AlyssaJames

2 minutes ago, creativegenius said:

 

On YouTube CruiseForSolos posted a series of short videos of the cabins and the solo cabin is one of them. Much larger than I expected. Looks like Virgin is taking good care of solo travelers. 

Thanks, will go try to find it. 
 

I just realized you weren’t talking to me, but I’m going to go find it anyway. 🙂

(I’ll be in a solo insider but I’ve only seen it from a few angles, so much coverage is the suites.)

https://www.virginvoyages.com/Web-Marketing/itinerary-update.html
 

Standard covid-19 update.

33 minutes ago, Missus_Aitch said:

I’m considering going alone his summer, so I’d be curious about whether you get the sense that there are any accommodations for introverts (dining for one, quiet places to sit, etc.) Especially in Bimini. I would be a solo cruiser but not a swinging single — just looking for peac and relaxation.

This describes me. Looking at the social media stuff I’m getting a little concerned that everything seems very group/party oriented, although I’m usually pretty good at carving out my own space and like dining alone. (Looks like that won’t be possible at Gunbae.) Anyway, will definitely report back on this.

12 minutes ago, creativegenius said:

 

That's why we like Celebrity / Princess / Royal indoor pools/solariums. No upcharge. For Princess the Spa Pool isn't even an upcharge, though it's an outdoor pool on most ships. 

Oh, I always forget about my single trip on X, back in 2015. I did like the solarium pool on Eclipse. 
 

The Solarium on Oasis was burning hot, as I recall. 

Maybe the switchover will happen during the christening ceremony? But yes there is at least a temp captain. 

Isn’t the area surrounding the deep part of the pool a big water ledge?

I’m not a pool deck person, get burned/too hot too fast (NO idea how people sit in a hot tub in the direct 90 degree sun?). I like the indoor spa pools on NCL’s big ships, but they are a little more reasonably priced. Although as a I type this I’m sure a week long pass must be at or over $250 on NCL now.

Couple of pictures I pulled out of that article. A shot I hadn’t seen before of the solo insider (looks so cozy) and some info about cabin tablet controller.

3 hours ago, younglegend said:

good article that covers many aspects of the ship and questions that have come up:  https://thepointsguy.com/news/first-look-scarlet-lady-virgin-voyages/

Great article, thanks. Lots of pics I haven’t seen before, including specific stations in the Galley.

3 hours ago, younglegend said:

The writer mentions spa day passes at $125 for sea days and $75 for port days, which seems incredibly high to me for a single day use.

Ouch. That better come with more than a hottub and some stone loungers.

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

I tried on my phone and it works.  (No adblock)  So you might be right.

I can’t get any cruise results on my iPad when I have my ad blocking apps running. It stops at the same place you mentioned.

14 minutes ago, ano said:

I would NOT go by that. Its a fade now. See what the average is in a year when all the 40-year olds have gone and been bored.  They need the people that go again and again. These people aren't 40.

I’ve been on at least ten NCL “bells and whistles” (new) ships in the Caribbean in the last five years, and adults 30-50, as well as families with teens, have made up the bulk of passengers I’ve seen. Yes there are retirees and the occasional scooter, but they are absolutely not the majority.

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

I'm not a customer yet.  Just trying to look at cruises.  I use the search tool, pick number of passengers, dates, then I get the spinning "V" (upside down pyramid) but it never comes back.  It spins forever.  I've tried Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Try disabling Adblock.

https://instagram.com/abithehostess?igshid=gs5i0kpop7xe
https://instagram.com/themisstora?igshid=2l29fnbv6kd7
https://instagram.com/cruisingascrew?igshid=92zc2esbvcm
https://instagram.com/1987ofjune?igshid=nhsivj3zs3il
https://instagram.com/chef.gabriela?igshid=eks86ucim37n
 

50 minutes ago, ano said:

LOL. There seems to be many comments like "I'm 65 and over the target age" blah blah blah but I'm going.

