cantgetin

I met the spa manager on our recent cruise while I was standing by the elevator with a frequent cruiser who knew her, and friend asked almost exactly that question. She said that "It depends on how full our bookings are. If we aren't booking as much as we'd like, we'll make offers to fix that." This was specifically on the 14 night TA crossing, so don't know if it applies to shorter sailings or other managers. People were giving rave reviews about the spa. And a nice thing is that the price posted is the price you pay--no 18% or 20% add on gratuity and they wouldn't take a cash tip when we offered! My travel companion was very pleased with the service she received. I don't mind tipping for good service, but the grat added to the thermal suite on other lines always bothered me since there was no "service" aspect involved.

There is relatively little consistency as to what you can get in which locations on VV ships. There are drinks that are only available in particular bars or restaurants. I don't know why each bar couldn't do a 1 oz. pour, but it doesn't surprise me.

This is probably the issue. There was a mixup in our deep blue extras in that I got the email, but the website and app showed 2 deep blues in my daughter's name and none in my name. I called shoreside sailor services and was told that they couldn't change it, but it wouldn't make any difference. Then, when I did the rebooking, they were initially unable to add the $200. When the onboard booking agent switched the names and listed my daughter first, there was no problem. The "system" was claiming that I didn't have the deep blue extras and was therefor not eligible for the promotion. My guess is that you are in the same situation--that the system didn't have you listed as deep blue at the time of booking. You might see whether you can cancel and rebook now to get the benefit! I played that game with another booking and saved about $120 in cruise fare.

Aqua Class Celebrity is a different animal than sailing on VV. The most expensive suite on VV has access to the same 6 restaurants that the smallest inside cabin uses. They do have some additional perks like a nightly champagne party on Richard's Rooftop as well as unlimited access to the area, and depending on the level of suite, some or a lot of included alcohol. There are sometimes invitations to a bridge tour and a few other extras.

As Tacocat said, it is per cabin, not per individual. And, if you read the fine print, no matter how many "offers" you may have that include champagne, you are limited to one complimentary bottle per cabin per cruise. And no, it cannot be used for any other alcohol or anything else--it is a bottle of champagne or you skip that benefit.

I'm just off the 14 night TA on Valiant Lady. There were many activities added for our crossing, and at least 2 "extra" entertainers on board. That does make it difficult for me to compare a 4-6 night cruise to our 14 night. We had several different trivia games, each on multiple days. Each of the entertainers did at least 2 shows. There were multiple activities that VV added for us--a book club, a group that worked on making life-sized wall hangings of endangered species from ocean plastics (there was a woman from National Geographic on board teaching and supervising this project), arcade tournaments, etc. as well as many activities organized by individuals on board. Bottom line....I booked 3 more cruises over the next 2 years!

The Wake has the classiest atmosphere, but we actually found that some of the other restaurants had better food. The "secret steak" in Razzle Dazzle, the pork in Pink Agave, and everything in Extra Virgin were great. My steak in The Wake was a bit overcooked and dry!

I don't think so....our laundry was returned in good shape with no shrinkage. We were VERY pleased.

The available boxes were few and far between on the TA other than those at the Bento place. It wasn't an issue of "going fast," it was an issue of nothing there at all!

Exactly!

A group of us arranged our own cabin crawl. There is a tour of the "artwork" on the ship.

I tried that--it didn't work. THey said is was a back office problem and it wouldn't matter anyhow. It wasn't a problem till we tried rebooking on board (there was a special for people with Deep Blue Extras.) They couldn't pull me up, but we got it to go thru by listing my daughter as the first name. After the reservation was made, we flipped the names so I'd be sure to get all the emails.

Just off 14 days on Valiant. Yes, dinner reservations theoretically start at 8am EST....and when the app only lets you make them for the first night, you can call VV and they will make them for you for the entire cruise. We had no problem changing reservations once on board. You are allowed 1 dinner reservation per restaurant on cruises 5 nights or less, 3 per restaurant for longer cruises. Brunch--Wake and Razzle Dazzle. Reservations only after boarding. Both have bottomless brunch drinks. We had a 1:30 terminal arrival time, which was the earliest. We were in a regular cabin (not Rockstar), and were in our cabin by 1:45. Luggage arrived within minutes. You are asked to not show up more than 30 minutes before your assigned time; on our cruise people who showed up earlier were sent to a local coffee shop or other location but were not permitted to "hang out" near the terminal. You will have access to the terminal and terminal wifi at your arrival, which lets you make reservations for brunch, activities, etc.

The app improves greatly after you arrive at the terminal and log onto VVwifi

Agree, IT is worthless. THat was the one big disappointment on the ship.

Totally agree--the food at Ship Show was not fit to eat.

How much to pack? Half or less than I did on our last cruise!

As above--loot is good on anything purchased on board. Bar tab is good on alcohol, coffee, tea, non-alcoholic beverages, smoothies, etc. But only good on beverages you consume and not on things like Grog Walk, which is considered an "activity" despite the alcohol being served.

We were on 12 midship for the recently concluded TA...perfect location.

Just off Valiant 14 night TA with 1400 sailors. Yes, there were sometimes short lines for dinner---maybe 5 tables ahead of us being seated and it took 2-3 minutes till we were able to check in. No real issue at all. The Grab N Go boxes in The Galley were spotty. At Bento Baby, there were always plenty, but in the cases as you enter/exit, it really varied in terms of amount and content quality. No explanation. Food quality was exceptional, including at some of the restaurants that I didn't expect to be favorites. Crew was amazing. Bottom line, I have 3 more VV cruises booked. We have done 40+ cruises on at least 6 lines. VV is my current favorite. THat's not to say that I wouldn't sail another line for various reasons. VV currently doesn't go to Alaska or Japan, but Princess does, for example. I'm not saying that VV is perfect, but it is certainly at the top of anything we've seen recently.

As above, by calling VV directly or using a TA, you can choose you cabin. TAs can only sell VV if they have been thru the training; many of the larger agencies have not done this. Go to a site map and choose the cabin you want, then call VV. If that cabin is not available, there are likely nearby ones that they will recommend.

On the ship is a very good place to be, regardless of the cabin.

Virgin assigned 2 "deep blue extras" to my daughter and none to me despite my submitting one under each name. I even got the email saying I'd been approved. I called, and shoreside assured me that it wouldn't matter. True, until I did a new booking on board. Turns out they couldn't list me as the "primary" in the room because in their records, I didn't have "deep blue" status and wouldn't get the discount. When they listed my daughter as primary, it all worked.

Interesting....we observed a woman in The Galley having a communication difficulty with the man behind the counter. She was insisting that she needed "sugar free" for her diabetes, and he kept saying that a particular item was "no added sugar." It was fruit based, and fruits contain fructose--a sugar. They were basically talking past each other and couldn't understand the terminology that each other was using. She finally told him to give her "the lowest sugar you have," and he went to the back to have the chef come out to assist her. If you advise a restaurant in advance of your needs, they will make special dishes for you! But yes, they are definitely more prepared in advance for vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free diets.

If you haven't seen Ship Show, don't bother. There was nothing positive about either the show or the food. We left early and had dinner at Razzle Dazzle.