Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Wansbrough

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,474

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Wansbrough

    Inspired by the many others............

    in Cruise Blogs & Websites

    Costa Firenze Blog

    in Costa Cruises

    Posted

    18 hours ago, kremerlorraine said:

    Wansbrough's blog said the captain announced cruises would restart on 4/2 and that is what Costa UK told me yesterday. That's what I'm hoping as we are booked on the 4/2, but we could juggle hotel bookings and also do 5/2. Awaiting a formal e-mail. A lady on the French Costa fans Facebook page who was due to be on the 28/1 sailing posted her cancellation e-mail from Costa. In addition to the usual refund/voucher/new date offer, they were also given a free one-week Med cruise.

    I have only just put two and two together and associated you with the comment on my blog. ☺️

    I really hope you get to go in February as is an amazing ship and crew.

     

    We beleive the cancellation is down to crew infections, normally they are tested every 3 days but this week it was 2 days on the trot and I suspect there has been some sort of outbreak among crew. Deck 6 is an isolation zone for crew that have come into contact with a positive case with the positives straight off the ship. We saw plenty of crew on their balcony during the last two days and even one poor guy in a hazmat suit mask and gloves waiting out by the terminal waiting to go to his isolation hotel.

    You never get the full picture for any cruise line and its a case of putting together what you see and know to work it out. Crew are under strict instructions not to divulge any sensitive information but once I received your comment I asked a few reliable members who were able to let me know things without actually telling me.

     

     

    Costa Firenze Blog

    in Costa Cruises

    Posted

    9 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

    Last time I boarded was at Port Rashid (Mina Rashid). Have they moved the terminal somewhere else?

    Yes, two lovely new terminals up by the marina at the base of the palm. It's a fantastic spot. 

    Vegan Food On Princess

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, caribill said:

     

    I am surprised that Princess has not put out a press release about this.

     

    Positive news for once.

    That is exactly what I thought, it must be relatively new because some of the waiters didn't know either. I always thought they had a run down of the dishes before service and were told what to recommend. They must be cooking these is a separate area of the galley but it must be a trade secret. 🤐

    Vegan Food On Princess

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    7 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

    Thanks for the question jdacombe and thanks for the menu dides and wansbrough.

     

    My son is a Vegan too, and I am actually leaning toward switching my Alaska 2022 cruise to Holland America.  Would anybody know who does Vegan better: Princess or HAL?

    Not sure about HAL but RCI have a separate vegan menu as do Costa

    Vegan Food On Princess

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted · Edited by Wansbrough

    As dides has correctly stated, we recently spent 4 nights on Regal Princess and my wife was totally surprised to find out they now have a vegan menu in the MDR. We only dined in the MDR 2 nights out of 4 but there were different menus. Not all the serving staff were aware so you will need to ask.

    Well done Princess Cruises! Hopefully they will do now do something in the speciality restaurants so we can enjoy these venues together too. (Time to one up on their rivals) 😉

     

    PhotoCollage_20211106_081203227.thumb.jpg.cb43bdc7d94b24f3932f63b76515d239.jpg
     

    • Like 4
    • Thanks 1

    Inspired by the many others............

    in Cruise Blogs & Websites

    Inspired by the many others............

    in Cruise Blogs & Websites

    Posted

    I had completely forgotten about this topic and something just prompted my memory about it. I think because the forum software changed, and I wasn't able to automatically cross post, I just forgot about it.

    However, I'm still here and blogging albeit with a 20 month lay off from cruising. The good news is I have been on a cruise...............

     

    https://www.wansbroughs-cruise-blog.me.uk/2021/08/scarlet-lady-long-weekender-preamble/

     

    Wansbroughs-Digital-Postcards-from-Scarl

     

    With a couple more to follow soon. Its great to be back!!!!

    Anyone onboard?

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    On 8/9/2021 at 2:11 PM, gumshoe958 said:

     

    So what needs attention: the app, firstly - as many have already experienced pre-cruise, it’s very buggy and given that your time on board revolves around it in terms of checking out the daily schedule and booking shows, restaurants etc, they need to sort it out urgently. 


    Likewise the wifi - it’s fine in port but at sea it’s very, very slow. There was a note in the cabin explaining why (wrong type of satellite or something!) but for a line that makes much of trying to appeal to Generation Instagram, that’s another thing for the priority list.

     

    Entertainment was an interesting one. What I saw, I liked: a guy called Tom Crosbie (The Performing Nerd) who I’ve seen before in Edinburgh and is right up my street but may be a bit too niche for a cruise ship. Duel Reality, the main show, is great - circus with attitude. The bingo with Abi the Hostess was a laugh and the band (Buster Shuffle) were excellent and went down very well. Again, VV have tried to be different so lovers of the traditional song & dance production show and covers bands will be disappointed. And a lot of the entertainment is meant to be spontaneous - you’ll be sitting having a drink and a magician will wander up or a couple will start singing on the stairs. But I felt there was too much emphasis on “adult” entertainment - yes I know it’s an adults only line but things like talks on how to incorporate play into your sex life and how to communicate erotically, and the sex-themed cabaret show just didn’t do it for me! But hey, maybe I’m just an old prude. Overall though, I thought they needed more crowd-pleaser entertainment and activities, while still keeping that Virgin difference.

     

    So - would I return? Yes I would (and I am!) - I loved the chic, modern style of the ship, its laid back, relaxed vibe, the food and the crew. But I wouldn’t want to do more than 3, 4 or 5 nights - for me, there wasn’t enough to do for a week or longer. And they really need to sort out the tech, which is fundamental to the VV concept. But I admire them for daring to be different. Traditional cruisers who like what they like may find it’s not for them. But there’s no shortage of alternatives. This is an attempt to win a new crowd, and I really hope it works.

