cantgetin

It can be.a long time from an interest survey till something happens.....

Yes, there is an area for each deck on the ship. All of our bags were together within the group. And NO trouble finding my ugly suitcases! I bought them for exactly that purpose--they stand out in a crowd.

On each of the crossings we've had comedians, mentalists, magicians, etc. My guess was that they were being brought on to keep us occupied for the 14-15 nights.

Very quickly.....I suspect they start taking things off as soon as the ship docks very early in the morning. If you forget and remove your luggage tags, your stateroom host will make new ones when you place your bags outside.....but that makes more work for the crew.

We've never been able to split a bar tab, but we've never needed to. If you click the box that says you are responsible for the other person's charges, it makes no difference which bracelet is used for which charges. Check you accounts in the app after a day or two, and if there is any problem, visit Sailor Services. 90% of what shoreside sailor services says is wrong.....at least that's been my experience.

THey will happily pour water into your glass for the drinking game.....and the game is a very small part of the experience.

Our bags have arrived at the cabin door less than 30 minutes after we boarded on each of our VV sailings. By the time we dropped our carry ons, met our cabin steward, and used the restroom, our bags were at the door.

You can select your cabin if you book thru a "First Mate" (VV talk for travel agent), call VV and book thru one of their shoreside customer service people, or rebook on board. If you do it yourself on the computer, you will be assigned. Best situation is to use a Gold level First Mate. They always have access to the best "deals" available, typically saving you some money on booking and getting you some additional perks.

If you click on the app that you are covering charges for the other person, he or she will be able to spend from all funds just as if you were doing it. This includes bar tab, loot, and credit card (if you use up the other two).

Average age on VV was 43 in 2022. I read a TA post that said it is now 48, but he didn't post a time frame, details on cruise lengths, or anything to make it more meaningful. m The range is 18-90s

The food on our October 2022 sailing on Valiant was definitely better seasoned than April 2023. Scarlet is better than Valiant also,

Priority boarding means you can show up any time from 1:30 on (used to be 1pm, but changed to 1:30). You will go to a desk that is labeled "Sailing Club" and get a ribbon wrist band IF they can find you in their system (don't ask). and you will be immediately admitted into the terminal. You have a special line if you are there as boarding opens rather than the timed lines. Your line will board right after Rockstar and Touch of Romance. We have always been in our room within 15 minutes of the start of boarding the Rockstars.

You will be issued a wristband at check in that will serve as your room key, charge device, etc. In addition, since you have the status match, you'll get a ribbon bracelet. You do not need to WEAR the wristband--you can carry it in a pocket or whatever. You just need to have it. Since you are a solo, there is a solo meet and greet on the pool deck--embarkation day prior to sail away. There is also a solo dinner that evening in RD; usually it is 6:30, no reservations needed. You get to meet some of the Happenings Cast as well as other solo sailors. On our long cruises, there have been solo activities on most sea days. If you have difficulty making reservations, you can call VV shoreside sailor services and they can do it for you.

We borrowed a salt from The Galley when we couldn't get salt in several of the restaurants.....no, it didn't go home as a souvenir and now we know to bring a plastic one from home. While I don't doubt that some do disappear, some restaurants seem to never have any.

The activity schedule can change even after boarding, Looking months ahead does little more than provide a general idea of what might be happening.

VV states that any the two bottles of wine you are permitted must be in your carry on. That explains why your bag was held for inspection. Salt is a problem--some restaurants have it, others do not. After our first cruise, we started bringing along a resealable salt shaker which I could toss in my bag easily. Yes, it sounds dumb, but it works. We, too, got tired of "no salt available." We also discovered that some restaurants claim to not serve iced tea, so I carry my insulated cup everywhere. Enjoy the trip!

Totally agree--we got the wagyu once--definitely preferred the marinated beef that is part of the regular menu!

The coffee credit is automatically linked to your account. We never needed to show anything to get it. The Grounds Club person charged it by scanning the wristband, then the accounting system removed $10 per cabin. Same for the laundry. The premium wifi is per number of devices; the owner of the device doesn't matter. Yes, everyone in the cabin gets priority boarding, invitation to the cocktail party whether they have status or not. I've been seeing posts recently about each person in the cabin getting a $100 bar tab; on our two upcoming sailings it shows only one although we both qualify and got the acceptance email.

I wouldn't argue if they want to give you credit toward your next trip!

You will want to pre-book dinner, even if you adjust your reservations after boarding. You CAN pre-book brunch/breakfast in Razzle Dazzle or The Wake, or just take your chances if you choose to dine there for breakfast. You can also have breakfast in The Galley or get pastries at The Grounds Club without reservations. Outside The Galley and The Dock are Grab and Go boxes that you can get any time. You can try a walk up at any restaurant, any time it is open. We've only once been turned away, but we've never been on a totally full sailing. Tea is an activity that you'll book after boarding. I don't know how travel agent work in the UK, but in the US a "gold tier" agent (meaning top training thru VV) can often get you discounts and perks that you won't get by booking directly thru VV. You might even check to see whether it is worth moving your reservation. If you have booked a Sea Terrace or above, you can often get a "my next virgin Voyages " certificate thru a TA which will give you a $300 discount and $600 in onboard credit (called "loot" on VV). In addition, based on timing, you can sometimes get even more deals! If you use an agent, you make payments thru them. If you keep your "on your own" booking, you can pay it off whenever you wish. If you pay in full prior to 180 days, you'll get 10% off the cruise fare portion of the ticket. THe status match is by cabin, not per person. You will get $10 USD per day credit at The Grounds Club (specialty coffee and tea), $100 bar tab, one load of laundry, a cocktail party invitation, priority boarding, etc. The wrist band mentioned in an above post can be removed right after boarding--it is a ribbon band and tends to get into food, etc. if you continue wearing it.

As above, your restaurant reservation will not be canceled. While I've read that the food at Ship Show has improved, it was quite awful when we did it a year ago. We didn't eat what they served and went to dinner afterward.

Not to be difficult, but the only possible answer is "whenever VV is good and ready to release them." THere seems to be no rhyme or reason to their releases so far. My suggestion would be to contact your travel agent and ask them to notify you when they get any info; they sometimes know a few days before the actual release.

People have reported being able to buy bottles from restaurants without difficulty while bars are not wanting to sell them.

That makes sense.

THey do serve Kalbi. There is a menu and you can choose from it. Typically the first time, they offer to bring you "the most popular items." It was a. lot of food. After that, we knew what we liked, so we just order that now. They start with ONE short drinking game,. and will put water in your glass if you request that. It is a simple counting game that takes a few minutes and it probably designed to spend time and interact with others at the table while the grill heats. The do ask whether you want the drink or water. OK, we had Korean BBQ in two different Asian locations. It isn't as good as it was there, but it was certainly good. Depending on the length of your cruise, I'd recommend trying it once. THen you can decide for the future.