Fogcityca13

Can’t speak on the two different Grog Walks. This is fairly new. I wouldn’t be to concerned about what bars you might miss, the experience is more about meeting the Happenings Cast and other sailors. I would definitely eat dinner before the Grog Walk. Snacks were popcorn and bar snack mix at the Social Club.

I agree the wine by the glass selection is pretty decent and the markup is pretty fair. I booked my first voyage, and then the next 3 with a TA. Virgin auto assigns you a cabin, there is no deck selection/preference. If you are particular about we’re your cabin location is a TA can be a big help. TA’s can view the inventory. If you want to book yourself, you can open a bunch of tabs on your browser and keep booking until you find the room you want, thank Sid for that tip. There is not much more to booking. The only add ons are the Bar Tab and Splash of Romance. Status matching is also something to look at as well.

You can always dyi your own luggage tags, the porters will still tag your bag. It does feel a little odd just showing up with a passport, we did keep printed copies just in case.

I thought business class was expensive when I bought tickets from SFO to FRA a few months ago. Price has doubled since. Passing on joining my sister in law on a 2025 river cruise until we see prices drop.

Not sure if they expedite luggage delivery for mega and rockstars. Your transport will drop you off at the entrance and that area has its own group of porters. Our bags were at our cabin when we boarded around 2pm and meet our agent.

Yeah, the website is misleading saying you can book dinners and shore things on your dashboard. It might be something they are working on, they’ve made some recent changes. Once you download your app, scroll down and you’ll see the dates things will open up. Bookings open up 12am EST.

You’ll need to download the Virgin Voyages app. The app is where you’ll book your dining, shore things (excursions), and enter your travel info. You’ll be able to select your embarkation arrival time in step 6 of the travel info, you don’t need to do all 6 steps to select your time slot. You can also edit the info later. If you’re in a rockstar suite your embarkation arrival time is 1:30pm. Folks here will help you out.

We did the 80’s VHS Workout the morning after Scarlet Night, very bad idea. The pic is before the workout.

We bought two MNV in November 2022. Our TA applied it to our July Greek Glow, booked Dec 2022. Showing $600 in loot and $600 bar tab on the website, $300 in loot and $600 bar tab on the app. Didn’t see the 45% off second sailor when looking at early 2024 cruises last night, just 20% off.

Oh no, I would be done for as well. We got the nonalcoholic and the regular cocktail pairing, turned out to be a good plan. We still had a decent buzz by the end of dinner.

This has me concerned about our upcoming Greek Glow cruise. Flying direct to Frankfurt, staying overnight, then flying to Athens for an overnight before the cruise. Adapting to Miami time is easy.

If you do the grog walk, the last stop is where they hold the PJ party. How late you want to stay is totally up to you. Get a good nights sleep or plan to take a nap before sail away. We often found ourselves a bit surprised we were out past 1am, flying in from US west coast is kind of an advantage.

I liked Razzle Dazzle for a late brunch, lots of choices with some healthy options. With 1100 PAX they always had space open around 12. It was a nice alternative to the galley. The wake is nice but eggs benedict is a once in a while thing for me.

It’ll be interesting on what they add for the brunch and dinner. I thought I read somewhere that they were adding some specialty food items as well. Think I would rather just order a few nice bottles of wine with dinner.

It’s going to be a challenge to spend that $600, we had $300 to spend and barely made it through. Think bottles of champagne/wine, ask if they can do a private whiskey or tequila tasting. Make absolutely sure you speak to your agent about clearing any charges that are on your account, the last night. Even though we had a $200 left on the bar tab, we got charged $81 on the final bill. Shore side worked everything out after a week or two. Make sure you tell your agent who they should be making arrangements or contacting. Let them know of any special occasions you are celebrating, don’t rely on shore services to convey that message.

I would be on the ship as early as possible, especially since you booked a suite. Next cruise we’re flying in two days before. This allows us to take a later flight and gives us a full day in Miami. You could also fly out the day after the cruise and enjoy that time.

That’s really good to hear they have made some changes. I might retry MRS one of these days.

That’s an interesting change about dining and in room bar.

You can also email them your pickup and drop off info for transportation. You will get an email back confirming everything. The day of the cruise your driver will give you a call before heading to pick you up. Ours wanted to pick us up about an hour early when he called. We were out on a walk, so he ran someone else while we walked back.

I can see booking only a few weeks out can make the process frustrating. Yay we’re going on a cruise in a few weeks, then not knowing when and where you might have dinner. With some flexibility you’ll be fine. Virgin has been pretty good about listening to feedback and making changes. As they start sailing with more pax I would imagine the reservation process will be tweaked. I do prefer the system and will happily deal with any of the cons. The MDR experience was a major dislike I had with cruising, I hated the set times. It was always a compromise between cutting shore excursions short for an early dining slot or missing and evening show for the later. My Time dining always meant standing in line unless you are super early or late for dinner service. The food quality on Princess and RCCL isn’t anything I couldn’t cook better at home, so we found ourselves eating in the specialty restaurants more and more. Virgin has done very well targeting folks like myself.

Definitely reach out to sailor services and let them know your situation. As others said they do make exceptions for US travelers on a closed loop. I would try to get them to send you an email confirmation of the exemption, but name of the rep and time you spoke to works.

I carry an extension cord with a multi outlet in my CPAP bag. They never asked, but I’m always prepared to part with it if they do. Didn’t have a use for it in the Gorgeous suite.

I’m surprised they don’t charge people who do that or at least threaten a charge if you’re not off the ship in the next 15mins.

I really didn’t see any difference in service as a mega. The crew was amazing and I’m not sure how there would be any more room for them to do anything extra.

Everything in the bar is included. I’ve heard they have got strict on swapping bottles out. Mega suites may still have that option. Really depends on your agent. You’ll get early access to booking dining and shore things. I wouldn’t wait to book dinning until you board, it’s much easier to have your agent move a reservation if you have a show or event conflict. If you’re super flexible on when and where you would like to eat you could wait to book. You get early checkin and boarding, as well as a separate lounge area at the Miami terminal. The early boarding has you meet your agent and get your shows/events booked. You meet them in the Manor right after you board. That agent is available to assist for the rest of the cruise. They’ll also help set up changes in your room or dining. Access to the rockstar area Richards Roof top. They do an hour of free champagne every night. The area is pretty nice, go if you are looking at a quiet place. It does have two hot tubs, so it’s easy to find a open spot. Mega suites get a few more freebies like upgraded WiFi, laundry, spa access, transportation to/from the port, and lots of booze.