DeclanDiamond

33 minutes ago, warmwinds said:

What a pain.

 

I'm sure whatever port you're leaving from will have the line for those who need assistance.  Believe me, there were a lot of us.

Thank you. I guess so..... we set sail this Sunday.

On 9/22/2023 at 8:49 PM, warmwinds said:

Being Captain Obvious here, but are you sure you're always dealing with the correct passenger's screen and questions (#1 or #2) ?

Thanks.

Yes. My own profile always confirms that my check in and get ready to sail is "all completed - You're good to go"

But then I also get the message that "One of your cabin mates needs help and that my wife is "behind in her pre-voyage checklist. There's a link to "give your cabin mate a hand" and when I click on this it always says that she has 1 task outstanding. When I click on this link it takes me to her travel documents page and when I click on this, it is where it alternates between "You told us your nationality is United Kingdom" ... or "You told us that your nationality is Ireland". It then goes on to say that "based on that, we need to take some documents from you.... rinse and repeat.

FURTHER UPDATE: Here we go again, 3 hours later...

10 minutes ago, raphael360 said:

I'm 100% sure you will get this resolved at the port in Barcelona if not before.  What a roller coaster ride for you - sadly.  

Thanks again. Yes, I'm sure that it will. 

UPDATE: Just checked app again now and it has reverted to "Ireland" again!  This is crazy

..

On 9/19/2023 at 12:16 AM, raphael360 said:

DeclanDiamond - I'm very tech savvy and yet I still find the VV app a real challenge to navigate.  

 

Regarding your travel docs: it sounds like you may be 'good to go' but you still may want to call Sailor Services to confirm.  It sounds like you have a very unique situation.

Thanks for your time.

Yes, I called Sailor Services twice in London last week and they confirmed that they have my wife down as "Irish nationality", with an Irish passport. I checked the app yesterday morning and it confirmed her nationality as "Ireland" with no unresolved issues. I then checked back into the app about 3 hours later and it had again reverted to her nationality being UK and that consequently we would have to resubmit her presumably UK passport to match, which she doesn't have.

I left it and went back on the app again last night and it had changed again to show her nationality as "Ireland". I therefore resubmitted the photo of her passport and confirmed it. That resolved the issue overnight. I've woken up today and logged into the app... and it has again reverted to her nationality being "United Kingdom"! There's nothing else that I can do. Hopefully it won't be an issue when I turn up to the ship in Barcelona next weekend... or at the very least it can be resolved there by VV staff.

I had all personal details put into the app for both myself and my wife for a couple of months and the app said that check in and ready to sail were all completed. Then this morning I get an email from VV saying "There's an issue with your travel docs". I go onto the app on my phone and it was showing that there was now 1 outstanding issue on my wife's checklist ... her passport issuers didn't align with her nationality! She has an Irish passport, but we live in Northern Ireland (UK). Being born on the island of Ireland (North or South) automatically gives you Irish Citizenship and consequently an Irish passport if you apply. The fact that we live in Northern Ireland and therefore reside in the UK as declared in the information, has probably thrown a spanner in the works for the app. However, surely this isn't the first time this has come up. For reference, I have a UK passport.

I just logged back into the app on my phone and the "outstanding issue" has now disappeared and we are both apparently now good to go (pending health declaration form). Huh?

I'm probably being overly dramatic and if so, I apologise, but I'm definitely not tech savvy and the glitchiness/use of the app is actually a bit of a trial for me.

52 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Everything can be done by the lead cruiser on a single smart phone.

Thank you.

31 minutes ago, scottie99 said:

My wife doesn’t have the App ( she doesn’t really embrace modern technology!)

 

I have tried to find how to do her health declaration on my App but can’t find how/where to do this.  
 

Can anyone guide me?

As far as I can see, the health declaration form is greyed out and not available for completion until 24 hours before the cruise. From the replies above, I take it that once available, you can do both of your health declarations from your own app.

45 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

Yes she should make her own account in the app and then link using the booking reference. Or might already link if you added her email at the booking stage (I’m not entirely sure how that bit works, my first cruise was two years ago and since then the voyages just appear in the app when my husband books them).

 

as far as i know if there are any check in steps not done then you get sent to a seperate check in line at the terminal to complete them. 

Good stuff. Thanks very much for taking the time to comment. I'll ask her to do the app herself.

Just now, warmwinds said:

Yes we completed the health questionnaire for both of us in the same app.  I don't even own a smart phone so we did everything from the same app

 

Brilliant. Hope you had a fantastic time.

That's great news, thank you. I was fretting that we would have an issue with both getting the health questionnaire completed just from my app. I was on the website earlier and it had my wife's name as being in the cabin with me, but no details for her, even though she is fully filled in and ready to sail on the phone app!

The layout could be better because the second person in the cabin is a bit buried and difficult to access/not apparent ... at least for an old timer like me.

Hi, I'm old and need help please!

I have booked my wife and I on a Valiant Lady cruise next month. I have filled out and have completed the check in and get ready to sail and so has my wife.

1. The next step is to complete the health check form which is available on the day of check in. My wife doesn't have the app, so will we be able to complete health forms for both of us on my app, or will she need to get the app herself? 

2. I have obviously registered for the app with my email and password. If my wife wanted to get the app herself and access her details, does she need to use another email and password?  I'm presuming if she just uses mine then she will just see what I see, rather than it being set up from her point of view.

3. If we can't get both health forms completed on the app for whatever reason, will we be able to get help at the terminal to do it?

Appreciate any replies.

Cheers.

Private transfer times now changed as mentioned above.

Thanks to you all for commenting and helping me out again.... much appreciated.

