The App hasn't improved......

[cantgetin]

Booking dinner reservations, I got the first 3 nights booked with 4 crashes.  Then the app crashed 27 times with NOTHING accomplished.  Fortunately my TA came to the rescue and was able to book all my reservations thru her portal.  Why can't an otherwise decent cruise line get their IT in place correctly?

[billco]

2 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Booking dinner reservations, I got the first 3 nights booked with 4 crashes.  Then the app crashed 27 times with NOTHING accomplished.  Fortunately my TA came to the rescue and was able to book all my reservations thru her portal.  Why can't an otherwise decent cruise line get their IT in place correctly?

This is my first Virgin cruise. Not a good way to start. I spent about 2 hours last night and another hour this morning booking reservations. With all the crashes I have managed to book 3 Extra Virgin, 3 Pink Agave, 2 Razzle Dazzle, and 1 Test Kitchen. Really having second thoughts about if booking this cruise was a good idea.

[cantgetin]

2 minutes ago, billco said:

This is my first Virgin cruise. Not a good way to start. I spent about 2 hours last night and another hour this morning booking reservations. With all the crashes I have managed to book 3 Extra Virgin, 3 Pink Agave, 2 Razzle Dazzle, and 1 Test Kitchen. Really having second thoughts about if booking this cruise was a good idea.

You can call Sailor Services this morning and get them to book whatever else you need or want...of your TA can do it for you.  Yes....I was sitting here last night thinking that this stupid app almost makes it not worth cruising them, and I've got almost a month  of nights on board already.  It is amazing how things get so much better after boarding.

[jon81uk]

They did something to their IT systems last week and it’s made everything even worse than it was.

[DAP2]

13 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

They did something to their IT systems last week and it’s made everything even worse than it was.

 

The "something" is that they canceled 31 cruises over three ships last week. So, you have people like me who weren't accessing the app at all who are now on it several times daily trying to get our situations sorted. They don't have the capacity for the number of people trying to use the app or the online accounts via computer. 

[jon81uk]

2 minutes ago, DAP2 said:

 

The "something" is that they canceled 31 cruises over three ships last week. So, you have people like me who weren't accessing the app at all who are now on it several times daily trying to get our situations sorted. They don't have the capacity for the number of people trying to use the app or the online accounts via computer. 

others have said there was IT changes, it’s not just the bookings. Most of those with cancellations wouldn’t now be using the app to book dining or anything. 

[CruisingWalter]

Don't even get me started on the IT side of things. Have any of you tried to make payments lately? It's like playing the slots. "Will the payment go through or fail?"   But to your point, your TA can make reservations for Shore Things and Dinner via the booking engines so if all else fails, call your TA. Let them deal with it! 😂

[DAP2]

11 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

others have said there was IT changes, it’s not just the bookings. Most of those with cancellations wouldn’t now be using the app to book dining or anything. 

 

I can't imagine that VV released an update or a patch the same week they knew they were going to massively increase/drive traffic with cancellations. 

 

It's a numbers game. You've got over a thousand cabins per cruise times 31 canceled cruises. We aren't using the app or online account for dining or booking. We're using it to check on our bookings and see if our cruises that are on "hold" status have confirmed. I'm on at least 10 times a day now, as is my husband. 

 

And then there's the curiosity factor. Even if your TA books your dining, you do eventually want to see it for yourself in the app. A lot of people who had multiple sailings lost access to all their cruises in the app when the cancelations occurred. So, they're putting extra traffic on the system too.

Edited September 14, 2023 by DAP2

[Hydro ergo]

2 hours ago, billco said:

This is my first Virgin cruise. Not a good way to start. I spent about 2 hours last night and another hour this morning booking reservations. With all the crashes I have managed to book 3 Extra Virgin, 3 Pink Agave, 2 Razzle Dazzle, and 1 Test Kitchen. Really having second thoughts about if booking this cruise was a good idea.

