Rhea98

On 3/30/2023 at 6:31 AM, tbmrt said:

I like to get up around 5 AM.  I know I can get coffee early, but are any muffins or danish available then?

I did check at The Galley-- 24 hr Dinner and Dash: English muffins and toast. (Bagels at Daily Mix @7). Here's a pic of Grounds Club deck 7. Their offerings may change slightly. They have cookies later in the day. This would be good for grabbing night before. Gluten free items on the covered cake plate.

On VL now. App says  Grounds Club and GC2 open at 7am. GC2 puts pastries in a bag. The sweet shop opens at 6. I've gotten coffee as early as 4:30, but I'm sure it's available 24/7 as stated. My only issue has been locating the coffee dispenser with the "hot" coffee.

Either grab your morning pastries the day/night before (muffins, in particular, may be just as good next day. I had part of an almond croissant leftover and was surprised it still tasted pretty good) or go ahead and get coffee and pastries with room service. The pastries are really good. If I remember, I'll ask about options in the morning when making my coffee run. 

12 hours ago, ociana said:

 

If you click the year it will show a drop down to select your year, instead of scrolling through the calendar. First time I ever saw that feature in a phone calendar menu it threw me off as well, but I run into everywhere now.

Thanks for letting me piggyback. Just using your reply to post screenshots I just took. Click the 2023 in upper left then the years appear.

On 3/28/2023 at 8:17 AM, TripsYouMustDo said:

.. Also impossible to book dinners. 

On Valiant Lady ATM. We were finally able to book some dinner ressies but were told Extra Virgin wouldn't even be able to accommodate walk-up: result of having 2100 Sailors on board ( which is considered a full ship as far as delivering services is concerned). We were not concerned about no "specialty" dinners until discovering that half Galley  venues close at3pm.

 

Also connecting to WiFi on Android... I had to enter my DOB. Through their Calendar widget. Couldn't type it in. Could select a year in the Widget. Ended up having to click on an arrow to go back month-by-month. We are both in our 50s. So it's 12 month * 50 years = 600 clicks to enter our birthday to connect to the ship Wifi.

If I recall, touching the 2023 on upper left of app window opened the years from which point I then used the arrow to get to the month. I'm 75 so, yeah, scrolling back wasn't an option. I tried to disconnect and forget to recreate so I could screenshoot it. It just kept auto-logging in. Didn't clear cache/data.

 

Anyone else on Android? Is this really this silly? Or did we not figure out a secret way to enter your date of birth without clicking on the calendar 600-some times? 

On 3/16/2023 at 8:02 AM, CruisinShips said:

Has anyone done this?  Thanks

I have been wondering about this, also. I do fall asleep to "tv" (really, videos from my Plex Media server). Most recent NCL cruises we were on had Samsung which was pretty easy to attach laptop/chromebook to directly. MSC wasn't so easy so I just loaded up my sd cards and use the Chromebook as a lap tv. I also use Sony wh-1000xm4 headphones. I figure for 8 nights (not 19-25), I'll get by. 

On 3/16/2023 at 5:33 AM, cantgetin said:

Last I knew, the shuttle is operating and you can drop your luggage with the porters any time in the morning.  THe above report is not the first I've seen about shuttle trouble coming back.  VV says they are supposed to run with the last return to ship at 3:30, but that doesn't seem to happen sometimes.

Thanks for the reply. If we don't have our suitcase, we might be able to catch Coral Way trolley if the VV shuttle doesn't show. At least we can be more flexible without the rolling bag. 

Does anyone know if this service (shuttle) is currently functioning? We have 1:45 check-in with a flight that arrives at 8:45. I see a restaurant (Seaman Cafe) close to Terminal V which I'd hoped to utilize for an early lunch, but the shuttle to Bayside would be great. Dropping off our bag early would be wonderful as I'm the "pack mule" while DH uses a small mobility scooter.

On 3/6/2023 at 11:08 AM, nosaturn said:

I transferred to virgin flying club and they showed up almost immediately in Virgin Flying (i had to call to transfer them though) and they showed up immediately in the Virgin Red app. I was expecting a couple days and was biting my nails, btu this was almost too fast.

I did the same, except, after purchasing upper class seats to Italy through VA, I had to add points from CITI (online), AmEx (online), and CSR (phone) to get the 100,000 as no one source had enough points. It worked. All of those were instant. I'd already used CITI for the flights and had previously set up VA as a transfer partner with AmEx which may have been why I didn't have to call on those. We booked the March 25 cruise, also.

