Lots of questions!

[edgar72]

Ok, y'all! I booked today for a Solo Insider at the end of August, and i have lots of questions that I cannot find answers to.

* I used on of the verification codes that was listen in a thread below for loot.  I received the credit, but I have not received the link to share my code.  I look all over my dashboard, and it's nowhere to be found.

* I have seen some reference to ships sailing at way below capacity.  I know other cruise lines show what cabins are available, but how do i find out this info from Virgin?

* I cannot wait to try the food.  However, I am a bariatric patient and cannot eat a large volume.  Can I request half portions?  

* Has anyone been successful requesting free upgrades?  If so, how?  

 

Thank you all for your feedback!  I am really looking forward to it!

[Mysecretelixir]

35 minutes ago, edgar72 said:

 

* I cannot wait to try the food.  However, I am a bariatric patient and cannot eat a large volume.  Can I request half portions?  

Bariatric patient here too! I did see people comment about receiving 1/2 orders of pasta at Extra Virgin recently. I’m not sailing until April 2023, so I’m eager to know your experience with it when you return!

[Lustate]

7 hours ago, edgar72 said:

 

* I used on of the verification codes that was listen in a thread below for loot.  I received the credit, but I have not received the link to share my code.  I look all over my dashboard, and it's nowhere to be found.

If you open the dashboard on the VV website (your log in) at the bottom you will see a box called "share the love" with the details and how to post the link to others to both get your credit. 

 

7 hours ago, edgar72 said:

* I have seen some reference to ships sailing at way below capacity.  I know other cruise lines show what cabins are available, but how do i find out this info from Virgin?

Virgin do not publish deck plan loads (cabin empty), as they always try and appoint people to the best cabins best, or even "bump" people to better cabins at port if they are available and operationally worth while for them. 

 

7 hours ago, edgar72 said:

* I cannot wait to try the food.  However, I am a bariatric patient and cannot eat a large volume.  Can I request half portions?  

You can request smaller / half portions but be aware that meat would not be split, only the sides or items such as pasta, as half portions would be going to waste in the kitchen. I saw several people have these at both The Wake, and in Pink Agave. 

 

7 hours ago, edgar72 said:

* Has anyone been successful requesting free upgrades?  If so, how?  

Asking for an upgrade is a bit cheeky, but by being polite, friendly and flexible if its like airlines they may have something they can pull out the bag at boarding / the port. 

[cantgetin]

Some people have reported asking about upgrades at port and getting them, others have been told "no" at the port.  No logic seems to apply.

 

You can get 1/2 portions at the restaurants just by asking.

VV does not show which cabins are available.  If you are interested in a particular location, you can call them and ask whether it is available.

[LibratPDX]

From what I have been reading on social media, it looks as though they have not yet sailed at over 1/2 capacity.

 

You should be receiving your share code via email and on the website when you log in.  I never tried to find it on the app.

 

I am also a bariatric patient and fully intended to ask about half portions, but was lucky enough to connect with three young ladies who invited me to join them for dinner for most of the cruise, as we had planned the same venues on the same nights.  We ordered most of the menu at Extra Virgin and The Wake and shared everything, so I was able to try more than I thought I would be able to, made this foodie very happy!  

[John84]

6 minutes ago, LibratPDX said:

From what I have been reading on social media, it looks as though they have not yet sailed at over 1/2 capacity.

 

Valiant definitely hasn't, my late June cruise was around 700 sailors and the previous ones had had fewer. The first July cruise was over 1,000 but still below 50% (which would be ~1,300-1,400). My experience was this was good in some ways, especially because you could book everything, but meant some of the side events didn't go ahead due to lack of demand and a couple of the events would have benefited from a bigger crowd to build more atmosphere.

 

We asked at Sailor Services after boarding if we could move to D13 from D14 and if possible to a room closer to the middle of the boat. They did this without charging so we effectively got a $50 upgrade from Sea Terrace to Central Sea Terrace. People were arranging upgrades to better rooms but I'm pretty certain all, or virtually all of these, included some form of payment. You need to factor in that Virgin's ships have a LOT of Sea Terrace/Central Sea Terrace rooms but relatively few rooms above that, a lot of premium rooms are booked by people who got lots of credit for previous cancellations, and a lot of the remainder are taken by people who will have big for an upgrade before setting sail.

