chisoxfan

Irrespective of the nuances regarding the 'improper' response due to missing an order of toast I personally would be most reluctant to bring this to the attention of management. I have been pretty upset with many things over 40 years of travel but at the end of the day, unless some egregious act was committed, I do not see the virtue in causing a working stiff direct job grief (which I am sure will be the outcome from a complaint to management). If I did feel it warranted (because I am not proud of it but have been known to get upset over some minor things) I would address the individual directly, express my concerns, and tell him this will not be carried up the line. Maybe the butler just broke up with his girlfriend or has a sick child at home (thousands of miles away), and his performance has drifted or maybe he is ill suited for the job in which case he will be replaced (or promoted to CEO)but I can only imagine reporting dissatisfaction late in the cruise probably helps no one. Ultimately one can elect to leave no tip. Don't mean to come off as a working class hero (which I am not) but I do get frustrated that so much of the substandard service in the world is a direct result of management who control things and not the workers who are thrust into the system. JMHO

Kudos on your response. Thanks for bringing things down to earth. The few times we have had a butler on board we were somewhat uncomfortable and really felt it was unnecessary. I am sure the posters butler at home will not dare to make the same mistake😁

I have to agree that this pricing makes little sense. We booked an S1 this morning at around 5800 and based on comments from others here just checked X and same suite was over 9k. Frankly at the price we booked this morning was on the 'edge' (no pun intended) for us on a 7 night cruise. Pricing changing this dramatically over a year out it feels as if we are bidding for tulips during the infamous 'tulip mania'. When booking cruises over the past years I always felt that there was some consistency in pricing (ie. maybe plus or minus 20% with some greater last minute savings for unsold cabins) but it is disconcerting to me that rates can change so much on cruises out so far and 'overnight'. Anyway I hope everyone gets the cruises they desire at prices they feel are reasonable.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank you for the heads up on this. We just booked an S1. I know this is a good deal in the 'new world' of cruising and we are excited to try a new X ship and Retreat. We will be on Apex in October with an IV which I am not looking forward to but should be OK with our port intensive itinerary. As a sidebar we really like the MSC Yacht Club but these cabins price out about the same as the Ascent and we are thinking X will offer more. Happy sailing.

Yes, I get it. When we lamented about no bottled water on NCL we were bombarded with people who said the on board tap water was fine to drink. Not intending to get into a 'water war' but many of us drink bottled water routinely (even when we have 'safe' tap water at home)and when I am on vacation don't expect to change this preference/habit at the whim of a cruiseline. From an environmental standpoint glass would be a substitute that I would pay for (just in London and all the water at our hotel was served in wonderful glass bottles). Did not mean to come off 'on the attack' as I know you were just trying to be helpful but wanted to expand upon our impressions whether popular or not.

Thank you for taking time to answer so completely. Everything sounds good except for the no bottled water. We bumped NCL from our cruise list a few years ago when they dropped bottled water from their 'free' drink package. It sounds as if Virgin has some environmental concerns regarding plastics but there are many sources of water in glass bottles which we prefer anyway. Good to know and thank you again.

One more question please (I spent some time seeking an answer without success). Bottled water apparently is not included. Can anyone give some guidance on this. We are looking at this line as an option but we likely have 8 bottles of water a day and are used to drink packages an just wanted to get a sense of addition cost for lack of package. Thanks.

Thanks for responding!

Went to their site...was surprised at the low costs for these cruises. If readers would be kind enough to indulge a few questions...... by comments above sounds as if 'table for 2' dining is not the norm. Also it appears that they only assign cabins (no preselection)? Also it seems you can only book directly (no TA's). Thanks in advance.

Thanks for posting. I came over to the Virgin Boards to ask the same question and your concerns and preferences match ours perfectly. X was our favorite line- we will do our first cruise on a new X ship next year but I already am resigned to being disappointed with the infinite (ie. no) balcony. Will read all of the responses with great interest. As an aside HAL seems to mark many boxes for us (particularly new ships) and maybe that would be a line for you to consider.

