lisabucsfan1

So much hate for the ducks. Wow. I found a hand-knitted octopus on one VV and loved it. I brought it to the casino where a collector fawned over it so much and she literally begged me for it I just had to give it to her. I don’t mind it. If I find one I may take it and keep it or I may reposition it. I don’t post pics or tag it. But that’s me. It’s so harmless. So. Much. Hate. smdh

I've seen very sexy attire but most attire is comfy lounge type stuff. Interestingly I've seen a lot more men baring it all vs women. NYE cruise I'm pretty sure one gentleman was wearing little to nothing under his robe! And yes, I stopped and stared waiting for that robe to come apart. hahahaha (NO NO NO)

I saw this post about laundry in Sydney with a quick turnaround and I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for similar type of service in Auckland by chance? We are staying at the Hilton Auckland but also would be open to a nice area for sightseeing or brunch while waiting for laundry service as the OP did in Sydney. TIA

Interesting question. I'd be curious about this as well, but for Celebrity.

Not sure if OP is still having problems but posting my experience since others may have it too...

I had this exact problem 2.5 years ago when I first became a VV customer. I had signed up via my email address for offers, etc., in 2019 or 2020, but by the time I booked my first cruise in 2021, I "logged in" using the Google shortcut (I have a gmail email address). Somehow in doing that, I wound up with 2 accounts with a very similar experience to not being able to access things as the OP.

It was painful to resolve, but I was insistent that I remain on the phone until the customer service agent put me in touch with IT who could actually "make ship happen" (HA). HOWEVER, as mentioned, that was 2 years ago when they weren't nearly as busy with people using their cruise line and customer service agents actually had the knowledge to resolve things and time to put me in touch with the right people. I understand that now they have a larger CS staff and if I had to guess (based upon a recent call with them) are fairly new to dealing with VV. 

I feel like the end result was for VV IT to delete BOTH accounts and then I was able to create a new account using my booking number to get things back in sync. I've not had any problems since, but I do use that Google shortcut to login to VV rather than a unique username/password. 

17 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

As for being right-wingers or left-wingers, we never discuss politics with strangers, especially when cruising. The vibe on board tends to be all about acceptance and respect.

Exactly. Not sure why political leaning has a thing to do with a vacation. Especially if the OP is as accepting as the post indicates. 

I was on this cruise, my 4th one last year. It's interesting how differently people view the same things. We will be on Celebrity Edge in 5 weeks, so close enough that mentally I'll be able to do the good comparision (our last non-VV cruise was 2018 and RCL).

23 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Bingo is a walk up, as are the others you mentioned including the coffee gameshow (Latte something?). Also book in advance exercise classes.

 

For things that do not require booking ahead, the app allows you to set a reminder...so your phone will notify you of the activity 30 minutes in advance.

agree - you can add things to your agenda (putting it on your "love list" by clicking the heart is not enough to get the reminder)... and you can double book yourself with free things to do.

as far as "what" to book... my first Virgin cruise I had no idea what I wanted to do nor did I do a lot of research on what others preferred. I do enjoy Loteria and I've seen Dual Reality 3 times - so that's also a favorite for me. Around the World is a great show, but arrive early as it will fill up...

Most of all.. enjoy!!

3 hours ago, onechaiguy said:

I just returned from Valiant's NYE sailing. I was also on Valiant 9 months ago. The crowd this time was a lot different - many cruisers from Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I heard a couple go on and on about how much they miss Royal Caribbean and how much better it is. I met another couple who told me they were only there because they got a free casino offer. 

 

On the first day (4 hours into the sailing), the men's bathroom by the Galley was covered in vomit. I also saw a woman vomiting on the pier in St. Croix. I saw multiple people walking through the galley without shoes and/or a shirt. I also saw people smoking all throughout the pool deck. Not to mention people were vaping everywhere. 

 

I still had an enjoyable time, but the overall vibe was a lot different this time around. I am sincerely hoping this was due to it being a NYE sailing. I will avoid NYE sailings in the future! 

Absolutely not my experience on the NYE Scarlet Lady sailing. Because of the weather I didn't spend a lot of time on the pool deck, so I can't really comment as to what our boat had vs yours on that point. 2 people vomiting out of 2500 would not ruin it for me... bad luck that you experienced that. No shirt? No problem if you have something nice to look at. HA! No shoes - gross, but again, I've definitely seen that on Carnival and RCL. So not sure why you'd think that would be a NYE thing vs some other time of year. Maybe weather related? Our sailing was quite cool and rainy, otherwise maybe we would have had more skin showing? 
I honestly thought the NYE sailing was by far one of the best I've done with VV (this was my 6th) with the exception of the fact that Carlos was not the Diva on our sailing (as others have mentioned, he is hands-down the best). The entertainment on board was top notch and the happenings cast was great even though for a lot of them they had been on the boat for a while (I had seen / met many of them when I sailed in September).

