Swells1

Just booked for next year, and I have a few questions: 1. I wanted to take advantage of last month's deals, so I booked on Jan. 31st at 7pm through my online agent. Since they were closed for the night, I wasn't able to apply my MNVV certificate. I've emailed them with the certificate number, is there anything more I need to do? 2. I'm not seeing my BDE perks on my account. Do I have to be PIF before they appear? (I didn't want to pay in full before the MNVV credit showed up.) 3. Is there a way to make the next 581 days go by faster?

I just booked this itinerary myself, so I'm following along. I'm so excited!

I cheated on NCL for the first time a few weeks ago with Virgin. I missed the Broadway-style production shows, and I don't see myself leaving NCL completely. However... It was nice having a 100% child-free environment. There were no "bing-bong" announcements after the safety drill. No photographers interrupting dinner. All (included) specialty dining- no buffet or MDR. Free wifi. No gratuities. Included sodas. No one pushing raffle tickets or art auction.

Not that it's all that important, but I think the USDA tags change color everyday to prevent any reuse.

That wasn't our experience. No one asked for or checked our scheduled arrival time.

We were able to book shows both in the terminal as well as while walking to our cabin.

We were scheduled to arrive at 1:45, but no one checked that. I didn't see anything when I checked. To my knowledge, there are no shuttles. The downside to a cruise line that doesn't nickel and dime you to death is having a hard time spending all that sailor loot.

I did it! I pulled the trigger and bought a MNVV! I'd like to book something in December 2025. (It's 100 years away. I know. 😒) Any idea when I should start stalking the website? I'd like to book ASAP. Thanks in advance!!

Crossing my fingers and sending good vibes.

We had 1:45pm as our arrival time. No one there cared about enforcing those check-in times, and there were no queues.

Valiant had Coke Zero as well as Diet Cokes. Most bars had one or the other.

I was sitting right next to this gentleman, and I wasn't able to connect with my iPhone, so YMMV.

No plastic bottles.

Ship: Valiant Lady Cabin#: 13-3262 Z Deck #: 13 Cabin Category: Sea Terrace XL Sleeps: 2 Cabin Location: (Port, Starboard, Forward, Aft): Starboard / Forward Terrace/Window/Obstruction: None Noise Issues?: None Wind Issues?: None Connecting Cabin? Where Does it Connect?: No Hammock: Yes Metal/Glass Terrace: Glass Advantages/Problems: There is practically no traffic this far forward Would You Book Again?: Yes! Comments: I kinda' want this cabin every time I sail.

Back at work. Ugh. Okay, so I did mention the highlights of my SanJuan embarkation, but I have time to go into a little more details now. When we arrived, there were people everywhere. There was really no organization at all. We found a line with people carrying their luggage and assumed that's where we needed to be. Eureka! We were right. We had our bags tagged and loaded. Then, we walked over to a table and got our DBE bands and were told we'd be able to board at 12:30. There were no announcements at all. Someone at the terminal eventually yelled for Rockstars, and the crowd kind of passed it back. Once it seemed they'd all gotten inside, the same guy yelled for SOR and DBE. Once again, the only people who heard him were the people standing right next to him and sort of passed it back. We heard "DBE" and proceeded forward. There were so many people around us with no wristbands at all, and I felt bad for the people who paid for SOR and definitely didn't get the priority embarkation. So, we went into the terminal and I'm assuming we were directed to go to far end of the terminal. I'm saying I assume, because I didn't actually hear anyone telling us to do this. However, everyone in front of me did so and perfectly filled every seat before going to the next row of seats. People don't ordinarily do this unless they've been told to do so. We were one of the first inside the terminal and sat there a good bit while the rest of seats filled. Then, in an instant, everyone jumped up and started walking in the wrong direction. We were being called in backwards. Meaning everyone who had entered the terminal first were now at the back of the line. It was chaos. I almost got trampled a few times. People were furious. I REALLY felt bad for those with SOR at this point! Once we were in sight of the desk agents, the line went fast. We were entering our cabin at 2:21pm.

SDRB visited yesterday. Apparently, ours was the first visit to Tortola- near his private island. We diverted a bit and went by Necker Island, and were treated to a spectacular fireworks show.

I can agree with that.

I thought the food was pretty good. The chicken was excellent. The portion sizes weren’t huge, and we hit the Galley afterwards for some additional munchies.

I tried searching, but I didn’t come up with much. Anyone got a recent menu?

Richard Branson is here.

I promise I answered before. I guess my WiFi was wonky. Rockstars went first. Then it was a free-for-all.

I plan on posting a review after disembarkation, but I thought I’d pop in with an update. We’re in the terminal now. We arrived at 11:45. We checked luggage and got DBE wristbands right away. They told us we could enter the building at 12:30. There were no announcements at all and no real organization. Rockstars came in first and DBE and SOR kinda followed. No designation at all. We were in queue at 12:43. In the building at 12:51. My partner has picked up a weak signal and is booking shows now.

I’m boarding Saturday and I’m also curious. I’ll let you know.