Lustate

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

the only way mega rockstar works out financially with drinks is if you give yourself alcohol poisoning haha. 

The math sounds about right. Most cocktails in the $15 region, so you would need to each drink 10x a day.

You can hear a liver screaming from decks away lol 

On our third voyage now, and a forth booked for October… no invite yet lol 

Having done the bid up thing, I can confirm it’s not quite all it appears to be. We bid above the minimum and in one case above the going rate for a cabin. All bids were not accepted. We then got to the port and a nice long line of people was there as you could pay at the port to upgrade. 
 

not clear how or what happens back of house but seems somewhat more complex than your bid being enough and cabins being available. 

So, we got onto scarlet lady and can confirm, the XL furthest forward on the Z (starboard) side of the ship on deck 10 is 10358. It has a partial metal and glass side but has a hammock.  It’s also so far forward, you look back and up at the bridge. 

3 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

As far as I know there's no current way to even add any sort of tips other than cash... There are no receipts given, thus no way to add anything additional...

Yep. Tips are included for all crew in your voyage fare. They don’t actually have a way of taking extra tips from you. 

4 hours ago, juancarlosgarciasanchez said:

Hello-

I have never sailed Virgin Voyages and inquiring about dining options on the Scarlet Lady. Which dining options are offered on her, which dining options are recommended and how does one book a reservation? Additionally, can a passenger just show-up at a dining option and just wait for an opening? Also, which times are recommended for the dining options on the five day Caribbean cruises leaving on October? Thanks in advance for your assistance.  

Hi,
list and details of the options can be found here

You need to download the virgin voyages sailor app, and you can book where you would like eat when you are 45 days out from your voyage (unless you are in a suite and then you can do this at 60 days). You can do walk ups but on certain nights the wake can have a very long wait, so i recommend booking. If you struggle with the app, sailor services can help when you board. 

Times - you can book in 15 minute slots but if you dine early or later in the evenings, you will see more availability. 

ALL dining is included, so do not think of this as a standard cruise where there is an "up charge" to dine in a specific place. We have yet to have a bad meal on board VV on an evening. 
 

5 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

This was in a FB group that I'm in that's run by travel agents, so I'd guess so.  The no hammock rooms seem to be due to either the geometry of the terrace or the structural steel (or lack thereof) over the terrace.

so I managed to get hold of sailor services and they confirmed the lack of hammock, smaller balcony and metal side. They have managed to move me to another XL and confirmed that does have a ham,pack, but not if it’s steel sided or glass. Will report back when we know. 

On 8/12/2022 at 7:16 PM, kwokpot said:

It was Chicken Curry. It definitely wasn't an Indian Curry, actually more Malaysian tasting. Here's a photo. Also on the tray is grilled corn on the cob, rice and beans, fruit cup. I grew up on Chinese/Malaysian style chicken curry and this reminded me of what my grandma & mom used to make.

 

Ditch the fruit and i'm in 🙂 

12 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

At least on Scarlet, these are the no-hammock cabins- Valiant is her twin, so I'd guess it's the same:

...

 

DECK 10:
10354 A AND Z
10358 A AND Z
10362 A AND Z
10366 A AND Z
10370 A AND Z

 

Arh CRAP! Is this for sure no hammock? I mean have they confirmed it was not just a maintenance thing? I have a 14 night cruise with them booked and in one of the above cabins and will be hacked off to say the least if one of the nicest cabin touches is not there. 

3 minutes ago, rebeccac said:

There can be some breeze in a Cheeky Corner Suite.  Depends on where in that massive balcony you are standing.  

 

As far as the bar set up, there is a one time bar set up.  What you have depends somewhat on what is available.  We started out with three small bottles of liqueur, 3 small bottles of wine, 2 or 3 cans of beer and a few Red Bulls.  There was also some cans of soda.  My DH wanted some Tequila (which was not one of the bottles in the cabin when we arrived) and our Rockstar agent got us one, which ended up being full sized.  For the Rockstar suites (as opposed to Mega Rockstars), the set-up is one time (although I am not sure what happens on a longer cruise as ours was only 5 days).  You can get the sodas replaced for no extra charge.  We were also able to get limes and lemons through our Rockstar agent.  

 

I was going to ask about longer voyages and the "one time" suite bars. It does seem a bit tight if on a 4 night cruise you get the same setup as someone doing a 14 night.

Maybe they would do a restock after 7 nights? Anyone have experiance?

38 minutes ago, April Jewel said:

We're not great fans of dance/electronic music and were wondering are there any venues on board that have either rock/indie/reggae/americana/blues music or acoustic artists. 

 

Thanks

The dance music is very generic. its not hard core, and most you will know the lyrics to. Think "dance pop" rather than Pete Tong. 

Other venues about the ship have pop up acts and performance spaces ranging from solo guitar in the Dock House to Blues and Latino Salsa in On the Rocks. The Manor has some more traditional acts such as The Hostess singing classics, and the Diva performing as well.  

On 8/13/2022 at 4:24 PM, safarigal said:

I think some people are put off by the fact that there isn't a door between the cabin and the bathroom, although the toilet does have a separate door, but other than that, the XL bathroom does provide much more space.

I still giggle at this.

So people are off put by the entrance to the bathroom not having a door and the loo and shower having separate doors (ie one between the bedroom and the cabin), but in a standard sea terrace....they still have one door between the bedroom and the loo.

