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basketballdad

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Everything posted by basketballdad

  1. Went on the December 9 Panama partial out of Tampa on December 9th. It is always good to be at sea. Here are a few things I wish I had known on this cruise. PARKING. It's been a few years (and maybe 40 cruises ago) since we sailed out of Tampa. Thankfully we were close enough to drive. Frankly it is a bit confusing because the lots near the ship are not ship parking, they are for the aquarium. Do not attempt to park near the ship. The ship parking is a 4 story structure a block or so from the ship. There is a cheaper outdoor lot but you leave your keys your whole cruise with the people running it, and I did not feel comfortable with that. This year we were on MSC, NCL, and Virgin. WiFi calling and texting on Verizon worked perfectly on Verizon. Not on this ship. WiFi Calling and texting were blocked. This was frustrating because to afford all these cruises I had to be reachable. I tried setting up a VPN and still nothing. So thankfully for outgoing calls I have a VoIP app (GoTo) from one of my businesses and had to download another messaging app to text. We made it work, but it took time to figure out and was frustrating. I know most people go on vacation to get away from the phone, but I am not able to. I would say the internet seemed good (as far as speed, jitter, and packet loss) for most things people would do. I tried to get help from both the customer service and Pixel staff (their IT dept) and all they could do help confirm I was online. We even hotspotted to my wife's iPhone (I have an Android) and her texting worked but not wifi calling. If their staff would just say yes, you have the internet, it is working, but unlike other cruise lines, our routers or service does block some services or apps. Food is subjective but I found it good. My bathroom scales say I thought the food was really good. No need to spend extra on a nice restaurant when good food is included and you can spend that $50 or $100 on a nice place when you get home. I do like how on the free app you can see what the menus are (most ships do that now, in the old days we would go and look at the menu on the wall during the day which helped us determine how big of lunch we wanted). The shows were good but again subjective. We had some rough weather and they could not fully perform, but a few great voices. The band Boardwalk had a great variety of music for their demographic. We really enjoyed them. They knew what a lot of their passengers wanted to hear in my opinion. Be aware that like many so-called bands of today, they just have a drummer and sing to a soundtrack and fake playing the instruments. Sorry to reveal that, even so, the songs kept the crowd happy including me. Even though the ship was recently refurbished, the standard balcony bathroom still had the old green sink. Oh well, I would take a balcony at sea over a regular hotel room any day. And the green slide was a must. Did that while the ship was in the Panama Canal. Unlike anything I have seen at sea.
  2. A our 4 pm the last day you can select on the app your departure time. Latest is 1030 an which was full when we noticed we could select a time. The shipped docked about 4 am and was the first one in this morning. Watched others dock after..they come in and turn around by the virgin dock. It's actually an amazing view to see these giant ships come down the waterway and turn around by the virgin voyages dock then go park. Considering all basic tips were included we were surprised how extra friendly and persona le the staff was. Above a beyond.
  3. At key west we took the free bus around the island. Did the free part of the Truman White House tour then did the shipwreck museum. Felt the shipwreck museum was very good. Ring the bell on the tower. At Bimini it was nice n about a 15 minute tram ride. We got there in the first hour and got front row shaded seats. They ran out of umbrellas for rows behind us. The food was bizarre. Curry for an island lunch ?!!where are the burgers? And wow not close to enough chairs by the pool. But the beach was top notch. Well maintained
  4. Most the shows were r rater language wise. Except the dinner show which was pg 13. Very good show. Variety acts. Weird food at least the salads. Duel reality was rater g and probably the best show at sea. Outstanding. We liked it better than the diving shows on the oasis and symphony of the seas. It was that good. The 70s club music the last night in the manor was mislabeled nliot was not 70s music but mostly modern club music. Nothing wrong with that but they should label it correctly
  5. Virgin started as record company and we were supposed the lack of music choices. The main guy was an Irish guitarist playing sometimes his own stuff and unheard of Irish music. Followed by a Latin trio that played about 10 percrnt of what you might hear s house band play. Followed by a 5 piece band that played all over the board including cuban standards..as if anyone was from Cuba. The brother and sister duo the last day played mostly modern standards and we're good. But there was not a house band that played mainstream standards that you would see on bigger ships. The pipped in music was all over the board. And it varied from area to area at the same time. Seriously this was annoying. I listen to a ton of xm.radio and I called some of the music deep cuts on steroids. For example by the pool they were playing a bunch of 7nheard 9f songs, and a b side of a record (yes purists do vinyl sometimes ) came on. Serious I had not heard or played that in a decade. I bet very few people had heard that song and I only did because I own it and listened to the b side. Why the obscure music most of the time? The song I referred to never charted... Anyway the pool party did play dance music that was well known and the crowd got into it But having roots in the record business the music was at times awful..who plays deep deep tracks at times? Virgin does
  6. The ship above deck 7 is very narrow. Walk down the a or z halls and you'll notice this by the elevators. Not good or bad, just an observation. But things out on deck were lacking in space. 2 small pools and very few chairs.
