Just some final thoughts

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

A few notes from first-time VV passengers on our last day on 7-day Caribbean cruise on Valiant Lady.
If you don’t agree or get agitated by opinions that are not your own, keep scrolling, this review isn’t for you. If you like to insult or demean others who don’t share the same views as you, keep scrolling, this isn’t for you. These are just a few personal firsthand unbiased observations aimed to help people who, like me, didn’t have any experience with this particular cruise line. We have sailed 22 times in15 years, almost all out of San Juan, on Princess, Celebrity and Royal.  

 

Embarkation was smoothe, but stick with the time you’re assigned.  They will ask to check your app to see the time.  We had 3:30. We arrived at 3:00.  It took 45 minutes from bag check to lining up to sitting on our balcony. Very nice. 
 

We had an XL sea terrace on deck 11 z side.  Cabin was very well designed with limited desk area. There are plenty of charging plugs, The bathroom was nicely appointed with loads of counter space for three people.  The loo and shower have doors, but the main bathroom dressing area is open to the cabin as there is no door.  Fine for a couple but if traveling with someone you don’t care to see naked or hear their bodily functions echoing through the cabin- be aware there’s no privacy of that type in this cabin.  Not sure if it’s just the XLs that are missing that door. 
The suitcases fit under the bed nicely, and there is a large storage drawer under the small sofa that converts to a single bed. Our cabin steward informed us that this configuration for three pax can not be converted back to sofa seating during the day.  Makes sense since there would be nowhere to put the suitcases if it were sofas, and honestly we were barely in the cabin to sit on it.  I would have liked to see what it looked like once, though. And it would have been nice for my husband and son to sit on instead of the bed, to watch tv while I put my makeup on at the vanity mirror. 

The balcony was ample for three with a teeny-tiny miniature table, two metal chairs and a hammock.  We did not sit out more than a few times because of the heavy island stop itinerary. We were barely on board during the day, coffee, off at 9 am and back on at last boarding call.
It was a place to hang swimsuits to dry and to check and see if it’s raining or sunny in the morning. I would not say it was a comfortable place to read or sit for an extended period of time, but that’s how most balcony chairs are.  The Hammock was comfortable.  There is a wooden bench in the cabin under the vanity that can be brought out to comfortably eat on, as well as the little round red chair for an extra seat if you don’t like or can’t sit in the hammock.  

 

Pool area was a typical cruise ship pool area but kept clean with nice seating areas.  Pool was extremely small. We didn’t use it or sit by it. 
 

The lounge and bar areas are where this ship really shines.  So many cool places to sit and have a drink or people watch. Cocktails were on-point. Prices were very reasonable. Wine selections were very nice. The Coffee bar was nice, and the coffees were great. I tried them all. I also had the best Irish coffee of my life at the Sips Lounge late one evening. I don’t know what they did to it but it was magic. 
Sips was my favorite bar and I drank my weight in Moet Champagne on this sail thanks to making an error on the app before leaving home and buying $900 extra in bar tab money by accident.  We already had $1000 and ended up with over $2000 to use because of my error. I mistakenly thought unused portions would be returned so didn’t contact them to correct the error immediately.

 

We all felt the ship needs some type of a main dining room for those who don’t want to monitor the app for dinner reservations but want a reliable sit down service meal.

 

We booked last minute after the 45 days opened up for reservations so dining times for us were very limited.  We were ultimately still able to get into the ones we wanted and were not disappointed.  Selection in the restaurants could be more varied for those with simpler, easier to please palates.  We really enjoyed Extra Virgin but can see some might appreciate a few choices for more traditional Italian fare.  Same for The Wake. Personally, I was not a food court fan and  think it could be improved on. Taco and panini station were open at 7 am but closed during the evening.  Pizza was hit or miss. Salad station was good. Room service menu was… odd. 
 

All in all, we had a nice cruise and enjoyed ourselves.  We all agree we preferred the more traditional approach to dining on Celebrity but loved the lounge areas, shows and bars/fun spots on Virgin. A mashup of both would be great. 
 

At writing, we have over $900 in bar tab that I purchased accidentally, left to use or lose.  My error but I think unused purchased bar tab money should be refunded and not taken as profit/passenger  loss. I asked if we can use it for tips to special crew- No. Can we use it for future cruise deposit- no.
 

