Cloud9 Bob

I've also seen excursions on Scarlet Lady sell out and a few weeks later have a duplicate added. I'd call the customer service line or speak to your TA.

It's really what you make of it. I took it and really enjoyed it. I didn't want to rent an expensive golf cart and I hate driving on the left side of the road anyway. It was an easy way to get a taste of Bimini while sitting back and relaxing. I learned some interesting things....like the entire islands electricity comes from a few diesel generators that run constantly, there is no hospital and gas is nearly $7 gallon. I'm a people person and had many amazing conversations with locals that day. The people of Bimini are friendly and proud of their island and won't hesitate to let you know. BTW, it's way to hot there to walk any significant distance...at least for me.

I'm all for a VV upgrade to an expert and laser pointer. They may just spark a new love for someone. I remember going to University of Miami in the late 1970's. Some local born and raised Floridian friends of mine took me out to the edge of the everglades. There was zero light pollution there. I said "funny how there are clouds rolling in, maybe we're in for some bad weather. He laughed and said "those aren't clouds Bob....it's the Milky Way! "

On my first Scarlet Lady cruise a few years ago, I arrived at Port of Miami and watched the porter fill out a paper tag and stick it to my roller case. On it went into the porters giant rolling cage for bags. It never arrived at my cabin! Somehow the paper tag got completely sheared off and I guess I was lucky it even made it onto the ship. After I notified everyone (and their brother) and gave a good description of it, the bag arrived at my cabin 5 hours after I embarked. On my second cruise on Scarlet, I repeated the process with the same bag, but this time I added a leather handle tag with my name and cell number on it as well as an Apple Airtag sewn into the inner lining. No problems this time. Live and learn I guess. 🙂

I did, I don’t think they really care no matter what the instructions say. It’s just for internal use.

Yes, they have moved mountains but can't seem to improve their underperforming wifi.

Here's what I had.

I love the vegetarian menu coconut dessert, but the one I remember was cut in a wedge.

I've been on 14, but what's the deal with 8?

Sorry. You are correct. I sailed June of 2022 and again in June 2023. 😔

My experience on two VV cruises were very different. The first one was in June of 2021. I did the Dominican Daze itinerary. There were only about 1200 pax sailing. The experience was excellent. Sure the pool was too small and the entertainment sort of one sided, but I went into it knowing all that and had a fantastic time. The basic internet was more than adequate and the Wake was not as "slow" as they say it is now. The energy from the crew was new and bright and you could feel it. Second cruise was in June of 2022. Pax load was near max at 2450 and I feel it made a difference. Itinerary was also shorter by a day (Key West) which may have played a part. Food was good, but not "as good'. Same with the service. Wake was much slower and the waitstaff made a lot of small mistakes. Not dealbreakers, but just not the same experience. I noticed the Scarlet night pool party was rowdier and noticed a lot more drunks. Security was there, but never controlled any of the out of hand types that push the envelope. I saw one fellow fall flat on his face on the hard section surrounding the pool and security just watched. His friends tended to him. I also noticed my cabin was a bit "shopworn" with stains on the rug and a faulty shower door. I don't mean to paint a terrible picture, I still had a nice time...it just wasn't the same. I wrote about all this in my questionnaire, but never heard a thing from VV about it.

Lo and behold I login to email today and get a note from VV Sailor Services informing me that I now have Sea Rover status added to my profile. Yay!

So I just tried calling VV sailor services (yet again) to inquire about Sea Rover status on my account. Connection was poor and agent confirmed they were not in Florida, but Guatemala. Went through my spiel again and got the same 5 minute loud hold. Agent came back (after a 2nd five minute loud music hold) and said they "were not sure" if I had it or not. They said they would put in a request to tech services to find out and they would "let me know". Somehow I don't have a lot of confidence in the process so far and will not be holding my breath. 😂 Shouldn't this be computer automated...check date, check amount of cruises....if YES, post Sea Rover Status on account? You'd think I was asking for the eye color of every fourth VV crew member that had visited Epcot Center in the last five years.

Well, I called the VV customer service help line a few minutes ago to confirm my Sea Rover status. Seems simple enough...right? Agent was cluless and put me on hold. After at least five minutes of overly loud techno hold music I hung up. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. 🤣

I will give them a call and see if I currently have Sea Rover and If I sail in 2023 a third time I will do the same with Deep Blue. I’m still foggy about one thing though…does Sea Rover or Deep Blue expire or once you have them or do you enjoy the benefits for the life span of the company?

I sailed VV once in June of 2022 and again in June of 2023. Am I eligible for any loyalty benefit and is it automatic or must you sign up somewhere?

Thanks Chengkp75...just what I wanted to know.

The starboard wing station also has an array of video monitors that would allow the person controlling the ship to get a close up video feed of the starboard side of the stern. I'm sure it has a substantial zoom ability, as well as low light level capability. It hangs over the side just past where the teeter totter area is and even has its own windshield wiper. I wonder if there will be an NTSB report since it happened in US waters and was technically an accident. I'll leave that question for those more well versed than I in these matters.

I also noticed that after the roundabout spin that the ship was lined up closer to the concrete dolphin and at an odd angle that looked like it was off. This is only a guess but I saw that the blinking warning light for the end of the concrete dock is in the center of the structure. Is it possible that the person in charge mistook the placement of the light for the edge of the dock and failed to see the remaining part of the dock that was in shadow?

Makes sense. Thanks! Is there anyone here that was on the ship when it bumped its tush? Did you hear anything or feel it?

I'm curious about something and maybe someone with a maritime pay grade higher than mine can answer this. Who would be responsible for this? Would it be the Harbor Pilot or the ships Master or Staff Captain? Just a fun fact to add in, I visited the SL bridge last year and asked all the officers there which port was the worst to negotiate and they all said Port of Miami at night due to it's narrow apporoach.

l have wondered that so many days. I first sailed TSL in June of 2022 with a 1200 passenger load. I purposely chose the basic Wi-Fi onboard. With the occasional phone reboot, I got along pretty well and even made successful Face Time calls home. Fast forward to June of 2023 with a 2800 passenger load and ship basic Wi-Fi was choppy, bogged down, stalled and was barely usable. Obviously they made zero improvements and also were having difficulty handling a full ships IT requirements. All this should have been worked out before the ship was christened. The tech is there. VV for some reason didn’t use it. They also began their journey into the cruise industry hawking the line to Millennials and what’s the first thing Millennials require? Reliable fast Internet! 😀

After reading this Walter, I decided to try it too. You were spot on. The names only seem to work if they are common. I tried some unusual, but not totally far out derivations and Jenny reverts to calling you sailor. The program runs choppy and frequently stalls. So funny because IT has never been a VV strong suit. They have enough trouble keeping their sailing app running smoothly. So what do they do? "Hey guys and gals...lets create something that taxes even a well managed IT system. " LOL.

I found it overly complicated and busy to the eye. Millions spent and the message missed. I'd rather see a pretty skating pro glide backwards.

I have never used a TA to book a cruise. I have always been in the camp that I wanted complete "control". The older I get, the more I have been thinking about trying one, but I'm afraid to just pick one randomly. Then there's also the aspect of compatability with my expectations and personality. Your post regarding questions to ask is very helpful and I will do that. Maybe the gmail TA fairy will visit me? I too wish we could talk about agents here. CC won't even let us message privately. It's all good though. I have learned a lot in my time here and recently especially from you Catgetin. 😁