cantgetin

If I am at all interested in bidding, I make a computer note as to what the higher category prices are when I purchase. Sounds silly maybe, but getting a decent savings always feels good,

That is interesting....I thought we were each getting 2 free as we each had DBE. The web site says that benefits are per person rather than per room, and that is what we found on our most recent cruise (May 2024)

Any purchase covers the delivery fee regardless of how many people are in the cabin. You can order 4 burgers and fries + 2 steaks and purchase a $5 coffee--no delivery fee. The delivery fee is the same whether you order one bagel or 4 full breakfasts. The premium juices on our cruises were not called "Fresh Squeezed." They were called "cold pressed" and were served out of cartons from specified bars at certain times during the morning. There was no "fresh squeezed" OJ on the room service menu. You can get them in some restaurants and room service as well as the specified bar locations (it is the one by The Dock and the one by the gym)

As above, the delivery charge is per order, regardless of order size. And you can order a $4 hot chocolate or $5 specialty tea and have the fee waived--any charged purchase eliminates the fee. It was interesting that on our first 2 cruises, the fee for the charged item went to our "loot" while on our more recent cruises, it was charged to our bar tab.

The beds in suites are totally different and much better.

Some of the crew from Ramen and Panini place work the restaurants at night. My guess is that ramen wasn't the most popular dinner place so that's one that they close.

Rockstar won't help if there is a medical situation on board! Normal self disembarkation will start some time between 7 and 7:30.

The list above is just a start. There a may types of bagels with your choice of toppings, various hot and cold cereals, (the place that has salads during the day has nice breakfast choices as does the dessert daytime place!) Walk around and hav e a look on the first or second day.

thanks....if we book another, I'll remember this.

Also, check Southwest Airlines for flights to SJU. They often don't show up on flight searches, have great sale prices, and all prices include up to 2 checked bags. They have non-stops to SJU from Miami and MCO....likely others as well.

In addition to the above, our transatlantic had hosted solo activities on all or most sea days.

Obviously the airline does not see the business value in flights to San Juan. For a real odd one, we could not get a direct flight from BAR to LAX for the transatlantics we did....checked Google Flights as well as others. We had about a dozen selections for layover cities. NOW, Iberia has a direct.

If you can't fit the closed suitcase under the bed, you can open it and slide it under that way. And we found a cut out by the closet that would hold a suitcase. There is also a HUGE drawer that will be under the L bed if you separate them that can hold anything that won't fit in the closet (we did 15 nights and still had enough storage). Sometimes the host uses this for bedding if you split the bed, but even then it is so big that there is additional room for "stuff." However....it is low to the floor, so not the most friendly on your back when getting stuff in or out.

Just FYI, an ambulatory cabin is basically a regular cabin with some extra safety bars added. They free up the fully accessible cabins for people who really need them but providing spots for people who just need a little help, particularly in the bathroom. It is NOT a fully accessible cabin which has many alterations from the standard cabin.

I suspect some things would have been done differently had they not ended up launching the ships so close together.....didn't really have time to sort out what was working and what wasn't prior to starting construction on numbers 3 and 4.

Any way they want. Daytime, mostly shorts and ts, evenings, a little more "dressed up," but suits/jackets or evening dresses are rare. Overall, it is more casual than other lines.

You can choose a specific cabin by using a travel agent (First Mate), by calling VV, or by doing a rebooking on board. You can also book on line, then call VV to change the cabin you were assigned to.

true.....

Check out the videos by Where's Walter Travels. Here is a link to one of them. The ships are all similar enough that the info applies to all. There have been some minor menu changes. Walter was an award winning Hollywood film maker so his stuff is very well done. It is also accurate not "look at me" or "here is my 10th drink of the day." stuff that some others post. B2B depends on the port. Usually you will be required to disembark at the end of the queue so they can clear the ship legally, and will immediately be able to check in again and reboard IF you are in the same cabin. But essentially nothing will be open--you can enjoy the open decks, etc. Everything will reopen at 1:30. You also have the option of getting off at any time you wish and going into town or whatever, but if you do that, you cannot reboard until 1:30. On other lines, we've had varied experiences depending on port and how many B2Bs there were, as well as Customs regulations.

We didn't have to use the appropriate band, BUT when I sent my band to the laundry (don't even ask how....) and got a new one, the "link" disappeared and had to be re-instated at Sailor Services,"

No experience at Portsmouth, but at Barcelons, Miami, and Athens self disembarkation has usually started about 7:30, sometimes a tiny bit earlier. It can be later if there are any legal or medical sailors who need to be disembarked first. And, of course, there are always situations where the ship may arrive late.

From the announcement, it will be limited to certain cabins....but they will be Sea Terraces.

I remove the bands right after boarding. The ribbon band for DBE is only needed until you are on the ship. For stuff like the cocktail party, I put it in my pocket "just in case" but they have a list on their tablets and can let you in by verifying your regular wearable. Same for Splash of Romance band--not needed normally. You can also ask that they put these on loosely so that you can put them on and off (put on for a function....again, not needed) The regular wearables go on and off as often as you wish. A marker is a good idea; We deal with it by each having a separate place in the cabin where we put ours when not in use. And since we checked the little "I am responsible for all charges" box when signing in on the app, it doesn't matter if we somehow mix them up. Bottom line--you don't have to WEAR them at all, but you need to have it with you to make a purchase or unlock your door...or to get in to some activities. I don't like wearing it, so I carry it in pocket.

No nightlight in bathroom or elsewhere unless you bring one. No plug in bathroom unless in a suite.

Barcelona definitely has better port people than Miami.....both baggage handlers and the people in VV outfits who work at the terminal on VV days.n We've done multiple times at each location.