Two Unused Areas of the Dock? What for?

[LMaxwell]

Just back from first VV trip; will do a longer review - But was wondering what are the two buildings on either side of the Dock supposed to be for? They were never used on our trip and looked like they never HAD been used for anything.  They spoil the view and/or would have been ideal locations for hot tubs in that area.  Does anyone know what they were originally intended for, or why they are not seeming to be used? Just curious about that 

[CineGraphic]

Last October on the Scarlet they were using one of them to prepare the food served outside, and the other was used to display and serve specialty cocktails for an event.

I've seen small, short  private events hosted there as well.

A DJ used one once.

[jon81uk]

14 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Just back from first VV trip; will do a longer review - But was wondering what are the two buildings on either side of the Dock supposed to be for? They were never used on our trip and looked like they never HAD been used for anything.  They spoil the view and/or would have been ideal locations for hot tubs in that area.  Does anyone know what they were originally intended for, or why they are not seeming to be used? Just curious about that 

One of them does contain a grill to cook the meats on, I’ve just never seen it used. The other is used as  DJ booth sometimes.

[LMaxwell]

OK, I can understand the Kettle One mural one being used as a DJ booth.  

 

The other one looked like it has never even been used once; and that food is coming from another kitchen inside the ship.  A couple of hot tubs at the Dock area would really make it a great, quieter place to spend the whole day. 

[CineGraphic]

13 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

The other one looked like it has never even been used once; and that food is coming from another kitchen inside the ship.

 

They may have not had enough crew to open up the outside grill while you were on board.

[jon81uk]

I’m on my fifth cruise at the moment and I’ve never seen that outdoor grill used! I’m not sure it’s the right place for hot tubs though. There are two up on deck 16 at the athletic club though.

[_tacocat_]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

They may have not had enough crew to open up the outside grill while you were on board.

i've only seen it open once, very early on (late 2021). 

[LMaxwell]

3 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

I’m on my fifth cruise at the moment and I’ve never seen that outdoor grill used! I’m not sure it’s the right place for hot tubs though. There are two up on deck 16 at the athletic club though.

 If they aren't going to be used, then they are just eyesores in the way of the view.  Not party hot tubs, but some kind of water feature for people using the quieter outdoor spaces to enjoy would be welcomed.  Similar to what NCL and Carnival is doing on their new builds. 

[CineGraphic]

7 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

If they aren't going to be used,

 

They are being used.

[Jasukkie]

I like that it's not a hot tub area. There should be more of those up top but I like the quiet atmosphere and it not being a place people spend all day camped out. 

[CineGraphic]

2 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

I like that it's not a hot tub area. There should be more of those up top but I like the quiet atmosphere and it not being a place people spend all day camped out. 

 

I too prefer to eat and drink without the smell of chlorine nearby.

The dock is a great place just as it is. In just 3 sailings, I've seen two couples get engaged back there.

 

[CruisingWalter]

19 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Just back from first VV trip; will do a longer review - But was wondering what are the two buildings on either side of the Dock supposed to be for? They were never used on our trip and looked like they never HAD been used for anything.  They spoil the view and/or would have been ideal locations for hot tubs in that area.  Does anyone know what they were originally intended for, or why they are not seeming to be used? Just curious about that 

 

The building on the port side is used for preparing the grilled tapas. Both times I've been on Scarlet there has been a chef out there cooking up the skewered meats.  The building on the starboard side I never saw in use other than a guitar player from time to time. 

[CruisingWalter]

16 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

 If they aren't going to be used, then they are just eyesores in the way of the view.  Not party hot tubs, but some kind of water feature for people using the quieter outdoor spaces to enjoy would be welcomed.  Similar to what NCL and Carnival is doing on their new builds. 

 

Not a fan of hot tubs in that area or anywhere on deck 7. It's great the way it is.

 

Where a new water feature should go is to replace the net and surrounding areas. That's a complete waste of space up there, literally a ghost town all week other than the PJ party. The NCL Haven on the Prima / Viva have the blueprint for how to change that space. The net sounded cool when it was first designed but it's the most uncomfortable thing ever to sit on other than to take a selfie. Replace that with a pool and that will completely spread out people across Deck 16 instead of jammed into two mini pools during sea days. 

[LMaxwell]

55 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Not a fan of hot tubs in that area or anywhere on deck 7. It's great the way it is.

 

 

I agree about the net being a pool instead; that area up top is wasted and underutilized.  It is good area for stretch and yoga; an infinity pool or resistance pool up there would be a super addition. The net is a stupid gimmick; who greenlights this stuff? 

 Deck 7 is...well the Dock area is fabulous, I think everyone enjoys it, but the rest of Deck 7 exterior is honestly kind of a mess. It's wide enough to be walkable, it has some comfortable deck chairs, it has some nice seating areas to congregate, but it's very industrial and limited viewing areas. Much like NCL or MSC, this area should be totally open to the water with the lifeboats slung under the deck or in some other way as to not totally be blocking the views.   They don't need to turn the Dock into a party zone, but some sort of water feature would be appropriate, if even that meant a fan and mister system, which is super common at restaurants in South Florida, but one of the things that chased us out of the Dock after a while as it was just too hot and no way to cool off there.  I'd say Deck 7 is good, but not great. There is definitely areas that could be improved - NCL really changed the game with their waterfront concept and still do it best. 

