CruisingWalter

30 minutes ago, Lustate said:

Its also worth noting a bookings types wont qualify...

Pretty much the same on most cruise lines. When you take a comp or a deeply discounted cruise fare, you can get reduced or no perks from the cruise line. I've seen this on Princess with some of my casino friends who complained they didn't get 'double points' for suite that they barely paid for. 🙂

On 4/2/2024 at 7:54 AM, raphael360 said:

TA question:  Can TAs log into their First Mate portal to see and select from any of the rooms available in specific categories?

Absolutely, its one of the best reasons to use a TA.  They can also move your cabins around if you booked directly and then transfer your booking to the TA.  

Additionally TAs can book your dinner reservations so you don't have to deal with the app, and they can book Shore Things for you as well. 

The official Sailing Club is now live on the Virgin Voyages website.

https://www.virginvoyages.com/sailing-club?item=7c99a8ad-d2cd-4829-9ae2-4241baa210e3#intro

16 hours ago, Carol Loves to Cruise said:

Gee….im not sure where I read it but I read a post somewhere recently that says Virgin can arrange rental of scooters and there’s room in the hallways to park/charge the scooter.  I was so happy about it, but now I think someone posted incorrect info.  

No cruise line rents scooters and no cruise line allows you to park a scooter in the hallway to charge. VV probably refers people to Scootaround or Special Needs Group, both of whom can provide scooter rentals. But they must fit inside your room when not in use, they cannot be left in the hallways, nor can they be left in the elevator lobbies for charging. 

8 hours ago, Keen2Cruise said:

Thanks, I looked them up, and they use lithium batteries, not gel.

 

The ones they showed me were gel batteries. I wonder if they have gel batteries specifically for cruise ships. 

The wording I've been seeing from multiple cruise lines is a requirement for a gel battery for mobility scooters. 

On 3/25/2024 at 11:25 AM, Keen2Cruise said:

I will have to decide whether to take my current scooter or not. Once I'm there, there is no Plan B. For peace of mind, I might buy another scooter with a dry-cell battery and sell it after the three cruises we have coming up.

If you can, I would suggest you take a look at the Whill power chairs. We've introduced those to multiple cruise guests after we had a chance to the visit the Scootaround offices here in Orlando. They're smaller than a standard 3 or 4 wheel scooter, easy to drive with a right or left hand joystick and fit into most any stateroom door. The batteries pop out for super easy charging. The C1 can be rented for cruises and while it's smaller it does not fold up. They also have an F model that literally folds up against the wall when it's not in use. 

Both come with a phone app that allows you to drive the chair via the app. The primary use of this on a cruise ship would be to park the chair out of the way after you sit down and to drive it back to you when it's time to leave. 

Here's my visit to the offices and the two chairs. Whill is the parent company of Scootaround. 

https://youtu.be/HjS6qhJIRUY

On 3/26/2024 at 3:06 PM, dvt8 said:

So what I've learned is that virgin promos are pretty much like other cruise line promo/discount. They shuffle everything around to appear like they are discounting but only truly discount when needed

The best is NCL. They alternate between One Guest Free! and 50% off Both Guests!  It's the exact same offer, different words. And I'll get calls all the time, "Hey they changed the offer! Can we rebook to get the new rate?"  I have to explain it's literally the same deal, bringing up the pricing so they can see it, just different wording. 🙂 

VV tends to go up in price as the sail date gets closer. I've seen it go up 2 to 3x the original cruise fare in the weeks and months before sail date.  Our Thanksgiving cruise last November was 3x the original cruise fare a few months before sailing.

VV's best pricing tends to be the day they open up.  Note that if the pricing does go down, VV does not price match like other cruise lines. You'll have to cancel your cruise and rebook. When you do that, you will lose any promotion that was attached to the original sailing and be rebooked with any current promotions. Your MNVV can be cancelled and reused one time. 

I think one of the best itineraries in Europe is one you didn't list. Starry Nights in Greece and Croatia. An amazing 10 night itinerary as Croatia has become a major destination of late in Europe. https://www.virginvoyages.com/itinerary/europe/greece-croatia-cruise

On 3/26/2024 at 3:48 PM, The Med said:

I phoned my TA, he was appalled, he said that was a bad data breach and there was obviously a glitch in the system. He gave me a phone number to ring, he said it was better if I made the call as I knew all the details.

