WanderingBrit

I saw that in their IG this morning - I'm hoping he's still there in February when we sail.

That's been my experience too - the bag can't travel without an associated passenger for security reasons.

According to this it will be the first sailing from San Juan, as to ceremony I don't know. Valiant Lady Itinerary, Current Position, Ship Review | CruiseMapper

I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I don't believe Virgin has originated a sailing from San Juan yet - the rescheduled Brilliant Lady sailings will be the first.

Can you give specific examples? The USD - AUD conversion rate I'm seeing quoted is 1:1.5 - not 2x. A random view of a pub/hotel in Sydney suggests that wine by the glass is anywhere from 9-13, or 14-21 for a large, with cocktails around 19-22. I don't know how the pour size compares for wines, but the cocktail prices seem comparable at a 1.5x exchange rate?

What makes you think transportation to the pier is difficult to find? We're planning to use Uber, and a random check shows plenty of cars only 2 minutes from the hotel we're staying at with a $20 fare to the Pier.

We've had the issue with a slider slamming open/closed in rolling seas before, and prefer the latching door for this reason.

Sorry to hear this, it seems to be an increasing factor in cruise scheduling. Some cancellations I can understand - the ship not being ready - but when it appears simply that the cruise line has determined there's more money to be made by using their inventory differently it's very tough to accept.

We transferred to a First Mate over 6 months after booking directly with VV.

Do you believe they responded to a feedback card/survey, or something posted online? I ask because I discovered that the General Manager on a cruise we were recently on was a member of a FB group where I had shared some shortcomings with service, and within 4 hours they'd tracked me down and were fawning over us. It actually became almost intrusive, with senior hospitality staff apparently always knowing where we were and "checking in" with us!

Just FWIW: I found that Starlink introduces significant routing delays, possibly the result of carrier grade NATting?, and I got consistently better responsiveness - though not materially different bandwidth measurements - when I had my internet VPN enabled. Cruise Critic would not successfully post photographs unless I had my internet VPN active, but was flawless with it running. Smaller ship on a different cruise line, but still Starlink and we were above the Arctic circle where there are no "close to overhead" Starlink satellites.

I commonly see recommendations to ask your stateroom steward for a mattress topper. The bed is a couch, and vice versa, by design.

Makes no difference. I transferred my booking to my First Mate and still made all my payments directly with Virgin. If your First Mate (TA) tells you otherwise treat that as a sign you should be looking for a different First Mate.

That's been the feedback from others who's perspective I trust. I don't plan to book The Wake for dinner on our upcoming sailing - my wife is 95% vegetarian so it's not a good fit even if service and food were great.

We have DBE confirmed for our February sailing based on NCL Platinum status match, exactly as VV have suggested they would do. The match was confirmed within 24 hours of submitting a screenshot.

You didn't ask, but I'll volunteer an opinion anyway: having stayed in both an ES2 and a PV1 I would never again pay the extra for the ES2 - I'd put the money into traveling more often. We didn't use the "living room" as anything other than a dumping ground for stuff when we came into the cabin, and the arrangement of desk and credenza in the PV1 actually provides more space for this, and with better access to power outlets. Since society sets higher standards for presentation for my wife than it does for me, if I wanted to be able to keep her company while she was getting ready I'd need to be in the ES2 bedroom, whereas in the PV1 I could be comfortably seated on the couch or chair. An opinion that is free and worth every penny 😃

Correct, there are no cabins alongside the lifeboats, only the atrium windows. The lifeboats are on telescoping davits and are largely retracted into the hull when underway, so they don't even obscure the view down from above.

Sadly there's nothing comparable to the nice red leather tags that Viking sends passengers -perhaps as Virgin prices inch ever closer to Viking territory that will change? 😃

We're using HHonors points to stay for free at Hampton Inn & Suites on Isla Verde Ave before our February cruise out of San Juan 😎

We booked Empires Of The Mediterranean for March of 2025 at the end of May, and it's gone up by $450 per person already. Same seems to be true of several other lines also, not just Viking.

Understood, but we don't know that others were similarly afflicted on your cruise?

You're assuming that the intestinal distress was the result of onboard sanitation failings, rather than the varied array of food consumed ashore ....

At the end of July we rolled up at 11:35am with no one ahead of us and walked straight on after a quick ID check 😎

Absolutely standard - even when I'm able to print boarding passes they still say "Doc Check" somewhere on them.

I saw that a new Cast had joined Valiant, do we know how long their contracts typically last? Trying to determine if they'll still be aboard on the February 10th sailing next year - I'm guessing probably not.