Flafun888

just a thread bump in case anyone new may see this and know the answer: another one who is waiting to see what 2026 brings. 😎

On 3/25/2024 at 9:47 AM, mtempelaar said:

Star Princess out of Venice, we went down the Grand Canal to Andrea Boccelli singing opera.  It was incredibly memorable, and the best sailaway I ever experienced.

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.

On 3/19/2024 at 4:36 PM, cantgetin said:

Well done review.  Sorry you had some mis-information about embarkation.  There is no reason for anyone to show up at the VV terminal prior to 1pm.  Boarding does not start until 1:30.  SO if you have priority status, showing up at 1 is plenty of time to get checked in and be ready to board at 1:30.  We have always been in a normal Sea Terrace with priority boarding as Sea Rovers (the lowest designation of priority) and been in our cabin between 1:45 and 1:50 except one trip where boarding times were changed do to JLo.  If you have a later terminal arrival time, you may well get in before your time, but not ever before 1pm.  VV recommends no more than 30 minutes before your assigned time.  Otherwise, as you noted, you'll get to stand in line outside with no place to sit.

Carlos is by far the best Diva.

True, no beverage packages...we like the bar tab structure better for many reasons including lower cost.

Trip cost Celebrity vs. VV depends a lot on when you booked and what cruise you are on.  Our VV cruises have been MUCH lower in cost than our Celebrity and we had lots of perks.  But VV costs have increased a lot recently, so you won't see the great deals any more.

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.  

10 hours ago, markeb said:

That may be the greatest oversimplification of musical tastes of the two generations I'm counting on funding my social security I've ever seen!

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.

10 hours ago, markeb said:

And a lot of Millennial and Gen Z music is new country, which has become almost the descendant of southern rock.

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.

On 3/23/2024 at 5:58 PM, hcat said:

Jimmy Buffet style music and reggae/ island music were once Carib cruise classics..along with the harpist,  string quartet, orchestra and a  band

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 😛  

On 3/23/2024 at 4:44 PM, zitsky said:

Could someone define “newer music” for me?

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.)

20 minutes ago, the penguins said:

the current level of tips per cabin grade along with how the tips are allocated is attached below.

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.

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

whereas the music did feel correct at the pool for me, like you say like a Vegas or Miami pool party.

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. 

1 hour ago, Travel-and-See said:

All areas of the ship have different styles of background music playing.  They do play louder dance style music as you board and at the sail away and other parties and of course in the dance club.  
 

live music is lots of variety, there is always a solo guitarist on board as well as a guest band.  The bands vary in styles but I’ve seen some excellent musicians on board.  
 

I’ll also mention that the virgin ships are less open than other like celebrity - this means that noise levels don’t affect all areas of the ship. Always easy to find a quiet area to relax 

thank you for sharing your experiences!

1 hour ago, the_fh_mets said:

The only music that I found that was too loud and not my style was anytime the DJ was playing, which is generally:

- In the atrium on boarding day (mostly avoidable, unless you want ice cream or that's where you're mustering)

- In the pool area in the afternoons, when the pool is most crowded anyway.

 

If you don't like the volume at the pool and you aren't actively in the pool, which would be full and loud at that time anyway, I found you can generally go up one deck (to the sundeck level) and there are lots of options for areas to lounge facing the water and the two bars on that deck serve the same drinks as the pool, and the sound didn't really carry. It's also more relaxing in general because there are fewer people around. 

 

The volume of the live music is much more tolerable, however, if you don't like the volume or the genre, there's always a more quiet area. For example, if you hate the band playing at On The Rocks one evening, you can just go up the stairs to Sip and it's much quieter. 

 

The live bands play all sorts of genres, from pop to soul to country to Latin, depending on the band. 

 

Other than the DJ, the non-live music is typically mostly 90s and 00s pop played at an appropriate volume for background music.

 

Sound doesn't seem to carry, so if you aren't in the immediate area of where music is playing, you really don't hear it, so you can pretty much always escape music you don't like. 

 

 

 

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. 😅

On 3/13/2024 at 5:49 PM, fsdorado said:

We're back from our Virgin Voyages cruise.  I think the most accurate thing I can say in regards to comparing Celebrity and Virgin is that they are "different".  We really enjoyed our Virgin cruise.  We're already looking to book another one. I really think that it's comparing apples and oranges.  We absolutely loved not having kids on the ship.  It made a huge difference in the feel of the cruise.  The overall service was great.  All of the crew was friendly and helpful.  The Happenings Cast made sure everyone was engaged and enjoying themselves.  The food quality in the Galley and in the restaurants was also excellent.  Trying to schedule dining and going to shows was a challenge since you make dining reservations 45 days in advance.  Many of the shows that required reservations had the days/times changed from what was in the app before embarkation, which was kind of frustrating.  It took a little bit to get used to the different terminology (Sea Terrace vs. Veranda, Galley vs. Buffet, Happenings Cast vs. Cruise Director Staff, etc.). Bottom line, we will likely book our next cruise on Virgin rather than Celebrity (unless we find a great deal).  We still love the Celebrity Edge-class ships (especially in the Retreat) but we feel like we still have more to experience on Virgin.

