olemissreb

Do you have to book the entire boat or can you book 4 spots and then Phil will fill in the remaining spots with others?

On 2/12/2024 at 9:05 AM, Waterfreak2009 said:

I ask because I'm thinking of doing the "Let's Take a Selfie - Grand Cayman", which goes to a couple tourist sites with the last place being 7 mile beach. It's only a 3 1/2 hour excursion getting us back to the ship at 2:30 and the ship does not leave until 6. Would it be acceptable to "quit" the excursion at the beach to get more time there? Obviously I would be responsible for getting myself back to the ship. 

OK this wasn't planned at all, but on my first cruise, we were doing a walking tour of Old San Juan (cruise sponsored excursion) and somewhere along the way, me, my ex and another couple we met were taking pictures or something and the group just left us!  Oh well - it was a pretty boring tour anyway and we all made the best of it and got back to the ship on our own.  Of course I think that is easier to do in OSJ since it's not a tender port like Grand Cayman (if Grand Cayman is still a tender port - it was the last time I was there 25 years ago or so).

1 hour ago, FFTB said:

For the Jewel route, what is there to do in Seward during the layover if I want to get off the ship?

Not sure how much time you'd have as a layover in Seward, but you could look at doing a Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine.  We did it the day before our cruise and saw all kinds of wildlife. We even got so close to a glacier we could hear it calving and the crew pulled in a piece of that glacier and made "glacier margaritas"!.

The day of the cruise, we went to the Alaska SeaLife Center and did a behind the scenes tour...we got kisses from a sea lion!

I love another posters idea of a side-by-side. If you can arrive in Seward in a Saturday and then leave again on Sunday, you'd have plenty of time to do both of the things I mentioned (and probably many others).

1 hour ago, dshefter said:

No shortage of bars. Plenty of bourbons fit into the regular beverage package. Have a great time.

Already upgraded our FAS since BF is a Blantons drinker! Since he's never cruised before, I figure if I can get some Blantons in him (lots of it), maybe he'll fall in love with cruising as much as I have.🤪

Thank you for this review! My group will be in the Viva in March '25...and we can't wait for a week of relaxation, adventures, and laughter. My BF is a bourbon drinker, so we'll probably hang out there...A LOT!

5 hours ago, Russiamomm said:

Thank you so much for this post.  I agree with everything you said.  I too was an NCL loyalist (Sapphire status) until I tried Virgin.  I’ve now done 3 cruises on Virgin and can’t wait to get back on.  But I still love NCL too.  Trying to compare them is difficult.  Virgin is completely different from other cruise lines in a lot of ways.  First, I loved the food.  Every restaurant is as good or better than the NCL specialty restaurants.  I love the fact that there’s no buffet and no huge main dining room.  The Galley (Virgin’s food court that replaces the buffet) is consistently good with a good variety of options.  And table service.  I love that soft drinks are included in the fare.

 

I was also hesitant about the lack of a drink package.  But it was not an issue.  We bought a Bar Tab.  Had another $100 from the status match, which also included $10 a day in specialty coffee.  We were booked through the casino, so got drinks for free there.  Drinks were reasonably priced.  With all our benefits it was a challenge to blow through the bar tab, but I was up to the challenge.  😂

 

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the lack of announcements.  I LOVED that.  Unless it was an emergency, all announcements were made via the app.  No obnoxious announcements about bingo, the art auction, etc.  it made for a much more pleasant trip.  
 

About the demographics, we are in our 50s/60s.  Felt right at home.  Many younger people, but also may much older than we are.  It’s a very inclusive environment.  Many gay couples.  We met some fabulous people.  
 

Just a note about the crew.  Overall we found them enthusiastic and friendly.  They are allowed to be themselves.  No rules about hiding tattoos, for example.  They can interact with guests more than on other lines,  we had many long conversations with the crew.  They seemed happy.  There also seems to be less of a hierarchical structure. The officers wear the same t-shirts/polos as everyone else.  We were chatting with a couple of crew members in the smoking room (no judgement, please.). They were wearing Virgin polos and khakis and had name tags. We asked what they did for Virgin.  They casually said they were the Captain and Co-Captain.  😳😂. That’s just the vibe on the ship.
 

