CruisingWalter

YAAAAAASSSS! I made the Surf and Turf burger when we were on the Sirena for the Holidays. I much prefered it to the original version. Maybe someone was watching when I did it. Love this new menu!

It's all due to Brilliant Lady and a potential itinerary shakeup coming as a result of the new ship. We just finished a long YouTube live with Tamika from VV and she confirmed that VV is taking delivery of Brilliant very soon, as in the next few months. But we will not see any itineraries from her until later in 2025. We'll most likely learn the fate of those AUS sailings in the next few months, maybe not till summer.

Definitely in the Social Club. They had all the Thanksgiving games on Valiant when we were on last November. Possibly the Red Room since it's a major sporting event.

This morning on our YouTube Live, VV rep Tamika said a new loyalty program is rolling out soon. Possibly within the next few months. That's why the Status Match has been paused for the time being. No word on what it will entail, but her answer was in response to a question posed by a viewer, so that's cool. Looking forward to a proper loyalty program and very curious to see what it entails.

I really don't see any problem with that. We've sailed 10 different cruise lines (so far) and we pick the cruise ship based on our vacation needs for that particular cruise. All of cruising is white hot right now so complaining about the high costs of any cruise line today is moot because until the demand cools off, pricing is going to be fixed for a while. If the current slate of Royal Caribbean pricing is too high for you look at Carnival and NCL, especially their newer ships. Beautiful ships, great service and fun. If you're looking for more overall value for your dollar, look at Oceania. Nearly all-inclusive with amazing cuisine and service. We sailed them for the first time over the holidays and are already signed up for a group cruise to Alaska in 2025. 650 to 1250 passengers onboard, a totally different way of cruising. Or look at Princess. Their Princess Plus/Premier packages are the best add-on values in cruising today. So may cruise lines, over 300 cruise ships to choose from. Work with a good TA and find a good cruise vacation that works best for you. Whether that's Royal or any other cruise line.

Nope, he was everywhere on the ship. No clue why they pulled him from the Bingo, but he pretty much did everything but.

In our case it was a lot of events with Carlos the Diva. They dropped Bingo with the Diva, kept moving the times around for the rest of the week. Games and events at the Social Club kept popping up and disappearing. I kind of gave up planning anything in advance until the day of to see what the schedule was actually going to be.

This is why we have always booked with a TA for almost 20 years of cruising. They have direct contacts at Royal (and others) so a question like this goes directly to someone who can help not just a call center. I hope they do give a discount or some other options for the unexpected turn of events.

Part of the fun of booking super early before the ship is finalized. The pros and cons of 'being first.' You discover all the things that weren't known when the ship was still being built. 🙂

They move around and are dropped constantly. No clue why VV does this but on every single cruise, the shows will change times and dates constantly throughout the cruise. Keep an eye on the app each morning and even throughout the day. During our 8 night Valiant in November and our 4 night Scarlet in January the schedule was literally changing daily.

With 4000 on our sailing it felt empty for the most part. Dueling Pianos was full every evening, that will be a hopping spot on every cruise. Bolero's was pretty crowded as was Lou's Jazz Club in Central Park, but that crowd was primarily outside in Central Park. With the wide open design of that space, you can sit outside and listen to the music. The AquaDome seating area is actually smaller (I think) than the Oasis Class seating. It's more intimate so you will want to get there earlier if you can to get good seats. I sat in the very last row of 'the main bowl' and they were great seats. The addition of that walkway all the way through the promenade on Deck 6 will be a huge help in 'traffic flow' when the Promenade is hopping. Really the worst logjam is probably going to be Playmakers with everyone queuing for Absolute Zero and then the massive crowd editing Absolute Zero through Playmakers.

That is pretty typical, especially for equipment like that which can moved around and repositioned right up until the time it's actually installed. The cleaning equipment is mostly likely going to be one of those long ladders with a big hose reel at the bottom or top. We actually saw them in operation during our sailing Jan 20th. Since the note says 20% that means it'll be on one side or the other of your cabin while it's in the parked position. There are so many photos and aerial video of the ship now, you can probably find your cabin and see exactly what it is. Especially from her original entry into Miami. I was there and it took well over 45 minutes for that slow journey to the turning basin and back to her pier so you should easily be able to find a shot of your cabin location during all of that. Royal Caribbean had drones flying, I have almost a hour from our position on Scarlet Lady on YouTube. From the way they describe the scenario, it doesn't sound bad at all.

