cantgetin

This is the most full sailing I've been on. Between that and the "first come first serve" policy for shows, some large fitness classes. etc. there is definitely more standing in line than previously. Lines for dinner have not been bad, but for shows people are lining up 30 minutes in advance.

The weather has been lovely...warm and sunny. Not totally mirror smooth seas, but very gentle rocking. I'm sleeping great. No mention of anything other than required maintenance, but that doesn't mean that VV doesn't have plans. There is plenty to do--they always bring on extra entertainers and such on the long cruises.

I think it might depend on who the chef on duty is. We had it once where it was inedible due to the amount of pepper and once that it was great.....and I am not a big pepper person. The breakfast/brunch menu is the same, and that is basically good. The scones would be better slightly warmed and with a pat of butter or some clotted cream, but that never was. The rest of that menu is unchanged. Dinner at Extra Virgin tonight was good...no menu changes, we each liked our choices.

A few more updates... There is definitely a new B menu in Test Kitchen. The A menu remains the same. We are rotating every 3-4 days. Also, we witnessed a bit of a discussion between a crew member and a guest....bottom line, they have a vegetarian menu and a vegan menu and don't like people to insist that there are 2 vegetarian menus. The vegan and vegetarian rotate the same way as the A and B. RD still features the menu changes that were made more than 6 months ago (where they removed the "secret" items).

Thanks!

You basically have 2 options. You can buy it on board in another person's name (you'll need all their info, credit card number, etc.). Or you can buy it in your name and call VV to do the transfer. In that case, the money issue is on you--you paid $300 for it. You can give it to the other person or collect that $300 from them. VV doesn't get in the middle of that.

This is our 4th TA on VV, first time on Scarlet. There are some things different than 6 months ago that might be worth mentioning. There were BIG signs up in the terminal stating that upgrades were available and to ask any check in agent. We weren't interested, so I didn't price them. 2350 sailors on board according to the terminal check in person and an on board crew member. It wasn't our worst embarkation experience...it was our second worse on VV. There seemed to be a lot of confusion at the terminal. There were also at least 2 groups that missed the cruise due to flight delays or lost passports! We've encountered at least 3 crew that we recognized from Valiant, so that was nice. Had a couple cabin issues on check in which have been repaired. In The Galley, they did not put up the signs indicating the lunch specials the way Valiant did; you had to get close enough to see the specials. However, the dinner specials are now coming thru as notifications on the app as well as being printed on the daily info sheet. Many activities have changed times or are available at multiple times throughout the cruise rather than always being at 10am or whatever. There are 3 book clubs...not sure how that is going to work..We had book pick up for the first one today. Most of the menus (The Galley, Pink Agave) are unchanged....there have been a few more grab and go options than we'd seen before. Location changes were common--help with reservations was at a desk on 7 at embarkation rather than in RD, and there are some daytime hours in Pink Agave today for dining reservation assistance. Spa had an area at the big red desk on 7, but then sent us to the spa to confirm. Nothing big...just different than previously, so if you read that something was in RD, it doesn't mean the poster was wrong....just that it changed. Muster drill we literally checked in and left. NO demo of any kind. No need to even sit down. That's it for now....

Do be aware that Blue Extras and Deep Blue Extras are different.

I'm on Scarlet now, and it appears that brunch on disembarkation day is blocked was blocked until on board. I tried from day 45.....was able to finally book today (first full day of cruise). It wasn't available right after embarkation.

In my experience on other lines, it has depended to some extent on how many cabins are doing B2B. I was on a cruise where we were the only B2B and were advised that nothing would be open until boarding started. On another cruise, there were 125 cabins doing B2B and they had 2 dining venues open for us (one adult only, one family). The norm on VV is only Dine and Dash, but they can open others if numbers dictate

Odd, I've tried several times and they are not showing brunch on our last morning....hoping can grab a slot when we board. THey don't even show the time as existing; it stops at 12:00am.

OK, VV did a celebration cruise for the top 100 agents then a separate ceremony recognizing the top 10 agents. My agent is one of the top 10...but when I tried to google the celebration, it didn't list the names. What I would do is go to sites like YouTube or Instagram and some good agents put stuff there. Ask questions--were they in the top 100? How much have they cruised VV? Are they a Gold Tier agent (meaning have completed a bunch of VV training). This is a link to my favorite video about VV. I like to send new people to it because it was accurate as of the time of posting (there have been small changes since then...menus and such...and it is a "let me give you the info," not "LOOK AT ME." I lucked into mine--she answered a question on line and sounded experienced so I asked her if she was an agent...and the found out how good she is. But there are lots of good people out there. I truly wish I could name her, but that would get me banished from CC, so...... Tootles!