Bottom line is we loved it.  Price-wise, it is generally a little higher price point than NCL.  But you do have to be sure to compare apples to apples.  Virgin’s pricing really is all inclusive other than alcohol.  No specialty dining fees, no daily service charges and sodas and juices are included.  Tipping is not expected (although the crew won’t turn down a few bucks if offered.  😃). I encourage everyone to try it, but leave all ideas about what a cruise should be behind.  We still love NCL, and have two more booked.  Virgin is just plain different.  In a good way, at least in my mind.  

 

 

With the Bar Tab, do both people im a cabin have to have it? My sister is almost 20 years sober and while her boyfriend does drink, it "stinks" that she has to buy a drink package even if she'll only be drinking water and Dr. Pepper.

I've been thinking about doing a VV cruise with my boyfriend, but was a little concerned about age differences since we are both in our 60s. Thanks to you for putting my concerns to rest. Maybe we'll go in a couple years.

7 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I fondly remember my virgin voyage.

Oh, wait...you're talking about cruising.

Never mind.

@schmoopie17 I want to sail with you sometime. You have a sense of humor I can relate to AND you're a Packer Backer. Yes my screenname may be all about Ole Miss, but I was born a Green Bay Packer fan. I've said for years..."I bleed Red & Blue om Saturdays and Greenand Gold on Sundays". 

I've done both. I would go back to Alaska in a heartbeat. I loved my NE/Canada cruise and would do it again (with a much different itinerary), but there was so much more I wanted to see & do in Alaska. Plus I'm more of a mountain person than a leaf person.

Sept 2019 was my last cruise to New England/Canada. Next one is March 2025. Can't wait!

3 hours ago, Maggie6195 said:

I paid off our April cruise at the end of December. Then called to get a 2-day pre-cruise deviation (NCL BOGO promotion). They credited back our transfer. Not sure what happened, but in the process somehow I now owe 2 cents. Guess I need to call AGAIN! 

I had an issue where I know I put in a payment of X00 and NCL only charged my card X99.98. Not sure what that was all about. Guess I'll fimd out when I make another payment. Final payment isn't till Nov. so I have plenty of time.

395...at least I have a vacation in Key West in 77 to break things up a bit.

12 hours ago, kaz828 said:

I have never sailed from San Juan as well, what do you like, do you usually stay before the cruise?

I love sailing by El Morro. And yes, I do go down at least a day before. Gives me more time to sightsee in Old San Juan. Next year I'll get to share it with my sister, her boyfriend and my boyfriend.

I'm never up in time to see the harbor pilot board the ship, but I do love to stand on my balcony and watch the harbor pilot disembark. I always hold my breath because I'm always so nervous he/she will miss the boat and fall in the water. 

I can also be found on my balcony as we pull away from our last port of call (usually the last day)  with a glass of wine...crying because I know I have to go back to reality.

I try to do half day excursions or at least get back to the ship about 2 hours before all aboard time.

And lastly, I do like dressing up for dinner...from business attire to full on formal gown. I don't get to dress up enough in real life, so I take full advantage on a cruise.

I'm sailing the Viva next year. I chose that one because it sails from San Juan which is my favorite port to sail from. Plus I haven't been to 4 of the 6 ports before. 

My favorite cruise line is Celebrity, but I haven't been too happy with their itineraries lately. I also took a Princess cruise about 34 years ago and felt like the youngest one on board. I may try them again one day. I've also been on Royal and liked them too.  So I'll be going on my first NCL cruise in March '25. I'll let you know how it compares.