[edgar72]

11 hours ago, Lustate said:

If you open the dashboard on the VV website (your log in) at the bottom you will see a box called "share the love" with the details and how to post the link to others to both get your credit. 

 

 

I do that, but it only says I am to give out the code they give me....But no code!

[ycl]

Note that Test Kitchen changes the menu halfway through the 7 day cruises.  I’d recommend making reservations for the first menu. 

[kwokpot]

I'll tag along this thread and ask a few questions. 

*Is regular brewed (and complementary) coffee available at dinnertime at all the restaurants? 

*As noted many of the food offerings are on the creative side with unusual ingredients and sauces. Are the restaurants amenable to making dishes without certain sauces and ingredients, for a more basic presentation (my husband prefers his food on the plainer side)? 

*Does the casino offer free drinks for those who are actively playing? 

[Lustate]

6 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I'll tag along this thread and ask a few questions. 

*Is regular brewed (and complementary) coffee available at dinnertime at all the restaurants? 

 

"standard" brew coffee is free but if you wanted a espresso based drink that would be  about $3.

 

6 hours ago, kwokpot said:

*As noted many of the food offerings are on the creative side with unusual ingredients and sauces. Are the restaurants amenable to making dishes without certain sauces and ingredients, for a more basic presentation (my husband prefers his food on the plainer side)? 

 

Some modifications can be made, but it depends on what. In terms of food while some of the names might be fancy or a specific ingredient i would say to give it a go, but order a side thats plain so they can always have that until the next course or if they swap the main out, they have something to be "getting on with":

 

6 hours ago, kwokpot said:

*Does the casino offer free drinks for those who are actively playing? 

 

The Casino does not offer free drinks that we have spotted (other than soda etc). It is also quite small, so if gaming is what you are after you will need to manage your expectations down a little. 

 

Hope that all helps. 

[kwokpot]

5 hours ago, Lustate said:

 

"standard" brew coffee is free but if you wanted a espresso based drink that would be  about $3.

 

 

Some modifications can be made, but it depends on what. In terms of food while some of the names might be fancy or a specific ingredient i would say to give it a go, but order a side thats plain so they can always have that until the next course or if they swap the main out, they have something to be "getting on with":

 

 

The Casino does not offer free drinks that we have spotted (other than soda etc). It is also quite small, so if gaming is what you are after you will need to manage your expectations down a little. 

 

Hope that all helps. 

Thanks for all your answers. We're both quite excited to experience this cruiseline. I'm looking forward to the fitness aspects and also the entertainment aspects. I did warn my husband to be a bit more 'open' to the more creative food choices. It's only a four nighter so it's a great way to try out something different. 

[Lustate]

19 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Thanks for all your answers. We're both quite excited to experience this cruiseline. I'm looking forward to the fitness aspects and also the entertainment aspects. I did warn my husband to be a bit more 'open' to the more creative food choices. It's only a four nighter so it's a great way to try out something different. 

 

If he is a little unsure on foods but you want to push him a little out of the comfort zone;

• You could try The Wake (its the usual steak house type place)
• Extra Virgin (Italian but with an upscale twist so you wont get a parma, but will get good pasta dishes with nothing to out there)
• GunBae (Korean BBQ, so you can pick what you cook and eat so its very easy to customise) its meats and veg you pick and cook, mostly plain so no flavours he would not be used to.
• You could repeat The Wake or if you want to go for broke on the last night book an early sitting at Test Kitchen (very out there!), and if he does not feel full enough after can always nip afterwards to the Pizza Place and grab an ice-cream from Lick Me Till Ice-cream.

