cantgetin

The 2 groups on Grog Walk visit the same places but in different order and with different members of Happenings.  It is essentially the same experience no matter which one you do.

This situation has changed multiple times over the last 2 years, both in terms of cost for a single 3 hour block as well as whether or not there are multi-day passes available.  I think the price increases we saw were just that--an increase.  I don't know whether the availability of "length of cruise" passes relates to how full the ship is or some other factor.  All I can tell you for sure is that we've done many several cruises over the last 2 years and have not seen any consistency in thermal suite passes.....which is probably why you see so many different reports on line.

6 hours ago, madmedic said:

I'm nervous about editing my slot. What happens if I loose my original slot? 

You will only lose your current slot if you select a new one....so you see what is available and select it KNOWING that it is better than what you originally had.

 

8 minutes ago, Liao said:

This is great to hear!  I am coming over from Celebrity where I am forced to buy the premium beverage package and I don’t drink alcohol but I make great use of the premium coffee bar.  Thank you!

The beverages are perks if you have the Deep Blue Extras....I'm not sure about "Blue Extras," but you can see it on the VV web site.  If you don't qualify for the 2 free per person per day, it can be charged to you bar tab.  The pastries and cookies are free; the drinks have a charge of $4-$6 each; maybe a bit more if they add alcohol.

The regular coffee and tea at THe Galley is actually quite good also.

2 minutes ago, Liao said:

Do they have a coffee bar that serves iced lattes, cappuccino and such and are they good quality drinks?

That is called the Grounds Club.  The location on 7 serves free pastries, cookies, etc. as well as premium coffees and teas with alcohol if desired.  They also have hot chocolate. The one outside The Galley serves the beverages only.  Quality is in the eye of the beholder.  IMHO it is a lot better than Starbucks.

Yes, same price whether alcoholic or not.  It wasn't my "thing" although others love it.  I drink very little, and found the games to be not to my taste.  On the good side, meeting some of the Happenings Cast was a positive and can lead to some special interactions throughout the cruise.

55 minutes ago, hazeleyes46 said:

We will be going out of NYC so not sure how that will be compared to Miami. 

That's fair.....but we have sailed out of Miami and the European ports ad found the setup to be very similar.  There was a little difference based on the layout of the terminal (in Barcelona, security was first, then check in, then boarding.  In Miami, check in was first, then security, then boarding). No real differences, just what worked best in the space they had, I guess.

The app booking works the same, but as Walter said, it crashes....often.....We send our list of dining choices (night, restaurant, approximate time) to our TA a couple days early with a note that I will try it and notify her if I have trouble.  TAs have a different portal and can book for you and mine does stay up to do it.  You can also call shoreside guest services the next morning and they will do it for you.  My normal experience is that I get 2 or 3 nights booked and the app crashes....so I send a PM to my person and she makes it work.

App is crazy.

Processing starts at 1:30; VV advises you to not show up more than 30 minutes in advance.  We have always had 1:30 priority boarding.  On 3 of our 4 cruises, we were in our cabin by 2:00.  First cruise, we showed up at 12:30 and were politely sent away with instructions to return at 1.  At 1, we were allowed into the terminal and things followed quickly until we were required to wait for the notice to proceed to the gangway.  This was in Barcelona and things were a little different than in Miami in terms of the order in which they happened. They processed us, then we waited to get on the ship at 1:35.  In Miami, you wait till processing starts about 1:30, then go thru security and board.  Same steps, different order.

If you show up more than 30 minutes early, you MIGHT be kept waiting.  But if you have a late time (anything after 3), I'd show up an hour early.  You will line up by time, and as soon as the people with earlier times are completed, you'll be taken.  Then they just end the time system. It is not unusual for a 4:30 scheduled person to be able to get on at 3.

OK, if I had a 4:30 terminal arrival time, I'd show up about 3.  My experience has been that boarding is very crowded about 1:30 because so many have priority boarding, but it moves very quickly.  Normally people with late times are able to board 60 -90 minutes early because the earlier times have finished everyone who has arrived.  When you arrive early, you stand in a queue based on your scheduled time, but those are not the time the processing will start.  If the 2:30 queue is finished, they will move to the 2:45 regardless of time, and continue thru the lines....to the point that late times get taken far earlier than planned. Worst case, you are kept standing till your time.

