More suites being added to Scarlet Lady during dry dock.

[Eric&Pam]

Suites will be added to deck 11, not the previously rumored deck 13.

Scarlet Lady’s dry dock will add over 20 Rockstar cabins, expanding the Rockstar options for sailors and replacing Central Sea Terrace cabins.

My guess is that they'll do the same on the other ships as well. Demand is high.

 

https://vvinsider.com/scarlet-lady-dry-dock-adding-rockstar-suites/

Edited September 8 by Eric&Pam

[Cloud9 Bob]

Wondering if 20 CentralSeaTerrace cabins will yield the desired results of 20 Rockstars or will they need to take more?

[cantgetin]

The current suites are significantly bigger than central sea terraces.  It will probably be at least a deal where 3 sea terraces become 2 suites.  Just my guess--no inside info.

Edited September 8 by cantgetin

[Cloud9 Bob]

That’s what I thought. Since I cruise mostly solo the Central Sea Terrace is my Rockstar Suite. I’m losing 60! 😂

 

 

[cantgetin]

51 minutes ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

That’s what I thought. Since I cruise mostly solo the Central Sea Terrace is my Rockstar Suite. I’m losing 60! 😂

 

 

Im sure they've run the numbers and it is a financially good move for the line as suites are so much more expensive and almost always sell out.....but losing a lot of central sea terraces seems like a serious loss for the rest of us.  They need to do more for the Rockstars, especially if adding 20 more suites tot he 70 already on board.  My first thought would be some sort of inside lounge with the same perks as Richard's Rooftop or add lunch munchies, etc.  They could really take that concept as far as they want to in terms of goodies.  The rooftop seems mostly empty other than the happy hour and sometimes the hot tubs.  It can get very windy out there.

That said, the current price increases are enough.  I've been fortunate to visit in some suites, but they are too rich for my blood.

 

Edited September 8 by cantgetin

[jon81uk]

Also given service can suffer when the ship is close to full and restaurant bookings feel more of a challenge taking away 30-40 sea terrace cabins and reducing the capacity of the ship won’t be a bad thing. 
 

Also on the talk we heard as part of the Celebration voyage where this change was mentioned, Frank Webber was asked his biggest regret when designing the ship spaces and it was removing the seventh restaurant space, they assumed more people would be willing to eat in the Galley etc. but have found most people do actually want more restaurants.

[TYCruise]

The interactive deck plans for Scarlet Lady now show the new suites location on deck 11.  I'm surprised Brilliant Lady won't debut with these new rooms.  Its not like anything is going on with her for another year😅

https://www.virginvoyages.com/ships

[Cloud9 Bob]

What I've been seeing is a huge increase in prices and the cutting of many things that first attracted me to VV like the MNVV with the discounted fare as well as $600 sailor loot, the 10% discount for paying in full. etc. The lack of sales and interesting offers for solo travelers is concerning. I get it, they are creating a premium product for the upper sailing class. They want to see what the market will bear. But, I am the market too and I'm not able to bear it as well. In 2021 I thought the solo traveler was going to be the cornerstone of the line, but they have all but forgotten us.

[Eric&Pam]

4 minutes ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

In 2021 I thought the solo traveler was going to be the cornerstone of the line, but they have all but forgotten us.

 

With very few solo cabins, I can't see solos ever being the cornerstone.

Sure they gave a break on the solo supplements early on, but that was just to fill cabins.

They can double their cash flow now by filling them with 2 sailors instead of one.

[Cloud9 Bob]

8 minutes ago, Eric&Pam said:

With very few solo cabins, I can't see solos ever being the cornerstone.

Sure they gave a break on the solo supplements early on, but that was just to fill cabins.

They can double their cash flow now by filling them with 2 sailors instead of one.

 

You're right...I went from cornerstone to gypsum dust.

[DCGuy64]

On 9/8/2024 at 2:36 PM, jon81uk said:

Also given service can suffer when the ship is close to full and restaurant bookings feel more of a challenge taking away 30-40 sea terrace cabins and reducing the capacity of the ship won’t be a bad thing. 
 

Also on the talk we heard as part of the Celebration voyage where this change was mentioned, Frank Webber was asked his biggest regret when designing the ship spaces and it was removing the seventh restaurant space, they assumed more people would be willing to eat in the Galley etc. but have found most people do actually want more restaurants.

We are totally new to VV and haven't even had our 1st cruise with them yet (booked for January 2025), but it's funny that people often bash The Galley. For starters, it seems like a superior concept to the usual buffets onboard most ships. But also, we see TONS of people eating at the buffet on every other ship. So what's the problem? Are people OK with buffets on every line except Virgin? I don't get it.

[jon81uk]

35 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

We are totally new to VV and haven't even had our 1st cruise with them yet (booked for January 2025), but it's funny that people often bash The Galley. For starters, it seems like a superior concept to the usual buffets onboard most ships. But also, we see TONS of people eating at the buffet on every other ship. So what's the problem? Are people OK with buffets on every line except Virgin? I don't get it.