 

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, Lustate said:

 

If he is a little unsure on foods but you want to push him a little out of the comfort zone;

• You could try The Wake (its the usual steak house type place)
• Extra Virgin (Italian but with an upscale twist so you wont get a parma, but will get good pasta dishes with nothing to out there)
• GunBae (Korean BBQ, so you can pick what you cook and eat so its very easy to customise) its meats and veg you pick and cook, mostly plain so no flavours he would not be used to.
• You could repeat The Wake or if you want to go for broke on the last night book an early sitting at Test Kitchen (very out there!), and if he does not feel full enough after can always nip afterwards to the Pizza Place and grab an ice-cream from Lick Me Till Ice-cream.

 

Thanks! Our Lyft to the airport is in 30 mins! Scarlet Lady here we come! 

[_tacocat_]

On 7/25/2022 at 7:08 PM, kwokpot said:

I'll tag along this thread and ask a few questions. 

*Is regular brewed (and complementary) coffee available at dinnertime at all the restaurants? 

*As noted many of the food offerings are on the creative side with unusual ingredients and sauces. Are the restaurants amenable to making dishes without certain sauces and ingredients, for a more basic presentation (my husband prefers his food on the plainer side)? 

*Does the casino offer free drinks for those who are actively playing? 

I'm actually not sure if regular brewed coffee is available at dinnertime in the sit-down restaurants.  I've only gotten cappuccinos/espressos after dinner, but never thought to ask about brewed coffee.  I think brewed coffee is available all day at the beverage stations in The Galley.  It is not available at the coffee shops on 7 or in The Galley.

 

Weird but picky eater over here - e.g., I puzzle waiters at Mexican restaurants on land when I say no sour cream, but cheese is okay - I just can't stand the taste of sour cream!  No one batted an eye at any of our requests.  Obviously within limits - like you can't have red sauce without tomatoes 😆  We finally mustered up the courage to eat at Test Kitchen on voyage #3, and we were able to swap things on the normal menu with the vegetarian menu.  We basically got the veg menu but subbed beef for the entree.

 

The casino does not offer free drinks, unless you are booked via a casino offer and have drinks through them.  I'm not sure exactly how check in for those folks work, but you'll eventually get (or request?) a tassle that goes on your band that shows you can get free drinks in the casino while playing.  We saw a couple different colors (at least silver and red, mostly red), so not sure if that reflects a higher tier of playing/ability to order more $$ beverages, or if it just corresponds to whatever group you booked through.

[_tacocat_]

6 hours ago, Lustate said:

grab an ice-cream from Lick Me Till Ice-cream.

I made a conscious effort to actually make it to Lick Me Till Ice-cream last trip.  Those brown butter financier and key lime pie ice creams... SO GOOD

[jon81uk]

A friend got hot tea after dinner at no charge in Extra Virgin so I expect brewed coffee would be available.

[rebeccac]

Our friends we were with on our trip in July regularly got brewed coffee at dinner.

[kwokpot]

Posting from the ship. Morning of Day 2. Some initial thoughts.

The food has been outstanding. Different and beautiful plating but most importantly fresh ingredients and well prepared. I had the Sea Bass last night for dinner at Extra Virgin and it wasn't overcooked with an excellent crispy skin. My husband had the bucatini carbonara and that was also well prepared as any higher end land based Italian restaurant.

We were able to get complementary coffee at dinner and TBH it seemed and tasted to be an Americano. We did make it very clear we were looking for a no fee coffee option.

This morning we had breakfast at Razzle Dazzle and again the food was excellent. Acai Fruit bowl was beautiful, fresh, and tasty. The frittata was yummy and husband's waffle was very good as well. Coffee was ok this morning, no extra fee but could have been stronger. 

After breakfast we sat outside at the wake;  we're docked right downtown Key West. I think the whole Wake area, both inside and out, is our favorite area on the ship.

We went to get some more coffee at the Gallery. The included brewed coffee is good and strong.

We are on a casino comped and yes if you're booked through a cruise casino hosting company there are free drinks in the casino. Unfortunately the ship is having major IT issues in the casino and we weren't able to get cash from our onboard accounts. The issue wasn't resolved last night so no gambling yesterday! We'll see about the casino tonight. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by kwokpot

[Janthere]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

 

We are on a casino comped and yes if you're booked through a cruise casino hosting company there are free drinks in the casino. Unfortunately the ship is having major IT issues in the casino and we weren't able to get cash from our onboard accounts. The issue wasn't resolved last night so no gambling yesterday! We'll see about the casino tonight. 