     

     

     

    We would return too but the deal would have to be great.

    The app was very up and down, no deck plan on it and its not exactly the best to navigate with lots of things are tucked away.

    We had a Sea Terrace and the bathroom was tiny but functional. Great shower though

    No much storage in the cabin but plenty if USB  charge points. Could do with more around the ship as my battery was constantly needing a charge.

    Entertainment, we saw the band (name escapes me) on Friday who were okay but then never saw them again. Dual Reality was excellent but was there ever anything else on in the Red Room?

    Food was good but were told in Razzle Dazzle there was only the single menu. I assume this was the same for all restaurants. Only The Wake and Razzle Dazzle were open for Breakfast Lunch and dinner. I would have liked to try the others and given it was 3 sea days they could have  opened them to allow others to experience.

    Virgin Voyages is sailing in the UK?

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    22 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

    As promised, I pitched up at Gosport on time and here's a selection of Scarlet Lady's departure.First up rounding HMS Prince of Wales...

    363597690_1withHMSPrinceofWales.thumb.jpg.d61b53f6a459ed6d860cb816f1cdb8bf.jpg

     

    ...and Bows on to me...

     

    1660419367_2Bowson.thumb.jpg.c8db9b7b00ebc14e55b44a7a99d7e8f6.jpg

     

    Adjacent Portsmouth's Spinaker Tower...

     

    217180265_3PassingSpinakerTower.thumb.jpg.b916fed9338a17c6a8e919cbd8c18f84.jpg

     

     

     

     

    Great photos as usual. 👍🏼

    • Like 1

    Virgin Voyages is sailing in the UK?

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    30 minutes ago, manateemike67 said:

    Afternoon, so an update from park and ride. Our embarkation time “was” 3.45. So we arrived at 2.55 and given letter H. Just become saddened to see the letter C dispatched to test centre. 
    However whilst typing the letter F was just called so I guess It’s not in alphabetical order !!!

    i can also say that some people arriving after we’re given a letter G so it’s being done on embarkation times and not arrival time. 

    Hello Mike, long time no see. We just got off this morning, after the initial testing issues we had a great time.

    Seems they still have work to do with embarkation. Disembarking was a breeze.

    Enjoy your cruise. 👍🏼

     

    Virgin App still not working?!

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted · Edited by Wansbrough

    On 7/15/2021 at 11:31 AM, Quacks the Cruiser said:

    To book restaurants, I clicked on the bottom tab that said “Discover” and on the Discover page, click “Ship”, then click “Eateries”. This will take you to the restaurant page. you then have two options (1) In the red box, put in the time you would like to eat and it will show you what restaurants are available (2) ignore the red box and click on one of the bookable restaurants which will take you to the restaurant page and you can browse avaiblity from there.

     

    For the “what’s on”, Again on the discover page click “Line Up” and this will take you to page 1 which is the first day of your cruise. You will see numbers 1-4 or 1-5 across the top depending whether you are on a 3 or 4 day cruise. If you scroll down you will see what’s on at what time and where - some shows let you guarantee a booked slot ; some say book but it’s really just a reminder.

     

    Anything you’ve booked appears under the “Me” tab on the home page.

     

    It’s clunky, but hope that helps!

     

    Don

    What I have found frustrating is not being able to view more than 3 time slots, wouldn't it much simpler to see all available slots instead of just 3 that are greyed out and unavailable. Not very impressed so far.

    Virgin App still not working?!

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    On 7/15/2021 at 8:17 AM, les37b said:

    Don.  

     

    Where in the app is it you can chose a restaurant slot?

     

    I still can't see it anywhere.

     

    When are the band's expected?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I struggled to find it too so you are not alone.

    Virgin Voyages is sailing in the UK?

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    20 hours ago, number5 said:

    That's good but I am one of those without a smartphone so cannot access the app and at the moment Virgin are unable to inform us about what proof is required. I have the NHS card to show I have had both jabs but until we get a definite acceptance by Virgin I feel it would pointless booking an August cruise at the moment.

     

    On the NHS website

    You can view and download your COVID-19 vaccination status online.

    You need an NHS login to do this. You will be asked to create an NHS login if you do not have one already.

    NHS login registrations may take longer than usual when there are high numbers of requests. You will need to register at least 2 weeks before your departure date.

    Virgin Voyages is sailing in the UK?

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    On 4/23/2021 at 10:03 AM, CroozFanatic said:

     

    I had this. I had to call, email, call....wait. It's working now. I have several bookings and sometimes get the #awkward/404/seal picture on the details page. The systems are new. I'm being patient. Nice people answer the phone.

    I reached out via email, Sailor Services Crew are investigating.

    Virgin Voyages is sailing in the UK?

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, wendyam76 said:

    On the app there is a before you sail option and I tried to fill in Check in and get ready to sail - none of them would work until the last one which was the arrival time. Options were 2pm-5pm and I got 2.05pm.

    That part on my app is greyed out. 🙃😐😒

    Its still telling me to complete payment too even though we have paid in full.

    Virgin Voyages is sailing in the UK?

    in Virgin Voyages

    Posted

    On 4/15/2021 at 8:14 PM, wendyam76 said:

    From what I’ve read 60 days out for Rockstars and 45 days for the rest. I was able to chose an arrival time - earliest I could get was 2.05pm

    Where can you choose your arrival time or is this only for the higher priced accommodation?

×
×
  • Create New...