jcarter4551

For those that have done TA, what is the weather like on the cruise days at sea? I imagine its not warm right now and I need the pool to keep me out of the casino during the day. What do you do all day for 7 straight sea days? I am curious because want to look into one sometime.

38 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

You may have only spent 10K, but with playing your winnings, you may have easily hit the required $35K

100% that is accurate. should have walked away - dang it. 🙂 

I was just focusing on people saying you need to lose that much and that's not accurate. Goal is get on their money and go wild to earn comps.

Most are focusing on slots and video poker to get to certain levels but I will offer you some perspective from a solely table games (roulette, bj, craps) player on VV. I am Idol per the email I received yesterday and I promise you I did not lose $35,000. My wife would murder me. I think over the 3 casino comp'd cruises I took on VV over the last year (Dominican Daze 5 nt, Key West 4 nt, and Ibiza 7 nt), I lost close to $10,000 of my own money over the 3 trips.  However, I was playing 50-100 hands/rolls/spins and I made good friends with the dealers and manager so maybe I was rated better.

Every cruise I have been on VV, I "earned" or "lost" my way to a free cruise so we have a Rome trip coming up and Turks in September. Other cruise casinos aren't as generous imo. 

To me, VV is awesome because you get to choose your comp cruise. On RC, I have to go by the dates they give me and certain ships are limited. For instance, they won't let me do Icon of Seas on comp. On VV, I just call them up and tell them which sailing I want and its done (7 nts and under). 

Further, the 15-20k in free cruises I have received exceeds the losses and my wife and I would do the trips anyway. Its a wash to us! 

I just wanted to give some perspective that I think table games may be the play on the VV Cruise. But, overall, I think their casino program may be superior to other cruise lines.

Pretty good start if you ask me. Also, of significance is if you go to that link you posted, it appears they may match your casino loyalty status at other casinos.

Maybe they screwed up the cost but I’m not going to correct them lol. 
 

table games count. I play a lot of roulette. I agree that being nice to dealers (tipping even though not required) helps. The casino manager will come to know you if you are there every night and putting money in play. 
 

you also get drinks for free while playing which is huge perk. 

On 4/19/2024 at 9:05 PM, kwokpot said:

The Port fees and taxes seem a bit low for 2 passengers. It should be double that unless it's less than a 7 nt itinerary.

No - it’s 7 nights at 218 all in. Great deal for sure!! 

All table games. I can’t speak to slots. 

Yes - the comp I have received is always for me +1. You just pay port fees and taxes. For Ibiza/Rome this summer, I got an XL Terrace for $218 for both of us for the week. Add in my losses for the last cruise and I guess we are even lol. 

For your other question, every night they would send me $200 worth of wine/cocktails on the casino. Thus, say I was eating at Wake. The server would come over and say "the casino has offered you $200 towards a bottle of wine." They also comp'd my wife's spa treatments at the end of the cruise.

I was gambling in casino every night though and putting at least 1-2K in play for reference. 

the best is the guy with the weed that approaches the Key West police officer and says "hey, that's my little bag of weed...is that a problem." Officer: "yes its a problem"

bro, don't turn yourself in...plead the 5th. LOL  

I have gotten my comps 3 ways:

1) The casino host had me fill out a form in google docs that created a certificate. I still had to call the casino department;

2) The last cruise, the host told me to just call the casino department and gave me the number; and;

3) I received an email out of the blue from Virgin casino department offering me a free cruise out of Barcelona. I again had to call the casino department.

I only play table games and no slots. My budget is $5k for a cruise, or 1k max per day. I play 25/hand/roll minimum up to several hundred. However, if I get up on their money, I will cash those chips in so it appears I am putting more cash in play. I don't know what their thresholds are, or what my average is, but I have received 5 free cruises from them. 

For perspective, my wife plays about 300/day and bets way lower than me (thankfully!). She has never been offered a free cruise though she benefits from my comps. 

22 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

One of the first club nights on VV, Heartbeat was created by New York based House of Yes and that blended in dancers and surprise moments perfectly. Whereas WeFancy I think was made in-house by VV and does like you said just feel like the dancefloor is being interrupted, the moments don’t add to the dancing like with Heartbeat, they kill and have to restart it. Klub Rubiks wasn’t so bad for it at least. I like the circus start to the night before the Studio 72 night but I think the main reason it doesn’t quite work is that it is the last night and people don’t seem to be as up for it.

Thanks for background on Heartbeat. I didn't know that had a story behind it. 

I agree with you that Studio 72 is the last night and people are tired. But, I think if it was a different genre it may help with getting people to the club. I mean, you can off the ship at 10 a.m., unlike others that push you off at 730 am. 

On 2/28/2024 at 5:45 AM, Naomigruis said:

I am a regular cruiser and had already decided this would be out last with VV. The style of having to book restaurant and the shows not lining up with dinner without a major drama is just to much of a hassle for me. I also just think the quality of the food is ok, no better than what I eat at our local Melbourne restaurant and the shows are a seen once and then done. 

My wife and I have a VV cruise already booked in April (Turks) and then in Europe in July and just the other night - as we were up at midnight EST trying to ensure we got the restaurants/times we wanted for the April cruise- stated that she needed a break from VV for awhile. Even though we get comp cruises through the casino, I tend to agree. As you said, the shows are always the same thing, you can only do Scarlet Night so many times, and the hassle of setting up restaurants is annoying. I do love the vibe and crowd on the cruise ship, but that's all there really is to do for us - gamble, drink, party. 

I am hopeful they start adding different types of parties/shows onboard, ditch the 70s dance club night, switch up scarlet night, and stop interrupting the dance club vibe with the happenings cast. I was just on a RC ship and their club was more lit up than Virgin...which shouldn't be the case.

