sarakenny

Testing at the port was well organized. 

Mine got lost in the mail. So they had one for me at the port. Not an issue at all

1 minute ago, sid_9169 said:

I figured that everything would be smooth sailing once on board, but now apparently $400 of MY MONEY has disappeared... They're trying to get in touch with the office in Miami now... I really didn't want to spend my vacation at Sailor Services, but I refuse to lose my money, especially after everything I've been through already. I'm not going to let this get me down, but it is extremely frustrating... Now, I'm off to The Wake for breakfast...

I board Sunday. Just checked my wallet and my sailor loot disappeared too. Found my receipt in my emails if there’s a problem onboard 

1 hour ago, susieq76 said:

I can say 100% that the cabanas on private islands on ALL the cruise lines sell out early.

Yep. Cabanas are sold out on my cruise. 

14 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

According to the app, the bands will be picked up at the terminal. If you click on the part where it says "activate the band", it'll ask you to create a four digit code, that way your band will be ready to go right at the terminal... As far as luggage tags, I have no idea...

I'm on the cruise after you - they app says they will be mailing my band. 

14 minutes ago, garymfreedman said:

A good article on CNN on why Virgin Voyages is the way she is-

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/richard-branson-virgin-voyages-scarlet-lady/index.html

Thank you for sharing!

25 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

Seems like the ship is sitting in the midtown cruise terminal now.  

Any idea when she is scheduled to depart for Miami?  I may try to get into the city tomorrow or Sunday to get a peek at her even if I'm behind a fence.  Good excuse to walk around with a camera for the day.

Someone sent me this: https://www.virgin.com/about-virgin/latest/experience-scarlet-lady-in-new-york

2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

Can I ask how to actually book them? I can get to the point where you can select a date and time, but when I click on the restaurant, it doesn't give the option to do anything further...

Same here. 

I'm on the 10/10 sailing and I can't make reservations. Weird. I was able to book bingo. LOL

45 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I spoke to someone at Virgin Voyages today, and they said that they still haven't figured out the testing situation, or if it will even be required. Then again, I don't think most of the customer service reps even know what they're talking about.

I think it has more to do with the CDC guidelines - there's no knowing what, if anything, will change between now and then. 

17 minutes ago, Nap3025 said:

Thank you for the responses.  I was told that we would  probably just need to take

vaccination card and a negative test result.  I’ve lived in south Florida for 29 years (from London) and I had a feeling actual testing at the port might prove difficult to set up in Miami… lack of space … time to organize etc. and said so when I spoke to a representative a month or so ago.  Testing at the port is extremely important to me so I will be very disappointed if that doesn’t happen.  The lady I spoke to was not confident.  Hence my first post re outdoor dining.  We would of course prefer to dine inside  in style in  a “proper” restaurant but can accept this will just be a different type of cruise experience.   It’s a month away so who knows? Numbers may come own,

boosters/third shots available to all?  

Please keep us posted if you hear anything positive!  Thank you again.

I'm flying into Miami 3 days before the cruise and won't have a car - I'm hoping I don't need to find a pharmacy for a test. Fingers crossed.

5 minutes ago, garymfreedman said:

Wow. There has to be testing. I wonder if they are going to make everyone bring a current test?  Perhaps someone that has patience(i don't) they can find out from VV.. I will hit up my travel agent to also see what they can find out... And. Things change constantly, so whatever is happening now, could change next month.

I talked to someone at VV after this  - they said they are working out details and will have an announcement soon. 

12 hours ago, Nap3025 said:

We are booked on the October 10th sailing. Firstly I was disappointed to hear from a representative on the phone that covid tests will not be done at the port before embarkation as was being done in  Europe. I don’t know why. We have not dined inside a restaurant since covid started and wondered what the outdoor dining options are. We have no problem collecting our food inside and taking it outside ….much like we can at the ocean view cafe on celebrity cruises.

Wait ... what? No testing at the port? The app has consistently said testing at the port. 

