Wildcatllamas

I like to drink a lot of water too. I have a light weight insulated metal back packing bottle that I would fill with ice and water to keep with me when I was out wandering around. It has a nice clip that I could attach to my belt loop. And the carafes in the cabin easily fit into the little frig to keep it cold. I can't stand tepid water. So maybe not plastic bottles but believe me I didn't miss them on my trip. I have shared my comparison of Discovery Princess with my cruise on Scarlet under the heading "Will Virgin Ever Come to the West Coast". The only thing I didn't cover on that one was the Spa facial I had. On both Princess and Virgin it was $199. But that was the only common factor. The facial on Princess was as basic as you could get. Total time including intake info was a little less then 60 minutes on Princess and then the push for a tip. On Scarlet the facial was over 90 minutes with all the bells and whistles. I have never felt so pampered during a facial as I was on that one. And absolutely no mention of a tip. When I asked if she could accept one she replied that she couldn't but she was glad I felt it was that good. I am a TA and have completed all of their training for Virgin and I can understand why they won't allow agents who haven't trained with them to sale their product. It is different but for the right clientele it can be very enjoyable.

The friend and I ate at Gumbae and we had some OBC to blow through so we ordered the Waygu beef. The server cooked it specifically for us and to our desired temperature. Mine warm and still kicking and my friend's was dead. I will be honest I didn't feel it was anything to write home about but with OBC to spend on the last night it made it a treat.

I had someone tell me last night that posts that seem to stay on top of headings are the ones that catch the eye of the folks looking for feedback for corporate. So maybe we need to find other folks that we know who would love to see Virgin come to the West coast to hop on and post to this thread.

My friend and I both were able to make "wifi only" phone calls with the basic wifi last December. I have Verizon and he has Xfinity. Phone was in airplane mode with wifi calling turned on. There were lags when we were moving but in ports it worked great.

When I was on in December one day my friend and I stopped at the soda fountain. He had a hot dog and I had the pretzel as well as a couple of the "adult" floats. For the last two days he raved about the hot dog but they were closed because something was broken.

