cantgetin

I'm in my 60s, somewhat conservative, and VV is my new favorite cruise line. It is definitely different than what I had surmised from the ads. In their first 6 months, the average age on board was 47, 50% of sailors were married couples. A very high percentage of sailors book another cruise within a year. My agent says that 90% of his bookings have either cruised again or booked again, although the VV stats aren't that high. Comments from others before I booked--"It's a cruise company for people who don't want to stand in line or be told what to do." "I feel comfortable in my own skin because no one judges anyone else." "If you're going to be offended by tats or piercings, it probably isn't the line for you." THings I really like--the bar tab rather than a drink package. The bar tab lets you pay $300 in advance of your cruise, and for ever $300 you pay, VV adds a bonus of $50-125 depending on the current special (right now it is $100). You can use your bar tab for any paid beverages--alcohol, specialty coffee or tea, fresh squeezed juices. You can share it with anyone you'd like. If in your cabin, bands can be programmed so you both have access; if not in your cabin, you can buy a drink for them. There are no refunds on the tab, but on the last night you can buy a round for your new best friends or purchase a bottle of wine to take home if you have extra money left. WHY I like it...I've never seen any ugly, nasty drunks on VV or people trying to max out their beverage package. The drinks on VV are reasonably priced (cheaper than a lot of other lines) and tips are already included. If the menu says a glass of wine is $10, you pay $10, not $11.80 like on most other lines (taxes must be added in some port areas). VV has lots of small areas that are set up to encourage conversation or quiet--your choice. There are lots of small seating areas, many quiet (no piped in music) There is a wide variety of live music, but certainly not all genres are represented....that's a like or dislike depending on your taste. What you won't hear is 47 renditions of YMCA or Sweet Caroline. The entertainment is different. Some I like, some I don't like. If you want a slimmed down Broadway type show, this is not the line for you. The crew are the happiest I've seen on any line. They are given a lot of perks that they wouldn't get on other lines, and seem like they want to be where they are. I'm told that early on there were some training issues, particularly involving service in The Galley, but that seems to be largely resolved. I like the almost all inclusive concept. We are light drinkers, so the bar tab is better for us than any beverage package on other lines. The "inclusives" on VV are what I'd pay extra for on other lines--soda, water, wifi, gratuities, and all dining (eat where you want, all restaurants are included). Fitness classes and access to workout equipment is also included, as are things like use of a karaoke room, vintage arcade games, etc. Almost all food means just that. Some restaurants have one or two upgrade items for a cost, but there are plenty of other things on the menu--no need to order an upgrade unless you want that item. For example, at The Wake steak/seafood place, there is one upgrade steak but there are 4 or 5 included steaks. All snack type items are included--ice cream, etc. All food outlets on the ship are included with the exception of those few "treat yourself" items. Basically, you'll pay extra for spa, shopping, shore excursions, and alcohol/specialty beverages. You could literally cruise and not pay a penny over the booking fare if you made that choice. My opinion....Food is better than any other line we've cruised. Entertainment is different, not "beige" like some lines. It is my "new favorite" line. True confessions, I have 3 cruises booked right now.

Rep on phone told me that their goal was 65% occupancy. At that time (about Sept. 1 because I called when I couldn't book restaurant reservations on the app), he said that they were about 50% sold in terms of cabins, but about 45 % in terms of number of sailors because with the "no single supplement" deal, many solo cruisers were in 2 person cabins. The 65% occupancy goal was also what they told me about 8 months ago when I booked the cruise.

8 months ago, they were mailing them to your home about a month before the cruise. Now it seems that everyone is getting them at the port. No worries about luggage tags either--the porters will take care of that issue at the terminal as well.

Hope it is there! Yes, I'm anticipating that I might have to have a "chat" with them on board, although I've been assured by shoreside sailor services that it is what is in the online account that matters and that they have it correct on what they can see.

The rooms you show are the fully accessible cabins. As you noted, they are much larger than the standard sea terrace cabin and have the fully accessible bathroom with a roll in shower and plenty of room for a wheelchair transfer in the bathroom. The wheelchair will also fit under the sink. The bed cannot be made into a sofa bed. Not sure what you mean by "layout." You have everything that a standard sea terrace has with a lot more floor space. Everything is the correct height for transfers or for the chair to fit under the desk, sink, etc. The built in shower bench folds up if not needed. The door to the bathroom opens and closes with the wave of a hand in front of the sensor. THe only odd thing is that the outer door to the cabin is not automatic.