I can comment on Azamara - haven't done Oceania and my Virgin cruise is still a few weeks away. We loved our Azamara cruise mostly because it was small (I believe just under 700 passengers) and the food was excellent. Didn't have the annoying announcements or big stage productions - but it did include food, drinks and tips. What we loved the most was the amount of time we spent in port on our cruise through Spain, Italy, Corsica and Monaco. Because it was a longer cruise during the fall, the demographics skewed older: we were in our early 50s at the time and we were definitely on the young side. But, frankly, that didn't bother us: we spent so much time exploring ports that when we got back to the ship we ate, had a few drinks and were zonked out. My husband is wary of Virgin because he hates large ships and he's afraid we'll be the "olds" lol. We shall see. I, for one, am psyched. I think you need to see the reports out of Virgin once they get their footing to make an informed decision. Have fun whatever you decide!

1 hour ago, MLJS said:

Virgin Voyages told me everyone in the cabin could use it and never said we had to do anything to set that up

And when I bought the bar tab, I was told that only I could use it - but that was back in April so perhaps things changed. 

2 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

 

 

That's exactly as we used the bar tab purchase and had no problem at all.

Thank you!

5 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

When I purchased the bar tab I was asked who it was to be associated with, so it was me. However, I also set up the on board account to be paid for by me, and that my partner could charge purchases to the account I was paying. Therefore, they could purchase drinks and it was debited from my bar tab. 

Thanks! So I just set this up with guest services when I get onboard?

Another question for you: I purchased a bar tab. If my husband wants to buy a drink, do i have to buy it for him or is there a way to make it for both of us to use the bar tab? TIA

11 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

Over the door storage shoe hanger definitely. Perhaps packing cubes to keep things stored tidily, but to be honest not much else. Although storage may be limited, the cabins had everything else we needed. 

Thank you!

Question for you: What would you bring next time? I'm going next month out of Miami, and after reading reviews, I'm packing some hangers and an over-the-door shoe storage for toiletries (I keep reading about lack of storage space). Anything else?

You need to bring your vaccination card with you. From what I'm understanding, they will do a Covid test prior to boarding at the port. There's nothing in the pre-embarkation info or health info that says you need a Covid test prior to arriving at the port. That being said, rules with Covid change constantly so I'd keep an eye on the app (as will I) in the pre-embarkation section. Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

8 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

Yes, separate shampoo & conditioner.

 

 

(Shampoo out of shot on the right)

 

Hangers - there were about half a dozen in my solo inside cabin. 

Thank you! Will pack extra hangers. 

Do they offer separate shampoo and conditioner instead of the dreaded "conditioning shampoo"? Are they generous with hangers in the closet? I'm starting to think about what I need to pack for my October cruise. TIA (And thank you for your short review! Looking forward to the full one.)

On 6/25/2021 at 1:41 AM, Quacks the Cruiser said:

I’m booked on one of the Virgin UK Summer Staycation cruises - it will be my first ever cruise. When I booked it the agent sold me on the Rock Star upgrade as one of the “major perks” was the ability to reserve restaurants and show spots 60 days out rather than the normal 45 days via the app!

 

However as of yesterday I still couldn’t see the app was working as I’m now in my “60 day out” period. I phoned Virgin and they said the app was still not functional, they had no date known when it would be and that I should just check back every day to see if it was now up!

 

Is this usual for cruise lines? What have those on the early August cruises done to get reservations? The headline restaurants all look great and on a 4 day cruise I would love to visit them all at least once.

 

Thoughts?

 

Don aka Quacks the (Virgin) Cruiser

 

 

This has happened to other folks - delete the app and reinstall it. It has fixed the issue for many (including myself).Good luck!

Right but have you ever seen anybody who has been on eight other cruises safe I suddenly sick on the smaller boat?

 

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Had been on a number of large cruise ships. Only got sick once when we had 30 ft waves hitting our ship returning to NY from Bermuda. Sailed the Quest this past fall in the Mediterranean. We had rough seas. I was sick as a dog for our only sea day. So were many others onboard. I will take something in advance next time. Definitely felt it more on a small ship.