Questions about cryptic events on the schedule

[fndecker]

I see the following events listed, can anyone provide a little more information about what they are and their opinion of them if they have one:

 

Social Solo Squad
Rise and Shine
Time for a Treat: History of Timepieces
Morning Mind Benders in the loose cannon
Charmer's Lounge at SIP (Is this charmer performing?)

Blend the rules whiskey tasting (is it an upcharge?)

Horseplay seahorse auction

[Db85]

35 minutes ago, fndecker said:

I see the following events listed, can anyone provide a little more information about what they are and their opinion of them if they have one:

 

Social Solo Squad
Rise and Shine
Time for a Treat: History of Timepieces
Morning Mind Benders in the loose cannon
Charmer's Lounge at SIP (Is this charmer performing?)

Blend the rules whiskey tasting (is it an upcharge?)

Horseplay seahorse auction

 

Hey here is the information I know from past times with virgin:

 

Social Solo Squad - Singles meet up 

Rise and Shine - Yoga on the rooftop

Time for a Treat: History of Timepieces - ????? - I don't know, Sorry!

Morning Mind Benders in the loose cannon - Trivia Game in the Pub Area

Charmer's Lounge at SIP (Is this charmer performing?) - An amazing magic show, not normal magic.

Blend the rules whiskey tasting (is it an upcharge?) - Yes it's an up-charge. 

Horseplay seahorse auction - ????? - I don't know, Sorry!

 

Let me know if you have any other questions

 

[cantgetin]

Morning mind benders is not a trivia game.  It is in the Social Club area and is a series of games that you can do on your own or in competition.  They included things like sudoku, word scrambles, identifying places on a map, etc.  It was a little different each day.

 

Seahorse auction--fee. Depending maybe on length of cruise, you design/decorate a sea horse or just "claim" one. THen you spin a wheel to see how many spaces you win on the racetrack.  The owner of the seahorse that wins gets the "pot" of money from the entries less 10% to the house.

[fndecker]

Thank you both. Is the rise and shine reservation only? It doesn't say "book on board" like a lot of things do.

[kwokpot]

History of timepieces is probably given by the staff that operates the watch boutique and is probably exactly what the title is. The watch store has all the high-end watches for sale. They may offer free champagne. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by kwokpot

[fndecker]

This may be one of the small complaints I've heard about the cruise, many of the talks are just sales pitches to buy something. Still could be interesting, though.

[kwokpot]

2 minutes ago, fndecker said:

This may be one of the small complaints I've heard about the cruise, many of the talks are just sales pitches to buy something. Still could be interesting, though.

Unfortunately there are SOME events that still mimic traditional cruiselines. You gotta generates sales somehow! 

Edited January 24, 2023 by kwokpot

[jon81uk]

48 minutes ago, fndecker said:

Thank you both. Is the rise and shine reservation only? It doesn't say "book on board" like a lot of things do.

Generally if it doesn’t say to book then you don’t need to, just show up.

[_tacocat_]

3 hours ago, fndecker said:

This may be one of the small complaints I've heard about the cruise, many of the talks are just sales pitches to buy something. Still could be interesting, though.

yep, there's also a posture workshop that is essentially a 1 hour pitch for $200 insoles with a "special deal" only available onboard.

 

in general, anything in the shops, spa or salon that doesn't have a fee will be a sales pitch.  they also have history of certain jewelers, a virgin brand talk (we thought it would be little nuggets of history in their journey, but it was just the worker at the logo store reading things off an index card!).

 

the blend the rules thing is at the duty free liquor shop.  it's a charge, and you do a whiskey tasting, then you can apply the amount charged to a bottle in the store. 

 

rise and shine is actually a thing with the happenings cast.  on sea days, they grab a pot of coffee/tea, sit in the roundabout and basically have a coffee chat about what's happening on the voyage, what people have liked, if anyone has any questions, etc.

 

if you're sailing on scarlet, don't skip loteria gigante!  it's kind of mexican bingo, and includes a BUNCH of margarita, and there are prizes!