Below is my comparison of the Princess Discovery to Scarlet that I shared on a thread on Princess. Some were receptive and then a couple found the worst reviews on Virgin and posted links to them. I spoke with quite a few folks on the ship about Virgin and many were interested until they found out that they were only sailing out of Miami. I was thinking that if you wanted to do some place that isn't the tried and infamous cruise stops on the West coast there is La Paz or Loreto. Some of the other lines stop there but only on longer trips. My parents used to live in San Carlos which is part of Guaymas on the mainland on the Sea of Cortez. After they moved back to the states there was talk of starting to bring in cruise ships. I think they are actually doing it with a Mexican based cruise line. So some options that are totally out there for someone like Richard Branson to take on make totally unique. I was on the Discovery last week and Virgin back in December. On the Discovery I was in a mini-suite and on Virgin a terrace (aka balcony). So first off the bathroom - in reality they are both the same size. I measured the area where the toilet and basin are and the tub/shower versus large shower with the rain shower head. But on Virgin it does seem smaller. Optical illusion. I am in my late 60s and loved Virgin. Now I only caught part of the "Never go to bed alone" show. Not my cup of tea so I left. Don't go if you don't like that kind of stuff. But the Dual Reality show and the pop up performers were really different, edgy and with Dual Reality it was great. Plus Virgin has a huge selection of movies available to view in your cabin. Many were recent releases versus a couple of years or more on Princess. Both Princess and Virgin stink on their beds. Way to firm for me and my joints that at times hate me. The layout of the bed and bed/couch is definitely doable. The steward will gladly strip the beds down so you can use it as a couch during the day and remake them into beds at night. We just had him leave them as beds. Attire - I was on a B2B on Virgin and everyone was very respectful of dressing nicely to eat in the restaurants. And on Scarlet night talk about dressing up - it was so much fun to see all the beautiful dresses and suits in red. Now a couple of the nights I did wear shorts to dinner but that was because I got back late from being ashore and was pushing my dinner reservation time. Food - hands down Virgin all the way. Even in the Galley (aka buffet). Now here is the plus on the Galley - wander around and see what you like. Then go and sit down. One of the Galley attendants will come and take your order for your food and beverages and they will be brought over to you. Want something more - just let them know. No need to sit at a table in shifts while others grab food. The Wake steakhouse was way better then Crown Grill. Extra Virgin Italian makes Sabatines look pathetic. Pink Agave is just an amazing take on Mexican. And don't miss out on the Test Kitchen. Gumbae is fun and good food. Razzle Dazzle has some wonderful dishes. Their breakfast pizza is a round slab of watermelon with a vegan whipped cream topping and lots of other fresh fruits. The pizza place on Virgin is comparable to Gigi's but Virgin Ice Cream (free) is way better then Gelatos. We would order a pizza and while waiting have a scoop of ice cream. Then we would take the pizza over to the one bar to watch the football game and eat pizza. There is the soda/candy shop. Free hot dogs, pretzels and all sorts of candy. The alcoholic floats are yummy and run about $9. The Dock is a tapas bar on the back of the ship. The food is all free and no one pressures you to order a drink. Although the Blackberry Sangria isn't bad. Wifi - Virgin definitely. Even their slow free wifi was better then what I paid for on Princess. I was always able to log in and do anything I needed to do on my laptop on Virgin. It took me 6 times to log on while on Princess just to do my payroll for 7 employees. Lots of dead zones and marginal areas on Princess. With gratuities, wifi, all non-alcoholic beverages and no upcharge restaurants included it does make a difference. And Richard Branson has a staff that follows many social media sites looking for complaints and they start working those issues out. Folks complained about not having a sports bar and they were in the process of changing out one of their bars to be a sports bar. Folks complained about more storage places and they have made changes. I don't see Princess doing that. NCL used to. So to each his own on cruises. This Princess cruise wasn't as nice as my one in 2019 - but then Covid happened. If flights weren't so expensive to get from where I live to Miami it would be Virgin hands down.

The bed could be considered a "pull out" by some. It really isn't. One bed is anchored to the frame work that forms the couch form. The other bed is on a pivot. It can be pivoted over to pair up with the anchored bed to make a queen bed or left on the frame work if two separate folks are traveling. So during the day if folks want it to actually be a couch the steward will remove the bedding and it becomes a couch. Adding the bedding and they are now beds. Now don't get me wrong others love the beds on both Virgin and Princess. I know my bed on Princess back in 2019 was absolutely comfy. Supposedly they upgraded all the bedding during the shut down. Did the beds change or maybe my joints have just gotten more temperamental? In both instances the stewards did what they could to make them more comfortable by adding extra comforters on the bed under the sheet. Think "Princess and the Pea". Those helped but not by a whole lot.

Not so much. But things constantly change. I know one day near The Dock there was a duo, one on guitar and the other on a violin. There were pretty good.