On 2/20/2023 at 4:10 PM, garycarla said:

I am confused when you say "only a portion of the fee was give".  If this is basically "free" after using your points, what fee is this?

I think this was my comment. Since the Sea Terrace was not available, I tried the limited view (per info on promo) but only about $1500 credit was displayed with several thousand remaining balance. I hit the browser back button and saw that Central Terrace had a cost of $0. I chose that. I did not expect a portion discount: I expected all or nothing. 

21 minutes ago, Wildcatllamas said:

I think CruisingWalter had in one of his video he had an Amaretto Old Fashion that was amazing. I'm not an Old Fashion drinker but I may have to try that.

Yep. ("OMG! ...)

21 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Immediately go to The Dock and start enjoying those tapas and a nice cocktail to get the cruise started right.

 

We didn't do the big sailaway party because we were in Gunbae for dinner when sailaway happened. It was the perfect place to watch Miami sailaway. 

 

It happened to rain on our cruise so the PJ party was moved to the Roundabout and we didn't go but our friends said it was way too crowded in there so they left. 

 

The big thing we're doing differently on our second (and third) VV cruises is booking dinner much later on embarkation day. Because we board much later in the afternoon than all the other cruise lines, we were not nearly as hungry when we went to Gunbae. Those tapas at The Dock are just so ridiculously good. So we'll be booking dinner more like 8 or maybe even 9:00pm on Embarkation day. 

I heard the Old Fashioned 🥃 is really good, too. In fact, I heard it several times 😉.

12 minutes ago, aviators99 said:

Correct.  No perks with the mileage cruise.  I did get my access key and booked April 8.  You should call and see if you can switch yours to March 11, if that's what you really wanted.

 

Also, for others:

 

Note that the terms are a bit ambiguous about which room type you can book when redeeming miles. It says you can book the Sea Terrace (without the "the" capitalized). They really mean The Sea Terrace, which excludes Central. I found this out the hard way (after redeeming). The great news is that you don't even have to pay port charges or taxes (I found this out the easy way 🙂 )!

We're ok with the one we chose. Thanks for the suggestion.

FWIW, I'll repeat my experience posted earlier: "the Sea Terrace was not available so I chose Limited View and only a portion of the fee was given. I went back and saw that Central Sea Terrace was marked $0." That portion of the fee was about $1000 off, iirc. Availability of a specific room type may be a factor. If you don't see the cost of $0 come up, go back to the previous page and see if another is marked $0. I don't think you're "stuck" until you move forward on the booking page. 

7 minutes ago, garycarla said:

 

• Giveaway or promotional reduced rate Access Keys 

Exactly. It may not be a giveaway, but it's definitely a reduced rate.

16 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

There is currently a special offer of up to $600 bar tab, this is for everyone who books by end of Feb no matter status.

https://www.virginvoyages.com/cruise-deals/our-2nd-most-inclusive-offer-ever

Thanks for the help. I'm pretty sure it's tied to actually "purchasing" a cruise. I think these are the terms. We use alcohol so rarely that it's a moot point for us. We do drink coffee--and some low/no sugar coffee beverages.

Heck, I'm just so happy to spend 8 days on the sea--virtually for free--, on a ship/line that sounds very comfortable for us, I don't care about much else. As we have lived for 40+ yrs in persistent hot, muggy FL, we had sworn off Caribbean cruises several years ago preferring transatlantic crossings or Northern Europe/UK (maybe our best cruise ever was all around the British Isles and then up to North Cape, Norway in spring 2018--when Norway and UK were hit with excessive heat 🙄). 

VV made us an offer we couldn't resist. 🚤 😁 

On 2/17/2023 at 1:13 PM, aviators99 said:

Let us know how the process goes.  I'm probably going to do this in the next 2 days, as well.

Well, MAYbe I learned something about how VV website works (although I don't know anyone who's figured out MSC--most certainly no me). This morning (2/19--30% transfer bonus on Citi starts), as I sort of expected, the cruise I actually booked is still available; but, the Mar 11 cruise I had hoped to book but which had disappeared, is back!

I also saw this pop-up, but text on previous page says " plus up to $600 in free drinks by booking your 2023 voyage by February 28th."  

It's all pretty confusing to me even though we're platinum on NCL, diamond on MSC, and have cruise a few on Carnival. I'm sure I would find challenges going to other cruise line websites. 