[fndecker]

Thanks for the tip about loteria gigante. Do love Margaritas 😉

 

I have a few more questions:

 

what is nutrition and exercise workshop? Just buy smoothies at the end or another commercial?
Does the "rice, rice baby" workshop in test kitchen have an upcharge? Is it how to cook rice? lol
There is a "couples massage workshop", does that also have a charge?

And there is another meetup for "Plan V". What is plan v?

 

Strange how some things are clear, like the Gigante thing is $35 (each, I assume) but some other things that I found cost extra don't mention that.

Edited January 24, 2023 by fndecker

[cantgetin]

The early morning yoga is called "Sun Salutes" or something similar.

Rise and shine on our cruise was at 10:00 in the Roundabout and was a talk about what was scheduled around the ship that day.  There were usually two people  bouncing info off each other.  For instance, one I heard was with the foodie, and she talked about many food related activities around the ship, not just those on that day.  It is a lot like the "cruise director live and on tv" program on other lines.
 

Anything run by the spa or the exercise trainers (other than the free workout classes) is a sales pitch for their "nutritional products," shoe inserts, availability of personal training sessions, etc.

 

I have never heard of some of the things you mentioned and I can't find them on the schedule from my last cruise.

[jon81uk]

Plan V is the new name for the house band. The other ship it’s SPF5. 
 

 

[_tacocat_]

1 hour ago, fndecker said:

what is nutrition and exercise workshop? Just buy smoothies at the end or another commercial?
Does the "rice, rice baby" workshop in test kitchen have an upcharge? Is it how to cook rice? lol
There is a "couples massage workshop", does that also have a charge?

And there is another meetup for "Plan V". What is plan v?

 

Strange how some things are clear, like the Gigante thing is $35 (each, I assume) but some other things that I found cost extra don't mention that.

 

nutrition and exercise workshop - never been, but i'd expect a commercial.

 

rice rice baby is a leftover from their november food & drink month that has stuck around.  there is an upcharge- maybe $25? can't remember from the schedule and haven't done it.  i believe they teach you to make sushi, but you can't eat it because of food safety/handling rules.  i also think that one comes with sparkling wine.  most charged events around the ship have freeflowing bubbles, including a paint and sip, shot for shot cocktail/photography class, plate snap eat food presentation/photography class, 50 shades of play class with dr a, and a few others that are escaping me right now.  they're usually between $25-$35/pp.

 

i have yet to see the couples massage workshop actually end up happening on 10 voyages to-date.  it's supposedly a workshop that teaches you how to massage your partner.

[Lustate]

13 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

yep, there's also a posture workshop that is essentially a 1 hour pitch for $200 insoles with a "special deal" only available onboard.

 

 

I think that has been only disappointment on any of the four voyages with them. It was clearly a sales pitch by a trainer on commission who has ZERO understanding of the basics on insole products. Not to ruin anything, but he also used a basic carnival trick to show how "powerful" you can become with the insoles. Its a con, and please dont fall for it or his poorly presented magic trick. If you need insoles get them made for each foot, and dont believe that just because one foot has an issue you need to have an identical insert into the other!

[cantgetin]

6 hours ago, Lustate said:

 

I think that has been only disappointment on any of the four voyages with them. It was clearly a sales pitch by a trainer on commission who has ZERO understanding of the basics on insole products. Not to ruin anything, but he also used a basic carnival trick to show how "powerful" you can become with the insoles. Its a con, and please dont fall for it or his poorly presented magic trick. If you need insoles get them made for each foot, and dont believe that just because one foot has an issue you need to have an identical insert into the other!

My daughter has a medical condition that required custom made insoles fitted by a physical therapist trained in her condition (not a general PT).  We've joked that she should go to one of these to see what the untrained people said.  They do not know what they are doing.

[kwokpot]

7 hours ago, Lustate said:

 

I think that has been only disappointment on any of the four voyages with them. It was clearly a sales pitch by a trainer on commission who has ZERO understanding of the basics on insole products. Not to ruin anything, but he also used a basic carnival trick to show how "powerful" you can become with the insoles. Its a con, and please dont fall for it or his poorly presented magic trick. If you need insoles get them made for each foot, and dont believe that just because one foot has an issue you need to have an identical insert into the other!