Actually your TA should be contacting the First Mates dept. directly.  He should have asked you to send an email detailing the situation. Then the First Mates dept would be the first contact for that TA to fix the situation. If they could not get the situation sorted, then your TA escalates the situation directly to their business development contact from VV to get the situation sorted. That's one of the advantages of using a TA, having them go directly to their contacts if the situation has to be escalated.  

That is a very strange situation to be sure. It does sounds like you've been put into a Circle but even there, you would not see anyone else's personal information. . 

On 3/26/2024 at 6:22 PM, cantgetin said:

I like a channel called "Where's Walter Travels."  He has a couple of excellent videos on VV...one general, one on food, etc.

Thanks for the kind words. Every time I'm on a ladyship I get so many compliments on that particular video. And so many Sailors will tell me they tried Virgin for the first time because of that video. It's super cool. 

TAs make your life so much easier to be honest. We have cruised for almost 20 years and have always used a TA. The biggest advantage is not having to call the cruise lines ourselves to do anything. They take care of it. And if we really need to take things to a higher level to get a situation taken care of, they have direct contacts at all of the cruise lines.  

And in the case of VV, having them take care of our dining reservations is worth their weight in gold. VV's app can make it incredibly challenging to book dining reservations when they open. So long as the booking engine is working for the TA, they can usually make your reservations pretty quickly. 

And our TA never charges us a dime so why wouldn't we use their expertise and connections?  🙂

5 hours ago, BrianB1964 said:

This is why I am not an avid Cruiser!!   My wife and I picked this cruise for its Itinerary.  The boat was our easy transportation to those destinations.  I get that a cruise ship can cancel a port due to weather or other mitigating circumstances, but 60 days ahead? 

They can cancel for any reason at any time. It's in section 9 of the contract. I believe 9.3.5 in VV's contract.  It's in every single cruise contract on any cruise line. 300 days, 200 days, 100 days, 10 days, and even after the ship leaves port, itineraries can change for whatever reason at all. No itinerary is guaranteed, ever. 

If Toulon was that important to you, fly there, don't take a cruise. If any destination is so important it will ruin your cruise if it's cancelled, don't take the cruise. fly there. It's that simple. 

Everyone who is 'defending' the cruise line understands the cruise contract. We go into the cruise knowing the itinerary can change. 

2 minutes ago, BrianB1964 said:

And the audacity of people making it ok to for the cruise line doing this is insane.  This will be the last cruise we take.  The boat was simply a mode of transportation for us!  Horrible on VV!!

There is no audacity on anyone's part. Itinerary changes are normal in cruising. It's in the contract. Those of us who have been cruising for 20 years know exactly how all of this works. Anyone who books through a travel agent knows that your itinerary is NEVER guaranteed on a cruise ship. If Toulon is the most important thing in the world to you, fly there. Don't take a cruise.

That holds true of any cruise destination on any cruise line from the cheapest to the most expensive luxury cruise. If your vacation is going to be RUINED because the ship won't stop at XYZ port, don't take a cruise. Fly there. 

It's not audacious to understand itinerary changes. It's understanding the cruise contract and understanding that itineraries can and will be changed. 

22 hours ago, raphael360 said:

Dinner reservations only open up for the vast majority of us 90 days out.  But with that said, I'll never book a last-minute cruise on VV again.

60 days for Rockstars.  45 Days for Sailors.  Since you've sailed on VV previously you should have known that your dining options were going to be slim to nil via the app booking 37 days out.  All dining reservations are generally gone the day after the 45 day mark. It's great to score the 'best price available' 37 days out, but you know that booking that late on any cruise line will leave you limited options when it comes to reservations. That comes with the territory.

I would not book a flight earlier than noon from Athens. You need to get there from the port and that's about an hour away. Then security lines, etc...  Maybe 1p might be better.

