creativegenius

Oh wow, I'm seriously jealous. I have been an air and space geek my entire life. I've watched the development of SpaceShip One since it's inception. The new spaceport looks absolutely stunning. As for the cruising, you've definitely chosen a "different ship.". This will be our 14th cruise on our 7th cruise line. Nothing we have sailed before is like Scarlet Lady. We are still not convinced we will fully embrace what Virgin is doing but you don't know until you try it. The food looks amazing though and that's what ultimately convinced to stay with it and take that upgrade. I really hope your husband likes it. Cruising is our favorite way to travel and unwind.

I didn't see that they scheduled another Birthday Bash next year. We almost went with the Cheeky Corner Suite, but decided to hold with the Sweet Aft Suite. Still the largest balcony we will have ever sailed with. Only Disney Fantasy Aft balcony was larger Here's hoping for a much better 2021.

Yes we did have to pay in full for the original cruise. Then we were able to take the offer for next year.

I'm not sure we'll ever know why Virgin designed the ship the way it did when the Caribbean was the planned itinerary. Obviously all ship builders have a stock design and each cruise line can modify that design to suit their own tastes. I agree with you that Virgin missed some unique outdoor dining opportunities when they eliminated the 'boardwalk' area that is very well executed on the Seaside. But if it was on Scarlet Lady, then the similarities would have been much greater. Beyond the paint scheme, Virgin does want their ship to stand out and not 'look like another cruise line's ship.' Virgin looks like they wanted more control over the guest's dining experiences by moving everything inside, especially with the clubs, lighting and music. The one place Virgin really got it right are the aft cabins, those balconies are absolutely huge and we ended up upgrading to a Sweet Aft Suite for our rebooked cruise in 2021. The one place they really got it wrong for a Caribbean based ship was the pool. That lone pool is useless for a ship that will regularly be in upper 80's to 90 degree (F) weather. We only rebooked because of the cruise credit offer they gave us and the fact that the food looks like it will live up to the hype.

They canceled our cruise so that was the offer. I'm not sure what they're offering guests if your cruise is still currently scheduled to go and you decide to rebook for a later date. You'd have to talk to your TA or Virgin.

That's awesome.

We were really leaning towards canceling our cruise prior to the current situations. After seeing Emma Cruises video and Ben and David's video, we were having second thoughts, especially because of 'that pool.' But then Virgin came up with that 200% credit towards a future cruise and $500 onboard credit and it was just too good to pass up. We really do enjoy trying new cruise lines and the food does look like it's going to live up to the hype. Plus we're sailing with another couple so regardless of the pool situation, we're going to have a good time. We were able to upgrade our Sea Terrace to a Sweet Aft Suite so we get access to Richard's Rooftop and one of the largest balconies we will ever have on a cruise ship. Our aft balcony on the Disney Fantasy is the only one that comes close. So we'll be sailing in July 2021 on the same itinerary we were supposed to sail in August. If you haven't see it yet, this aerial from her original entry into the Port of Miami really shows her off in the sunlight. The grey 'battleship' color really works with the red. The red pops a lot more than if the ship was mainly white. We're now really looking forward to meeting The Lady in 2021.

OMG I've never liked Diamonds International until JUST NOW. That is brilliant!!

It's a food court along the lines of what has been popping up all over the states. Multiple eateries in a single space. You just don't serve yourself like a buffet. They serve you.

But that's now a "sneak peek" cruise so I'm not sure what that means. We were supposed to sail Aug. 2nd

We are booked August 2nd. We have not received anything either. With the 'maiden voyage' on August 7th that would mean our cruise is canceled. That's actually fine by us because we would prefer to wait until much later this year or 2021 for our next sail.

As a brand, Virgin has always championed our customers and, most importantly, listened to them. With those principles in mind and based on your feedback, our team has made the very difficult decision to postpone the Showcase Tour launch and inaugural sailing season for Scarlet Lady until July 15, 2020, with our Maiden Voyage taking place August 7, 2020. What exactly does that mean? Our original sailing was August 2nd. We called our TA today and they said nobody can through to Virgin. I'm assuming that means our cruise is cancelled and we can get a refund.

Thanks so much for the kind words. I was the one who kind of started this forum when I asked "Is there going to be a VV Forum?" and it ended up being moved over here as the first post. 🙂 We are 50/50 right now. Looking into the MSC Seaside, Royal Harmony and Symphony of the Seas, Carnival Horizon and NCL Breakaway as alternatives. We have two weeks till final payment to decide.

First off, we chose to sail in August because that's after the initial price drop. If we wanted to sail first we would have sailed in April. We have watched and read reviews from reviewers who views align with ours. The ship hasn't been under sail yet, but the difference between the expectations and what is 'real' are different. The "REAL" price is know. $522/night for our 5 day sail. That's a real price for 5 nights to sail in August. The ships are not full now, it's obvious from the sales campaign they are not selling nearly as well as they had hoped. The loss of Cuba as a destination has definitely hurt the initial bookings. We've been cruising for 18 years, we're fully aware of how things work with a new ship and a new cruise line. The difference between expectations and reality are more striking than expected.

To make a drink package work on most any cruise line, you have to figure on at least 10 to 13 drinks per day. Cheap drink packages are around $89/day with the more expensive pushing $130/day. At $9 - $14/drink you need to be having quite a few drinks to make that work out. I can make the package come close to working if the coffee is included in the package. 4 or 5 coffees per day plus 5 drinks per day and it's sort of worth it.