It's part of the business, unfortunately. Early in my business career I was in Banking and in Sales. You lived and died by the number of Sales you made. I didn't enjoy it and TBH wasn't very good at it. It took almost being let go for not making my quotas that I transitioned within the company to a Business Analyst position which was much more my forte and allowed me to flourish. Not everyone is cutout to be a Salesperson but sometimes that's a side part of your job description where your main responsibilities are your strengths.  

Edited January 25, 2023 by kwokpot

[cantgetin]

44 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

It's part of the business, unfortunately. Early in my business career I was in Banking and in Sales. You lived and died by the number of Sales you made. I didn't enjoy it and TBH wasn't very good at it. It took almost being let go for not making my quotas that I transitioned within the company to a Business Analyst position which was much more my forte and allowed me to flourish. Not everyone is cutout to be a Salesperson but sometimes that's a side part of your job description where your main responsibilities are your strengths.  

Yes, but part of what I like about VV is that they generally are not "hard sell."  When you go to the spa, they are not pushing products at you the way most other lines do.  The people in the shops are helpful but not pushy.  From what a few have said, they are salaried and not needing to earn commissions or meet quotas....other than the inserts guy!

[aqlollipop]

My husband did the Rice Rice Baby thing. There is an upcharge, like @_tacocat_said, and it is a sushi making class. He definitely got to eat sushi, but I think what happens is you make sushi but, then you get to eat nicer, chef prepared sushi 😄 He has rolled his own sushi before, and he did enjoy the event and learned some things.

[_tacocat_]

48 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

other than the inserts guy!

it's weird though because the one i went to was run by one of the fitness instructors.. makes no sense for them to be selling this kind of stuff!!

[kwokpot]

10 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

it's weird though because the one i went to was run by one of the fitness instructors.. makes no sense for them to be selling this kind of stuff!!

That's how it's done on all the other cruiselines. It isn't done by the spa staff but done by the fitness staff. 

[Lustate]

14 hours ago, kwokpot said:

That's how it's done on all the other cruiselines. It isn't done by the spa staff but done by the fitness staff. 

The guy selling it name began with an R so you can work out if its the same guy. He was a PT, on commission and clearly has had training on how to sell the product by the manufacturer without thinking 1) is this all snake oil as clearly no basis in science as a product and 2) should I be the one selling it, given i might mis diagnose and recommend an insole which in fact is going to cause damage to someone? Plus the basic of course that this is nothing to do with posture, as the back was not mentioned once, just how to slide this wedge into your shoe to be perfect lol

[CruisingWalter]

On 1/24/2023 at 10:53 AM, fndecker said:

This may be one of the small complaints I've heard about the cruise, many of the talks are just sales pitches to buy something. Still could be interesting, though.

 

This is true of every single cruise line. All of them have 'events' or 'presentations' but they're all sales pitches. They are stores. They make pitches to sell stuff. I avoid them on every single cruise line and we've sailed 8 of them so far, 9 or 10 after this year. 🙂 

[kwokpot]

4 hours ago, Lustate said:

The guy selling it name began with an R so you can work out if its the same guy. He was a PT, on commission and clearly has had training on how to sell the product by the manufacturer without thinking 1) is this all snake oil as clearly no basis in science as a product and 2) should I be the one selling it, given i might mis diagnose and recommend an insole which in fact is going to cause damage to someone? Plus the basic of course that this is nothing to do with posture, as the back was not mentioned once, just how to slide this wedge into your shoe to be perfect lol

It doesn't matter what he personally thinks of the product, it's part of his job description to sell it. You refuse to sell it, you won't be in your job for long. 

[Lustate]

23 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

It doesn't matter what he personally thinks of the product, it's part of his job description to sell it. You refuse to sell it, you won't be in your job for long. 

Based on his performance, i dont think he will be in the job very long anyway. 

[greatestvalue]

Sounds like there are a lot of upcharges on VV.  Is there any entertainment, trivia, etc included in the cruise?