 

Frederick

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. 😞

On 9/14/2023 at 6:27 PM, seasidemama said:

"All adults, All party, All day" - doesn't make me feel happy to the type of clientele they are marketing to.

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. 😅

On 9/14/2023 at 9:57 AM, MommaBear55 said:

I'm definitely old, I think of an adult area as quiet, won't be that way with a non stop DJ! Looking forward to the reports on actually how loud it's going to be. 

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. 

28 minutes ago, yarramar said:

There are specifically themed music cruises, so you can live and breath it 24/7

This is one which may interest you. https://countrymusiccruise.com/

Thank you for sharing. Sounds fun! But this is exactly what I mean - nothing against these performers - they're all talented, but their hits were 40-50+ years ago. There's a huge gen x/millennial/gen z audience for contemporary country and we don't need it 24/7 as a themed cruise - a few hours, dedicated venue or show offering on a regular cruise would be great. Just give us a fraction of the attention they show EDM, rap, etc. I just don't understand why country is always ignored, yet close to the top in music/concert sales and audience popularity worldwide.

11 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

pool is mostly hip hop/edm/dj dance club type mixes, but they do sprinkle some classics in there - like we had dreams by fleetwood mac today.

 

the nightclub has a 70s themed night, which is heavily 70s/disco themed music, but still mixed together.

 

the live bands play lots of classic rock/pop.  right now, there's a house band and a guest band that play in various venues a lot of the night.  "the hostess" also does a cabaret style song show where she sings the classic american songbook songs.

Thanks! Live bands sound promising. Guess I just have to steer clear of the the pool. 😆

Don't mean to take this thread on an unrelated tangent, but I genuinely don't understand why all the major cruiselines refuse to offer even 1 decent venue option for those of us who like contemporary country - music from Chesney, FL/GA line, Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Chris Stapleton, etc.

They all treat it as some unknown/unliked genre, but country is far more profitable and popular ratings wise than hip/hop/rap or EDM by a significant percentage - both in sales and poll ratings - millions love and listen to it nationwide. (Kenny Chesney didn't buy his yacht and mansion in St John's with trust fund money lol.)

But you ask for country and they play some obnoxious novelty song from 1970-something and think they covered it for the night. smh.

Love this thread - thank you for contributing. Can anyone tell me more about the music choices? I love standards, country, classic R&B, rock from any era. Absolutely avoid rap/hip hop, EDM at all times (no offense to anyone who likes these genres.) Is there anything for me or is it all hip hop/EDM/DJ dance club type mixes? 

Honestly, I like Celebrity a bit better - I feel it's a touch more upscale, modern and vibrant. (But as someone said earlier, ship class matters - I've only been on Grand - a tough comparison to X's Silo.) But  when it comes to itineraries, in my opinion,  X Caribbean ones are lackluster - couldn't find a single sailing I wanted - Princess had several I had difficulty choosing between.

They're both TERRIFIC lines - so this is really more nitpicky than a big difference. We booked Sky and I'm looking forward to it - although I'll be in one of the small balconies. (But at least it's an ACTUAL balcony I can hopefully sit on vs Celebrity Edge style windows - yuck.) 

Hi all - thank you for the excellent suggestions - been out of town the past few days - just now had a chance to report back in. Such good ideas - and yes I will post an update once I decide.  Will be a combo of some great ideas suggested here.

I have to wait until early Dec to spring the surprise and it's so hard to keep quiet! But it's months away from our anniversary right now - think the impact will be better closer to the actual day, even if it's a couple of weeks early.

But it's sure hard to keep this secret for so long...as a confirmed beach/island lover, he adores Caribbean crises and will be so happy.  

6 hours ago, smelmel said:

Found this on Etsy - Surprise Cruise Trip Tickets - $5 https://www.etsy.com/listing/703882693/cruise-surprise-trip-tickets-carnival?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=Princess+cruises&ref=sr_gallery-1-10&organic_search_click=1

 

while looking at the magnets - which are really cute!

Very cute - love how she has them for every type of vacation.

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Motto:  The Sky's the limit/unlimit....depending on perspective.

 

That line is definitely going somewhere on the gift or card - thanks! 

2 hours ago, pjrockman said:

We get a Cruise Door or Refrigerator Magnet from Bonni/Cruise DesignsBB for each cruise.  She’s online.  She can do most any design.  Last one, was a picture of the Royal Princess with our names and cruise and ship.  I won’t include that one since I don’t know where the pic of the Royal came from, but attached are two other designs that we had for our door.  She has them for birthdays and anniversaries.

 

hope that helps.  DW loves them.  Safe Journeys.  Paul

 

 

Nice! That's so clever - I'll have to go online and see what her prices are.

Clever idea, Potstech - alas - I don't know anyone with a 3D printer. :)