1 hour ago, tbmrt said:

 I've not heard of  being able to move loot from one cabin to another or swapping charges among cabins.  My suggestion on excursions would be to go to the big red desk after boarding and let them handle the whole group.  THat way, you can be sure enough spots are available, etc. before you get into the booking details and let them handle taking it out of the loot.

 

Sounds like a plan...  However, I hope we don't miss out on excursions since we will be booking other activities as soon as we board.  Is the Big Red Desk right by boarding area?

if you want to book excursions ahead of time then one person can book and then just have your friends send you the $$

you can definitely swap charges around if you book onboard - sailor services can help you with that. I’ve done it many times. 

thanks all just really needed the info about the boarding... #hijackers 😂

29 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

It is the boarding time automatically moved to 1:30 regardless of what the app time says.  You arrive at the terminal any time after 1 and get in the "Sailor Club" line outside the terminal to get a ribbon bracelet,  This lets you into the terminal immediately at 1 and into a special boarding line of just DBE people.  Boarding will start at 1:30 or a few minutes before.  First will be Rockstar suites (78 cabins max), then Splash of Romance (75 cabins max), then DBE.  We have always been in our cabin within 15 minutes of start time.  We've had DBE for each of our cruises, and this is the way it has worked for us....sometimes with more or less hassle depending on the person at the Sailing Club desk (my fav was the one who insisted that my cabin mate had it but I didn't, despite me having an email to prove that I did!). I wasn't on HER list.  Then the check in lady in the terminal wanted to know why only one of us had a bracelet....and promptly fixed the problem.  ONCE we have entered the terminal, things have gone well.  outside.....anybody's guess depending on personnel.

You can remove the bracelet after boarding--it isn't needed for any of the other perks.
The app lists available times/assigns times based on when you did your on line check in and went to the "boarding time" page.  It is designed only to spread people out and has no recognition of status or perks that may give better times.  

thanks yeah I've had DBE for a while and have generally sailed as RS or done a romance package... so wasn't quite sure how DBE worked standalone. Helpful information.

thank you!

Question - I'm sure this has been asked before but I couldn't find it ... so apologies...

But just like the title reads, is the DBE perk only the dedicated line or is also priority boarding? A friend who is sailing with us for NYE has DBE via status match but was only offered a 3:15pm boarding time. Wondering if they can board with us at 1:45pm? Does anyone legitimately know?

Expedited Boarding

1 hour ago, Swells1 said:

That being said, I have heard accounts of porters writing incorrect cabin numbers, or writing them illegibly, so I made my own as a backup that I will apply at the hotel before we leave to board the ship.

I literally watch what the porter writes down and do not leave unless I'm satisfied that it's correct and legible!

On 11/18/2023 at 5:55 AM, tbmrt said:

I'm thinking this could be because of a very full New Years cruise.  I'm thinking my February cruise from Puerto Rico will be the same due to the cruises that VV cancelled and many people rebooked to my date.

I was on full sailings earlier this year, but maybe more people are aware of the app & how to use it... it's definitely been a sore spot from day 1. LOL

20 hours ago, Smiling Sue said:

I agree with you completely. 💯 I was up until 3am booking all of the dinners and breakfast/brunches.  I had one dinner slot I couldn’t book, and called them directly the next morning.  They were wonderful and booked it easily.  BUT, I am glad I didn’t wait until the morning of the first day as many of the time slots were already filled.  The VV agent did say the app will work better once on board.  Maybe?  They also suggested if a time slot is not available, try changing the number of sailors from 2 to 3 and magically some slots would open up for booking. 
If you haven’t already done so, book brunch/ breakfast for the final day, disembarkation.  I heard the slots often do not open until you are on the ship, and breakfast in the Galley can be chaotic on departure day.  I was pleasantly surprised to see I could book time at Razzle Dazzle for a 9 am breakfast before heading home.   

thanks... super familiar with all of the finagling with the app and brunch options (this will be my 6th sailing)... but the first time I've had this many problems!

On 11/10/2023 at 9:57 AM, Smiling Sue said:

I am traveling on the NYE cruise with my husband. Wahoo!  The booking option for dinner reservations will be 45 days out on the 15th of November.  I know to hop on at midnight on 11/15/23 for a better chance of getting our first dining choices.  He is the primary holder (not sure if that is the correct term), but our accounts are linked and he shows as paying for my expenses and staying in the same room.  

When I use the app to book, will there be an option to include him in the reservation?  Will it assume we are together as we have the same cabin and linked account?

Or since he is the primary account holder, does he need to book our food and activities? 

 

Thank you!!!!

We too are on the NYE cruise and having a horrendous time booking reservations for dinners. I was lucky to secure a table for the 4 couples traveling together for 2 meals (at 6pm!) but even trying to book for 2 couples seems impossible this week. The app as been flakey at best and atrocious at worst.