They keep it. That will stop me from sailing VV again. 

 

 

 

[CineGraphic]

28 minutes ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

we have over $900 in bar tab that I purchased accidentally, left to use or lose.

 

Order some champagne from room service, and take it home with you.

DP Rose would be a nice treat.

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

4 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Order some champagne from room service, and take it home with you.

DP Rose would be a nice treat.

They’re out of Dom! 

[cantgetin]

There are a few things you can do with unused bar tab.  Buy bottles of whatever you wish to take home,  Only possible with wine and champers, not liquors, When you see crew at the Grounds Club or eating at one of the restaurants, offer to pick up their charges for them.  Make some new best friends on board and treat them. (fellow sailors or crew).  Obviously these are not last minute solutions.

 

Had you recognized your mistake at least 3 days prior to boarding, you could have gotten the bar tabs refunded,

 

I'm not saying VV is right in keeping all of that, but you agreed that it was your mistake.

 

Edited February 2 by cantgetin

[basenji56]

I do agree that not having a main dining room is a problem. And since I don't drink alcohol, I left a $450 bar tab last month. The bathroom in the regular sea terrace was very small.  

[Swells1]

The bathroom situation was a real concern for me before we sailed as I prefer to leave a little to the imagination. I even bought some heavy-duty magnets to use to hang a make-shift door with a pool towel or blanket. I soon discovered:

a- my plan wouldn't work logistically

2- opening the shower door will cover a multitude of sins (or at least it will shield your nekkid body from that full-length mirror)

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

13 minutes ago, Swells1 said:

The bathroom situation was a real concern for me before we sailed as I prefer to leave a little to the imagination. I even bought some heavy-duty magnets to use to hang a make-shift door with a pool towel or blanket. I soon discovered:

a- my plan wouldn't work logistically

2- opening the shower door will cover a multitude of sins (or at least it will shield your nekkid body from that full-length mirror)

Funny, it never occurred to me to just open the shower door 😂😂

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

There are a few things you can do with unused bar tab.  Buy bottles of whatever you wish to take home,  Only possible with wine and champers, not liquors, When you see crew at the Grounds Club or eating at one of the restaurants, offer to pick up their charges for them.  Make some new best friends on board and treat them. (fellow sailors or crew).  Obviously these are not last minute solutions.

 

Had you recognized your mistake at least 3 days prior to boarding, you could have gotten the bar tabs refunded,

 

I'm not saying VV is right in keeping all of that, but you agreed that it was your mistake.

 

I fully agree that they shouldn’t be under any obligation to refund complimentary bar tab or ship loot money they provided at booking.  However, since I (accidentally) purchased a  $900 “bar tab” product on their app, to be told “too bad we’re keeping it” while same time they agreed with me it’s “unfortunate” — I will be following up with American Express to dispute when I get home.
 

As far as I’m concerned, it’s bad business practice (and unethical) to push bar tab purchasing prior to consumption, and then say too bad when it remains wholly unused to be kept as profit in their pockets. A compromise here would be the right thing to do.  I’m not asking for anything for free or that doesn’t belong to me. 

[cantgetin]

I get it--good luck.

I completely agree that complimentary benefits should not have cash refunds, and even can go along with "partially spent" purchased bar tabs as in you bought one for $300 and only spent $250. Too bad.  But I can see the logic in refunding a mistake.  Again, good luck with the credit card.  Not sure I should share my guess as to what will happen, but keep us informed.

[jon81uk]

It does state the unused funds are non-refundable when purchasing bar tab, and they have added the ability to buy $100 and $200 chunks instead of just $300 now. If I had made an error prior to boarding then I would be on the phone getting it sorted before boarding (same as if I made an error ordering with Amazon or anyone else).
 

I did have an issue where although I only purchased one lot of $300 VV incorrectly charged my credit card but that was refunded without argument as shoreside could clearly see if was their error and the money wasn’t credited on the ship, just two credit card charges.

 

 

Edited February 2 by jon81uk

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

1 hour ago, basenji56 said:

I do agree that not having a main dining room is a problem. And since I don't drink alcohol, I left a $450 bar tab last month. The bathroom in the regular sea terrace was very small.  

I’m curious, did you purchase the bar tab too? 
 

