jcarter4551

Had the same question. I am frequent RCL cruiser and always get the drink package. This was the first time in all my sailings where I really had to run the math on whether it is worth it, or if I should roll the dice and pay as you go. I pulled the trigger because we are not planning to get off the ship in Nassau, have a sea day, and it works at Perfect Day. Thus, I will at least break even over the course of the trip. But, dang, the 850 (all in incl tax and gratuities) for 4 nights on Utopia. I imagine they know 1) you'll probably pay it since we paid the increased fare for a newer ship and 2) most days people will be drinking on them (sail day, perfect day, and sea day). I guess I need to punish them 🙂 People that have sailed in last few months on RCL, have you noticed any increase in the drink costs compared to a year or two ago? I just got off Virgin Voyages and noticed a 2-3 dollar per drink increase over a year ago.

A little backstory: My wife and I just came off our 5th VV sailing and prior to this, we were ready to take a break from VV due to the same old entertainment options and vibe. However, this past Med cruise was the most epic VV voyage we have sailed, and we already booked another Med for next year. Full disclosure, I am an Idol in the casino so we get comp cruises which makes it a little easier to rebook so fast, but I think VV has hit its groove. Entertainment: One of my biggest complaints was the happenings cast interrupting the vibe in the club and at the pj party, but they have backed off somewhat and are more focused on making the vibe even better rather than performing their choreographed dance routine. My second biggest complaint was that they would kill the music at the Scarlet pool party even though people were still dancing and getting after it. Yes, there is an afterparty, but keep the music going where it is and then kill it once people move to Manor. This trip, they kept the beats going until 1230-1245 am before shutting it off at the pool. And, on the scarlet night - holy smokes was it epic. I heard several other VV frequent cruisers saying it was the best scarlet night they have attended, and I agree. It was off the charts awesome. Lastly, VV has added more shows, to include a rock band show which is full of 90's and 2000's hits and its a fun time. Also, they had several other musicians who were very talented. Overall, entertainment has improved greatly. People: I feel like word has gotten out about what to expect on a VV. Its not your typical Celebrity or RC or Princess cruise...def more upscale than Carnival. But, I didn't hear one person complaining on this cruise; Rather, everyone was praising VV and their business model. On prior cruises, I heard people saying there is nothing to do, its too loud, the food is bland (lies), etc. I think people on this cruise knew what to expect and, as such, the cruise met their expectations. Most people were 35-55, with about 15% under 35 and 20% or so over 55. I saw one couple who had to be 75+ getting after it on the dance floor. Amazing. Anyway, just wanted to let any prior sailors know that VV has switched it up and made the experience even better. Def will keep sailing VV.

This is great news, especially because I think the price for drinks went up between now and our last cruise on VV in December 2023. Our bar tab this past cruise was 1500 for a 7 night Med. Of course, we were drinking high end bourbon but I was shocked at how easy it is to spend 1000+ on drinks now. Our bar tabs in the past on VV averaged 800-1000.

Just off a VV in Med and our bar tab (700) was all on my name. I was also one with DBE. However, my wife charged drinks and coffee to her band and the coffees never showed up on our invoice (comp under DBE), and the drinks she charged to her band came out of the 700. I don't know if that is normal or if it is because I gave her charging privileges to my credit card?

It does seem terrible to board at 3 pm or so but... I think one of the best things about VV compared to other cruise lines is the trade off of embarking after 1 pm but not being rushed off the ship or out of your room at 8 am on disembarkation day. There is no anxiety about staying up late the last night of the cruise because you can sleep in and get off at a slower pace. I know on RC they bang on your doors at 745 am or so. It is annoying.

For those that have done TA, what is the weather like on the cruise days at sea? I imagine its not warm right now and I need the pool to keep me out of the casino during the day. What do you do all day for 7 straight sea days? I am curious because want to look into one sometime.

100% that is accurate. should have walked away - dang it. 🙂 I was just focusing on people saying you need to lose that much and that's not accurate. Goal is get on their money and go wild to earn comps.

Most are focusing on slots and video poker to get to certain levels but I will offer you some perspective from a solely table games (roulette, bj, craps) player on VV. I am Idol per the email I received yesterday and I promise you I did not lose $35,000. My wife would murder me. I think over the 3 casino comp'd cruises I took on VV over the last year (Dominican Daze 5 nt, Key West 4 nt, and Ibiza 7 nt), I lost close to $10,000 of my own money over the 3 trips. However, I was playing 50-100 hands/rolls/spins and I made good friends with the dealers and manager so maybe I was rated better. Every cruise I have been on VV, I "earned" or "lost" my way to a free cruise so we have a Rome trip coming up and Turks in September. Other cruise casinos aren't as generous imo. To me, VV is awesome because you get to choose your comp cruise. On RC, I have to go by the dates they give me and certain ships are limited. For instance, they won't let me do Icon of Seas on comp. On VV, I just call them up and tell them which sailing I want and its done (7 nts and under). Further, the 15-20k in free cruises I have received exceeds the losses and my wife and I would do the trips anyway. Its a wash to us! I just wanted to give some perspective that I think table games may be the play on the VV Cruise. But, overall, I think their casino program may be superior to other cruise lines.

Pretty good start if you ask me. Also, of significance is if you go to that link you posted, it appears they may match your casino loyalty status at other casinos.

Maybe they screwed up the cost but I’m not going to correct them lol. table games count. I play a lot of roulette. I agree that being nice to dealers (tipping even though not required) helps. The casino manager will come to know you if you are there every night and putting money in play. you also get drinks for free while playing which is huge perk.

No - it’s 7 nights at 218 all in. Great deal for sure!!

All table games. I can’t speak to slots.