At dinner on VV, you "pay" whenever the server puts the charge in. We've had them ask to scan a bracelet at various times thru the meal and also had them tell us that they didn't need our bracelet (when we offered) and that they could put it in based on our cabin number...which they already had in their computer. I didn't think about it at the time, but the servers may have been instructed to wait until people were leaving or had already left the restaurant before entering the charge--I know that one night our charge didn't go in till able 2 hours after we had dinner with a drink while most of the time it would show up immediately. Of course, that could have been some sort of computer or app glitch as well.

Whether you are able to re-enter the ship all night long depends on the cruise line, but there is no requirement that you enter until the sail away time the next day. On VV, you are able to come and go as you wish...all night long and all the next day up to "all aboard" time. On other lines, we've experienced policies like "you will not be able to reboard the ship between 3am and 6am."

In the Med, taxes were charged when in port. We had the same cocktail on two consecutive nights. The second night while in port it was $1.50 more than the previous night. The menus do not reflect taxes, regardless of where the ship is. THey do include gratuity

Interesting...I've done the 3 previous TAs and each time it was reservations with a stand by line.

I removed the extra bands after boarding. Everything else you need is encoded in your red band, and those ribbon bands just get in the way of food, etc. I kept it in my pocket for a couple days, but never needed it. Cocktail party had someone scanning our red bands.

Exactly the reason for getting out of the EU....this means no taxes on stuff in the shops, drinks etc while in international waters. MUCH nicer for sailors.

Yeah, we've made brunch reservations immediately after boarding. You CAN do walk up on a space available basis, but if you know when you want to do brunch at The Wake or Razzle Dazzle, you can book it as soon as you board. If you have a reservation, you will have a seat. We have never been turned away at RD, but once were turned away at The Wake when doing walk up; they did offer a reservation for the next day.

The only time you would pay the Turkish tax is when the ship is in Turkey--either docked or within 12 miles of the land. You are right about the difference between the EU regs and Schengen regs--sorry. Right idea, wrong term. Since the cruise mentioned above visits Turkey, you will not be subject to tax any time your are outside territorial waters.

Med cruises are tricky on taxes. IF the cruise has a port in a country that does not participate in the "Sch something", then there are no taxes once the ship is in international waters. If all stops are in participating countries, then the entire cruise sales are subject to tax, regardless of where the ship is. And even if you waited "a few minutes," you might be surprised at how long it would take to reach that 12 miles. Yes if you order while in port, you will pay the tax.

Book on board means that there is a cost, and that this event cannot be booked until you are on board. First come, first serve means that there is no cost, but you line up to get in and hope for the best. Items that allow you to make a reservation on board means no cost, but you can reserve your spot after embarkation (mostly applies to smaller fitness classes). I think it stinks. I would ideally like to see a system where each person could make a reservation to attend each show ONCE during the cruise and then go to a standby line. On our first cruise, I couldn't get a reservation to Never Sleep Alone, and then learned that one of the repeat performances was largely empty as there were lots of no shows. Everyone should get a chance to see Dual Reality or whatever once during the cruise before other people can see it twice. But, I don't want to stand in line for 30 or 45 minutes in order to possibly get a seat. I'm particularly unhappy about the zumba and VHS going to "first come." I really don't want to put on my workout clothes only to find out after waiting for 30 minutes that there is no room for me.

Priority boarding and the cocktail party are open to both people in the cabin. Premium wifi is limited to either 2 or 3 devices (I've been told both by Sailor Services.). THey don't know who owns the devices that are on premium, but if you exceed the number, you will be charged. You can flip between devices--just be sure you log off of one before logging onto another. Last cruise, we each had DBE and were told it was 2 devices per person with DBE--that was plenty for us. On our first cruise with DBE, they couldn't seem to find mine (even though I had the email to prove it), and they told us it was 3 devices total....so I would flip between my computer and my phone. If you tic the box that says you are sharing a credit card, you can both use the coffee credit, as well as any loot and bar tab (DBE gives you $100 bar tab per DBE qualified person). This applies to any purchased bar tab as well as bonus on the purchase. Same basically with laundry--it would go down to one bag per room, but they don't care or know who's stuff is in the bag.

How things are handled thru Customs depends on the port...in our experience, it has varied. As to how the ship handles your stuff if you are changing rooms is that you pack it up and leave it in your cabin. Your room host will be aware and will move it to your new room as soon as it is cleaned and ready.

Rockstars have a reserved seating area and are cared for by their rockstar agent....