Lustate

I must have said this a thousand times by now lol It's still cheaper on VV than you can get on land for the same services. The friendliness, openness and generally crew, who all want to help rather than being paid to smile make the place my ideal go-to holiday.

Unless, of course, VV pull it out of the hat, cancel Dubai to Athens, and launch Brilliant Lady with a TRF of the crew as well? Offer people credit for the flights, and do a trip around the med for the same number of nights, finishing in Athens on the previously agreed date?

so compared to the canal, how many times would that add?

Actually, I am quite curious on this as a challenge to beat. So, if the Suez Canal / Red Sea is not a route ships can use due to increased risks, where would the ship reroute via?

Basically, with VV, unless it's a "win" like casino or bingo etc, it's a "use it or lose it".

There are a couple of limiting factors which will also skew the demographic and median age older, and also the community they attract. Kids - it's adults only, so unless you're happy to leave your kids home alone or have your kids very young, you're going to be mid-30+ minimum. Most people will really be in the 40+ bracket if they had kids. Party adults - no kids means they may be younger, more out going, and of course, more open to having fun as they have less commitments right now. this is why the advertising in the early phases looked like the "insta crowd" and more party focused. LGBT+ - with fewer LGBT+ couples or singles having kids, you will also have a larger-than-expected community on board. Also, generally, because of no kids, you have two adults on a steady career path and will be higher earners, so have more holidays, or fewer, but higher priced ones. It's all pretty logical, really, but with the price hike, the bell curve on average income will shift, and I can see that being a barrier to entry, which was broken for a lot of newbie sailors, willing to drop the usual holiday budget on something new to them to experience.

But it's not a "mini bar." lol You getting half bottles of each (or full size in some cases). 25 shots in a sitting is deadly (had to google that lol) when you walking about the ship tipsy after consuming a minimum of 22 shots from the bar(each), plus the wines etc your the walking dead by day two. lol Nah, on a lesser joke, most likely the only thing that would happen is the crew will think you a bit scabby, and the other MRS, who are just enjoying the holiday and not trying to stockpile for the back, will keep a distance.

What this is all basically coming down to is fair usage policy. If on the last day, you have stuff left, then, of course, take it, maybe even a cheeky extra bottle you stash away from another day that they replaced as MRS, then you welcome to it. If, however you clear out the bar into your case daily, letting them restock it, and then doing the same over and over, then its not fair usage. Its very clear on the website that the bar tab is to "Revel in exclusive access to complimentary drinks and bottles of wine around the ship with a daily bar tab (with reasonable limits, of course).", and the in room bar is to "Toast every moment—from sundrenched days and smooth sailing to spectacular sunsets and epic evenings—with the endless, in-suite bar of your dreams."

I will be using this on our MRS booking!

for a sea terrace on Atlantis site it was $5,098 for two people. it’s worth remembering that the charter also adds loads of other entertainment, and this is a LGBT+ party cruise. Not for the faint hearted even in the community. lol

it’s on sale and has been for months through Atlantis cruises. It’s a confirmed charter booking.

that’s going to be text error by them for sure. The cabin is about 9 feet wide and would amount to a one foot depth balcony and that’s one even enough for the hanging points of the hammock. best guess the balcony will be 2-3 feet deep, making them 18-27 square feet.

I know I am in the minority, but the price now is a lot more than they previously charged, but if you ignore that, and look at the general offering they have, it’s still reasonable. Yes some of the routes have gone up a lot, but when you consider it’s 15 nights, in a 4* hotel, almost all entertainment, with all meals and most no boozy drinks it’s still cheaper than doing the same on land. Add to that the ports and it’s a winner.

I’m hoping they do something like the number of nights x the class of cabin. That should in theory even help out people who do longer sea terrace voyages against the shorter mega suites. massive suite for a week = 7*26 = 182 points sea terrace for four voyages at a week = 7*17*4 = 476 regular voyages get more perks even if they have paid less, rewarding sticking with the brand over a longer term.

Genuine question… how can someone get over 100 cruises with a company? Let’s assume your a uk bod and get the average of 5 weeks annual leave a year, and you start booking every single week of leave with them from 18 years old. You would need to spend all your leave with them for 20 years to get to 100 cruises. that’s just near impossible. Think about Disney who has only been around for 25 years so only now will uk people who get more than the average in the uk have a possible chance to break the 100 cruises.

I second that. With the current perks ending 31/12/24, it makes sense to also end the matching period for that set of perks. I can see the new details coming so people in 2024 and see what they get in 2025 etc, and people who already have sea blazer or been on a few voyages can see new perks for them.

on a couple of ours we found the channel with the view from the bridge and the aft view.

Hmm the top tier could be “rockstar on tour”, which is all the rockstar perks, but in a standard central terrace or above. Base the tiers on number of night x the category of cabin/suite. And focus it down so it’s always things like “the top 10%” etc for the previously year to keep it exclusive. Also you “sail into the distance” if you don’t voyage every year etc dropping down tiers.

Your do it online at the link below... Match and Sea More Submit

The Barcelona to Athens in 2024 has also been paused / not available for a while but shows on some of the documentation they share with agents. We have booked on that one (suite) and are waiting to see what happens. If it's just paused for sales, then it's not the end of the world; even if they cancel, it's not too bad, as there's plenty of notice. We don't want them to pull the voyage and offer a straight refund, as there is no way that, with the price increase, we could get the same cabin and duration for nearly the same price. I would hope for a charter they would offer "same cabin on any other voyage" type deal.

Also interested in this as well. We have had a rockstar agent before, but wondering the changes between the two and the types of things they can offer, comp, sort or amend for us on board and before.

In Athens, we were "jumped" through all lines; in the two from Barcelona, we did the outside check first and then split when you pass security; in Miami, we were sticking to slots, but then in the lobby, we called through to board easier if they had space. In portsmouth, both times was processed faster post bag drop but standard line first.

It might be they are sold out already. We managed to book our mega yesterday fine, but the hold we had has not been released yet. So at least two suites will show soon.

I would say to be aware this is a very loud, slightly wild show that is a gameshow of sorts for the whole audience. If you are more of a wallflower, sit towards the back, and you can always sneek out if it's not your thing.

A lot of confusion over this extra. In short, you still turn up at the slot you booked on the app, BUT you join a different line and pass others who have the same slot unless they are also in a DBE or package that gives them the perk. For some reason people think that the DBE expedited means they can book an entry slot and rock up when they want lol That's the VIP or Rockstar perk.