kaysha2004

Thanks to the OP for your review and for the subsequent comments by others. I will be on the Edge for a transpacific on April 14th and have been contemplating a move-up bid from a veranda to a sky suite. As a solo traveler, I pay double for the move-up bid, but a bigger room and Retreat access sounded tempting. I'm definitely rethinking my bidding. Anyone remember when the bids for upgrades used to come to you personally by email? I did that once successfully and went from a veranda to a sky suite back when you got the butler. The upgrade for a 10-day cruise was $600 as a solo cruiser. I have Elite Plus with Celebrity and have noticed the decline in the quality of the brand recently, and the prices are so high that this will probably be my last cruise with them. They are certainly not solo cruiser friendly, and they don't have enough solo rooms on the Edge ships, as they sell out very quickly.

I've cruised both lines and prefer Celebrity. Celebrity Pluses for me versus RCCL: Fewer kids, better food, better service, no mega ships, caters to 40-50+ age group, 100% nonsmoking, better bar venues, better loyalty program, better room categories with accompanying amenities, clean public spaces Celebrity Drawbacks for me: Sometimes the age demographic is so old, the guests are very grouchy and are rude to the staff, and there's a lot of walkers and wheelchairs, which clog the elevators and cause a lot of delays getting on and off the ship. The quality of the theater production shows have declined. The Millennium and Solstice class ships are aging and not being refurbished often enough, i.e., visible rust on the exterior and balcony, worn out furniture in public spaces.

Celebrity makes this very difficult. You might want to contact your TA for a definitive answer. If you don't have a TA, you will get an answer faster through a chat on Celebrity's website than a phone call. Type in "live agent" immediately. Once the chat is finished, copy, paste and print (or send yourself an email) of the chat and take it onboard to prove the information you received. From my personal experience, Celebrity loves to say, once you're onboard, "We have no control over what the shore side team does or says."

I never book an adjoining cabin no matter it's location. The lack of a solid wall between rooms is a weak point for noise transference. It's always a bad choice.

This^^^. Plus, the TA holds some responsibility by not reminding the OP of the consequences of a cancellation and losing the entire deposit. BTW, amongst Celebrity's negative changes to their booking policies, you no longer get a 24-hour refund window once a booking is made for a NRD. The minute you make the deposit, it's nonrefundable.

My post in #83 includes the text to which I am responding, exactly I'm doing here. Your post appears above this post.

If there was a thumbs down reaction emoji, I would use it. Please don't ruin it for genuine solo travelers that have been punished by paying double for balconies. The solo balconies are only a couple hundred less than balcony pricing for two, so it's still not a great deal for us solos, but it's better than the only choice being a tiny, cramped inside room.

I come at this whole solo penalty concept from a different angle. It's a penalty and not a supplement. Solo travelers are punished for not having a travel companion. Whether by circumstance or by choice, we are penalized by paying more for being the only occupant in that room. You don't rent a car by the person; you don't rent a hotel room by the person; you don't rent your home or apartment by the person or a pleasure water craft like a boat or a jet ski. The cruise line companies cried "poor" during COVID, yet they were still building ships overseas for release within the past year or two. They are taking zero loss in revenue if they charged by the room and not by the person. Casino profits alone would cover that. I traveled and cruised during COVID and was on VV cruises with 800 people on board. If they can run a cruise with 30% occupancy, they're still making money or they would have cancelled the cruise. VV did make the effort to build the solo insider room, but they are super tiny. I've stayed in one a couple of times and I just can't do it again. At 105 square feet, the space to walk from the entry door to your bed is a little larger than a big suitcase. The bed platform is lower to the floor so you have to drop in and climb out. And solo balcony rooms...forget it. The solo traveler is not worth their effort.

I've been reading different threads about VV and have noticed your comments. You have a lot of knowledge about VV. Are you an agent or just a VV fan that cruises a lot with them?

Did you get a resolution?

If you want the best seat choice, yes, you should stand in line, especially if your party is more than two people. They scan your wristband anyway to verify your reservation slot.

I booked a cruise through American Airlines because of the double earnings of bonus miles for using my AA credit card plus 20,000 AA miles just for using their agency. For $24.99, it was a good deal.

They usually stick to the assigned boarding slots, but towards the end of the boarding window, as the crowds diminish, you can get on before your time slot. It's a very efficient system. Since they launched during COVID, the only process they've ever had is the time slot system, unlike other cruise lines that let everyone create a mob situation because they want on board at 11 a.m.

