CruisingWalter

Definitely different than our experiences other than the longer lines for the DBE priority boarding. But once that line opened up we were inside the terminal in minutes. No lines onboard for the 4 cruises we've sailed on VV so far other than the Red Room and for the Diva show. Fortunately there are a lot of other cruise lines out there for you to explore.

As others have mentioned, when The Key is close to the daily Internet price, then it can be worth it. To avoid the crush at embarkation, you can take the more casual route and roll up to the terminal later in the afternoon. If Embarkation starts at 11:30, show up at 1:30 or 2pm so the initial crush has gotten onto the ship. I don't see the ship, but you usually have options besides just the windjammer, such as Park Cafe on an Oasis Class ship. That's usually my embarkation day lunch on those ships to avoid the buffet rush.

Well I'm glad it works for you this way. Most times it works the other way around with the TA adjusting the price on the fly. Takes about 30 seconds for a TA to adjust a Royal Caribbean or Celebrity room rate, no need to call Royal and wait on hold.

Yep. My advice is if you are arriving before 4pm, take a shuttle to a Cocoa Beach Hotel so you're out near the port and can have a nice dinner at Zarrella's Wood Fired Italian, Papa Vito's or the famous Fish Lips at the pier. Come in two days early and spend a day at the Kennedy Space Center, it's amazeballs. If you arrive after 4pm, depending on how long you've been traveling already, my advice is to grab a hotel in the Orlando airport area, have a nice dinner and then take the 1 hour shuttle in the morning. When it's later, it's nice to just settle in to the hotel and grab dinner than push your day out even further. I recommend Cocoa Beach Shuttle, they are a family run company, really great folks and they will pick you up from any Orlando hotel, the Orlando airport and deliver you to the Port or any of the Cocoa Beach hotels.

Why? Royal Caribbean confirmed the price online was not correct. It was most likely displaying without the port fees and taxes. We've cruised almost 20 years, have always used a TA. They have been worth their weight in gold when things go sideways or we have to make changes. Plus we have enjoyed the gifts and added perks they throw in when they can.

Actually incorrect. The $300 you pay for the MNVV goes towards the 20% deposit when you convert it to a cruise. You still have to pay the balance of the 20% deposit. Plus you get $300 off the cruise fare and up to $600 Sailor Loot. To answer the original question, Final Payment is due 120 days prior to the sail date. Up to that date, only the full 20% Deposit is required to confirm your sailing.

Hairspray is AWESOME! We saw it last year along with Wizard of Oz this year on Icon. Royal Caribbean has some of the best entertainment at sea. I grew up in the Hudson Valley and saw so many shows growing up with my family. My brother in law was Mr Mistofelles in the original production of Cats 30+ years ago. 🙂 As for VV, absolutely 100% you should sail on VV. If you are young at heart and really enjoy meeting others onboard, then you should 100% try VV. You're going to love the lack of nickel and diming, nobody pushing a drink/dining package, not having to take your card out every time you want something. For a meat and potatoes eater there is a ton of steak, potatoes, hamburgers, tacos, sandwiches and the like for him. For restaurants go to The Wake, Razzle Dazzle, Extra Virgin and Pink Agave. He will enjoy all of those. He might like Gunbae too. In The Galley you have sandwiches, tacos, the burger bar. On The Dock in the back you have tapas that include meat and shrimp. All the ice cream and pizza you can eat at those locations. And really good bars. You don't have to party to be on VV, it's a very chill ship during the day and even in the evenings, you can be totally chill at On The Rocks to enjoy some really great music. The shows in the Red Room will be hit or miss for you guys. Around the World in 80 minutes is a silly kitschy show with the Diva that we really enjoy, especially when A Woman Name Carlos is the diva. The beds in the standard rooms are generally not as comfortable as those you may be used to on other cruise lines, but the suites have amazing beds plus the fully stocked bar. Work with a TA who is a Gold Certified First Mate and you'll get some extra onboard credit plus their knowledge of the ships and cabin locations. Most of all, go have fun!!!

They originally chalked it up to supply chain delays, but we don't know that for sure. We do know that after the latest round of investments, that's when they finally took delivery of the ship from Fincantieri. We believe the ship is fully fit out and ready to sail, but there is no confirmation from VV that the inside is 100% completed.

the original Summer Pass in Europe sold out in less than 2 weeks. That's when they extended it to the second ship, and now they've brought it here. I just wish the itineraries were a little more varied and I agree that winter in the Caribbean would be a much more tempting offer than summer. 🙂

It's remarkable to me that it's 'good business sense' to let a fully completed ship sit there for well over a year vs. putting her into service sooner. It costs money, a lot of money, to maintain a ship even when she's sitting still. Yes it costs more money to send her out with a full crew but holding that ship back all the way through September 2025 when she's clearly ready to sail is kind of nutty to me. I will miss those 'porches' mid-ship as those are my favorite places to hang out but we all knew they had to go for the Panama Canal.

