SCruiseFam

32 minutes ago, Travel-and-See said:

YAY! I'm glad it got better! Have you seen Duel Reality yet? Don't miss it if you have the chance... it's the best show I've ever seen on a cruise ship by far!   And I agree, the food is legit good on Virgin! 

I didn’t unfortunately, and I really wanted to! Something to look forward to when I come back. 

On 3/20/2023 at 2:12 PM, AdoraBelle said:

Servers are definitely more annoyed-seeming, it takes longer to get someone's attention (especially if you're trying to, for example, eat lunch on a port day)

I thought I was the only person who noticed this haha! It was weird to see especially since with almost 4000 or so people on board crew members on Royal seem so happy and eager to help you. I almost felt I was bothering them on VV. 
 

But I’ll cut some slack considering they don’t seem to be used to the amount of people on board now. 

So the verdict is……it does get better. Thank you to the user who suggested using the app for cabin services because I decided to forego the “light” system all together and use the app to request my cabin cleaning. 
 

I didn’t go back to galley however, I was so frustrated with my initial experiences that I decided to simply go eat elsewhere. The food on Virgin is great. Like actually. I am so pleasantly surprised whenever I had a quick bite or at a restaurant. 
 

I was chatting with a  crew member and they said the past couple sailings have been at almost full capacity (doesn’t feel that way if you’re used to the bigger ships) but the crew can definitely feel it. I don’t feel it’s fair to rate the service I received (though not horrible) if they are short staffed. But note to Virgin, hire more crew members! 
 

I said earlier I wouldn’t sail on her again but wow I loved this itinerary. I think I would try her again. 

Today is Day 3 and I hope I come back with a better report this evening. 

Thanks everyone for your replies! 

1 minute ago, aviators99 said:

I'll echo everyone else's reply.  For the two sailings I've done, we met the attendant right away.  But we did board pretty early, both times, and went right to the room.  Using the app to let the attendant know we needed any sort of service was very effective.  Did you try that?

 

We also noted the same sort of problems in the Galley the second time, when the ship was much more crowded.  I left this feedback in the survey.  I spoke with staff and they agreed that they are underrstaffed in the Galley.  This should be solved by VV as they learn what they need, now that they are doing much better (closer to capacity).  Our sailing in a little over 2 weeks will be almost at full capacity, so it'll be interesting to see if they've learned anything.

I have not tried using the app for cabin services I think that’ll be much more effective than the light. Thank you!

10 hours ago, janbear said:

Wow that is absolutely not the norm and I am sorry to hear that has been happening - I am actually shocked that your cabin steward hasn't introduced themselves to you by now! Is there any chance you are using the red button instead of the blue one? I would definitely press the button on the tablet in the room for cabin service ASAP so this can get rectified going forward. You shouldn't have to be chasing them down to get this done that is for sure. 

 

As for the galley, do you see staffers standing around or is everyone just busy? Sometimes I think they mistake a single person as waiting for their partner and so don't approach. Also, I thought I saw that there are now signs on the tables with a little red flag that you can raise to alert the staff that you would like to order? 

 

I hope your cruise gets better soon! 

Everyone had similar questions so I’ll answer them all here! 
 

1. I was using the blue light. 
2. I had to call sailor services to have someone clean come by to the room. 

3. They definitely seem busy in the galley. Again I’m used to Oasis class ships so this ship doesn’t seem full to me but maybe it is to the staff so I’m trying to give grace. But also imagine waiting over an hour each sitting to not receive your full order.
4. I’m glad this wasn’t the experience of some responders here and I hope it’s not the experience of those that haven’t sailed yet but are planning to, but so far this has been my experience. 
 

Hopefully. 
 

I consider myself to be Virgin’s target demographic ( I’m in my early 30s, fairly tech savvy and I’m looking to have a fun/easy going time on vacation) and still its Day 2 on Scarlet Lady and I’m not looking forward to the rest of this vacation. 
 

Let’s start with the cabin. It just doesn’t get cleaned? No seriously, I’ll leave my cabin for hours and hours in the morning or at night with the light on indicating I’d like my cabin cleaned and no one stops by to clean it. Day 2 and I don’t know what stateroom attendant looks like or if I have one. Im

used to the Oasis class ships of Royal Caribbean, you know where you can leave your cabin for 15 minutes to get a coffee and come back with your bed made and towel monkey.
 

