jon81uk

2 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Most other lines have SLIGHT differences among their ships of any given "class," although often those differences are a bit of decor and one or two different menu items.  Another typical change is in the variety shows as they have different entertainers on board from week to week.  That doesn't apply to Virgin since all their shows are done by their permanent cast members.

I think they are still trying to work out the details.  Between Covid and a war, this can't be an easy time to launch a new product.  Yes, some changes would be nice, but for now, I'm ok with things as they are.

 

Virgin have guest bands, singers and DJs. Yes the formal shows are permanent cast but the band and singer will change up. 

Pretty sure most of the limited view ones are behind lifeboats.

Yes you can invite others in the app so you can then make restaurant reservations for them. 
not sure how that works if you can book the extra in advance with rockstar status.

but on a three night cruise with friends in another cabin we managed fine to make the bookings we needed around a month before.

17 hours ago, Jeaannie55 said:

Thank you, might have to rethink my choice of beverage

There are enough wines by the glass that you will probably find something. Although when we were on Valiant Lady to Zeebrugge on the maiden voyage they didn’t seem to have all of the wine options anyway.

Don’t know if they will keep it as you will be in a different restaurant but might be able to take it back to your room, may need to be able to prove it was bought onboard to avoid corkage charges the next night. 

when my partner and I had a  meal at The Wake we didn’t finish out bottle of wine but they gave us plastic cups so we could take it to another venue. But at other meals we just ordered by the glass anyway.

We are doing the transatlantic on the 15 October and the app currently shows excursions can be booked June 18 which is four months ahead.

Also states restaurant and entertainment listings will up September 1st which is about six weeks before, although for our recent Zeebrugge cruise the entertainment lineup only showed maybe 2-3 weeks before, but that was the maiden for Valiant Lady.

For the shore excursions you can see a list of possible options on the website 

https://www.virginvoyages.com/shore-excursions

You may still be okay with stand-alone travel insurance or an annual plan but check the terms to ensure trips already booked are covered.

So I’ve only cruised with Virgin out of Portsmouth UK, so not as sunny as the Caribbean which makes it harder to say whether the Rooftop space is worth it as the sun decks weren’t busy anyway.

Maybe on a busy Caribbean cruise I would feel different about having access to an exclusive space.

But in terms of the room I think an XL Sea Terrace room has a bathroom as big as many suites, so in a suite you only gain the kingsize bed and in some rooms the dining area and huge balcony.

Also of course you get the first fill of the mini bar, so if you think those six half bottles of spirits plus the wine is worth it to you as you will be drinking in your room then consider what that is worth to you. Also Moët hour at around 5-7pm with free champagne.

I would definitely say the cruise is worth doing even if you can’t get a suite.

Hope that helps.

During the check in at the muster point and the life vest demo they encourage people to take seats if in a venue that has seats, so generally the distancing will be the same as when that venue is open as a bar/restaurant. 
 

2 hours ago, colesc15 said:

Sorry, another question. So new to virgin. With the Rockstar mini bar stocked once (not mega Rockstar), what is all included for the initial setup? 

Half bottles each of

gin

vodka

tequila

scotch

bourbon

rum

Moet champagne 

white wine 

red wine

2x cans Heineken 

2x cans Wynnewood ale

2x Red Bull

2x tonic water

2x ginger ale

Can request cans of the complimentary sodas anyway. We asked for Diet Coke and Sprite and some ice. The ice got refilled each morning and night.

Hope that’s helpful.

CPS did it for the Scarlet Lady sailings last year but not offering general parking for Valiant this year. 
can book the multi-storey at Portsmouth Port here http://portsmouth.apcoa.co.uk/home.aspx

we got a three nights for £35 rate for the Zeebrugge cruise.

11 hours ago, johnnylikely said:

Other lines do have some variety though, in the buffet and MDR, that's part of the excitement, but with Virgin it's exactly the same from ship to ship. The menus I had last summer are pretty much exactly the same as the one last month.

Yeah Virgin need to do a lot of work on the Galley menu I think. Add burger of the day and some variations on the other counters. The other restaurants aren’t so bad as you can order something different, but the Galley lunch/dinner menu feels small.

1 hour ago, colesc15 said:

It appears the 40% sale is only on sailings within the next few months. 

Hence the up to 40% off, think it is 20% off other sailings.

We bought using the "Sea Blue, Save Green" offer earlier in the year which gave a decent discount.

There is currently an up to 40% off sale lablled Lets Sail Away. Also $400 onboard spend on some Med cruises.

Cruise Deals | Virgin Voyages

The pay in full extra 10% is on top of those promotions.

1 hour ago, JohnScot said:

Many people on this cruise have Covid, not surprising when most passengers chose not to wear masks. I wore one for the first few days but was getting looked at as though I was a clown. I decided not to wear one and yes I have Covid, I believe that this is my fault as I made a conscious decision not to wear a mask.

Virgin are far from blameless, I saw members of their crew pouring drink and then putting their hand on top of the glass, picking up with their five fingers on rim then place on a tray to be taken to the passenger. This happened multiple times.

Staff were sneezing and coughing behind masks and never changed them.

Virgin definitely have a more relaxed attitude with their staff which is good for them but it does mean that the staff are less bothered about making mistakes and pleasing customers. Maybe they have the correct balance.

Covid doesn't travel via touch so don't be concerned about that with touching glasses.