Do you know if the reservations open at midnight on the available date, or is it say 8am EST or something? I know it's going to be a headache and I missed out on my last cruise so trying to best plan for this one.  Sigh...I am with you guys---I HATE this part of sailing with Virgin.  I prefer relaxed cruises and eating when I feel like it...not needing to plan it all in advance, and then stress about being able to execute those plans due to technology! (you will have a wonderful time on board though)

[sid_9169]

2 hours ago, Hydro ergo said:

Do you know if the reservations open at midnight on the available date, or is it say 8am EST or something? I know it's going to be a headache and I missed out on my last cruise so trying to best plan for this one.  Sigh...I am with you guys---I HATE this part of sailing with Virgin.  I prefer relaxed cruises and eating when I feel like it...not needing to plan it all in advance, and then stress about being able to execute those plans due to technology! (you will have a wonderful time on board though)

It usually opens up at midnight or sometimes even a little earlier on the day before your "45 days prior"... I just reached 45 days last week and wasn't able to secure anything on the app EXCEPT for night number two. No matter what I tried, I could only get access to night number two. I ended up doing an online chat with Sailor Services and got all the dates and times I wanted... I can't believe that after all this time they STILL haven't improved the piece of junk app...

[Hydro ergo]

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

It usually opens up at midnight or sometimes even a little earlier on the day before your "45 days prior"... I just reached 45 days last week and wasn't able to secure anything on the app EXCEPT for night number two. No matter what I tried, I could only get access to night number two. I ended up doing an online chat with Sailor Services and got all the dates and times I wanted... I can't believe that after all this time they STILL haven't improved the piece of junk app...

oh geez 🙄 I am with you, they need a better tech team on that app!  If they expect that EVERYTHING needs to be done that way then...get it working!  It's not like we even have the website as a backup (also poorly designed imo).  Ok, off the rant---thank you for the heads up, this is good advice.  How do you do the online chat?  I've tried that but have only been able to get an AI bot recently.  With my first cruise I was able to get a real human.  It's also reassuring to hear it's happening to everyone...I mean...not that I want everyone to be having a rough time, but at least it's not some weird user or technical issue on my end.

 

thank you!

[soccersharon]

9 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Booking dinner reservations, I got the first 3 nights booked with 4 crashes.  Then the app crashed 27 times with NOTHING accomplished.  Fortunately my TA came to the rescue and was able to book all my reservations thru her portal.  Why can't an otherwise decent cruise line get their IT in place correctly?

For as much as people like to call Carnival “WalMart of the seas”, their IT (app, website), are head and shoulders above VV (and MSC).  What an utter fiasco this has been.

[kwokpot]

11 minutes ago, soccersharon said:

For as much as people like to call Carnival “WalMart of the seas”, their IT (app, website), are head and shoulders above VV (and MSC).  What an utter fiasco this has been.

The Carnival phone app is great! They even have your casino Play and casino points on the app. 

[soccersharon]

7 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

The Carnival phone app is great! They even have your casino Play and casino points on the app. 

I know!  It’s a fantastic tool, both pre-cruise, and during your cruise!

[kwokpot]

11 minutes ago, soccersharon said:

I know!  It’s a fantastic tool, both pre-cruise, and during your cruise!

I'm actually on the Carnival Luminosa (an older Costa ship they took over) right now. Seattle to Brisbane, Australia, 30 days!!! 

[soccersharon]

15 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm actually on the Carnival Luminosa (an older Costa ship they took over) right now. Seattle to Brisbane, Australia, 30 days!!! 

Very, very nice!  Enjoy your cruise!

[wintrev]

I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same issue I am having with entering travel documents.

We are sailing on Resilient Lady December 23rd and have paid in full and filled out all the other details. When I click on travel documents it comes up with this message

"we're still getting ship ready before you can upload your travel documents. Please check later".

 

I contacted the chat line and they said to keep trying and if I have no success just bring my documents with me - have also uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Not really happy that I will have to spend extra time for them to check this at the terminal - surely it should be working? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Lustate]

Well they are recruiting for the roles in IT again now so in a few months it will start to improve. 

 

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/search/?currentJobId=3681092782&f_C=15216801&geoId=92000000&keywords=

[cantgetin]

19 hours ago, Hydro ergo said:

Do you know if the reservations open at midnight on the available date, or is it say 8am EST or something? I know it's going to be a headache and I missed out on my last cruise so trying to best plan for this one.  Sigh...I am with you guys---I HATE this part of sailing with Virgin.  I prefer relaxed cruises and eating when I feel like it...not needing to plan it all in advance, and then stress about being able to execute those plans due to technology! (you will have a wonderful time on board though)

Midnight  New York time is the scheduled time, they often open a little early.

