greenenvy

5 minutes ago, Ranger1227 said:

It seems ambitious that the Boat is in Italy right now, they are going to bring it to San Juan for a few sailings and then send it back to Europe

It’s almost 4 months in San Juan. Plus I’ve heard those itineraries have sold very well. 

I’m waiting impatiently for news - I’m booked for Brilliant Miami Mermaiden and need to know if I have to make other plans. The other thing that is going to upset me is I got a really good deal on it so even if they do cancel and offer credit whether 150% or 200% - it still wouldn’t cover the prices of many of the other available cruises. 
 

Keep us posted! 

1 minute ago, cantgetin said:

I'll have to look there some morning.  14 nights on the ship and there are still foods I want to try, places I need to check out, etc.

 

I have also spent 14 nights on Scarlet Lady (non-consecutive, 3 cruises) and I leave for 6 days on Valiant shortly and there are absolutely things I still haven’t tried. I always struggle because some stuff is so good that I want it again (especially after not having it for 6 months) but then I also want to sample more things on the menu and around the ship. First world problems! 

I believe Sip also has some pastries available in the morning - I hope I M

remembering correctly. I know they do on disembarkation day. 

1 hour ago, YXU AC*SE said:

How does DBE work for boarding?   We have a 14h30 slot, but should be to POM by 13h30 -- we're coming in from FLL via Brightline.  Should we look to lay-up somewhere for an hour, or ...     TIA   Scott. 

For Deep Blue - show up around 1:30 regardless of what the time says in the app. Go to the VV sailing club banner and tell them your name. You should be on the sailing club list and can get in the first line to go in the terminal (besides Rockstars and behind Splash of romance). You should get boarding group 1. You will wait in the terminal upstairs for 20-30min and then group 1 will board the ship around 2. Truthfully if you arrive anytime after 2p you should be allowed to board immediately. 

NSA's last shows on Valiant and Scarlet were last night.  Not sure if they'll bring it back at a future date - but make it known to Virgin if you miss it.  Shout out to ALL the wonderful doctors - Dr. Alex, Dr. Ashley, Dr. Audrey, Dr. Anya, Dr. Anna and Brandi (I don't remember her Dr. A name). As for the other events the Doctor hosted, I'm not sure if those will continue or not or if they will be hosted by someone else in the Happenings cast.

I’ve cruised solo and it’s fine. You can dine alone but at Gunbae you are seated with strangers. At other restaurants, people sitting near you are friendly and may make conversation. If you meet people along the way I’m sure you can ask if you can join them for dinner. 

I’ve sailed twice and there were none as far as I’m aware. 

On 8/24/2022 at 8:26 AM, cantgetin said:

I haven't seen anything quite like the mousse above, but yes, you could easily live on the "grab and go" selections if you choose.  Do remember that they change throughout the day, so check back more than once!

The mousse is in the top left of the picture. 

17 hours ago, AdoraBelle said:

I watched some YouTubes today that showed that grab n go section. I saw what looked like a charcuterie & cheese snack box that would be about $12 in my local Wegmans, and something labeled “callebaut dark chocolate, crunchy pearls and pistachio crumble”. I’m not sure exactly what it was, maybe a mousse, but I love callebaut anything. Anyway, I was thinking at the time that I could basically happily survive on just that grab and go stuff. Imagine the rest of the food.

 
It’s a chocolate mousse cup and it’s delicious!

I believe all new crew members go through a quarantine period in sea terraces before they are allowed to work full time / interact with passengers or report to their assigned crew cabins. 

On 12/25/2021 at 3:16 AM, MarinerBoy said:

Except even the cheapest cabin is $1000 per person per 5 days so $200/night is VV while other cruise lines you can easily find $100 or under but VV is a premium product. 

Have you checked current pricing with the current deal going on? Virgin charges per cabin not per sailor. So the prices may say 1500-2000 but that is for two people. And if you talk to a TA that’s been recently, they can likely offer a $300 discount too. Plus the 10% pay in full offer. With my sea blazers and on board promotion - my next cruise was about $750 pp. 

The other thing to note is the No Nickle and diming on the ship. My final bill with Virgin was 10% or 20% of what I’ve paid on other lines once all the gratuities, meals etc were added. You pay for a premium product and don’t have to spend anything extra on board (only if you want to!). 

9 hours ago, WanderlustJourney said:

I've been booked for quite some time, however I've heard and read very mixed reviews about how and when sailors are receiving their bands and luggage tags (if they even receive them in time for their sailing). Just curious on others experiences with receiving/not receiving them before hand. My newest challenge has been that I can't seem to upload vaccination proof in the app? The step is just missing and it's saying I still need to complete something in my check in, but there isn't anything further for me to complete lol

I don’t remember having to upload vaccine info or the card in the App. They verify that when you check in for the cruise. But I cruised in October so it’s possible it changed 

On 12/1/2021 at 11:01 PM, Chamoretta said:

Can anyone confirm if NSA is still on the ship?   I was on in October but have heard things that make me thing this show is no longer there.

