raphael360

31 minutes ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

Has anyone successfully used a VPN while on the ships WiFi?

I have used my successfully on the 7 VV cruises.

I ordered coffee from room service today and can confirm what cruisingwalter said. Room service coffee is better than the Galleys coffee. Not as strong. The only down side is room service delivers coffee in paper cups so it was luke warm by the time it made it to my room 

29 minutes ago, raphael360 said:

f they are scanning wrist bands

Arrived at 6 for the 6:30 show. Doors were open and sailors were arriving. No scanning of our wrist bands. 

I’m onboard Scarlett now and the event line on the app stills shows  “First come first serve” But when I checked the show times today it gave me the option to book which I did. I’ll see if they are scanning wrist bands in an hour from now. 

1 hour ago, airhose said:

Can one book a breakfast at 8 and a lunch at 12 on the same day?

I’m onboard now and just tried it. And yes it worked. Who knew?

One of my favorite perks of DBEs is early checkin and boarding. 
 

I arrived at the port of Miami yesterday at 11 am and was immediately able to go through the advanced pre-check in process in the ground floor entrance lobby of Terminal V. I did have to “ask” for my Sea Rover wrist band though. She almost forgot to give one to me  The ban is required board in zone 2 or 3. Also this was my second cruise where Sea Rovers boarded before Splash of Romance sailors. 

6 hours ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

On my cruise last year brunch @ The Wake was a walk up thing. Now the information says "Brunch is available daily - please book onboard." Do they mean as soon as you arrive onboard and using the app or go directly to the restauraant (may not be open yet) and see someone at the podium, or Sailor Services or Razzle Dazzle? Anyone actually do this yet and can shed some light? Thanks!

I boarded yesterday and immediately upon connecting to the ships wifi was able to book brunch in the Wake every morning at 8 am. Prior to boarding I was limited to only booking one dinner and one brunch for the Wake. 

I’m onboard Scarlett now and must say the coffee this morning is much stronger than I remember. It’s freshly made but so bold. Too strong and bold and I can see why several sailors don’t like it.

im also reminded it comes out of the carafe only warm and I remember why I always preheat my coffee mug before I draw my first cup of coffee.

Note to first time sailors who are early risers, it’s 4:30 am and one set of the mid ship doors are closed to the Galley. 

On 4/4/2024 at 3:13 PM, chefchick said:

Can sailor loot be used in the casino?

Sailor loot yes, bonus bar tab, no...

19 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

So, would you advise someone like me to get the room service coffee or the drip coffee in The Galley rather than going to Grounds Club?

The Grounds was using Black Cat and I'm pretty sure the Gallay drip was Black Cat too. I don't know if VV is using the same coffee beans in all of their venues currently but I'm guessing they do.  But, with that said, CruisngWalter noticed different coffees at different venues so maybe you can test-drive all of them and find a winner for your taste.

My last VV cruise was way back in December 2023 so things may be different now.  I'll be onboard Scarlett next week and will report back. (I'm typing this comment while sipping my second cup of Black Cat now as I've been up since 2am:) 

2 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

And what is the earliest time it might be available?

 

I'm an early riser and head to the Galley between 3 and 4 AM to fetch my wake-up cup of coffee.  There was freshly brewed coffee at one of the '2' coffee stations, usually at the coffee station opposite the Grounds Club.  

I take my own 12 oz cup, fill it up, and head back to my stateroom to enjoy it in peace and quiet because the Galley gets its daily floor scrubbing in the wee hours.

VV was using Intelligentsia's Black Cat brand of coffee on my last 6 cruises. Intelligentsia is a high-end bean that is both expensive and excellent.  I love it so much that I buy these beans directly from Intelligentsia for my morning coffee at home.  FYI: VV brews a full-bodied cup of coffee, unlike most mass-market hotels.  IMHO it's one of the best features on Virgin because I LOVE MY COFFEE 🙂

On 4/3/2024 at 3:58 PM, jon81uk said:

New terms appear to have taken effect today, so yes if we are reading it right then each sailor will now get each benefit so two coffee per sailor per day and one laundry each over the trip.