8 hours ago, corona_gorda said:

OK where can I see if a rebate has been applied

There is no rebate. You have to have your cruise cancelled and then rebooked to get the new fare. Any promotions that were attached to your original cruise will be replaced by the new promotions. I.e. there is no longer an included bar tab. 

8 hours ago, VVhater said:

This isn’t due to circumstances beyond the carrier’s control. It’s a money-saving change that Virgin delayed announcing until it was too late to cancel a booking. And the fact that they also canceled a nearby port on other itineraries strongly suggests bad faith. Yes, they may be legally protected, but it’s a disgraceful way to treat people. 

Not it's not a disgraceful way to treat people. It's in the cruise contract of every single cruise line that the itinerary can be changed at any time, up to and including after the cruise has started. We've had multiple itineraries changed over the years. Sometimes before the cruise, sometimes after the cruise.  We know that's a possibility when we book. It's part of cruising.  

If there are destinations that are very important to you on any cruise, don't book the cruise. Book a land vacation instead so you're sure to be able to spend time where you want to. 

17 hours ago, JackE said:

As you have probably heard by now, the app is very glitchy and not at all user friendly. I stayed up until midnight the day before the reservations were opened up to book the restaurant reservations, but alas, I could not get the app to cooperate.

A great reason to use a TA. They can book the dinners for you so you don't have to deal with the app. 🙂  

17 hours ago, JackE said:

we wound up waiting 1 hour 45 minutes on the sidewalk outside the makeshift terminal

Hopefully within a year or so the new pier and terminal will be built making that process much better.  

17 hours ago, JackE said:

The resident drag queen has a show (the fabulous diva Carlos), which was a lot of fun.

YAAAAAAAAASSSSS!!!  Carlos is THE BEST!  We've sailed with her three times now and even had dinner with her one night in Gunbae.  Just THE BEST!  I hope you saw her one woman caberet show on the final night in On The Rocks (if she did it)  That's our favorite show onboard. 

17 hours ago, JackE said:

Would we go again? Probably. Would be nice to be in a suite next time, and have Rock Star status,

In my opinion the Cheeky Corner Suites are the best cabins on the entire ship. Hands down. 

Excellent review, thanks for sharing. I find a lot of Celebrity Cruisers enjoy Virgin Voyages and vice versa. Celebrity certainly wins in the pool department, but overall the rest of the experiences can be quite similar.  

We bring a Wrinkle Relaxer onboard now. Works fantastic.  Spray the clothes, hang them up, hit them again if you have some stubborn wrinkles.  

VV said today this is not a tease, the 'free bar' tab promotion officially ends on March 27.  Not to say it won't come back as a promo from time to time, but the ongoing Bar Tab promotion is ending on March 27. Book by March 27 to get the included Bar Tab on sailing. 

4 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

Now on sale

The rates are decent too. 

Resilient Lady Barcelona to Miami:

October 27 - November 10, 2024, 14 nights

Barcelona > Casablanca > Gran Canaria Las Palmas > Santa Cruz de Tenerife > Miami. 

San Juan to Barcelona

April 12 - 26, 2025, 14 nights

San Juan > Santa Cruz de Tenerife > Casablanca > Palma de Mallorca > Valencia > Barcelona

18 hours ago, Daruma said:

I'd like to try taking a cruise every 6 months, while avoiding Hurricane Season, (June 1 - November 30).

I will say we've been cruising hurricane season pretty much from our first cruise since our wedding anniversary is in Sept. Most notably leaving Miami 3 days before Hurricane Irma hit St. Thomas, one of the largest Cat 5 storms in a very long time. We simply changed itineraries and had some of the best weather ever over our 11 day cruise. We've not experienced anything close to the conditions you described except this past December during all the bad storms that came through the Caribbean. Even then, it wasn't much the ships couldn't handle. 🙂 

Temps in the Caribbean don't fluctuate all that much, yes it does get hotter in the summer, but in general it's pretty temperate all year. It's the humidity and water temperature that really changes. High humidity in the summer and generally December - March for the chilliest water. 

Officially, the Resilient Lady repositioning cruises still don't exist. Both publicly and in the TA  sites. Itineraries will probably show up officially at some point today or tonight.