If I had any more knowledge or photos I would share. VV is staying very tight lipped on Brilliant at the moment. Some meetings are planned in the near future between TAs and execs so hopefully some information will be released at that time.

Number one get rid of the Ikea sofas and install real twin beds that form queens like all the other cruise lines. Those split sofa beds are the worst of any cruise line we sail. We still go because we love the cruise line, but they really need to improve those beds when you're pushing $5k for a 7 night cruise. Get rid of the net and reconfigure it like The Haven pool on the Prima class ships. That would require a complete re-engineering of the aft of the ship though, but what a wasted space in prime territory. Could have a beautiful pool with that big bar and a stage / bandstand for evening performances under the stars. The restaurants are too small for 2700+ guests and they close too many stations at night in The Galley. Ramen closed at night? Seriously? That's a late night staple. That has never made sense to me, nor closing the Taco station at night. It's probably going to get an indoor Rockstar lounge of some sort to ease the complaints of so many who come from other cruise lines and wonder where their private lounge and restaurant are. Richard's Rooftop needs some serious reconfiguration to cut the wind like every other cruise line. They forgot to the put the high angled glass or they just didn't care. Far too windy to use when the ship is under way. I'm really curious to see just how small those new 'smaller' balconies are on those sea terraces net to the lifeboats. They've not shown us any real pictures of them even though the ship is sitting there ready to go.

No, you'll just be put into the 3:45 line. VV lines up everyone into 'corrals' based on your embarkation time and you wait outside. Embarkation starts later because VV doesn't clear their ship until 11am. I wouldn't show up much earlier than 3pm unless you're happy waiting outside in the heat for a couple of hours.

Midnight EST, though you may get them around 11:45p ET. Use a TA because they can get into the booking engine to book your dinners much faster than you will with the app.

Virgin does not encourage either of those practices. In particular attendants have been known to remove door decorations. Ducks are more for family based cruise lines, not VV and they are not encouraged on the ladyships.

That has created a ton of confusion for years with guests on many cruise lines. So many TAs have to explain why the price being quoted is 'higher than the one on the cruise line website.' I also agree with the folks who say the gratuities should be rolled in to the cruise fare. Virgin Voyages and many of the luxury lines do this already, just roll it all into one price so there are no surprises.

And just like that, Deck 13 is back for Scarlet Lady for post-drydock sailings with nothing changed on the deck plans at this time. So if there is a new Rockstar space, it won't be on Deck 13, at least not that's being shown currently.

If you're talking about the Wizard of Oz specifically, it's in the contract with the estate that the show had to be performed per very specific terms. The 16 piece orchestra is one of those terms. 🙂 I do hope Nick can tell us soon where he is going. I can think of multiple cruise lines that I would love to see him help.

Yep, Carnival Corporation made the same announcement a few weeks ago. All of their brands will now display the full fare with all port fees and taxes included. It's long overdue.

The Den was converted to the WPT Poker room. I have no idea if anyone actually uses that space it was an odd idea and not very well executed.

From what we've heard, the phone call will still be required. It's not a placeholder like the MNVV that any TA can convert to a sailing. All subject to change of course....

Our Sailors on the Scarlet Transatlantic were told new indoor spaces for the Rockstars are coming when the ship comes out of drydock. That's the biggest complaint from Rockstars that come from other cruise lines. Other than the items in the cabin and Richard's Rooftop (when you can actually use it) there is not a lot separating the "Rockstars" from the "Sailors." They're looking for an indoor lounge and possibly a separate restaurant.

Well that is quite interesting. After reading this I poked around a January 2025 sailing for Scarlet Lady and sure enough, absolutely no Sea Terraces can be booked on Deck 13. XL Sea Terrace, Sea Terrace or Central Sea Terrace. Cheeky Corner and Sweet Aft Suites are the only cabins available on Deck 13 to be booked at this time. Well that will be interesting to see if it's the entire deck that goes away or just the front section where the XL Sea Terraces are.

The earliest we've walked off the ship is 7:30. We self disembark directly to the Brightline train back to Orlando.

Arrival times and disembarkment times are always estimated. Cruise lines can never give you a definitive time you will exit the ship. Weather, port conditions and other ships arriving at the same time can cause delays. 8am is the time they expect to be able to open the gangway. But that can be off by up to an hour. Ship has to be secured, all security operations and gangway have to be ready, the ship has to be cleared by the local officials and then the gangway can open for operation. As noted above, Sailor Services is simply going to tell you 8am is the scheduled arrival time. They cannot give you any further information than that because each port arrival is different.