Its the same thing basically lol

16 minutes ago, readysetgosale said:

Right now, I have a Sea Terrace. Is it worth a bid of $150 to get an xl sea terrace? Should I ask at the port if there are any upgrades available? Is it not worth extra money and I should just stick with what I have? Thanks in advance for your opinions!

In the XL you gain a bigger bathroom. The cabin itself is not dramatically bigger. The layout of the bathroom area does put some people off, but I think it works better as one person can shower while the other washes face, shaves etc. 

In terms of the costs, it depends on the duration of the voyage and if you like a little extra space, or would rather save the cash and spend elsewhere. 

3 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

 

We found everything mushy and bland. The actual options they were offering were fine if they were prepared well. We're foodies and explore all types of different foods. Indian and curries are some of our favorites, but what they offered at Bimini during our visit was very meh. Especially compared to what was served on the ship. Next time we go to Bimini we'll skip the meal altogether and just head back to the ship for lunch. 

I did not know they offered indian curries, I thought it was Caribbean curries and rice dishes. What was on offer?

I am starting to wonder if we will also get an email regarding the "Med to Miami". That does not appear to have been mentioned or an email sent, but given many of the ports are the same, I hope nothing else changes.

An hour or two is not the end of the world, but VV had already cut one port on this 14 night voyage so it now only has three stops (all in the first seven days). 

On 8/4/2022 at 5:56 PM, mizLORInj said:

Does anyone know if Seriously Suites has a couch or just the king sized bed? 

Hi,
Cruising with Amber has a breakdown of which suite has what format, but below is a screen cap of the two smallest. The one that sleeps four can convert the sofa into a second bed. 

Ahoy All!

Duration:

Mayan Sol

Aug 28th to Sept 2nd

Onboard: https://virg.in/o7L4

robmillwood at gmail com

Best wishes

Rob

On 8/4/2022 at 3:03 PM, CineGraphic said:

 

Viking fares are considerably higher, and they spend more on food for passengers than Virgin.

Hate to disagree on this but VV F&B quality in bars and the sit down venues is up there with high end hotels and starred eateries. When other ships are visibly taking powdered egg, frozen veg and pre-cut meats, its refreshing to see a ship being loaded from the dock with pallets of fresh produce, and even advertising crew posts of "butcher" on board. Spend per passenger also may not equate as VV do not offer "speciality" dining, only one high standard for all passengers at an inclusive price. 

8 hours ago, johnnylikely said:

Wow, congrats! When did u find out?

we found out middle of last week but the terms stated we could not state we won anything until they had validated all applicants. standard really. Now we have been told, everyone else will have as well. 

We just popped a few bids into the system for the 5 nights we have booked. Let's see if it's fruitful. 

One tip i would share is to add up what the "extras" are worth and put a price on it. For example "Well, we would use the spar a couple of times and thats $50 each time for us both... so thats $200 in value" and at the end of your list stick to your budget! You can very easy get carried away and over pay when your getting in the vacation mood. 

On 7/23/2022 at 4:09 PM, CineGraphic said:

My TA says VV pays a much better commission rate than other cruise lines.

If they are a First Mate they get a good cut, which is also why a TA can offer a small discount on the list prices as they take it out their commission to secure a sale.  

And can finally say.... Im a winner!

4 hours ago, carelesswander said:

Hi,

Does anyone have experience with booking a hotel through Virgin Voyages? Do they have a flexible cancellation policy? I couldn't find much information on the website. I want to see if it would be worth using some of my extra FVC to book a pre-departure hotel in Miami.

Thanks!

Hi - VV do not book hotels, travel to port etc, so you cannot book it via them at the moment. 

19 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Thanks for all your answers. We're both quite excited to experience this cruiseline. I'm looking forward to the fitness aspects and also the entertainment aspects. I did warn my husband to be a bit more 'open' to the more creative food choices. It's only a four nighter so it's a great way to try out something different. 

If he is a little unsure on foods but you want to push him a little out of the comfort zone;

• You could try The Wake (its the usual steak house type place)
• Extra Virgin (Italian but with an upscale twist so you wont get a parma, but will get good pasta dishes with nothing to out there)
• GunBae (Korean BBQ, so you can pick what you cook and eat so its very easy to customise) its meats and veg you pick and cook, mostly plain so no flavours he would not be used to.
• You could repeat The Wake or if you want to go for broke on the last night book an early sitting at Test Kitchen (very out there!), and if he does not feel full enough after can always nip afterwards to the Pizza Place and grab an ice-cream from Lick Me Till Ice-cream.

6 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I'll tag along this thread and ask a few questions. 

*Is regular brewed (and complementary) coffee available at dinnertime at all the restaurants? 

"standard" brew coffee is free but if you wanted a espresso based drink that would be  about $3.

6 hours ago, kwokpot said:

*As noted many of the food offerings are on the creative side with unusual ingredients and sauces. Are the restaurants amenable to making dishes without certain sauces and ingredients, for a more basic presentation (my husband prefers his food on the plainer side)? 

Some modifications can be made, but it depends on what. In terms of food while some of the names might be fancy or a specific ingredient i would say to give it a go, but order a side thats plain so they can always have that until the next course or if they swap the main out, they have something to be "getting on with":

6 hours ago, kwokpot said:

*Does the casino offer free drinks for those who are actively playing? 

The Casino does not offer free drinks that we have spotted (other than soda etc). It is also quite small, so if gaming is what you are after you will need to manage your expectations down a little. 

Hope that all helps.