Wildcatllamas

Good morning. I assume you were talking to me. I guess compare is a broad term. I don't get a chance to take really long cruises due to my work schedule, so I have been to several of the ports offered numerous times both on a cruise and land based. So for me I compare the ship board experience. Having just cruised on Virgin back in December I am very familiar with the food, cabin, and the onboard experiences. But it has been over 3 years since I have been on a Princess cruise. Back at that time the food didn't even come close to the quality of the food on Virgin. The cabin on Princess was a little more comfortable then Virgin but I have to say that hammock on Virgin was really nice. Plus Virgin has been listening to those who have sailed with them and have been making changes as they go along to bring the ships inline with the customer feed back. Pricewise it's a toss up. When I look at all the things that Virgin includes in the fare then they can be competitive. Remember when you are pricing on their website that you need to be aware of is the price per cabin or per sailor. So folks will see the per cabin price and think that is the per person price. Now my biggest hold back with Virgin is the airfare to get from Colorado to Miami. I can sail out of Galveston or the West Coast on Princess with an airfare that isn't higher then my cruise - that is unless I want to fly first class - and that only happens when I fly to Hawaii. So if Virgin begins to sail out of ports on the West Coast I will be all over that. I particularly love to sail out of San Diego. I can definitely understand your feelings about Virgin. I hear that a lot. I was very skeptical prior to sailing with them. But once onboard I was sold. Scottca075 - I read a lot of your posts. Especially your ones for the West Coast and you are a wealth of information. Thank you for sharing what you do and happy sailing.

Now, try being a TA and deal with long hold times to only end up with one of these folks that have no clue. I know that most of them are absolutely frazzled but it is all I can do to remain polite and courteous at times.

We did but Crown Plaza is sold out and DoubleTree is almost $700 a night. My friend booked the hotel because she is high member with Best Western and it was $50 cheaper then the DoubleTree (where I normally stay at). We are now staying at the Sheraton (aka Marriott) Gateway right there at the airport. Once again she booked it so guess we will see.

Just a heads up to anyone who may have booked this hotel they are now closed. Based on recommendations from other friends a friend and I had them booked for our cruise in October and she called to confirm our reservations on Thursday. imagine the shock to find out that they are closed permanently. So we have now booked a hotel close to LAX and will Uber to the port the next morning.

CineGraphic I so enjoyed my B2B cruises on Virgin. I haven't been on Princess since April of 2019 but will be on the Discovery in October. It will really give me a chance to compare. But overall if I could get decent airfare from Colorado to Miami I would be the most loyal Virgin fan you would find. There was just a feel about everything there that made it so amazing. And then the food - well normally I don't gain any weight on a cruise because I walk a lot onboard and off. Yeah, that didn't work on Virgin.

I am sailing on the 8th in cabin R328. So if you haven't sailed yet I will try to touch base with you to let you know who might have that area. In the past I will usually let the room steward know that I like lots of ice so please bring extra. If on the first night or next morning they have helped with that I will leave a tip for them in an envelope. It really seems to help with them checking to see if I have any extra needs and if they go above and beyond I leave them small tips through out the duration. I figure who knows - they may get time off the ship and that extra cash will come in handy. Barb

I have ordered the canapes and the cheese plates for clients of mine. Everyone has love the cheese plates. Canapes - not so much. So the last few times I have just ordered the cheese plate for folks. Back in April of 2019 when I sailed on Princess I decided to try the canapes myself. And I have to agree - not worth the money spent. I often grab a meat, cheese and snack plate from the buffet just in case I end up starving to death due to lack of food 😉 I do enjoy the suite life on NCL. They definitely spoiled me over there. I've been in one suite on Princess and it was very nice but the service wasn't as great as on NCL.

Thank you Rick&Jeannie and JF-retired RRT that helps me so much!

I have tried to search for this but couldn't find any info. So does anyone know if there are any plug ins besides the ones at the desk. I'm trying to avoid bringing an extension cord if there are any behind the bed. I have a multi adapter for different plugs and that is so much easier to pack. Thanks for any help!!

This is a shame. The last time I sailed Princess was in April of 2019. The internet was sufficient that I was able to do payroll while at sea coming back from Puerto Vallarta. I did payroll on my cruise on Virgin while at sea and on my upcoming cruise in October I will once again have to do payroll. Granted it isn't a TA but still it sounds like it stinks no matter where you are. What is a major shame is that Princess doesn't seem to be able to rectify this or just doesn't care. On Virgin the basic internet is free and that worked just fine. If I'm going to pay for internet I expect it to be above sub-par.