It looks like it's pretty much the same DBE's we've been getting for the past 2 years, if I'm reading it right...

21 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

Absolutely, its one of the best reasons to use a TA.  They can also move your cabins around if you booked directly and then transfer your booking to the TA.  

 

Additionally TAs can book your dinner reservations so you don't have to deal with the app, and they can book Shore Things for you as well. 

Walter, you always offer the best advice - thank you! 🙂 

TA question:  Can TAs log into their First Mate portal to see and select from any of the rooms available in specific categories?

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

It just seemed strange. It reminded me a bit of an ad I once saw for Zipcar: "Cars for people who don't want one." 🤣

Sorry to disappoint

4 hours ago, zumbaqueen1 said:

The Eurostars Grand Marina looks lovely but a bit out of our price range!  LOL

It was $150 per night when we stayed there.  Don't have a clue what it is right now.  My friends stayed at the W Hotel Marina at $950 per night.  We liked $150 better.

7 hours ago, garycarla said:

For the vast  majority  of us that booked a year out - the dinner reservation is exactly the same.

Dinner reservations only open up for the vast majority of us 90 days out.  But with that said, I'll never book a last-minute cruise on VV again.

11 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Why did you want to bag the $300 bonus bar tab if you don't drink?

2 reasons: 

First, so I can bring home some bottles of wine for the family at home, all of whom still drink, and, second, so I can buy my new best friends onboard drinks.

Finally, why not?

I just booked a 4-day cruise on Scarlett 37 days out, aka, last minute, because it was going to be the lowest-priced cruise available for 2024.  And I wanted to bag the $300 bonus bar tab before it expired.

The 2 problems I discovered are:

1.  The bonus bar tab promotion no longer applies or extends to inside cabins as it did on my last 6 sailings.  No biggie, I don't drink.

2.  There were almost zero dinner reservations available for any of the restaurants left by the time I was able to check on the app.  I was only able to book the Wake for 8 am on the day of disembarkation but that's it.  I know, I know... there will be Tons of availability once I board (I hope).  Again, no biggie, as I'm happy to eat all of my meals in the Galley. It is what it is... 🙂

20 minutes ago, Giraffes said:

So do they want your responses or do they want you to book another cruise after 4/15?

I’m guessing the latter. 

Our favorite hotel to arrive, crash, and recover in Barcelona is the Eurostars Grand Marina. It's right at the World Trade Center cruise ship port.   We'd get there 2 days ahead to R&R, and see a bit of downtown.  Our Seabourn ship was docked 30 feet from the hotel's front doors.

Oh my, that's cutting it close.  I've disembarked VV in Miami 6 times last year and each experience was different.  

Assuming you will be carrying your bags off the ship AND waiting in the area closest to the gateway, you may be about to get off and through customs 9:30-10, Maybe??  I always did both of these things and each time was different.

The 6 AM disembarkation never happened on any of my sailings.  First off was usually 7-7:30 was more typical.  Also, the Que of passengers waiting to disembark on my last (fully booked) cruise was wrapped around the entire ship and I stood in line for an hour, so plan on getting in this line very early.

I would seriously consider changing your flight to later.

23 minutes ago, garycarla said:

And they still change it if they need to.

Really??  So don't bother checking it on the app until one gets to the port??

No "Chains by-the-inch" tables in the main hall

No "cheap handbags" for sale everywhere

No photographers everywhere all of the time saying "smile"

No endless ways for the cruise line to pull money out of your pockets.

20 hours ago, Grumpella said:

I have Expedited Boarding with my Deep Blue Extras

We DBE sailors boarded after the Splash of Romance guest on my first 5 cruises out of Miami, but Before them on my last cruise in December. As mentioned above, it is only a 5-minute difference in the boarding times either way (in Miami that is).