The week before Christmas 2022

Not to mention 3.2M on TikTok. Our plan is to sail with her in a few years and have her (and bug) perform our 30 year anniversary vow renewal. If not her, then Captain D on Ascent who was our very first Celebrity captain. He. is. hilarious.

They're not paying a premium to sail with Captain Kate and Bug. They're paying a premium for the Celebrity Edge Class ships. Beyond, Apex, Ascent and even Edge are all much higher (usually) than Solstice and Millennium class ships.

She. Is. So. Fluffy! And just freakin adorable, I met her in the AquaDome. We loved Symphony of the Seas when we sailed but they also don't have Category 6 Waterpark. Or Pearl Cafe which is a major upgrade over Cafe Promenade. Or Surfside and those incredible new cabin categories. It's also incredibly quiet at night now. Or the AquaDome which just might be the most stunning venue at sea, truly breathtaking when you see it for the first time. Or the AquaDome Market that was my favorite new food venue. Or Dueling Pianos that was a major addition to the nighttime entertainment. Or the Rye & Bean that is my favorite new bar at sea. Or the Hideaway with that suspended infinity pool. Or the ocean views from Central Park which was more cool than I expected. Or Lou's Jazz Club in Central Park that is a major upgrade over the old Jazz on 4. Or just so many things that Royal got right with this re-design. Just looking at the videos and photos you think "It's just an update to the Oasis class." But onboard, it's so much more. Is it worth the price? I will say the Star of the Seas is quickly changing some of their pricing with balconies now going for $5200/week on many sailings. That's about the same price as interiors on many Icon sailings. I will gladly pay up to $6000/week for a balcony on this ship. Just so much to do and so much fun. 180 degrees the opposite experience as Virgin but that's why I have loved cruising for 20 years. You can have so many different experiences.

Yeah, when it's a one-of-a-kind $2B ship, you can pretty much charge what you want for it. 🙂 It will be interesting to see how pricing adjusts in 2026 when Icon 3 is launched.

No. Razzle Dazzle and The Wake offer breakfast / brunch daily. You can also get eggs and bacon 24 hours in The Galley at Dine and Dash. During breakfast hours you can get a slew of breakfast options in The Galley. Razzle Dazzle has a unique bacon that's got some spice to it, quite good when it's hot. My guilty pleasure at least once on every VV cruise is the French Toast Burger from the Burger Bar in The Galley. Ridiculously over the top but I love it. You'll probably be surprised at how chill the ship is, especially with that itinerary. Most people seem to think VV is a 24 hour party because the vlogs concentrate on Scarlet Night and The Manor. Social Club is a very popular spot on the ship for games, puzzles, trivia and the Diner has great quick snacks including addictive rice krispy treats. The included retro Arcade is in that area too, really fun spot to relive your childhood. The Groupie is a hilarious private karaoke spot, I don't do public karaoke, but a private booth with your partner or a few new friends is hilarious. Two great places to go when you board the ship. The Dock on the back of Deck 7 for tapas or The Sun Club Cafe up on Deck 16 for a poke bowl or bao buns. The drip coffee in The Galley is somewhat drinkable, not very great. Grounds Club however is awesome, they usually have some of the better baristas at sea. The coffee they deliver to the room with room service is surprisingly good however. And I love how they deliver it in a nice carafe so you can have an extra cup of coffee or two. The Grounds Club locations close by 8pm, which is surprising to be honest I would keep at least one of them open till 10. But if you want a good cup of joe later in the evening, go to Sips Champagne Lounge. They have hand pulled espresso machines and make a mean cappuccino or espresso. They make an Espresso Martini but you can also just have good strong coffee. Must eats for dinner for us are Razzle Dazzle & Pink Agave. Extra Virgin has been improving of late. Test Kitchen is fun while The Wake is a hard pass for us at dinner. We gave it another shot on Scarlet Lady earlier this month and it was just as bad as the last time we went. The very first sailing 2 years ago it was great, since then, not so much. Very slow, unattentive service, food so-so, tables not bussed at all. Like tables that were abandoned when we arrived for dinner and were still not cleaned off when we left after dinner. Gunbae is a good 'first night of the cruise' dinner because you get seated with other guests. It's a great way to meet some new folks on the first night of the cruise. Dinner isn't the best, but it's not bad either. Pizza is usually pretty good, though we noticed the pies have gotten a little smaller of late. Probably not a bad thing. And the ice cream is surprisingly good too. You'll find The Galley is a bit weird at night if you decided to go up there for dinner. Whoever the music act is in On the Rocks in the evening is usually among the best musical entertainers at sea. I don't know where they find these bands and singers but they are usually really good. If Carlos is your Diva, be sure to catch Around The World In 80 Minutes. Silly, campy show that Carlos makes so much more fun. And if she is your Diva, check out the Cabaret show on the final night of the cruise in On The Rocks. That's one of our favorite shows on any VV cruise when she's there. You probably already know this, but the pool is a postage stamp sized pool for the size of the ship. Don't expect to lounge in the pool much during a sea day as it tends to fill up by about 1pm. Not much lounge space on Deck 15 around the pool either, more space up on Deck 16. You also have that large round hot tub that's not a hot tub pool near Gym and Tonic bar. The Net on Deck 16 is great for a photo, but otherwise impractical and that entire space back there barely gets used during a cruise. At some point in the future it'd be nice to see that space reconfigured with an infinity pool ala NCL's Prima class Haven. On The Rocks and The Dock bar have usually been the better bars for good cocktails when we have sailed. If you want to be in the thick of Scarlet Night be on Deck 15 around the pool. Towards the end they will invite you to come dance in the pool. If you prefer to watch and be out of the fray, got up on Deck 16. We bring earplugs because it is a very loud environment up there. Fantastic party, but a bit too loud on these ears.

