Janthere

22 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Is your Sky Suite an offer through Blue Chip Club? Given that they comped you a suite (rare) you're probably SapphirePlus or above? Never been able to get a suite comped so far even as Sapphire.

My husband just corrected me on the suite - it wasn't fully comped - the price was significantly reduced and we paid the difference. 

Hi everyone - I just booked what looks to be an AMAZING 7 night cruise on Valiant Lady - French Daze and Ibiza Nights - June 25 to July 2/23. Please use my link below if you would like $50 Sailor Loot.

https://virg.in/JKP3

I am enjoying following along on your Live from Solstice. It's interesting to read about X from someone with fresh eyes so to speak. I cruised on Solstice from LA in November and am doing so again in April (both comped - first one in Sky Suite and second one in Aqua). Thanks for posting the pics of video poker etc. I hope you find Lady Luck soon! 

I have read some reports that they have recently replaced some of the old slots with new ones. When I was on in Nov many were broken especially the Video poker triple play machines. It looked like they were in the middle of upgrading some of the touchscreens for accessing your points etc as well. Are you able to get cash on your room through the machines yet or do you know if you still have to go to the cashier to do so? 

So far do you think you have a preference between Holland and X? 

Seriously VV would make so many people happy with just burgers and fries on Bimini. Its not complicated 🙂

10 hours ago, Chrish2 said:

I've had a request to change this link to https://virg.in/Jumg and seeing as the original link errors I see no harm in changing.

 

I've seen this error before and wondered what causes it. Out of curiosity for the rest of the board, did you modify your booking in some way since September?

No not at all - so strange. No wonder i have no sailor loot haha

I enjoyed reading your review and all the photos. We board Valiant on Feb 11 for 8 nights and are even more excited now after seeing how much you enjoyed it all. When is your next cruise?

Safe travels home 🙂

3 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

I would and probably try to go to the other side of the island. The port city was sad. Our bartender was telling us about how after Maria no one wants to rebuild but they also don’t want to sell. 

That is so sad to hear especially since that storm hit in 2017! Thank you for your thoughts on the island - we will look at Christiansted instead of Frederiksted. Enjoy your sea day! 

Looks like you have an amazing sea day! Quick question - what was your overall impression of St Croix? would you book another cruise with it on the itinerary? 

We are doing this same cruise next month so I will be following along. Thanks for doing this! Hope your group has an amazing time!

The video is great - definitely makes me want to go back on Virgin! 

Did anyone notice that comfortable looking red lounge chair on the balcony in the first scene? I wish they would replace the hard metal grey chairs with those! 

On 12/31/2022 at 12:33 PM, CrazyTrain2 said:

I use Global Entry.  It's a bit of PITA to get but it includes TSA Precheck.  Once you have it, it is pretty easy to renew. 

 

 

Sadly no Global Entry line on disembarkation for Virgin the last time i sailed with them (october) 

12 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

leaving earlier does seem to make a difference - we usually stay till 10:30 and book that disembark slot accordingly because we either have late flights or fly out the next day.  the previous couple voyages before my last, it took over 90 mins to get off the ship thru customs.  a couple before then, the captain came on the PA at about 10 and told everyone to chill wherever they were because the gangway was backed up.

 

my last voyage, i got off around 9:30 and breezed through in under 15 minutes.  felt like the wait for the elevator with all the bags we schlepped off was longer than the actual customs line.  the bigger pain was waiting for an uber because we were then in the end crunch of every other ship completing their disembark.

Yes my husband actually left with the very first walk offs the ship on that sailing and there was no wait at all. Me and our friends sailing with us got off the latest you could but I will definitely rethink that for next time. Its too bad as I really do love not having to be out of your room super early. Travel day is such a downer day to begin with and Virgin's offer to let u stay on to enjoy the ship for a little longer was very enticing. 

19 hours ago, jon81uk said:

This is why Virgin encourages people to book a time slot to spread the crowds out. But the system used and the staffing is up to border control, it’s not something Virgin would have much say over.

All that is true - I am just surprised that a brand new terminal would not have the latest technology for immigration clearance

Our last cruise on Virgin was in early October. We elected to stay on as late as possible on disembarkation day along with a ton of other people who had the same idea. As such, there were really long lines to get through customs/immigration in Virgin's terminal V (almost an hour wait). I was surprised that in a brand new terminal they didn't have the new facial recognition systems for clearance. Does anyone know if this has changed and they do have them now? I am wondering if we should leave earlier if that would make any difference in the line/processing time. Waiting in line for an hour after a great cruise was a crappy "back to reality" moment thats for sure! 

10 hours ago, lakegirl16 said:

I have a move up for this Sunday.  When I look it shows pending but won't allow me to modify.  I know others on this has itinerary have received their confirmations, since it's past 48 hours.  I thought you received an email either way but maybe only if confirmed?  Thank you.

