cantgetin

Hard to advise. On my first VV cruse, we had no problems with neighbors. OK, one played music quite loudly, but only a time or two. On the second cruise, there was a lot of "funny smoke." and some tobacco. We were lucky--we were able to see them "in the act" and shot a photo the third time. I don't know what happened between them and VV, but the offensive smell was gone for the rest of the cruise. VV did send someone each time and put measures into effect to try to identify the cabin involved without success....of course by the time their person arrived, there was no more smell. We loved our Sea Terrace, especially the hammock.

The difference is that on Disney, the shoreside customer service people are not supposed to talk to you even to answer a basic question--they are supposed to refer you to your TA. That said, I have gotten some to answer questions.

Tips are included in the cruise fare. Yes, no tipping anywhere on board. Tipping still exists to porters, tour guides, etc., but these people do not work for VV We offered a tip in the spa and were politely told that the price included the tip and that they were paid much better than on other lines where tipping is expected. (that's polite for "thanks, but no thanks." You don't sign anything when you get a drink as it is all handled electronically by scanning your band. They show you the charge on their "crew device" which looks just like a phone. There is no way to add a tip. In the review at the end, you will be asked whether any crew member tried to get you to tip.

There is NO bottled water on board. Period. None. What there is at no charge--bottle refill stations located in multiple places around the ship. In addition, your host will place 2 carafes of water in you cabin each morning--still or sparkling or one of each. You can request to have these refilled at any time using the app or tablet to put in the request. The idea is that the line is reducing one use plastics by not selling them on the ship. You will need to bring the water bottle of your choice--metal, heavy plastic, or whatever suits you, and plan to refill it as often as you wish. There is no charge for any water on the ship.

Not at all unusual to wait for an assignment until 48-72 hours before embarkation. Fingers crossed for a nice upgrade.

Deep Blue Extras is the status match. It doesn't really matter whether one or both of you have it as the benefits are "per cabin" not "per person. The $100 bar tab is part of the Deep Blue Extras, but will only show up on the lead cruiser. The $600 bar tab is from the current promotion which must have been in effect when you booked. You have listed exactly what you are supposed to have. The bar tab is good for any beverage on board that has a charge, not just alcohol. For instance, you could use it for cold pressed juices, any specialty coffee/tea/hot chocolate that exceeds your $10 per day DBE benefit, smoothies from the Social Club (can be made with or without alcohol, the non-alcoholic drink pairing in Test Kitchen, and you can ask for almost any bar drink to be made as non-alcoholic. When you have bar tab left at the end of the cruise, you can buy a bottle of something to take home. You must buy from a BAR, not from the duty free shop, and of course are subject to customs regulations. You can also treat your "new best friends" to a round or two. I wish you could transfer it over to me for my cruise (which doesn't include the bar tab deal), but it dies the minute you step off the ship. You CAN purchase drinks for anyone else on the ship though, so if you make friends.....

Correct--if they have credit for the booking, they are supposed to automatically get credit for any add ons you book.

We are not allowed to name TAs here as Cruise Critic is basically a TA. Some hints--in order to book VV, a TA has to have done their training. Not a random someone in the office being trained, but each person has to be trained. THat means that most of the huge companies do not book VV. VV awards recognition to their "first mates" who do a lot of booking...these awards are done both nationally and by region of the country. I don't know why you couldn't ask an agent if they are in the top 10 in their region, how many VV cruises have they booked, or how many VV cruises have they sailed on. These are all fair questions in my book! I think the best way is by personal referral. I'd love to give you the name of my agent, but that is not permitted on this site. You might want to join a roll call group on another social media site (pick a group for the cruise you are considering) and ask there. Another hint--ask the agent if they have any future cruise certificates that they can sell you ir if they have a cruise planned where they can get you one while they are on board. The experienced ones seem to be doing this regularly. I personally know the agent who was supposedly number 1 in the country and one who ranked in the top 10.....the one in the top 10 gives better service. But both are very experienced. Tootles!

To get an emergency passport, you need to contact the embassy or consulate in the country where you are "stuck," and they will process the emergency passport. They can also process a replacement if your passport is lost or stolen while traveling--it helps if you have a photo or otherwise copy of the passport. They obviously don't want people to decide to "risk it" which is why the emergency passport costs the same as a regular passport. I've had a passport for almost 50 years, and I have a hunch that my birth certificate burned up 20 years ago when my parent's home burned. I've used my passport for everything that required "official" ID since I completed my formal education. The state where I was born charges almost as much and takes almost as long to get a replacement birth certificate as it costs for a passport, and I've seen no sense in getting the BC.

YES, a thousand times YES. On my first VV booking, I did it myself as my TA was on a long cruise an he told me to do it on my own and we'd "fix" anything that needed to be done when I got back. No special deals or service or anything. However, VV can be "glitchy". I later met another TA who had much VV experience and have used her ever since. What a TA can do for you--first, many purchase and resell future cruise certificates. This currently gets you a $300 discount on the cruise (in addition to the $300 you pay for the certificate) and $600 on "Loot," which is onboard credit...and can be used on top of any current deals. It is totally allowed for them to purchase the certificates when they are cruising and resell them to their clients. Next, a good TA will track sales, etc. and contact you about rebooking if a better deal becomes available. This saved me $400 on my upcoming cruise (same cabin, same deal). Third, if the app gets glitchy, they can do things like booking dinners for you--let them know what you want. 4th, if they happen to do an on line sales event and you are booking in that time period, you can get an extra amount of OBC based on the cabin category you book. If your TA has 10 clients booked on any cruise, that constitutes a "circle," which has other benefits. 5th, my TA had me send her my flight and hotel info and put everything together into one computer app that automatically tracked everything. For instance, I gave her the confirmation numbers on the flights and hotels. The app automatically notified me of flight delays, gave the address of the hotel, etc. It was the best service I've had from a TA in 30 years. As always, some TAs are better than others, but VV can be such a pain that it is worth having someone to take care of the stuff that happens. Unlike some other lines, VV will talk to you and let you change things after you book with a TA. For instance, you can buy a bar tab by calling VV or your TA or on line. Your TA will still get the credit...or if you have an IT problem, you can call VV. OK, I don't know why you wouldn't go thru your TA for most things, but you do still keep your options open.