9 hours ago, perfect match said:

The down side of my staying out of the casino is that I’m never going to get an offer for a free casino cruise.

“Free” - you’ve probably saved yourself thousands in losses lol. I’ve been getting “free” cruises for years on Virgin and RCL and I think it’s cost me more in losses than paying for all those cruises. The upside is when you do lose in casino you don’t feel as bad because you chalk up the free cruise to the win. 

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

I'd be surprised if anyone gets loyalty points on comped cruises.

 

If they want to compete with other cruise lines they will offer loyalty points. I know with Southwest when I use points for free flights I don’t earn points. But, the cruise lines operate differently, or at least NCL, RCL and Carnival give you points towards loyalty status. 
I guess for me as a gambler, I don’t care about loyalty so much as the perks offered (free drinks, free shows - not applicable to cruises, free upgrades, spa treatments, etc.) 

I recently booked a casino comp cruise on Virgin and noticed that Deep Blue Extras wasn’t showing up. This will be my 5th VV cruise and 4th through the casino. I had DBE on each of the prior cruises despite being a casino “comp” cruise. 
 

After I inquired, I was told DBE no longer applies to casino comp cruises. Most interestingly, I was told the casino is rolling out their own loyalty program on Virgin cruises. I don’t have other information aside from this, but this sounds promising. 
 

When we sail RCL or other lines on casino comp cruises, our loyalty status is still recognized and the casino comp cruise counts towards loyalty points and reaching the next level. Thus, I was a little concerned that we weren’t building loyalty through virgin casino comp cruises. So, I was happy to hear it’s because they are rolling out their own loyalty program and benefits. 
 

Now, DBE is only nice for us for the priority boarding and extra bar tab, but it’s a nice gesture by Virgin. 

15 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

-This being my fourth VV, some things are growing a bit old. The pj party could use an update. Scarlet night is still a blast but I can see it becoming redundant soon for me

I feel this 100%. In fact, my wife and I just completed our 4th VV sailing in December and we didn't even make it to Scarlet Night pool party even though we dressed up in scarlet. It was like, meh, I am more interested in the after party anyway. I like the PJ party because it is different and usually a good party. However, the same old Diva and happenings cast show gets old.

Additionally, as much as the happenings cast was kind of cool the first sailing, I found them to be somewhat annoying in the dance club at night. They would come out at the time when the club started hopping and would totally kill the vibe the rest of the night.

Thus, I agree that VV will need to do some different things to get repeat cruisers.  The only reason I have some additional sailings on VV booked is due to the casino comps making it "free." 

Thanks for your reviews! 

1 hour ago, cruisegirl1 said:

We were at Coco Cay  on a 4 night cruise the week Hideaway beach opened. The regular pool was quiet and somewhat  empty.
 

The DJ and the pool party moved to Hideaway beach.   Friends were at hideaway beach and said it was a fun party. 

 

m
 

 

Thanks so much! This is what I was thinking would happen. 

13 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

Whether it's 'lit' or not is up to you. The setting is there, the DJ is there. It's up to you whether you want to be chill or party. When we were there the pool was heated which was great on a very chilly day. 

Thanks Walter. My wife and I are big virgin voyage cruisers as well so appreciate your advice there. I am hoping this Hideaway is a lot like Virgins private pool and beach party at Bimini. Is that accurate? 
 

I do love a good tractor pull but def not what my friends and I are about lol. 
 

appreciate the feedback everyone. 

Hello CC community, I am doing a cruise with the bros next weekend on Freedom (3 night bender cruise). This will be my first time to Coco Cay since Hideaway Beach opened up. My buddies and I are torn on buying the Hideaway Beach excursion. Question for those who have been to Coco Cay since this adults only beach opened: Is it lit or not? 

We generally just go to the swim up bar that is in middle of Coco Cay. Have the normal party people at the swim up bar now gone to the Hideaway Beach? Any reviews or suggestions are much appreciated. 

BTW: It is $40 so I don't care, but my buddies are cheap as heck. They will spend 1000 gambling but refuse to spend on things like this unless its guarantee party. Thanks again. 

I don't know what your dispute is, but on 2 separate cruises they charged me for the beach towel and I called their CS department and they quickly took care of it and refunded the charge. 

You can also dispute it with your credit card company even though the charge posted and cleared. But, I would try RC direct first. 

I took an 11 am flight out of BCN to IAD (DC) and rushed off ship at 715ish and was to airport around 745. The United counter didn't open til 8 am or so and we stood around for a bit hungover. It was miserable.

The customs at BCN is nonexistent and you legit just walk off ship. I didn't know they didn't check passports when you came off the ship. So, you can be off ship and to airport within 30 minutes.

You will have no issue with a noon flight.

Hello VV cruisers, I am going on the Christmas Cruise on Scarlet and wondering if they show NFL games on CBS, NBC, FOX? I've been on a few VV cruises and know they have sports playing in the pub area and even saw tennis playing in the casino (which was cool), but hoping they have NBC for the NFL games on Dec 23. Thanks for any information. Going on Scarlet Lady btw. 

Thanks everyone. I was thinking more for the arcade games and such…not to linger at bar and annoy other adults who are enjoying beverages haha. 

We have sailed RC several times with the kids and never heard of any age restriction. My daughter was looking at the RC site and playmakers says “21+” which is news to me and caused her disappointment. She is 11. Is this a new restriction, or one that’s always been there but not enforced. We sail Thanksgiving week. Thanks for any information. 

They have Blanton's for $15/shot. I drink em out of it every cruise at that price. That is their most premium bourbon.