Janthere

7 hours ago, jcarter4551 said:

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. 

May I ask were you playing tables or slots? And was that 1-2K per day ? 

22 minutes ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

I've been somewhat chasing deals on RS suites, so my wife and I will be on the RL transatlantic next year.  First transatlantic for us both, but we did the Singapore to Sydney cruise last year.  So same # of nights and just one more day at sea.  I'll look forward to reading the updates from this cruise.

Same here - doing the RL t/a next year, did the Singapore to Sydney and first t/a too! See you on the Rooftop 🙂 

Just now, Rogueperson said:

One of the things I noticed is that Virgin seems to cater more to the short 4-5 day cruise as opposed to the longer ones.  There are way more of the 4-5 night ones as oppose to 7-8, much less a 14 nighters like this one.  I feel like with what Virgin has to offer, 4-5 seems very rushed.  Kind of like seeing how Royal Caribbean is scheduling 3-4 nighters on Allure of the Seas.  It feels way too much for the kind of stuff they offer.

 

I'm excited.  I got such a deal on this.

Yeah they really needed another ship in the Caribbean to do the longer itineraries - its great that Resilient will be doing those in the fall. We were lucky enough to sail on RL for 14 nights from Singapore to Sydney and we really loved having all that time to enjoy the ship.

I got a great deal as well for a RS suite! If anyone wants to still do this cruise I saw a couple postings since yesterday of people that can't make it and the prices were excellent!

Hello! I will be on this same cruise as well and will be following your thoughts as a first timer on VV (it is my 9th VV but first transatlantic). From everything I've read the 8 sea days will be a relaxing time with lots of activities onboard! Look forward to all of your comments!

The casino will be open on sea days and when the ship is not in port. It usually opens about an hour after the ship leaves the dock and stays open late if its busy

On 4/6/2024 at 1:14 PM, bdever said:

My mom just celebrated her 80th birthday with us for our first VV cruise, an 8 day Southern Caribbean sailing over Thanksgiving. She was the oldest person on board I believe but we had a blast! And now we’re ready to embark on the transatlantic (her first) in 2 weeks 🤗

Your mom looks amazing for 80! See you on the T/A! 

I’m on that sailing too. You can stay on til 10:30 or so and the gym is definitely available for use. 
 

yes on the soap shampoo and conditioner. No body lotion unless you’re in a suite. 

Yes scan your medallion every time you sit down at a new machine. The VP machine sill track your play for you. You can use cash or withdraw money to play against your onboard account but depending on your status with the cruise line and or the type of room you’re in you may get charged a convenience fee to do so. You May also  want to look into matching any existing land offers to your cruise line to see if you can get a comped cruise to start. 

1 hour ago, bajathree said:

IMHO Icon looks to me like Sponge Bob Square Pants....as an empty nester (kids grown up) I have no interest in that class ship. Unless it's a casino offering and that's why you are considering...I would be looking more into Celebrity Edge class ships.

I've done all the Edge ships and while they are beautiful the clientele they cater to is older than I enjoy. It is a casino trip so yes that is why i would consider it first and foremost but also just to see it and live to tell the tale 🙂 

Its been 20 years since I've been on Royal when my kids were little. I am just starting my research into possibly trying Royal and I saw that the Icon has a beautiful looking adult only pool area in the aft - does anyone know if this is specific to Icon or do other Oasis class ships have this as well? I read that the solarium is adults only but don't really like indoor pools. 

similar but different 🙂

Hi - does anyone remember seeing this slot onboard their ship? Im trying to find it for a friend who loves it 

I am waiting for pricing as well - currently booked on the May 3/25 T/A on Scarlet but am considering switching to this one

4 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Today’s plan is a simple one — heading to Nachi Cocum. If we get there in time we will be at our usual table in the corner of the pool deck😂😂. Come by and say hi. 
 

