mizLORInj

Wow Celebrity Vintages sparkling. I'll be trying that one out. Thanks for all this info; I'm onboard in a few weeks. I have been to Taino Bay while on Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady, but we were the only ship in port in Puerto Plata, and it wasn't bad with crowds that day. It's great if you're a pool person, though I prefer the beach and water access.

Been on a few Celebrity and one time on Scarlet Lady. I had booked the April 1, 2020 inaugural Scarlet Lady cruise, but we all know that didn't happen, so I used that FCC this past October. Friend and I got solos next door to each other; I think it was $1300ish for each for a 5 nighter (not a bargain), and we got some OBC from our travel agent which covered our (low) drink tab and a few trinkets. Yes wifi is included but I like being disconnected. Soda is included which was good since I like an occasional soda. Food was excellent. Loved the fancy ice cream and the pizza too. All included in cruise fare. One difference (other than no one under 18): no large theater with big production show on VV. Various smaller venues around they ship that were ok. I would sail VV again sometime but I'm in no hurry. I think it's best for people to try these lines and ships for themselves and I'm glad I got to see what it was like. I liked the hammock on the balcony, the cabin itself except the tiniest bathroom I'd ever had, beautiful decor and funky decor in some places too. Very nice crew. Some say they will never cruise another line again; I'm not at that point. I like variety and other cruise lines and ships. I'm hoping my upcoming Beyond cruise lives up to the fabulous one I had in Feb 2022 on Celebrity Reflection! From what I'm reading, I'm lowering my expectations!

Interesting about all dinner dining timing--my reservation for next month still shows me confirmed for "early dining" at 6pm!

I get OBC from my TA on all cruises. I do not ever book direct, and I have not ever had any issues (related to method of booking) on any cruise.

I had a wonderful cruise on Reflection in February 2022; ship was at half capacity. Not my first Celebrity cruise, or even first cruise post-covid-shutdown. Liked it so much, I did not hesitate to book Beyond for next month. I booked expecting things to be like my last cruise, but clearly the cutbacks will show. I like TWO lobster tails since they are small and it is ridiculous to have only one offered as included in already-high cruise fare. I guess I'll see shortly whether I'll be booking another Celebrity cruise. Yes, I realize all have had cutbacks. NCL increased their DSC to $20 per day (NOT suites) yet cut back on service and who knows what else. Is it everywhere? Yes. But Celebrity likes to advertise themselves as a PREMIUM line, which their pricing shows. They should be better than the main cruise lines, but are proving that that is all they are.

HI there! Need to know if in St. Thomas in February we will be on ship time (eastern) or island time (Atlantic). Anyone who has recently been or is on Beyond in St. Thomas, what was your experience there with the time?

Thanks. This link is what we needed. I had gotten the list on their website (not this brochure you included), which obviously isn't up to date. I wonder why E class ships aren't included. Thanks again.

Wow. So we don't get that benefit on Beyond. They need to update the Perks list on their own website. Thanks for the info.

It is this benefit I'm referring to, and we'll be on Beyond and would like to use Persian Garden one of our port days. And I see that it is a one-time offer--one port day. Just needing clarification if day embarkation counts, or is it for the whole port day regardless of hours in port. Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day)

To those who have used the spa as an elite benefit, can this be on the day of embarkation since technically you are in port? What about a day where port hours are 12-6---can you use spa only while actually in port, or for the day? And is this a one-time deal on the 7 nighter or can you go more than one port day? TIA.

This is for an infinity balcony cabin. You can clearly see the door for the cabin next door in the youtube cabin tours.

Hmm, the YouTube cabin tour I did shows the connecting door inside the cabin; opposite the bathroom door.

Hi all. All that was left in the TA's group category was one connecting balcony cabin on deck 8 port side aft. What has been your experience with hearing noise from the cabin you're connected to? I usually try to avoid this situation but here we are.

I know--the schedules are not 100% accurate. I was on Celeb Reflection in Feb and we were at Crown Bay.

Do you recall what the taxi cost was to Red Hook. . . assuming you were docked at Havensight and not Crown Bay?

Bed was as 2 beds together. So sort of a king bed. You could feel the split between them but it wasn't bad. Quite comfy.

I would say many many were in their 20s and 30s on this voyage. And then the rest of us. We had to give our age at one of the events and only a few were 40s and 50s. At this event only though.

