lesters

Thus is my #1 concern / apprehension with VV. We sail in 71 days and I’m so geared up for the day the bookings become available. We are on a casino offer via a third party so no assistance provided on restaurant bookings. For land based holidays we actually avoid booking AI resorts that require dinner reservations to be made in advance. i know I’m opening myself to ALL the roasting but this is one area (and maybe the only one) where it seems a Carnival cruise excels. Their on board app is fantastic for booking restaurants when you want to go. I am hopeful it will all work out but the restaurant uncertainty is a stressor for sure.

Thank you! So helpful as we are in the countdown to our French Daze & Ibiza Nights sailing in May!

If you have a tender port and are not booking a VV excursion you can book your tender time in advance as well. Recently discovered this for our upcoming French Daze & Ibiza Nights sailing.

Ok 76 days until I am sailing on Scarlet Lady enjoying the French Daze and Ibiza Nights and this weekend while pursuing the various Shore Things I was able to book our tender time for our day in Cannes! What a fun surprise! We are planning on a DIY day to Monte Carlo so needed to be off early so this was fantastic to learn and book it now! Seems to be there is value in checking back on the app periodically ahead of the date your restaurants etc open up! Sharing in case it’s news to anyone else!

Our first cruise was a Disney - Land & Sea package a zillion years ago - at our table (set dining same people each night) were a retired couple who were on Disney just the two of them.

One thing that isn't clear to be about the Galley and the flag option - are there menus at the tables or QR codes? Curious how you know what the options are if you sit at the table and place your order? 82 days until my French Daze & Ibiza Nights sailing... Can Not Wait

What is the best spot to be for sail away to ensure fabulous service / access to the free beverages ?

Well I will do my best to post some good info!!! It won't be at the same level - tried that last summer on the Luminosa.... but will try to capture some highlights!

Hooray I love seeing the Lives! I am 96 days away from French Daze & Ibiza Nights .... and after being primarily a Carnival cruiser I do love watching /reading your observations... As a super researcher I love this info and appreciate it all!

Today is 100 days until we sail from Barcelona on the Scarlet Lady for our first VV cruise after sailing primarily with Carnival! So excited for it all - Europe, the ship a fantastic adventure!! DH & I turn 50 this year so this trip is a bit of a bday celebration 🍾 Thanks for the info, lives and U Tube suggestions. I’m feeling informed and ready for the ship - have my restaurants planned for booking and a calendar reminder set! Now my planning time is filled with researching the beautiful destination of the French Daze & Ibiza Nights itinerary!

I know!! I went looking for it right after I read this post!

How does a person know if there are getting menu A or B in advance?

While in San Juan if you are a fan of rum a suggestion to check out the Bacardi factory. We weren’t interested in an expensive tour so just took a cab to the main area on our own, sat outside in the bar area and created our own tasting of 4 rums - they were I think $12 or $15 each for a straight 2 oz pour. The 8 year, 10 year, 8 year with orange and the special edition you can only buy on site. We relaxed, people watched and then went to the store bought the fancy on site only rum - it’s was delicious pricey but nice to have a special rum to remember our visit and then took a cab back to the port. One of our fav afternoons of our last cruise!

Sailing VV for the first time in May and ever being the planner I’m working on a list of things I’d like to see and do while on board. We are on a casino offer so casino time is also important to us. Thinking about how our evenings may play out - curious how long the shows typically last. On other sailings we may make it to one show in the evening and one deck party…. But VV looks like there is way more going on that we may like to check out.

Until it’s on it’s own journey without you but that’s a take for another day

All checked in for flights - hooray!! That alway makes the the whole thing more of a reality when those boarding passes are loaded up! Now to finish packing and getting ready to leave - 4 am tomorrow is going to be here quickly!

Hubby is all about craps, mixed in with BJ and some Let It Ride. i can be found are Let it Ride or the slots😆

@dmet0225 Thanks for the heads up! We have not. Depending on how we are feeling that may be exactly what we are in the mood for - or the exact opposite LOL with a place like that there is typically no in between. Will flag that for the hubby ahead of flying out on Saturday and will see how we feel and may adjust accordingly. Thanks again! 1.5 hours of work... and about 8 hours of stuff to actually do... will see what bright and shiny thing actually gets my attention and finished LOL

Agreed - we could have booked that too for big time $$ more than what we paid under a general casino offer - the standard $100 per person balcony and $200 OBC. Safe travels to the port and hoping Tropical Storm Tammy doesnt turn into too much and we still have some sunshine!

Hooray it’s here! Last day of work!!! I need to be super productive …here’s hoping I don’t have too much cruise brain and spend my day here reading reviews and port descriptions lol Speaking of ports we are not booking any excursions - we rarely do - and will be adventuring on our own!

Lol - oops - yes we are on the Celebration! Since I’m back clarifying that let’s do a proper introduction! Chris & Jen both in our final years of our 40s lol - love to travel. We try to get somewhere every 4 months or so. Used to be a mix of Vegas and All Inclusives with an annual cruise or every couple years but lately with the casino offers (sorry) it has done what they intended and we have been cruising more than anything! We have been loyal to Carnival due to price points after our first one which as on Disney. We are branching off next year with Virgin - a European itinerary in May. I can’t wait to fly out on Saturday. My bags are starting to get packed. One day of work left - took Friday off to finish all the odds and ends of preparation.

Here we go again. Third cruise of 2023!! We sailed the Magic in February with my parents - Dad had a stroke 5 years ago and this was their first holiday since. ❤️.And thus past June sailed the Luminosa to Alaska with our DD (20). While I love these people with my everything I am so excited to have this one to just the two of us!! We are travelling from Saskatoon SK to Miami the day before. It’s a long travel day and do love getting in the day before. Time to pick up wine for the room and start the holiday a bit earlier! We are staying at the Element Miami Brickell on points which is a bonus! Will do supper somewhere in the Brickell area. Have reservations booked at the American Social if we don’t feel like exploring too far after the day. We leave at 6:30 am and land in Fort Lauderdale around 5:30 local time. Last time we landed here it took forever for bags and then had a long wait after a mix up with our Uber driver. Hoping for less of that this round but we shall see. This will be our first time in this size of ship. Very excited for all the options - bars & food! We’ve learned it’s an Elite (or is it Ultra) cruise so the casino will be BUSY. That is disappointing as we have replaced our typical 2-3 trips to Vegas a year now with cruising. We will spend most evenings in the casino as our entertainment…. This one may be different! I will be doing my best to post along the way and share any insights or answer any questions! Now to get through the final days of work quickly lol

On our last Caribbean cruise we had Cheers & DOU in the Casino. On our last sea day we spent time on the deck doing the math and running the numbers to see if we should have just paid for drinks vs Cheers. Even with DOU in the Casino we still came out ahead with Cheers. Having the included bottled waters, energy drinks, coffees etc. really helped get the full value out of the program.

You can order additional bottles of wine at a discounted price (25% off) if you are on the Cheers program. I did purchase a bottle of Dom in the steakhouse on our last Carribean cruise in February so speaking from experience.

@librarylady19 we went to a third party website. You. are comped They work with cruise lines to offer you deals based on your play in other casinos - land & ship based. this will be our first Virgin Voyage!