raphael360

Miami weather forecast for Monday looks picture perfect.

I’m onboard Scarlet now and yes we are headed to Cozumel. We hit a nor'easte on Seabourn going from Montreal to Miami sometime back and missed 3 ports. It is what it is.

I totally agree it’s a good burger. My point is it isn’t any different or better than the burgers in January-July.

I just had my first burger in the Galley sine June I have to report it is the same ol same ol’ patty it’s always been. I was hoping it was going to be better than the past but it’s not sadly.

I just now boarded Scarlet here in Miami, my 7th cruise from Miami. And a lot has changed since my last cruise in June - to the better. All these times are approx. and your mileage may vary. First off, now there are 2 x Party queues outside for members of the Sailors Club and Splash of Romance passengers. I arrived at noon, checked in my suitcase, went inside the terminal and was able check in on the first floor. I was then invited to get in the Party queue outside for a 45 minute wait. Nice. (On my last 6 cruises I had to wait outside the terminal doors with a hoard of my new best friends until approximately 12:30 when we were allowed in jam though the double doors and line up inside on the first floor.) The new queues outside were a delightful improvement. At 1:00 pm I was invited up the escalator and directly to security as I was pre-checked in earlier. Score! After my romantic and exciting security pat down, I entered the departure lounge and grabbed a seat until boarding was announced. This is where it gets different: on my other 6 cruises, Splash of Romance boarded first followed bySailors Club. But today Sailors Club members boarded first 😃👍🏻 I was scanned in and in my room in less than 10 minutes AND my checked bag was waiting for me. Very cool. I’m currently typing this post on my iPhone while drinking my first of many many cappuccinos at the Grind so please excuse my typos. Final thoughts: I to booked my shows and headed to the Galley for at quick bite. It was completely empty at 2:30. Sweet.

I received my confirmation email within a week of applying.

I called Sailor Services before my first three cruises to confirm or reconfirm my Sea Rover. Status They always told me “you don’t have Sea Rover status” even after my 3rd cruises. But I always had Sea Rover status at the terminal. This caused me some distress prior to my first 3 cruises. My DBEs finally started showing up on the app between cruise number 3 and 4. Go figure. My advice to susanb is: ‘don’t let your heart by troubled’. You have your status match email so you should be good to go next December. Whip out this confirmation email at the terminal if you aren’t offered your pre boarding bracelet. I’m very confident you will be on the list. I find on shore Sailor Services to be a mixed bag. And Don’t forget to take every red item in your closet for Scarlet Night 😃

My DBEs never did show up in the app prior to my first cruise after receiving my status match. I took my status match confirmation email to the port on the day of embarkation only to discover all was in order and I received my early boarding bracelet and was allowed to board early. All of the deep blue extras were on my portfolio. with that said VV may be more on top of your status match then they were last January.

How would this work now that you've canceled your existing booking and taking the future cruise credit??

I’ve been presented with a room number option on my last 7 cruises when booking directly. I recommend booking using the 24 hour hold option and calling sailor services with your booking number to see what other rooms are available. Others have had excellent luck using a travel agent who have instant access to available room inventory. Avoid rooms on deck 8 and 14 though.

Is it fried turkey or roasted turkey? I'm on Scarlett next week.

Dinner reservation bookings are open 60 days before sailing via the app. Shows and showtimes can be viewed (but not booked) under the "Browse the event line-up" tab on the app. They are also available for viewing 60 days prior. Shows and showtimes are subject to change. As mentioned above, shows cannot be booked until you are on the ship and connected to the ship's wifi. Hope this helps.

It appears you're familiar with Geoblue from the title of your post. Any reasons you are going in that direction?

Excellent idea. I will definitely try that. Thank you.

That's a good point. I didn't even know that 🙂

In this particular case, I did not spell out my exact allergies. Instead, I was very clear to mention: "I wanted a hamburger - meat only - no onion, no lettuce, no bun, no seasonings, no fries. I just want a piece of plain meat on a plate...." If the server looks confused about my request, as they sometimes do, I show them a picture of a plain, cooked, naked hamburger from my phone. This is not limited to VV. This happens in restaurants all across the US. It is what it is and I just have to be on guard all of the time. I do discuss my special allergies with the manager of each restaurant before ordering my first meal of the trip. It's proven very helpful because some of the meats are brined and they include onion power in the brine.

I'm an only 'meat' person due to food allergies (no bun, no onion, no lettuce, no seasonings, no fries). I have a severe onion allergy so they can't simply remove it from the burger. Just touching the burger or bun has put me into anaphylaxis in the past. I prefer ordering from the station so I can give my special food instructions directly to the person preparing the food. Then I can watch that person prepare my order and make a course correction should it be prepared incorrectly. In the past, I ordered a burger from table service only to have it show up 'fully dressed' and smothered in fries. I told my server I wanted only the meat - no bun, no onion, no lettuce, no seasonings, no fries. He took it away and it almost instantly returned with ‘only meat’ (but still covered in fries). When I started eating it I discovered the awful onion oil taste lingering on the burger so someone simply removed the toppings and bun instead of preparing a new burger. I immediately proceeded to my cabin to fetch my Epipen just in case. (Epipens cost $400 these days).

Pickleball is HUGH at the over 55 communities here in Florida. It's the 'new shuffleboard' and we old folks just love it. Especially those of us who were avid tennis players before our poor old tired knees wore out 😉

I would consider booking whatever shore excursions you fancy from third-party providers. I've booked many many shore excursions using this website (cruisecritic). Be sure to read the reviews/comments and only choose the 4 and 5-star rated tours. Pay close attention to the comments and look for clues to problems. If several reviews say: "the bus was late" for example, then look for other tour operators offering a similar tour. I haven't had a bad experience in the past (having been on north of 50 cruises over the years).

Try this: In the App click on > "me" (bottom right corner of the start-up page) > then click on "Add-on" (right of My Agenda). You should see your DBEs plus any other extra sailor promised—$ 200 in your case (see picture attached). This is where any extra sailor loot should be. As mentioned by others, DBE includes a $300 bar tap plus a bonus $100 bar tab but no sailor loot. Any sailor loot (like your $200) is an add-on and 'should' show up as a separate line item on the Add-ons page. DBEs and sailor loot were slow to show up on my app earlier this year but always did by disembarkation. With that said, take your emails with you in case. Let not your heart be troubled. I suspect it all works out in the end 🙂

I had to cancel a cruise due to a death in my family and forfeited the cost of the cruise AND the RT airfare. It's really great that you have options to go if you want to. 🙂

Assuming your TA can facilitate a transfer, You may want to start posting your 'best and final selling price' ASAP. This cruise is right around the corner. What ship??

@cruisingwalter - I got so excited to eat in Extra Virgin after reading your review that I immediately jumped onto the VV app and tried to book it for my upcoming cruise in December. But sadly, Extra Virgin has no availability left for my 4-day cruise. I will have to put my begging knee pads on when I board and try to bag 'at least a seat at the bar' seat. Maybe a noisy seat in the kitchen. I admit there are a few things in this world worth begging for and a good steak is one of them. I love your new picture by the way 🙂

Agreed.... I made the mistake of buying 4 cards total and fought like heck to keep up. I'm going to only buy 1 card in the future, sit back, and enjoy the show. It's entertainment, not a true bingo hall experience.

IMHO after 6 cruises on VV, I would say the temperature in the public areas is not extremely cold. Normally I run cold but was very comfortable on Virgin. You may want to carry a shoulder wrap just in case.