cantgetin

This may have to do with port availability and might not have been the choice of the cruise line.

The accessible sea terrace is a very nice size with a bathroom that will easily allow a wheelchair to manipulate within that space. We were in the accessible sea terrace due to my daughter's mobility problem and were very pleased with the cabin. Sorry that I can't give you sq. ft., but it was sufficient for all her needs. I've never stayed in an accessible XL, but the size difference between the two is not huge. The XL is a little longer, but the same width and the bathroom orientation is a little different. I guess I don't understand why the metal panels rather than plexiglass would prevent you from using your balcony; it would prevent you from seeing thru the panels. If you have questions about the accessible features in the Sea Terrace HA cabin, I'm happy to answer them. The biggest downfall is hat there is no shelf under the sink in the bathroom. This is to allow wheelchair access to the sink (can't pull the chair up to the bowl if there is a shelf in the way. This means that there is NO storage space in the bathroom other than the little bit on the counter by the sink. I'm definitely bringing a "shoe holder" that can be hung on the protruberance on the door so we have a place to put hairbrush, grooming aids, etc. Also, there is no electrical outlet in the bathroom "for safety reasons." Thus, any appliance that you plan to use in the bathroom such as a water pic, shaver, etc. will need to be rechargeable or run on batteries. The cabin is also lacking the large drawer that is under the "L" in regular cabins as the bed does not do the L conversion. There is a roll in shower with a fold down shower seat. There is a shower curtain, not a door. The drains worked well for us and we never had issues with "water all over the bathroom floor" as I read in one review. I would not consider it worth upgrading to an XL. In fact, we have been able to book the same cabin we were in previously for 2 of our next 3 cruises.

No one really knows what VV is doing with their status program in 2023 beyond the info that 2 voyages in 2022 gets you a $100 bar tab bonus for 2 years. It looks like the program will be based on how much you've spent on cruises as well as on the ship., but no real info has been released.

You'll find the grog walk with the things that are booked at embarkation. There are lots of YouTube videos that show much of the entertainment, but I'm not aware of any site that lists all of it.

True, because the vast majority of cabins on the ship are balconies of various descriptions.

Overall, the above is true...but things do open up, even at the last minute. We were boarding the Disney Magic once and the Walt suite was on the upgrade list of cabins that could be purchased at the port. Those cabins have a separate reservation and booking process, and are usually booked 18 months in advance, so I asked the CM about it. The grandfather who had booked it had a last minute medical issue, so the family canceled. No, I didn't take it as there were 2 of us and I didn't want to pay for a suite that sleeps 7. It doesn't hurt the cruise line to have a list of people who want a suite if one opens.

But generally they seemed a lot more "together" when in the restaurants. I don't think it applies to "all" staff. Those from restaurants that don't serve lunch or brunch generally work The Galley during those times, then have a break prior to dinner service. There are crew dedicated to The Galley as they serve dinner while the other locations are serving dinner. But yes, most crew have different assignments during different times. The policies aren't even consistent within the same cruise. One day I was able to walk up and request an omelet; another day I was told to have a seat and order it thru a server. Then I waited 15 minutes till I flagged down a supervisor!

Interesting discussion....My TA and I both track the 6 month date, and I've always gotten the 10%. I won't pretend to know the details, but I have gotten it! And yes, if a better deal comes out before you PIF, you cancel and rebook. You will lose the perks from your first booking....but I felt that $135 savings was a better perk than a bottle of champagne.

If VV cancels the cruise, their past history is to offer you a choice of 125% cash refund or 200% future cruise credit. If I cancel for an acceptable reason my logic is that this is what travel insurance is for. I always buy that privately, not thru the cruise line.

The height it the same, but there is a lot more bathroom space in the XL.

Totally agree. ABC paid enough that VV offered a good deal to passengers already booked, but that was no way to handle customer relations. I guess they figured that the "free" advertising was worth the irritated passengers.

Yeah, many of the shoreside sailor services staff are more than a bit lacking...... Our experience was that we had a price drop on our most recent sailing of about $135, and were able to rebook that at the lower rate as we had not paid it in full yet. At the same time, we had another cruise that would have been eligible for the same price drop; we were told we could not do that one as we had paid it off a little before the 6 month deadline. I'm "that person" who tracks all the pricing for things I've already booked. The $135 was the most I've encountered, and that offer required us to give up our "Free" shake for champagne. I'd rather have the price discount than the champagne! Another one dropped something like $25, but we had $200 in Loot included in that booking which we would have lost....so we kept it as it was.