We love the Lido Cabanas and would select a HAL ship with them (and BB Kings) as major factors in cruise decision. FYI I was just quoted a Lido at 373 for a 11 night cruise from HAL. We have been a bit shell shocked at some of the recent cruise pricing- 11 nights (early 24 Carribean) with balcony at approx. 5800 has us thinking hard and looking at all inclusives which have offered more value to us the past few years. We will probably keep an eye on fares to see if they moderate (pricing was similar for 10 night and for different ships).

Totally agree with you on the value proposition issue. With retirement at hand have been actively looking at cruises by X, HAL, and even Princess but when I get to the reservation 'button' shake my head. Have also been a bit surprised that cabin availability on many cruises is poor which also is a negative (for booking). I suspect that the cruise system is still working off years of FCC's (and maybe some pent up demand). To some extent I have been spoiled by many years of 'high value' cruising options. Cruises every year and Vegas were high on our list and we extolled their virtues to anyone who would listen. As an aside we used to travel to Disney World every year and stay at their on grounds resorts. Pricing got so outrageous (IMHO) we tired of this and actually tried cruising as an alternative. We will travel extensively in the future (God willing) and am sure cruising will remain part of our plans but with a more selective eye. So maybe the sparkle remains in one eye currently.

We agree. Our 'pattern' of vacations (outside of a European trip) was a cruise to Carib in Feb and one or two Las Vegas trips during the year (staying at Cosmo, Delano typically). We used to feel we were getting a great travel value for both but LV shows and dining started to become more expensive and less interesting. So understand your post- we like Vegas and enjoy cruising, but feel the value prop for both has declined. It's as if the pleasure factor for both has gone down and the price has gone up. Currently All Inclusive's offer more bang for the buck for us. We are getting older (retiring this month) and after decades of travel want to minimize hassles of travel. JMHO

Still some sparkle for us but less than before. Just returned from 15 night Princess Enchanted and the ship was beautiful, food decent, and service good. That said it is a 4000 passenger ship that was half full for our cruise and I am not sure (perhaps unfair to play the what if) I would want to be on board when at maximum capacity. We did catch Covid at end of cruise and I do not blame Princess but it is (and likely will be) a fact of life when thousands are confined on a ship. We are on Apex in Oct. next year and while most interested in the itinerary and excited to try the new X ship(s), I think the IV will not be to our liking vs. old fashioned veranda. Will have to see but if that is the case it eliminates newer X ships. But the biggest dimmer of sparkle is pricing. Our standard for X used to be AQ-the cruise we are on had a 2k premium for AQ which I would never consider (that used to pay for a week long balcony). We have priced HAL, X, and Princess and pretty much get sticker shock at every turn. While all travel prices are rising we have migrated to all inclusives for our winter getaways that used to be cruises. Everything is included, food generally better and more diverse, and we can actually get a seat at the pool or on the beach. Minor issues with cancellation, usually as little as three days prior to trip, fly direct to resort (no hotel stay the night before or anguish over cancelled flights, etc. In short we have great memories of cruising and we were known as 'cruise people' but in the current environment it is no longer the primary option we look at. JMHO

We got off the EP on Saturday morning and everything went smoothly for us. Luggage was there walked out turned left (100 feet or so) called an Uber and it was there in five minutes. A comfort class (newer bigger vehicle) was about 65 bucks to LGA. We left the ship around 8:45 AM. I saw a few taxis across the street picking up people but did not see a cab stand per se (of course was not looking for one). We had thought about the shuttle but I do not think there was a cost saving and based on past experience figured it would be a cluster party.

Sorry for the blank reply above...... tried to delete. Anyway appreciate the comments on this cruise. The Commodore (excuse my ignorance but this is first Commodore I have run across) confirmed that there were a 'few' more cases than normal. I agree more transparency in these cryptic comments would be helpful. Speaking to crew and passengers I understood that infected passengers were staying in their original cabins. One couple we spoke to at length said that there was a Covid passenger next door and that the attendant had 'special' tools to clean their cabins (ie, red containers for bedding and towels, etc.). They were upset that this was their same attendant. I know we were fighting large swells and had slowed to approx 17 knots for an extended period which is the reason given for missing Boston which I would tend to accept. In my mind the day early entry to NY was not much of a 'bargain'. We had to spend several hours Friday going through immigration before we could return to the ship. Everyone sitting for hours in a great hall was not my idea of reducing opportunity for disease spread. My wife and I came down with strong 'head colds' on Friday and on Saturday (maybe we were just hyper tuned in to it) heard coughing everywhere on embarkation. My takeaway is mixed... we had a wonderful cruise on a beautiful ship and Princess did many things right. We would take the trip over without hesitation. I could not sign up for a cruise on this ship at max capacity however..... I kept picturing this as a full Caribbean cruise with people fighting for pool seating, waiting for dinner, full theatre shows, lines at bars, etc. Perhaps unfair but likely accurate. We used to enjoy at least one winter warm weather cruise every year but this will be replaced with an all inclusive experience in the future. More space, less drama, similar cost. We will continue to cruise but now view it more as an efficient way to see areas around the world versus a shipboard getaway 'vacation' (exception perhaps for MSC Yacht Club). Thanks for indulging these rambling thoughts.

