cantgetin

It depends on which food outlet you are talking about. In the sit down restaurants (the ones where you make a reservation), you will be seated. A server will come over and explain that you can view the menu on the app or they can bring you paper menus. They then come and take your order as in any other restaurant. In The Galley, you sit down and scan the QR code. The server then comes over and takes your order. Yes, you view the menu on the app or on the sign boards at each of the "food court" sort of locations. You can walk to the location and ask for the bread or dessert you wish--you point it out and the server plates it for you. You can also go "off menu" in some locations. For instance, they will make your salad any way you wish, provided they have the ingredients. You don't have to stick to the examples on the menu. Just specify what you do or do not want in your salad or on your pizza. Places like The Dock, The Pizza Place, etc. you just ask the server for what you want.

It would be a cool addition to get it in advance, and it was sent with the luggage tag, so that also made sense. However, it would be one more thing to bring....so other than the personalized feature of your name on the band, it is no different to get it at the port.

When coming in several days ahead, the Las Ramblas area is great--near all the transportation to the more outlying tourist spots, and tons right there. When we come in just the day before the cruise, we stay in airport area hotels that offer complimentary shuttles from the airport; our goal is to sleep and recover from jet lag. It is about 25-30 minutes to the port from the airport area.

We cruise in less than 2 weeks, and those bands that they said would be mailed 4-5 weeks in advance have not arrived. I think they are all being handed out at the terminal these days.

Totally agree that the pool is pathetic, and somehow people seem to think that the "spa" is the thermal suite and forget about the rest. I like the concept of adults getting to do "kid things" like the arcade games, playground equipment, etc. which I can do, while many of the big attractions on other ships are physically beyond me. I like the idea that I can be "me" on VV with no one telling me when to do what or standing in lines for ages. I'm with Walter--remove The Net (I can't figure out what that is supposed to be/do anyhow) and put a decent pool in that area. It might not work due to weight and balance issues, but it sure would improve the guest experience. I love The Galley rather than a buffet--other people aren't messing with my food! I think that there are so many things I dislike on NCL and Carnival that VV is a breath of fresh air. But again....the reason many lines are available is that we all have different likes and dislikes.

When Valiant Lady comes to Miami at the end of October, cruises will be 6 and 8 nights.

I've always gotten a rough estimate when I've called shoreside sailor services. For example, I called when the app wouldn't allow me to make dinner reservations, and asked. The agent told me that the ship was about 50% sold out in terms of cabins but because of the "no single supplement" special, a lot of singles were in 2 person cabins, so it was only about 45% sold out in terms of number of sailors. As noted, any of the bartenders, sailor services personnel, etc. can tell you how many are booked, as can the check in agent at the terminal.

It depends on what you are looking for. We don't like the giant ships--much prefer the medium size, so VV scores on that, no kids, food quality, etc. If you want water slides, race track, and like to pay extra for The Haven and specialty dining as well as the most expensive alcohol package at sea, go on Prima. If you want ropes courses and roller coasters, go on Mardi Gras. While we have favorite and less favorite lines, in general I don't feel that one is better than the other--it is really a matter of what each individual is looking for.

World Trade Center port which is the one by the Columbus statue and the WTC hotel (don't stay there, it was $400 per night on line!). It is about 2 miles closer than the big port where the larger ships go.

The above air is very new info. When I booked my 2022 cruise, the rep told me that they didn't offer air packages, but he could help me find some. What he quoted me was several hundred dollars more than I paid, and was more than I'd seen on line for the same flights! He did say that they hoped to be adding an air department and that they were in no way connected to Virgin Airways. My suggestion--it is worth checking out their air, but do your own research. My guess is that they are only dealing with a few airlines and these might not be your preference.

Interesting....Barcelona was where we didn't have to get off the Disney Magic on a B2B.

The rules for B2B are largely determined by Customs agents at the port where the turn around occurs. I've even had it differ on the same line, same port from one year to the next. This is the current Miami experience on VV. On the last night, you'll get a letter in your cabin with all the details. If you are changing cabins, pack up all your stuff and leave your suitcases in your cabin--they will appear in the new cabin "magically." You will be instructed to meet at a particular lounge toward the end of the normal disembarkation process. This was Sip, but could vary based on number of people doing B2B. You will be escorted off the ship when the people leaving are done/almost done at Customs. All you'll need are your ID and boarding documents. You go thru Customs and back onto the ship. If you are in the same room, you have stateroom access right away. If you change rooms, you may have a wait before your room is ready, but have access to public areas. Very easy. Just remember your documents. You do have to do check in again after Customs, so you'll need proof of vaccination or negative test again. NOTE....these things change, and anything could be different when you cruise, particularly if the covid rules change.

