cantgetin

There are several reviews here as well as YouTube videos showing the goodies. Basically, you get a thermal spa pass for each person and a bottle of champagne. Those basically equal the cost of the package. There are no substitutions, so if you don't drink the champagne, it isn't able to be converted to a bar tab or whatever. You get cold pressed juices and munchies as if there isn't already enough food on the ship, a special cocktail party (location varies), priority boarding (if you are a Sea Rover you already have this on that package), I don't know how to equate those things into cash as they can't be purchased. Really your choice, but if you wouldn't use the two big items, the rest doesn't make sense to me. It is called Splash of Romance, not "touch."

Our last Princess cruise was a B2B Alaska in a low end suite. This gave us all the suite perks including the special area of the MDR that was reserved for suite guests and had one or more special items each night. Those special items were excellent, as was the service. The MRD items were mixed--sometimes great, other times not so much. The Crown Grille changed personnel between our two sailings. The first time was great. However, during the second leg, it was not even "just ok," but was bad. Had it not been a freebie as part of our booking, I would have requested a refund. I agree that on all of our other Princess sailings, Crown Grill beats The Wake in both service and food quality. Overall, I find Virgin food most comparable to Celebrity but most VV food is still a notch up. That's not every dish or every restaurant, but my overall opinion. VV is better than Princess MDR, but not as good as Princess specialty restaurant dinners MOST of the time. Brunch in RD was every bit as good as in Sabbatini's. The Galley vs. the buffets is a bit of apples to oranges. The variety of Celebrity's buffet was nice and their quality was better than Princess overall. But I like The Galley concept vs. a buffet and it is improving in service. Guess it again is an individual thing. Yes, VV has room for improvement in some areas. But overall, I like them enough to have a few more booked. We'll decide after that what comes next.

That's why I have only done the TA from Miami. Our other cruises have been European departures. I'm not interested in 4/5 nights, and would choose a longer cruise over a B2B. But that's me....there are obviously plenty of people who will either like or will accept short cruises.

Fair comment, but I wasn't trying to play games. I did this initially when I was considering VV to see what the closest cruise I could find on lines I knew would cost. Yes, I did one just for the post, and I've also look at fall 2024 options on other lines as VV hasn't released yet. It it totally impossible to compare "apples to apples," but I tried the best I could find in terms of departure/arrival ports, number of days, basic location of the cruise and then looked for what the other lines offered either as a package or individual items for gratuities, wifi, and at least some specialty dining. If the other line's package included drinks, I went with that IF VV was offering a bar tab at no cost. Bottom line, I agree, I'd always prefer a longer cruise....but for my purposes, I wouldn't compare a 7 night vs. a 5 night. You are right, it is somewhat a game....but it is also a worthwhile comparison before jumping in, particularly on a new line. Quite the post about the Princess add on packages and those on other lines. Yes, it bothers me to see things that used to be free now require an add on purchase....and we have cruised Princess several times without an add on. We are at 6 different lines, almost 50 cruises, and there is always something that is "best" about each line. The real question is which best fits our situation for "this" vacation. And since we always choose long cruises, I don't want to be "stuck" on a ship that doesn't suit us (logic, if paying to get to and from a port, may as well cruise for a while!)

We did not care for the Ship Show food....but certain Galley stations stay open till 10:30, and pizza is open late.

Yes, essentially that is. correct, and either way, the posted prices on the drinks include the tip. The other thin is that if you qualify as a Sea Rover, either by having 2 completed cruises within the specified dates or thru the status match, you will get a $100 free bar tab and your bonus on the purchased $300 bar tab will increase to $100 (instead of the standard $50). So, as a sea rover, if I purchase one bar tab for $300, I will have $500 in bar tab! If I purchase nothing, I'll still have the $100. Warning--at one point, shoreside had to manually enter the extra bonus amount for sea rovers. Check your account on line and if it isn't there, contact your TA to get it corrected. If you didn't use a TA, enjoy waiting on line to hope they manage to do it correctly.

We found the passengers on Celebrity to be older than other lines we'd cruised. Like Walter, we found the food and the crew interactions to be the most similar to VV than any other line we've sailed. We did Alaska, so didn't have the pool games and such.....but ANY line has better pools than VV. Celebrity did put some sort of dome over one of the adult only pools and designate "family hours " for a few hours each day.

I'm going to attribute this to human error. I've never read about it or had it happen on any line including VV, and I'm not sure how or why it happened to you. Good that you and your TA caught it. One good thing on VV--while many lines require you to cancel any excursions days before embarkation, VV's cancelation policy is 24 hours before the excursion.

