raphael360

What is the best way to get a seat at these restaurants, for brunch say, after boarding. Going to the restaurant on or before they open or Sailor Services??

Did anyone see an immigration line marked “Global Entry” ?

I usually tip $5 per bag.

How often was the video hold em table open? Was it active?

Thanks for that information. I’m going to play the night away at the BJ table now.

Going in 15 days and have the deep blue extras so I wanted to know how you got connected to the premium wifi? thanks

Did you play BJ and if so can you tell me if they are paying 6/5 or 3/2? Thank you

I did....my bad.... sorry

All of my cruises for the past 10-15 years have been on Seabourn who requires passports, mainly because they almost never leave and/or return to the same country. Montreal - Miami or Barcelona Spain - Reykjavik Iceland cruises for example). My 2 cruises to Cuba also required passports (and other documents). I did have 1 x Miami to Miami cruise on Oceania in 2018 but I'm trying hard to forget that nightmare. 🙂 I can totally believe most or all cruise lines sailing out and back in to a US port wouldn't require a passport. VV's APP is asking for my passport so who am I to argue with our new best friend Sir Richard Branson??

That was an Excellent idea. I just bagged the 1:30pm embarkation time spot. :)

Congratulations CineGraphic 🙂 Please report back once you're on board and settled in. Very exciting...

Excellent advice from all....thank you! I've sailed out of Miami 25 or more times and I always just drop off my bags at the ship and scoot over to South Beach for a good lunch and some people watching. Then I head back to the ship and board 30 minutes before the "all aboard' announcement". Not a fan of standing in long lines. I am excited about this VV cruise and am hoping Virgin provides a fresh new experience in ocean cruises (different than my Seabourn, HAL, Princess and others cruise experiences). I had the chance to fly on Virgin American a few times before Alaska Air bought them out and they actually made flying fun - if that was even possible. Again, many thank you for all of the friendly advice.

Has anyone sailed out of the Port of Miami recently and were you able to connect to the ship's wifi to make brunch and/or show reservations pre boarding? I'm leaving in 29 days and know "it is what it is" but would definitely arrive earlier if I can bag some reservations before getting on board. Thanks for the help friends...

I've been on more than 40 cruises since the late 70's and I never was able to board without my passport. Many lines, such as Seabourn, actually hold them for the duration of the cruise. Happy sailing friends....

I apologize for the very silly question, but I am trying to determine if I can wear shorts the entire cruise, including dinner at the Wake. I can bring dress pants if I need to, but hoping not to need to. my past few cruises have been on SEABOURN, so this is different, new and exciting. would love to hear from anyone who has been on a VV cruise.

Frantic36 is correct. It came out in 2009. My bad 🙂

I've been or a LOT of cruise lines (see signature below) but have settled in on Seabourn as my default cruise line of choice. We did test drive Oceania and found the food to be dreadful, to say the least. Oceania starts with lower quality food and triples down on the spices and sauces to cover up the low quality. Personally I get migraine headaches from certain spices (especially MSG) and I couldn't find anything on Oceania that wasn't full of MSG, onions and garlic.

Wow, I'm all in on the Lamb Chops and eggs for breakfast. Is this new on the menu or special order? If speical order, does it need to be ordered 24 hours before. I have 247 days on Seabourn but have not been on since Jan. 2020. Thanks

I've been on many Seabourn cruises (5 times on the Odyssey) and most of the other major cruise lines. The Odyssey is a lovely ship all be it over 20 years old but, to answer your ADA question: The staff will bend over backwards to assist you including all the room service you want. Room service at dinner time is a full 5 course meal served just like in the restaurant. With that said, newer and larger ships are better suited for say, motorized scooters. The Odyssey has a few bulkhead doors that include ramps on both sides and not all doors were automatic (unless they have been upgraded since 2020). The Odyssey is literally a super yacht and Seabourn refers to them as "The Yachts of Seabourn". I guess it depends on your exceptions on what and much ADA you're looking for. Hope this help.

That makes perfect sense based on Key West's 1500 passenger maximum restriction. But it also makes it a crap shoot if Key West is important. I only booked my specific cruise because Key West was one of the ports of call. I LOVE Key West but Hate Nassau. Having been to Nassau over 25 times, mostly for work, I found it to be one of the most dangerous cities in the Carrebbean. My cruise itinerary got changed about 2 weeks out. I guess the 1501 person booked a room. I requested a refund VV because it wasn't the itinerary I signed up for and they told me they could and would change the itinerary any time they wanted. I was told to read the fine print and "No refund for YOU". Having sailed over 500 days on almost 10 different cruise lines (see my signature below), I've had my port of call change on multiple occasions mostly for weather. This was my first attempt to cruise again after Covid so I thought I'd dip my toe back into the water with a 4 day and see Key West.

Why does VV advertise Key West when they know they are not going there. Key West prohibits ships over 1500 passengers.

I would avoid this cruise if you're expecting to dock in Key West. My sailing was changed from Key West to Nassa a week before the cruise. I cancelled my booking but Virgin wouldn't refund my payment. It was put in cruise credit but I won't book with them again.