I'm not one bit disappointed with how my situation turned out. 

Have you received your access code?

3 hours ago, garycarla said:

I could be wrong, but somewhere I read that "access key" bookings do not get the Deep Blue status perks.  I think these heavily discounted cruises are like those for casino, travel agents, etc.

All I know is that Deep Blue Perks are listed on my booking under Add-ons. 

Thanks, AtSeaWithChris. I was approved for status match before I booked and didn't know if I needed to resubmit or contact VV. Your excellent info sent me right to "Deep Blue Extras" in the app. 

I'm pretty sure these perks are per cabin but wondered if DH (also matched with our MSC Diamond) should show anything. Maybe I'd have to create an account for him.

It will show up! 🤞 I was totally shocked when it came so quickly.

I used those extra hours booking flights from Orlando to Miami and a room for the arrival night. Looks like you won't need to do any of that!!

Wow! Thanks for all the info and the PICTURES! It looks like DH will be able to take his little mobility scooter into parts of the town. 

53 minutes ago, aviators99 said:

You're not waiting until the 30% bonus?

No, I did not wait.(It was only a loss of 10,000 pts--not the whole 30,000. or whatever it would have been.) After discussing the cruise possibility, DH and I decided we really wanted to take one of the cruises. My first cruise choice was already gone so I moved some pts from AmEx, CITI, and Chase. Hit the REDEEM and about 4-5 hrs later received the key access. I booked the 3/25, 8 day. I'm so unfamiliar with the VV website. the Sea Terrace was not available so I choose Limited View and only a portion of the fee was given. I went back and saw that Central Sea Terrace was marked $0. Whew!  I'm expecting the Deep Blue Perks available via status match will apply since the cruise begins before March 31. We are retired (ancient, in fact--at least DH is) and live in south central FL area. 

I hope you don't remove your "Heart" from my post, but I  can understand if you do. I'm not usually such a wimp, but?????

Well, it appeared that my first choice cruise (March 11, VL) is gone. I grabbed the offer today and hope my second choice (March 25) will still be there

I'm waiting until 2/19 for the CITI 30% transfer bonus. At that point, if cabins appear to be available on Valiant Lady, I will try for a voucher and attempt to book. 

You may find more help here. We sailed from/to Hamburg about 5 yrs ago. We took the train to a stop near the port then took a pre-arranged shuttle to the port. I couldn't say if that shuttle company is still available, but the forum to which I linked should help. 

My cruise isn't until Oct 28. No dining specialties show, yet. (Maybe when I pay??) I noticed some packages that require dining in 2, 3, or 4, or more, perhaps specified venues. It seems that the Trio would be 3 specified venues. I hope that the 3 Specialty Dining experience

On 3/14/2022 at 9:57 PM, Stockjock said:

Three deliciously different flavour profiles at a Speciality Restaurants of your choice

Valid in all Speciality Restaurants at lunch and/or dinner

is the one where we are not locked into 3 different restaurants. We really enjoy Butchers Cut, but even the Dining Experience meal (Diamond freebie) was way too much food for us. We prefer a la carte and sharing sometimes. I just figured it was one more thing with MSC that is confusing. Yet, when we saw the Seashore repo from Genoa to Port Canaveral for under $500, I couldn't help myself!!!! For us, it's about the sea journey. We don't care too much about the food/entertainment. etc. Transatlantics are our preferred itineraries. 

This is not an easy topic and getting specific info seems impossible. Also, it could change. "Generally," if you have not traveled to China (not necessarily an MSC thing) recently, and if you are NOT doing a Grand Voyage, AND if you are vaccinated, you will not need a Covid test. Some cities/countries may still require it. I haven't checked. When we were transitioning from our repo cruise to Nordic cruises (same ship), we expected another Covid test. No one told us differently until I asked at the desk a few days before our arrival/transition day when I discovered no stop in the Nordic/Netherland areas required them. We did have to test on the repo (Genoa-Copenhagen) cruise for a stop--maybe Portugal, I don't remember. 

My experience is really moot as it was nearly a year ago. We still had to test to fly back back to the US. Less than a week after that, it was no longer required.

Fortunately, I knew we could (and did) get tests in the Copenhagen airport. Airport tests are a probability (unvaxed teen). For our previous trip, rapid antigen was accepted as long as it had been monitored (tele-monitored or direct). The lack of mention in MSC terms is further confusion/stressful.

Hopefully, recent travels from US to Europe for cruise there will let you know.