I've heard the rumors about VV and Alaska as well. On our second Alaska trip, we did a North and then a South B2B. This worked REALLY well, highly recommended. Since we started and ended at Vancouver, we could get round trip plane tickets and avoid the more expensive fights from Anchorage (this was quite a savings!). Even though we visited all the same ports, we never felt rushed and had a lot more time to do the excursions we wanted to. In most ports, there would be several offered by the ship and often a few private that looked good...this gave us time to do what we liked. We also realized that it was probably going to be our last Alaska cruise, so the longer trip was wonderful. The Princess stuff like "Puppies in the Piazza" is just a publicity thing. You stand in line for a long time in order to have 30 seconds to pet a pup who will grow up to be a sled dog. and maybe get a photo. I guess if you are really missing your pets at home, it might make you feel better. Bottom line, don't choose the cruise line based on stuff like this!

Only if you don't tell them. Food safety issues and the fact that you are entering another country would lead them to tell you that they can handle the issues on shore. My suggestion would be to have brunch before you head to the island and come back to the ship for food when your tummy says you've had enough island!

We've done Alaska on Celebrity and Princess. Each had something to recommend it. Reality is that you go to Alaska for the wildlife and scenery. The food and the entertainment were better on Celebrity. I've never figured out why most sites list Princess as a premium brand. However, when I see the changes Princess is making, I appreciate Virgin all the more.

I laugh when people complain about the "bar tab" and lack of "unlimited drinks" on VV. For people who don't drink a lot, the bar tab is the best deal out there. And I like not having people who are trying to "max out" their bar tab running around acting like idiots or worse.

As above, your arrival time selections are based on when you download the app and see what is available. So, it is a good idea to log onto the app as soon as you book a cruise to find the earliest available times. My bad example--booked a year in advance, but didn't go onto the app for THAT booking until we had cruised the one we had booked for an earlier date. When I went to the app to insert info and select time, the earliest times were gone. Lesson learned! Boarding has been slightly different at each of the embarkation ports we have used...but not enough difference to be concerned about. The process is basically the same, the concept of where you wait, etc. is slightly different.

Agreed, my last Princess cruise was disappointing and I haven't had a reason to try them since. Our Japan trip on Princess was lovely, but that really had more to do with Japan than with Princess.

Yesterday Princess announced some new policies. Some thing that used to be free and now included only with a Plus or Premium package. Some restaurants (Alfredo's for instance) are no longer part of the basic cruise fare deal. The basic package is just that--a cabin, MDR, and buffet with very little extra. Just for giggles, I priced a Princess translantic compared to my booking on VV. Basic 14 night crossing BCN to Florida was $1100 pp inside cabin, $1900 balcony before port charges. That's almost twice what I'm paying for our Sea Terrace, before including goodies like internet, tips, specialty restaurants, etc. The lowest package that includes those things is $60 pp per day. In fairness, those $60-80 packages include alcohol but we have a free bar tab on VV. Sorry, I laugh when I look at other lines. I know VV prices will be increasing; the current cost to book the TA is almost double what we paid. But the other lines just don't make sense unless they are going somewhere that VV won't take us.

I think a lot of us are waiting and hoping to see what VV comes out with. Yes, I've looked at other lines to be sure there are cruises that I might choose available, but I still want to see VV offerings and prices.

I have no idea what caused your airline delay, but I have read of similar happening to others. When we departed from Barcelona in May, it took less than an hour from arriving at the airport entrance to being at our gate, and most of that was standing in line waiting to check in. When we walked away from the check in counter for our airline, the line was much longer than when we had entered it. There were initially only 2 agents, and then a third appeared, but there were at least 2 empty slots that people could have been working.

Virgin has been "working on" their loyalty program for over a year. No one knows what will happen after Jan 1, 2024. Presumably you will keep the Sea Rover status earned by number of cruises (they have kept the Sea Blazer designation). But no one knows what benefits will be conferred by that designation. The $100 bonus on beverage packages was advertised as good for 2 years. Status match currently expires 1/1/2024.

It should be automatic, but all things VV can be a bit odd. If you have a sailing in 2023, you should see "deep blue extras" under "add ons" in your account. If you don't see it, call your TA or fight with VV yourself. No one knows what will happen as of January 1 2024.

