Wildcatllamas

5 hours ago, kaysha2004 said:

The MNVV of $300 is a deposit, not applied as a reduction in fare.  Therefore, your 20% deposit on $2000 is $400, and you'd owe $100 in addition to the $300 MNVV.  However, when I have booked onboard, no matter what the fare was, all I paid was the MNVV as my deposit.

 

To answer the last part, yes, you don't have to pay anything else until the final payment date.

Actually, the MNVV is $300 towards the deposit, $300 off the cruise fare and per the new rules $600 Sailor Loot if a cruise is booked and sailed within 60 days of purchase. If not the Sailor Loot drops to $300. So, either way for $300 it isn't a bad deal.

10 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

Number one get rid of the Ikea sofas and install real twin beds that form queens like all the other cruise lines. Those split sofa beds are the worst of any cruise line we sail. We still go because we love the cruise line, but they really need to improve those beds when you're pushing $5k for a 7 night cruise. 

 

Ramen closed at night? Seriously? That's a late night staple. That has never made sense to me, nor closing the Taco station at night. 

 

It's probably going to get an indoor Rockstar lounge of some sort to ease the complaints of so many who come from other cruise lines and wonder where their private lounge and restaurant are.

@CruisingWalter I so agree with you on the beds. They are horrible. They remind me of a dorm room or Microtel hotel room.

They really do need to keep more of the stations open in the Galley at night. I would do tacos at times. Anything to avoid dinner in Razzle Dazzle.

When my late husband and I began sailing we always sailed in suites. And for a time after he passed, I continued to do so. There were no dedicated lounges or restaurants at that time and we got along just fine, But the service back then was impeccable for suite passengers. Many times we would order from a restaurant of choice for in suite dining. Our butler would set it up and then staff would come to set the table and provide the service. I can see that would create a logistical nightmare these days with limited staffing and more suites on the ships, so I guess their own restaurants is the best solution.

10 hours ago, nanatutu said:

Thank you for the answers. I have a pretty short (a pixie) haircut. It doesn’t take long to dry.

Can’t wait to try a Virgin Voyage!

I have long thick hair and I could get mine dry with the hair dryer in my cabin the last 3 cruises. I would say hair dryers could differ from cabin to cabin depending on how old they may be. Enjoy your cruise!

4 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Not new, but MNVVs can not be used with an access code either now 

I'm not sure where you have been, but they haven't been able to be used with an access code for quite a while.

But then again you are one of the Virgin complainers who just likes to moan and groan.

I was just looking at the deck plans for Scarlet and with the majority of the suites on decks 14 and 15 I can't see why they wouldn't take the XL Sea Terraces and Sea Terraces on 14 and convert them over rather then going down one whole deck to 13.

4 minutes ago, britincanada said:

We really want to go to Alaska, but as much as we love VV we are waiting to see what the itineraries are before committing, we'll only go once I would think so want to get the best Alaska experience - even if we have to put up with a different cruise line for a week!

I had no interest in going to Alaska until I was in Fairbanks last February. The daytime temps were -47 degrees F and nights were worse. But I found the trip exhilarating. The scenery, even though it was snow packed and snow covered was like nothing I had ever experienced, even living in the mountains of Colorado for decades.

I jumped on the chance to grab a placeholder for a Sea Terrace on Brilliant Lady since it is fully refundable. So if the itineraries are really not to my liking I can cancel. 

2 minutes ago, CastleCritic said:

 All the suites were sold when I looked at it at 9am est yesterday.

With so few suites available it's not surprising how quickly they sell out. There are a lot of folks who love sailing in suites and there are only 78 suites. Those can disappear in the blink of an eye.

1 hour ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

It's still available this morning as an option on the form. 

Could be the 24 hour hold wasn't acted on. 

I was on VV webinar yesterday afternoon and at that time all the suites were sold. This was at 3 PM their time. There were still some Central Sea Terraces left, but not many. 

Now with the 24 hour hold that was available there could have been some agents who grabbed up some when they became available and things may pop up today.

I got the Nautical Northeast booked early this morning for a client who had expressed interest in it. Just waiting to hear back from them for the deposit. If they don't go I may just keep it myself since it sounds like a great itinerary. I got names put in for the Alaska FRONTier for two of my other clients and myself. 