  7. The bath has no shelves but it worked. Watch a YouTube video about the cabin. About 80npercent are sea terraces. The TV had few live broadcast channels ..2 bnc and 2 ESPN, bit a huge amount of free movies. Not that we came on a cruise to watch movies but we put one on as we prepared for bed 9ne night
  8. As you walk up by the porters they ask your cabin number (found on ap) and write it on the tag. Ours wrote one room wrong and thankfully my spouse saw it and corrected it! So watch. A few other things. The app shows your balances..loot, drink credit, ECT and is not on the TV like at some hotels. The cabin was different. The hammock is a chair, the deck chairs hard metal, the bath has no shelves, and the bed low. To store suitcases under bed just unzip them and slide them under open. My wife is brilliant as other a few other posters could not figure that out
  9. Just off..mixed reviews. Staff was outstanding and most friendly of 50 plus cruises. If you status match and are deep blue you stand in line with everyone, then as you go upstairs go to the far right line. No signs though They have a print out of those that are deep blue, and will give you a blue wrist band. It was 15 minutes parking lot to cabin. Great! When you get on board just by the premium internet package and a few hours later as deep blue you will see a credit. Made meal reservations and had a phenomenal filet the first night at the wake wow.
  10. Those prices are outrageous! More than I am paying for my entire cruise with a balcony!
  11. They way you parsed it gave the wrong impression in my opinion. I asked if there were shows that were non-sexual and I was fine if it was there for other people. Thats all.
  12. Ummm.... you quoted me: Yes, and OP said "Anything non- sexual... no drag queens, no sex themed comedy, etc" Where in the world did I say that?
  13. WE are not offended, just want a quite cruise with music, good food, no kids, good resort at Bimni and I think we found it with VV I wish some posters here would leave their judgements at the door. this is 2023 afterall
  14. stop judging us. No room here for extremists. ya, great food, no kids, good ports, a hammock, we will be just fine.
  15. wow what a myopic judgemental comment. Are you saying there is no place for a people who just want a cruise with no children without it being hyper sexualized or have alternative lifestyles shoved in our faces? Thankfully there are enough comments above to ensure we will have a great cruise and be able to enjoy great food, music, and ports.
  16. We are very much aware of what an 18 plus cruise is with no kids... but like all cruises there are things for each group of people. We are looking for things that fit us, and it appears that there will be lots of things that fit us. We are heading to a real good time... just like pg over r rated stuff ourselves... heck, up at 5 and in bed by 9 pm might be right up our alley... nothing like a sunrise at sea.
  17. perfect this is the info I was looking for... just facts, no judgement.
  18. Anything non- sexual... no drag queens, no sex themed comedy, etc... just regular stuff you would see on a regular ship? Again, to each there own... I am looking for some regular shows.
  19. Hey to each there own, we just like to avoid R rated entertainment, and just need to know what shows are more on the PG 13 side, on the Miami, Key West, Beach Club 4 day cruise on the Scarlet Lady. What shows would fit this bill? TIA!
  20. So wife and I are going to book soon a short cruise on the Scarlet Lady for July or August. Should we just use VV website? I heard VV status matches- do I book and then email or call VV? Or is that better to do by calling and then booking after status match is worked out? In the past sometimes I have seen travel agents or aggregators offer credits or gifts for using them instead of directly with the line. Does that work well with VV? Thanks in Advance.
  21. First I am soooo sorry! I had a bad allergic reaction to something, hives over 80% of my body, and when I went they loaded me with steroids and IV, and it was at 2 am, and it was over $2000. My regular insurance covered it after deductibles, but they rejected a bunch of it (about 1500) because the bill did not use accepted billing codes! So I am trying to get the codes to match up! So this works. I missed costa rica, and had to watch the canal from my room I hope you are recovering!
  22. Thank you so much for helping me! I have tried this form, and to no avail, but will try again. I really really appreciate you taking time from your cruise to help a stranger!
  23. Hope your cruise is going well. Hope you can get me that email address. Thanks!
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