cantgetin

Depends on how accurate you want to be. You can see it on the ipad of the person who checks you in at the terminal or ask virtually any crew member. They are all briefed in advance about the number to expect. Shops, food and beverage service, Sailor Services will all have the number. 5 days in advance they are still selling the cruise, but I don't think they'll get too many last minute bookings other than someone on board booking a B2B to follow their current cruise--we saw that happen several times!

Add the big red desk on deck 7 to the places you can grab a copy. If they happen to be out of them at Sailor Services on 5, just let them know and they'll restock immediately.

Disembarkation is generally 7:30-10:30. We had a 10:45 time per the schedule but they started announcing that everyone needed to be off by 10:30. Most cruise line don't recommend a flight before noon. The issue is that you never know what might happen to delay the ship's arrival into port. We had no problem in Miami and could easily have made a much earlier flight, but you can't depend on it! 11 is the earliest I'd book. Consider the downside to not making your flight. If you're on SW and 3 others can get you home that day...you might choose to go for an earlier on. If there is a monster change fee, probably not.

Bill W is one of the two founders of Alcoholics Anon. The "friends of Bill W " is code for an AA meeting,

call

Morning mind benders is not a trivia game. It is in the Social Club area and is a series of games that you can do on your own or in competition. They included things like sudoku, word scrambles, identifying places on a map, etc. It was a little different each day. Seahorse auction--fee. Depending maybe on length of cruise, you design/decorate a sea horse or just "claim" one. THen you spin a wheel to see how many spaces you win on the racetrack. The owner of the seahorse that wins gets the "pot" of money from the entries less 10% to the house.

If you have the $600 from booking promo and $100 from loyalty match, then yes.

Totally agree...I'm not a party person and I loved VV.

The only one I'm aware of that comes close is DCL.

I mentioned it with a couple of suggestions.

Exactly--it is all one per cabin. The one nice change for 2023 is the $100 bar tab. It used to be a bottle of champagne, but no matter how many things you had that qualified you for a free bottle, you only got one. For instance, we had a bottle in our JoLo booking special, another for something else, and finally one for the status match. But the fine print says you get one, no matter what your "deals" are. I'd rather have the bar tab.....and the bar tab can be combined with a "free bottle" perk.

Your choice--there are cabins that sleep 3. You could book a cabin for 2 plus a solo cabin. There might be another "no single supplement" sale, so you could get her a 2 person room next to yours while only paying the single price (this happened for several months in 2022. There are suites that sleep 3. Completely up to you!

The time listed is the show start time. Tell your server when you enter the restaurant that you need to be out by 7:55 and skip one of the courses. They will rush it for you. Also, if you've had all you need of the sail away party, show up for dinner early. You are usually able to be seated early, and even 5 minutes could make a difference..

If you arrive at the terminal without the pre-reg on the app done, you will be directed to an area where you can complete it with assistance. Then you'll check in. No it is not time consuming. If you arrive with something that you couldn't accomplish, they will quickly do it for you. For instance, they were not happy with my security photo; it took approximately 5 seconds for them to take one they liked. Have you made any dinner reservations? If not, CALL VV shoreside and they will do it for you over the phone. The ship is heavily app dependent but there are ways around it. For example, all entertainment, brunch, etc. can be scheduled as soon as you board. You can do it on the app or you can go to sailor services and they will make it happen for you. I don't think I ever touched the tablet in the room, but my cruise partner did. You use it for stuff like turning on/off lights, working the tv, etc. You will need to watch the safety video either on your phone or on the TV and then click a button that you have watched it. My deal with apps is something like this from my kid--Mom, if you'd use them more, you'd be better at it. True.....but I did use the one on the ship and it worked fine. So if this "almost 70" year old can work it, you probably can.