Also, consider buying the entry picture from Ivonne. She is a great lady who saved us a few trips back when I forgot my credit card. Good souvenir and only about $12. 
 

mac_tlc

I am at Nachi as well - will definitely stop and say hi 

59 minutes ago, Irishredhead21 said:

With regard to timing, last night I went to dinner around 7:30 in Luminae. From start to finish was about an hour and I have never had so many people come by to check on me. Between the Maitre d (twice), the head waiter, assistant waiter, bread person, and sommelier (who stopped by four times) it was a constant blur of well intentioned souls making sure I had everything I needed. I finally started taking smaller bites so my mouth would be empty to respond to all the kindly inquiries. I had the short rib appetizer, the “strip steak” (or we could just call it the mystery meat because although I don’t proclaim to be a butcher, it was definitely not a strip steak) and Daniel Boulud’s milk chocolate pill for dessert. All were quite tasty. A very nice first dinner that left me somewhat amused, but I also feeling well looked after. 

 

 

I dined solo in Luminae also last night around 8:15 and lets just say there was no lack of attentiveness there!

I too will be onboard starting Sunday - got my cruise comped through the casino but then was able to upgrade for next to nothing to a Sky Suite (deck 10 too) during that crazy price offering so long ago.  I am traveling solo this time as my husband is still catching up work wise from the month long trip I coerced him into doing in December. I am also booked for Nachi Cocum based on what I have read on these boards about it. Looking forward to a great week! 

4 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

If there's a bottle missing from your bar each day, and no sign of it being consumed, I think they'll stop replacing them. MRS or not.

Actually we often take a bottle or two from the bar to the pool to set up a bar there for the day. We have never had an issue with it not being replaced. 

We are sailing on this same cruise - also Rockstars. Between my husband and myself we have 13 Virgin cruises behind us so on the other side of the coin from you. I also sailed on this ship a few weeks ago (Adriatic Gems in October). So the single biggest thing we have noticed is that this is not the typical VV clients on board which we knew going in. What we didn't count on and are somewhat disappointed in is that VV has changed the music to appease the large group onboard and we think in doing so have kind of changed the experience of their normal clients. Having said that today by the pool they do seem to have gone back to louder more upbeat music which is a very welcome change.

I am hoping once we hit Sydney and the regular shorter non-repositioning cruises they will be back to their younger at heart crowd and music. Regardless this certainly hasn't put us off VV cruises - if anything we are are looking forward to our next one even more knowing that it will be the fun, happy upbeat vibe we have come to know and love. We are just really hoping that all the Negative Nancys on this cruise don't go home and write horrible reviews about being on a cruise ship that they did zero research on and clearly aren't meant for. 

One other important thing (to some) to note is that due to Australian restrictions, the casino and shops were closed after we left Darwin for the night, are open today but then closed again for 3 consecutive days until the last sea day.

Glad you are enjoying your cruise so far and that your step-daughter was able to rectify the visa situation. 

Just now, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

You don't have to do one way flight for separate cities on the same itinerary, they're called multi - city tickets and can be the same price as round trip airfare to one city, except you get direct flights in both directions instead of having to stop in Barcelona on the way back. I've done this many times. No one wants extra stopovers. I tried to book as direct flights as I possibly can, but I do live near a major airport so it's a bit easier. I always booked directly with the airline, less middlemen the better.

Yes for sure a multi city ticket is another way to go. I don't live in a city with direct international flights from either Athens or Barcelona (business class is my preference) so I just assume I am going to have to make a connection somewhere. YMMV

5 minutes ago, zumbaqueen1 said:

Hello we live in West Michigan near Grand Rapids and will be cruising VV Barcelona to Athens October 11 to 21 cruise in 2024.  We got a good deal on the cruise and will be booking flights  ... 

1. Any rx airlines and routes for west Michigan departure to Barcelona (GRR , Detroit or Chicago viable departure cities) 

2. Arrival Barcelona

3. Departure from Athens back to USA

4. booking site?

