kwokpot

We're in an XL terrace. Yes it's a comped casino cruise, comped by Virgin based on his play last year on the Scarlet Lady. The cabin is ok and the best part of it is the bathroom, large with a great rainfall shower. The cruise has been great so far. We're only at 1/3 passenger capacity and the service has been exemplary. Employees are outgoing, attentive and friendly. My husband hit a couple of jackpots so he's up about 2K net. The casino host surprised us twice with a free bottle of wine at dinner the last two nights. He's appreciates the new casino benefit of free premium coffee from the coffee bar since he doesn't drink alcohol. He does wish the casino was a bit bigger with a better selection of slots - it's probably half the size of the casino on Celebrity's E-class ships and 1/5 the size of Carnival's Excel Class casinos. They still haven't rolled out their casino program but if you earn at least 5,000 points at the casino you'll qualify for a free balcony cruise, which is exactly what we are on now since he earned over 5,000 points on our 1st Virgin cruise. He still likes Carnival's casinos the best.

Frozen premade food isn't necessarily cheaper and I don't think that's what Carnival is doing. What they probably are doing is pre-making on the ship lots of items then freezing it. But it's made on the ship, not purchased frozen pre-made.

If you're used to Celebrity and annoyed about the cost cutting please don't go on Carnival thinking you'll get a better cruise experience. You won't. They are totally different types of cruiselines. The food is no comparison. All the angst on the Celebrity board about cutbacks at the dinner buffet; Carnival's dinner buffet is even LESS, and that's true even on their newest flagship, the Celebration. Diamond on Carnival with 26 cruises, Elite+ on Celebrity with 23. Celebrity still is our favorite line. What I would suggest is try Virgin Voyages. I'm actually on the Valiant Lady as I type this. Second cruise with them and the food is in general better than Celebrity and miles ahead of Carnival. The sweets are the best of any mainstream cruiseline. Here are some photos of all the yummy sweets from the cruise I'm on right now!

The corn and enchiladas are good. Guac very bland. Pork excellent. Bread pudding and puff pastry excellent.

I'd be very surprised if there was Elite laundry benefits on your cruise. The numbers don't work out. I It's not available the last 3 days of your cruise, and you receive laundry back two days after you hand it in.

The Bacchanal buffet at Caesars Palace is far superior to Bellagio and considered the best in Vegas although at a higher price point.

What's up with Australians and coffee? I've been to Melbourne and while a Flat white was good in the coffee shops there it was anything that special that you can't get anywhere around the world. Yet it does seem that Australians, particularly from Melbourne, are downright fanatical about coffee. It's unfortunate for them because you're not going to get to coffee exactly like they have it in Melbourne in other countries. It's just very strange. This is from personal experience.

Virgin Voyages entertainment is very, very, very non traditional cruiseship entertainment. The shows, as such, are less big splashy production shows like you'll find on the E-class ship's main theater and more in line with what you'll find at your neighborhood bar or a small Vegas lounge act. Furthermore a few of the shows are very LGBTQ in origin and content while others feature adult risque content via audience participation shows. If you come on a Virgin cruise you must be very opened minded as to the entertainment choices or you'll be very, very, very bored.

A more detailed response. There are areas on the pool deck that are totally shaded BUT they are not loungers; instead they are like little triangular lounging booths.

Yay, theater is starting to fill up. Nothing like an audience participation show with no audience 🤪. I hope I didn't jinx it but I've been telling everyone that this show, which I saw in Vegas, is a hoot. Reminds me of a Carnival cruise where we went to one of the Playlist shows, Soul bound, and there were two women seated next to us whom never seen it. I told them it's a great show. They never made it past the 2nd song and got up and left, lol . 🤷

Not sure how Megan feels about it but with only 1/3 the capacity the ship venues feel a bit barren. Wandering around before the show and all the bars are devoid of people.

Native NY'er living in Philly, so same divide, lol. Butvafter 16 tears in Philly gotta be with the Eagles!

The hammocks aren't a gimmick. They're truly comfortable to lay in and enjoy the late afternoon winter sun.

Wait what? Edit: That's for the heads up. We just replaced it with the Miss Behaved Game show. We went to this in Vegas and it was a hoot. Sorta like let's make a deal/The Quest kinda audience participation show.

The hammocks are just wonderful!

It's kinda cool with the sun going down. It was PERFECT early afternoon.

The employees are all extremely attractive.

I'm on the Valiant Lady right now for an 8 nt Caribbean cruise. You're looking at it from the wrong point of view. You realize all the classic rock musicians are in their 70s? Virgin Voyages is for a specific state of mind. If you would rather stay at a W, Aloft or Moxy hotel brand you would enjoy a Virgin cruise. If your idea hotel brand is Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton then Virgin isn't the line for you. Yes, the ideal passenger demographic is 25-50. Everything, and I mean everything is geared towards those looking for a young, contemporary vibe and a non traditional cruise experience. If you're used to a Sky Suite I wouldn't book anything less than Virgin's rockstar suites. It's not a party ship atmosphere per SE, but contemporary music is omnipresent everywhere at various volume levels. Some of the folk type performers you'll find on Celebrity is what you'll find here. The food is overall better than Celebrity. I just finished lunch. Had an amazing salad AND the sushi pictured below, which is included, no extra charge.

Drip brewed coffee is included, not espresso based coffee drinks.

So I realized I misquoted Saint Gregg. What I meant to say was I never actually saw a face photo of Megan, just pics of her holding drinks and a few pics of her feet(whatever reason). So when I saw this woman in the Miami cruise terminal it was a total wild guess and based on her posts was who I assumed Megan would look like.

There definitely was rocking last night around 11-12

I actually never saw a face pic of you, just you hands and feet lol. But I'm a good judge of people.

I think now it's only done on request. Precisely because of wanting to take potential naps at any moment is why we refrain from having the beds put in couch mode. I'm on the Valiant Lady right now and the bed was also in bed mode when we first arrived. Today is Day 1 on my second Virgin cruise in the same type of cabin and my original feelings about it still stand. We're on an 8 nt sailing, double what our first Virgin cruise was. We are light packers, and we had enough storage space for our clothes. Heavy Packers won't have enough storage. Here a couple of photos of the closet with the sheer curtain instead of solid doors. I do like the bed by the closet configuration better than by the balcony.

Currently on the Valiant Lady on a casino comped cruise ( 2nd VV comped cruise; this being offered by SL casino from previous play). Some important bullet points. *We received a pre-cruise email invite for a private casino players cocktail party in the Manor at sail away. There were free drinks then the casino host introduced himself and discussed what we should expect as comped casino guests. *Free drinks in the casino must now be ordered from the roving staff and you must be actively playing. You cannot order comped drinks from the casino bar. Not sure when this became the policy and I'm not sure if it's also the same on Scarlet. *A new beverage benefit is free specialty coffee at the two coffee bars when you show you casino drink charm ( mermaid/whale tail) *The casino players program has NOT been launched yet; however the casino host indicated that if you earn at least 5,000 points you'll qualify for a free future cruise in a balcony cabin. *Table and slot earnings points are combined and can be checked on the slot machines.

Abs for days!