kgelner

5 hours ago, eroller said:

I really enjoyed this video walk-through of the ship.  In it I've noticed lots more windows and light than I have in past videos, and also more comfortable seating and some truly innovating spaces.  Interesting artwork too.  Without question The Manor nightclub will be the best at sea.  It's awesome.  Studio 54 lives!  It's great to see this at a time when most other lines are eliminating dedicated night clubs for multi-use spaces that honestly make lousy nightclubs (Carnival, Royal, & NCL take note).  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxpJZQE7NCs

Thanks for that, I also really enjoyed that walkthrough - I loved the warm colors and design, and also how much seating there was around the ship, mostly padded.  I also loved all the marble around the bathrooms in the suite at the end, which looked like it could be cleaned throughly and easily in addition to just looking opulent.

Very excited to be sailing this ship, even tough my sailing is all the way off in October.  Hope they have an excellent season.

I disagree with the premise.  Virgin is not marketing towards millennials., they are marketing towards Bransonites.  That is to say, people similar to Richard Branson... there are a ton of middle aged or older people that enjoy a sense of style and fun.  Yes the people in the marketing images are young, also true of diamond or most other luxury advertising.

I'm pretty excited about Bimini, took a trip there once and thought the place was great - a special Virgin beach resort there sounds pretty amazing.

As for the Dominican Republic, I think it's safe to go as long as you are not staying in a resort there (where most of the problems seem to be happening).  I probably wouldn't drink anything there.

I'm a little sad my cruise is not going to Havana, but I like Key West pretty well... since I'm still in this more for the ship than anything I'm staying on.  Also, the time frame we are talking about (well over a year in my case) is so long they may be back to sailing to Havana by then, depending on actions taken by Cuba of Venezuela.  I'd be little sad not to get proper key lime pie but going back to Cuba would be OK as well.

In my case the refund was more like $200 (checked old payment due info v.s update), we have a suite.

We just did this with the company Luggage Free, shipping a suitcase about three weeks ahead of time from the US to arrive on a ship leaving from Japan.

It ended up working just as advertised, with the shipped bag showing up outside our cabin alongside the bags we had checked in at the port.

The way this company worked is they had FedEx actually do the shipping - Luggage Free sent us FedEx documents in the mail to attach to the luggage, alongside a luggage tag from the ship with our cabin number (that we printed out from online and covered with clear packing tape).  A FedEx driver came to our house to collect the luggage.

i included a small gps tracker device (gego) for peace of mind, it told me the luggage actually reached Japan several days later, where it was held until the cruise.

The one thing I was unsure of is if I’d have to declare any unaccompanied items when going through immigration in Japan.  I did not, and the luggage still reached us just fine (was not told to do so by the company so I assumed that would work).

As part of packing the suitcase we also had to produce a detailed list for customs, but the list was also useful for us later remembering what we had packed ahead! Be detailed.

On 4/25/2019 at 7:32 AM, Biker19 said:

I'm still puzzled why it will take another year to finish her?

A few more days to finish the ship, a year more for Richard Branson to personally sleep in every room for guaranteed quality.

57 minutes ago, perditax said:

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-cuba-travel-restrictions-20190417-story.html

 

 

57 minutes ago, perditax said:

 

 

Oops.

I wonder if they could switch the Cuba cruises to leave from Bimini instead so they didn't run afoul of US regulations on visiting Cuba.

Virgin is luckier than other cruise lines, since the launch is still a ways off we may be back to being able to visit Cuba by then.

In the recent audio related announcements from Virgin, they talked about having a number of small private karaoke rooms:

"The ship will offer another music forward space called, The Groupie, a modernist take on Japanese-style karaoke rooms. These futuristic-style, full-color personal pods were designed by Academy Award-nominated film director Roman Coppola, and challenge the notion of doing Karaoke in front of a room of strangers. Instead, they are designed as intimate, curved, sound zones perfect for those looking to share their vocal talents and dance moves with only the company of invited guests."

These sounds pretty cool, but I was surprised at them having private rooms for this - on the last ship my wife and I were on, they had a fairly large karaoke bar anyone could drop into that seemed to be pretty heavily attended each night.

Some people would be sailing in groups, but I think most would not be so it surprised me a bit there'd be such focus on a small private space like this that was meant for a small group.

