Flafun888

wow...what I would have given to be there for that! Must have been a beautiful experience.

I don't mind paying $10-15+ for standard drinks, but I drink less alcohol these days and just checked recently to see if they had NA beers as an option. They're charging $11 (plu 20% gratuity) - so $13+ for a plain old non-alcoholic beer like O'Douls or Heniken 0.0. That seems WAY overpriced even for a cruiseline - and I live in a high cost of living area. Even the places here that charge 18-20 for drinks and house wine are reasonable on their NA beers. Never saw one over 7 or 8 tops. They sell for about a buck a bottle in stores.

yeah - almost pulled the trigger and booked VV, but decided to wait until the next recession - whether that's a few months or a few years from now. Hoping VV may lower prices a bit on their shorter MIA cruises as the newness wears off and the economy gets tighter. $2800-3k for a standard balcony on a 5 day bahamas/mexican cruise is a bit much for me. Would like to try them one day though.

lol - yup - simplifying a bit. But it's the feeling I get from every restaurant, club and other venue I enter these days. That's what I hear blaring most often.

well now you're talking MY two faves...new country and southern rock, along with yacht rock/buffett. Wish I could find a cruise that played some of that more often. The only "country" muisc most cruise performers seem to know is from the '70s.

I know it's a cliche for many, but I actually love that music - it gets me in a great state of mind and is so relaxing. I wish cruise ships still offered it. I always bring my own music and earbuds for the balcony. I can only take so much Kool and the Gang wedding/pool music 😛

I know how most millennials and gen z define it - EDM (electronic dance music) and hip hop/rap. Both genres I detest heartily and cannot tolerate for more than 5 min. (Nothing personal intended to those who love it. Most probably hate the genres I like - classic crooners, country, old school philly/memphis blues.)

thank you for posting - appreciate it! I was really asking WHEN was the last time they raised them? Just wondering what the odds are of another increase by summer? Or if they've just been raised recently?

Can anyone tell me when X last raised gratuities rate? Was it in past few months or longer than that? Just wondering if that 18.50 rate (non-suite rate) has been around a while and due for a bump or likely to hold at least for the next few months since it was increased recently? Last time I sailed X years ago, it was about $14/day: haven't kept track of the increases.

Thanks everyone for your helpful context. Yeah...unfortunately, that's one element of a more "traditional" cruise I do prefer- relaxing, vacation-style music. I genuinely dislike contemporary club music and avoid vegas, miami culture. Not judging of course...it's totally a "me" issue, as I'm sure many in their target audience do like it.

thank you for sharing your experiences!

thank you. That's great to know and quite different from what some reviewers described. Perhaps they tweaked things recently. I'm a mellower yacht rock gal - or hardcore rock....or trop rock or really ANY music genre other than hip hop or EDM. I'm very uncool, I guess. 😅

Can you share any insights re: the music? I was so close to booking this past week, but then dove into the reviews and read some that said music volume was pounding loud everywhere on the ship and mostly hip hop, EDM and Latin. Did you find that, as well? Did they offer any other music genres on a daily basis? Traditional rock, 80s-00s Top 40; country, blues, jazz, standards - anything? If I'm stuck hearing nothing but hip hop and EDM for most of the trip, that would be pure torture for me - and a deal-breaker, sadly. 😞

The fact that it's 18 and over vs 21 and over is a huge difference in crowd and ambiance imo. Throw in obnoxiously loud DJ beats and you're talking a BIG spring break-style college atmosphere from late Feb thru late April. I definitely wouldn't pay for that, but then again, I'm probably closer to the "get off my lawn" demographic. 😅

Agreed, but I don't consider that "old". I just don't agree with the current culture that everything enjoyable on vacation has to please extroverts and involve loud "beats". Just hearing the words "DJ-spun" - UGH. I know most on here will consider it cliched, but my idea of adult paradise involves some relaxing chill island music (marley, buffett, chesney) or regular songs from different genres and eras to please a wider audience, including some current stuff. Of course, I'd be wrong to judge before any actual reviews! But if it's all contemporary hip hop/top 40 mixes - definitely will be looking for non-coco cay itineraries.