peteukmcr

On 8/8/2021 at 12:33 PM, Solent Richard said:

 

Wansbrough is a great blogger. His speciality is 'as it happens'.

 

Did you see his day 1? Not exactly full of praise but...

 

https://www.wansbroughs-cruise-blog.me.uk/2021/08/scarlet-lady-postcard-1-portsmouth-embarkation/

Great feedback 

11 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

Just two more, having passed the Spinaker Tower...

 

 

 

...and in the harbour entrance...

 

 

Bon Voyage @manateemike67 .

Thanks for sharing

17 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

 

Having just disembarked after the official maiden voyage I thought I’d share my thoughts.

 

As has been well documented, the pre-boarding testing process on Friday was horrendous. But I won’t dwell on that. VV know it went wrong, acknowledged they let us down and made a nice gesture by way of apology. I hope the tweaks they’ve made as of today make a difference.

 

As for the ship, the standout for me was the food. The restaurant concept works, and while I get that many traditional cruisers enjoy dressing up and eating in the same place with the same people every night, I never have. I ate dinner in The Wake, Pink Agave and Extra Virgin, and breakfast in Razzle Dazzle, and all four were superb. Imaginative menus and far better quality than the main dining rooms on other equivalent lines. The only disappointing thing food-wise was The Galley which I think is supposed to feel like a trendy food court but, for me, didn’t quite hit the spot (apart from the salad bar which is great).

 

The other standout was the crew. Without exception they were friendly, motivated and eager to please - above all they just seemed genuinely happy to finally be doing what they signed up for more than 18 months ago. I had a long chat with my waitress last night who said 85% of the crew who were on board pre-shutdown chose to come back, which seems impressively high.

 

So what needs attention: the app, firstly - as many have already experienced pre-cruise, it’s very buggy and given that your time on board revolves around it in terms of checking out the daily schedule and booking shows, restaurants etc, they need to sort it out urgently. 

Likewise the wifi - it’s fine in port but at sea it’s very, very slow. There was a note in the cabin explaining why (wrong type of satellite or something!) but for a line that makes much of trying to appeal to Generation Instagram, that’s another thing for the priority list.

 

Entertainment was an interesting one. What I saw, I liked: a guy called Tom Crosbie (The Performing Nerd) who I’ve seen before in Edinburgh and is right up my street but may be a bit too niche for a cruise ship. Duel Reality, the main show, is great - circus with attitude. The bingo with Abi the Hostess was a laugh and the band (Buster Shuffle) were excellent and went down very well. Again, VV have tried to be different so lovers of the traditional song & dance production show and covers bands will be disappointed. And a lot of the entertainment is meant to be spontaneous - you’ll be sitting having a drink and a magician will wander up or a couple will start singing on the stairs. But I felt there was too much emphasis on “adult” entertainment - yes I know it’s an adults only line but things like talks on how to incorporate play into your sex life and how to communicate erotically, and the sex-themed cabaret show just didn’t do it for me! But hey, maybe I’m just an old prude. Overall though, I thought they needed more crowd-pleaser entertainment and activities, while still keeping that Virgin difference.

 

So - would I return? Yes I would (and I am!) - I loved the chic, modern style of the ship, its laid back, relaxed vibe, the food and the crew. But I wouldn’t want to do more than 3, 4 or 5 nights - for me, there wasn’t enough to do for a week or longer. And they really need to sort out the tech, which is fundamental to the VV concept. But I admire them for daring to be different. Traditional cruisers who like what they like may find it’s not for them. But there’s no shortage of alternatives. This is an attempt to win a new crowd, and I really hope it works.

 

 

I’ll add my thanks to your review. Great to read you enjoyed the restaurants you chose as we have these booked too. I agree the app needs attention as it’s got worse over the past week. 

24 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

All good and generally no real issues. 

 

We arrived early with the intention of finding our way around. Seeing the park and ride and test spot as well as locating the car park.

 

As has been intimated. The park and ride is the go to location. You will be sent back if you go direct to W4. You are given an A4 sheet to get into the test site at the park and ride.

 

It literally took us 35 minutes from park and ride to leaving the test site. Time will tell as the day goes on. 

 

Inside the tent, there are 3 rows of 10 testers. I'd say it took about 10 minutes once I sat down. At that rate they could test 180 per hour. But I suspect there would be a bottle neck before that where you check in. 4 or 5 desks, but probably 5 mins per person.

 

You leave with your blue band and wearable.

 

So zero to complain about. Well done so far.

 

Getting to the car park was a little more challenging, but that was port staff.

 

Check in was fine, though the boarding room, they insisted you squashed in next to strangers. No social distancing at all. I guess once boarding starts people will go straight through to the x-ray machines.

 

Just been told we will board at 1.30 by VV president.