Maybe the thought is that people will naturally form small groups on board and go do this for fun, I could see that as I do know people make friends on cruises they hang out with.

Also my wife pointed out to me, maybe one of the larger dual use spaces would in fact be converted for karaoke use at times so people could just go enjoy a larger group of singers some nights.  I guess natural groups might splinter off from there.

Basically, I just thought it was a really interesting hint at something Virgin was trying to encourage for those cruising with them.

On 3/29/2019 at 2:47 PM, PederLin said:

PS.  It's not that difficult but can anyone else spot the "Social Media Influencers" here?

So far everyone who has posted here is about as far away from being an "influencer" as you can get, I would guess not a single poster here matches the colorful hip marketing images Virgin is putting out.

Everyone posting here so far is too individualistic to make for a good "influencer".  Virgin will be very lucky indeed to find any influencers actually aboard the ships with all of the individuals just wanting some escape from a few common aspects of cruising, that Virgin has accidentally tapped into.  My instagram account for example has fewer than 20 followers, and I post maybe once every few months there.  Not like I'm going to be setting off a firestorm of booking by choosing any one cruise line.
 

17 hours ago, Nymich said:

hey one can always book back to back and make it a 9 day...….just a thought.  I booked a 5 day just to get a taste.  I live here though so it's pretty easy to hop on and hop off.

We booked back to back, so we can get two hits of that private Bimini beach.  Definitely not a party cruise, since they don't have a drink package... just a cruise line for people that want a little more luxury in a slightly shorter package.

On 3/20/2019 at 2:10 PM, TrinaLC said:

Slightly worried that since we are so clearly out of the intended or target demographics will not be treated well/looked down upon. 

 

Would rather read my Kindle on deck then go to a drag lunch, but am not offended in any way by a drag event or other lifestyles. Our view is to each his own. 

 

The upside to enjoying things that aren't the same as what most others on the ship want to do, is you'll have more space and quiet. Instead of being in a throng of people trying to get into Drag Brunch, you can be peacefully reading your Kindle up top, or enjoying crowd free meals at one of the scores of other restaurants on board.  🙂

To me the vibe of Virgin is exactly against looking down on anyone...

I am thinking the tattoo parlor might be doing a lot of temporary tattoos (with just surface ink that would wear off after a week or two, and you could swim with).  I think a lot of people might go for that on a cruise.  So more transient skin art, than tattoo...

4 hours ago, rbschultz said:

There is a cat with lasers coming out of its eyes on the VV webpage... if people can't figure out this is a millenial cruise line they're doing it wrong.

Cats with laser eyes are a timeless beacon to fun loving people of all ages, a modern form of the Alexandria lighthouse of old.

That dance floor picture next to it is super-millenial though!

I think the target is more quirky people of all ages rather than pure millennial though, with the mixture of call to elegance along with the festival at sea and then Branson as the figurehead.

54 minutes ago, MBP1 said:

I'm really looking forward to cruising with VV in the future. As a couple in our early 30s the main cruise lines do not really excite us. From looking at some of the people in the Facebook groups I'm in for VV there are definitely going to be some very disappointed people. Only thing keeping us from booking now is the lack of longer cruises. 

We solved that problem by booking back to back cruises (which we did in part after finding out Bimini was the private resort location).  Before that though we were thinking to do an extended stay in Miami for a few days before the cruise, instead of just flying in and sailing out like we normally do.

Maybe bring a waterproof wardrobe trunk to keep out on the balcony:

https://www.pinterest.com/janetanne63/wardrobe-steamer-trunk-wants-one/

What are the reasons why we may want to transfer the reservation to an agent?  I was considering doing this since I could, but was not sure of the benefits I might get by doing so.  Maybe some onboard credit?

7 hours ago, AdoraBelle said:

 

 

I don't know who these dudes are and am not affiliated, but there's some pretty extensive walk-through footage overlaid with VR/CG renderings. 

That was a good one!  I also enjoyed the similar yet slightly different take from Emma Cruises below - I have never seen her (or that couple you posted) before, but found them both looking for videos of the tour...  Emma even appears a number of times in the video you posted as they were all touring at the same time and she is also very enthusiastic about the trip:

Isn't the drag brunch just in one restaurant?  I'm not even sure it will be easy to get in if you wanted to see it, and with 19+ other places to eat it seems like you could simply not go if it were not your thing?  I'm indifferent to it myself...

