brookie848

You say the itineraries are similar, but are the times in port similar? Does one have more tender ports than the other? We've been on the Dawn and the Viva. If it was a port-heavy itinerary, I'd be happy with either. The Dawn has Los Lobos, but none of the other newer restaurants. It does have a wine bar. The other "negative" thing is that the casino is smokey and you have to walk through it sometimes or go up/down a floor. We also liked that the shows on the Dawn were different each night and no reservations were needed.

Maybe The DougOut or some variation of that screen name?

Maybe The DougOut or some variation of that screen name?

Next cruise.

My nephews is a pretty picky eater and he would not like this menu at all. Plus, add in the fact that he has a mild dairy allergy so he really shouldn't be eating cheese and he would be really out of luck. He is a hot dog and chicken finger kid. But he likes steak, so maybe he'd be okay with the steak on the classic side of the MDR menu.

Our awesome waiter in Onda basically told us this. He said we weren't allowed, but they wouldn't stop you. So if you want to grab and run...go for it! For us, though, it wasn't dessert -- it was the leftover pizza. We weren't quite rebellious enough to grab the pizza pan and abscond with it. Maybe next time...

We were denied to-go until we told them we were in a suite. And then they still have the night butler come get it and it magically appears at some point. This is even in the Haven restaurant -- we had cake that we weren't going to finish and they wouldn't let us take it on our own one floor down. I understand the policy, but I just feel badly that I'm making a butler do a task that I could easily do myself. And I feel badly for the people who would responsibly deal with their dishes that aren't allowed to take dessert back to their cabin.

Nope. We were two points away from Sapphire on our last cruise and didn't even consider asking/trying to get status. We completed the cruise and will enjoy any Sapphire benefits we want to use on our next one.

We got off the Viva on March 3. We did self walk-off really early and there were busses of new employees unloading and being put through security. I know it was our room steward's last week and our butler was due to be off the ship as well -- either that week or the week after. So you probably do have a good many "fresh" crew members. Our itinerary was different than yours (days/times in ports), but we had two ports where we weren't due in until 10:00. Both of those days we were docked (and cleared) by 8:30. Enjoy your cruise!

There were three of us. We skipped the tableside guac and got the skillet queso with pumpkin seeds instead (definitely a different taste). Our friend also got the house salad that she said was awesome. For entrees, we did the chicken tacos, mole enchiladas and grilled fish. Sides were the red rice, refried beans, sweet plantains and the elote (which they cut off the cob). So...much...food. So much. For dessert, we split the churros, which weren't our favorite, but at that point, it didn't matter. Enjoy your cruise!

We ate at Los Lobos on the Viva a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. So...much...food. I honestly would have been happy just eating chips and my entree. And then more chips.

Can I ask what catamaran VV uses for the trip to Jost Van Dyke? I'm just wondering if it is the same one NCL uses (Rebel Yell).

I'm also on this cruise. If you looked at it before it was booked, it was clearly marked that it was NOT following the normal Viva itinerary. We are in ports different days/times than other Viva cruises.

Our cruise buddy sailed Disney at the beginning of February and she does not have kids. She was not impressed. She texted me all week. She missed the drink package. And she didn't understand the group of adults dressed as Minions at breakfast. No...they were not employees.

Weather in the Caribbean has been really crappy the past two or three months or so. I've been reading a lot of lives and reviews on a variety of lines and more than normal are not able to complete their original itinerary. A friend sailed Disney to Grand Cayman/Cozumel/Jamaica/private island at the beginning of February. Grand Cayman was canceled because of wind and their excursion (snorkeling) was canceled in Cozumel because of the weather. She is coming with us this weekend when we leave out of San Juan. We're hoping for better weather/luck on this cruise than others have been having.

Look at the four forward-facing DOS on the Dawn -- deck 12. Two of them are 2-bedroom, two of them have one bedroom. There is no balcony, but we got a great deal on it when we sailed.

We've done the 2-bedrooms and the second bedroom on most ships is small, but definitely doable. We are on the Viva next weekend and our third person is looking forward to a regular bed. We also did a DOS (no balcony) on the Dawn that had a second bedroom. It was probably the cheapest cabin we ever had (we only do Haven or suites if Haven isn't available). Do some digging -- I think some of the forward-facing penthouses and maybe some of the afts have a second bedroom, but I could be wrong about that. We prefer staying in the Haven proper.

Honestly, this makes me glad I'll be sailing of out San Juan next week. Granted, it's better than the 29 degrees it is here, but I'd rather have the 84 degree temperature in Puerto Rico. Excited to read another one of your adventures.

So sorry to hear about your Mom's injury @OrcaGirl. I can relate -- it wasn't a cruise, but I broke my foot in five places while on vacation in the summer of 2022. Like you, it wasn't the trip I had planned. I'm glad she is getting what she needs on the ship. Sending positive thoughts your way!

Thanks. We're hoping to hit Indulge a few of the days for lunch when people are off the ship. We're not huge fans of the Haven lunch menu.

We're on the ship in two weeks in a 2-bedroom Haven suite. Was the concierge team able to make go-kart reservations for you or should we take care of it ourselves? How crowded was the ship? I'm curious about how many people are actually getting off in each port. We only have plans for three of the six (Antigua, Tortola and St. Maarten).

This was us on our last cruise. Every cruise we have between $500-$600 of OBC. We use some in the spa and on a few extras (tastings, Ice Bar), but sometimes on the last day of the cruise we are panic-spending. Last year was especially bad because we thought we were going to have even more because my husband bought a bunch of CruiseNext certificates. We weren't sure if the OBC was going to appear or if it was going to be converted into more CruiseNexts. Thankfully it was converted or we would have likely bought some really stupid things. As it was, I ended up buying some Clinique items that I regularly use and a few gifty things for people on shore.

The main reason why I want a paper version of the Daily is because I want to take a picture of the Port Agent information before I get off the ship. You know...just in case...😁

I hate that they don't post the daily menus except at the restaurant. Did they used to be on our TVs in the room? I think I can remember looking at the menus on my TV to help decide where I was going to eat dinner.

It was (and still is) great fun in my family to say I had a screw loose. I still have three left in my foot -- and one of them is broken in half. As far as I know they are still in place. I think I got the leftover screws from the bargain bin.