Quacks the Cruiser

I'm in a Rock Star and I was able to link booking with my daughter and then book her into the restaurants with us before her booking window had opened.

Don

What is this thing of an unfinished bottle of wine of which you speak?! 🍷

QTK

According to the news, a passenger deliberately went overboard in the early hours of the morning and the ship and coastguard conducted a search and rescue before giving up causing the ship to be 12 hours late into Portsmouth.

On a 3 day cruise, to lose 1 day is not good and whilst onboard credit is nice, you have less time to spend it. I suspect the shops will be busy with "sailors" buying stuff rather than losing it.

Sorry for your disruption - not much Virgin could do. With the mess that Imagine Cruising (the charterers of this ship) have made of organising things, the cruise seems not to have gone too well. March has NOT been a good month for Virgin Cruises!

Don

Brilliant video's - thanks David. Loved them

We sailed Scarlet Lady last August and are doing Valiant on the Zeebrugge weekend at the end of April.  We can't wait to visit the restaurants again even if it means we leave quite a few pounds heavier when we roll off! We had consider the afternoon tea but will now definitely give it a miss -  seems better to pick up some cakes from the Galley and then just buy a glass of Champagne (or even shake for champagne) at a venue of our choice.

22 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

We had booked this back in October  direct with Imagine cruising , the whole ship was chartered by them, unfortunately my husband tested positive for Covid on Saturday , was due to sail Monday so we had to cancel. Travel insurance claim being processed . 
We have done an 80s cruise with RCI, it was brilliant and did wonder how Valiant lady would accommodate all the guests to see the artists as I believe there isn’t a big theatre like the mainstream cruise lines . 
The upside is the weather is gorgeous at home so we are making the most of it 😎. 

When they hosted ABC for a concert last August, they set up a stage on the pool deck so we could watch from that deck or the surrounding upper deck - I expect that is what they will be hoping to do again as they are sailing the Canaries so should be decent weather.

Looking at the advice on the UK Government website, you will need to have a booster IF your previous shot of your 2 dose vaccine was more than 270 days ago. This will be detailed on the Health Control Form you must complete before travelling. It says the Booster can be taken any time and does not need to be more than 14 days before travel.

Things are changing rapidly so keep an eye on the Govt website but at the moment you only need the booster if you were fully vaccinated more than 270 days ago (roughly 9 months).

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/entry-requirements

Don

This is an interesting take on the Virgin dilemma! We cruised Scarlet Lady last August. We loved it so much we are scheduled on Valiant Lady next month. We were going to book Resilient Lady for the Greek Islands tour but on the back of all the ships being identical, we decided not to!

The question of the restaurants and shows being identical also put us off. We loved Test Kitchen as much for the experience as the food on Scarlet Lady. However as it’s the same on Valiant, we haven’t booked this restaurant on our forthcoming cruise as we feel “we’ve done it”. By the same token we can’t see the point of watching Duel Reality and Never Sleep Alone again which then seriously limits the formal entertainment options.

We have friends who go to the same resort every year and love it but we prefer to shake it up and never go to the same place/hotel more than twice. It will be interesting to see how we feel after our next cruise with Virgin. Certainly the itinerary is a draw but if half the experience is the same, I’m not sure it will appeal.  If we get too much of a deja vu feeling we may leave it a while before returning if at all.
 

Don

That's what I told my 2nd, 3rd and 4th girlfriends! 😃

Don 

I updated yesterday and then all has worked well since and enabled me to fully complete my pre cruise info!

Don

And the Pizza Place was when we were there.

Have you looked in your "Shore Things" section of the app. Whilst it may not say own journeys, we're on the April sailing and it's letting us book a taxi into Bruges/Brussels etc which seems to indicate we'll be doing our own trip.

Don

On 11/9/2021 at 11:15 PM, sid_9169 said:

Sorry for the extended delay, but I am now finally prepared to thank each and every one of you who followed along, and commented along the way... I would also like to thank the "lurkers", however unless you chime in, I have no way of knowing who you are. This adventure was nearly two years in the making, and four days was simply not enough to experience everything on board the Scarlet Lady. Fortunately, I have a back to back cruise coming up next May, which will put me back on board for nine glorious days!... I was thinking about everything that I went through attempting to get myself onto this ship. I was "this close" to just giving up several times, but then, I'm a very perserverient person... Their customer service in Miami nearly brought me to the brink of insanity with their erroneous and often flat out wrong information. I realize that they're just telling customers whatever the higher ups tell them, but at a certain point, you've just got to level with your customers for better or for worse. 

 

Once on board, almost everything that I'd been through was pretty much forgiven. The food and the beverages, as well as the crew far exceeded my expectations. On my next sailing, I vow to eat and drink everything on the entire ship... 

 

So, without further adieu, I would like to personally thank you all once again. It's YOU that makes all of the hard work putting this all together worth it...

