cantgetin

I can't address the intent of "circles" that existed before the "book your friends" thing that started. Circles existed before our first cruise as I learned about them after we booked our first....and that "circle" was done by a TA who pretended on FB that he was just a good guy helping people get loot. What I do know is that TAs love to get at least 10 bookings on the same cruise and that everyone gets goodies that way.

Definitely NO(T because you used a TA. It most likely had to do with your type of booking/booking code used. If all the categories avove you are full, they may not be accepting upgrade bids...or if you booked a "lock it in" and have not been assigned a cabin, if they haven't opened upgrade bidding for your cruise yet, f if you havre something like a casino rate that was specifically not available for upgrade.

The deals may have changed. Initially gold tier agents didn't get to give $100 no matter what, and as of today, I believe it depends on when you booked. We have an upcoming cruise that was booked a year ago and it doesn't include nearly the perks that we could get if we booked it today, but our price is a lot lower. We don't have the $100 on this one, but TA said we would get it on the next one where she has more than 10 cabins booked. I, of course, will check with agent before we cruise to be sure we are getting everything we are qualified to receive. Good to know that the $100 per cabin is in addition to the bonus the TA gets of a free cabin for a circle rather than instead of.

Built in the US or FLAGGED in the US?

I'm 69 and somewhat conservative. We liked VV overall better than Celebrity, but there are things we liked about Celebrity as well. It is definitely NOT a glorified Carnival or ROyal. You can party and jump into the pool if you want, but we found plenty to do at our age without being party animals. I've done both TAs that VV has had so far and am cruising later this month with you as well. We got off our first VV cruise with 3 more booked, for what that tells you. Food great, friendliest crew at sea, love the "almost all inclusive concept...,and if you aren't already signed up for the status match loyalty program, do it now. You'll love the complimentary HUGE bag of laundry that is part of the loyalty perks.

It should show up in your on line account under "add ons," I would suggest keeping a copy of your receipt as a screen shot just in case it doesn't load onto the app when you board! If you used a travel agent, they should also be able to confirm that it is on your reservation. If you don't see it on the on line account, call VV! Mine appears in the on line account under the lead sailor's name, but does not appear on the app.

I don't define a "good" agent by how much of their commission they are willing to give up to me in the form of "loot," I prefer to define "good" based on their level of service, knowledge of the product, personal experience with the product, etc. I DO expect that if they get a "circle" for a given cruise, we will each see the "loot" associated rather than the agent taking a free cabin for themselves,

So far, I've found VV to be cheaper than other lines when I add the things that are included that I'd have to pay for on other lines. I've tried to run the best "apples to apples" comparisons I could, finding the package or way to include tips, soda, internet, specialty dining, fitness classes, and entertainment on other lines, and it often comes out to be double the price of VV BEFORE accounting for the bar tab and loot that may be part of my VV booking. And good food, good service.

We may have the same agent....same qualifications anyhow

THey have offered "no single supplement" as a way to fill ships in the past. I've cruised with 1400 and 1800 and found both to be comfortably busy.

The normal crew is also made aware of which cabins have requested early disembarkation and they can start on those cabins as soon as the computer indicated that those sailors have vacated the ship. They aren't trying to do everything between 10:45 and 1:30

The only difference I've seen on "less full" cruises is fewer repeats of shows. Generally, they do the shows as planned at the beginning of the cruise as you never know when rough seas, illness of a cast member, or something else might force a cancelation later. If you missed a show or couldn't get a reservation early on, ask Sailor Services whether it will be repeated (if you can't find it on the app). If there is enough demand, they will. My experience has been that they add programming as the number of sailors and length f the cruise increases.

WooHoo....I've heard so many good things about him! In the past, members of the Happenings Cast were sort of clustered in their departures. They do train in advance, and on the October 22 TA, some of the incoming cast was on the cruise so they could train/double the outgoing cast.

The Wake was slower than slow on our last cruise. Dinner took 2 1/2 hours! After that experience, basically being ignored most of the time, we canceled our other reservations there. Other than that, I agree with jon in the above post. The Wake....we arrived at the appointed time and were seated promptly. We then sat for 45 minutes before anyone took our order. It didn't improve after that.

One of VV's strongest points is their "nearly all inclusive" model. I'm fully in favor of adding more special paid activities or gambling events, but if they started charging for things currently included, I think it would severely damage their brand image and potentially discourage some of their current customer base.

