much like eating in a specialty restaurant every night, but for no additional charge unless you choose to have one of the "treat yourself" items. While VV may not ever be my first choice of lines, I would not hesitate to book them again. In fact, I definitely want to go back on a longer cruise as ours was only a five night. There was so much that I never got a chance to try out. I will disagree about the lack of entertainment. I thought there was a nice variety of shows as well as live musicians. They even did some trivia at night. And the selection of on demand movies in the cabin was really nice. The second reason to book is the crew. They were absolutely amazing and from talking to several crew members, it seems like they are being treated really well.

You should be able to go on the app or your account on the website and look at the menus for both holiday meals. We did have the Chops Holiday dinner booked last Christmas because the other person we were travelling with really wanted to do it (we didn't go as we ended up cancelling the cruise), but since the only additional things from a normal Chops meal were a glass of champagne and the lobster being included, I'm not convinced that it is worth the price. Our friend did end up going on the cruise and she did enjoy it. We were on Mariner, so I can't speak to what the 150 Central Park menu is like.

If you have the package with tips included (or even if you don't and just leave the auto-gratuities in place) , it is not necessary to tip any extra. That being said, we usually do leave a little bit extra. What we leave will depend on the service we received and our budget.

There can be some breeze in a Cheeky Corner Suite. Depends on where in that massive balcony you are standing. As far as the bar set up, there is a one time bar set up. What you have depends somewhat on what is available. We started out with three small bottles of liqueur, 3 small bottles of wine, 2 or 3 cans of beer and a few Red Bulls. There was also some cans of soda. My DH wanted some Tequila (which was not one of the bottles in the cabin when we arrived) and our Rockstar agent got us one, which ended up being full sized. For the Rockstar suites (as opposed to Mega Rockstars), the set-up is one time (although I am not sure what happens on a longer cruise as ours was only 5 days). You can get the sodas replaced for no extra charge. We were also able to get limes and lemons through our Rockstar agent.

The fish dish at Bimini was so dry as to be practically inedible. The other options were ok, jut not quite to the standard set on board.

The poki place is the Sun Club Cafe. Forgot about that one.

Just make sure it is an original BC with the raised seal. A copy will not work.

The Dock has outdoor seating and there is some outdoor seating outside of The Galley.

I am not sure what they have at the bars, but in our suite they had cans of soda.

Since I don't eat meat and only had the seafood at Crown Grill, I was not at all impressed. Perhaps it is different if you are a meat eater, but I would always choose Sabatinis. And while the menu may not list desserts, I know they are served. It's been awhile and the menu has changed since I last ate there, but I would be shocked if there wasn't something.

We have not done a B2B since prior to the pandemic, but I understand the procedures are still pretty similar. You will get a notice in your cabin before the end of the first cruise that will outline the procedure. When we did it, all the B2B passengers met at a certain location, we were led off the ship, went through customs and then went right back on the ship before any of the new passengers. We had the same cabin for both legs although it is not abnormal to have different cabins, it just depends on how it was booked. From what I understand, you will pack up your things and your room steward should be able to assist you in getting things moved to the new cabin. There is definitely no need to take your belongings off the ship during the turn around.

Personally, I really enjoyed the food in Blu and would definitely book Aqua again (if it was in the budget). Just goes to show you, everyone has different tastes when it comes to food.

It is found under dining, then go to the bars and lounges tab, pick a specific bar and look at the menu. Not all bars may show a menu, but most do, so you should get a good idea of pricing.

Not saying there are deals, but if you have a significant bar tab to use up, it is an option.

These ships are not set up to have kids. Other than the postage stamp size pool and very small arcade, there is nothing for children to do. Without seriously modifying the ships, I don't see how allowing kids would even be feasible.

You can, however, use your bar tab to buy bottles at any bar (not the store) if you have anything to use up.

You might want to consider Virgin Voyages. They may look more expensive at first glance, but soda, wifi, gratuities, exercise classes and all dining (except for a few items) are included. And the dining is on par (or better) than the specialty restaurants on most lines. Right now the itineraries are somewhat limited, but the ships are very nice.

There is parking at the port. Not sure if it varies by cruise line or if the price is set by the port, but for our NCL cruise last November, I think it cost $136 for the week. There will be cheaper off site parking, but personally we have not had good luck with that (getting to the ship was fine, getting back to the car after the cruise was a complete cluster).

Our friends we were with on our trip in July regularly got brewed coffee at dinner.

I think you may be confusing the cruise line added gratuity with the Florida state tax. If you have a package, there is no additional gratuity, but if you are still in port (not actually sure when this stops happening, I was just quoting a previous post), you will be charged Florida state tax on alcoholic drinks no matter how you pay for it, be it a drink package or not.