 

No ship is ever perfect; each ship/cruiseline has things they do great that others don't do, and things that make you wonder who thought that was OK. 

[Jasukkie]

Agreed @LMaxwell, I really like NCL's waterfront concept. They have shade if you want it, and really big tables for playing games. The bars and restaurants flow outside if you want. It's one of my big criticisms of the mega-inside focused ships like Oasis class on Royal.

 

I like that the spaces on Virgin aren't plant yourself all day ones. I like to move around and having a big variety is good. I love the pop-up type stuff that just seems to happen too. 

 

The net is a one and done thing, but the padded bed thing that everyone ends up standing on with their shoes on so they can see over the side is also bad. I expect that area will get a redo eventually but it will be a long while.

[lisabucsfan1]

14 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

I like that it's not a hot tub area. There should be more of those up top but I like the quiet atmosphere and it not being a place people spend all day camped out. 

 

Holy cow quiet atmosphere was not my experience at ALL on my most recent sailing!

Sailing 3 times prior I had never really checked out the dock for a variety of reasons, but this time I did. The only time we managed to snag a seat was on embarkation day. otherwise every single table, chair and daybed was packed every time we visited. I will clarify that we were always trying to go when we wanted to hear a particular musician, so that might have been part of it... but it was clear that many people had taken up residence at the Dock for a good chunk of the day with no intention of leaving.

[Jasukkie]

5 hours ago, lisabucsfan1 said:

 

Holy cow quiet atmosphere was not my experience at ALL on my most recent sailing!

Sailing 3 times prior I had never really checked out the dock for a variety of reasons, but this time I did. The only time we managed to snag a seat was on embarkation day. otherwise every single table, chair and daybed was packed every time we visited. I will clarify that we were always trying to go when we wanted to hear a particular musician, so that might have been part of it... but it was clear that many people had taken up residence at the Dock for a good chunk of the day with no intention of leaving.

That's interesting. I think I would get bored hanging out there all day. Was it a party crowd? It was popular but low key in my experience. Like sip cocktails and have a nosh and take pix for the gram sort of a thing.

[LMaxwell]

9 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

That's interesting. I think I would get bored hanging out there all day. Was it a party crowd? It was popular but low key in my experience. Like sip cocktails and have a nosh and take pix for the gram sort of a thing.

 For me, I simply had to vacate because it got TOO hot.  There are no fans or water misters around the seating areas; since it is tucked behind the hotel superstructure, it's in a naturally sheltered spot for wind. Sailing at slow speed produces no breeze in that area at all.  It's a really nice area overall; I think they will end up expanding it or at least hopefully using those two side areas more frequently and expanding seating around the side.  

 

[_tacocat_]

41 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

That's interesting. I think I would get bored hanging out there all day. Was it a party crowd? It was popular but low key in my experience. Like sip cocktails and have a nosh and take pix for the gram sort of a thing.

a few times i've been back there on a sea day, it's mostly chair hogs that put their crap their in the morning so they can get the good sun in the afternoon 😡 but if you want a kind of quiet spot, it's great for sunbathing on the beds, or you can put the umbrellas up or sit under the overhang if you want shade.

[lisabucsfan1]

16 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

That's interesting. I think I would get bored hanging out there all day. Was it a party crowd? It was popular but low key in my experience. Like sip cocktails and have a nosh and take pix for the gram sort of a thing.

 

not a party per se... but not quiet because there were so many people and all having a conversation it seemed. A bummer b/c we were specifically trying to listen to an artist that we couldn't catch at one of the other venues although I'd never take anything away from anyone wanting to find a spot and hang out all day.

[scubagal44]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:46 AM, lisabucsfan1 said:

 

Holy cow quiet atmosphere was not my experience at ALL on my most recent sailing!

Sailing 3 times prior I had never really checked out the dock for a variety of reasons, but this time I did. The only time we managed to snag a seat was on embarkation day. otherwise every single table, chair and daybed was packed every time we visited. I will clarify that we were always trying to go when we wanted to hear a particular musician, so that might have been part of it... but it was clear that many people had taken up residence at the Dock for a good chunk of the day with no intention of leaving.

 

Agree with this, on my Valiant Med sailing the Dock was ALWAYS packed and there was no way to snag a daybed for comfortable seat unless (I assume) you showed up super early in the day and chogged a spot.

 

Also contrary to what is posted in this thread, on the same sailing the back of deck 16 where the net is was always busy.  That's where I would go for lounging/sun, and there was always a crowd there with me.  Nobody was ever on the net, but all the seating the wraps around the aft of the ship was always 85-90% full and all of the bigger circular "beds" were always in use.