I was on the Discovery last week and Virgin back in December. On the Discovery I was in a mini-suite and on Virgin a terrace (aka balcony). So first off the bathroom - in reality they are both the same size. I measured the area where the toilet and basin are and the tub/shower versus large shower with the rain shower head. But on Virgin it does seem smaller. Optical illusion. I am in my late 60s and loved Virgin. Now I only caught part of the "Never go to bed alone" show. Not my cup of tea so I left. Don't go if you don't like that kind of stuff. But the Dual Reality show and the pop up performers were really different, edgy and with Dual Reality it was great. Plus Virgin has a huge selection of movies available to view in your cabin. Many were recent releases versus a couple of years or more on Princess. Both Princess and Virgin stink on their beds. Way to firm for me and my joints that at times hate me. The layout of the bed and bed/couch is definitely doable. The steward will gladly strip the beds down so you can use it as a couch during the day and remake them into beds at night. We just had him leave them as beds. Attire - I was on a B2B on Virgin and everyone was very respectful of dressing nicely to eat in the restaurants. And on Scarlet night talk about dressing up - it was so much fun to see all the beautiful dresses and suits in red. Now a couple of the nights I did wear shorts to dinner but that was because I got back late from being ashore and was pushing my dinner reservation time. Food - hands down Virgin all the way. Even in the Galley (aka buffet). Now here is the plus on the Galley - wander around and see what you like. Then go and sit down. One of the Galley attendants will come and take your order for your food and beverages and they will be brought over to you. Want something more - just let them know. No need to sit at a table in shifts while others grab food. The Wake steakhouse was way better then Crown Grill. Extra Virgin Italian makes Sabatines look pathetic. Pink Agave is just an amazing take on Mexican. And don't miss out on the Test Kitchen. Gumbae is fun and good food. Razzle Dazzle has some wonderful dishes. Their breakfast pizza is a round slab of watermelon with a vegan whipped cream topping and lots of other fresh fruits. The pizza place on Virgin is comparable to Gigi's but Virgin Ice Cream (free) is way better then Gelatos. We would order a pizza and while waiting have a scoop of ice cream. Then we would take the pizza over to the one bar to watch the football game and eat pizza. There is the soda/candy shop. Free hot dogs, pretzels and all sorts of candy. The alcoholic floats are yummy and run about $9. The Dock is a tapas bar on the back of the ship. The food is all free and no one pressures you to order a drink. Although the Blackberry Sangria isn't bad. Wifi - Virgin definitely. Even their slow free wifi was better then what I paid for on Princess. I was always able to log in and do anything I needed to do on my laptop on Virgin. It took me 6 times to log on while on Princess just to do my payroll for 7 employees. Lots of dead zones and marginal areas on Princess. With gratuities, wifi, all non-alcoholic beverages and no upcharge restaurants included it does make a difference. And Richard Branson has a staff that follows many social media sites looking for complaints and they start working those issues out. Folks complained about not having a sports bar and they were in the process of changing out one of their bars to be a sports bar. Folks complained about more storage places and they have made changes. I don't see Princess doing that. NCL used to. So to each his own on cruises. This Princess cruise wasn't as nice as my one in 2019 - but then Covid happened. If flights weren't so expensive to get from where I live to Miami it would be Virgin hands down.

I was on the Discovery last week. The hollandaise sauce was way to lemony, the lamb was just okay and the "mint" jelly was disgusting. The duck that was served on the Gala night was tough - like even cutting with a knife tough. The only way to get a half way decent cup of coffee in the MDR was to order decaf since they have to actually brew that - some where - since it takes for ever to get. If you think the coffee is bad don't try the iced tea. Ugh. I would ask for hot tea and two glasses of ice. In the Crown Grill I ordered the tenderloin cooked rare and Pittsburgh style. Came out very good. Tried it on the tenderloin in the MDR and it was passable but not as rare as I like it.

Absolutely none on the Discovery last week. I have a nice canvas one from Virgin and the zippered one from Celebrity. It is a shame that Princess is making a lot of cuts.

I just got off the Discovery and don't be surprised if the service is bad. It was very frustrating to have several dead zones or marginal coverage. Our cabin would constantly cut in and out.

I'm doing a Princess cruise next week. But I'm not feeling all warm and fuzzy about this cruise. I think I will miss Virgin a lot.

A friend and I will be on the cruise going out this Saturday. Looking at your photos it gives me an idea of what to expect. I feel sorry for MsSoCalCruiser with their food allergy. I too have a food allergy which is very rare though. I'm allergic to black pepper. Virgin was wonderful about helping me work around that without missing out on any foods. All of their food is cooked to order. I will be interested to see how Princess handles this. Carnival was horrible about it. Celebrity and NCL were pretty good and previous cruises with Princess were hit or miss. I usually take Benadryl before a meal just to be safe.