 

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

4 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

It does state the unused funds are non-refundable when purchasing bar tab, and they have added the ability to buy $100 and $200 chunks instead of just $300 now. If I had made an error prior to boarding then I would be on the phone getting it sorted before boarding. 
 

I did have an issue where although I only purchased one lot of $300 VV incorrectly charged my credit card but that was refunded without argument as shoreside could clearly see if was their error.

That’s what happened to me.  I purchased one and got charged with four. I did not intend to buy four bar tabs totaling $1200.  I wanted one for $300. 
So they did admit to the error? I just assumed I somehow made the error. 

[jon81uk]

6 minutes ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

That’s what happened to me.  I purchased one and got charged with four. I did not intend to buy four bar tabs totaling $1200.  I wanted one for $300. 
So they did admit to the error? I just assumed I somehow made the error. 

For me there was two credit card charges, but only one bar tab on my account on the ship, so it was very clearly an error on the credit card side, shoreside could refund one card charge and it wouldn’t affect ship accounting as I hadn’t actually received extra credit.

If all of them appeared on your add-ons on the ship then it may be much harder to contest it now as you received the credit.

[1025cruise]

I agree that I wish Virgin had a main dining room, but, it's just not their thing. But, with table service in the galley, I didn't feel like I was missing too much.

[basenji56]

6 hours ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

I’m curious, did you purchase the bar tab too? 
 

 

I got it as a perk through my travel agent and from the deep blue benefits. I would never have bought more than $150 (to use for kombucha and lattes). 

[_tacocat_]

On 2/2/2024 at 11:55 AM, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

As far as I’m concerned, it’s bad business practice (and unethical) to push bar tab purchasing prior to consumption, and then say too bad when it remains wholly unused to be kept as profit in their pockets. A compromise here would be the right thing to do.  I’m not asking for anything for free or that doesn’t belong to me. 

fairly certain they note at point of sale that bar tab is non refundable if not used.  they are definitely transparent about it in all of their FAQs/marketing material about it.  you're likely not going to get much help from amex on this.

 

ETA: it looks like there was a processing error and it went through multiple times.  why did you wait until you were onboard to try to fix that?  i would have been on that as soon as i saw multiple charges clear.

Edited February 5 by _tacocat_
adding clarification

[CineGraphic]

34 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

why did you wait until you were onboard to try to fix that?  i would have been on that as soon as i saw multiple charges clear.

 

Yeah...that's not gonna fly with either VV or Amex.

If you disputed things right away, I'm sure they would have corrected the situation right away.

Waiting until on-board, or post-cruise is simply too late.

 

If OP does dispute and is somehow successful in getting a charge-back, I wouldn't be surprised if they would be prevented from making future bookings. I've not heard of VV doing this yet, but other lines seemingly are.

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

24 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Yeah...that's not gonna fly with either VV or Amex.

If you disputed things right away, I'm sure they would have corrected the situation right away.

Waiting until on-board, or post-cruise is simply too late.

 

If OP does dispute and is somehow successful in getting a charge-back, I wouldn't be surprised if they would be prevented from making future bookings. I've not heard of VV doing this yet, but other lines seemingly are.

Sorry to disappoint. I called this morning and after several escalations it was issued at 50% ($450) as a future credit. We will most likely never use it but they did the right thing and did issue something in good faith.
 

I did not realize the error until at the desk boarding and checked the account credits.   I brought it to their attention before receiving a bracelet and was told to call sailor services. 

 

And as far as being banned from future sailings, what a strange, negative and ridiculous comment. They’re not doing that, and as far as you know - no one is, so why even add that unnecessary comment. That sentence alone encapsulates everything that is wrong with this forum, making up false information on a whim to make yourself feel like an expert. Sad.
Keep advertising Sail The Virgin Way. 
 

I’ll sail whoever is right for me at the time. Peace out. 

 

Edited February 5 by WatermelonSugarHigh

[CineGraphic]

25 minutes ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

Sorry to disappoint. I called this morning and after several escalations it was issued at 50% ($450) as a future credit. We will most likely never use it but they did the right thing and did issue something in good faith.
 

I did not realize the error until at the desk boarding and checked the account credits.   I brought it to their attention before receiving a bracelet and was told to call sailor services. 