Yes question on land tour and if you ignore it will not let you move on. This was the time I said 'forget it'. Again would be happy to take a short survey that I felt had relevance but this was not the case in my opinion. I bet CC posters could cast a meaningful survey if we put our minds to it. Agree on your comments on space utilization. The Vista lounge is a big space and was typically empty when other venues were packed. Sur la Mer was a big disappointment and seemed always empty. Just to be clear the cruise was excellent in most regards but can't get the full capacity challenge out of my mind.

We were also on this cruise and thanks for writing as I was in full agreement with your comments. We were apprehensive about Princess due to a terrible Panama cruise documented years ago on CC. A few comments... -being able to order drinks delivered to cabin and covered under drink package is fantastic. RS was amazingly fast. -Uneven quality of entertainment IMHO. Would love to have a BB King style review as HAL -crew was universally friendly but their native languages and masking could make communication We would gladly sign up for this cruise again with a huge nagging caveat-it was confirmed the ship was 50% full so wait times were minimal and spacing optimal. As I commented to my wife several times, if this cruise was full I can only imagine problems in dining venues, shows, pool areas, etc. Of course it is hard to be negative regarding a 'what if" but I remain concerned and would seek more comments from cruisers who had experienced a full ship before booking again. ps. just dutifully tried to fill out my Princess survey to offer useful feedback but gave up due to length and IMHO poor structuring of the questions....ie. question to rate the entertainment generically. In my opinion there were several outstanding entertainers and several very poor so offering a single rating really means nothing. I am afraid like many consumer companies the survey has taken over from understanding the business and talking face to face with passengers. JMHO

We had received vaccination exemption but ultimately found the rules restrictive...ie PCR test three days before, plus test at embarkation, then additional testing onboard (was different info than when we requested exemption and and were told there would be no special testing requirements) . It appeared testing on board was every four days. So hardly a 'free pass'.

Although we have private car for other travel London to Southampton was We will try the bus also. Under 20 GBP for 2 with reserved seats. Private car was 200 GBP and the train first class was not that cheap and apparently you have to manage your own luggage according to reviews I read. We are leaving the day before- maybe same day I would have been more tempted to use private car.

Let's be honest here. For years the cruiselines have surveyed cruisers on embarkation asking if they had any symptoms prior to boarding, ie, have you had fever, sore throat, etc. I am surmising that some of the more fervent Covid testing advocates have at one time or another not acknowledged a 'symptom' so their cruise was not impacted. We are excited about the return to more common sense restrictions but realistically do not think many will bother to test without symptoms and no need for test verification. JMHO

In defense of Ms. Midge...... it was my understanding that she did not demand a four top but simply refused a jammed in two top. The host should not have rolled their eyes but tried to accommodate. We prefer a more private table and will make this request but also try to be pleasant and understanding. If there is a short wait for example we can understand that. I agree with her that seating arrangements and the host 'management' aren't always logical. After decades of cruising I was always amazed the many times on formal nights the host would often seat 'black tie' diners in cramped tables and seat a couple who arrives dressed sloppily at a prime table. JMHO

I agree with your comments.... the only caveat/concern is that it must seem rude to people who are at the adjacent table when you wave off the host - as if they were the reason you did not want to sit there. Perhaps best to state your preference immediately. We try to have some patience and understand that it is not practical to expect to have an isolated table in a prime location every night. My wife probably did the best job (which we still joke about) when I requested a table for two and she added with authority 'ALONE'.