AdoraBelle

I like how three of us replied within 60 seconds of each other. Go team!

12 hours ago, snoopycr said:

How are the space/seating for pool and hot tubs. From the yt. Videos, it seems limited for cruise ships. Royal has maybe 8 hotubs? 

It depends on what you mean. The main pool is smallish, like the Disney pools. But there’s also a circular pool on the other side of the bar, with hot tubs. 
 

There is NO END to loungers, sunbeds, shaded and unshaded, all over the ship. I kept finding more and more on decks 15/16/17. And more hot tubs. I can’t imagine there will be chair hog complaints, other than by the people who insist on a chair that’s touching the edge of the pool for their entire cruise.
 

Also keep in mind this ship has like half the passenger capacity of the typical big RC ship. I’m not sure it needs 8 hot tubs. 

7 hours ago, Cashsmoney said:

What is the seahorse auction?

I’ve read the description in the app and of some sort of follow up “seahorse race” and I’m still not sure. 🙂

14 hours ago, cantgetin said:

THe ship has been sailing at about 1000 passengers recently, some sailings a little higher.

I was told tonight by a crew member that they’re expecting 1800 next week, and that it would be the biggest crowd on the ship thus far, and so everyone’s a little nervous. The person I was talking to wasn’t from the US and didn’t know about Labor Day weekend, which I assume accounts for some of it. (The cruise starts on the Friday of Labor Day weekend and I think is a 4 day.)

I guess it’s also possible some buzz is starting to catch?

Whoops, shouldn’t have booked onboard on Aug 28.

21 minutes ago, snoopycr said:

Did you get the champagne package 

How is the food and entertainment

 

Our trip leaves on Sept 16!🤞

I don’t drink much so I don’t know about the champagne package.

The food is the best I’ve ever had on a cruise. I have mostly sailed newer Norwegian ships, and one Disney cruise. I’ve only been on the ship for 24 hours though, and only one sit-down dinner, which was fabulous. 

(tonight is pink agave.)

Also, at first I was feeling like the ship might actually be too empty, because it seemed like the pool deck was always empty, but this afternoon it’s packed. I guess it just took a little while longer than on my other cruises for people to get out there. (Not packed as in nowhere to sit, but I wouldn’t try getting in the pools personally.)

2 minutes ago, janbear said:

Are you planning to do the special tea service in the Sip bar? We saw that last time and we're considering doing it this next cruise (with the champagne of course 🙂

It’s the kind of thing I would be interested in in theory, but I feel like I’ve seen some reports that it’s not worth the money. I can’t remember the specifics though. maybe on my next trip when I’ll have a lot more OBC. 🙂

1 hour ago, janbear said:

Thank you for posting! Does the ship seem fairly full? We have only been on once and had only 539 passengers so we are hoping its busier this time (although it was nice not having to wait for anything!) 

 

It does not feel super full, but crowds suddenly coalesce. I guess I was early ish for tea this morning at The Galley, because it seemed empty, but by the time I finished my second cup of tea and looked up from my phone tables were full all around me. “Never Sleep Alone” seems to be sold out all week. Afternoon drag show is full including people up in the second floor of the manor. 
 

@_tacocat_, I booked a couple of cabins while onboard today. They tried to give me 11346A again for my next cruise, hah! Future cruise agent at least had the list this time and admitted that it didn’t have a hammock.

I’m being haunted by this cabin. I’ll have to actually try it at some point.

I can’t “prove” it because I don’t think it’s in writing anywhere yet, but I booked two cruises onboard today and was told the OBC is being increased to $600 per cabin. (Including on what I booked today.)

Also this ship is to die for. And the food. 

I have now had the mousse. OMG.

3 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Food quality and availability is the best I've seen anywhere.  It may take you a day or so to figure out that fruit boxes are available in the morning and sushi to go in the afternoon...so if you want an afternoon snack of fruit, grab a fruit box in the morning and pop it in your fridge till afternoon!  There are "to go" things available all day, but the contents change as do the hours of the various outlets.  There is always something good open; it is just a matter of what time it is!

I watched some YouTubes today that showed that grab n go section. I saw what looked like a charcuterie & cheese snack box that would be about $12 in my local Wegmans, and something labeled “callebaut dark chocolate, crunchy pearls and pistachio crumble”. I’m not sure exactly what it was, maybe a mousse, but I love callebaut anything. Anyway, I was thinking at the time that I could basically happily survive on just that grab and go stuff. Imagine the rest of the food.