 

So No Matter the "target age" they are going to have MANY older people, if not all.  There just isn't enough people in the "target age" to fill up a cruise ship. They have to have the money and the time off. I don't see it happening. Oceania was my last cruise, which is very similar to Virgin, like no extra charge restaurants, a bit more expensive, etc.  Didn't see many on that ship that were 40 or even 50.

I’ve seen multiple people post numbers from Virgin marketing  stating that the average age of the cruisers booked so far is 47.

3 hours ago, stitchcreek said:

I saw spirits prices, but not cocktails?

Right now the website says:

Basic cocktail
Herradura Plata, Mount Gay, Tanqueray, Jack Daniels
$9 (Tip included)

Beer
Heineken, Amstel Light, Kalik, Narragansett 
$5-6 (Tip included)

Wine by the glass
42% of our wines by the glass are under $10 (Tip included)

https://www.virginvoyages.com/onboard/eat-and-drink

8 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

Because those are States in Australia - South Australia and Western Australia. 

Yep, that’s the joke. I was poking fun at myself.

4 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Evacuees from Hubei have left quarantine and gone home all free of the virus.

All evacuees from Diamond Princess weren't tested positive in Japan before being flown to Darwin.  Now two have tested positive.  They are being kept isolated and are being sent to hospitals in their home states (SA & WA).

Spent a while trying to remember what US states were SA and WA

It’s been a long day

And I found the chief engineer:

https://instagram.com/chief_nikolapetrovic?igshid=1vnuj189b77n7

Some cool pics there.

Videos from Pink Agave

Just now, creativegenius said:

 

Ah, a fellow member of the "Social At Sea" society. Where we meet to discuss the best WiFi reception on the ship, little known Gram locations and recite the Social At Sea pledge. "Social Media is our friend, not food."  🙂 

Psst, IT worker here, I know all the best access points ... 

Just now, JamieLogical said:

 

Who said I am getting those things for free? Did you actually read what I wrote? I said I don't buy those things a la carte, I buy packages. The person I was quoted listed a bunch of things as a la carte expenses... I don't buy those things a la carte (ie: pay per minute for wifi or pay out of pocket at specialty dining), I buy packages that cover those things or I get them as booking perks.

When you said 'packages' I thought you meant the "Free at Sea" perks.

I guess I don't understand the difference between paying for something "as a package" and just ... paying for it. Especially with some of the examples you mentioned, which sounded more like 'perks' (wifi, grats). 

1 minute ago, creativegenius said:

I honestly hope they never offer a drink package. I'm fine paying by the drink because I won't go over $100 in a single day, not even close. I'd much rather have all the restaurants completely free vs. $80 - $150 for one meal.

I'm not a drinker, which is why I previously have stayed out of this debate (because saying "I don't drink so I don't care" isn't helpful), but I do wonder if they're trying to avoid the heavy drinker crowds, or getting a Carnival-esque reputation. 

But of course, no way of knowing. Like I said, if they got it wrong, they won't get the bookings they are hoping for. 

14 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I never pay a la carte for anything you mention. I buy packages or receive packages as booking perks. The gratuities on those are included in the packages or the the up front cost of my cruise.

Wait, how are you getting free grats AND booze AND wifi AND the dining package? Are you only booking Haven or something? 

Even if you get the WiFi "free" perk on NCL, it's for X number of minutes (250?) ... which you can convert to unlimited for a hefty additional fee. And 250 minutes doesn't go very far on NCL's crappy connections. 

7 minutes ago, creativegenius said:

I seriously don't follow the logic here when I paid almost $200 just for WiFi on my last Celebrity cruise and I've never paid less than $125 for WiFi on any cruise.

Now you've done it. You've summoned the "I cruise to unplug, I think it's so sad when people just stare at their devices" crowd. 🙂 

@chengkp75 Some folks in this thread are only happy with the worst-case scenario, and I think some of them would be genuinely giddy to see this turn into a legitimate global catastrophe. Some weirdly biased thinking in that regard. Thank you for taking the time to counter it.