I'll be on my 8th cruise with VV in two weeks, with a total of 5 this year. What drew me in was the adults only concept. Everything else is icing on the cake. I have Elite Plus on Celebrity and I will not reach Zenith in my lifetime, so Virgin is the way I'm going, at least for now. But if the prices keep going up, they may not be getting as many of my cruise dollars, especially as a solo traveler. I would say smart casual at dinner and you'll be fine, but be comfortable. Personally, I wouldn't wear shorts and a t-shirt to dinner at one of the six restaurants that require reservations. But, in the pizza place, no problem. It's totally casual. Scarlet Night would be the equivalent of evening chic night on Celebrity, with the emphasis being on having red in your outfit. It could be a splashed accent of red or a completely red outfit. Whatever pleases you. The entire ship turns red, literally, on Scarlet Night, and it's fun. In addition to other comments, there's also no cruise director. All the info you need is on the app, and you just arrive to a show, take a seat, and the show starts. No introductions or a rundown of the next day's activities or ports of call. You'll also not get a daily paper schedule in your room, but they are available for pickup at Sailor Services on deck 5 and at both coffee shops. Since VV doesn't use single-use plastic, you'll need to bring your own water bottle. There's plenty of fill stations around the ship, and you'll need it when you leave the boat to go ashore. Enjoy and have fun!

The L-shaped configuration, head to head is the only option. It's on a fixed base with one pivot point.

One detail to add. From my experience, if you cancel after embarkation, the refund is in sailor loot unless you don't spend it. Then they give you cash on the last night of the cruise for the amount that you haven't spent. You'll have to go to Sailor Services on Deck 5. So, if your shore thing was $100 and you cancelled it on board, you'll have $100 in sailor loot. If your onboard expenses are, say $50, then they'll refund you $50 in cash. One of my previous cruises, I went home with over $500 in cash.

Since all the eateries are included, I recommend eating at all the restaurants that require a reservation, The Wake, Extra Virgin, Gunbae, Test Kitchen, Pink Agave, Razzle Dazzle, and you'll get to taste everything. These restaurants only serve dinner, except The Wake and Razzle Dazzle, which serve breakfast and brunch. You can make reservations onboard throughout the week. People change their plans all the time. If you see a show you might like, reserve it. It may only be performed once during your cruise and you won't want to miss it.

It's a classic bait and switch. This is no deal at all for a solo.

I've been sailing with Virgin since they launched and I'm going on my 8th Virgin cruise in a couple of weeks. The crew are issued a preloaded card for their onboard expenses, which they then often use in the coffee shops. It's usually busy at the coffee shops in the morning when the crew are starting their shifts. I've been in line behind crew members who have run out of money on their preloaded card and I've purchased their drinks from my bar tab. They were very grateful. So if you see a crew member at the coffee shops, give them a treat and pay for their coffee.😃 I can confirm from experience that you can buy a bottle of wine in a restaurant and ask them not to open it, and you can take it with you. You can buy small bottles of liquor from any of the bars and take it with you. They're about a half liter, maybe less. If you think you'll have left over bar tab, buy your small bottles early in the cruise, because they have a limited supply on hand and will run out. You cannot use your bar tab in the onboard liquor store. I tried that my very first cruise and they said no.

Norwegian's new ship is based out of NY.

I'm on the Avalon View now. Yesterday in Melk, there was afternoon thunderstorms, heavy rain. It's raining all day today in Linz with wind. The start of the cruise on the 19th in Budapest was beautiful and sunny. Water levels have not been a problem and the itinerary has gone well so far.

I did a Rhine River cruise with Avalon in September 2021 and there was no issue with water levels. I am cruising with Avalon on the Danube next week. From a recent call with Avalon, I learned that 2022 was a low water level year and many of their cruises had to be cut short and continued by bus, the worst months being the fall. She said the spring water levels are dependent on snow melt and the fall water levels depend on spring and summer rains. I don't know about other cruise companies, but Avalon is proud to comment that their ships have a low draft, so they are able to get through the rivers very nicely when other companies have to divert or cancel their trips.

An older ship can be refurbished only so many times and it's still an old ship. Furnishings can be replaced, but an old ship can have other issues, like plumbing problems (sewer smells), worn out decks in the public areas, hot tub that's not hot, A/C that doesn't work so great (either too hot or too cold). The newer ships have modern technology and better wi-fi integration. Since the ships are duplicated in design and it's your first river cruise, I'd recommend the newest ship, View.

They don't check and you can bring whatever you'd like. It's the airline you have to be concerned about.

For anyone interested in a comprehensive blog review of the Avalon View, here's a link, https://ellensemptynesters.com/blog/