Yeah, I figured out what we need. I can give you cabin numbers if you tell me what type you are looking for (sea terrace, window, or inside). Sailor Services tried to put us in an ambulatory accessible, which will not meet my travel companion's needs. Fortunately I found a web site that had the info I needed and was able to see that we were not in a fully accessible cabin, so I called VV and got us moved. Wish there was a way to PM thru CC, but there is not.....I think the real issue is that they started with the fully accessible and made some changes to those that guests told them were needed. But they also realized that most ships have far too few accessible cabins, so came up with the concept of ambulatory accessible and were able to add a good number of those as well. It's actually very helpful to have both types as there are a lot of older people who need bars or an elevated toilet seat, but don't need all the features of a fully accessible cabin. That saves the fully accessible for those who need one!

I've researched this in great detail as it affects my travel companion. I could not get decent info from Sailor Services shoreside. I ended up speaking to two people who have cruised on VV several times with someone who needed the special facilities. A fully accessible room is larger. The bed is a large bed that CANNOT be split, and it the appropriate height for transfers from a wheelchair. The bathroom and shower area are large with sufficient room to manipulate a chair as well as having a roll in shower, all appropriate bars, and an emergency call button. If it is a suite or Sea Terrace room, there is a ramp that allows full access to the balcony. This is/was the more typical type of accessible room on most lines, and VV made some alterations early on based on feedback from individuals needing mobility assistance--for instance, the original beds did not allow for easy transfers. The room is appropriate for someone who may need assistive devices all the time (in room as well as out and around the ship) An ambulatory accessible room is a normal size room that has been modified with the addition of bars. The bed is the same bed as any "normal" cabin that can be split in the L shape. The bathroom has been modified with the addition of bars, and the shower has a small step in (not roll in). These rooms are designed for people who can walk (hence the word "ambulatory") but may not be able to walk the distances involved in the ship atmosphere...they may opt for a scooter or chair when on the ship, but can handle walking inside the cabin, using the toilet by walking to it rather than transferring from a chair, etc. A shower seat is available. VV does not specify who can book which type of room or make any comments on what type of mobility issue is appropriate to each. They also have TTY conversion hook ups available for hearing impaired individuals, etc which will be provided on request; I cannot address other than mobility issues. I believe that you have them exactly reversed in your definition. 8 months ago, VV was using the terms "accessible" and "ambulatory." They are now using "fully accessible" (can be used by person in a chair at all times) and "ambulatory accessible (can walk short distances but needs assistive modifications). The ambulatory accessible has the convertible to the L bed, the fully accessible does not.

The issue is not that you can only EAT dinner in each specialty restaurant once. It is that on short cruises, you can only make advance reservations in each restaurant once. You can make additional reservations after boarding or you can do "walk up" and see if/when you can get a table. Given that there are 6 restaurants and this is the policy on cruises of 5 nights or fewer, it doesn't seem like a problem. It has been reported that the shift to 3 advance reservations per restaurant occurs when the cruise is at least 6 nights long. I cannot confirm this, but on our 14 night cruise, the policy was 3 advance dinner reservations at each restaurant. You can also have breakfast and lunch at The Wake and Razzle Dazzle, in addition to your dinner reservations in these locations.

They keep saying that they're going to meet their goal for passengers on board, and it seems they continue to add Sailors. I didn't think people would book this close to cruising.

It depends....if you look at the cost of each of the items individually, the price of the package is good. If there are items in the package that you wouldn't use or don't care about. then not so much.

I recommend using a TA for many reasons (I'm not one). but anyone can choose their own cabin by calling VV rather than booking on line.

I'm puzzled by the suggestions above. The Disney Magic and Wonder hold about 2700 passengers in 845 cabins; the virgin ships hold about 2700 in 1440 cabins. Essentially, they have a lot more 2 person cabins while DCL has a lot of 4 person cabins. They are about the same size, and they were built in the same shipyard. 2) The whole idea of dining on VV is to do what you want, when you want. That wouldn't fit with rotational dining 3)I can see larger staterooms if the current suites are selling out 4) so again, you want the "divided bathroom" concept that DCL has. I can't argue against it, but it is less needed with 2 people in a cabin than with 4 5) Increasing the entertainment budget will mean increasing costs. 6) VV is already "mostly all inclusive" except for alcohol. Gratuities ARE included, including those on alcoholic beverages, spa services, etc. 7) You can get full meal room service. There is a $5 delivery fee which is comped if you order anything that has a charge--a glass of fresh squeezed OJ, hot chocolate, alcohol, etc. Have you cruised on VV? It sounds like you want DCL with no kids. In that case, I'd suggest the longest cruises possible, and cruising during times when most schools are in session. That leads to a lot more toddlers on DCL, and they are in programming, nursery, or with parents...not running the ship. We loved DCL when kid was little; now we love VV because they offer the "all inclusives" that I want and I don't have to deal with other people's children.

