warmwinds

You still have plenty of time. I think the app is a mess because of the Brilliant Lady issues. I'm having problems with shore excursions and will just keep trying every few days. Good luck

Maybe it's different from Australia, but we just took pictures of our passport info page? If you really have problems, and a lot of people do, when you get to the dock there is a line for people who need assistance.

Many of you might remember me as being a 20 year Celebrity loyalist, last 10 years in Aqua/Blu. We were getting bored and didn't appreciate the food decline, so decided to...try Virgin. I was apprehensive and thought I'd be running back to Celebrity. 3 days after getting off of Virgin we have booked another with them. True, they only have a few ships and limited itineraires, but the on-ship experience is fabululous. Who said they didn't like the decor of the ships? We thought they were gorgeous, don't pay attention to the commercials which make everything look RED. That is ONE night, Scarlet Night, and is actually a lot of fun. And I can't say enough about the food. No big dining room, no buffet (but rather sort of a food court), and everythng else in a separate, beautiful free standing restaurant. And the food from breakfast to lunch to dinner to another dinner and another different restaurant - Italian, Steak and Seafood, Vegetarian (sort of), Korean BBQ, Mexican, Molecular (but not too weird)...I could go on and on. So all I have to say is....Celebrity Who?

Do they like plain fish? I thought the branzino in Extra Virgin was wonderful, very simply prepared showcasing the freshness of the fish. Came with sauteed fennel (which is just licorice flavored celery) and roasted potatoes. My husband thought the meatballs were spicy, but he really liked the steak there. The 2 pastas we got were both very strongly flavored, one was the gnocci with a heavy truffle flavor (which I don't like) and the squid ink pasta which I did like. I'm sure you can ask for plain pasta with maybe just butter and cheese? I think someone mentioned onion-brined lamb chops in The Wake? We didn't get that feeling at all, they just tasted like very good simple lamb chops. If she likes "plain" fish we got the petit seafood platter and everything is plain until you add a sauce to it. Everything in the Galley is just simple casual restaurant food. But you don't want to eat all your meals there! I would also suggest that they branch out and order outside the box....with the sauce or whatever on the side. That way they can take a smidgen and who knows, they might like it, and if not it's not all over the food.

Which one is step 2?

I'm as un tech savvy as they come, and I believe since my husband was the second passenger he just appeared in the app? He has to be there, because that's where you have to input passport information, take a selfie of each of you, say whether you're pregnant, etc. etc. And don't forget when you make restaurant reservations to make them for 2 (click on 2 head for each one). I found it all very confusing but somehow muddled through. But if you really have problems they help you with everything at the dock. There's a line for that.

Our next one is exactly a 6 nighter, lol. Can't wait.

Yeah, durn semantics. When I say "bar tab" I don't mean it in the VV sense, but rather, super simply, when you buy a drink that's your "bar tab". But always happy to learn new things.

We saw many I'd say even 3-generational families on our cruise - 20's kids, 40-50s parents, and grandma and grandpa along for the ride. Everyone smiling. I was also apprehensive based on everything I had read, thought they'd be nekkid people hanging from chandeliers everywhere, and believe me their current tv commercials lead you to believe it's party central, but it's there if you want it, not if you don't.

Wow, if you need a triple you need a triple, no negotiation. Yes I'm inundated with e-mails, the weirdest being post-cruise surveys. I filled out one, then got another, filled out that one (since I had forgotten some stuff), and now have a 3rd.

Ok thanks. We had more than enough bar tab (hic!) but I was wondering if you ran out on the last day if you could just pay as you go (against your Loot) - guess not. So if you're close it's a balancing act because you don't want to run out or pay another $300 for one day!

I'm pretty sure you can only use it for shore excursions booked on board, in other words not in advance. Then try to cancel and rebook while on board, which can be tricky and might cause you to lose your reservations (there's a thread about it currently, look around). I had wanted to use mine for that but have decided it will be better served in the casino (there's a thread about that, too, thanks for reminding me to go copy what you need to do to use it there). Otherwise it can also be used for additional bar tab, buying upcharge menu items in the dining rooms, spa, shopping, etc.