Just now, cantgetin said:

Sounds like a plan.  And totally agree with a good breakfast before flying home.  The nice thing is that you can leave your luggage in your cabin, have breakfast, and then go to retrieve it--no need to drag it to the restaurant or The Galley. You don't have to be out of your cabin till 10:45.  That last breakfast is much more pleasant on VV than on other lines!

Result!

Cheers

8 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

For our cruise in a few months, the earliest time is 2:00 (a year ago it was 1:30).  Barcelona was strict--if you show up more than 30 minutes before your assigned time, you will be sent away.  We got there at 12:45 and were able to check our luggage. Then we were told we could wait at the piazza next to the terminal, the coffee shop next to the piazza, a nearby hotel lobby, or walk around the area; they would begin allowing people in 30 minutes before scheduled time.  The other side of things is that most hotels have an 11 or 12 check out time and are not as flexible as US hotels.  

Bottom line--either change your time or plan to drop luggage and then leave the terminal area.

Appreciate your input yet again. Yes, I am about to contact my TA and change the hotel pick up time to 1.45pm, aiming to get to the ship at 2pm.

I've also noticed that our flight back home is at 1pm, but the private transfer from the ship to the airport has been arranged for 9am. There's no point in us being at the airport at 9.30am for the flight home, so will change that to 10am pick up (and enjoy a last, leisurely breakfast on board)!

Thanks again.

10 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

the earliest embarkation time for rockstar suites is about 1.30pm so there is no point you arriving before 2pm. You might be able to  only be able to drop luggage and then wait to check in. Probably better to move the pick up time, check your luggage with reception and wander Barcelona for an extra hour.

Rockstar suites eh? .... I wish! Haha. Yeah, Thanks for your response, much appreciated.

Hi, we have been given an embarkation time of 2.30pm for our Valiant Lady cruise out of Barcelona in October. We are staying the night before in a hotel by Las Ramblas, which is only a few minutes by car from the port. However, my TA has included a private transfer from the hotel to the ship for 11am. Are the embarkation times absolutely strict, or should I get the private transfer pickup time changed to say, 1.30pm or 1.45pm?

TIA

14 hours ago, westcoasttech said:

Stayed in 12022 on Valiant Lady - Christmas week, ship not totally full, but quite busy.  Cabin door opened into the lobby for the aft elevators.  I was initially worried when I arrived onboard, but it ended up I heard little to no noise from the elevator area, and had no music "bleed" from the dock area.  Aft elevators only seemed to be used by those staying in the aft area and weren't super busy.  During the cruise I realized I was happy not to be mid-ships (and higher decks), as the music from the central pool area was LOUD and I can only imagine what it would be like on party nights (if you didn't want to participate in the party, that is!)

 

I liked the location (and my next VV is in a cabin close to the aft elevators) and being "easy" access to the Dock (where I spent some time!) and the only draw back is the majority of the restaurants (Razzle, Extra Virgin, Test Kitchen etc.) being midships and you can't "walk through" on that level, so you either have to walk to the midship elevators or go down to 7 and then walk forward to the midship stairs/elevator area.  Likewise with gangway access which was normally midships. 

Excellent stuff. Thanks so much for your comprehensive and informative reply. I hadn't factored in the close proximity and ease to access the Dock.

14 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

We've stayed in that location on 8 several times. In fact, we've booked the same cabin for all of our future cruises. You have nothing to worry about. The mid-ship stairs are much busier.

 

Thanks so much, that's reassuring.

6 minutes ago, starbar36 said:

I've stayed in an 022 cabin on a different deck, it's really quiet, hardly anyone needs to walk past. I was never disturbed by noise. Occasionally you hear music from the Dock if you are on the balcony but that's usually nice and not loud. It's really convenient for the Dock and going up to the Galley, almost no distance to get to the stairs or lifts. I would always choose a cabin in that location.

That's great to hear and reassuring, thanks for your time. 

23 minutes ago, rebeccac said:

The back stairs/elevators are quieter than the mid-ship ones, I doubt it will be much of an issue.  Of course, that does depend somewhat on how sensitive you are to noises, but on other ships, most of the noise from the stairs/elevators seems to come more from the children running up and down the halls and that won't be an issue on VV.

Thanks so much for your response. The lack of children activity does make sense. Thanks again.

32 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

We had probably the closest sea terrace to the midship elevators on our last cruise--no noise issues at all.  What you can do is to call you travel agent and ask whether you can be moved to a different sea terrace cabin, bid on another cabin like a central sea terrace or XL (no guarantee that you'd be assigned away from elevators though and you might lose your hammock with an XL), or....if you didn't use an agent, call VV and ask about moving now.  If the answer to those is "no," when you check at the terminal, there is a desk where you can inquire about moving or upgrades.  Finally, you can try the room where you are assigned and if there is a problem, go to Sailor Services on the ship and they will usually move you if they have a room available.   And then you can report back to us as to whether there were issues or not.  I'd probably go with the last option--try it and inquire at Sailor Services if there is an issue.  We had no noise issues at all during our multiple cruises.

Thank you so much for your quick and comprehensive response. I was going to ring VV tomorrow, but might well take your advice and see what the cabin is actually like. Thanks again.

We've been allocated a guaranteed Sea Terrace cabin 9022 for our October sailing. I notice that it is right at the back of the ship opposite the block that houses the lifts and stairs. I am wondering if this position will be really noisy and if so, do I have any options to move considering it's a guarantee cabin. Can I pay to move to a  better located cabin?

Appreciate any comments/advice.

1 hour ago, Sixtytwo said:

Best guess, DeclanDiamond, is that it is MSC!

Huh?

Just booked Virtuosa for March. It says that the ship will depart from the City Terminal! I travelled out of the Horizon on the same ship earlier this month and wondered why it's now saying City Terminal for March. Don't all MSC sailings now go out of Horizon/