cantgetin

Some people don't understand the difference between a "reservation" (where there are limited seats and having the reservation means that a seat is kept for you until 5 minutes before show time) and adding a "reminder" to the schedule on the app which just adds a notification to your daily schedule. The difference is clear on the app. A reservation requires you to enter the names/number of sailors attending by clicking their photos and you are typically only able to reserve one session of this show initially. A reminder just adds it to your daily schedule without requiring names or number of persons. Many shows don't require reservations, but are on a "first come, first seated" basis.

If you book on line, you get an assigned cabin which you can change by calling VV or going thru a TA. If you book either on the phone to VV or thru a TA, you can choose your cabin from any available; the TA is able to see availability on their portal. You are completely right that you don't want a cabin right under the gym. The VV ships don't seem to have the nightclub issues that some other lines do. Some of the XLs at the very front of the ship do not have hammocks; instead they have a swinging chair thing. Bottom line, you should be able to see your cabin assignment if you scroll down thru the booking confirmation to "ship information." It is assigned at the time of booking except in cases of a gty booking. From there, if you don't like what you see, you can go thru your TA to get it changed OR call Sailor Services yourself. Unlike other lines, VV Sailor services are willing to help you with many things. Another question....are you aware that the only real difference between a regular sea terrace and an XL is the size of the bathroom? The cabins are otherwise very similar. This might impact your choice. Sometimes XLs are minimally more costly than a Sea Terrace, other times the difference can be significant.

Virgin docks at the World Trade Center port, so you are not on the long pier at all. It is a 10 minute walk to the Columbus statue which is a major transportation hub in the city. Taxi to BCN in April people were reporting everything from 22 Euros (which is what I paid) to 35 Euros. There were plenty of cabs, both small and large available at the terminal. A regular cab will hold 2 people + luggage, but if you have a lot of luggage you may need the larger one. The large cab will hold up to 6 depending on amount of luggage. VV did offer transportation; I think it was $25 per person; the feedback was not good as they were supposedly quite disorganized. A group on the cruise did their own early morning transport. They started with something like 52 Euros for a 6 person van, but had so much interest that they increases it to a 13 person van for $82 Euros; the group just split the cost. These were just people who signed up with the guy who organized it on our social media group. They did an early morning self disembarkation; meet the van at 7:45, van will depart at 8 whether all are present or not (the organizer had an early flight). Overall, the terminal at the WTC port in Barcelona was A LOT better organized and run than our embarkation in Miami was!

Shows that require reservations have a standby line. MANY people make reservations and then don't show up. Shows that put notifications on your schedule but don't require reservations, just go about 15-30 minutes early. Seating generally starts about 15 minutes before show time.

On the first day there is a singles meet and greet sponsored by VV and then whoever wants to in the group is invited to do a group dinner at Razzle Dazzle, no reservations needed. There continue to be "meet up" activities throughout the cruise. In addition, most cruises have social media groups that arrange additional activities.

If you've ever purchased an MNVV, it shows those with their expiration date, even when you have used them on a booked cruise that you haven't sailed yet. That's probably because you could cancel and book something else, using the certificate for the second booking. That was the part I could figure out on mine.

Basically you will get to meet the Happenings Staff and some of your fellow cruisers. You'll get 4 drinks (no choice) and a few munchies, and end up at the PJ party. It cannot be charged to your bar tab as it is an "activity," but can be paid for with loot. At $35 it was a good deal. At $50, you could buy 4 drinks of your choice for that, so you are doing if for the social aspects if you choose to do so.

What I learned before my last cruise from. Per the tech department, the app and the on line accounts are not linked. When my on line account acted up, they had me go to set up account like I was making a new account. I then entered all my info again, just as if it were the first time, and it magically linked to my cruises and worked. When it went wonky again a few weeks later, I did this again and it worked again. I don't know if this will cure your on line mess, but it worked for me. If you call, tell them you need tech help, not customer service.

No. I had something similar show up on my account....I'm letting my TA sort it out,

I cruised the week after Walter posted about the traffic issues. We had no trouble. Looks like it might be a spotty thing with the construction and/or high numbers of ships in port.

Sea Rover is a current status, but the "badge" thing doesn't seem to be active. It is not a problem. If you are a Sea Rover or above, you should see Deep Blue Extras on the add on tab if you go to "My Account" on the website. The app is often not accurate till after you board, although it seems to be improving.