In our experience, you CAN do made to order at some of the stations provided they have the ingredients to do it the way you want. This was possible at The Pizza Place and some of the station in The Galley. You are correct that you will wait longer for a "made to order" than one of their pre-made items. The burgers were...interesting. I think they were partially cooked and then they finish heating/grilling them when ordered. They always looked fully cooked, but sometimes were not warm in the center!

If nothing else works, take it to Sailor Services--they usually have ideas. However, it is often the app crashing, not your phone.

This is wrong--or used to be. You can add the referral link by calling VV with the name and booking number of the person you are linking with. Or at least that was possible in October, 2022. The app and the website do not accurately show Loot prior to boarding, but somehow it magically fixes itself when you log onto the on board system. We were told that it could take up to 18 hours, but it actually took minutes!

On our 14 night cruise, the only times we had problems getting service in The Galley were the first and the last days. It is possible that this was due to the cruise being only 50% full (1400 sailors). And the server went "above and beyond" when we finally got her attention. Specifically, our beverage choices were Diet Coke and iced tea, neither of which were available in The Galley. She was surprised that there was no tea (the dispenser still had the juices from breakfast), and the coke had been a problem on the previous cruise as well. She went elsewhere to get both after she put in our food order...then returned with the announcement that there was no iced tea on the ship, but the chef had made me some. I started making my own after that. Other days, the initial service was prompt, although when the app was down, getting the food took a bit longer. No crew member every said anything when the app wasn't working, but their faces said what their words couldn't. THat makes a real mess!

Great explanation, Walter. In addition, many lines do training cruises for the crew with family and friends posing as guests before heading to the home port. I'm with you--will likely not do a maiden voyage on any ship again, and certainly not the first cruise on a new cruise line. I did it once....the date was changed twice, although in fairness, the line did give us a price reduction due to the "inconvenience." That first cruise was a total mess. The cruise line didn't have a clue what they were doing. NOTE--this was not Virgin Voyages. However, the issues of "ship not ready" and "crew not ready" can happen on any line and often do. IMHO, the "bragging rights" of being on that first sailing are not worth the potential headaches.

I have no idea...but don't expect Shoreside Sailor Services to have any accurate information. They are nice people, but not good with reliable answers!

There is a thread in this post where people have been asked to post their cabin numbers and information on these specific issues (and others). The cabins without hammocks are those located where the ship curves or other reason where the hammock can't be safely anchored.

1400 in October--no problem with lines. Big problem with people making reservations for shows and then not showing up (I didn't realize there was a standby line at first.) We also had no problem with walk in brunch or dinner with one exception.

I don't recall french toast at Razzle, but we loved the waffles so maybe I just wasn't interested. They do have the "fairy toast." The Wake has french toast and The Galley has french toast with berries. You can get nutella on this if you ask. And, of course, you know about the nutella french toast from room service.

I booked about 7 months in advance and was told that bands would be mailed. In fact, they verified the address that we wanted them sent to. And then, they weren't being mailed any more. My guess is that there were too many people forgetting them or that they decided it cost too much to do them customized for each Sailor. I would just plan on getting them at the port; if they happen to be mailed, you can be surprised. The system for embarkation is very good. We showed up at our designated time, and spent almost no time in line either for luggage drop or for check in.

On our cruise that ended in San Juan, we had a 3pm flight, and I was beginning to worry about making it. The cruise personnel were aware of the long lines, so we were kept on board till a bit after 10 (they served juice, coffee, pastries, etc.), and then stood in the Customs line till 1pm. We did make our flight, but that was no way to end a cruise. There were many unmanned stations standing empty, and the agents were taking regular breaks! The people on the next cruise wrote all sorts of reports about their late boarding/departure too. What happens to the ship from now till next year is that they finish building it. They basically float out a "shell." They will now do all the pretty, fun stuff.

On the 14 night cruise, I took half a suitcase full of more dressed up clothes for evening that never got worn. We joked about how much we won't be brining on our next cruise.

Having done a cruise that ended in San Juan, will never do that again. The Customs "service" there was a joke and the line was over 3 hours long.