I am so glad the friend of mine, who became my agent when I stepped back from it, convinced me to get back in the saddle. Yes the MerMaidens were expensive and I expected that due to all the excitement that has swirled around Brilliant Lady. But the rest of the pricing is very competitive.

Most land based restaurants will have the disclaimer somewhere on their menu that eating meat, eggs and seafood undercooked can lead to serious illness so they can avoid the repercussions of folks eating raw food.

In one of my college classes I toured a meat packing plant. That was a real eye opener on ground beef and all meat cuts and the issues of cross contamination. I will not buy hamburger in those solid package tubes. I will only buy it from stores that actually grind their own meat and now that there is a rancher that is selling direct to the public I get his hamburger.

So on board a ship or even in a restaurant that doesn't grind their own meat I will order medium rare even though I definitely prefer it rare.

Congratulations!!! If there were options for an extra bed in the suites I would bid on one. I'm good friends with the folks that I travel with, but sharing a bed is definitely not an option.

I may have to check into purchasing a MNVV from someone. Mine all expire in December 2025 and my next cruise isn't until September. I would definitely try to jump on one of the 5 nights and going to do Alaska for sure.

@cantgetin before I became gluten intolerant I liked waffles just like you described. Thick, puffy, crispy on the outside with a nice moist interior. Now I have gluten free frozen waffles that will barely get by and then gluten free mix that doesn't come close and sticks to the waffle iron. So I just watch and drool when others are eating them.

@Gretchendz I will have my computer fired up and ready to go. I would love to get a shot at the cruise that would depart Seattle on May 11. Otherwise I would settle for September.

1 minute ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Alaska was their #1 request, so due to the demand they will be selling placeholders, dubbed,"Alaska Fron(tier) of the Line Pass" $500 per sailor Sea Terrace or higher, $1K per Rockstar, or $2500 per Mega RS. They will go on sale "this Summer"

I have that marked on my calendar. Glad I came out of retirement from being a TA.

I had never been interested in doing an Alaskan cruise. But having spent a week last February in Fairbanks I changed my mind. 

Now I am thinking what better way to spend my birthday in 2026 then to be on Brilliant going to Alaska.

Alaska - I will definitely be looking at that one.

Nothing is showing in their booking engine at this time. May 8th it will go live.

So far nothing is showing for Alaska or Vancouver for May of 2026.

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

 I may try to order it without pepper and see if that is possible.

.

If you are able to order it without pepper let us know because I will be all over that.

12 hours ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

It used to mild and addictive. I’m sensitive to pepper. Got to abstain. 🥲

I'm allergic to black pepper so I sure understand what you are saying. The first time I tried it back in December 2021 it wasn't peppery at all. At least it didn't effect me. I didn't know it was supposed to have black pepper. A friend had ordered it and gave me a some. 

Then on my trip this last December I was going to order it and the waitress told me I couldn't have it due to the black pepper. The folks at the table next to me chimed in and said it is horrible with black pepper. When we got to talking they said in the beginning they didn't notice the black pepper but it had gotten worse over time.

12 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

I've heard of a certain change to the fleet that will begin with Scarlet, but I'm not sure if it's been officially announced yet, so I'll bite my tongue for now.

I sure hope they do something with the beds in the non-suite cabins. I finally figured out that if you have the beds laid out in the couch format that the one on the solid wall portion loses all of its cushioning from the "bedsprings" because it is resting on a solid platform. So better bedding is about the only option rather then swapping over to a traditional cruise cabin style bed.

8 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Astoria is a lovely small town. One of our previous Princess coastal sailings docked there, and we walked into town. Everyone was so friendly.

An NCL cruise I was on had to cancel our stop in San Francisco and subbed Astoria. It was a very enjoyable time there.

When we entered the Columbia river channel at 1:30 am it was high tide and let me tell you that ship was pitching and rolling. Furniture on the deck was being slammed around and it was almost impossible to walk in the cabin. That morning we went to the Maritime Museum and found out about the Columbia Breaks and what a ships graveyard it is.

I did some checking and it appears that the May 7, 2026 scheduled stop for Brilliant Lady in Astoria is gone and Grand Princess is now there.

Princess has had some pretty popular cruises up and down the West coast that are advertised as Wine Country cruises. I guess we will find out on May 1st.