kwokpot

You need to sail on Virgin then. Their baked goods and sweets put everything on Celebrity to shame. Seriously, they were specialty bakery quality in presentation and taste. Here are my photos from last week on Virgin's Valiant Lady!!!

Exactly. What that means is instead of getting a drink package, if it seems too expensive, and they are, is to just buy drinks as you want, then on the last day of the cruise make sure you check with the casino host to see what onboard charges, like you bar tab, can be comped. That could also apply to Specialty restaurant charges or any other charges, wifi upgrades (not gratuities). What I will say is your idea of making yourself ;known' to the casino host is a GREAT IDEA. Introduce yourself on the first night, and let them know that you don't have a drink package on this cruise and ask when you should speak the them again about reviewing your play on the cruise to get bar tabs wiped off. Be KIND to the dealers, tip them! Be nice and tip the servers in the bar! Almost all of our recent cruises we don't have any charges on our bill so we ask if we can go shopping in the stores and they pickup the tab, We specifically ask HOW MUCH we can spend, then the last day of the cruise we go to the shops and buy clothes, mugs, bags, etc.

Yes

Here's a great website that detailed all the changes to the Millenium: https://www.traveloffpath.com/celebrity-millennium-renovation/ As it pertains to this thread the point of it was that even at it's debut the stylistic choices of Carnival Farcus interiors where not mainstream in taste but purposely provocative to be different and 'Fun'. Whatsmore the money spend by Celebrity in their Revolution renovations are similar in scope to what Carnival did with their Sunshining program. It remains to be seen to what extent Carnival, post pandemic with cash problems, renovates the Spirit Class. I venture to guess it's not going to be like the Sunshine renovation projects.

It doesn't matter what he personally thinks of the product, it's part of his job description to sell it. You refuse to sell it, you won't be in your job for long.

And what it currently looks like after a refurb.

For comparison here's a photo of the Celebrity Millennium's MDR from 2000 which debuted one year earlier in 2000.

PXL_20230120_040423544.TS.mp4 The Scarlet Night Pool Party on the Valiant Lady last week: PXL_20230120_040423544_TS.mp4

So about the entertainment. No, it's not your traditional cruiseship entertainment. I will say this, and this isn't meant as a political issue or statement, but a Virgin cruise is very LGBTQ friendly. If someone is very uptight being around Gay people and/or feels very uncomfortable with things associated with the Gay community then I would have to say you might want to just discuss it out before booking. I say this because many of the shows and the employees themselves are part of the LGBTQ community and many of the entertainment revolves around these themes. Not all, but some. For instance on either ship one of the main shows is a Drag Queen show. It's mostly an authentic experience you would find at any Gay Bar around the country. So there's a lot of sexual innuendo, singing, comedic routines, and audience participation. In fact many of the shows on Virgin involve audience participation. On the Valiant Lay there's a show called The Misbehave Game Show. Again, this is an audience participation show that has it's roots in Gay humor. There's another show NSA which is AGAIN an audience participation show which revolves around sex. Dual Reality is a Cirque du Soleil type show with amazing acrobatics and gymnastics but nothing about sex or Gay themes. There's no comedians per se on Virgin. The various acts I describe may have comedy as part of the show, but there are no stand up comedian acts on Virgin. The music presented on Virgin is scattered around the ship in small, small venues and can range from folk singers to R&B bands. The settings are like popup performances or in a low-key neighborhood bar.

I definitely think so! You didn't indicate your age range but I liken Virgin Voyages as an upscale version of Carnival without kids or more formal trappings of a traditional cruise. There are ZERO dress codes. IF you want to wear shorts to the Wake, which is probably the 'fanciest' restaurants onboard, go right ahead! The food, especially the Sweets and pastries are head and shoulders over Carnival or Royal. Just remember the drink situation there's no drink packages, only prepaid bar tabs that give you extra cash is you buy a minimum amount. If you Google the costs of drinks on Virgin you can get a sense of how much you're going to spend and what you should but in advance for your bar tab. Also remember unlike the regular cruiselines the prices of drinks already include the service charge, so the price you see is the final price. Also, you can share your bar tab allotment with anyone, IOW you can pay for drinks for anyone you want, it's not limited just for your drinks. If you enjoy a good deck party Virgin throws the biggest and best deck parties of any cruiseline. PERIOD. The Beach club is a beautiful, large, and really nice place to hang. No charges for chairs or umbrellas. The sand is sugar fine and waters is crystal clear.

Maybe if you're close to getting to Elite. Otherwise after Elite + it's rather POINTLESS chasing points.

I wasn't implying that if you're in Aquaclass that you should desire wanting to eat at one of the MDRs, especially on E-Class ships. We done it many a time. I was directing my comments to people who say that they don't particularly like Blu AND they don't really like using the thermal suite; if that's the case, why would you pay more to book AQ?

That's how it's done on all the other cruiselines. It isn't done by the spa staff but done by the fitness staff.

Even if the difference is a couple of hundreds of dollars, actually even at only $100 you're better off booking a standard veranda and using the difference to pay for specialty dining. Unless you need/want a specific cabin type that only exists in CC.

That's something entirely different. That's the benefit that comes with the BCC tier you've attained through gambling. That doesn't necessarily tie in with what comped cruise offers you get, which is what the OP is asking about. Obviously the higher level gambler you are the more offers you get with all included, but it's not a direct correlation. My husband, who is Sapphire, gets comped cruise offers with all included and some that's cruise only. The KEY DIFFERENCE is that the BCC tier benefit only applies to that particular person, while a comped cruise offer with all included will give benefits to the first two passengers in the cabin. Free drinks while playing in the Casino is again a totally different benefit that applies to everyone when you're actively gambling in the casino.

I don't see any benefit in booking a Concierge Class over a standard Veranda cabin. With regards to Aquaclass the WHOLE point of it is BOTH Blu and unlimited Thermal Suite Access. If you don't want to use either benefit, there's no point in paying for it. In booking cabins it's all about understanding the differences and whether you would benefit and/or utilize them.

You're better taking the Veranda guarantee and using the price difference onboard for a meal at the specialty restaurant and/or drinks.

It's part of the business, unfortunately. Early in my business career I was in Banking and in Sales. You lived and died by the number of Sales you made. I didn't enjoy it and TBH wasn't very good at it. It took almost being let go for not making my quotas that I transitioned within the company to a Business Analyst position which was much more my forte and allowed me to flourish. Not everyone is cutout to be a Salesperson but sometimes that's a side part of your job description where your main responsibilities are your strengths.

The answer is yes, the Beyond is worth the price, and yes you will be disappointed going to an old, not fully renovated ship. You're specifically choosing Celebrity for the experience. the cabins on the Connie haven't been renovated. They are going to pale in comparison to the Wonder.

I think when the executives first looked at the mockup designs for the whole IV concept it didn't account for the actual structural issues and other things, i.e. like the pleated shades having to be several inches into the room taking up space, which in the final product came to be a very small space. So small that you have to move furniture around in order to open and close the blinds and/or the frosted glass dividers.

I've done a 4 night and an 8 night and Scarlett night was never on day one. We had the same itinerary as yours and it was on day 2, which makes much more sense.

Unfortunately there are SOME events that still mimic traditional cruiselines. You gotta generates sales somehow!

History of timepieces is probably given by the staff that operates the watch boutique and is probably exactly what the title is. The watch store has all the high-end watches for sale. They may offer free champagne.

No