7 hours ago, kdmbluerzr said:

If you were in the Adventure Class seating they are. Goldstar Dome class seating a meal and a couple of drinks are included.  I'm certain your memory is perfect!  🙂 

Nope! I was in Goldstar...I remember having assigned seats as well as a couple mimosas and breakfast. I just thought my now-ex paid for it behind me I guess.

7 hours ago, kdmbluerzr said:

Yes. And you do want to book it through the Alaska Railroad website. The Goldstar class category is what I was referring to. In the Goldstar class, if you take the early morning departure, there is a nice breakfast served that is included in this price, as well as a couple of spirited breakfast beverages, mimosa or bloody mary, etc. if you like this sort of breakfast beverage. It's a great way to make the trip from Anchorage to Seward. Scenary is spectacular. 

I thought the food and drink were extra...guess my memory isn't what it used to be (must be all those mimosas I've had over the years! 🤣)

1 minute ago, ihate2cruise said:

Would you be able to assist me with the specific site for "The Gold Dome" train. I this correct?

That looks correct to me. IIRC, Goldstar has assigned seats in a dome car with a bar at the rear of the car (for purchase) and food for sale below.

Just now, cruiseny4life said:

On Pr1ma (I Know, it's a different ship), no specialty restaurants were open for lunch on our Transatlantic. 

Same class though.  Thanks for that info.  Guess I'll be looking at adding maybe 2 more specialty dinners and then the rest in one of the MDRs.

31 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

The dailies will tell you the hours for the specialty restaurants. NCL can sometimes vary lunch hours of operation depending on port days vs. sea days and can sometimes close or open specialty restaurants for lunch at random. 

 

For dinner, reservations are strongly recommended. For lunch, you can probably just show up.

I'm on the lookout for Viva dailies from the San Juan sailings - that will give me a good idea.  I've got some from Mid-December, but looking for newer ones to compare times.

10 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

If a specialty restaurant is open for lunch, you can use your package. It counts as a use. If you use 1 for lunch and 1 for dinner on the same day, that's 2 meals used.

Thank you!  I figured lunch and dinner were 2 uses, just wasn't sure if any of the specialty restaurants were open for lunch.  I've never been on a cruise with this many specialty restaurants to choose from, so still learning.

Specialty dining includes lunch and/or dinner? Trying to decide how many meals we may eat in specialty restaurants since we are on a port intensive cruise, but we may only do half day excursions.  Of course my BF would be happy eating cheeseburgers and drinking beer all week.

In 405 days, I'll be back on a cruise ship for the first time since 2019.  It'll be my BF's first cruise, so time for a new ritual I think.  We're sailing from San Juan, so we'll probably have breakfast and lunch in San Juan and then make our way to the pier to board the ship and hopefully be able to go straight to our cabin and drop stuff off before making our way to a bar and then exploring the ship.  It'll be my first time on NCL, so exploring is a must as well as being on deck for sailaway.

Even in the past, I've never been one to want to get on the ship first thing (except the one I took with my former in-laws - FIL just had to get there at 11am - good thing we packed swimsuits for my boys so they could go swimming while we waited for the cabin to be ready).  I like to get on board about the time the cabin is ready so I can go straight there (timed it wrong in Boston in 2019). 

I'm still 405 days out from my next cruise and I've been perusing CC, TA and any other site I can find trying to figure out excursions.  Next I'll start looking at airfare and hotel/airbnb (probably in March/April) so I can get those booked early and maybe save some $$.  Plus I just discovered the webcam for the Norwegian Viva, so yeah, it's harder and harder to get my work done to pay for all of this!

It'll be the first cruise for my boyfriend and my sister's boyfriend, so it'll be extra special.  Hopefully we'll get them hooked and we can cruise more often as our budgets allow.

I'm with the person that posted - the memories.  I do save room keys, dailies, tickets and such, but it's the memories that stick with me more.  A word or phrase can trigger a memory of me and my kids on a cruise ship or excursion...especially the first one they ever went on!

Next up - I'll get to make more memories with my boyfriend as he goes on his first ever cruise.  I can't wait to experience it all again through his eyes.