"Allow" is an interesting word. Their written policy says no door decorations and most sailors follow that. However, I've seen a few and they weren't removed.

29 nights on VV so far, and I haven't has any of the behavior from other guests that was described above. Not at all a "sex cruise." In fairness, I didn't do a lot of late night clubbing. Some of the entertainment was not to my liking, but other parts were great. THe one show, "Never Sleep Alone" has been discontinued. Yes, there are drag shows...but you sit there. No one was inappropriate and you didn't have to participate if you didn't want to--in one show they did call a few people to participate but not in anything with any sexual leanings.

Here is one..,assuming I can post it. Well, I tried to get the photo to post here, but at least you can download it and see. I just grabbed a random day. IMG_1997.HEIC IMG_1996.HEIC

Sea Blazer and Sea Rover are totally different things. THe status match gives you Sea Rover for that cruise. The badges have been acting up. On the account, if you see Deep Blue Extras under "add ons", you have the it.

A good travel agent is worth his/her weight in gold. A not so good one is just a pain. I've worked with both sorts over the years. When you find a good one, stick with him/her.

THey think they will save money by not getting passports, but in reality the hassle they will deal with in an emergency will make them wish they had spent it up front. An emergency passport is the same cost as a standard passport, but it good for only one admission to the US. After that, it can be exchanged for a standard passport good 10 years from date of issue of the emergency document. Just make your lives easy and get the standard passport. It is worth the lime saving in line if nothing else.

I don't do short cruises out of Miami, so this part won't affect me.....ha ha...

We've gotten better prices thru Princess EZ Air than I could get on my own and they treated us well the one time a flight we were scheduled on was canceled. However, when using them, you are no longer able to deal with any airline directly--everything needs to go thru EZ Air, and their bottom line concern is not you. Also, much like VV customer service, a great deal can depend on who picks up the phone. We have no plans to cruise Princess in the future, but it would have to be a really good deal for me to choose to go thru a third party rather than booking with an airline. Flights are too full and too much happens these days. They do SAY that they will get you to the port on time or to the ship in progress, but those can be "pie crust promises" depending on your cruise and exactly what happens. For instance, we always come in a day ahead. They didn't promise they'd get you there to enjoy a good sleep in your hotel, only that you'd get to the ship before "all aboard" time. That can mean that your comfortable hotel in the port city just became a cot in an airport...but you made it to the ship. It can mean that there are no flights available to get you there. And it definitely means that they don't give a flying fig about your comfort or convenience if they need to completely rebook you. In fairness, I've had things happen on flights I've booked. For instance, I selected a specific Delta flight so we could leave after school/work (no one would have to miss a day) and be at the port city late in the evening. They changed the flight and wanted us to do out the day before....we ended up negotiating for a noon flight the same day...but by the time you allow for getting to the airport, etc. we just skipped school/work that day. So much for great planning.

You will be processed as soon as you arrive if that is after your scheduled time. And it is no problem--you just need to arrive before "all aboard" time.

What initially surprised me was that they didn't have a connection or discount with Virgin Air. It made sense when I learned that they were totally separate companies. I don't even ask about their air connections any more--when I did, nothing they could offer made sense, and I fully agree that I wouldn't want to have to work thru them for any problems with air.

Some lines also have separate lines for non-US citizens. The intent is not to be discriminatory, but to allow the lines for those with the easiest documents to proceed quickly. And I agree with separate lines for separate situations.

The flights than VV has quoted me have always been more expensive than what I could get on my own. I don't bother with them any more! We've encountered some pretty good shoreside phone people, but overall they are awful. Even the "good" ones usually have to put me on hold and talk to a supervisor. Getting someone who can deal with an issue the first time is something of a miracle. And yes, it is a really bad first impression when booking!

I heard that as well. But they can't be selling too many bar tabs with $600 included!

I keep hearing this, but based on the figures I've seen, I'm not sure that it is accurate. There is no question that VV pays the highest base commissions--the level an agent starts with on their first sale of a cruise. Other lines have a sliding scale after that based on how much an agent sells, and an agent who works hard can make the level that VV starts at or a bit higher percentage. I don't know if VV increases commissions from that already high starting percentage or if that is "THE" rate across the board. I'm also aware that their top selling agents get invited to special cruise events with the top brass in the company for a combination of work and fun. Bottom line, I'm not an agent and there is no reason for me to care what they make. My agent gives the best service I've seen in 30 years--lots of little things!

I'll third the idea of always contacting the TA. The other thing I've found it that the system periodically craps out (for lack of a better word). I worked thru this issue once with someone from VV's IT department and learned how to "fix" it myself. It had something to do with the on line computer account and the app not talking to each other. The best thing I found was to let the TA deal with anything that is basic customer service related. If it is a computer problem, hit the phone prompt for IT--they were pretty decent in my situation. The regular shoreside guest service people have improved over the last 18 months, but still leave a lot to be desired and seem to always need to contact a supervisor!