The problem is that, like everything they do, VV seems to complicate this. They called the time a "terminal arrival time" and told sailors to not arrive more than 30 minutes before that time or they wouldn't be allowed into the terminal. This used to start at 1:30, meaning that those with the earliest time could arrive at 1. The problem was that everyone called the time an "embarkation time," and VV recently changed the earliest time to 2pm. And there are TAs out there telling their clients to "just show up at 1 anyway," Bottom line....we had a 1:30 time, showed up at 1, were allowed to check in and then wait till they started boarding at 1:30. So 1:30 wasn't arrival time, it was boarding time. We were in our cabin and our luggage had been delivered by 1:45. Provided you have filled in all the info on the app, check in takes all of maybe 2 minutes and then you are boarding. The order for boarding is rockstars, then people who purchased the romance package, then Sailor's Club (loyalty program), then others.. We were Sailor's Club, but for all practical purposes, there was no delay for the other groups. Each group started up the gangway when notified to do so. We were on our feet and in line about 1:35 and the line just moved with them scanning each bracelet as the person walked by. My suggestion would be to show up 30 minutes before your assigned time and expect to very quickly to thru the process. If you have a late time, something after 3 or 3:30, I'd show up around 3 as from that point on, they really don't pay attention to times.

We aren't allowed to recommend agents on this site...sorry. Why to use an agent? Many agents buy future cruise certificates and sell them to their clients at cost, which gives you a $300 discount on your cruise and $600 "loot," which is virgin talk for onboard credit. In addition, if you time it properly, they sometimes have other promotions available thru VV that can give you anther $100. I have a great agent that does Disney and VV and has ranked in the top 10 VV agents. I haven't seen service like she gives for 25 years. Seriously, she asked me to send her my flight and hotel info and she entered it into an app that tracked everything on both my phone and computer--without me supplying them, it had addresses, phone numbers, all the reservations I'm made during the cruise, etc. Yes, I have all that, but having everything in one place was great....and it tracked flight delays, etc. My agent tracks all her reservations so that when new deals come out thru VV she will notify me as to whether it can be applied, is worth a cancel and rebook, or not worth it. Hey, my upcoming cruise went down $130. Not much. The one after that, I saved $400 and added a $600 beverage package! And having an agent can save your hours on the phone with VV. There are other social media groups where people are allowed to recommend agents...some are for all VV cruisers, past, present, and future, while others are for specific cruise dates....... How. to find a good agent...make sure they are gold tier with VV. And if they aren't able to give you a future cruise certificate, find one who can! Tootles,

Sounds like a plan. And totally agree with a good breakfast before flying home. The nice thing is that you can leave your luggage in your cabin, have breakfast, and then go to retrieve it--no need to drag it to the restaurant or The Galley. You don't have to be out of your cabin till 10:45. That last breakfast is much more pleasant on VV than on other lines!

I think they turned off a lot of people initially with ads showing primarily 20 somethings. For 2022, the average age on the ships was 43 with a range of 18 to 90s. Our sailings were definitely not the drunken rowdies that another line might attract. It was a very nice mix of people who seemed to like cruising. Fortunately, their marketing has changed to reflect that. They've also toned down some of the entertainment. On our most recent cruise, there was a comedian that I wanted to see based on her bio, but really didn't enjoy. My travel companion informed me that I was too old for her stuff. and that younger people would have loved her. My feeling was that she only had one basic theme and hadn't deviated from that in 30 minutes. But she was only one of a large number of entertainers on board.

For our cruise in a few months, the earliest time is 2:00 (a year ago it was 1:30). Barcelona was strict--if you show up more than 30 minutes before your assigned time, you will be sent away. We got there at 12:45 and were able to check our luggage. Then we were told we could wait at the piazza next to the terminal, the coffee shop next to the piazza, a nearby hotel lobby, or walk around the area; they would begin allowing people in 30 minutes before scheduled time. The other side of things is that most hotels have an 11 or 12 check out time and are not as flexible as US hotels. Bottom line--either change your time or plan to drop luggage and then leave the terminal area.

Probably best if I keep my opinion of the top brass to myself. Suffice it to say that when I took the time to send him a snail mail detailing a significant accessibility issue on Valiant Lady, the only response I received was an email copy of the page from the VV website where accessibility is discussed and it took 4 months for that to hit my inbox. I was invited to a dinner with Captain Tom and Tom McAlpin on the Disney Magic.....as noted, best if I don't voice my opinion. I have my theories about what happened at Disney....would love to talk with you privately, but that's not possible on this platform.