On my last cruise on Princess in 2019 I ordered a non-frozen, shaken daiquiri. There was a lot of puzzled looks and head scratching. As a former bartender I walked the bartender through how to make one. And it was very good. He was excited to learn how to make an old standard drink. So be prepared to know which Singapore Sling recipe you like and how it is made. On my last cruise, which was Virgin, on their resort on Bimini I ordered a Cuba Libra. I'm watching the bartender use Morgan Spiced Rum, simple syrup, some other mix and barely topped it off with Coke. When he placed it in front of me I told him that after all that work now I wanted a simple Cuba Libra. He argued and I asked for a bar manager. When she came over and he told her I wanted a Cuba Libra she said okay and fixed it the right way the first time. He then asked her what it was that she had just mixed.

If I have the coffee and soda package can I get two mochas from the IC to take back to my cabin? I like to sip coffee on my balcony in the morning.

Since you are flying international out of LAX you should plan on being at the terminal for check in 3 hours prior to your flight. Last I checked for a client, Terminal B was where the international flights went out of. So with your flight going out at 12:50 I would plan on being at the airport by 9:50 and departing the port by 9:15.

I always buy antibiotics in Mexico. I have a ranch and to bring the vet out it is $250 trip fee, usually a $150 for the exam and then the antibiotics, the last time, they were an additional $35. When I have an animal with an abscess I know what to do. I currently can buy liquid PenV without a script in the states, but many vets are trying to get a law passed to prevent that. So for my small animals I buy the capsules in Mexico and the large animals, I keep my fingers crossed that they don't stop ranchers from being able to buy liquid antibiotics.

All this talk of Virgin got me to looking at doing a cruise on them in November or December. Well darn - airfare from Colorado Springs is more then what I would pay per person for a Sea Terrace. I could go to Denver for a bit cheaper flight but that is a 3 1/2 hour drive, parking is way more expensive and TSA stinks up there even with Precheck. I will watch the flights and if they drop I plan on booking with Virgin again.

That looks good. So guess I better check on some dates so I can get something booked.

I have been asked for input from Virgin twice since my cruise in December. Both times I suggested West Coast sailings and possibly one to Hawaii on occasion. It is so much easier to fly to West Coast out of Colorado then it is to the East Coast. They really listen to input from their guests and also read the boards here. While on Scarlet in December people were upset about no football games or sports bar. They immediately began making changes to one of the bars to turn it into a sports bar and added American football to their TV line up. My friend and I curled up in our cabin and watched the game. So keep on tossing out suggestions and lets see what happens as they get all their ships going.

When I went to guest service about the app the rep had me close out of all the pages I had open and do a quick refresh and things worked perfect after that. That was back in December and I know that Virgin reads the boards on here. They have been working very hard to implement a lot of the things people were suggesting.

Thank you for sharing. That brought back so many memories. I am so trying to figure out a time to get back on Scarlet. Happy belated birthday.

The bathroom is small. Very small. But the shower is very large for cruise ship standards. It is a rain shower nozzle and so nice after a day on shore. Just watch out that the room steward didn't leave the setting for the wand on when you go to turn on the water. That was very bracing.

I did a 9 day B2B last December on the Scarlet Lady and I loved. The friend who traveled with me is a die-hard Princess fan and was skeptical about trying Virgin because of things he had heard about them. By the end of the cruise he loved what he saw. Now I am 69 and he is 74 so we aren't the young folks that people are assuming are going on Virgin. The vast majority of the folks were 50 years old and older. Yes, there was a pajama party (weather permitting) up by the pool. There were a couple of folks that played it to the max but most everyone had on full coverage pajamas. You don't have to go if you get offended. The buffet was wonderful. On the first day one of the crew told us to see what we wanted and then find a table. One of them would come by, take our order and bring it to us. All around are coolers with their Bento Boxes. I tried the yogurt and fresh fruit one morning and their sushi for lunch. Definitely try the Test Kitchen. That was amazing. I loved the Wake and Pink Agave. Extra Virgin is also good but lots of food. The ice cream shop has a great selection of ice cream and it is all free. The candy store was really fun and free. And the Soda Shoppe is definitely a place to try. I had the Berry Me At Sea float. Bubbly, berry puree, Red Bull (Oops don't do it after 4 PM if you have trouble with sleeping on caffeine) and ice cream. It was delicious. Pizza was great and we set with some folks and ate Pizza, drank beer and watched a football game on their large tablet. Shortly after this Virgin announced they were converting one of their bars to a Sports bar. Crew was so out going and like none I have ever experienced. Only one sour face in the bunch. The private resort on Bimini is beautiful and once again the food is all free. And definitely try the hammock. So nice to relax in it while listening to the water. I can answer any questions you have on Virgin. If I hadn't gotten a really good deal on my upcoming Princess cruise I would be on Virgin again this fall. Looking at booking with them Fall of 2023.

I have been trying for the last two days to make reservations at the Crown Grill for my October 8 cruise on Discovery. I have tried the app as well as the website option and it keeps saying try later. Very frustrating.