annmarz

When the flags were up the servers almost always came very promptly.  Wait times for food varied.

I agree that the sand was incredibly soft, as well as clean and devoid of stones, etc.  The runner goes part way down but isn't really comfortable to walk on.  And the concrete areas get very hot.  Bottom line:  brings flip flops or water shoes.  I also didn't see any place to rinse off feet or shoes when moving from beach to pool, but maybe I missed it.

No hassling about towels at the pool.  No regimented disembarkation, and immediate access to cabin upon boarding.   The water carafe and fridge. The bracelet instead of card.  The incredible array of stylish, different furniture everywhere.  The ice cream.  The good service in the Galley with the flag system.  Very happy passengers. The responsiveness of the Sailor Services chat feature.  Cleanliness of ship. The elevators - beautiful designs inside and gangway info on walls at ports.

Yes limited options and "different" beach type food but we really enjoyed it.  Biggest beef was the fountain beverage glasses - barely bigger than a shot glass.

Just got back from first VV cruise, on Scarlet Lady.  Had a great time overall but wanted to relate a very interesting experience regarding dining.  I dutifully tried to make dinner reservations as soon as I could on the app and succeeded in getting only 2 - Pink Agave (Outstanding meal!) and Test Kitchen (very fun).

Based on advice from fellow sailors, whilst onboard I went to Sailor Services to request a reservation for Extra Virgin for the following night. They took down my request and said I would receive a notification if we got in.

No notification came, so we "walked in."  When I was asked by the hostess if we had a reservation I said we had requested one from Sailor Services the day before but had received no message.  She checked and said there was no record of our request in the system and that there should have been.  Ok, so we waited and after 20 minutes or so were seated at a large communal table and were very satisfied.  Then we waited and waited and waited for the food.  The gentleman seated across from us ( a Rock Star with a black bracelet no less)  politely inquired from the server when his food would arrive as he had other plans for the evening.  She freaked out a little and went into a long apology and explanation. She said the restaurant was very busy and all the other guests had made reservations. Our table was for walk-ins and we would be served last.   We shouldn't expect the same service level.  (!!)  I was stunned.  

In retrospect this explained why when we "walked in" to Razzle Dazzle for brunch we were virtually ignored, waited 50 minutes for food that was served cold and basically inedible.

With very few exceptions, we were impressed with the politeness and friendliness of the crew and fellow passengers.

Very helpful!  Thank you!!!

I am very excited that we will be boarding our first Virgin cruise on Sunday. (We are Virgin virgins, LOL!)  What exactly happens when we show up at the pier at our designated time?  We feel naked without our preprinted luggage tags.

New to Virgin. What is this game?  Is there a fee for playing? I love games!

Re: the Food on Bimini

Can anyone list to the best of their memory all the food options available?

My better half is an early riser and loves to get his coffee right away. Where can he get some?  It doesn't have to be the fancy kind - any coffee will do.  He doesn't want to order room service.

Thanks!

I am a beer drinker.  Other than draft, is beer served in bottles and/or cans also?

I know there is ice tea available in the dispensers at the Galley.  But can you order it from the other dining venues also?

On one cruise (on another line) I forget to pack my young son's dress pants. Ran around Santorini and actually found him an acceptable pair.

On another, my DH and accidently packed 4 daybags between us.

On another trip, we packed an umbrella and pulled it out when huddled behind a soda machine in a downpour. I was actually our electric pet nail grinder.

I would also like to know this!

We have a 12:30 pm flight out of Miami.  We plan to disembark around 8:30ish to allow plenty of time.  Does Virgin offer any transfers to the airport?  We would prefer Uber/Lyft but worry about wait times and difficulty connecting with drivers at a busy pier. Any thoughts? 

3 hours ago, neverendingcruising said:

I have a 4 outlet travel power strip I've taken on Disney, Royal, and Virgin without issue. I think the trick is it not having a surge protector for some reason. 

This is true

I get that most cruise lines prohibit surge protectors for safety reasons.  But I read somewhere on the website that extension cords and multi-plug power strips must be approved by Virgin.  Is this true?  If so, how and when are they approved?  

Has anyone done the Bimini Heritage and Cultural tour?  It sounds interesting - is it worth it? Appreciate your comments!

Aqua Neru cruisers:  Do any of you have copies of the menus?  TA

If this is really important to you, NCL is not the cruise line for you.  (except maybe for  Hawaii). I recently cruised on Norwegian to Iceland, Norway, and Scotland, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, there were no "enrichment programs."  I would have enjoyed this, as I have on many Princess cruises, and as I hear Holland America focuses on.

14 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Take the fish spa off your list -- those are everywhere. No need to waste your precious time in Santorini doing one.

I agree!

12 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

If I am not happy (for whatever reason ) with the food I get served, then I just POLITELY explain why and ask for something else instead. 

I totally agree! I do not hesitate to do this.

All I can add is that for me Akrotiri was a spectacular site - well worth visiting. 

The city of Seville is absolutely worth seeing, even if you don't have ton of time.

We used these on our recent NCL cruise.  And they DID ALLOW personal water bottles, full or empty, to be brought on board when embarking and when returning from shore excursions.  This was on the Star.

BTW, we loved these bottles.  Felt they paid for themselves quickly. We used them in airports also.  Only negative was they are a bit heavy.