Next, the Galley. The idea of the Galley is great: take a seat, someone stops by to take  your order and they deliver your food to you. The problem is execution has me preferring the frustration of the buffet because what actually happens is you take a seat and wait 30 minutes or so to grab someone’s attention and then another 30 minutes for you to get 1/2 of your order and a lot of apologies. 

The positives? When the food eventually comes it’s actually very good. And I love the amount of quiet places to sit on this ship. 
 

I hope Day 3 and onward gets better and I actually get my cabin cleaned and my french toast, but I honestly don’t think I’ll sail on the Scarlet Lady again. 
 

Someone needs to convince Royal Caribbean to have an adult-only ship 😞 

2 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

All the info on testing is detailed on RC's website

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

No idea how I didn’t find this! But thank you so much! 

Trying to figure out my pre cruise testing options and rapid antigen tests in my area (surprisingly, I live in a rather busy part of Florida) are far and few in between. 
Most stores in my area are offering the RAPID NAAT (A Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) and I can’t figure out if Royal will accept it. Everytime I call I get a different answer (of course) does anyone else have more insight? 

On 4/24/2022 at 4:52 PM, nydney1 said:

Does anyone have any updates on Little French Key. I saw on Facebook they were having some issues.

Wondering this as well as their FB and IG posts are all warning people to not go due to current unrest. Not sure how much of that is true however 

3 hours ago, miraflores said:

Roatan: Diving and snorkeling. West Bay Beach is the place to be for sure.  Snorkeling there is a life-changing experience. The wall is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

 

Cozumel: Honestly, I'd get on the ferry and go to Playa Del Carmen/Tulum. 5va is a great walking street, with lots to see, eat and do...and prices are lower than Cozumel. I am a big fan of Cerveceria Chapultapec (https://goo.gl/maps/zqpMxr5vYksRC1b5A).  Great atmosphere, and really great prices. There's always a chance a cartel will come in and cut everyone down with machine guns, but the good deals are worth that chance.  If you're committed to staying in Cozumel, I'd just get a day pass to Hotel B.

 

Costa Maya: Seriously, F##K Costa Maya. Stay on the ship that day. It's a waste of time and money to even bother getting off the ship there. There are very few ports that I hate more than Costa Maya, and I've pretty much seen them all. It is everything that is bad about cruising...all crammed into a walled-in Mexican theme park full of gringos, and really sad dolphins.  Seriously...stay on the ship that day, or get as far away from Costa Maya as possible. Don't give that abomination of a port your hard earned money.

Any shallow areas at the West Bay for snorkeling? Several people in the group I’m going with can’t swim but are really wanting to snorkel. 

3 hours ago, miraflores said:

Roatan: Diving and snorkeling. West Bay Beach is the place to be for sure.  Snorkeling there is a life-changing experience. The wall is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

 

Cozumel: Honestly, I'd get on the ferry and go to Playa Del Carmen/Tulum. 5va is a great walking street, with lots to see, eat and do...and prices are lower than Cozumel. I am a big fan of Cerveceria Chapultapec (https://goo.gl/maps/zqpMxr5vYksRC1b5A).  Great atmosphere, and really great prices. There's always a chance a cartel will come in and cut everyone down with machine guns, but the good deals are worth that chance.  If you're committed to staying in Cozumel, I'd just get a day pass to Hotel B.

 

Costa Maya: Seriously, F##K Costa Maya. Stay on the ship that day. It's a waste of time and money to even bother getting off the ship there. There are very few ports that I hate more than Costa Maya, and I've pretty much seen them all. It is everything that is bad about cruising...all crammed into a walled-in Mexican theme park full of gringos, and really sad dolphins.  Seriously...stay on the ship that day, or get as far away from Costa Maya as possible. Don't give that abomination of a port your hard earned money.

 
Hahaha! I don’t doubt your take on Costa Maya. I can’t find any recent reviews of anything to do there! I always perfer to stay on the ship at one of the ports, I guess this one will be it 😵‍

2 hours ago, MellowMel said:

We always book independently with Nachi Cocom beach club while in Cozumel. It's about a 15 minute ride to their from the port. It's always very clean, the employees are very nice and the food is excellent. You let your server know what time you wish to go back and they will call a taxi for you to return. 