6 hours ago, 3rdCoastFan said:

That's good to know! My experience with the voucher has been that Virgin holds firm to the rule about auto-assigning a cabin unless you work through a TA. I had no issues calling in with my first Virgin cruise to select a specific cabin but was kindly rebuffed when I tried to use the voucher for a subsequent cruise. It's great that that's been changed since an unfavorable cabin could potentially ruin an entire trip. 

slightly different take on this... I purchased 3 MNVV and then immediately booked a new cruise while on board. The gentleman at the future cruise desk was able to get me 3 rooms all next to each other on the new cruise. He even was kind enough to help me search through the decks until we found 3 near each other.

4 minutes ago, Swells1 said:

I got a similar message last night, but haven’t gotten any follow-up. 

I'm not expecting it to happen overnight... but I'll ping them again in a week or two if I haven't heard anything back.

@-The-True-North- I just took your advice and used the chat function to reach out to sailor services. I copied your note with a few minor changes for my personal style (ha!). Probably not entirely necessary, but certainly didn't hurt!

She was as nice as could be and looks like I will get the $200 loot applied to my NYE sail. 🤞 at least!

16 hours ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

I was just out on a Scarlet Night scouting mission, and I see that all the holiday clothing is starting to drop. Easier to find something now, as I have nothing red except a bathing suit. Hoping to score some holiday jammies, too 🎅🏻 do you guys think it would be okay to hang some battery operated LED Christmas lights inside the cabin? I've got some of those magnetic hooks that I was thinking about using.

 

Sorry to go off topic!

we did lights last year and had no issues. at the time I didn't realize that lights on the cabin doors was frowned upon so we had them on our door too. 

On 10/21/2023 at 4:53 PM, TheDarkestBlue said:

Since we're going to be on in December, do they decorate the ship for the holidays? Wondering if there will be lots of elves around? 🧑🏻‍🎄

We were on SL lady last year for Christmas and I don't recall there being anything particular. However there were a LOT of door decorations which was nice to see. I realize that is technically not allowed on VV ships, but they seemed to stay up and not be taken down. 

There were a LOT of sailors who dressed for xmas, such as staying in PJs all day... santa hats.... xmas light necklaces, etc.

I received my email and it's now pretty explicit. Given the restrictions to new cruises that have to be booked by the end of this year for sailing by the end of next year and how high the prices are for fares right now, I doubt I will use it.

To thank you for recently completing our Sailor Survey powered by IntelliSurvey, you've scored $200 in onboard credit for the next new voyage you book.
Terms and Conditions: This is non-transferable and is subject to availability and to the terms and conditions provided.
1. Offer Details. These terms and conditions detail Virgin Voyages’ $200 Sailor Loot benefit.
1.1. Virgin Voyages will provide an onboard credit (i.e., “Sailor Loot” in our branding voice) of $200 USD per cabin on all new voyages purchased before midnight EST following December 31, 2023 for open cabins on an eligible voyage as outlined in Section 3.
2. Restrictions/Exclusions. The $200 Sailor Loot is subject to the following restrictions and exclusions.
2.1.  Subject to this Section 2, the $200 Sailor Loot is combinable with most Virgin Voyages’ current public promotions, Affinity Circles, and Tour Operator Rates.  The $200 Sailor Loot is not combinable with Contracted Circle Programs, Casino Rates/Program, Interline Rates, other Reduced Rate programs, My Next Virgin Voyage offers, or any other previous offers.
2.2. Travel Agents (or “First Mates” in our branding voice) do not earn commission on the Sailor Loot value given to Sailors for the $200 Sailor Loot.
3. Eligibility
3.1.  Eligible Voyages: Offers are eligible on the following non-charter, open, revenue voyages, as modified in section 3.2:
Ships: Starting with voyages departing on or after October 1, 2023 - December 31, 2024 on Scarlet, Valiant, and Resilient Lady.
3.2 Excluded: Any full-ship accommodation voyages (i.e., charter voyages), Mer-Maiden Voyages, and contractual Circles are excluded from the offer.
We reserve the right to modify these offers at any time.

I will give this story.. I am sailing on Wednesday... 2ish months ago I put in an upgrade request. About 2-3 weeks ago I started receiving emails about "bid for an upgrade" and I'm like "wait, I already did this... wth"... Very much different from my one and only prior experience with trying to bid for an upgrade where I received an email telling me that my bid was not accepted.

So their process is not infallible... 

22 hours ago, Lustate said:

 

I would not count on the above being always acceptable. The standard terms of the pay in full as as below...

 

Thank you for posting this. I've been amazed to read some of the comments recently about getting the 10% pay in advance discount all the way up through 180 days pre-sailing. I've always bit the bullet and paid up front on the day I book to get this discount. So I've been very confused!