I can log into my account on both my home and work computers as well as my phone. But it won't save my vaccination card to the system. Last night I had to call Princess for a client and while I had the rep on the phone I asked about the issue. Of course their response was the total opposite of those on these boards. Supposedly it will cause quite the problem at the port check in if my vaccination card isn't loaded to the Medallion app. It will delay my check in and possibly prevent me from getting onboard even with the hard copy of my vaccination card. Guess I will find out on Saturday. Odds are definitely in favor with those on these boards that all will be fine.

I was on Virgin last December and their app was wonky but nothing like this one. And they are the new kid on the block. Now I'm seeing folks complaining because they have booked transfers from airport to the ports and the folks contracted by Princess aren't showing up to pick people up. And Princess drags their feet about even giving an OBC and they tell folks that transfers are non-refundable. This will be an interesting cruise in 5 days.

Still nope. I have tried different computers, different browsers and my cell phone. It is actually getting to be a game for me. (Yeah I know I work in a casino so the odds are against me). Just one more time and it will work. Darn. One more time. Darn. I guess my humor is just getting warped.

I have had issues for the last two days with both the website and app. It is crazy. And considering many folks have time to browse for vacations on the weekends that has to be the world's worst time to pull stuff down to tinker with it.

I know. It has just been frustrating. So if anyone else was having the problem I was just providing a non-Princess reason for it 😉

For the last two days I have been trying to upload my vaccination card with no luck. I have deleted the app and reinstalled. I have tried taking a picture - nope. Using a photo in my drive file - nope. It just won't save. It keeps telling me to try again later. I have tried using wifi and cell. I even tried to use their web version of the app. So as to be polite I won't blame Princess, it must be Mercury Retrograde.

Here in Colorado we also have state set "house edge". In many instances the payback will differ based on machine denomination. Those that offer multiple denomination play will have payback based on the selected denomination. So many folks don't realize that on most penny machines with multi-line pay it will have a max bet that is the same or close to a dollar machine. Difference is the dollar machine will usually have a higher payback then the penny. Key word is usually.

Having worked in the gaming industry for 23 years I am always amazed at what people consider "free". On one cruise (different cruise line) a person was all excited because they had gotten their "free" drink card for use in the casino. It took 1500 slot points. On that line it was $6 a point, coin in. If you like to gamble then enjoy the perks. If you are just doing it to get something "free" weigh your options. There is nothing "free" in the casino industry.

I so hear you on this. Yesterday I was checking my business credit card and here were charges from Princess. Two for $29, one for $58 and then a $29 credit. So I called and of course spent a huge amount of time explaining and reexplaining what I was seeing. While talking I'm looking at the app and my reservation in the Crown Grille is still showing but now it isn't showing as paid. So now I'm trying to address that issue. It just kept getting more convoluted. Finally she agreed that they needed to refund me for another $29 but didn't have a clue about why it wasn't showing paid for two people. So now I'm transferred to Ocean Navigator - which was even worse. I got absolutely no where there. There still isn't a credit back to my card but I will give them a couple of more days. I will be taking a copy of the charges on my card with me to show that the dinner reservations were paid for and then some.

I was barely a month old when the coronation of Queen Elizabeth occurred. But as I grew older I was fascinated with not only her role as Queen but her life prior to assuming that role. She has always been someone that I admired and hoped to one day see in person, even if from a distance. My heartfelt condolences to her family and her country. May she rest in peace.

I have a client on the Regal right now. I called Princess 3 different times and got 3 different answers. I texted him the info shown on the Princess website so he was going to try and find a place to get the test done. I told him if all else fails to get to the port early so they can test him there. What is very bizarre is he is doing a private land based tour in Greece following this cruise. Through that company they said there was no testing needed for anyone who was arriving from anywhere in the EU. I clarified with them he was leaving Rome on a cruise ship to Athens and when they got back with me they said he would be fine and wouldn't need a test according to their sources in Greece. So let's call that different answer #4.