Swells1

Virgin Voyages doesn't have cruise directors, and most people tend to rave about the entertainment on board. 

I bring the entire pharmacy. I get two weeks of vacation time, and I refuse to be ill for any of it. I bring medications that I have literally never taken, but I'm not taking any chances!

Because I take my time and pack well, everything fits in a 5"x7"x.5" pouch.

I always stick a magnet on the door when I'm cruising with mom, since her eyesight isn't great (and her memory is worse). I must admit, it's a nice souvenir to put on the fridge when I get home. I can't see myself doing those big, ornate decorations I've seen in the past- mostly because I would be afraid they wouldn't survive the flight.

OP- I believe NCL doesn't allow door decorations, but I've never had a problem with my magnet.

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

Random question…in all my cruises, I don’t ever recall seeing flies while on the ship. Last night there was one in my room annoying the crap out of me. This morning there were several flying around in the Wake. Is it just the area we are sailing or are we about to get overrun with killer flies or something? 

When I checked the CDC ship inspection reports a month or so back, that was really the only issue VV had. 

I might be losing my mind.
 

Back in September, everything kinda hit at the same time: I was approved for DBE, we were switched from BL to VL, and the stupid app finally started working for me. 

I distinctly recall boring my poor sailing partner to tears with the details. Since we didn’t get a lot of perks when we made our reservation, the extra $200 in sailor loot was a big deal and I mentioned it a lot. Of course, this is literally the only thing I never bothered to screenshot. 

So… a while later I got the magical email survey with the promise of $200 sailor loot on my next booking. Of course, we all know about that. I had to contact sailor services and was told it would be applied to my upcoming voyage. Woohoo. 

Only I have yet to see it. 

I printed up the confirmation email to take onboard, then I looked up the DBE details. Sure enough, the $200 sailor loot I’d been talking about for months isn’t listed as a perk. 

I recently replied to their resolution email explaining I hadn’t gotten said credit yet. The reply was, “The credit has been applied. We sent you an email. It might be in your Spam file.” No. I’m literally replying to it. It’s not hidden. 

Am I nuts? Am I entitled to $400? Where did the original $200 come from? Would the $200 from the survey be listed a different way? Should I just be grateful for the $200 I know I’ve gotten? Am I rambling? Does this make any sense? 

15 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Glass number two. I’ve definitely had better Hilton socials - this one had red or white wine and Stella. I love Stella, but I can’t drink it as fast as wine 🤣 For food there is a soup, veggies, salad, cheese, and crackers. The others I’ve been to had hot food, too. This hotel only offers the social on Wednesday nights so I guess I gotta pay for the other nights! Lol. 

Technically, Hampton brand standards exclude hot items from the Manager's Reception. You'll find it on occasion, but it's a push for better scores and will be put away during inspections.

1 hour ago, WanderingBrit said:

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.

Does that mean my sailing on the 13th of January on the Valiant will be the first sailing out of San Juan? Does that mean we'll get to see a welcoming ceremony? (Or whatever the official terminology is?)

All booked and doing my happy dance!! (It's helpful in keeping me awake, since I had to wake up at 5am for work...)

On 11/27/2023 at 10:16 AM, Awjeez317 said:

Doesn’t matter how close you are really haha. You’ll still be in cruise port traffic for an hour. That cruise port is crazy. 

 

We had a LOVELY time staying at The Gabriel. It’s like…RIGHT there and they have an amazing roof/terrace pool and some great views of the port and ships. We watched the Virgin Ship leave port from the balcony and it was really amazing. 

 

Definitely pricey so we used HHonors points. Worth it. 

I opened this thread to ask about the Gabriel. Thank you for saving me the time!!

My alarm is set for tomorrow (Tuesday) night to make my reservations. I'm getting so excited for this trip!!

Fancy! I like those. I don’t have a color printer, or I’d steal it. I laminate my own and use the metal eyelets and steel cables like those. 

I start preparing months in advance. I'm that nerd who considers cruise prep part of the cruise, and I like to spread it out over several weekends. One weekend, I'll pack my medical/ first-aid kit (and, yes, I bring an entire pharmacy with me). One weekend, I'll pack toiletry cases. You get the picture. I hope I never become so jaded I stop getting pleasure from prepping for a cruise.

As far as actually putting everything in suitcases, I do that two weeks in advance. The last weekend is reserved for post-cruise prep like tidying up, cleaning out the fridge (aka- eating all the leftovers from the last 10 days), making sure all the laundry is done, and scheduling any household maintenance that we've been putting off to be done while the ferocious lap dog is at the kennel.