Yes - the comp I have received is always for me +1. You just pay port fees and taxes. For Ibiza/Rome this summer, I got an XL Terrace for $218 for both of us for the week. Add in my losses for the last cruise and I guess we are even lol. For your other question, every night they would send me $200 worth of wine/cocktails on the casino. Thus, say I was eating at Wake. The server would come over and say "the casino has offered you $200 towards a bottle of wine." They also comp'd my wife's spa treatments at the end of the cruise. I was gambling in casino every night though and putting at least 1-2K in play for reference.

the best is the guy with the weed that approaches the Key West police officer and says "hey, that's my little bag of weed...is that a problem." Officer: "yes its a problem" bro, don't turn yourself in...plead the 5th. LOL

I have gotten my comps 3 ways: 1) The casino host had me fill out a form in google docs that created a certificate. I still had to call the casino department; 2) The last cruise, the host told me to just call the casino department and gave me the number; and; 3) I received an email out of the blue from Virgin casino department offering me a free cruise out of Barcelona. I again had to call the casino department. I only play table games and no slots. My budget is $5k for a cruise, or 1k max per day. I play 25/hand/roll minimum up to several hundred. However, if I get up on their money, I will cash those chips in so it appears I am putting more cash in play. I don't know what their thresholds are, or what my average is, but I have received 5 free cruises from them. For perspective, my wife plays about 300/day and bets way lower than me (thankfully!). She has never been offered a free cruise though she benefits from my comps.

Thanks for background on Heartbeat. I didn't know that had a story behind it. I agree with you that Studio 72 is the last night and people are tired. But, I think if it was a different genre it may help with getting people to the club. I mean, you can off the ship at 10 a.m., unlike others that push you off at 730 am.

My wife and I have a VV cruise already booked in April (Turks) and then in Europe in July and just the other night - as we were up at midnight EST trying to ensure we got the restaurants/times we wanted for the April cruise- stated that she needed a break from VV for awhile. Even though we get comp cruises through the casino, I tend to agree. As you said, the shows are always the same thing, you can only do Scarlet Night so many times, and the hassle of setting up restaurants is annoying. I do love the vibe and crowd on the cruise ship, but that's all there really is to do for us - gamble, drink, party. I am hopeful they start adding different types of parties/shows onboard, ditch the 70s dance club night, switch up scarlet night, and stop interrupting the dance club vibe with the happenings cast. I was just on a RC ship and their club was more lit up than Virgin...which shouldn't be the case.

“Free” - you’ve probably saved yourself thousands in losses lol. I’ve been getting “free” cruises for years on Virgin and RCL and I think it’s cost me more in losses than paying for all those cruises. The upside is when you do lose in casino you don’t feel as bad because you chalk up the free cruise to the win.

If they want to compete with other cruise lines they will offer loyalty points. I know with Southwest when I use points for free flights I don’t earn points. But, the cruise lines operate differently, or at least NCL, RCL and Carnival give you points towards loyalty status. I guess for me as a gambler, I don’t care about loyalty so much as the perks offered (free drinks, free shows - not applicable to cruises, free upgrades, spa treatments, etc.)

I recently booked a casino comp cruise on Virgin and noticed that Deep Blue Extras wasn’t showing up. This will be my 5th VV cruise and 4th through the casino. I had DBE on each of the prior cruises despite being a casino “comp” cruise. After I inquired, I was told DBE no longer applies to casino comp cruises. Most interestingly, I was told the casino is rolling out their own loyalty program on Virgin cruises. I don’t have other information aside from this, but this sounds promising. When we sail RCL or other lines on casino comp cruises, our loyalty status is still recognized and the casino comp cruise counts towards loyalty points and reaching the next level. Thus, I was a little concerned that we weren’t building loyalty through virgin casino comp cruises. So, I was happy to hear it’s because they are rolling out their own loyalty program and benefits. Now, DBE is only nice for us for the priority boarding and extra bar tab, but it’s a nice gesture by Virgin.

I feel this 100%. In fact, my wife and I just completed our 4th VV sailing in December and we didn't even make it to Scarlet Night pool party even though we dressed up in scarlet. It was like, meh, I am more interested in the after party anyway. I like the PJ party because it is different and usually a good party. However, the same old Diva and happenings cast show gets old. Additionally, as much as the happenings cast was kind of cool the first sailing, I found them to be somewhat annoying in the dance club at night. They would come out at the time when the club started hopping and would totally kill the vibe the rest of the night. Thus, I agree that VV will need to do some different things to get repeat cruisers. The only reason I have some additional sailings on VV booked is due to the casino comps making it "free." Thanks for your reviews!

Thanks so much! This is what I was thinking would happen.

Thanks Walter. My wife and I are big virgin voyage cruisers as well so appreciate your advice there. I am hoping this Hideaway is a lot like Virgins private pool and beach party at Bimini. Is that accurate? I do love a good tractor pull but def not what my friends and I are about lol. appreciate the feedback everyone.

Hello CC community, I am doing a cruise with the bros next weekend on Freedom (3 night bender cruise). This will be my first time to Coco Cay since Hideaway Beach opened up. My buddies and I are torn on buying the Hideaway Beach excursion. Question for those who have been to Coco Cay since this adults only beach opened: Is it lit or not? We generally just go to the swim up bar that is in middle of Coco Cay. Have the normal party people at the swim up bar now gone to the Hideaway Beach? Any reviews or suggestions are much appreciated. BTW: It is $40 so I don't care, but my buddies are cheap as heck. They will spend 1000 gambling but refuse to spend on things like this unless its guarantee party. Thanks again.

I don't know what your dispute is, but on 2 separate cruises they charged me for the beach towel and I called their CS department and they quickly took care of it and refunded the charge. You can also dispute it with your credit card company even though the charge posted and cleared. But, I would try RC direct first.