I heard this too but didn't go to find it.

Yeah, we don't do this in NJ except for larger groups. That's why I noted it in the review -- for people who may not realize it. Like me! 🙂

Just back from Scarlet Lady today. Have also sailed on Celebrity though not the Edge class of ship. IMO entertainment on Scarlet Lady was not comparable to the major cruiselines. The shows were just ok. I missed the various trivia games too. The ship itself is very nice, service was great, and so was the food. I'm glad I tried it out, yet I will continue to cruise other lines, Celebrity included.

We are two friends who have cruised many times on various cruise lines. We wanted to check out Virgin Voyages. Flew to Miami the evening before cruise departure and stayed at the Holiday Inn Port Miami. Comfy bed, nice room; old worn out bathroom, though the toiletries were nice. They offer a breakfast buffet which was good. Across the street, the Bayside shopping area was a good place to wander and get a drink or eat. Enjoyed the Mojito Bar and had an awesome lobster roll at Mason's. Note the gratuity is built into the bill you will get at some of these restaurants. Hopefully next time in town we can do the ferris wheel for about $20 per person. Many touristy things like boat rides are here. Liked this area a lot. Took Uber to the port for about $10 including tip. Our check-in time was 1:45 and we arrived just after 1:30. Walked right up to the door (no line) and a lady asked if we are on the VIP list. Did not know if we were, so she checked and our names were there! This was due to cruise line loyalty level matching--we are diamond on Royal Caribbean so we got VIP Sea Rover status on Virgin. (You needed to provide proof of your level in advance, which we did. I believe this perk is only valid through this year-end.) Went up the escalator to a check-in desk, then through security and up to the waiting area which was full by this time. If people would put their luggage aside, there would be seating for more people. Called boarding group 1 (Sea Rover perk) at 2pm and onboard we went. Dropped our carryon at our sea terrace cabins on deck 13 port side aft. Our two side-by-side cabins were between mid and aft elevators. Cabins were nice and pleasantly appealing. I think this was the smallest bathroom I've yet seen on any ship. More eye-level storage shelves and a place to hang hand towels would have been good. Yet, I was thrilled there was no "toilet paper helmet." You know, the metal piece many places have on the toilet paper roll. So unsanitary. Yuck. The shampoo, conditioner and body wash were surprisingly good. There is a rain showerhead and also a hand-held that shoots such a hard spray it could cause injury. Not to mention get all over the bathroom. Back in the cabin, hangers and some shelves can be hidden by a curtain, and there is a safe and some more shelves and some rather useless shallow drawers too. Our fabulous cabin stewardess, Batania, showed us how everything worked. It was disappointing that my balcony had one peek-a-boo partition, but we were told these are all being replaced to be solid for privacy. We were able to have the partition between our balconies open for some of the cruise. The hammock was great! Tablet in my cabin did not work a few times. Many movies on the tv and a few news channels. We missed having a navigation channel showing where we are, where we're going, wind, temp, etc. Also we missed the bridge cam to watch while coming into port. I heard my neighbors' tv several nights which I don't usually hear on other ships. Did not like that we could not turn off balcony lights at night! Way too bright out there. Also could not tell if what I was seeing through the curtain was daylight in the morning or balcony lights. We were told my several crew members that this sailing had around 1,000 passengers. We learned from chatting with people that many were first time cruisers. We did have occasional wifi connection issues with their app, so Virgin has not resolved that ongoing issue. Wandered the ship and found a few places we really liked. Soon it was sailaway time so we headed to the pool area to get our champagne, and found a cute spot to sit for the cruise out of the channel. While I don't recall which shows were which night, we went to Never Sleep Alone which is run by a sex therapist we were not familiar with, Ashley something. It was entertaining to the point where my face hurt from laughing. We chose to be "not adventurous" so we were not seated in the area from which she chose audience participation. I did learn to use "2 statements, 1 question" to speak with people, so I did learn something! The other shows were just ok. A production show is missing from this ship. No comedians either. The acrobatics show in The Red Room was very good. I heard that people enjoyed the parties by the pool various nights. Lots of cool places for picture taking around the ship. Love their unique spaces. Walk each deck from 6 and above from bow to stern to check everything out. Service for the most part was good and most crew seemed happy. A few at Sailor Services were not very helpful. Wrong position for those people! We ate