Can you elaborate? I've been on long and short on Celebrity and they are pretty much the same.

And I just realized my date to book reservations for our just booked cruise in January is...November 23 - Thanksgiving Day! Even the night before is a busy PITA to remember. I was really glad we made them all in advance last week - we wanted to switch to a different restaurant one night and was told "no", or not until 9 pm, which to us is the same thing. I'm also trying to book Shore excursions which should be available now, and every port has zero available, which I can't believe is true, so I called and the SS guy was no help, said "they're either all sold out or haven't been loaded yet"....gee, thanks.

I agree, excellent advice - makes me think we might skip it after all. I already wear hearing aids due to going to places like that when I was in my 20s (50 years ago). I can't afford any more damage. I got to "see" the stuff, I don't care if I don't hear it. And it makes me appreciate our cabin location even more, we did not hear a peep.

And the bags got to our cabin in record time. No complaints

I would say that's a fair statement. Remember Virgin has a very small footprint, so they don't have the advantage of the bigger cruise lines with lots of ships that, say, when they get to Nassau or Barbados or Aruba, the comedian/singer/magician that you saw on your ship jumps over/gets traded with the entertainers that were on another ship, so they have a constant source of new blood.

I never wear anything red but I went to Goodwill and bought a gorgeous red sparkly top for...FIVE BUCKS! But you won't feel out of place if you're not wearing red, many don't. Many go hog wild. They have all sorts of blow-up animals, fish, serpents around the ship, and everything is bathed in a red light. We didn't stay up for the official festivities like the pool party (maybe we will next time) but it was fun seeing everything red, and get this...when we got back to our cabin all the outside on the veranda lights were...red.

You are correct, and I've actually said that verbatim on this thread. I said I've never been on Carnival and I've never been on Crystal, but I know myself well enough to know what I'd be happy with, and it would be neither of those extremes. This is based on knowing several people who have been on both. Virgin was a refreshing, within our wheelhouse change.

See how everyone's experiences are different. I don't think I've ever, in all the cruises I've been on, been on a ship that had a dedicated venue/club/comedy club for comedians. Most ships I've been on have the main showroom, period, and all the different acts from the revue shows to singers to comedians and everything in between perform in that same place.

Joe Shmo was definitely a stand-up comedian (according to folks we talked to). Maybe...they change the entertainment from time to time? Maybe the cruises you were on had different entertainers than the one we did? The other thing that deflected us from seeing any shows was that "you have to reserve a space in advance, like THE MINUTE you get on the ship or you'll be shut out". Like many things we found out, what we read in advance was very different from reality. Next time we will be smarter. I look at this 4-nighter as a reconnaissance mission so we know what to do/not do next time.

Actually, on my recent cruise that wasn't exactly true. First of all, the daily listing of stuff gives a person's name, but not what they do (comedian, singer, acrobat, juggler, harmonica impresario 😁) like they do on most ships. So we saw "Joe Shmo" at 11 pm, but since that's past our bedtime anyway we never went. Since we didn't know what Joe Shmo did, anyway. And we also hated using the app for everything, and since we've been crusing for almost 50 years we sometimes feel like we have seen it all. BUT... On the last morning of embarkation, I was talking to some people who were closer to our age (50s/60s) who asked if we had seen the comedian yesterday and wasn't he HILARIOUS, I mean they were going on and on about how funny he was. And he performed....during the afternoon. We never knew. Anyway, next time we'll be smarter. And I had also read somewhere that you don't get a "paper" listing of the day's events - that is not true. It doesn't come to your cabin, but you can pick it up at several places throughout the ship - we got ours at the fancy coffee places, there's a box of them on the counter.

And if you walk up with your mouth open saying "uh, uh, I THINK this is our cabin number" not to worry, they have an alphabetical list.

Yes, it's difficult to find the second person...when I started making dinner reservations, I didn't realize I had to click on both "heads", so we joked that on the first night I'd go to dinner and he'd have to sit in the cabin.

Thanks for that - yes we were 2 directly above that so the perspective will be a little different - will still see the wake and still have more room to roam around. And for those that are unfamiliar with that cabin, when you look towards the left there are no lifeboats.