Wow that has to be causing some hair to be pulled out on board with no gambling! For those guests that already had cash, could they still gamble or was the casino closed entirely? 

 

Being that you are on a comped cruise, do you get a tassle on your seaband to signify you are entitled to free drinks? Ive read online that players get different color tassles - do you know what the different colors signify? Wondering if they now track your play as when we sailed in February they didn't seem to which we thought was kind of strange.

 

Have a fabulous cruise! 

[kwokpot]

13 minutes ago, janbear said:

Wow that has to be causing some hair to be pulled out on board with no gambling! For those guests that already had cash, could they still gamble or was the casino closed entirely? 

 

Being that you are on a comped cruise, do you get a tassle on your seaband to signify you are entitled to free drinks? Ive read online that players get different color tassles - do you know what the different colors signify? Wondering if they now track your play as when we sailed in February they didn't seem to which we thought was kind of strange.

 

Have a fabulous cruise! 

Last night you were able to able gamble with your own cash or from the onboard ATM. The slot machines were not busy at all but the table games were. Supposedly there were hundreds of customers on a gambling cruise that weren't in the system and had issues. 

Yes, we were given a red tassel for the bracelet signifying free drinks at the casino bar. You don't have to be actively playing to get a drink. 

[drewdawg199]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Last night you were able to able gamble with your own cash or from the onboard ATM. The slot machines were not busy at all but the table games were. Supposedly there were hundreds of customers on a gambling cruise that weren't in the system and had issues. 

Yes, we were given a red tassel for the bracelet signifying free drinks at the casino bar. You don't have to be actively playing to get a drink. 

Did they proactively give the tassel to you or provide instructions to get it?  Curious how it works because I have family traveling on a casino comp later this year.

[Janthere]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Last night you were able to able gamble with your own cash or from the onboard ATM. The slot machines were not busy at all but the table games were. Supposedly there were hundreds of customers on a gambling cruise that weren't in the system and had issues. 

Yes, we were given a red tassel for the bracelet signifying free drinks at the casino bar. You don't have to be actively playing to get a drink. 

 

thank you for taking time out from your cruise to answer! We are sailing on Sept 30 - can't wait to get back on Scarlet Lady again! P.S. Are there any Buffalo machines in the casino?

[CruisingWalter]

On 7/19/2022 at 9:51 PM, edgar72 said:

* I have seen some reference to ships sailing at way below capacity.  I know other cruise lines show what cabins are available, but how do i find out this info from Virgin?

* I cannot wait to try the food.  However, I am a bariatric patient and cannot eat a large volume.  Can I request half portions?  

 

You won't find out capacity info from Virgin Voyages, you'll find out when you get onboard. The bartenders are the best folks to ask how many people are sailing. We had 1100 on our July 8th sailing and we were told that was one of the largest sailings they've had so far. Now with the lifting of the testing rules and adding in unvaccinated guests, that number will most likely start to climb.

 

I'm absolutely certain you can request half portions, though I will say the portions on Scarlet Lady are much more reasonable than they are on many other ships. The Test Kitchen is a small meal anyway. Extra Virgin the portions were a nice size. Pink Agave you can make a meal of the tapas easily. The Wake, well the Wake is amazeballs. The Dock has FABULOUS tapas for a small meal. And The Galley has a really great selection of foods including one of the best salad bars I've seen at sea.

 

The only other advice for you is if you are sensitive at all to very loud music, bring some earplugs for the Scarlet Night party up on the pool deck. That is VERY LOUD, but amazeballs. 

 

[Cloud9 Bob]

I sailed mid June and the casino was having IT problems even than.

[readysetgosale]

12 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Last night you were able to able gamble with your own cash or from the onboard ATM. The slot machines were not busy at all but the table games were. Supposedly there were hundreds of customers on a gambling cruise that weren't in the system and had issues. 

Yes, we were given a red tassel for the bracelet signifying free drinks at the casino bar. You don't have to be actively playing to get a drink. 

How did you get a casino offer?