 

Quacks the Cruiser, Lady Hudson, ceilidh1, jbhcw, TravelGirlinDallas, Sea Viewer, JRL81, SenatorsFan, pl281, kpark895, blarko, AmyJA, prbffd28, soccersharon, meatball_nyc, odie1024, Shaded Lady, ktmush2, MzShae, 30palms, adam3313, purpleally, BohJang, BigNance, Sadebud, deedle7544, garyfreedman, Hogladyrider, LincolnLog, luvcruzing, HeyJut, Prnsessmoi, Von & John, britincanada, pebbles1102, Saint Greg, maluhia87, Hooked Already, All-ready2cruise, AKR2011, Jim and Monika, Nclgetawaymenhoney, FLCruiser97, Lady Becca, rwest898, Jamman54, fethiyeden, Milly1966, Webecruzen, eileeshb, tlcm, pbxtech, CallistaSkye, E@syPe@zy, FutureMartian, Cheesegirl23, lazydayz, LibrianMonroe, Kesali, cmecruise1962, cml4958, peteandpris, rmandmm, lilchuckie, chefestelle, Slainte57, CruisinMama2003, JandPB, Wildcatllamas, Cherries Jubilee, princess76021, ZoeyVictoria, kdiamond55, Cairns Cruisers, oceania, Falconrunner26, LadyLion_AP, erikb923, kelkel2, abpplh, barbiecruiser27, Cscomedygrl, JennyB1977, DandytheCop, brookie848, PTC DAWG, HaleyAtSea, NameThatFunnel, classy_cruiser, Delasolbaltimore, FlGoodShips, greenenvy, Teacherloves2Cruise, sprinkles, JayandKatie207, venicecruiser, Shamrock73, drewdawg199, RenoNanaOz, TheGrandSnackoneer, eroller, Jasukkie, CazV, Iggiepolka, figmentfreak, PiperHolliday, zencruisers, Houst, indygirl76, Master 0396, janbear, CelticMCO, Craig1970, Dreamingana, JustAPilot, ubarpants, roberts, Ken076, Ragdollbd, DubNHub, bones774, Tangojango, pretty princess, edspec, racertommy, pl281, mopedmom1, silvercrikhix, gingersvp, Duke95, doctork, sunshower9, atanac, nccruzencouple, aztekpm, disneyfan72, mommio, catgags, chloeyoh, Smileonboard, balcony bound, LincolnLegend, drpack, pcrum, nimi17, flwinejunkie...

Yay - I’m at the top! Must have been my tip on how to access Richards Rooftop!

Really enjoyed your review - we’re on Valiant Lady in April and Resilient Lady in August!

QTC

22 hours ago, marcoigna said:

Totally understand what you are saying - but we live where tipping is very customary everywhere we go or do.    

So as I live somewhere where it is not customary to tip, can I not tip when I'm in New York?! 🤣

Don

2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

First drink of the day at Richards Rooftop... Don Julio anejo, and hopefully my nice tip will keep them from recognizing the color of my wristband.

 

 

 

Told you! Hat tip 😂

5 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Did you know that the 2 red lights indicate where North is and they move depending on the ships heading?!

Don

3 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

The Wake was so good, I made a reservation for breakfast tomorrow... They call it brunch, but I don't eat brunch...

 

 

You've just gotta have the eggs Benedict with pork belly!

Don

Nothing is secret. Just well hidden until you find it!

Don

Sid,

Enjoy your cruise - pre departure was the most stressful holiday experience we’ve ever had.

Onboard was Service Recovery par excellence! Best holiday we’ve ever had and we’re Sandals Platinum members  and 12 weeks at 5 Secrets. Service and food was to die for -we’ve already booked  2 more European cruises with Virgin (and we were true virgin cruisers,).

Can’t wait to see your feelings on Bimini.

Enjoy - envious

Don

28 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

This is where I'm having dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

You’ll love it! As a  Brit I have to say not as good as a Ruth Chris’s in New York but otherwise very nice. 😎Order at least two starters, seafood soup was stunning, blue lettuce wedge less so!

Desserts were stunning - pig out big time.

Don

1 minute ago, sid_9169 said:

Sounds like it's worth a shot!

Once you’re in, you’re in! Be nice to a server and he’ll serve you forever!

Don

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

I'm going to have to figure out a way to get inside here.

 

 

 

Lean over the gate, lift up the handle and walk in! We were rockstars but when it was quiet in the uk they served anyone! Either that, say you’re thinking of upgrading on your next trip and want to know if it’s worth it!

Don

On 10/4/2021 at 11:46 PM, hrt4girls said:

Do you have any info on Richards Rooftop?  Would it be a good place for sail away?  Is it open all day or just in the evenings?  Thanks

 

Richards Rooftop is open all day and into the evening. It only has a bar and no food but just outside the area is the Sun Club Cafe where you get some snacks.

we went to Richard’s Rooftop to sail away from Portsmouth as it is at the front of the ship, but then realised it is surrounded by glass which obscures the view! So we grabbed our drink and watched from the side by the cafe.

Don

Virgin Food mmmmm

1 hour ago, RaftingJeremy said:

that’s my issue with them calling it all inclusive….. it’s not.  

I suppose they do make it clear that alcohol is not included in their "all inclusive". The only events charged for on the UK cruise was the Pub Crawl (which we didn't do) and the Mixology Course (which we did and LOVED!).

On both of these the alcohol is included in the cost - for the mixology course we had 5 cocktails (full measures) for $35 and two hours entertainment which included learning how to take photos of your drinks on your smartphone! Pretty good value I'd say!

Don

Enjoy - you’ll love it (even though as an over 50yo you’re not Virgin’s target market and are now past your peak earning potential - allegedly!).

We were Virgin cruisers and loved it especially the vibe, the shows and the food (oh the food!)

Don