cantgetin

Thank you for your input. The issue was that the door had to be locked, not closed. I was well aware of the need for the balcony door needing to be closed from on other cruise lines. as well as the concept of keeping the curtains closed while we were out of the room.

The app is usually a mess until after boarding. I take a screenshot of my account on the computer and my travel agent sends me a screenshot of her records in case things don't fix themselves after boarding. Our $100 from DBE did not show up until after boarding on the app.

I concur, there are good areas on deck 16 and on deck 7 to "hang out" in peace. The front of deck 16 by the net is almost always empty....or has been on this cruise.

Totally wonderful. We had one day with a bit of rain that didn't last long. There is. hook on the balcony to attach the hammock to...this minimizes it getting wet as it is as far back as possible. Cool nights on deck when the ship is moving, so you'll want a sweater or jacket of some sort. Otherwise swimming weather every day, sometimes more sunny than other days, but always warm and nice. I've been "deck walking" every morning in t-shirt and shorts.

It is likely listed separately (as was ours) to differentiate it from the $100 bonus that you will get if you purchase a $300 bar tab. Yes, it replaced the "shake for champagne." I'd much rather have the bar tab that we can use as we like.

Go to "my account" on the web site. Your cruises should appear with the soonest date showing first. Select the cruise you want to check and go to "add ons." All loot, bar tab, bonuses, and DBE should show there. If you don't see it, click the tab to see if it shows under someone else in the cabin; mine always shows under my daughter. Benefits are one per cabin, so the person doesn't matter. The individual items do not appear, just DBE. After boarding, we got an additional $100 bar tab where I can see that perk.

Posting with no problem. When I enter "Cruisecritic.com," t goes to the UK site with a link to press for the US site. Click that link and I can do everything just like usual.

For people, walk thru....if it doesn't make noise, you are clear. For bags, looks like a typical airport scanner. Interestingly, the person operating it told us that they were getting another type soon...whatever that means. THis was in response to my remark when she was looking at the "medical bsg" that the metal was my daughter's braces.

Dubrovnik was docked when we were there on another line. VV ships have a newer propulsion system that lets them dock at places where older ships cannot.

Hmmm...we have a sticker that says no smoking on balcony on the door. Nothing about the AC on the door or on the AC controls. Might be hiding in the Red Book. We figured it had to be closed as that's common on other lines. But as I said, it might count as my one "idiot move" on this cruise.

If you qualify for DBE, you'll get $100 extra (as part of Deep Blue)

If all goes well, this will be no problem. Plan to do "self disembarkation" where you carry off your own luggage rather than placing it outside the door the last night and reclaiming in the terminal. I always look at the "what if" situation. Example--what if there is a medical emergency and disembarkation is delayed by an hour. If you needed them, what other flight options are available and how much will the change cost? If it is caused by a ship issue, will your travel insurance cover it?

OK, so maybe I am an idiot....we used the tablet to report that the AC wasn't working, and when we got no response to that, called Sailor Services. When the engineer came up, we learned that we must LOCK the balcony door in order for the AC to turn on. We knew the door had to be closed, but didn't realize it needed to be locked. Sorry that no one mentioned that to us; it could have saved the engineer a trip.

I also like the "bar tab" concept rather than the drink package. First, because we drink very little, a drink package was never a good financial choice for us, but a bar tab lets us share and enjoy. Secondly, because there are no people on board trying to max out the daily limit on their drink package. I've encountered one "ugly drunk" on my current cruise, and none on my previous cruise.

The only cabin issues we've had from neighbors has been smoking on balconies...both tobacco and pot. Others have reported it on this cruise as well, but security seems unable or unwilling to do anything despite smoking on balconies being the leading cause of ship fires.

I have another post with all the terms and conditions of the status match. Yes, it supposedly stacks with the PIF payment and happens with the status match. The terms are a little fuzzy in some cases though...that's why I have a good TA..to max it all out.

THey said it was automatic in the sense that people who qualify should not have to do anything. Mine is showing up for October.

The $100 bar tab is part of DBE. Until boarding, you will see DBE on your account. After boarding, this will show up as a $100 bar tab in the app. At least that's how it worked for us on the current trip.

As a Sea Rover, you get $100 bonus on any purchased $300 bar tab (rather than the standard $50 bonus). There is NO bonus on free bar tabs. You also get a $100 bar tab free as part of DBE. These are separate promotions and can be combined. They sometimes have to manually correct the $50 bonus to $100.

October is BCN to Miami, April is Miami to BCN cruise. We book flights October home airport to BCN and April BCN to home airport. Then we add flights in April from home airport to MIA (or FLL depending on cost and times) as well as October MIA to home airport. We usually do the MIA flights as one way on SW, but could do it round trip on any airline as well

You can always book the April 2024 TA from Miami to BCN and then do a round trip ticket that will cover both your cruises. The April 2024 TA is an incredible price right now (or it was a few days ago). We've done the 2 cruises/round trip air deal a couple times now. It is always a far better deal than one way tickets. The only downside is needing to wait for the release date on the latest flight.

My TA's comment was that she was going to give them a little time to get things straightened out, and then she'd be on it....no worries as our next cruise is some months away. They are just not very clear as to which deals CAN be combined.

I've been saving the daily sheets....likely when I get home, I'll go thru them and list the entertainers. I'm not aware of any "extra" parties, but we do have some different things than we had in October. In addition, we have a cruise group that has organized a bunch of things--VV gave us an exercise space and a conference room type space for a couple hours each day. We have people teaching various styles of dance, a football coach lecturing on "American football," a book swap group meeting a few times to trace books, and many other groups getting together to enjoy or teach their interests. Someone even put together a spread sheet so we could track it. We will have a May the Fourth t shirt day, etc. Anything people could think of was added to our list as a "let us know if you are interested.n VV offers several solo sailor get togethers, but we added more. In October, we had people teaching knitting and crochet, dot painting, and other interests based on the people on board. It might be worth mentioning that we are aware of a couple of cabins which have tested positive for covid. The ship's policy is that everyone in that cabin is confined to the cabin until they have tested negative for two days. A few crew members are choosing to mask, and crew must be vaccinated. Sailors have no requirements or restrictions unless they test positive while on board.

There is a long list of exceptions on the 10% loyalty discount. You might note that it does not say specifically whether it can be combined with MNVV. The kicker may be in the "other select offers as defined." 2.4 The 10% Sailor Loyalty Booking Benefit offer may be combined with 10% Pay in Full Now Discount, Bar Tab promotional offer, and other select discount offers as defined. It may not be combined with additional percent-off discounts; it may not be combined with open promotions as of 01 May 2023. The 10% Sailor Loyalty Booking Benefit offer is additionally not combinable with the following offers, promotions, discounts, or credits: Contracted Circle Programs Casino Rates Interline Rates First Mate Rates Internal reduced rate programs Giveaway, Promotional, Reduced Rate, or Free Access Keys Any other previous offers

Perks and the ability to submit for status match have been extended to the end of 2023. Yes, you need a booking reference to apply for status match. You will need a 24 hour hold or a booking number to apply on the application.