jcarter4551

Don't take this as conclusive evidence for your theory, but a few weeks ago I called the Virgin Casino to book a comp cruise on BL for March and the guy laughed and said he won't be able to book any comp cruises on the BL until at least next April or after. He offered every other sailing to include Australia within the next 6 months. I didn't think anything of the laugh or fact he couldn't put me on BL, but now appears there was a reason. Not a good look for Virgin.

Wonder what drove the “no jock straps in public areas” rule? Really, you have to spell that out lol.

Just celebrated 40th on the Ibiza cruise out of Barcelona. My wife and I have sailed Virgin 3x in last year and have one booked for Christmas holiday sailing out of Miami. Clearly, we love it and will never sail another line unless we take our kids with us. (which we are doing RC Thanksgiving) The good: The vibe is spectacular. You can't beat it. There are people of all ages who like to party but are classy. There is large LGBTQ+ presence which I chalk up to as great because they like to party but I have seen some judgmental people complain. Everyone is friendly and talkative. I find most people on all cruise lines are this way but VV just has a different feel - again, think it goes back to the classy aspect and most I would say are professionals in life. The food is amazing. The club is best on any cruise ship I have been on to include Carnival No announcements or art shows (some love that, I hate it on other lines) no screaming kids onboard or unparented kids or disrespectful kids....again, fine when we have kids but def a plus if our kids are with their other parent. No tips and wifi included as well as the dinners. They aren't nickel and diming you. People are just sexier on board. Other cruise lines have beautiful people but on the VV, just hits different. If you like to party, you can find it. If you like to chill, you can chill. I would say if you party, you will know all the party people by night 3 because you will see them at the clubs and casino nightly. Cocktails - they have good bourbon choices for cheap - blantons bourbon for $15. It is 80-100 where I live. Pool gets lit up around 130-2 pm once people buzzed up and DJ plays. Best part - they stay overnight in the party spots (Ibiza, Mykonos, etc) Cons Pool is small, like very small. VV wasted tons of space with gyms that are 20% full when I am in there (save workout classes) Book the VV - You won't regret it.

We have sailed Scarlet 2x out of Miami and on Valiant Lady out of Barcelona. We are looking to book 2/24 or 3/2. As Walter stated, the Miami loops get boring and the stops on the San Juan itineraries look amazing. I am just trying to wait on the casino department to approve those sailings for comps as they don't have authority yet (only Australia, Barcelona and Miami departures).

Solid review and agree with you on the club. I have been on the Scarlet Lady several times (going on Valient in two weeks) and the DJs do seem to play their preset list regardless of energy level which can cause the vibe to abruptly suck. I am not sure if this is because they need approval for their list by management. Regardless, they need to look at the crowd and vibe, and mix up beats to keep the dance floor popping. PS - I am going on Valiant in a few weeks and disappointed to see that the last night is lame. I figured that may be the case but was hoping more would party on their last night in Spain.

Hello, we are sailing the Med French Nights cruise in a few weeks from Barcelona. Does anyone know if euros or US dollars are used when you buy into table games in the casino on the Med cruises? Thanks for any info.

Since you get off the ship on a Wednesday, you will have no issues getting to the airport for your 1135 flight. I will note that if you ever disembark on a Sunday (as we did a few weeks ago), it is pure chaos to get a cab or any ride share service (Uber, Lyft, etc.) On Sundays, there are 6-8 ships disembarking and loading up for next sailing. It took us 40 minutes to get an Uber (had to pay charge to get priority too) and was a longer wait for taxis.

amazing! thanks for quick replies.

We are doing the Virgin Valient Lady Ibiza cruise this July. What is amazing about Virgin is that in both Ibiza and Mallorca the ship arrives at 6 p.m. and departs the next night at 6 p.m. We want to party well into the morning hours (like 2 or 3 am) in both stops. Does anyone know if there is a "curfew" or time in which you have to be on board at the overnight stops on Ibiza and Mallorca. Or, is the all aboard just the time at which the ship departs the port?

The numbers fluctuate because I don't drink bourbon all day or I would be dead. Most of my drinks at pool are coronas and margaritas so around 9-10 dollars a drink. I also get casino comps and free drinks in casino - Just came off a 4 night cruise and total bar tab was 821 dollars for 2 people. I copied and pasted the below from our folio as evidence. Note: contrary to what has been reported, if I went to casino bar, they comp'd the drinks. I didn't have to be playing. Total Debit 821.10 05-Apr-2023 Loot Bar Tab $300 -300.00 05-Apr-2023 Loot Bar Tab Sailor Loot $100 (Promotional) -100.00 05-Apr-2023 Loot Bar Tab Sailor Loot $100 (Promotional) -100.00 08-Apr-2023 Settlement Casino Complimentary Amenities -291.10 08-Apr-2023 Settlement Visa (***************) -30.00

I booked through the casino recently on a casino comp and when I booked he indicated it was sailing almost full. I don't know what that means or if he was full of [blank] to get me to commit. I hope its at least 2000 though but do hope y'all get your reservations once on board. I will see you all tomorrow on board!!

