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sfspider
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Posts posted by sfspider
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Just off Valient. The only show that allowed for reservations was the ship show. All other shows were first come, first served, and there were no "virtual queues" even though the app made mention of them for certain events. There was a rockstar line for the ship show (you still needed a reservation), but there were no apparent rockstar perks otherwise. It seemed that they were saving seats for Mega's at the Duel Reality show that we attended, so maybe there still is a priority perk for them -- but nothing for "regular" rockstars.
Please take this with a grain of salt, but it actually worked very well. The grain of salt is that our ship only had around 1800 sailors on it (from what we were told). Nothing in the red room was 100% full (Bingo with the Diva was close and that event created the longest line we saw all week - but all Bingos actually had a long line due to card sale delays). We arrived 10-15 min early for pretty much everything, though a few events in the Manor the best seats were mostly gone at the 15 min mark. Other than Bingo and the ship show there were not really lines for the shows we went to, though people could have lined up before the venue opened, we just never saw lines as we always got there later and were able to walk in and still get really good seats -- again, ship was not full.
I was pretty angry when I learned that we would be guina pigs for this new format since we had early boarding (i.e. early reservation) privileges, but in the end, it worked just fine with 1800+ people. This was our first voyage with Virgin so I can't compare it to the old way and I have no idea how long the lines were for you to scan in when you had a reservation, but it was nice to just walk in and grab a seat with no waiting in line and a short 10-15 min wait before the show started.
VHS was also first come first served, which I was again annoyed about because I was worried that we wouldn't get in on the day it fit into our schedule. I think we got there a little more than 20 min early to make sure we got in and it was not a problem for us or those arriving after us. Other fitness classes (bungee, etc. still required reservations).
I guess on a full ship, arriving 30 min early might be necessary, especially for shows in the manor. Time will tell.
Hope this helps!
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Of course. Not sure what to expect, but I'll share it all.
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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.
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Do you Megan, or any other Virgin pros following, have any insight into the hanger steak compared to the filet? Will probably only eat lunch once there and was wondering whether the hanger was worth trying.
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Any signal to the ship wifi
from there?
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If you reserve a paid event immediately upon boarding for later in the cruise (ex. Plate, snap, eat) can you cancel without being charged if your plans change?
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Is there ever a cruise VV does not do scarlet night? I've read plenty about how often the schedule changes but was confused by the fact that our event line up is now out and it has We Fancy and Boomvang on the back to back nights that could be scarlet night. Feels like a paranoid question, but I already bought my red cowboy hat!
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Thanks for the help on checking bags early - we won't stay. Planning on doing an 11 am walking tour and will come back after that. Hopefully getting back around 1:00 won't be too late to take advantage of our earlier boarding time. Saw someone post that they were in the terminal and booking before 1 pm.
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Did anyone on this thread try to drop off bags early in San Juan? I know you can drop off early in Miami and I was hoping to do so around 10 a.m. in San Juan, but after reading some descriptions of mild chaos at the San Juan pier, I was wondering if anyone could speak from experience.
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Can anyone who is just on board sailing out of San Juan share what time the sail away party was? With such a late departure, I was wondering when the pool party with drinks was so I could book dinner around it. Thanks.
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Thanks, sorry if I misunderstood. Thought I saw someone earlier on the thread say that they had sailed from San Juan with Virgin twice before. I'm not going for a fed months so I can raise the question again later if you are right. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
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Has anyone sailed out of San Juan as a Rockstar? It's our first time as Rockstars and after the Virgin schedule shuffle we switched our itinerary from a Miami cruise to a San Juan cruise. Was wondering if there is a Rockstar lounge in San Juan or any other perk that would make it worth it to get to the pier around 1 p.m. for 1:30 boarding.
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Starting to get a little concerned about sailing on an "empty" ship so I wanted to seek some input about how many (or little) shows/activities will likely be offered on a low-capacity sailing. Our 8-day March Carribean cruise was recently canceled by Virgin so we rebooked the newly scheduled 8-day repositioning cruise in late March (San Juan to Miami). Suites sold out in a day after the new schedule was announced but there are still hundreds of balcony cabins available at prices way below what Virgin normally charges but they do not seem to be filling up. We are cruising to relax and eat good food as much as anything else, but are starting to wonder if no cabins are selling at these reduced prices, how will Virgin ever fill them? Was hoping to get some input from anyone with more experience (this is our first time on Virgin) as to whether we should expect severely limited shows and activities. Thanks for any help you can give.