1 minute ago, Antie_Moe said:

OMD - WHERE can I get this? I need it for myself and a few as gifts!

Amazon! Where else?

4 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

Unfortunately, this information is not correct: Clamshells are considered "equipment"!

 

• Please see additional restrictions below:
  • If the first guest purchases shore excursions tickets for other guests, the promotion and $50 Shore Excursion Credit will not apply to such tickets.
  • The first guest cannot purchase shore excursions for themselves where the duration of such excursions overlap in time.
  • For port calls in Great Stirrup Cay and Harvest Caye, the promotion and $50 Shore Excursion Credit does not apply to equipment rentals.
  • Pre-cruise and post-cruise land tours are not eligible for this promotion.
  • $50 Shore Excursion Credit has no monetary value, are non-refundable, non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for actual currency of any value.
  • Other guest in the stateroom are not eligible to receive the promotion or $50 Shore Excursion Credits.
  • Private and/or Custom shore excursions are not eligible for this promotion.
• Shore excursion credit can be redeemed by booking online via NCL.com, by calling 1-866-625-1167, or onboard.

It worked last year. Oh well. 

2 hours ago, Antie_Moe said:

 

I'm such a nerd I teach Excel to lawyers! 😆 Good on ya!

My favorite tee!

16 minutes ago, Antie_Moe said:

@Swells1 can you share a picture or file? I've actually made a bid for an upgrade and have not been notified if we got it or not, so I guess we'd just go by the cabin displayed in our app for now? Cruis is in late February 2024.

I'm kind of a nerd, so I used a simple excel spreadsheet. I was able to get 6 on one sheet. I just put my name, Virgin Voyages, Valiant Lady, Cabin Number, Sailing Dates and both of our phone numbers. 

(Here's where my true nerd comes in.) I printed them on red paper, cut them out, laminated them, and punched a hole in the top. 

I'd probably use the current cabin number for now, and carry a Sharpie if you need to change it.

If you have FAS, you can use your shorex credit to reserve a Clamshell on GSK, and that will give you a priority tender ticket.

16 hours ago, cantgetin said:

And that guy is the only one I've ever heard of who had a lost bag....I also had many questions about that video, starting with why was he checking luggage for a 3 night cruise.  Hint--air tag.  Never needed them at the cruise line, but it could help.  When I left my cabin and went on deck, it told me I was separated from my luggage and where the luggage was!  Secondly, the longest it has ever taken for my bags to arrive at the room was about 25 minutes after I arrived....normally before 2pm!  I would not wait till anywhere near sail away time to become concerned.  Our bags have sometimes been there by the time we entered room, used facility, dropped carry on, and turned around to go to lunch.  If I got back from lunch and my bag wasn't there, I'd be accessing my air tag and talking with both my host and sailor services.

 

If it's the same guy I'm thinking of, he really hates just about everything associated with VV, but insists on sailing with them just to complain. He also confessed in another video that he was hired on as an entertainer, but first said he quit then said he'd been let go. I don't trust anything this guy says.

That being said, I have heard accounts of porters writing incorrect cabin numbers, or writing them illegibly, so I made my own as a backup that I will apply at the hotel before we leave to board the ship.

I didn't think about printing them at the airport since I typically just store them in my Wallet app. Thanks for reminding me.

Since we're flying home the day we disembark, I'll need to do my online check-in the night before. My partner is a bit paranoid about using digital keys and prefers to have a paper backup. Is there a way to print boarding passes on the ship?

They are available on my TA's site. I'm able to book for Caribbean as well as Australian itineraries. 

56 minutes ago, billco said:

I am sure that in time it will be just like the other boards.

I hope not.

11 minutes ago, fmlsprtsfn said:

I can't agree more.  Other platforms can be unkind.  I don't know why people can't just skip over questions they don't like or don't want to answer.  

I also don't understand people who ABSOLUTELY hate a specific cruise line, and still troll their boards. I feel like they have too much time on their hands. 

This might get deleted, but I hope it doesn't. I have been a member of this community for 16 years now.. (Wow. Where does the time go?) I've spent many hours on practically every board. I have to say this is the best group of people out there. I can't tell you how many questions I've wanted to ask, even typed them out, but changed my mind for fear of being ridiculed. There's never any snark, or replies of, "Google is your friend", "Why didn't you just search for the answer?" or "The answer is on their website."

Everyone here has been so kind and helpful. I'm so glad I found you all.

19 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

they've extended DBE like 85 times already (or that's what it feels like at least).  i think they're just going to continue doing that at this point vs. actually building a loyalty program!

As a Virgin virgin, I'm okay with that.