AlyssaJames

11 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Does anyone know if the Scarlet Lady will be departing from NYC on Sunday (3/8) evening or Monday morning?  I would love to get some photos of the new ship as it passes the NYC skyline but I'm unable to find any departure information from my normal go to ship schedule site.

 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/new-york-port-98

 

Thank you,

-Pete

Hey Pete--loved your Escape photos last year. So much that I reflexively 'liked' your post above without even reading it. 

Virgin's current tour is a little odd in that this isn't a real 'itinerary' (that I can tell), and sometimes it's been difficult to know when they will arrive or depart without watching their instagram stories closely. 

3 minutes ago, nigelc said:

You must love your WiFi because you raise the point twice in your list. Having had to travel on his trains (a lot), I do not think anything run by Richard Branson is a plus.

Just as a heads up, you're posting in the Virgin Voyages subforum.

There's a thread running over in the Celebrity subforum where more people will be happy to pre-emptively make fun of VV with you: 

I saw a 7 day western carib on Escape yesterday for $279 base fare for a NON GTY inside (so you did get one perk), no solo supplement. Leaving in a few days. 

I assume there is a lot of this out there right now due to COVID19.

Ugly URL but might work

https://www.ncl.com/vacations/miami-florida-feb-1-guest-?embarkationport=4294953464&sailmonths=4294940540&cruise=1&cruiseTour=1&cruiseHotel=1&cruiseHotelAir=1&numberOfGuests=4294953450&state=undefined&pageSize=20&currentPage=1&sortBy=Featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultPage

One thing to remember is that after a while, people experience 'crisis fatigue', and eventually they really just want things to get back to normal. 

I think too many middle-class folks like cruising for it to permanently crash, and the ports like the money and jobs too much to make drastic long term changes.

Just spitballing though. 

Good.

I guess this doesn’t necessarily stop the civil suit? Or does it?

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

You don’t have to travel far. WBNS is reporting a 7th COVID-19 case in Ohio being monitored since the person has a respiratory infection and are  are high risk (were in China or had contact with a COVID-19 patient). 

No one in Ohio has tested positive for COVID19. The first six were all cleared, 7th is being monitored.

https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/ohio-department-of-health-investigating-one-person-possibly-exposed-to-new-coronavirus

6 minutes ago, ano said:

Prices have already been dropping, and they haven't even sold their first drink yet. That old supply-and-demand part is hard to overcome.  

 

I feel bad for Virgin. As luck would have it, this wasn't the best time to launch a new cruise line. 

And they just left from Italy ...

7 minutes ago, crbnlvr said:

Sorry if this has been answered but I'm curious.... where did the repatriated passengers end up here in the states?

AFAIK they are in multiple locations, I want to say Texas and NE? 

There's a poster here who frequently knows exactly which facility is hosting how many patients, not going to call them out by screenname as I believe they're on the 'inside' / on the healthcare side and don't want to put them in a position. 

20 minutes ago, eroller said:

The boys were very excited and I'm not sure they would say anything too negative.  I get the feeling they have been following VV since the beginning, and are probably heavily invested in the line.

They were some of the few 'social media influencers' who were allowed to go into the fake stateroom/warehouse sets and shoot footage for their YouTube channel last year (basically a commercial filmed in a soundstage):

shorturl.at/osG16

So they're basically brand ambassadors. I did appreciate their counterpoints to the other walkthrough. 

RCL has dropped from about $115-120 per share to under $90 in the last month, with large drops yesterday and today. The whole market is down, of course, but cruise stocks are down more than the average. 

I think I said this before, but if you've been waiting to buy stock in your favorite cruiseline for shareholder benefit, they're on sale now.

2 minutes ago, philsuarez said:

• I think Davey was just reporting on the attitude of the booking staff which considering this was a preview you would think they would be keen to engage with the travel agents

I just don't understand why he was surprised:

"Considering that Virgin have already alienated most of the travel industry with their previous policies ..."

6 hours ago, compman9 said:

he has been painted as a lovable old Grandad

Daily Mail really played up the 'lovable silver-haired elderly grandad' shtick after the family gave them some exclusive statements or interviews or something.

Found the chair hogs.