I also just do not see the scenario going the way you describe with mostly cruisers in the 20's and 30's with the prices as they are.  Maybe in the suites but not the ship overall.  Going to be more of a mix, but I do think it will be a mix of people who like the vibe Virgin is putting out.

8 hours ago, bobhosk said:

 

Perhaps this differs by country.

 

But drinking in young people is falling sharply in many countries, especially in the likes of the UK. They are moving away from drinking to excess and numbers of total non-drinkers are rising in the exact age range VV is aiming at.

Something else to consider along those lines is how health focused the ship is - with big workout areas (they claimed they would have enough weights no-one would ever wait for them) and large spa and even a vegetarian restaurant.  I would not be surprised if it were an underlying focus to really try to attract more health-oriented cruisers, a market I think may be somewhat untapped.

3 hours ago, eneq said:

Some thoughts I have:

1.) It seems like the "well-being" zone and spa are very close to the main pool. Are they not worried about sound bleeding over from the main pool into a designated relaxation area?

With no kids on board, I'd think pool sound would be diminished from what we are used to on other cruise lines.
 

3 hours ago, eneq said:

2.) Many different places on the website mention the in room mini-bars are "on us." Does that mean the mini bars will be free game? I would assume alcohol would not be in the minibars if that was the case.

After reading the FAQ, it seems like there is some alcohol in the mini bars, and it's all free.  They did for sure mention a starting bottle of something.

3 hours ago, eneq said:

3.) The lack of beverage packages is a big deal. It makes sense because VV is trying to cut back on all the added fees, add-ons, and packages associated with other cruise lines. However, I think this is a crucial option to have because I haven't met a single cruiser who prefers paying per drink. On the other hand, Virgin does have a track record of not overcharging on products such as alcohol or minibars in their other ventures (i.e. Virgin Hotels).

Like others have said, I am really happy about this choice for a shorter cruise as it prevents people from getting crazy drunk trying to extract value from an unlimited drinks package.

The other way I look at this is - for most other cruise lines, I find anything that is unlimited to be pretty mediocre (like paying more for specialty restaurants usually gets much better food than the main dining room).  So I would think if you really enjoy a good drink, you would be able to get better quality drinks onboard VV than you would on ships with an unlimited drinks package, and like you say the drink prices will probably be pretty decent exactly because they are not trying to entice people to buy a drink package.

2 hours ago, fulhamgirly said:

It's just water, juice, tea and coffee

Also note that is non-pressed juice, as they have a juice pressing bar in the spa kind of area, will be extra (read that in the FAQ I believe).

2 hours ago, The_0neuk said:

amazes me that they are taking passengers to the Caribbean during hurricane season

 

madness

What is madness is not looking forward to spending another day at sea on an awesome ship with 20 some custom restauraunts!

Almost don't care if it docks or not.  It can sail around In circles for all I care. If it actually lands in Havana - bonus!  (Also booked an October Havana itinerary,  with a Dominican sailing just before added on as well).

I was thinking Bimini made a lot of sense for the secret destination when people were going through possibilities - we were there a number of years ago and it seemed like North Bimini had some large areas they could develop into secluded beach club (requires a ferry from South Bimini so it would keep down other tourists trying to drop by).  The water around the island is really nice, so a private VV beach there could be fantastic.

Plus is has that Hemingway connection that you know probably appeals to Branson...

I booked a room for my wife and I on the Havana Oct 7th sailing, Cheeky Suite largest balcony - was around $4300 after fees, was listed on site as $4000.  I like how the website (when it's up) breaks out square footage for room and balcony so you can figure out which is more important to you and splurge on that...  Asked to be on the 12th floor instead of the 14th, which they said was just below the pool.  If you don't specify they'll pick whatever they consider to be the best open room for that category.

They are definitely having some computer issues though, even when I called earlier it took them a while to get to where they could enter payment info, and now as others have noted the website is totally offline. They were super nice to talk to though, I feel like customer service will be on the good side even as they work through glitches.

I really wanted to be on the first sailing myself but between the first sailing you can book not actually being first (transatlantic) sailing, and the much larger prices for the first sailings, I'm pretty happy to go later after they've shaken out the ship a bit.  I look forward to seeing what fresh thinking does for a cruise ship, even if some of it is crazy.