tinkr2

On 8/30/2023 at 11:31 AM, InFullertonCA said:

At Le Bistro on my Alaskan cruise on the Jewel earlier this month I was flat out told “no” to two appetizers.  No offer to substitute or even pay for one, just told “sorry, that’s not possible with your plan”.

I have absolutely never heard of not being able to pay for extras. they are literally a la carte restaurants.

On 9/4/2016 at 2:17 PM, Diplomat1 said:

 

It is interesting that Carnival's taxes and fees are so much lower that RCCL but that's a different topic.

 

If you select two guests, the Inside Guarantee is $574 pp. That's $1148 for two.

 

When you select one guest, it is $350 pp.

 

When you take the next step, it changes from $350 pp to $1048.75 pp.

 

That is 3 times the price offered.

 

I've called twice and they (and their supervisor) have refused both times.

 

You cannot get $350 pp whether you book one or two guests. And you never could.

 

After having not been fixed for so long, it is intentional false advertising.

 

-- Diplomat

The rate has to be available . Oftentimes the intro rate isn't there. 

22 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Can we get money back when they are understaffed?

Having to wait for a table doesn't entitle you to money . Restaurants scatter reservations so as not to overwhelm staff and kitchens . Waiting 15 minutes on a cruise vacation ? What a trauma ?😝

Ive had no problem using trip advisor . They used to not be resellers so I've used them for decades. However, I do like to find the company and book directly if possible.

I guess you found no info. How was your cruise?

On 4/4/2023 at 8:52 AM, neverendingcruising said:

 

Clearly, you've never heard of a C1/D visa.

Thank you. I wasn't going to waste my breathe arguing. A friend does staffing for another line and talked about the frustrations.

The 2 tops are all in a row less than a foot apart . 

On 2/27/2023 at 11:06 AM, youngcruiserj said:

Last time I was there, we had a shuttle drop off in town. There were signs here and there offering boat tours.  I didn’t book a tour but took a bus to the park and went for a hike. 

Was the hiking easy to do on your own ? Well marked trails?

On 3/23/2023 at 10:06 PM, Fogcityca13 said:

If you do the grog walk, the last stop is where they hold the PJ party. How late you want to stay is totally up to you. Get a good nights sleep or plan to take a nap before sail away. We often found ourselves a bit surprised we were out past 1am, flying in from US west coast is kind of an advantage. 

Ha it's the nap that did me inn. I did Test Kitchen at 630 with the cocktail pairing. Came back to room and changed into my party pajamas around 9 . Pajamas and drinks ... nite nite .🤣

On 3/14/2023 at 10:47 AM, CruiseScrooge said:

I haven't been on VV yet but it seems the dining system and specialty restaurants isn't very forgiving to solos or people in a group like a singles group who don't know if they might meet someone while on the cruise to have dinner with and so much is already booked when they try several days into the cruise.

It was super easy to change reservations. There were some group dining nights set up .

Seems great to me.  It's just something new . I hated all the work of Oasis class when they first started with reservations. But that quickly became the norm . I do specialty dining on most nights on all cruises so I'm used to reservations. 

3 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

If true, this is a problem that needs to be managed by not booking more passengers than the crew can handle.  If they can only staff for 1800, then don't book 2000. If true, the blame does not belong with the crew; it belongs with the corporate structure.
 

A crew member on VV told us that she earns three times as much on VV as she did on her previous line where she was tipped by passengers.  If that's true, VV should have no trouble hiring people away from other lines and then training them in the "virgin" way.

Perhaps so . The problem with staffing is related to immigration issues from Covid . There was a halt  on many types of work visas. It takes a while to catch up on hiring and training . 
Having to wait 15 minutes does not mean they're not staffed enough in my opinion though  . It isn't necessary to have every table in use at all times.  

On 3/27/2023 at 9:35 PM, Jessetfan said:

We ran into this as well. I wish we could have had anywhere as an excuse to be. It was well past showtime, and it would have been rather unconvincing that we were hardcore PJ people. I had to duck a question about my state's newly elected governor when I knew that my answer would not go over well nor serve any purpose since I was unlikely to see the people we were seated with again. 

 

Honestly, these were the only grumpy people we encountered, so I'm glad we got it out of the way early. Everyone else we encountered was absolutely lovely, and I think it really is just luck of the draw. We ended up talking to people at a lot of the restaurants because the tables are fairly close together everywhere, and we got advice on what to eat elsewhere or just had really pleasant conversations some of which developed into chatting when we ran into them again on the ship. I think we'd give Gumbae another shot either hoping to have made friends to go with or hoping for better luck with tablemates.  

I was solo and had a great table at Gunbae but as you said the tables are close . I got blind sided with politics in The Wake . It was super awkward . I rambled ơn about the weather to change the subject.😀

On 3/28/2023 at 1:08 PM, jon81uk said:

I would suggest eating dinner early enough on Scarlet Night to be finished and at the Roundabout staircase for 9pm. That way you can see some of the pop up shows and entertainment, then relax with a drink or get a snack before the main party at 10.45pm

Good tip . I had no idea there were early pop up shows . I'll look on my upcoming trip . 