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14 hours ago, JandPB said:
I was able to see my booking now. My TA was able to get us on the same deck just on the port side vs the starboard side. All good. Now to find airfare that isn’t $1,000 from Cleveland to San Juan.
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Try Southwest into San Juan - we've had luck in the past, plus no baggage fees.
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Thanks for the info. Looking forward to seeing it all for myself.
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On 5/30/2023 at 4:47 AM, Ekposh said:
Being 100% honest, we mostly stuck to beers, wine and the odd spirit and mixer so the quality was what it was. Service was fast and quick. They did seem to have less stocked than on the menu. A few beer and wine choices were unavailable throughout, which makes me wonder if they ever fully stock.
We were Rockstars and can say Richards Rooftop and 1 hour champagne hour was great. The mini bar in the room was totally excessive and we took most of it home. We had $400 bar tab and spent $398 over the 5 days, mostly alcohol and a few coffees. I'd say we drank a fair amount, for reference (though no premium cocktails).
One downside of the ship on this full sailing, as many have said, is the size of the pool. It was mad busy and crazy, couldn't even move. That's where Richards Rooftop came into it's own.
Hope this helps others. Happy to answer any other questions.
I'm looking forward to the "excessive" mini-bar in our first cruise as rockstars. How many 375 bottles are included? Did you try swapping anything or just keep what was provided? Also, what time was the champagne hour on Richards rooftop? Thanks for any help you can give.
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What time do the "late" shows generally start? I've read that even with reservations for a show you need to arrive 20-30 min early. Planning on sailing for the first time on Virgin as a rockstar so I should be able to pick my dinner times when they first open up for reservations, but I was wondering how early I should book dinner to avoid missing shows (especially 2 nights in a row!). Would prefer not to eat dinner at 6 p.m., but would do so if necessary.
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Thanks to all for your helpful comments. It's so nice to have an experienced community to turn to.
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Getting ready for my first cruise on Virgin and noticed that there are two different Grog walks listed on a sample itinerary posted by another cruise critic member. They are at the same time but start at different bars. Does anyone know if they will both stop at the same four bars? If not, any views on which one is better?
On the same subject, I thought I saw that Grog walk offered snacks as well as drinks. Would I be missing out on anything good if I ate dinner right before the grog walk and didn't have much of an appetite left?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
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5 minutes ago, Photofinish4 said:
are you booking threw Princess or what people call big box store?
I am booking through a TA having the 3-day sip and sail (sale) in early June. Not booking directly through Princess. I am well aware that my rate will change (and likely for the worse) if I change promotions, I was just wondering whether there was any disadvantage to just booking now (still fully refundable for a cruise 11 months from now) and choosing the cabin that I want today, then calling TA in early June to switch my booking during the 3-day sip and sale promotion. While my price may go up from my current booking, as long as the price after "transferring" my room to the new promotion in June would be the same as it would to just make a brand new reservation for the same room during the June sale, I figured I'd just go ahead now and book the room I want (while the selection is still slightly better).
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20 minutes ago, phabric said:
The 3 day sale is June 6,7,8.
Thank you for your help with this. Sorry to bother you further, but do you all know whether I can book a cabin now through the correct TA (sailing Spring of 2020) and then call to convert my reservation to the sip and sale package during the 3-day sale? Rather secure a preferred cabin location when there are still a wide variety of choices (if conversion will work). Thanks again to all of you knowledgeable cruisers -- I'm a relative amateur with only 3 lifetime cruises under my belt.
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Thanks
6 hours ago, mnocket said:Unfortunately we aren't allowed to name TAs on this site. I suggest around mid-June you start googling 3-Day Sale.
Thanks for your response. Sorry I asked a question you aren't supposed to answer, I wasn't aware of the rule. Won't happen again.
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On 4/15/2019 at 1:20 PM, mnocket said:
One thing to look for for those waiting for Sip-n-Sail. About a week prior to the stare of SnS there is a TA that has a 3-Day Sale specifically targeted at Princess Cruises. I've found that this sale is even a better deal than SnS. It started June 21st last year.
mnocket, What TA offers that?
No More Reservations for Shows
in Virgin Voyages
Posted
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.