Hi @lakegirl16I think we may have bid on the same royal suite for Sunday's cruise? I got an email today that our bid was unsuccessful. I bid pretty low ($900 total for the 2 of us) from a sky suite so I am not surprised and are cool with our existing sky suite. Mine was showing pending for awhile too. 

See you on the ship!

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Last night they had Silent Disco in Retreat go hum

 

 

 

That seems like a weird fit for silent disco in that room. Looks like it didn't go over well. Although maybe if my hubby and I had enough to drink we would get a kick out of being the only ones in there with the headphones on LOL 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I just looked her up -   Yacht Viva

 

 

It is the 85th largest superyacht in the world, and is believed to be owned by billionaire Frank Fertitta III, the CEO of Station Casinos in Las Vegas and founder of Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

 

Valued at $175 Million.

Pretty sure after all the money Ive spent gambling at Stations Casinos over the years I own a portion of that yacht LOL! That thing is huge!!

11 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Yikes!!  This is my biggest fear!  Could you tell me how long you had them before they stopped working?  And these were Bose sleepbuds?  I was thinking about buying a backup pair.

@helen haywoodThe Bose sleepbuds for sale now are Version 2. I believe the problem with Version 1s was with recharging them and Bose actually took them off the market and refunded those who had purchased. So far everything I've read says V2 has addressed that issue.

27 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

I bought them, based on Jim's recommendation earlier this year. They do work well to dampen noise, including snoring. However, for me, they are very uncomfortable. I am a side-sleeper, so I only wear one at a time (the other ear being buried in a pillow). When I almost inevitibly wake up during the night, I have to switch ears and sides. If Hubby isn't snoring too badly, I don't bother with them, and just play my sleep stories or soundscapes  on the phone. If he is, then the Bose buds come out. 

 

This is not to discourage you, just to make you aware of another experience. They do come with three sizes of silicone for the part that goes into your ear. Even the smallest is too large for me. Other folks find them to be comfortable. Hopefully, you will, too. 

@MamaFejThanks for that info - I actually had the previous version of the  sleep buds and was fine with those ones comfort wise (until they stopped working). I have a white noise machine that we always use but hubby snores at times which makes the sleep buds a necessity. 

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Finally found out the passenger count.   We set sail with 1,660 guests.   Lots of Blue Chip Free and Looks like a Travel Agent FAM group.   Saw them in a conference room presentation.

 

Solstice has 1,425 Cabin so at Double Occupancy of all room 2,850 and Maximum capacity of 3,800

 

At double occupancy we are at  58% capacity.    I was told the  last cruise they only had 950 passengers and a staff of 1,000.

 

The ship really feels empty and most bars even Martini Bar are often empty. 

Are you able to find out what the anticipated guest number will be for next week? Just curious 🙂

I like the thought of being able to amble up to the Martini bar and easily get a spot! 

On 12/4/2022 at 8:08 AM, Jim_Iain said:

Love the room but it is right under an area in Ocean View where they roll the cars of dirty dishes to the Service Area.   Started hearing them roll the carts starting at 6:30. 

 

Thank goodness or those Wonderful Bose Sleep Buds.   Don't  hear a thing.  

I just asked my husband to buy myself a pair of these for Christmas! Thank you for the recommendation. I think we might have been booked in the same cabin coming up on Sunday but i managed to switch it to one on the next deck below thankfully. 

Hello! I have just finished reading all responses to your initial post and I must say I am impressed this thread is already on page 10 and the cruise doesn't start for 2 more days! 

I have read many of your past posts and but am also mostly a lurker rather than a poster 🙂 My husband Michael (never reads CC) and I will be on the second leg Dec 11. We are also really happy not to have to fly to the east coast to board the ship!  

I will be following along this week - hope you have a fabulous time and look forward to hopefully running into you in Michael's club or on the ship somewhere 🙂

We are on Beyond at Port Everglades and we didn't make it out either. The weather doesn't even look that bad!

It's best to just call in to Blue Chip to ask what offers they might have for you. Good luck! 

1 hour ago, sdnich said:

I just got off the phone with the second Celebrity representative and they said they’re no longer doing down line debarkation.

it was a fun idea the cruise was cheaper with the blue chip club(free plus tax )  then flights down to Puerto Vallarta!! 

It is likely cheaper because Blue Chip is subsidizing the cost and is expecting you to gamble/spend as compensation for this. Different cruise line (Princess) but I did disembark early on a comped cruise and in order to get off I had to pay a certain amount to compensate for the lost revenue. I did in fact pay what they asked as I hated the ship and was miserable. (my last princess cruise ever free or not)