It is still on as far as I know. They’ve swapped out Dr. A for another person. I follow her on Instagram and she posts about the show frequently. Ashley.Arcement. 

Curious if anyone has see the Sea Terrace XL that sleeps 3 in action. I’m going with a female friend and think it may help with the head to head thing because it’s a full/Queen bed that sleeps two and then the one bed across the headboard. There is an additional piece to extend the sea bed. This would at least allow for a little additional space between us. I’ve only seen the illustration of that configuration but never seen the actual bed/room set up like that. 

They will also put it on for you and adjust it when you check in if you ask. 

Tip if you want to tip. I felt like I saved so much money on this cruise not being nickeled and dimed for sodas, specialty dining, ice cream, the arcade etc - I was glad to leave some tips.  I spent about $95 on tips and that includes the $5 for the bag porter at port. 
 

I tipped in the casino (usually at the end of the night) by leaving some chips before I cashed in. I was going to gamble the last night but was too tired so just went in and left them a $10 tip. Casino staff typically splits their tips so it all goes to the group (that is why they announce “dealers!” every time they get one) 

I typically did not tip the wait staff but one waiter just joined the ship and was released from quarantine and it was his first night officially on the job so I tipped him $5 as a good luck on his contract. I also tipped the tram driver in Bimini $1 each ride. I tipped someone in the cleaning crew $10 because I got sick and she helped clean it up. I know it was her job but I felt so incredibly bad. 
 

I brought some candy for my room steward and wrote a thank you note and originally planned to tip them $30 but ended up giving $50. I know it is sometimes multiple people that clean the rooms so not sure if they split the tips or not. I also spilled make up on my carpet and heard vacuuming in the hall and flagged them down to help and the staff quickly helped me clean it up.  Big props to the cleaning crew! 

Mysteriously, I still haven’t been charged for the octopus I took home with me. 😂

On 10/28/2021 at 9:34 PM, dukefan94 said:

I just looked up what you mentioned. I wonder if the current deals are part of the SeaBlazer program, which unfortunately, I will not be a part of.

The onboard offer is separate from Sea Blazers. If you are a Sea Blazer you could get $600 total off a cruise in 2022 because the Sea Blazer offer and onboard offer can be combined. If you are not a sea blazer, then it’s only $300 off a cruise within the next 2 year. Note that the cabins have to be sea terrace or above. 

You don’t have to choose your next cruise at the time, just sign up for the offer at the Get Lost area on Deck 7 (visit Darko the Holiday Matchmaker). You can get $300 off your next cruise any time in the next 2 years and it is transferable to friends and family. Each person can sign up for 4 $300 credits ($1200). The onboard credit cancels out the cost of the deposit to a $0 balance so it’s a no brainer. If you don’t end up booking another cruise you lose nothing. 

9 minutes ago, sellwingri said:

Any info you can share on the entertainment?  I’m Diamond Plus on Royal so I almost exclusively sail with them but got a freebie on a sailing on Scarlet Lady so I took them upon their offer.

Anything specific? There was entertainment but it is lacking in comparison to other cruise lines. There was at least one show each night if you could get in - Untitled Dance Party Show Thing, Duel Reality, Never Sleep Alone. Duel Reality was great. NSA was a little risqué but that’s expected. Untitled dance party was entertaining but a little strange. There was a lot of pop up entertainment too like dancers just showing up places to dance or a cart doing improv like baking cookies or making a drink. There was trivia but not themed trivia games like other ships. Karaoke is in private rooms. There was supposed to be Karaoke on the pool deck but was canceled due to weather. Our outdoor Scarlet Night activities were also cancelled. They don’t seem to have good contingency plans when weather gets in the way - things just get canceled/removed from schedule instead of moved elsewhere on the ship even though there is space. No comedians at this time. There was Bingo once on my 4 day cruise. 
 

I still had a wonderful time though!  There is room for improvement when it comes to entertainment though. 

On 10/19/2021 at 6:11 AM, rebeccac said:

I'm not really a spa person, but one of the friends we are travelling with in July is interested in any information about the spa and thermal suites/saunas.  

19 hours ago, CharlieTravels said:

Hi!  Can you please share what the Sea Blazer gift is?  I'll probably find out on Sunday when I board, but the curiosity is high!

 

Thanks!

 

Charlie

The Sea Blazers gift is a tote bag with the Mermaid on it. It’s not that great of quality but it’s a freebie. 

On 10/19/2021 at 11:42 PM, floridatraveler43 said:

Any problems with water? They don't sell water anywhere on the ship; no bottled water or even water in recyclable cans so you have to bring your own water bottle and fill it up yourself.  

There are two carafes in the room which they refresh every day and you can request more at any time on the app. You can also order water in a glass at any bar (I think). There are refillable water stations around the ship if you have a bottle. Most are on 15. I’ve been pouring my carafe water in to my bottle. They do sell refillable bottles on board but they are expensive ($25 or $32? For the Swell bottles) and the shops aren’t open all the time so my suggestion is buy a cheap water bottle and bring it. The water tastes great. 

Thanks for the tips! I know the iPhone camera app will automatically read QR codes. No need for a separate app.