There is no need to make reservations on VV if you don't wish to. All the restaurants accept walk ups on a space available basis.  In 29 nights of cruising, we have been told no walk ins were available exactly once, and in fairness, that was showing up at noon for brunch.  They did offer a reservation for the next day.  We have also make many last minute changes--going to a restaurnt at 6pm and asking if we could reschedule an existing res.  That has never been declined.

[cantgetin]

9 hours ago, wintrev said:

I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same issue I am having with entering travel documents.

We are sailing on Resilient Lady December 23rd and have paid in full and filled out all the other details. When I click on travel documents it comes up with this message

"we're still getting ship ready before you can upload your travel documents. Please check later".

 

I contacted the chat line and they said to keep trying and if I have no success just bring my documents with me - have also uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Not really happy that I will have to spend extra time for them to check this at the terminal - surely it should be working? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I was able to install mine with no trouble but it wouldn't accept my daughter's info.  After many attempts, it worked.

[Hydro ergo]

3 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Midnight  New York time is the scheduled time, they often open a little early.

There is no need to make reservations on VV if you don't wish to. All the restaurants accept walk ups on a space available basis.  In 29 nights of cruising, we have been told no walk ins were available exactly once, and in fairness, that was showing up at noon for brunch.  They did offer a reservation for the next day.  We have also make many last minute changes--going to a restaurnt at 6pm and asking if we could reschedule an existing res.  That has never been declined.

So...what you said is what I had heard before my first (and only) cruise on Virgin.  So, I didn't worry about making reservations; I was excited about the "freedom".  Then I got on board and decided to make a couple key reservations...everything was full by that point, but I did luck into one open space at Test Kitchen!  Figured ok, I'll do the walk up thing like everyone said.  For me on an eight night cruise it worked ONCE at dinner and once at brunch...that was the first night and the first morning.  Both places also told me to make reservations going forward.  I tried.  Every day I walked around to all the restaurants around opening time to see what they could do and every night I was told "we have nothing until 945"...it was a huge disappointment and it's why I'm stressing so much this time.  The ship was only about 75% full for that sailing too, so I'm particularly worried for this one (I'm just expecting higher numbers).  Maybe I just had bad luck?  Maybe it's because I was solo and they prioritize groups? no idea.

[scubagal44]

Walk ups were also not possible when I sailed. I had pre-booked reservations each night luckily, but I saw people without reservations getting turned away at every meal. 

[Team Stag]

6 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Midnight  New York time is the scheduled time, they often open a little early.

There is no need to make reservations on VV if you don't wish to. All the restaurants accept walk ups on a space available basis.  In 29 nights of cruising, we have been told no walk ins were available exactly once, and in fairness, that was showing up at noon for brunch.  They did offer a reservation for the next day.  We have also make many last minute changes--going to a restaurnt at 6pm and asking if we could reschedule an existing res.  That has never been declined.

 

This was not my experience last week.  At Extra Virgin, I watched 3 groups get turned away due to not having reservations.  At the Wake, 2 groups were given the chance to sit on the side and wait to see if there were some that didn't show for their reservations.  They did not get sat while we waited on our window to open.  And we had an early reservation at the Test Kitchen, where we saw 2 groups get turned away and given no further options.

 

We didn't stay up to midnight to book reservations and were left with very few choices preboard.  We bought the Splash of Romance to get early boarding and was able to get the reservations time we wanted (But it did cost an extra $200). 

[Hydro ergo]

34 minutes ago, Team Stag said:

 

This was not my experience last week.  At Extra Virgin, I watched 3 groups get turned away due to not having reservations.  At the Wake, 2 groups were given the chance to sit on the side and wait to see if there were some that didn't show for their reservations.  They did not get sat while we waited on our window to open.  And we had an early reservation at the Test Kitchen, where we saw 2 groups get turned away and given no further options.

 

We didn't stay up to midnight to book reservations and were left with very few choices preboard.  We bought the Splash of Romance to get early boarding and was able to get the reservations time we wanted (But it did cost an extra $200). 

this is exactly what I'm afraid of.  And Splash is sold out and we are stuck with a late boarding time!  Oh well...looks like I'll be playing the hunger games (haha, no pun intended) for reservations at midnight 😕

[cantgetin]

Sorry about all of the above.  All I can say is that I have 29 nights on board and have done several walk ins, several "night of" reservation, and was only turned away once.  The fullest cruise I was on had 1800 sailors.