 

There are some sloth and monkey excursions in Roatan that I noticed on Royal's excursion pages. We have also gone to Maya Key in Roatan through a ship's excursion. There is the beach, a pool, animal habitats (we got to interact and hold a monkey). There is a buffet included that is wonderful. 

 

I have never booked an excursion in Costa Maya. We normally hang around the pool area at the port and enjoy guacamole and margaritas. 

 

Have fun sailing again!

Thank you! Unfortunately that monkey and sloth excursion has been sold out since I booked 😭 still stalking the cruise planner to see if a couple spots open up. I do believe Maya Key is still available, so I have to check that out!

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

We had this itinerary in 2019 b/c we wanted to go to Roatan for the first time but sadly high winds prevented the ship from docking there. 😭 We had a private tour arranged with Ronny's Tours there. Basically a driver will take you to see whatever you tell him. We were going to see sloths/Monkeys then visit a few other places.

 

Cozumel we've been to several times and just walk around the port to shop for a bit and get back on the ship.

 

Costa Maya has lots of beach resorts. This was a last minute cruise for us so the more popular ones (Maya Chan, Jamie's) were sold out. We went to a smaller one called Nohoch Kay and loved it.

Thank you for your suggestions! Oh no, I hope that doesn’t happen to us. Roatan is the only port I’m actually excited about going to haha 

3 hours ago, GEORGIEGIRL said:

Back in January (2022) we did this same itinerary. We didn't even get off the ship in Honduras as we have been there several times (we usually go to "Little French Key", a very nice, private resort).

In Cozumel we just went and searched on-line and chartered a little boat to go snorkeling (there were 4 of us).

In "Costa Maya" we just walked off the ship, rented a 6 seater "golf cart" and drove around, found a beach and just enjoyed a relaxing day. 

Thank you for your suggestions! I have to put some research in about Little French Key. A nice private beach is exactly what I’m looking for. I saw Royal has a “Big French Key” excursion which I’m assuming isn’t the same thing

It’s been 3 years since I’ve been on a cruise (thank you COVID 🙃) and apparently I forgot all things cruise related like how to find excursions!? I used to be so good at this…
 

Anyways I’ll be sailing on Allure of the Seas (May 22nd - 28th) and I can’t seem to find any excursions worthwhile so I’m looking for a bit of help. 
 

Ports of call are: 

Roatan, Honduras : (would love to see some monkeys/sloths and go to a nice beach). Will be cruising with friends who can’t swim but for some reason would like to book the shipwreck snorkel & beach break through Royal!?

Cozumel, Mexico

Costa Maya, Mexico 

Thank you in advance for any recommendations!

13 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Does not matter as you cannot direct which charges get covered by OBC.  All the charges accumulate on your onboard account, OBC is applied to the total at the end.  So as long as they are charging to your onboard account (which I'm sure they are), you are covered.

 

Thats great to know!! Thank you. 

13 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

You may even find them selling packages in the terminal, before you board.

 Wow really? I wonder if they would use my OBC in the terminal?

I have OBC that I won’t be able to access until I’m on the ship, I thinking about using that to buy a dining package. I’ve never purchased a dining package onboard though, I usually do it through the cruise planner. Does anyone know where I would go? Guest services? I’ll be on Symphony. 

Anybody going out of the port of Miami used a 28” size luggage? Or am I cutting it too close?

Great review so far! I can’t wait to see pictures!

2 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

We've been carrying on for the last decade of cruises.  Using the escalator has never been a problem.  

 

Also, the scanners are actually a little bigger than the ones at the airport.  So if you do carry on for the flight (like we do), taking them on and off the ship is really easy.

 

We also get to the ship around 1pm, so that we can go almost directly to our cabin, unpack and get on with the vacation.

 

You will be fine.

Thank you! That really put me to ease. 

Thanks everyone!

I plan to get to the port about 1, and just stay put until the rooms open. I’m always nervous about being that 1 in whatever that gets their luggage lost. I’d just prefer to have my luggage with me. 

7 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

There are elevators but I don't know about carrying your own luggage.

 

Thanks! You don’t know as in you don’t think it’s a good idea or you’ve never done it? 

Going on Symphony in June, and I much prefer to carry my luggage on. This will be my first time leaving from the Miami port and from the videos I’ve seen there’s only an escalator? 

Does anyone know if there are elevators at the Miami port? If not, did you or anyone you know have trouble carrying your luggage up the escalators?