VV is excellent. It is helpful if you've made reservations in advance and can notify them before you arrive to eat. Notifying the first restaurant you go to should get it entered into the computer and it should follow her to all future reservations. They will have plenty of "last minute" suggestions for you, but it is helpful for them to be prepared in advance. The only time I saw a problem it was frankly the fault of the sailor. The elderly woman insisted that she had diabetes and wanted to know which deserts were "sugar free." The chef came out and attempted to explain to her that none were sugar free, but pointed out which were "no added sugar" because most contained either milk or fruit and that means either lactose or fructose, either of which is a sugar. The woman just couldn't get the idea into her head and was convinced that they'd soaked the fruit in sugar or something and she had to have "sugar free." She ended up leaving in a huff, despite several "no added sugar" options being offered. As to specific allergies, they have you covered. As with most ships, it is easiest at the sit down restaurants. In The Galley your wife will have to be a little more alert (just like in most buffets). Again, one of the chefs or managers will come out and work with her on what she wants to order, but they are not in as good a position to modify dishes on the spot as they are in the restaurants. And essentially everywhere you can get "no sauce" if there is any question in one of the more remote food outlets (like The Dock). The chef isn't right there, but they CAN get you an ingredient list. My suggestion would be that after boarding, you make breakfast or brunch reservations at one of the restaurants (The Wake and Razzle Dazzle serve breakfast and brunch daily).These cannot be booked prior to boarding.Once you make them aware of the allergy, they will flag your wife or your cabin number (no sure which) on the computer so it should show up each time you check in....but I'm that person who says that it is my responsibility to remind them, no matter what the computer says. We were specifically asked about allergies by each server at each sit down restaurant, even when it was our 4th time requesting that same server.

Absolutely correct, but do check the schedule (app or paper...or elevator and signs by Razzle Dazzle, etc) to be sure. It does change slightly. And do not rely on what the app or schedule said months before your cruise--those time change a often.

After one of my favorite lines quit carrying my favorite product, (they have since added it back...maybe I wasn't the only one complaining), I learned to always bring a box of what I want "just in case" regardless of what anyone tells me. If the ship has what I want, I'll leave my box in my suitcase and have it back at home. If not, I won't be unhappy for a week or two while on board.

Hmmm...your 173 days is just abut 5 1/2 months, which is when I first tried to do mine and was able to. Sorry, I don't remember the exact "day" count, but I know when I paid off the cruise to get the 10% discount and can time it roughly from there. Now I'm enjoying the "under 100" count as the cruise gets closer.

There is no reason to NOT use a TA....all TAs who are allowed to book VV have to complete Virgin training. Beyond that, look for one with the "gold award" meaning they have cruised VV and had access to additional training. OK, an incompetent TA can be a pain, but a good one is worth their weight in gold. I see no point in not using one, and if there is a problem, it gives you someone on your side.

It varies with the port as to when "all aboard" time is. It will be noted on the app and on the high tech message boards and in the elevators. The latest arrival time at Miami was 5pm.

I was able to do on line check in at 5 1/2 months. It might be available as soon as you pay in full...not sure about that.

That is only announced to be in effect thru 3/31/2023. It could be extended or they could start their own program then. It has already been extended once. Remember when you are looking at drink prices that they already include the tip. In October, most of the mixed drinks were $13 and under, most wines around $10. Of course there were some that were a lot higher. If you don't think you'd use a second bar tab, there is no reason to get it. Use the first one, any loyalty or other tab money you might have, and then move on to "pay as you go" status (charged to any loot you have and ultimately to your credit card.) Sure, you'd miss out on the "bonus," but you wouldn't leave anything on the table that way.

The little teapot is what they use to brew it in if you order from The Grounds Club and is what Ship Eats brings the leaves in when you order premium tea from room service. If I'm remembering correctly, it is a screen that the tea is poured thru to serve. The leaves are in the pot at the bottom, and they brew in the pot. Then the liquid goes thru the screen at the top into another cup to drink. Grounds Club serves it in a foam type take away cup.

Any red goes---a red headband or pocket handkerchief is just fine...a t-shirt is great.

Kwokpot nailed it. On our WBTA, they also had normal Lipton tea bags in The Galley some of the time. I think the supply of English Breakfast was running low because it became "spotty." English Breakfast was available in regular and decaf all the time for the first week of the cruise.