DarrenM

39 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I get it: you believe that cruise lines offer drinks package to reduce passengers’ spending on drinks.

Thats not what they are saying. They are only talking about themselves. No one else.

I am pretty sure I got more than twice my moneys worth on the premium drinks package on celebrity. But that was just us.

For example. Pre evening meal, last night of cruise. We both had 2 cocktails in the martini bar. Thats 68 dollars there, and it was only 6pm.

Its hardly heavy drinking either.

I darent tell you what followed in the MDR, where the drinks really flowed. We met a lovely couple from Vancouver and we had a blast on the last night. Arrest us.

6 hours ago, MacMadame said:

I have a spreadsheet. Trust me, I've run every scenario.

I totalled up our first night on cruise and it came 220 dollars approx.

I could do that because I could vaguely remember how much we drunk. And the bartender in the sunset bar reminded me the following day.

By about day I reckon we were in credit, but who's counting?

23 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I am sure that there are people that do try to take the most advantage they can of the drink package, it's only human nature. But I cannot control what they do so I don't worry about it. 

This.

This thread is bizarre.

I dont go on the ship to ensure I get my "moneys worth"

But if we are having "one of those days" where the booze is flowing and we enjoying ourselves, having the premium drinks package means I dont have to worry about a bill at the end.

And when I am on vacation, worrying about money, or bills, is just not acceptable.

I am there to enjoy myself 100%.

Now if Celebrity have made a saving from us on our cruise of 2 weeks back, well done celebrity. You have some amazing buyers.

I had a great time, tried nearly every cocktail on board, and just let the world pass me by. 

And when back for 2nds and 3rds on quite a few of them.

OK Florence wasnt great because of it, but hey, Florence isnt all that anyway. (Controversial)

1 year and 26 days.

My god. I need a drink.

And I dont have a drinks package at home.

Does anyone know ow if you can use your bar tab to pay for the extras in the restaurants?

On 6/1/2024 at 2:05 AM, Giraffes said:

You can still drink past what your bar tab is. You will just be charged to whatever form of payment you give at check in. Besides the advantage of the bonus, you don't necessarily NEED bar tab to purchase drinks.

Oh yes I am aware of that. But I still prefer to ahve the comfort of knowing what I have paid prior to boarding.

If there's some left over at the end of the cruise and I lose it then its no big deal.

You know this whole simgle gender toilets thing.

I honestly thought this was just a media thing tryong to make people angry about it.

I didn't realise people actually cared.

23 hours ago, jon81uk said:

Even on a port day? I find that if we go off the ship in the daytime, we might have wine or beer with dinner, a cocktail in the evening and then simple mixed drinks in the club. But then I guess that’s still 3-4 drinks each on a port day, and 5-6 on a sea day, but most of them are under $10 a drink.

Yes even on a port day. On Celebrity constellation this year, as an example, we would be off the ship, say back on a 4pm.

Quick shower and shave, the shave was just me, and down in the bar for around 5:15pm for a couple of cocktails, then meal around 6:15pm. The couple usually became three. Then another 2 with the meal......I dont do wine, and being british, I cant stand gassy lager out of bottles.

so thats between 4-5. After the meal, its either a show (rarely) and back to a bar, usually the sunset bar on celebrity, or Eden on an Edge class ship.

At least 2 more cocktails each. Thats 6 each minimum. Cocktails are usually around 13 dollars. Thats 156 dollars a day. You can boost that up 50% on sea days. And then theres the night cap whiskies to take to the cabin. And the speciality coffees during the day.

Just to clarify something here. I dont actually drink when at home. lol

On 5/30/2024 at 1:18 PM, CruisingWalter said:

 

Well first off I'll say we sail many cruise lines and enjoy each for what they offer. It'll be 11 cruise lines for us in June and hopefully at least 12 before the end of this year. All cruise lines bring different things to the table and no cruise line is perfect. They're all awesome at many things and they're all terrible at some things, I personally can't sail one cruise over and over because I get bored of the repetition. As awesome as VV is, it would get old pretty quickly for me if it was the only cruise line I sailed. There are way too many cruise ships and experiences out there for me to limit myself, but that's just me.

 

Celebrity Cruises has over 20 departures in Summer 2025 in the Med from 9-12 nights, including multiple Edge Class sailings, so they are definitely not limited themselves to 6 nights or less. Looks like at least four ships are doing the longer sailings including 2 new Edge Class ships.

 

As for VV, you should enjoy how they do things so differently. The biggest positive for me is the lack of photographers and lack of 'package barkers' trying to get you to purchase the wine package, drinks package, dining package, etc... when you board the ship.