More likely to get Salmonella, E. Coli or Norovirus from that sort of thing so you hope that bar tenders and waiting staff are washing hands regularly anyway. But that sort of practice and risk is the same now as it was 10/20 years ago really.

It matches the rules within the UK in general, although they are also testing before boarding and checkin vaccination status. Therefore just those two measures make it safer than any other hotel, bar or nightclub in the UK at present.

Passengers were still encouraged to wear masks even if most choose not to. If you had concerns you could have worn an N95 mask in corridors/lifts and avoided nightclubs and other crowded places.

Most places are moving towards vaccinations being the main way of managing covid. I think  some of Europe is still using masks more than the UK, but restrictions on bars/nightclubs is mixed.

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

When you buy the bar tab, it is assigned to one person's account. We found this to be a pain on the ship as we weren't always together - the person who holds the account has to be the one to scan their band. Luckily, it was easily remedied at sailor services - they just added the other person as the authorised user. Now, that also means that ANY purchases (not just drinks) go to the one credit card. I was pleasantly surprised that the bar tab could be used for other purchases on the ship (my upgraded wifi and some gift shop buys were paid for with bar tab...)

when choosing the payment card for on-board spend when you do check-in on the app you can choose for all purchases to go to your cabin-mates account yourself. That’s what we did, one person buys bar tab and the other just has all their stuff charged to the other account. 

1 hour ago, jj1814 said:

Just regular and diet available? I will need to bring my own Coke Zero and Sprite Zero, eh?

There was Coke Zero as well I think (I drink diet) but the only Sprite was the regular one.

For me Valiant Lady didn't feel like it was trying to be as  cool as Scarlet Lady, there were only 2-3 differences but many of them were the bits obviously designed as photo back drops.

There are multiple nice bar spaces, even if a coupld don't feel perfect, the food is fantastic and the Manor is an excellent night club space. Didn't feel super-luxe or like it was trying to be.

I've only cruised with Virgin, its sucked me in to trying them but I love the ships.

The rooms just feel nice and simple to me, not too much clutter.

Coke products. Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite are all commonly available.

In the Galley there is Nestle Vitality juice from concentrate.

I was drinking rum (Barcardi) and Diet Coke as well as Absolut vodka and Sprite. Spirit and mixer is $7.

20 minutes ago, davidja01 said:

No there were not many looking for an open bar, a few stragglers bearing in mind the average age of guests is at least 60 it's possibly a little unreasonable expecting all night parties.

And perhaps I'm losing sight of the fact we have paid what works out to £330 for two people in a balcony cabin. I'm not sure if that's a special deal while they test the boat but I'd happily pay half of that for the dining experience alone.

I'll keep this forum posted as I dont want to come across unreasonably negative. 

oh wow, that is an older crowd! When we were on the ship for the MerMaiden voyage last weekend it felt like most sailors were 30-50 with a lot around 40 who were happy to be on the dancefloor. It definitely did not feel like average age of 60 on that cruise. Which probably makes all the difference really. 

I imagine the venues being closed by 2am is a multi-day thing too.

When I did the four night cruise on Scarlet last year it felt like things were winding down a lot more on one night than on Valiant when we did a three night cruise and each night was busier, Saturday night in particular went on very late. Realistically people aren’t going to party late every night for a longer trip, particularly if there is a port stop the next morning. 
The Manor is generally listed as being midnight to “late” so I guess it depends how many people want to stay up and party too? Was there many people being turfed out?

59 minutes ago, babalooo said:

 

 

Can you or someone please embellish more on what these are? There’s no mention of them on the app (so far, going in April) and my friend said Grog Walk was a fee based beer crawl but other than that I know nothing of these other “shows”.

Grog walk is a pub crawl hosted by some of the entertainment (happenings) cast. There is a $35 charge from memory, I didn’t do it. 
Shot for shot is a cocktail class based around taking photos for social media in the Test Kitchen, there is a charge to cover the drinks. Think it’s $25 or 35.

We did something on Scarlet Lady last year I think is Star gazers. It was mythology and folk tales told by the hostess in the outdoor dock area at the rear of the boat. Really nice and chilled with the stories while looking up at the night sky and the wake below. 

Bar hours are on the printed entertainment schedule and on the page for each bar on the app. The Manor is definitely open late many nights, last weekend I was in there at 2am on two occasions. I think the casino bar was also busy one night too. But yes other spaces wound down at 1 or 2am. 
 

We completely lost WiFi connectivity while onboard last week, but the IT guy at the Chart Room desk put us on a different network and it worked perfectly for the rest of the trip with no further app issues either. 
 

if you want waited service breakfast the Wake also does brunch as well as Razzle Dazzle.

for sun beds there are spaces on deck 16 and 17 at the rear of the boat too, above the back of the Galley. Huge bar back there too. But yes space next to the pool is more limited. 

23 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

for me, it was the weird hours of certain places.  couldn't get tacos at dinner, i think ramen was only lunch, and there were a few others that i can't remember at this point that just plain old didn't make sense to me!

Ah yeah that was the other issue at the galley, most places were breakfast and lunch only but the lunch service ended at 3pm. 
I get why dinner service was more limited as most people are in the full service restaurants. But at 4pm there was basically nothing in the galley and we had to go down to pizza place. 
 

not sure how it compares to other cruises of course, I’m guessing there would be some hours with no buffet on other lines too.