Wife and I had 700 bar tab. 300 each plus the bonus. We owed 100 at end of trip. But, I was drinking Blantons OFs (18 each - yea insanely good deal) and I drink 15-20/day to her 5-10. we hit club hard and drink at pool. 5 night cruise btw. For perspective, we are doing RC on Saturday with kids for 7 nights and spent 1250/week on beverage package. There will be no blantons. I would say if y’all average 15/day combined, you will easily hit 600-700.

Funny story on this topic: I went on first sailing post Covid on Adventure of Seas which was the “who’s who of Pinnacle.” I put my emerald badge away lol. anyway, on formal night I wore khaki shorts and a t shirt with a suit jacket. It was stylish per the J Crew model (that I’m not). When I walked into the MDR it was like I walked in naked. I even heard comments like “wow things aren’t what they used to be” and other comments that made me smile and laugh. point is: who cares what you wear as long as it’s not some muscle shirt or swimming shorts. But even if you wore that, my meal would be just as good. Cheers

Wow, some poor chap is marrying a lifetime of negativity (kidding, sort of) I think we all can agree that the quality of some things has declined, but I do believe Royal is the best bang for your buck (with advanced planning) if you think about quality of fellow guests, amenities, food, shows, drinks. With that said, my wife and I did a virgin cruise this past year and were blown away. And, we paid far less than you paid for a 5 night (all upscale dining included). While we will always sail Royal with our kids (going Saturday on Harmony), we will also likely only do Virgin if it’s just us two. I don’t think virgin is for many, but maybe try out another line. I wouldn’t just discount all cruising. But, if the price is a consideration, despite some of the issues caused by staffing and inflationary impacts, Royal is still a great cruise.

Hey there, I have cruised out of Miami dozens of times on various lines, including VV. I have never had an issue with Uber. I will also add that the taxi cabs have mandated fares they can charge you that are published in the cab. Last VV cruise out of Miami, our Uber wait time was 16 minutes or so, and we elected to take a cab from Miami to Fort Lauderdale airport (30 min North) for a noon flight and it was honestly the same cost as the Uber. We got off the ship about 930am. The point is flying out if Miami at 1230 you will have no issues getting to the airport even if you disembarked at 930-10am.

I can't speak to sailor loot as I didn't try or think to use it in the casino. I just know about the transaction fee (and waiver for suite guests) for charging your room to get chips.

From what I remember, the ATM is a fixed fee regardless of amount withdrawn. If you charge your room via your band then there is a transaction fee. The fee is waived, however, if you are sailing in the suites and have that VIP arm band. I am sailing in April on a casino-comp cruise and wondering if they waive transaction fees for invited guests like other cruise lines will do, but I am not counting on it so taking cash.

I did not take a pic lol but they probably would let you in there. They are very nice. When I played it was $5min.

I played the truly degenerate games of roulette and craps. But, I am almost certain I saw 6/5 BJ. I just can't tell you for certain. The casino is smaller and there aren't a lot of tables I can tell you that much. But, its still a fun atmosphere and casino.

I just came off a 5 night cruise on Scarlet Lady and was offered a free comp cruise in an XL Sea Terrace on my last night of gambling. I don’t know how many points I had but every night at dinner the casino sent us a bottle of wine wherever my wife and I were eating. At the Wake, they bought us a tomahawk steak lol. Great but dang it’s a lot of meat. My wife and I get free suites on Royal throughout the year through the casino and our goal was to get offers on VV through casino as well. Thus, we went with mindset of “losing” more than we normally would with hopes to get free offers. And, luckily, we were successful. we only play table games and between us put $2000-2500 in action every night. We took them for a few thousand one night (thanks goodness) so we were able to keep things going a little harder. On the 5 night, we lost about $5k total on 5 nights. I am only giving this info for perspective. my guess is you need to be putting thousands in play a night at the tables and you need to be betting 25-50 a hand/roll. I also think tipping the staff goes a long way which we do. going back on 4 night in April from Miami if anyone want to get a gambling group together. Cheers

You can’t book brunch until on ship Wi-Fi and I couldn’t access the Wi-Fi until on the ship.

Just sailed last week and this wasn’t possible. Every person at terminal was trying to no avail. with respect to brunch, we never had an issue booking the night before but we only had 1200 on our cruise.

So my wife and I are sailing on Scarlet Lady on November 25-30. Huge OSU fan (you can heckle me) and we thought we could just catch Ohio State-Michigan game on our phone at pool. I’ve done this on Royal. With the internet issues I see on Virgin, not sure that will work. Are there any places/bars on ship that show fox football games? yes, I know we are on vacation but still love to catch big games on board. Thanks!

You definitely went hard in the paint!! YOLO I meant to ask if you were able to get into all the shows you wanted and if you have any tips for ensuring you get booked into the shows considering app issues?

LOL!! Thanks for responding and helping me out. You hear about the "sexier" vibe being adults only and the "party scene" so guess I need to temper my expectations. Enjoy rest of trip and I may ask a few more questions as you continue your review and trip. Cheers!