Sailor services rep denied there were any XL terraces without hammocks, but I politely got moved anyway. 
 

(If my sailing is < 2 weeks out, should I have gotten a bracelet and luggage tags by now, or is that not a thing anymore?)

On 8/16/2022 at 3:37 PM, _tacocat_ said:

On Scarlet at least 11346 A&Z apparently do not have hammocks.  Try calling to switch!  Sailor services can confirm which rooms do/do not have hammocks & glass balconies.

DUDE. You've provided so many answers to questions, and additional info I needed, here and (I think? maybe?) reddit, and so it's absolutely insane that I am in ... 11346 on my upcoming sailing. 

Now I have to get on the phone and listen to that song AGAIN, FOREVER.

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

If you do an open booking, you need to call sailor services to complete the booking, which has frankly been a royal pain in the ass lately.

They've had that same hold song since 2020. (I had to call recently to use my about-to-expire FVC from early covid days.) I never need to hear that song again. 

Bumping for one more question—

I’ve only bought CruiseNext certificates before (NCL) because I usually didn’t know exactly when my next cruise would be, so I don’t know what the answer is for VV or any cruise line.

Can I actually book the specific trip on board, and if so are the sales folks fairly knowledgeable? This is a specific trip I need to plan that’s only a few months away, and I’d like to book the whole thing the first or second day I’m onboard. I want to get it locked down during the Aug promo. 
 

(I guess I could just buy the “deposits” and book for myself using the onboard wifi … if the deposits show up on your account that fast.)

I've only recently jumped back into reading anything about cruising. I was supposed to be on the Scarlet Lady beta sailings when the pandemic started, didn't book another cruise till Aug 2021, then canceled when delta deaths started spiking and it became apparent that being quarantined in an inside cabin in Alaska was a real possibility. 

Anyway, all this to say: I've noticed a lot more people are mentioning VV on reddit these days. 

https://www.miami-airport.com/tsa-waittimes.asp

This review (of Valiant Lady) makes it seem like HDMI availability is a thing.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=686660

"Something I liked a lot is the huge TV set with an opened HDMI plug where I was able to plug my laptop and watch whatever I wanted."

4 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

additionally, the onboard offer is only applicable to standard sea terraces and up -- ltd view or lock it in sea terraces do not count -- but i think the sale has that floor too.

Thanks. For what it’s worth, on the sailings I’m looking at (mid Oct), the sale DOES seem to apply to “lock it in ltd view terrace”, or at least one sailor can get into it for for $880 right now. but I do see in some other documentation that I wouldn’t be able to use the onboard booking perks for it. 
 

(I had planned to book myself an xl terrace and the friend in the $880 room above. I’ll probably just grab a regular terrace, it’s not that much more.)

Thanks again. Here’s hoping prices stay steady till I can board & book in a few weeks. 

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

Yes, you can purchase more than one "deposit" or future cruise credit and they are transferrable.  You just purchase it in your friend's name. I know this for sure because we did it a few weeks ago.  There is a limit to how many you can purchase.  The "deal" varies, and has changed at least 5 times since Oct. 2021, meaning that you do not know what it will be when you cruise.  NOTE--some lines do not allow you to do this!  VV does, at least as of July 2022.

Something to consider...until Aug. 31, VV has a great deal going on cruises during 2022.  There is NO single supplement and there is a $100 bonus on bar tabs.  This, in English, means that you can book a 2 person sized cabin and only pay for one person.  If your future cruise is in 2022, this may be a better deal for you than getting a booking on board discount of $300, depending on how you feel about having a larger cabin.

 
Thanks!

Regarding the second part, I will actually be on the ship well prior to Aug 31. Since my friend and I will both be solo (in our respective cabins), I was hoping to book with that pricing AND the perks for booking onboard. Do you think they will “stack”?

I’ll be sailing solo in a few weeks. While I’m onboard, I’d like to book a future cruise, but it’ll be like this:

one cabin for me

one cabin for a friend who will be sailing with me, but I’ll be paying for it

Can I buy two “deposits” and use one on each of the cabins above, even though the second cabin will have someone who isn’t me in it?

Thanks, have never paid for a cabin for someone else on any line. 

Speaking as a person who just canceled because of vaccine policy uncertainty in the US:

I think those are risks in the short term, and ones that people who are trying to book soon should consider, and read their cruise contracts and travel policies VERY carefully.

But I don’t think it’ll be like this forever, no. I will be surprised if it even continues into 2022. (Unless there really is some nasty new variant, and cases/deaths begin to rise again in the U.S.)