Lustate

Did anyone ever get to the bottom of the “Can lock it in rates” being able to bid for an upgrade?

16 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

Our first 2 cruises with VV were two short b2bs on Scarlet, last October.

Having grown tired of cutbacks and excuses from Princess, we were ready for something new.

 

We loved everything so much that I called my TA from my hammock on Bimini, and told her to cancel any remaining bookings with other lines.

 

We then sailed 8 days on the Valiant for my birthday in February.

 

We have 4 more booked: Barcelona to Miami 10/23, San Juan to Lisbon 4/24, and 2 short b2bs in July of 2024 to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

 

For over 10 years were were convinced that we'd be spending our 25th anniversary on a Princess Cruise. Ha! We deleted the Princess app from our phones before we even disembarked our fist Virgin Voyage!

Congratulations on the anniversary, 22 years and counting for us.

 

From what I can see and from chatting with others onboard, VV has a lot of repeat sailors. We seem to hop on board and either love VV and feel right at home, or demand "old school" cruising. 

I have been on four voyages (over two ships), have two booked, and am about to complete a third booking today. For me it's the food and crew that keep me coming back. You know the quality, and it does not drop. The more I hear about other cruise lines, the less I want to go on them. 

How many VV have you been on or booked? and what keeps you coming back?

6 hours ago, bdever said:

Wow, that’s so sad… 1 whole friggin hour out of Shakira’s new home port no less. Shameless. 

Well her home port was Barcelona but we all know she won't be back there for a while. lol

14 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

That is what the Prima's Captain was referring to. I guess the Aft Overhang (whatever that is) prevents the Prima from transiting the canal. I am glad to hear that the VV ships do not have that issue. Thanks for the article! 🤗

The potential to travel the canal is very different from actually doing it. I mean, I have the potential to avoid the sweet treats in the galley... but.... 

3 minutes ago, mazz1 said:

my plan is to wait and see the room assigned and then if i'm not keen see about bidding for upgrade, calling to see what they can do if i pay more and finally if all else fails check for a upgrade at the port terminal 

Thats our plan too. We are due to go on a voyage in next couple weeks, still no cabin allocated, but fingers crossed will come any day. We cannot apply for an upgrade until a cabin is allocated so its going to be a lot of close calls. 

On 5/17/2023 at 9:30 PM, jon81uk said:

In fact those bottles in suites are some of the only plastic bottles on the entire ship!

They are not plastic 🙂 .

The little bottles for toiletries in the suites are biodegradable, biocompatible, refillable, and recyclable.

:)   

28 minutes ago, softly darlene said:

The match is fabulous, but I see they are not going after the luxury lines.

 

Elsewhere on Crusie Critic, I read that Virgin isn't a luxury line. But it looks pretty lux to me!

Oh, it's modern luxury. Don't expect gold toilets and flash for the sake of going "Look we have money", but do expect to feel quality at every corner, from the food you eat to the entertainment. Think of it is as as boutique hotel at sea, where the service speaks for itself, and class is left on land. 

3 hours ago, mazz1 said:

can i ask do virgin automatically send most people offers to bid for a upgrade or is it just a select few that get these?

 

trying to figure out if i should ask my travel agent for a price or just wait and see 

You can do it yourself from the "manage my bookings" section of a voyage if you have not had an email. Not all sailors qualify, but you can check on that page as well. 

I'm sure they will come out with something news-wise soon. 

Just using basic logic they will be looking at budgets for 2024/25 and need to get sales coming in. So a couple more weeks and all these concerns will be a thing of the past. 

1 hour ago, scottie99 said:

Thanks for insight.

 

However, I watched a you tube video showing same cabin on Scarlet Lady which shows a hammock.

 

Absence of noise from night club etc is much more important to us though

So I have stayed in a central terrace, a corner suite, and an XL terrace x2. Given the choice (on any deck!) i would go for the XL after checking if it has a hammock. The red room sometimes in bad weather hosts Scarlet Night, but even that closes at midnight. The manor on most voyages at a maximum has two late nights if you are a tender sleeper. 

Cabin differences - the deeper main part of the room, inc the wardrobe so you can store your cases easier. The bathroom has a walk-in sink part (no door) but the WC and shower are behind two separate doors. The shower is full-size, and not a triangle shape wedge. Call your agent, or go through the deck plans and you can check if it has a glass side and a hammock as enough people have now recorded this. 
 