 

The food can be among the best at sea for the mainstream cruise lines. What makes it so enjoyable is the fact that you're not paying anything extra for what would be specialty dining experiences on any other ship. The downside is the restaurants are too small for the amount of passengers so as their popularity has grown, it's become a bit of a challenge to book the restaurants you want on the day and time you want to go. That's where it's a huge advantage to work with a TA because they can go into the booking engine when the reservations open up and secure your reservations quickly. The VV app crashes and burns many Sailors due to the system getting jammed up when reservations open.  VV knows they need to address these issues and are working on some pop up dining ideas to help spread people out.  The 'structured dining' is one complaint we hear from sailors who have become accustomed to 'anytime dining'. On most sailings you can't simply walk up to a restaurant at any time like you would with a Main Dining Room on many cruise lines now. You pretty much have to have all of your dinners planned out for a VV cruise. Razzle Dazzle, Pink Agave and Extra Virgin are the standouts for me along with the Pizza Place, Sun Cafe and Opa Hour at The Dock.

 

The pools are incredibly weak if you're coming from Celebrity. The Solarium on any Celebrity ship is our jam for any cruise. It's our favorite pool experience so far of any cruise line we've sailed. VV has the tiny lounge pool that's more of a plunge pool with a very small sun deck around it. Plus the oversized 'hot tub pool' that looks like a massive hot tub, but it's cool water. We love nice big pools that we can actually have a swim in the morning, but you won't find that on VV. We give the pools a pass because the overall experience is fun on VV.

 

Some of the best entertainment on the ship for us is at On The Rocks. VV finds a great selection of artists to play there and many evenings may be spent enjoying the vibe there. Of the Red Room shows, Duel Reality is still my favorite. Anything with a Diva is usually fun. 

 

The beds in the standard cabins are not particularly comfortable, they are convertible sofas that are more like IKEA furniture than the super comfortable beds you may be used to on Celebrity. The Rockstar Suites have fabulous real beds, but the Sea Terraces on down have the "Ikea furniture."  Again, we give the beds a pass because we do enjoy the overall experience and of course, the hammock is amazing in the Sea Terraces.

 

For me the very best cabins on any Ladyship are the Cheeky Corner Suites. Those massive wraparound balconies are sublime. We had one for our very first Scarlet Lady sailing and it was amazing. 

 

What's really fun about VV is that it truly is a 'come as you are' vibe with no pressure, no rules (other than the dinner reservations) and because so much is included, you're not constantly paying for things. It's a great social atmosphere to meet others because there is so much seating everywhere on the ship, you naturally join conversations and meet new people. As one crew member said on our first sailing, "It's like Summer Camp for Adults." That pretty much sums up a VV experience. When you sail VV you should have an amazing time. 

 

 

Thanks for this. Brilliant summary.

I would take slight issue with the cruises in the med for 2025. We can only go middle of June to Mid July. (Wife is a community nurse, so takes her hols when the schools are still in, as some of her colleagues need the time off when the kids are off)

I went to future cruises and got a number of quotes for this period.

Only Constellation is doing 11 night cruises, and its identical to what we have just come off this year.

Ascent is there until the first week in June only for 11 night cruises. After that its one week cruises only. There are some cruises up to Northern Europe but not in the med with other ships.

The only ship doing slightly longer cruises in the mid is Equinox. Which isnt an Edge class ship.

Last year Celebrity Beyond was doing 11 night cruises in the med.

If I could have booked an 11night cruise in the med on an edge class ship during my preferred period, i would have booked at future cruises.

There wasnt one to book.

20 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

It has nothing to do with age.  It’s about attitude.  If you’re hung up on your elite status and your privileges or expect the staff to kowtow and call you sir or ma’am, this is not a cruise for you. If you want to let loose and have fun, don’t mind a little risqué, and are open minded, you’ll love it!

This appeals to me a lot. I hate being called sir. I am just a regular person, like the crew.

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

Music on VV may not be bland, but depends on your tastes and which artists they have booked. There is always at least one band and one busker style performer. The band might play blues or funk, or could be rock covers or something else. The busker might do original songs on a solo guitar.

 

For club nights it varies between 90s/00s music at the PJ party, more funky pop/dance at Heartbeat and disco at Studio 72.

 

House/well spirits are $9 and there is no gratuity added, cocktails $13-17 and beer $7-10 if that gives an idea. 

Great stuff on the music front.

Anyone playing their own stuff works for me. Can always respect that.

Tribute acts I can do without.

Looks like I might need to add another 300 dollars to the tab.

