Fogcityca13

The next two cruises we are flying in 2 days before the cruise. The west to east travel really limits options if things go wrong. Last time flying out of MIA the maintenance crew over filled one of the hydraulic systems and blew out an o-ring. We sat on the plane for 2hrs while they hunted down a replacement. Luckily our Europe trip went smoothly.

We didn’t experience much difference between the free internet on Resilient vs having premium on Valiant in the Caribbean. We were just using social media, web browsing, and made a call at sea. Compared to the RCCL paid internet, Virgin’s performance was consistently better throughout the ship. I haven’t been on the newest RCCL ships though.

That drawer is pretty awesome. I fit a week and a half’s worth of clothes in it, and still had plenty of room.

It was Virgins money, part of last Novembers promo, so not too big of a deal. We’ll be pouring drinks to empty the mini bar next time. We’re a bit limited with luggage for flights.

Half pours allow you taste a few different spirits without being plastered after a few samples. I wish pink agave had more tasting options. We did Beyond Tequila and it was worth it. There weren’t too many spirits that passed up the $25 limit. We had a free $300 bar tab to burn and ended up leaving money behind. Bottles wine and champagne could easily exceed the $90 per bottle. We did find lots of options in that price range.

Sadly red eyes are a no go for the wife. I can operate on little to no sleep, she cannot. Both times I’ve tried to convince her it’s ok, we’ve had crying kids sitting behind us. @cantgetinSW didn’t have a flight from SFO to SJU, had the return flight. Maybe too early for March bookings.

Thanks. I wish Delta had more direct flights between SFO and MIA, they took care of us when our flights were cancelled due to the shutdown. Gave us 2 years to use the flight credit. AA has non refundable with change fees. I’ve got the flights tracked on Google flights.

I bit the bullet and bought. AA was the cheapest, but very short connection in MIA. JetBlue was the same with connections in FLL, JFK or BOS. Ended up with Delta. Now the AirBnB vs hotel research.

b) stores. I completely agree, it feels like a real missed opportunity. Granted I’m not much of a shopper, but nothing came close to drawing me into one of their stores. They really need a better Virgin branded merch store. I wish cruise lines could find a way to support the ports they visit in their shops. Great review, I’m glad you enjoyed the difference in the way they do things.

As much as I would love to see Virgin on the west coast, I’m very excited about Northern Europe. Especially Iceland.

I hear ya. Prices seem to be settling down a bit. My wife has stayed in the Sheraton on a previous trip.

Read up on the hotels here. Now I’m looking at AirBnB for 3 nights pre cruise, departing from San Juan in March. Looking at the Condado area. Walking to restaurants and bars is the big priority, views or on the beach low priority. We’ll also be getting in late the first night. What has everyone’s experience been with AirBnB in San Juan? Anything to lookout for other than the regular AirBnB stuff like expensive cleaning fees?

One thing I noticed on Resilient was they have made major improvements to training. There seemed to be a better trainer to trainee ratio. Not sure if it was a staffing increase or a different approach. We had 1,500 - 1,800 on Resilient compared to 1,000 on the last cruise on Valiant. The service in The Wake was top notch.

Brunch is always easy to do on port days, you have The Wake and Razzel Dazzle. I’ve heard that Razzel Dazzle is a bit hectic when visiting Bimini. Our visit to Bimini turned into a sea day, but we were still able to walk up to RD.

Agree on the beds. Felt they were a tad more comfortable than the beds on Explorer of The Seas, but still pretty hard on my back. I debated on asking for an additional mattress topper and will do so the next time. Bad back from falling off a telephone pole, so I’m a bit more picky. The beds in the suites are very nice, better than most hotels.

I’m still getting an error when I switch to my BL sailing in March. Sounds like it’s still glitched. Somewhat encouraging that you are able to access anything in the app, but a really frustrating spot to have the app glitch out on you. I agree with jon81uk, hopefully BL’s app will be up and running soon.

I used the chat feature today, terrible ui on iOS, and they were able to add Sea Rover Status to my account. DBE perks showed right up on the web page and app.

The account page you are getting dumped to is the app account page, so if you use your husband’s phone you would be able to put his info in there. I wouldn’t worry about it because when they get the app running for BL, you’ll have to input all that info for the check in. Only thing you missing out on is selecting an arrival time. The arrival time is a big deal if you don’t have status matching, splash of romance, or in a suite.

We used it on our Greek Glow. I like the spa so the passes are a great value. Even in the heat of Greece the sauna was nice. Shake for champagne was pretty fun. I’m not a fan of champagne, we did end up finishing the bottle anyways. We never made it to get the juice. Heading to bed at 2am then up at 8am for excursions left us with no time. The sweet treats were nice. Early embarkation was really nice, currently they allow SoR to board right after rockstars. If you want spa passes, and shake for champagne it’s a good deal. If you can take advantage of early boarding, the juices, and the sail away event it’s a really good deal.

The app is broken for all sailings on the Brilliant Lady. I have been getting an error when switching to our sailing on BL since we booked a few months ago. Hope they get things sorted out soon, shore things will be opening up for the mermaiden in the next few weeks.

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think Virgin could make the Mexican Riviera an appealing itinerary. We’ve done the trip on Grand Princess and would have enjoyed it more if the ship was more lively. Royal was a bit better on their 3 day. Princess was just way to mellow for us.

I really need to start doing some research for the trip, good to hear they’ve done away with the set times. Not a big fan of a buffet and when we had this trip planned for 2020, it looked like might be having dinner there a few nights. I’ve seen some people speculate that Virgin may offer Alaska itineraries. Seems like an odd fit to me. I’d be happy for a west coast ship though.

Thanks for the heads up, planning an Alaska cruise tour in 2025. Taking my mom and aunts, they really want to sail on Princess. I really enjoy Virgin’s lack of packaging, especially with a group sailing. The flexibility on making a reservation vs MDR set time on a port intensive cruise is also going to be missed.

I’m looking at Celebrity for 2024. Different vibe but that’s fine, enjoyed Royal and Princess in the past. Going to wait a few more weeks and see if Virgin has something new, we already have one VV cruise booked in 24.

Thanks for the clarification. I wonder if the new loyalty program will require you to maintain a yearly spend like airline loyalty programs.