 

So far happy bunny. I'd rather a stress free experience than a few free beers and some OBC 

 

20 mins to go. 👍

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your update. Just noticed the instructions for attending the test site have changed today on the Virgin Voyages website that clearly state you have to attend the park and ride site, not directly to W4. For those like us who will be dropped off there, we will be shuttled to the test site. 
 

https://www.virginvoyages.com/email/pre-sail-landing-hub#health-wellness-todo

28 minutes ago, LeLe_Is_Me said:

I called this number and they were really helpful and sorted everything out for me. 
its a UK number but transfers automatically to USA so no extortionate charges 

020 3003 4919

That’s what I called but then was told payment had to be made via another agency. Maybe because I booked via a TA. 

27 minutes ago, LeLe_Is_Me said:

Make what payment?

we paid when we purchased the bar tab.

 

ive just discovered when you log in online it shows how much Bar tab loot you have 

Bar tab is in Hubby’s name so logged into his account and it shows $425
cabin was booked by me so mine so my account shows $100 promotional OBC

Payment for the bar tab

3 hours ago, LeLe_Is_Me said:

We did the same but when we booked I think we got 100 extra =$400 

I was hoping we would also qualify for the extra sea blazers $25 

but I can’t find anywhere to check bar tab balance? Have you ? 

Not yet as it’s not confirmed yet. Seems an odd way to do things, spoke to a wonderful agent based in Miami but then told I have to call some other agent in the U.K. to make payment. So I’ve emailed by TA and asked her to sort it out as she should also get commission on it. 

If anyone is thinking of adding a bar tab to your booking, I was told the $300 bar tab would cost me £225 but they will also add another $125 value to the tab, giving me $425 total.

Having a look at the limited drinks menus out there, that $425 will be needed for the 2 of us with our preferred wine at $11 per glass and some favourite cocktails $15.

Anyone see the debacle that was the testing for last Friday's first sailing? Queues of people stretching down Tipner Lane. The ship left 2.5 hours late due to it taking some 5 hours to be tested and board the ship.

Virgin Voyages blamed the lack of staff at the testing venue, gave everyone an additional $100 OBC and free beer and wine all night on Friday.

On 8/1/2021 at 4:07 PM, garymfreedman said:

The virgin app was developed prior to the shpis rolloing out, and has been a piece of garbage ever since... The pandemic should have helped them improve it, but it has not.

I take it back, it was working fine until Fri and then if I close the app down and try to relaunch, nothing.

Have to delete the app and login in all over again. 

Such a pity because the agents on the phones are great, but the amount of stuff you are expected to do on the app makes it a challenge.

4 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

The buses exist, as obviously they have to return from the port having dropped people off after being tested.

 

The issue, I think, is that they don’t want tested and untested people using the same vehicles. But I did overhear a couple of drivers talking about a “dirty” bus and a “clean” bus so it’s conceivable they’re operating both ways. Don’t quote me on it though.

I've emailed Virgin Voyages to see what they say.

15 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

The port and the test centre are quite a distance apart. You are meant to drive to the test centre, park there while you get tested, then drive to the port, park, check in and board.

 

The problem is there are probably only around 60 spaces at the test centre and once they’re full you have to wait for someone to leave. Which would be fine if the process only took a few minutes, but it was taking 3+ hours so there were massive queues just to get in as no-one was leaving but lots were arriving.

 

The sensible thing, IMHO, would be to park at the port and get the foot passenger shuttle bus to and from the testing centre. But I don’t know if they’ll let you do that.

We are staying at Gun Wharf Quays the day before sailing and are a little disappointed to find out that we have get a cab roughly 2.8 miles to the testing area but if there is a shuttle bus from the port that would be useful. 

On 7/22/2021 at 8:07 AM, Chamoretta said:

I read somewhere on the app or website to bring something red for their party.  Other than that I don’t think you need to worry about any special attire.

On the U.K. sailings there is an event ‘A taste of Scarlet’ which appears to be as the name suggests, a cut down version of the Scarlet Night where everyone is enciuraged to wear red. 

16 hours ago, garymfreedman said:

I have had to delete the app and re download when that happens, and it works again. VV app is the most buggy, piece of crap app out there...

Think a lot of the cruise lines apps have been developed at short notice due to the need (as a result of the pandemic) for as much contactless processing as possible and as a result they are not working at 100% reliability. There are many reports of issues with Princess’s Medallion Class app and the one for MSC called MSC for Me. So it’s not just a Virgin Voyages issue. 

3 minutes ago, kevcharben said:

Thanks Pete those videos are very good and informative.

 

We are hoping to be on Explorer for the 1st time in December (covid permitting).

 

Is the verandah area on the ship an exclusive area or for anyone on borad?

As far as I’m aware the Verandah is for anyone. The cabanas are chargeable. 