4 hours ago, tbmrt said:

If we are unable to get reservations to shows, are there any we can see by standing in the back or waiting in a line hoping to get in?

Dont forget shows in "On the rocks" and "The Dock House" are open bars so you just turn up nice and early and snag a chair with a view, and some snacks, and wait for the shows to start. 

I was kind of hoping they did something in Europe (or even a TA) for Brilliant this year. They would need something to "run her in" a little as doing the mermaiden public voyage starting on Christmas Eve is just asking for drama. 

Fingers crossed might see something pop up, and dive on into a booking for 2023.  

I mean, it is kind of clear why. If you are in a hot location, and open the door hot air rushes in and will beat any air con you have running. So make the system cut out and save power. Then when the hot air is stopped from coming in again, turn the cooling back on. 

48 minutes ago, janbear said:

This is a great deal! I have a couple booking in june and 1 in January I wonder if i can cancel and rebook to get that discount 

Generally yes, your agent can do that for you, or you can call up and do it yourself. 
 

You won’t get the same cabin for sure, but you can ask.  

17 minutes ago, tbmrt said:

So if I do June and December 2023 cruises, I would not get the DBE.? Can I book a third cruise before 10/31/23 to be taken by 4/30/24 to get the DBE?

so if you currently have no status, you would need to have completed two qualifying voyages by 31/12/23. You cannot use access codes, and no friends and family or free voyages or extra discounts such as casino comps.

On your third voyage you then get the DBE, as you would be a sea rover status.

The third voyage would need  to be completed by 31/12/23 for DBE, as DBE end then.
 

You can make any of the three bookings combining and stacking offers like the current air credit one, or the solo traveler one. 

3 minutes ago, raphael360 said:

Did you see a discount code?

 

Florida residents were getting a 10% then 5% discount but I had to place my booking on 24 hour hold and call sailor services twice to apply these discounts??

An access key will be shared “shortly”, and you can also call up the sailor services as they know it’s coming. 

3 minutes ago, AdoraBelle said:

 

Thanks. Asking for a friend who's sailing with her spouse in a few weeks. (Her 3rd sailing, his first, same room.)

if in doubt, get them to call VV as if they say it’s the lead passenger who is the sailor that it’s based on, ask them to just swap the same sans confirm. 
 

it should be showing in the add-ones a few days before the voyage but VV will see it in the backend and can confirm. 

1 minute ago, AdoraBelle said:

I know the boarding lines ultimately don't matter too much, but if Spouse A is a sea blazer, and Spouse B has never sailed, can they both go in the DBE boarding line? 

if your in the same cabin then yes, but if your a different booking or cabin I doubt it, as the perks are by cabin, and not by sailor. 

There is also one new perk that yet to be pushed out on socials etc.

10% off for sea blazers & sea rovers on bookings through to 31/10/23, and travelling by 30/04/24 and it can be stacked with various other discounts!

On 4/27/2023 at 9:19 PM, neverendingcruising said:

If I was using a stolen card I would definitely go to a place charging $1,000/night over Motel 6, lol

Yer, and one that your trapped away from land with no way of getting off unless you packed a boat in your carry in lol 

32 minutes ago, tbmrt said:

Questions:

Are beach shoes needed for the beach?  Husband is a "tender foot".  

 

Have to say that Iam concerned about swimming on the Bimini beach after reading about so many sharks in Bimini.

 

flipflops are going to be useful as they have a runner down on the sand for walking on, but rough under foot on it. 
 

sharks are out in the deeper water and have zero interest in the beach. Swim and enjoy the water as it’s warm and so blue!

A bit of news that might be welcomed by casino users. The Den on deck 6 of Scarlet Lady has been converted into a poker room...

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/04/virgin-voyages-partners-with-the-world-poker-tour/

2 hours ago, raphael360 said:

I would avoid it. The Manor gets SO loud it’s unbearable even with 30db earplugs. 

Yes, its basically a night club 🙂 

14 minutes ago, CanadianCruiser21 said:

I thought it was $200 on board? It’s $200 on Amazon but I was hoping to buy on board with sailor loot

 

I think it was $200 as well. We bought one of the single-person seated ones (but in a different color) for our garden. I hate it. honestly it's the worst. You climb in, sit down, and someone steals your afternoon from you without you spotting it. 😆