We easily downed more than 10 cocktails between us last week. so theres 130 dollars a day straight away. Thats without the coffees, and the beers and the whiskies at the end of the night.

I have also bought three 300 dollar blocks of drinks tabs. and they have given me an extra 150 dollars for doing so.

After what we drank this last cruise, it might still not be enough........embarrassed to admit this. lol

whoops double post there.

I am not bothered about the entertainment either.

My musical interests will never be accommodated on a cruise ship, which always have to err on the side of bland.

I think I will like the quirkiness of the staff though, as I find suited staff to be too formal and very dull.

also I have no issue wearing a wristband, as i lost my room card twice in the first 2 days on Constellation.

It had nothing to do with the alcohol, honest.

also I have no issue wearing a wristband, as i lost my room card twice in the first 2 days on Constellation.

It had nothing to do with the alcohol, honest.

9 hours ago, zabs said:

I think it depends on your age. We are in our 60s and long time Celebrity cruisers. Tried Virgin this past winter and didn’t care for it at all. The ship’s design is very contemporary which we did not find to be comfortable in terms of public seating as well as the furniture in our cabin. You must wear a wristband at all times and the software required to make reservations for shows and activities 

was not reliable. The food was wonderful but navigating the reservation system for the restaurants was frustrating. We found the evening entertainment to be repetitive over the course of 7 days. At the risk of turning some people off I have to be honest and say I wasn’t happy that (most) of the public restrooms were gender neutral. Just not our cup of tea. 

. 

Well I will be 59 come the time of the cruise, but I dont feel it, or act it, to be honest.

Having just come off celebrity constellation, which I enjoyed, but felt like it belonged to bygone age of ballroom dancing, and afternoon tea, even though the lounge used for the ballroom dancing, dull lounge music, was almost always empty. Seemed a huge waste of a large space, just to accommodate those that wanted to do ballroom dancing. Which most days was one couple.

And I found the ship overall quite boring.

Whereas the edge class ships where interesting, and had lots of areas to explore. Particularly eden.

I am hoping I find the Resilient Lady interesting to wander around for 11 days as the wife sunbathes.

whats the issue with gender neutral toilets anyway?

No drinks package on virgin voyages but already put 3 300 dolllar drinks tabs on my account.

For each 300 tab bought virgin are adding another 50.

So I have 1050 dollars on my drinks tab.

Does anyone want a beer?

Well I never thought this would happen but next years cruise is booked on Virgin.

A long story but celebrity seem to have reduced their sailings the med for summer 2025 with edge ships only doing 6 night cruises.

So it's goodbye celebrity and hello Virgin voyages.

Should I be worried?

OK.

Tomorrow I am booking my first Virgin voyages cruise.

Celebrity have let me down for 2025.

So I can now confirm the days till my next cruise is 

395

Feels like a lifetime away.

On 5/25/2024 at 5:49 PM, ldubs said:

 

I think you need help.  Who voluntarily runs 5km every other day on a cruise!   

Also I forgot how GPS works. And on one run on a sea day, I did 5k in about 12 minutes according to strava

I have kept the record and now I am officially faster than mo farrah. 

On 5/25/2024 at 6:19 PM, olemissreb said:

I usually upgrade my drink package because it includes bottled water, specialty coffees, fresh squeezed juice and soft drinks. Plus just about every wine/bourbon on board. ☺️ I usually get a specialty coffee in the morning and fresh oj with breakfast, then grab a bottled water for a day in port. That combined with a drink by the pool, a glass of wine before dinner, 2 glasses with dinner and a decaf with a shot of Baileys after dinner and a nightcap while listening to muaic somewhere on the ship...yep I get my monies worth.

This.

I went to cafe al bacio many many times, and these were included in the premium package.

Also the cocktails there were something else.

On 5/25/2024 at 5:49 PM, ldubs said:

 

I think you need help.  Who voluntarily runs 5km every other day on a cruise!   

Lol.

Me and my wife.

Wasn't many others.

Still put on 3kg over the holiday.

And fornl those that don't understand why. I don't actually care. The cocktails were delicious.

I also did 6 no. 5km runs in 11 days.

I can also confirm I am better shape than the vast majority on our cruise.

Many of whom looked like the drank 10 pints  a day And went to the buffet far too often.

Just now, DarrenM said:

I drank more on the first night than I did in the previous 6 months.

 

I wasn't well in Florence.

 

To be fair we got on the ship early. The sun was out and the joy was palpable 

Still I had to write Florence off.

It was a torturous 90 minute coach drive there. 

I suapect I paid for the drinks package by day 3.

Hi. My names Darren. I am a cruise alcoholic.

And so's my wife.