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Anyone onboard?

johnnylikely

By johnnylikely,
in Virgin Voyages

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gumshoe958

gumshoe958

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, dippyblond said:

Any tips for people arriving by car please (we sail Monday) - Park car first and walk to test centre or go straight to test centre in car as advised??

No idea how long walk between parking and test centre are ...... and if its raining 😡


The port and the test centre are quite a distance apart. You are meant to drive to the test centre, park there while you get tested, then drive to the port, park, check in and board.

 

The problem is there are probably only around 60 spaces at the test centre and once they’re full you have to wait for someone to leave. Which would be fine if the process only took a few minutes, but it was taking 3+ hours so there were massive queues just to get in as no-one was leaving but lots were arriving.

 

The sensible thing, IMHO, would be to park at the port and get the foot passenger shuttle bus to and from the testing centre. But I don’t know if they’ll let you do that.

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LeLe_Is_Me

LeLe_Is_Me

Posted
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20 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

The VV CEO Tom McAlpin just did a PA apologising for the horrendous waits for testing.

 

As an apology beer, wine and sparkling wine are free for everyone all night.

Wow Now that’s customer care 😍

 

hopefully they will come up with a better plan of action going forward.

 

thanks for the pics and updates you are sharing 😃

have a great time.

 

 

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dippyblond

dippyblond

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:


The port and the test centre are quite a distance apart. You are meant to drive to the test centre, park there while you get tested, then drive to the port, park, check in and board.

 

The problem is there are probably only around 60 spaces at the test centre and once they’re full you have to wait for someone to leave. Which would be fine if the process only took a few minutes, but it was taking 3+ hours so there were massive queues just to get in as no-one was leaving but lots were arriving.

 

The sensible thing, IMHO, would be to park at the port and get the foot passenger shuttle bus to and from the testing centre. But I don’t know if they’ll let you do that.

Thank you so much for helpful reply - lets just hope things have improved by Monday - however I think many reading this, like myself will possibly aim to get there a little earlier than planned.

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gumshoe958

gumshoe958

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just had an update from the captain. Everyone’s finally on board and departure is scheduled for 9.30pm, so 2.5 hours late. The engines are firing up as I type.

 

Also another apology from CEO Tom. “We were not at our best today”, he says. He’s blaming staffing issues at the testing company. As an apology, as well as the previously announced free drinks tonight, everyone will get (another) $100 OBC. That went down well here in The Wake!

 

Clearly, the testing process has been an unmitigated disaster. For the sake of all future UK sailors, I hope they sort it out very quickly.


But they clearly know they’ve screwed up today, and they’ve done their best to make amends. For that, I give them credit. Things go wrong sometimes. That’s life. What matters is how it’s resolved.

Edited by gumshoe958
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les37b

les37b

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, dippyblond said:

Thank you so much for helpful reply - lets just hope things have improved by Monday - however I think many reading this, like myself will possibly aim to get there a little earlier than planned.

Weather forecast in Pompey on Monday is rain until 5pm. Oh what joy.

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CroozFanatic

CroozFanatic

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, garymfreedman said:

Not surprised, considering VV can't even do an APP right... I have read on other lines, where the checkin due to covid has been relatively siimple.. Can't wait to see all your photos and video.

 

On the Celebrity Edge...5 hours to test and board on the 31st of July (wait was mostly outside)... except there was no test, for me anyway. Wait was for nothing. App is nice tho. I consider the Edge a close competitor to the Scarlet Lady. Looking forward to comparing them when I sail Scarlet in October.

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johnnylikely

johnnylikely

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Just now, CroozFanatic said:

 

On the Celebrity Edge...5 hours to test and board on the 31st of July (wait was mostly outside)... except there was no test, for me anyway. Wait was for nothing. App is nice tho. I consider the Edge a close competitor to the Scarlet Lady. Looking forward to comparing them when I sail Scarlet in October.

TBH I think the Edge is wayyy nicer....

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johnnylikely

johnnylikely

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6 minutes ago, les37b said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-58123879.amp

 

Some claim to have waited for 5 hours. How can they get it so wrong?

 

Looking forward to the reviews.

 

 

IKR, sounds like madness, I guess it's their first for everything- and you never know how things are going to go until you get the best past of 2k people....


I'm now interested to see what the onboard experience is like- can they deal with all the dining venues etc

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peteukmcr

peteukmcr

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:


The port and the test centre are quite a distance apart. You are meant to drive to the test centre, park there while you get tested, then drive to the port, park, check in and board.

 

The problem is there are probably only around 60 spaces at the test centre and once they’re full you have to wait for someone to leave. Which would be fine if the process only took a few minutes, but it was taking 3+ hours so there were massive queues just to get in as no-one was leaving but lots were arriving.

 

The sensible thing, IMHO, would be to park at the port and get the foot passenger shuttle bus to and from the testing centre. But I don’t know if they’ll let you do that.

We are staying at Gun Wharf Quays the day before sailing and are a little disappointed to find out that we have get a cab roughly 2.8 miles to the testing area but if there is a shuttle bus from the port that would be useful. 

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gumshoe958

gumshoe958

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, peteukmcr said:

We are staying at Gun Wharf Quays the day before sailing and are a little disappointed to find out that we have get a cab roughly 2.8 miles to the testing area but if there is a shuttle bus from the port that would be useful. 


The buses exist, as obviously they have to return from the port having dropped people off after being tested.

 

The issue, I think, is that they don’t want tested and untested people using the same vehicles. But I did overhear a couple of drivers talking about a “dirty” bus and a “clean” bus so it’s conceivable they’re operating both ways. Don’t quote me on it though.

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gumshoe958

gumshoe958

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, johnnylikely said:

IKR, sounds like madness, I guess it's their first for everything- and you never know how things are going to go until you get the best past of 2k people....


I'm now interested to see what the onboard experience is like- can they deal with all the dining venues etc


On board, so far, AFAIK there have been none of the issues experienced at the testing centre.

 

Just had brunch in The Galley (buffet). Busy, but easy to find a table. It’s table service, my order was taken promptly and my food arrived within 5-10 minutes.

 

Last night at The Wake I had an 8.30 booking, again I was seated promptly with only a couple of people in front of me, and the service and food were excellent.

 

The weather this morning is pretty grim so everyone’s inside but the ship doesn’t feel crowded at all. My hunch is that there are around 1,000 people on board.

Edited by gumshoe958
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ChipLondon

ChipLondon

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18 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

They've only had an extra year and a half to prepare for this... The entire cruise line seems to be a comedy of errors so far. I only hope that my long awaited for, and cancelled seven times cruise ends up actually happening in October...

I hope you are actually speaking from experience ( although I doubt it ) as those of us on the ship are receiving great food and service, from an enthusiastic crew. The Testing Centre is outside the control of VV but they are taking all the flak.

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johnnylikely

johnnylikely

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10 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:


On board, so far, AFAIK there have been none of the issues experienced at the testing centre.

 

Just had brunch in The Galley (buffet). Busy, but easy to find a table. It’s table service, my order was taken promptly and my food arrived within 5-10 minutes.

 

Last night at The Wake I had an 8.30 booking, again I was seated promptly with only a couple of people in front of me, and the service and food were excellent.

 

The weather this morning is pretty grim so everyone’s inside but the ship doesn’t feel crowded at all. My hunch is that there are around 1,000 people on board.

Wow, sounds fab! Are you happy with the onboard experience? V reassuring! The wake is probably my fave venue

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