Yes, contact a travel advisor or call VV. Travel advisors can select a specific cabin for you. You cannot do it yourself via the website. Room service includes a delivery charge unless you order something that includes a fee. Such as ordering a cappuccino with your breakfast. Because there is a charge for the coffee, your room service delivery fee is waived. The meal itself is included as with all other meals on VV.

Sky Princess interior is fantastic. You forgot to mention how comfortable the beds are compared to the Ikea sofas we sleep on with VV. Especially for the 'luxury price' of VV, you'd think we could at least have more comfortable beds. We just sailed Icon of the Seas for a preview and they have the best standard stateroom bathroom of any ship we have sailed in recent history. Some clever redesign tweaks that resulted in a larger shower (shocking!), more room overall in the bathroom and outstanding storage throughout the cabin. Something as simple as moving the shower towel rack into the back of the shower added extra room to the bathroom. And they added a bench to every shower because they are plenty large enough to allow it. So many shelves and storage units everywhere along with additional USB and power outlets. She might be a massive ship, but they really put a lot of effort into the standard stateroom redesign. The Spacious Interior and Interior Plus were especially clever. Sometimes 'being different' is a good thing, but sometimes folks who have been designing ships for passengers for over 50 years know a thing or two about maximizing space and comfort. 🙂

The pool at Hideaway Beach was heated when we visited. Our friends have told us that the Coco Beach Club pool is also supposed to be heated. However when we went there a year ago in December, that pool was not heated. Just overrun with kids so it was a less than pleasant experience for the extra money. In the future if we want to hang with a quiet space, we may just stay on the ship. 😉

It's in the very back of each side of the Windjammer and I would not be surprised if many people miss it because it's so far away from the rest of the buffet areas. The one time I went back there to take some photos and video, it was a Stir Fry station and there was a lot of fruit for dessert. I never did see it set up for lunch or breakfast.

That's pretty much in line with the pricing on Royal. We recommend the Refreshment Package to all our friends. That covers soft drinks, mocktails and specialty coffees, then just pay ala-carte for the alcohol. We always come out way ahead doing that vs. purchasing the full drinks package.

It's a beautiful venue that's much more of a show theater than an ice rink. As with everything else, the level upgrades of the tech and the venues is over the top on this ship. That new AquaTheater is just ridiculously amazing too.

All four of the previews were invited guests only. Media, agents and other invited guests.