Wildcatllamas

Gamblers are a strange breed. Our biggest promo for a couple of years was a pumpkin pie giveaway from Halloween through Thanksgiving. Put 400 points on your account in 24 hours ($1200) and get a "free" fully cooked pumpkin pie. The pie costed the casino $3 and probably ran about $6 at the grocery store but people came in almost daily to get the pumpkin pie. So @CruisingWalter is right how much is put into welcoming gamblers with open arms and making them feel special. There is no such thing as a "free Lunch" and a sucker is born every minute are so very true.

Amen to that!

@CineGraphic I saw that just after I hit submit. I've been talking with our GM and Marketing Director. They got a big kick out of those percentages. We give way more promo stuff for a whole lot less.

Oh my. Having worked in the casino industry for 25 years I will usually inquire on a cruise what the coin in is to earn a point. I know most land based casinos are at and that is in the vicinity of $3/1 point. One of the cruises I was one it was $6/1 point. I haven't been in the casinos on Virgin so I haven't asked but I would guess it would closer to the $6 then the $3. So, I could spend, let's say $15,000, to get free drinks while in the casino or $300 for a bar tab.

I also found it there but when I searched other possible ports that she might be going to I came up with nothing. She will pop up somewhere and then disappear. So it is definitely a guessing game.

@jon81uk thanks for the clarification. I did get the blue wristband. After the first day I did remove it. Everyone at the coffee shop knew me. I did move my medallion portion of my wristband to my sea blazer one because I just like purple better. Several of the employees commented on how unique it was.

That is interesting. I have the Sea Blazer wrist band that was mailed to me following my cruises in 2021. It is purple with a silver colored medallion that is engraved with SB. I wore it when I went on my cruise in December and no one said "oh gee" you go ahead of these folks. What does the Sea Rover band look like?

That's what I have done in the past and then a quick hit with wrinkle release spray and things are good.

My last cruise on Celebrity was the end of January 2020 right before everything went down hill. Everything was great on that cruise for the friends and I that all traveled together. I don't know about now but I definitely feel that Celebrity and Virgin are the closest comparisons. As to the Crown Grill - I ate there in April of 2023 and also in October of 2022. Two different ships and my steaks both times weren't cooked the way I asked for them. I like them warm rare and each time they came out medium or medium well. On my April cruise I think the chef got pissed and just slapped it on the grill, flipped and then sent it out. I shocked the waiter when I told it was great, because I will eat it that way. On the October one, it took 2 steaks to get it to at least a medium rare. At least at the Wake when I tell them I would like my steak cooked Pittsburgh style and rare they know exactly what I want and it comes out perfect.

You can't really blame them. So many cruise ports are starting to look at the mega ships with 3 - 5 thousand people and if you have several of them there what does it do to the way of life for the folks who live there. I was just reading that NCL is modifying their private island's pier so that two of their proposed mega ships with 5000 folks apiece can dock there at the same time. I don't think I would want to spend my time on a small private island with 10,000 people, many of them kids. When I was in Fairbanks back in February it was nice to talk with the locals. They like the quiet time when the cruises aren't doing all their tours up to there. Many people don't realize who fragile the environment is up there and don't appreciate the beauty for what it is. Folks who can't understand why they couldn't see Denali because of the clouds and weather and things like that.

I live at 8500 feet (2590m) in the mountains of Colorado and I'm like you - 20C is a heat wave.

I think you're right. I would guess that they may do a brief Caribbean stint followed by a full transit through the Panama Canal to finish up with the Mexican Riviera. Rather then Alaska they may even opt to do Hawaii following Mexico. That would be a nice trip.

I haven't found her listed in any ports in Alaska or Vancouver just yet. But they don't have many ships listed for 2026 so far.

Brilliant Lady is showing up in Astoria Oregon on May 7, 2026. Cruise Ship Log 2026.pdf

I'm 70 and have been on 3 short Caribbean cruises and the range is broad. The last one was last December and I think the majority were late 40s to late 60s range.

After always sailing in suites with my late husband moving down to just a balcony or mini suite was a shock to the system. So I can definitely relate to what you are saying.

Yes they can. It's very easy.

May your day be filled with fantastic adventures and chocolate bunnies.

I don't know about the prices for the fresh squeezed juices but the specialty coffee prices are definitely in line with what I pay at my local coffee shops. Actually they are a bit cheaper and a lot better.

On my cruise in December of 2021 our steward asked if we wanted him to make up the couch daily since we had it in the two bed configuration. We told him that wasn't necessary but he showed us where we could stow the blankets and sheets if we changed our minds. Then in December of 2023 my steward asked if I wanted the bed made into a couch during the day and I told him I was fine the way it was. But he then showed me how to separate and pivot the beds if I wanted the couch just in case I couldn't get ahold of him.

I remember awhile back when Virgin was offering that if you shared with your friends that you were on a certain sailing and they booked through your link that each of you got $50 OBC. People were sharing their links here like crazy. So that would lead to bunches of people that you don't know suddenly being in your "circle". I think that came to an end back in 2021 or early 2022.

Thanks for the suggestion but no the two that I saw only played violins.

I'm hoping that someone may be able to help me. Back in October 2022 I sailed on Discovery and there was a wonderful duo on there. They were a brother and sister violinists and I think they may have been from somewhere in the vicinity of Ukraine. I had written down their information because I wanted to order one of their cds when I got home. Needless to say life got in the way and last week I tried to find where I had placed their information. I can't find it. I believe their last names began with an L and they have performed on a lot of ships with Princess. Thanks for any help!

I know at one point she mentioned to me a bridge tour but we were also talking about the ship tour, so not sure on that. On the alcohol, I guess she shouldn't have asked the agent. I will let her know because she has another cruise booked for December in a Mega suite.

Now this is a tiny bit off topic but I had a friend who was a MegaRock on one of the cruises out of San Juan last month. She was very upset because of so many things that she and I have seen here on this page that her agent said couldn't be done. When she and her husband asked about doing the ship tour their agent said it would cost them because Megas don't get it for free. Then they asked if they could take a bottle of unopened rum, from their bar, home with them and he said they couldn't do that at all. There were so many things that he said he couldn't do for them and yet others post about doing it all the time. But this ship tour was one they had been really looking forward to. They paid for it but it's sad that they had to.