16 minutes ago, eroller said:

 I've heard they will even have events in there like a mini nightclub.

Hmm. Maybe there are bits of it they haven't shown or that I haven't seen. 

4 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

The good thing is that the deck space on Scarlet Lady looks awesome, and it won't be overrun with kids.  I'm guessing that finding a chair in a great spot will be no problem.  So if you don't swim you're in luck.  If you like to take a dip in the pool like I do, especially to cool off after laying in the hot sun ... well you have seen the pool.  

For what it's worth, I'm also very underwhelmed by the thermal suite, especially at the prices they are charging. NCL definitely has them beat there. BIG thalassotherapy pool, hot tubs, a good number of contoured heated tile loungers, and a TON of cushioned loungers.

VV apparently expects people to sit around on warm, flat, hard marble, or sit in one of about five upright chairs. That space is the head-scratcher for me. 

19 minutes ago, 2NOLAcruisers said:

On previous cruises, it was mostly kids swimming, so the no kid policy gets rid of that. On my other adult only type cruises, a very low percentage of people got in the pool and nobody swam. It was just wading or light movement. They probably figured out how many people really use the pool and adjusted the size accordingly. 

Yeah, I've been trying to mostly stay out of this one because I don't swim in the sundeck pools on cruise ships. But this turns into a chicken or egg thing:

I don't swim in cruise ship sundeck pools because the ships I sail on a lot (NCL megaships) have tiny, crowded pools that are all in direct sunlight, and I'm not a sun worshipper. Also not a kid person.

On my single Celebrity cruise, I DID swim in the Solarium pool, which was big enough to swim in, and shaded. But that was back in 2015, and I didn't like a whole lot else about Celebrity. 

So I like swimming, but only if it's a big, uncrowded pool, adults-only, and shaded from intense sunlight.

So yeah, if VV had one of those, it would be awesome. But I guess I was never expecting them to in the first place. I can see how people coming from X or Princess (or higher end lines) would be disappointed. 

1 hour ago, jakebloke said:

Pricing appears to be changing.  I’ve been watching a 5 night cruise in October.....looking at an XL Sea Terrace or the Seriously Suite.  

Yesterday was the day stuff got real for the US stock market, and cruise stocks, in terms of COVID-19. Even CCL's stock had been holding up okay until Italy happened. Double whammy for Virgin with Cuba, as I imagine people are cancelling cruises across all dates and lines now. Room/suite prices on Virgin had definitely been up prior to this.

4 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Was Carnival price is up and Gilead low?  

That’s not how they do the stock market in these parts.

RIP Flamingo Grill. Best greed-decimated venue at sea.

1 minute ago, timf2001 said:

The main difference between a food hall and buffet is whether the food is plated and served to you, or you dish it out yourself.  It does appear at least some items are self-serve such as the salad bar and desserts.  Hopefully this is not the case for the hot food stations, or else it really is just a buffet under a different name.  I would welcome a true food hall type setup because it would be much more hygienic, without having to worry about who else may have touched the food or serving utensils.

Actually, I just noticed the serving tongs for the dessert bar are on the server side of the buffet, not the passenger side. (Scroll up.)

Buffet stuff from Ben and David’s video

Pulled out some stills. I don’t think all the food stalls are online yet.

1 minute ago, eroller said:

t people will have clothes in the closet, and will have to push them aside to get to the switch.  Yes there will be a tablet that can control lighting, but that doesn't really help when you return to the cabin at night and the cabin is dark ...

That poster did say the lights come on automatically. Maybe there is motion sensing.

7 minutes ago, westguy99 said:

 

She concludes she would take this cruise if it was priced similar to RCL or Norwegian and says 4 night cruises start at $1400. I am not sure if she is referring to a balcony cabin for 2 people on the pricing but pricing would be similar if you include the drinks, tipping, specialty meals and wifi on RCL or NCL.  

I did catch some of the inconsistencies you mentioned, including complaining she can’t afford Virgin but then later explaining her lengthy cruise pedigree including luxury brands. I had wondered if it was a hit piece or something, but I’m really looking forward to VV, so I know I’m biased.

I can’t tell if that round smaller water feature is a second pool or a big hot tub?