Final vlog, a full ships tour

One more vlog

And the last vlog, is a tour of cabin 9064

Here’s day 2 (final day)

Here’s the vlog for day 1 - again!
 

Apologies folks we've experienced a technical hitch with our vlogs, so will repost them asap.

10 hours ago, Jayneykul said:

hi Pete
We loved the food on Cunard (especially the grill suites) but the entertainment was so dire we don’t want to go back to them. Got a Saga cruise booked for next year, an ncl n celebrity for this year doubt the ncl will sail though. Marella is very expensive for what they offer unless you wait till the last minute for a bargain. We booked  a suite on discovery 2 in 2019 it was a terrible cruise for the food and service I think you have had a lucky escape!!!

We liked the food on Cunard, but it's the strict dress code that puts us off (although we do dress for dinner but not a jacket every night) and to price of drinks, really high these days.

4 hours ago, Jayneykul said:

Thank you all for your comments! I will certainly complete the feedback forms to let Marella know but they might be a bit sick of hearing from me about the food in the restaurant! After our cruise on Discovery 2 in 2019 we complained about the food and the drinks service and received a voucher which we used to pay for the seacation so it was very cheap for us. If i had paid full price or been on for longer i would have demanded a different cabin. Also Pete, on the other ships we have always had upgraded wines on the premier package this was the first time we have been told there are no other wines available? 

Pensioncruiser the bands were The Collective (lead singer Zoe) and Demboyz. The singer was Dave Almond? piano player Ryan Green and the music director I cant think of his name sorry. They were all very very good. 

IMO those balcony cabins should be charged at much lower rates or made into solo cabins, the bed configuration is not acceptable.

Having only been on 1 P&O cruise (Britannia) i would say IMHO Marella wins hands down. Didnt like Britannia at all. 

Does Marella compare to Celebrity or NCL (The lines we travel on regularly) entertainment wise yes. A definite no for everything else and before everyones starts saying its not comparable the prices certainly are. Im paying much less for a celebrity/ncl cruise  i have booked when everything is taken into consideration and better perks from them. There is also the question of the lack of loyalty programme which stinks that Marella dont have 1 

That’s my view re other lines, we started back in 2004 on RCI and stayed with them for many years and then went Celebrity and were wowed. Then onto NCL and again fantastic for the price. Cunard definitely a no from us, P&O, the jury is out but we are due to try Iona in 2022. Even Carnival gets a bigger thumbs up than Marella and as this was only 11 days after MSC Virtuosa, no comparison. To be honest quite relieved that our Muscat to Cyprus on Discovery 2 has been cancelled because it wasn’t cheap and if the food and drink options were similar we’d be very disappointed. 

Here’s our vlog of day 1

1 hour ago, Jayneykul said:

Hi Pete 

I have now read your review and would say that things seem to have improved on the second voyage as far as drinks service is concerned, it was excellent in all venues apart from surf & turf where it was dreadful and we ended up cancelling our desert order and drinks because we had waited so long! The food and service in the dining club was fantastic we booked for there as soon as we got on and were told by staff that if we wanted to book for subsequent nights we could do that there and then we didn’t but quite a few did. We tried to book at 10pm for the next day surf &turf but the app wasn’t working so had to queue at the desk. We got in for 9pm the following night that was the only availability which was strange as I was at that desk at 10 on the dot. My food in surf &turf (sharing platter then fillet with lobster) was very good but my husbands ribeye was not good at all. The last night we ate in the tapas that was very good, service excellent. After our experience on discovery 2 in 2019 my husband was loathe to eat in latitudes but we tried it for lunch it was again terrible. I had chicken salad, the chicken was so dry & hard it reminded me of the scene in national lampoons xmas vacation where the turkey explodes. My husband had ploughman’s and it was vile, potted blue cheese that was so strong it took your breath away and no pork pie that was replaced with a scotch egg. That’s the end of attempting to eat in the restaurant on Marella . The food in market place was very good, service excellent. Didn’t eat from the snack shack or nonnas. Our cabin was absolutely awful. It was 8237 we were excited to be allocated this as we pay extra on celebrity for a “sunset verandah” but truly we couldn’t have been allocated a worse balcony. The bed is in an alcove fixed against the wall so only 1 person can get in and out. It’s right above squid & anchor smoking area and the noise from that venue at night was horrendous. On 2 nights it finished at midnight but on the karaoke night it didn’t. The entertainment was excellent the best we have ever had. The bands were both absolutely fantastic, the 3 singers/piano players very good, the shows brilliant. The entertainment staff really good, better than any other line. We had a fantastic time, would we go back on Marella? I would just for the entertainment but my husband says not because of the food 

Interesting that Surf & Turf has not improved. We had the sharing platter too, but wasn't too impressed by it. I agree the entertainment was very good. Would we sail with Marella again? Not sure, the food and wine offering needs to improve across the board.