 

And as far as being banned from future sailings, what a strange, negative and ridiculous comment. They’re not doing that, and as far as you know - no one is, so why even add that unnecessary comment. That sentence alone encapsulates everything that is wrong with this forum, making up false information on a whim to make yourself feel like an expert. Sad.
Keep advertising Sail The Virgin Way. 
 

I’ll sail whoever is right for me at the time. Peace out. 

 

 

No disappointment here.

As for the banning, it does indeed happen

Sorry you took it so harshly, and hope you someday find a cruise line you love.

 

[_tacocat_]

58 minutes ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

And as far as being banned from future sailings, what a strange, negative and ridiculous comment. They’re not doing that, and as far as you know - no one is, so why even add that unnecessary comment. That sentence alone encapsulates everything that is wrong with this forum, making up false information on a whim to make yourself feel like an expert.

as cine cited, it does happen.  companies are allowed to "fire" customers for whatever reasons they like.  credit card disputes are expensive and annoying for companies to deal with, so some companies will just stop doing business with a customer that does this.  some are more notorious than others (ticketmaster for one, challenge a transaction and say goodbye to being able to buy tickets again), but it happens.

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

Sorry to disappoint. I called this morning and after several escalations it was issued at 50% ($450) as a future credit. We will most likely never use it but they did the right thing and did issue something in good faith.

 

Well, something is better than nothing.  As to getting some use from the FCC, VV bookings are fully transferrable.  SO, you could do a booking in your name for a friend or family member using the FCC, then transfer it to their name, charging them for the cruise coat + the FCC...or giving the FCC to them as a gift.  This assumes that you won't use it, as you said.

[Watchmen]

2 hours ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

Sorry to disappoint. I called this morning and after several escalations it was issued at 50% ($450) as a future credit. We will most likely never use it but they did the right thing and did issue something in good faith.
 

I did not realize the error until at the desk boarding and checked the account credits.   I brought it to their attention before receiving a bracelet and was told to call sailor services. 

 

And as far as being banned from future sailings, what a strange, negative and ridiculous comment. They’re not doing that, and as far as you know - no one is, so why even add that unnecessary comment. That sentence alone encapsulates everything that is wrong with this forum, making up false information on a whim to make yourself feel like an expert. Sad.
Keep advertising Sail The Virgin Way. 
 

I’ll sail whoever is right for me at the time. Peace out. 

 

Good job being persistent. I’m glad they eventually did something. 

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

2 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Well, something is better than nothing.  As to getting some use from the FCC, VV bookings are fully transferrable.  SO, you could do a booking in your name for a friend or family member using the FCC, then transfer it to their name, charging them for the cruise coat + the FCC...or giving the FCC to them as a gift.  This assumes that you won't use it, as you said.

I didn’t know that! My son and his fiancé are talking about doing a VV cruise, what a nice gift that will make. Thanks so much 😊 

[cantgetin]

6 minutes ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

I didn’t know that! My son and his fiancé are talking about doing a VV cruise, what a nice gift that will make. Thanks so much 😊 

I would suggest you contact a Gold Tier agent as to whether you can transfer the FCC and make the initial reservation in their name or if you must make the reservation for yourself first and then change to them,  I do know that if you transfer a reservation, all the associated perks (loot, bar tab, whatever) do transfer with the reservation.  VV is the only line I know that allows you to transfer a total reservation rather than canceling one.  You can sell a reservation the same way, either thru your TA to another of their clients or an unattached person or behind the scenes where VV doesn't know or care how the funds are transferred.  THe only thing I know that cannot happen is that if you booked thru your TA, I cannot buy a reservation from you and involve my TA in the process--the reservation will still be credited to your TA and that person will get the commission.  Of course, I can go back to my original TA for any additional cruises or your TA can show me how awesome they are and I can use choose to use then in the future,

Best wishes to the couple,

[Tralfaz1138]

8 hours ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

And as far as being banned from future sailings, what a strange, negative and ridiculous comment. They’re not doing that, and as far as you know - no one is, so why even add that unnecessary comment.

I believe the banning comment was made regarding if you had successfully done a credit card chargeback to get the money back.  Doing that will put you on "the list" with most businesses.

 

It sounds like you resolved it with Virgin directly so of course they wouldn't ban you in that case.  Good to hear it was somewhat resolved, but a shame it took a bit of effort.