bdever

Back from the SL Transatlantic and wanted to report back. Days 1-5 you needed to line up 45-35 minutes before doors opened. The lines for the Manor were wrapped around On The Rocks. The lines for The Red Room extended down the length of the Casino to Squid Ink. At day 6 the lines got shorter and you could safely get in line 25 minutes before doors opened. My thoughts on this is for longer itineraries a no reservation system works okay due to shows repeating but on 4-7 day itineraries I think a hybrid system where every sailor can reserve a show a maximum of once per show and line up after that would work best.

5 hours ago, cantgetin said:

I'm particularly unhappy about the zumba and VHS going to "first come."  I really don't want to put on my workout clothes only to find out after waiting for 30 minutes that there is no room for me.

 

Snap, I didn’t even think of this. And I have them both agenda’d every morning of the TA… damn. I bought 5 workout outfits specifically for these too and shoes… would really suck.

23 minutes ago, xdcr said:

All events except for "Ship Show" are first come first serve. People line up 30 to 45 minutes before to get a seat.

Not happy about this but it is what it is. I will be planning to line up on the transatlantic sailing then 35 minutes before shows start. 

My first VV transatlantic too. Did a Princess TA last year. Looking forward to your live.

The app had me up all night and in tears a month ago.

My mom just celebrated her 80th birthday with us for our first VV cruise, an 8 day Southern Caribbean sailing over Thanksgiving. She was the oldest person on board I believe but we had a blast! And now we’re ready to embark on the transatlantic (her first) in 2 weeks 🤗

1 hour ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi bdever,

 

I offer Travel Guard / AIG and Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway's good but sometimes their prices are too high.

 

The Travel Guard Preferred Plan for many States reimburses a maximum of $250 per person for missing a port. It's a good plan, but, in some States, this is more expensive than the other choices.

 

You may see the Travel Guard Preferred plan details here:

https://tripinsurancestore.com/travel-guard-preferred/

 

I hope this helps you.

 

Steve Dasseos

The BH WaveCare quote came in at $243 which isn’t bad while TG AIG Deluxe came to $173. 
Which one as far as coverage is ideal?

1 hour ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi bdever,

 

I don't offer Allianz for various reasons, and not many other plans will pay you if a ship misses a port of call.

 

There can still be Trip Interruption coverage, so what exact financial loss would you have if your upcoming cruise missed a port?

 

Steve Dasseos

Hi Steve,

I see Travel Guard / AIG and Berkshire Hathaway both offer missed port coverage. I heard Nationwide does too but I haven’t confirmed Nationwide yet. Of these 3 carriers which one would you recommend and why?

Just a heads up, Allianz Travel Insurance DOES NOT cover missed ports of call. I am livid. I have them for an upcoming sailing and I am outside of the cancellation window for the policy. Had I known this coverage was not included I would have never purchased the coverage. Can anyone recommend an insurance company that offers this coverage for my other upcoming sailings?

13 hours ago, sfspider said:

No problem. I hope you have a similarly smooth experience. We had such a a wonderful cruise and saw almost every show. Our cruise was 8 days which also could have impacted how easy it was because they did most shows several times which likely spread the crowds. We skipped untitled dance, which they only performed once.  On a 4 or 5 day cruise that is mostly full, I suspect that there will be increased competition for seats.

My sailing is 14 nights.

@sfspider thank you so much 😊 I really appreciate the time you took to detail your experience! I’m going to use it as a primer for sure as I suspect the sailing I’ll be on will have slightly more sailors than yours but not much. I will plan on arriving early for shows in The Manor for sure! 

6 hours ago, bdever said:

My sailing for 2025 went down by 90.00 but my agent said VV doesn’t reprice. You have to cancel and rebook which means you loose your promotions you were booked with initially. In my case, I would loose my MNVV. 

Revised - I would loose the bar tab promotion NOT my MNVV. 

My sailing for 2025 went down by 90.00 but my agent said VV doesn’t reprice. You have to cancel and rebook which means you loose your promotions you were booked with initially. In my case, I would loose my MNVV. 

I second Cantgetin. Watch the video they posted! 

Personally, if I had the money & wanted a different embarkation and debarkation port to book end it would be the Portsmouth to Lisbon, Casablanca, and Spain for 13 days in Sept. 2025.

I would highly recommend Southern Spain & Casablanca because it’s a 10 day itinerary and if you’re going to Europe IMO it should be for at least 2 weeks. Spain is the best country in the world, with Cadiz being the best city in the world IMO and this is the only VV sailing visiting Cadiz. And on top of Cadiz you get Casablanca. 

7 hours ago, sfspider said:

The valiant cruise that leaves Saturday out of San Juan is listing all evening shows as first come first serve. So I guess they are trying it out here as well. It also lists certain events as virtual queue, not sure how that will work.

Thanks, can you please report back on how things go as well as how the “virtual queue” works?

Yes, this is normal 

After my first TA to Spain I immediately applied for a Chase Iberia Plus Visa. I use this card for travel and entertainment expenses only. I quickly qualified for the introductory offer of 75k Avios. I use my Avios for direct flights on Level (Iberia operated) from/to LAX & Barcelona in premium economy, bulkhead. My direct flight, premium economy ticket for November of this year was only 27k Avios. My direct flight ticket from BCN to LAX in May I paid for with the card & premium economy bulkhead for that flight was only $700.00. Card earns 3x Avios on flights and 2x avios on hotels stays booked directly with the property.

2 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

I would've preferred the Scarlet Lady May sailing (because of work) but it was so much more expensive!

Honestly! I am not sure why that Scarlet Lady TA in May is so much more. I’m surprised they haven’t adjusted the fare to be comparable with the Valiant Lady TA. I have heard of quite a few people who switched out their bookings already. 

I’m booked on the Scarlet Lady TA for 4/21/24 - 5/4/24 and I noticed in the itinerary listed in the app that the shows Untitled Danceshowpartything, Duel Reality, and Ships In The Night now say “First Come, First Served” instead of “Book on Board”. The only entertainment that says book on board is the LOLz supper Club. What is your take on this? Is this new or has this been done on any other sailings?

7 hours ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

recheck your booking. Prices have dropped quite a bit on this sailing. Some categories up to $1000 less now than a month ago. 

I did, a sea terrace on the May TA out of MIA is still $2,538 more than the April TA from PR 😳😳😳

29 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

one less sea day but same number of port days. The Scarlet Lady one has Gran Canaria but the Resilient one has Mallorca.

Ah! Got it! Thanks 😊 not sure if 1 more sea day is worth $2,838.00 in price difference on a standard sea terrace. At least for me it’s not.

I think it’s crazy by the way that Virgin hasn’t repriced that Scarlet May 2025 TA in light of the Resilient TA pricing?!?! Do you think the majority of people booked on Scarlet will lift and shift to resilient because of the pricing and 1 less port?

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

The rates are decent too. 

Just booked the Resilient Lady 4/12/25 TA! I couldn’t afford the Scarlet Lady TA in May 2025 but this one has my name written all over it with the price being comfortably in my budget. I’m beyond the moon with excitement 😆