I don't know--he could have added rooms with more than one person in them. In that case, each person in the room would show up on your list. The person you referred could have multiple people in the room. Sailor's Loot for referrals are per cabin, not per person. As far as I know, there is no way to look at the number of faces that show up on the app and figure out how many rooms used your referral info.

The strangers showing up are in the cabin that you referred or that referred you. My app is completely crazy. The amount of Sailor Loot I should have has always been wrong on the app. It was right on the website until 2 days ago when I got another referral that didn't show up. I have a screen shot of the website from when it was correct, have called VV and was told that what their computer shows agreed with my view on the website...and I've decided that if I get the last $50, that is great...if not, I'm tired of fighting with them. But we will have an issue at the terminal/on board if they can't manage to find what their website shows! Of course the app has been crazy about other things as well.

Don't know, but our FB group has planned our own for the cruise before your's.

Same experience here--first night showed up, the rest I couldn't do without calling VV and having them do it for us.

Thanks! Yes, I've talked to my TA about the fact that I can't see it on the app, and have been assured that it can be straightened out on board if necessary (that person will be on board as well), but I'd feel much better if we had it "fixed" ahead of time. I do have screen caps of the web site to prove what we have.

Hard to say which is worse--permanent hold or using the call back feature and not getting a call back!. In fairness, my last call back only took about 30 minutes. Calling at 8am EST seems to work well too. But yes, we had to call in to make dinner reservations as the app was non-functional.

Thanks to all three of you above for the comments on the beef. That is really helpful. As to staff compensation, one young woman commented that she makes three times as much on Virgin as she did in her previous job. She has worked 2 other cruise lines, at least on of which was a tipped position. She also said that she'd never work any other line than Virgin, but then laughed with something like a "never say never" comment. She basically gave her list of reasons why VV is the best line for crew that she's ever experienced.

Yeah, not sure I like the idea of sharing dinner with 4 new friends. In Japan and Korea, Korean BBQ is served at tables based on your party size; we had a table for 4 with only the 2 of us at one place and a table for 2 in Tokyo. The other thing is that we want to try Waygu beef, which is the "treat yourself" at Gumbae....maybe I'm cheap, but I don't like the idea of paying for it to share with the table, but not sure how to make it for "just us." That's especially a problem as we want to have the server cook it so that it is done correctly.

Another vote that the food quality and service is most similar to Celebrity of the lines we've cruised. While it sounds strange, there are a lot of similarities with Disney during DCL's best years. Unfortunately, we've seen a lot of ups and downs on that line.

You can look up the Sailor's Loot program on the VV website. Basically, the idea is that after you book, you get a code that you can share with friends or new on line friends. If they book, you each get $50 in onboard credit (VV calls it Sailor's Loot). The thing is that you really don't have to know the other person--they can be your new on line friend. Each person can only be referred once, but you can have up to 16 referrals tied to your reservation. The referrals can be added at any time. The easiest way to do it is to have your TA process it for you. If it is being done after the fact, you need the name and booking number of the person you are referring. A few months ago there was a special where they increased the referral credit to $200--at that time, ONE of the bookings had to be made while the special offer was in effect. Another hint--their onboard booking program is great and it IS transferrable. That means that if you have a trusted friend or your travel agent on a cruise, that person can buy a placeholder or do an onboard booking in your name--they'll need your credit card information, name, date of birth, etc. The placeholder is usually easier because then you can change it to a real cruise when you are ready. The normal deal is you get the $300 that you paid for the placeholder applied to your booking plus an extra $300 for the rebooking on board AND $300 in Sailor's Loot. BUT...on some cruises they offer a special that is $600 in Sailor's Loot. And you can add booking referrals on top of that.

Yes, crew gets free wifi. And while it may sound silly, they also get free toiletries, and laundry products. They can eat FREE in guest areas provided their schedules allow and space is available. There is only one crew mess, not a crew and a separate officer's mess, which leads to a lot better interaction (according to one crew member). It seems that it is a lot of little things, but the one they always mention is the wifi.

You can get paper daily programs at Sailor Services, but you are right that the app is the most current way to know what's happening.

I don't know when you are planning to cruise, but there is a great deal currently--50% off second person in a cabin or no single supplement for solo cruisers. No, I don't work for VV and I'm not a TA. There is always some sort of "deal," but this is one of the best I've seen.