On 3/28/2023 at 12:43 PM, scseas said:

Is there an ideal restaurant to eat at for Scarlet Night? I am thinking the Wake because it is the most formal restaurant from what I’ve read, but I’m open to suggestions.
 

Also, do you have a recommendation on when to eat at Test  Kitchen? I was thinking of eating there on the second and fifth nights so we can try both menus. Given the late lunch on the first night, I did not want a six course meal on sale away, but maybe I am wrong here.

 

Also, does anyone know what the latest happy hour schedule is and times? How big are the deals? I’m asking because this will affect whether we pre-pay a bar tab.

The line was longest on Scarlet Night for The Wake and people were dressed very nicely on my cruise . I saw no shorts and tshirts in The Wake . But agree that you could eat anywhere. 
I loved Gunbae also and it was very fun . Test Kitchen are small plates . I ate there on the first night and ate right after sail away. 

On 3/30/2023 at 11:43 AM, Tyler414 said:

Thanks,  Its booked for 2 sailors, but don't have the 2nd figured out yet...

I booked on points and added a sailor 3 days before. 

On 3/29/2023 at 5:04 PM, Travel-and-See said:

Oh I meant I haven't seen them physically full - there always seem to be open tables even if the restaurant is "fully booked" 

 

The most annoying version of this was Brunch at Razzle Dazzle. The restaurant was half full, the group of employees in front of me were seated, but the restaurant was "fully booked and couldn't accept a walk-up" 

You understand that they're not fully staffed right ? A server can't handle 25 tables, they must have crew. All of the cruise lines are running short . 
it seems all your difficulties are bc you booked nothing in advance. 
The app is not perfect but works just fine . It sends updates when times change . Perhaps you need to delete and reinstall it . Make sure you're not in low power mode. 

On 2/1/2023 at 7:43 PM, WheresWalter said:

 

If you want to see the Afternoon Tea, it's in my Food Review. It's the third to last chapter in the episode. 🙂 

https://youtu.be/pBolzKvXjMU

 

I watched your video , the tea does look really nice . 

4 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Yay!!  😎

Are you doing the 80s cruise?

Thanks Megan for posting. You gave so much great information. And you definitely can drink some sparkling.😃

12 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

“No need to be on about it?” I don’t even know what that means. This was a month ago. If you don’t like my post move to the next one.

2 weeks ago .But it means you keep saying how much cheaper Carnival is over and over. 

On 1/18/2023 at 4:36 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

I'm not well-versed in any of the cruise lines other than Carnival. I know the wifi and gratuities would knock $200-250 off. But I save 10% off of everything Carnival with their gift cards so most of that savings is offset right there. Then I get $100 OBC as a shareholder. I don't do room service or classes. The drink package pretty much covers everything with Carnival. I bet I could run up a 1k bar bill in 8 days on VV where a drink package would be less than half of that. 

 

I think they'd still need to come down some for me. This is the 3rd or 4th VV review I've followed and I've yet to see any activities or entertainment on the ship that interests me. I guess I'd only be doing it to try their food and visit St. Croix. I haven't been to Bimini yet, but I'm going next year on an 8-day that cost me $700.86 after taxes and fees. I guess actually $630 after the 10%.

 

 

Not every cruise line is for everyone. If its not your price point, so be it. But no need to be on about it. I like to look at Regent but haven't ever paid it yet but also don't keep saying its too expensive.

Whats in that Ron Meets Don?

On 1/15/2023 at 4:17 PM, MeganGC1983 said:

Got to keep the flask. Great class. My sister just realized she knows Joel from working at DisneyWorld. Small world… not literally. They worked the Halloween parade together. 

That looks great. How much was the shot 4 shot class and did you book it right away?

7 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

i see you have ~800 pax onboard.  it seems that they REALLY scale back on activities when there are fewer people to entertain.  on our 8 night in december with 2200, we had ample opportunities to see all the shows, there was plenty of music events around the ship, and we were up late partying in the manor almost every night.  there was also always something going on around the ship on port days, whether it be trivia, jigsaw puzzle contests or a DJ at the pool in the afternoon.

 

flash forward to 800 on our early january sailing, and we were legitimately bored on multiple occasions.  the manor wasn't open every night, there were much more limited options to see shows, they had a movie screening of jurassic park (i don't go on vacation to watch a freaking movie, but that's a whole other post haha), and it seemed stuff wrapped up a lot earlier than in december. there were a few more fitness classes, but i think that was due to overlap of old fitness crew wrapping up their contracts and new crew coming onboard to start their new contracts.  i don't think there was anything going on during port stops, so if you didn't feel like getting off, you had to make your own fun.

Thats good information. I hope our cruise on the 11th has more people. It has Super Bowl and Valentines Day.