The main menu in the Galley is very lunch focused and originally quite fixed. They’ve now added multiple dinner special dishes which does help, but if you look at the printed menu below it doesn’t really feel like a dinner offering. But the specials of beef wellington, butter chicken curry, Greek lamb, Asian chicken etc 

help give dinner variety.

https://vvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/the-galley-dinner-follow-vvinsider.pdf
 

The lunch menu is much better with sandwiches, tacos, noodles etc all available as well as some daily specials https://vvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/the-galley-lunch-follow-vvinsider.pdf

 

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

The main menu in the Galley is very lunch focused and originally quite fixed. They’ve now added multiple dinner special dishes which does help, but if you look at the printed menu below it doesn’t really feel like a dinner offering. But the specials of beef wellington, butter chicken curry, Greek lamb, Asian chicken etc 

help give dinner variety.

https://vvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/the-galley-dinner-follow-vvinsider.pdf
 

The lunch menu is much better with sandwiches, tacos, noodles etc all available as well as some daily specials https://vvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/the-galley-lunch-follow-vvinsider.pdf

 

I have enjoyed reading about the dinner specials. I can definitely see us dining at The Gallery for dinner a couple of times. And for sure we'll be eating there for breakfast and lunch most days. BTW I love that website, it's a wealth of information. Thanks.

[Tyler414]

Very interesting, this cannot be an easy task.  It's not like your just knocking out a wall for a bigger space.  The bathrooms have to be the biggest challenge, turning the tiny bathrooms into bigger ones has to be difficult and to do it all in two weeks.  Yikes.

[Eric&Pam]

Just now, Tyler414 said:

Very interesting, this cannot be an easy task.  It's not like your just knocking out a wall for a bigger space.  The bathrooms have to be the biggest challenge, turning the tiny bathrooms into bigger ones has to be difficult and to do it all in two weeks.  Yikes.

 

Cabins are pre-fabricated. They will pull the old ones out,and insert the new ones.

[cantgetin]

Exactly--cabins are assembled elsewhere and put in place with a large crane.  How they do it on a fully built ship might be another issue. When in place, they hook up the plumbing, AC, etc but will have already designed the cabins to be easily connected to those features.

[TheDarkestBlue]

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

Exactly--cabins are assembled elsewhere and put in place with a large crane.  How they do it on a fully built ship might be another issue. When in place, they hook up the plumbing, AC, etc but will have already designed the cabins to be easily connected to those features.

 

 

[TYCruise]

Are the larger suites made this way? They seem like a different beast.

[Eric&Pam]

3 hours ago, TYCruise said:

Are the larger suites made this way? They seem like a different beast.

 

No mention of a different technique here, just upmarket design details.

https://cruiseshipinteriors-expo.com/prefab-cabin-design-in-cruise/

 

[Tralfaz1138]

16 hours ago, TYCruise said:

Are the larger suites made this way? They seem like a different beast.

It would be interesting to see how this works in this specific case.  It seems like the Seriously Suite is maybe 25% larger than a sea terrace which would make the math work regarding them adding 20 suites since they would just swap 25 sea terraces for the new suites.  So everything from the hallway section with the door into the cabin to the balcony has to be swapped out.  The location of the bathroom fixtures is a bit different so how that all gets lined up with the plumbing in the ship would have to be adjusted.  But it's only 20 cabins, so if the cabin itself is just a modular "drop in" the rest could probably done relatively quickly.

[jon81uk]

2 hours ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

It would be interesting to see how this works in this specific case.  It seems like the Seriously Suite is maybe 25% larger than a sea terrace which would make the math work regarding them adding 20 suites since they would just swap 25 sea terraces for the new suites.  So everything from the hallway section with the door into the cabin to the balcony has to be swapped out.  The location of the bathroom fixtures is a bit different so how that all gets lined up with the plumbing in the ship would have to be adjusted.  But it's only 20 cabins, so if the cabin itself is just a modular "drop in" the rest could probably done relatively quickly.

Seriously Suite is the same as 1.5 sea terraces. Brilliant suite is two sea terraces wide. Can count the balcony doors to see.

[Eric&Pam]

3 hours ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

It would be interesting to see how this works in this specific case.  It seems like the Seriously Suite is maybe 25% larger than a sea terrace which would make the math work regarding them adding 20 suites since they would just swap 25 sea terraces for the new suites.  So everything from the hallway section with the door into the cabin to the balcony has to be swapped out.  The location of the bathroom fixtures is a bit different so how that all gets lined up with the plumbing in the ship would have to be adjusted.  But it's only 20 cabins, so if the cabin itself is just a modular "drop in" the rest could probably done relatively quickly.

 

Everything is indeed modular, and quick to connect once installed.

The hardest part will be removing the railing on the balcony, and any beams separating what was once 2 cabins. Here's the deck plan for deck 11 showing the suites in light purple.