I suspect that the security personnel were always on board but that they are more obvious now. That makes sense given that there have been several "incidents" recently on another cruise line and VV cruises are sailing with more passengers than previously.

you can have up to 16 "referrals." Each referral can be used only once.

From a friend who was on Valiant last week...the $10 per day is only good at the specialty coffee places (Grounds Club) but can be used on any product there, like the specialty teas and hot chocolate as well as coffee. She said that they have a system where the charge was applied and immediately deducted. No, it was not just added to the bar tab. Sorry, I don't know if they got the credit for the number of nights or number of days on the cruise. I also don't know if it can be "evened out" or if it is strictly $10 per day. For instance, if I got 3 beverages at $5 each on one day (total $15) and only 1 (total $5) on another day, I don't know whether all of them would be taken off my bill or if I'd owe $5 since I exceeded the $10 per day once. These are on the list of things I need to clear up with our dedicated agent after boarding! Do be aware that while in port at some locations in the Med, the cruise line is required to add VAT to all purchases including coffee, alcohol, etc. The stores on board are closed while in port, but some of the beverage outlets remain open.

I certainly hope this is true on our upcoming cruise! One review mentioned tax being applied. In some Med ports, the ship is required to charge VAT on any purchases made while the ship is in port or in waters belonging to certain countries. We've encountered this on other lines as well. The shops are closed while in port, but various beverage outlets may be open. The ship people will know exactly when they no longer are required to charge the VAT. On another line, we received a letter telling us exactly when the tax would no longer need to be applied so we could plan any shopping accordingly. They also supplied us with the necessary forms to get a partial refund at the airport when we left the EU....but the amount wasn't much and it was a pain to process even with the paperwork from the ship.

My friend was on Valiant last week and posted multiple pictures of them having a great time. I can't make sense out of these reviews beyond that they seem to be written by the same person. There are reviews of the same cruise, including the one linked above, that do not sound anything like these two negatives. I think that the individual who posted the negatives has some sort of grudge against VV.

Interesting. There have been at least three incidents recently on another cruise line, the most recent of which resulted in severe injuries to a passenger. While I haven't heard of anything happening on VV, perhaps they decided to take action in advance of any issues.

I can swipe between cruises on the app

It has been added and I can see it on my VV account on the website. It is not showing up on the app, but I did a screen shot of the web site and figure I'll argue it after we board if the app is still wrong. The app supposedly tends to be very peculiar until after boarding.

It is per cabin. The laundry clearly states that is per cabin. On another page, it says that regardless of how many promotions including Moet may be in your add ons, you will only get one per cabin. For instance, my rebooking on board and deep blue perks each include moet, but our cabin will only get one.

I can't quote the rules on pregnancy on VV, but they definitely have plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available all over the ship. THe party atmosphere is as much or as little as you wish. If you don't like the party feel, go elsewhere.

It is per cabin. Some of the perks, like laundry and the $10 coffee credit, clearly state "per cabin." In the fine print on another page, it states that regardless of number of offers/qualifications, only one bottle of Moet will be given per cabin (so I have one from my rebooking on board and one for the deep blue perks, but the cabin will only get one free.) Both people are invited to the reception and get the limited time services of a rockstar agent as well as vip booking. Per the agent, rather than having 24 hour access in the way a mega rockstar guest does, the rockstar agent has designated hours which are printed on the information you'll get in your cabin on the first day.

Virgin has been running some amazing specials recently. We have 3 upcoming bookings, each in a Sea Terrace, with a significantly lower "per day" price than you quoted. My advice is to watch the specials and do rebooking on board whenever possible. I love that what's included with VV is exactly what I want. We are not heavy drinkers, so the alcohol packages on other lines never made sense.

My name is Kathryn and this is my travel agent's email. She can try to link us together, or if that doesn't work, she might have someone else she can link you with. She will need your name and booking number to make the connection. As far as I know, we are unable to do any private communication thru Cruise Critic, and this way we don't have to post private stuff here. THe $200 is over, but $50 is worth getting! https://virg.in/ow3S is my link. her email is: Magic@TootlesTravels.com