cantgetin

At dinner on VV, you "pay" whenever the server puts the charge in. We've had them ask to scan a bracelet at various times thru the meal and also had them tell us that they didn't need our bracelet (when we offered) and that they could put it in based on our cabin number...which they already had in their computer. I didn't think about it at the time, but the servers may have been instructed to wait until people were leaving or had already left the restaurant before entering the charge--I know that one night our charge didn't go in till able 2 hours after we had dinner with a drink while most of the time it would show up immediately. Of course, that could have been some sort of computer or app glitch as well.

Whether you are able to re-enter the ship all night long depends on the cruise line, but there is no requirement that you enter until the sail away time the next day. On VV, you are able to come and go as you wish...all night long and all the next day up to "all aboard" time. On other lines, we've experienced policies like "you will not be able to reboard the ship between 3am and 6am."

In the Med, taxes were charged when in port. We had the same cocktail on two consecutive nights. The second night while in port it was $1.50 more than the previous night. The menus do not reflect taxes, regardless of where the ship is. THey do include gratuity

Interesting...I've done the 3 previous TAs and each time it was reservations with a stand by line.

I removed the extra bands after boarding. Everything else you need is encoded in your red band, and those ribbon bands just get in the way of food, etc. I kept it in my pocket for a couple days, but never needed it. Cocktail party had someone scanning our red bands.

Exactly the reason for getting out of the EU....this means no taxes on stuff in the shops, drinks etc while in international waters. MUCH nicer for sailors.

Yeah, we've made brunch reservations immediately after boarding. You CAN do walk up on a space available basis, but if you know when you want to do brunch at The Wake or Razzle Dazzle, you can book it as soon as you board. If you have a reservation, you will have a seat. We have never been turned away at RD, but once were turned away at The Wake when doing walk up; they did offer a reservation for the next day.

The only time you would pay the Turkish tax is when the ship is in Turkey--either docked or within 12 miles of the land. You are right about the difference between the EU regs and Schengen regs--sorry. Right idea, wrong term. Since the cruise mentioned above visits Turkey, you will not be subject to tax any time your are outside territorial waters.

Med cruises are tricky on taxes. IF the cruise has a port in a country that does not participate in the "Sch something", then there are no taxes once the ship is in international waters. If all stops are in participating countries, then the entire cruise sales are subject to tax, regardless of where the ship is. And even if you waited "a few minutes," you might be surprised at how long it would take to reach that 12 miles. Yes if you order while in port, you will pay the tax.

Book on board means that there is a cost, and that this event cannot be booked until you are on board. First come, first serve means that there is no cost, but you line up to get in and hope for the best. Items that allow you to make a reservation on board means no cost, but you can reserve your spot after embarkation (mostly applies to smaller fitness classes). I think it stinks. I would ideally like to see a system where each person could make a reservation to attend each show ONCE during the cruise and then go to a standby line. On our first cruise, I couldn't get a reservation to Never Sleep Alone, and then learned that one of the repeat performances was largely empty as there were lots of no shows. Everyone should get a chance to see Dual Reality or whatever once during the cruise before other people can see it twice. But, I don't want to stand in line for 30 or 45 minutes in order to possibly get a seat. I'm particularly unhappy about the zumba and VHS going to "first come." I really don't want to put on my workout clothes only to find out after waiting for 30 minutes that there is no room for me.

Priority boarding and the cocktail party are open to both people in the cabin. Premium wifi is limited to either 2 or 3 devices (I've been told both by Sailor Services.). THey don't know who owns the devices that are on premium, but if you exceed the number, you will be charged. You can flip between devices--just be sure you log off of one before logging onto another. Last cruise, we each had DBE and were told it was 2 devices per person with DBE--that was plenty for us. On our first cruise with DBE, they couldn't seem to find mine (even though I had the email to prove it), and they told us it was 3 devices total....so I would flip between my computer and my phone. If you tic the box that says you are sharing a credit card, you can both use the coffee credit, as well as any loot and bar tab (DBE gives you $100 bar tab per DBE qualified person). This applies to any purchased bar tab as well as bonus on the purchase. Same basically with laundry--it would go down to one bag per room, but they don't care or know who's stuff is in the bag.

How things are handled thru Customs depends on the port...in our experience, it has varied. As to how the ship handles your stuff if you are changing rooms is that you pack it up and leave it in your cabin. Your room host will be aware and will move it to your new room as soon as it is cleaned and ready.

Rockstars have a reserved seating area and are cared for by their rockstar agent....

The bar tab will not roll over. It ends at the end of each leg. This includes purchased tab as well as any acquired thru loyalty or as a booking bonus.. Most cruises have at least some bar tab attached as a perk at the time of booking. But it purchasing, you will need to attach some to each leg of the trip. If you book thru a TA, they can often attach some loot or other discounts even on a first cruise that you won't get by booking directly thru VV,.

No idea. My best guess is that they will go to the "third cruise" for "Blue Extras" and 5th cruise for "Deep Blue Extras." THey have already changed the goodies from "per cabin" to "per person" which means more goodies for most of us....2 specialty tea/coffee for each qualified person per day rather than $10, a bag of laundry for each person, etc. Most of the rest is the same. If you have 4 completed cruises, you should get the DBEs on the 5th cruise as of 2026...unless they change it again. But with VV, it is anyone's guess.