My first VV was the October 2022 TA.....and I got off the ship with 3 more booked. I am not at all VV's main demographic--almost 70, somewhat conservative in my choice of activities, etc. I loved....the fact that you can make this cruise anything you want it to be. If you don't like loud parties, don't go, If you don't like to dress up for dinner, go casual...but if you want to dress up, go for it. I loved the food, the crew, the hammock, the "almost all inclusive," some of the entertainment, etc.

TAs (first mates) can do MNVVs in a couple of ways. First, they can advertise ahead to their clients thru emails or social media letting them know that the TA will be cruising and collecting payment into in advance. That way, they can just purchase the MNVV or book the cruise in the client's name--not needing to do a "transfer." Alternatively, they can buy up to a certain limit during their cruise and sell them to clients after the fact. The current deal is very good, and busy first mates, those who sell a lot of VV, never seem to have enough. It might be a problem if you aren't selling much VV, but I typically get an email several times a year letting me know that my first mate will be cruising "just in case" I'm interested.

That notice was added to my October sailing when it reappeared on line yesterday after having been removed from the "my account" section. In my case, the dates reflected when I purchased MNVV, but it made no sense as those had already been applied to bookings....thus, in my mind, the $0 showed. I think this was just their latest attempt at "improving" their on line stuff when in reality, they messed up other things. I'm just glad that I have a great TA who will make sure it is all correct before each sailing.

It is impossible to figure out the mind of the bean counters when they set prices. But yes, a new route, late in the season, new ship could all explain a higher starting point. It might be as simple as fuel costs in Europe as the 7 night Med sailings on Valiant are only slightly less. It is a great itinerary, and might just reflect the fact that they thought they could sell it at that rate.

Thanks for posting that......I'm not a FL res, so I looked quickly at the discount and sighed.

True, all persons in the cabin get priority boarding and are invited to the cocktail party. As above, the "Party" is not a big deal. The location seems to vary depending on how many are qualified to attend. THe sangria was totally watered down,

A TA who sells VV can go to their portal and see how many cabins in what types are still available, You can call and ask shoreside sailor services how full a cruise is, but you won't always get a reliable answer from them. The vast majority of the rooms on the VV ships are balconies of one sort or another, so a sell out of inside or oceanview (or suites) doesn't mean much.

Yup, I shot mine my dining list and she did all of it when the app failed miserably. There are lots of reasons to use a good First Mate--some financial, some service oriented, Mine also has an app where I send her my flight confirmations, hotel, etc. THe app puts together an itinerary for each day of the trip with all the pesky details and phone numbers. It also notifies me of any flight delays, etc. Really nice to have it all in one place. There has to be some way to tell it to NOT notify of flight changes less than X minutes though....will try to figure that out for next cruise.

You can always book on line and then call VV to move to the cabin number that you want. I don't know of an easy way to change/request a specific cabin on line. I am puzzled by the comment that there are no real financial incentives to using a TA as I listed several in my earlier post. One of the biggest is that your TA may have MNVV certificates available in the event that you didn't buy one or this is your first cruise. They ARE transferrable.

All perks are "per stateroom," not "per person,"

No one can say whether another individual will be happy or not, but there are a wide range of vegetarian menu options in the various restaurants. Test Kitchen has 2 vegetarian menus, Razzle Dazzle is a "Plant Forward" restaurant with a few meat options. Each of the other food locations had vegetarian options. This is way more than I've seen on any other ship!

The web site says to allow a week to process status match. My daughter's took 4 days, mine took 10 days. It is a form letter sent by email. It will also show up under My Account for that cruise...look under "add ons" for Deep Blue Extras.

The crew must have been in heaven since we had 1800 the week before. Some crew perks (such as eating in passenger restaurants) depend on how full the ship is.

You can also be awarded sea rover status by applying on line for the "status match" if you have loyalty status on another line. Being a sea rover gives you a series of perks while on line including $10 credit on premium coffee or tea per day, one bag of laundry free, priority boarding, invitation to a cocktail party, a $100 complimentary bar tab, etc. THe nice thing about MNVV is that it is transferrable....meaning that a friend or travel agent can buy extras and "sell" them to you for the $300 they paid or they can just buy it in your name while they are on board. When used for a booking, you get the $300 you paid for the certificate taken off the cruise fare plus an extra $300 off as well as (currently) $600 in onboard credit (Loot in VV speak). This has been the standard offer for a long time with the certificate....or you can book an actual date while on board and get the same benefits.