at all the restaurants except Pink Agave. Test Kitchen was the one we were most unsure of, yet it was the one we liked best. Our server Valentina was excellent. We were not dazzled by Razzle Dazzle. The servers tried but it just wasn't to our taste. Extra Virgin we had heard negative comments about the service, but our server (so sorry I forgot her name) was really good. The potato gnocchi was the best gnocchi I have ever had, but the pasta I thought should have been more tender and the bolognese sauce was scarce in the dish. Sea bass was delish. The Galley was good for breakfast items and even has breakfast all day. Best bacon at sea. Be sure to check out all the stations so you don't miss anything. Loved the ice cream place and had a cone every day. Pizza was good too. Different bars have different drinks, and all of the cocktails I ordered were $11. Some places close at odd times like mid-afternoon which is unlike other cruise lines that always have a few food venues open. Check the daily paper that you can pick up from the Galley or Sailor Services for timing, or check the app, which may or may not be working for you! The paper is not left in your cabin like other lines do. There are lots of great outdoor spaces at the stern (aft). The only forward viewing area is part of Richard's Rooftop, so for anyone not in a suite, you have no forward viewing, which I did not know or like. Lots of seating spaces along deck 7 on port and starboard, and a great outdoor place at the stern. Also had very good small plates you order from a server. The officers wear regular crew clothing, so make sure you read their nametags to see their position. We chatted with a few and all were nice and quite informative. I did miss seeing what country crew come from as that is not on their nametags. I had heard about all these secret parties, so I asked one of the entertainment staff we ran into about them, and her response was "ooh, the best way to NOT get invited is to ask about them" which I thought was a rather guest-unfriendly response. Never mind, we didn't care. There are no broadcast announcements. Nothing that tells you the ship's cleared in the ports or to leave. Also, we noted that several people who debarked with us did not know they needed to keep their ship bracelet out for their final scan. That kind of info would be helpful--maybe a First Time Cruisers event to inform them how it works. Ports. Puerto Playa in DR. We took a ~15 minute taxi to Playa Dorada for $35 r/t per person, and taxi stayed with us a few hours till we wanted to go back to the ship. Very nice beach, and on this Sunday it was full of family get-togethers which was nice to see. Cheap drinks and eats at a few places here. 2 chairs and an umbrella were $20. Bimini. Wow. Took the ship-provided shuttle for the short (couple miles) ride to the resort. 2 huge pools, tons of seating, loungers and umbrellas on the beautiful beach. There was some seaweed early in the day, but such soft sand. Would love to go here again. It was a unique lunchtime menu that I liked with a few curried dishes, but I heard others' comments about beach fare. (Royal Caribbean does a great job with food options on Coco Cay.) There was also a 3pm barbeque which I forgot to check out so I cannot comment on it. Bars here and you can use your cruise bracelet to pay, as well as water and self-serve soda. Small hammocks were so nice to relax in. Really liked it here. Next time will make a later dinner ressie so I can stay on the beach longer. Missed having a sea day before the cruise ending. Love that last sea day. Debarkation began a bit after 7:30am and we made our way out. There was a line at passport check though which we are no longer used to since Bayonne (Cape Liberty in NJ) and NYC both use facial recognition. Got an Uber to the airport and luggage was checked by 8:30am! We really enjoyed the cruise. Wanted to try out this new line for ourselves and we are glad we did. Virgin does a great job in some ways. We thought their nightly entertainment was a little lacking--at least compared to other cruise lines. Food was superb. Ship was beautiful. Could have used some doors that were sensor-opening as a few times both guests and crew had a hard time with plates or carts opening the doors. We will sail with Virgin again. We will also keep sailing with other cruise lines because we like variety!

I took a pic of my last (May 2022) Royal Caribbean cruise card and submitted to Virgin Voyages. Few days later got email from VV: Sea Rover perks for an upcoming Scarlet Lady cruise. I believe these are only for 2022 sailings though. Still, I'm grateful and I'll take 'em! Going on my first soon--Scarlet Lady. I was booked on its April 1, 2020 inaugural cruise but of course that did not happen.

I don't even see where it says agree to terms. . . did you do this on the app?

So I was able to do passport pic, account setup, check-in time. I cannot get past the contract. Even when I open all the minuses, there is nowhere to acknowledge the contract. What am I missing? Tried to do chat on my pc, but of course there are no agents available.

Great, thanks for mentioning. That's what we're doing! 2 balconies.