creativegenius

As usual, Virgin presents their uniforms in style. https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/virgin-voyages-reveal-their-crew-uniforms

The cost of a 5 day cruise is about the same as a 7 day cruise on any other cruise line. The difference being that all food, soft drinks and internet are included. Factor in upcharges for specialty dining, internet and soft drinks on other cruise lines and the costs are about the same. We booked in August 2020 after the prices drop back down to 'normal' vs the first few months which are a premium for the 'newness.'

I can't remember which ship it was but I do remember a shower being so small I felt like Buddy in Elf. We're booked in the exact cabin shown in the video for next August. Really looking forward to seeing what the Lady and Virgin Voyages is all about.

Did not notice this posted anywhere in the forum, if it was, my apologies for the double post. A video walkthrough from "Tour Doctors" of an actual Sea Terrace cabin set up.

Virgin Voyages LinkedIn feed is a great place to stay abreast of construction and see the latest images. Posted this past week. She's starting to look like a cruise ship.

Saw this on LinkedIn from Stacy Shaw, VP of Sales and Business Development: "In another move away from cruise tradition, Virgin Voyages will replace the Cruise Director role with a cast of dynamic personalities. Instead, they’re looking for drag performers, artists, painters, fitness gurus, foodies & more to headline ‘Happenings’ around the ship." Well this could be a lot of fun! We've sailed with some really amazing Cruise Directors and some really lame CDs. With a cast of personalities, there's bound to be at least one you like. Sounds like it could be akin to a reality show, but if it's done right, this could really be a lot of fun. The link takes you to the current Centre Stage Casting link. My guess is the Dynamic Personalities will be pulled from the performers. https://www.virgin.com/news/take-centre-stage-virgin-voyages

The Haven is the same cost of a Virgin Voyages 5 day cruise? I find that hard to believe considering we priced the Haven balcony room for a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean starting at $7000/cabin for the two of us. Can you please show me Haven pricing that is less than a 5 day cruise in a Balcony Cabin on Virgin? I'd really love to see that because we would book it if it existed. We generally sail the Caribbean for 7 days in a balcony cabin for $3500/cabin or less depending on the level of that cabin. We're sailing the Mayan Sol next August for around $3100 for the two of us. That's on par with a 7 day cruise on any other cruise line, but with all the meals included, that means we won't spend $300 - $500 for specialty dining, so the cost is a wash. If there is a Haven balcony cabin for $3500 or less for 2 people in a cabin for a 7 night Caribbean cruise, I really, sincerely want to know about it. My wife has really wanted to try the Haven but it's so much more expensive than the regular ship.

First off, you won't be paying for any 'speciality dining' so for us, that offsets the cost of $9 - $15 drinks which is what we usually pay on Celebrity, Royal and Princess for drinks. We have paid as much as $300 - $500 for speciality dining on cruises so reallocating that money we don't need to spend on Virgin to alcohol is no problem. We'll spend less than that on alcohol over the course of a 5 day cruise. As for not finishing the drink if you don't like it, I've had that happen quite a few times when paying for the drink and the server or bar has simply made me a new drink of my choice. In fact that just happened on the Crown Princess a few months ago when they gave me an undrinkable Old Fashioned. They replaced it with a Moscow Mule. So there should be no concern if you don't like a drink or even a meal if you paid for it, I've not known cruise bars to refuse to replace the drink for something else. They want you to be happy and if that means tossing a drink, it's not a big deal for them.

Actually it includes soft drinks and sparkling water. So no stupid upcharge just to have a soda or sparkling water. "Stay hydrated with filtered still and sparkling water, non-pressed juices, sodas, teas or even drip coffee if you need a boost."

As opposed to every other cruise line? They're all out to save and make money. Cruise lines have "premium dining' that costs more. Cruise lines have soft drink and coffee packages to cost more. Cruise lines have excursions that on average cost 100% more than if you book independently. Cruise lines register in countries other than the US because it's a significant cost savings. Cruise lines charge by the minute or by the day to use WiFi. It's ALL about saving and making money no matter the cruise line. No idea why you are so hung up over these beds. They are twin beds. The twin beds push together to form a standard cruise bed. They are not simply a cost savings, they are a design feature that Virgin has opted for. If you do not like them, then don't ever book a cabin on Virgin that has these beds. If you do not like the exercise centric nature of Virgin Voyages don't ever book a cruise on one of these ships. Honestly have no idea why you even came into this forum because your only motive seems to be to bash the Virgin experience before the ship has even been delivered. We get it, Virgin Voyages is not for you. It may not be for us either, but we won't know until we go on the ship and experience it for ourselves. We're booked for the Mayan Sol in August 2020. We can report first hand how the beds compare to some of the awful beds we've experienced on Princess and Celebrity in the past. They can't be any worse than the worst 'normal beds' we've experienced. Enough about the freakin' beds until someone has a chance to sleep in them next April. I

Captain Kate McCue is a podcast guest on Shipping Podcast, Voices from the Maritime Industry. https://shippingpodcast.com/captain-kate-mccue-celebrity-equinox-celebrity-cruises/

I personally have not had wifi issues on RCI. Celebrity and Princess yes. But RCI, NCL and Disney have all been solid. Since Scarlet Lady is new she should have plenty of WiFi capabilities built in. Especially since its free.

Its not a fold out. It is a split bed. The "top" has nothing to do with the main bed. It is two twins pushed together to make the bed. https://cruisefever.net/virgin-voyages-first-cruise-ship-will-have-beds-that-turn-into-loungers/. Very clear in the two photos. When the twins are split they are a sofa and lounger. Not a fold out sofa.

2/3 of the Virgin Voyages website is about Eat and Drink (of which all the food is included in the fare) and Entertainment. The only thing Virgin has done differently than other ships is put Fitness front and center in their advertising instead of grouping it under "Amenities." The other thing they've done is put some physical activities outside on deck which is quite clever. I've seen outdoor yoga on many ships, but actually moving parts of the gym outdoors is a fun and clever idea. So I'm not sure why you jumped to the conclusion that you have to enjoy fitness to take a Virgin cruise or that Virgin is catering to a fitness crowd. Virgin is obviously catering to a younger generation that predominately has never cruised. They are catering to people who still have visions of "The Love Boat" being the standard of what a modern cruise is. They're also catering to those who are young at heart as Sir Richard Branson so famously is. Virgin is not a 'fitness only' ship as you seem to be wanting to imply. It's an entertainment ship for an audience that wants to do a lot of eating (all meals included), wants to connect socially (WiFi included), wants to have some serious fun (drag queens and incredible looking entertainment venues) and then might want to work off all that food and drink the next day. Or maybe you don't and just want to sit on the big net aft or by the pool. We're booked next August on the Mayan Sol. Doubtful I'll take advantage of much of the fitness other than the treadmill. But that's not why I booked this cruise. This looks like they are building something completely different. And certainly going after a wholly different crowd than what we've sailed with the past 13 cruises. As a couple approaching mid-50's a wholly different crowd sounds like fun. Virgin has the right idea to eliminate 'specialty dining' fees, eliminate soft drink fees, eliminate WiFi fees. I'm hoping some of the other mainstream lines will take notice, especially the WiFi and soft drinks. Now if Virgin delivers on what they are promising it's going to be an incredible cruise line for those of us who want to stay young at heart.

To take advantage of the more personalized service in a smaller venue vs. the MDR. The MDR menus are not bad, but sometimes it can be a bit of a 'cattle call' in the MDRs during busy times.