5. Use travel agent?

6. expected range of cost?

7. Avoid ?

 

newbies here and trying to learn from experienced traveler input  and many thanks ahead of time...

 

 

Hi - I just booked my flights using points - if you have any of those you can get some good deals this far in advance. If not, my advice would be to do a round trip to Barcelona and then a one way from Athens to Barcelona rather than 2 one ways it will be much cheaper. Book it yourself rather than through a T/A but be sure to book directly with the airline rather than through expedia or other third party OTA. While you might pay slightly more it will be worth it if you ever have to make a change or cancellation it is 100x easier to deal directly with the airline. 

4 hours ago, DorothysFriend said:

Brilliant suite 14 229 Z was quiet. Upgrade in the « good » range for our sailing, which was not cheap but since I’d won the cruise, it was well worth it to travel with a friend and have 2 large beds. Wish I’d taken more pics of the room now and also wish I’d known I could have asked our fantastic RS Agent Igor for a sun lounger for the double balcony.

Its funny I did a double take when i saw this photo as I too am a Diet Coke drinker and I almost thought that was my Brilliant suite haha. I ended up winning my bid also (mine was the minimum "poor" bid and I was in a Brilliant 14237A. I did hear some scraping of chairs from above in the morning but that didn't bother me too much. What did bother me was the huge overhang on the above on the balcony. I wouldn't bid on anything on the 14th floor again for that reason. 

3 hours ago, Jetdriver787 said:

Absolutely loved it. Size wise, think Grand suite. Big bathroom (no tub) but huge shower. It was quirky (in that Virgin way,) but comfortable. We enjoyed being in it! The balcony set up was weak. The ubiquitous hammock was great, but the additional furniture amounted to a tiny table and a metal chair. That was our only real criticism of it, but our “Rockstar agent” said we should have spoken to her and she would have arranged for a lounger for us. We can’t help feeling that aspect of the layout needs a bit of a re-think. 
 

As for noise? When there was a party on the pool deck there was some overspill of sound and you could hear it on the balcony. I didn’t think it was overtly intrusive. Couldn’t hear anything in the room, nor did we hear any deck activity (chairs scraping, etc.) 

Thank you for the response. Good to know that the RS agent was open to arranging a lounger for the balcony.  May I ask what your room number was so that I may request that room if possible? 

On 7/11/2023 at 10:00 AM, Jetdriver787 said:

Just got back from a week on Valiant lady. Originally had a Sea Terrace cabin (regular) booked through the Virgin points offer, and was really looking forward to the "bargain of the decade!" Put in a cheeky upgrade bid on the available Rockstar suites at minimum bid plus £50 or so. Absolutely delighted at V-3 days to receive confirmation of an upgrade to a Brilliant suite! whole deal worked out at around $1850 (plus base points) for a $10,500 (at retail) suite! The whole thing was indeed brilliant. They also gave us a status match to our Royal Caribbean "Diamond plus" level, which only enhanced the otherwise excellent offerings. Very impressed with the food, drink, service, quality and friendliness. Would do it again in a heartbeat although that deal is unlikely to be on the table again!

Curious as to how you liked the Brilliant Suite - am contemplating bidding on one but concerned about the noise from above pool deck.

I didn’t even know that was a thing!! 

11 hours ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

Here's one from about a month ago (posted to IG on Aug 2).  Can clearly see the aft is not curved out like the other Lady Ships.  Hopefully the interior is further along. I think the key is hearing when staff will make it on board. Hopefully we start to hear some reports of managers flying over to Italy to get the ship up and running. I imagine they need at least 6-8 weeks to get the staff on board and trained.  Then sea trials and it will take 7-10 days to sail her to Miami.  Cutting it close! 

 

 

Am I wrong in thinking that perhaps the net (or provisions for one) on deck 15 has been removed?? If so I wonder what would be in its place?!