People can choose their room by calling VV. You just can't do it if you book on line. A TA can offer many other benefits. Specifically, most Gold Tier TAs will have MNVV certificates available which will save you $300 plus give uou $600 in loot. At various times VV lets them offer specials that will give you additional loot. That's before you get to the service issues. Why would you want to leave that on the table? On top of that, I'd rather support a small business and have great service rather than the allowing VV to keep the commission and receive the mediocre service that shoreside regularly gives. I can shoot a text to my TA and let her deal with phone holds to resolve whatever the issue might be while I go about my day. And unlike some other lines, if I want to tale to VV directly, I can...even though I've booked thru a TA.

Currently the airport transfers from BCN cost more than a taxi, and on the April TA, the entire transfer system was a mess with many very unhappy sailors. On the other hand, the taxi system rans smoothly and was well managed by the terminal people. So, if they are going to do transfers, they need to get their system sorted smoothly! We had a taxi for 2 for less than half the cost of VV transfers! I've always thought it odd that they didn't have an air department or other way to sell flights other than their shore services reps looking on line and finding things that cost more and had worse times than I'd already found on my own!

The application asks for your booking number. Since we were booked, I didn't try without it.

Yes, they do pay attention to those "how was it" surveys in the app. And your experience at The Wake corresponds with ours. On our 15 night sailing, we ate there once and then canceled all future reservations there. The Wake had 3 managers standing around, looking officious while at other restaurants, the managers were jumping in to help any time they saw something that needed to be done--clearing tables to get new people seated more quickly, etc. Sad, as we had anticipated The Wake to be one of our favorites. It was a FAR cry from the quality of steak houses or upcharge restaurants on other lines.

On our cruise reservations were offered on the app. All shows that are not full will accept walk ins, and there are many No shows. We didn't know this on our first cruise and missed one of the shows we had wanted to see as it was "sold out" on the app, only to learn the next day that the venue had been half empty as people didn't show up. There is a standby line for everything. The only shows that have a charge are rare dinner shows that include alcohol. Ship Show is a dinner show, but there is no fee as alcohol is not included. Those do need to be booked in advance. The shows you named have no charge and whatever drinks you may want would be served at the bar or by a roaming server and billed to your bar tab.

8 tends to be popular time as shows generally are at 8 and 10. If you are seated much later than 8, you may feel rushed for the 10pm show. MOST meals take about 90 minutes. Test Kitchen can run longer with good service, and The Wake can be VERY slow with poor service at times. There are always some people who prefer to eat earlier, but that needs to be 6-6:30 to catch the 8pm show. 7 is great for people who have different plans for the evening, rather than the show (Red Room holds a bit over 400 people, so not everyone on board can see the show the same night) Yes, the ship is largely English speaking. There are many tables for 2 or 4 other than in Gunbae. On the first night there is a solo dinner with members of the Happenings Cast, no reservations needed, at 6;30 in Razzle Dazzle; that will be at one of the larger tables. Tables for 2 are not as close together as they are in some other lines (like Princess) where there is barely space to get seated as the other tables are so close....but they are close enough to talk with those at other tables if you choose. You can also politely ignore them. We've had great experiences both ways. Being a solo will not be a problem anywhere. I've never seen people seated at a large table with others without being asked first. The usual is to seat a solo at a table for 2.

I agree. It is possible that their contract with the Port of Miami guarantees a given number of dockings, passengers, or both as well as basing one ship there all year and a second in the winter. If that is the case, the shorter cruises may be needed to attain the requisite number of dockings. Most lines earn more on a per diem rate on new passengers and shorter cruises than the alternatives; don't know if that applies to VV or not. On the other hand, it costs them more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one. They seem to have found their footing in appealing to a wider range than they initially seemed to target. The problem for frequent cruisers is that Miami offers a lot of "been there, done that," It may be a growing pain for many new lines. Oh well, we have our 2024 plans booked, so guess I can relax and see what they offer in the future.

As above, what you see on the computer are some of the excursions offered for various areas. Some of those will likely be available for your cruise dates, but not necessarily all....and your cruise dates may have some that are not on line. The only way to be specific for your dates and book them is to use the app on your phone. If you book them in advance, you'll pay by credit card at the time of booking. If you wait till you board, you risk that the excursions you want may be sold out but if they are available, you'll pay with any loot you have available before your card is charged.

They can put the app. on their phone and see it. As far as the on line account, I can see both of us on my account but I don't have a clue if the other party can see any or all of it.

I think the answer is "no one knows," but they are certainly trying to get every dollar out of booked. customers thru their bidding for upgrades program. I don't know if they will move to a last 30 days "fire sale" as some other lines do. Of course doing that strongly favors FL residents, who already get a 15% discount....as air fares increase as the flights near.