A huge percentage of dining reservations are held back until after boarding.  You can access them on the app as soon as you can log on to the ship's wifi (it is called "mermaid" something).  Same for booking dinner show--on the app.  It will not be Sailor Services on 5--they are dealing with app problems, room issues, etc. There will be a location for crew to help with  reservations; normally dinner reservations are in Razzle Dazzle restaurant, but on our last cruise they had moved to Pink Agave.  There will be many crew on deck 7 and deck 5 to direct and assist you.  Excursions always fill very early, but VV has a generous cancelation policy so it never hurts to check back on the app and at the desk.

Soft drinks are coke products.  There are self serve devices in The Galley.  Most bars have a "gun" system and will happily give you a glass of whatever they have available.  A few bars and room service have cans available and will give you those.  There is no charge at any location.  Also restaurants will have it available.  

Basically the ships were designed for visual appeal and to be "different" rather than for comfort.  The planning teams wrongly decided who their sailors would be and were gearing things toward a different audience.

7 hours ago, Eric&Pam said:

There will be a team of folks to help book dining reservations at Razzle Dazzle.....head there when you first board.

As I said above, on our last cruise (May 2024, Scarlet) the dining assist was in Pink Agave. On previous cruises, it was in RD.   There were plenty of crew members on the 7th floor to direct you to the right place.

Many VV agents purchase their limit of MNVV each time they sail and resell them to clients.  You are looking for a Gold Tier agent, preferably one who was in the top 10 in 2023.  We aren't allowed to recommend agents here, so not one can share a name.  Sorry about that.  Other sites do allow sharing. Also, if you find an agent who had an on line  conference with their sales person and book within the time limit, you can get a little extra perk beyond the MNVV.

On our first cruise, there was a lot of pop up entertainment....that seems to not exist any more.

Reservations open for normal cabins 45 days before cruising.  A large number of reservations are not available at that time and are held back until after boarding.  As noted, there will be a location where people will be available to assist you in making dining reservations on board.  While in the past it has been in the Razzle Dazzle restaurant, on our most recent cruise on Scarlet Lady it was done in Pink Agave.  Whichever is used on your trip, there will be crew around to direct you to the correct location. The sooner you get there, the more options you will have. These will also be available on the app....but you can go to the restaurant location and stand there trying to get them on th app while you wait your turn to be helped!

No, you will not be stuck in The Galley for all meals.  However, the nightly dinner specials in The Galley are often very good.

We have done it with a different cruise line.  You can do it as a "walk up," independent of the cruise lines, and it used to cost less; it functioned as a Hop on, Hop off situation.   Or you can pay a bit more and do it thru the cruise line, but that was a "we will spend this long at this stop" thing.  Ours did not include admission to the Truman house or the Hemmingway house....just a pass by and see the grounds.  Again, different line, things may be different.

Benefit on your own--more freedom, lower cost

Benefit thru cruise line--ability to cancel per cruise line policy, no issue if port is canceled, known departure and return time, only people from the ship on your vehicle.

We've had at least one comedian on each of our sailings (Valiant and Scarlet)...but we don't book short cruises. That might make a difference.

If I am at all interested in bidding, I make a computer note as to what the higher category prices are when I purchase.  Sounds silly maybe, but  getting a decent savings always feels good, 

1 hour ago, HolsAddict said:

We've just returned and I have the DBE but both of us could have 2 speciality coffees per day without charge 

That is interesting....I thought we were each getting 2  free as we each had DBE.  The web site says that benefits are per person rather than per room, and that is what we found on our most recent cruise (May 2024)

5 minutes ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

So would one fresh squeezed OJ purchase cover breakfast delivery for two in a cabin or do I need to order one payable item for each occupant to wipe out a double delivery charge??

 

And since I mentioned OJ, is it “real” fresh squeezed from fruit or those aseptic press packs? 🍊

Any purchase covers the delivery fee regardless of how many people are in the cabin.  You can order 4 burgers and fries + 2 steaks and purchase a $5 coffee--no delivery fee.

The delivery fee is the same whether you order one bagel or 4 full breakfasts.

The premium juices on our cruises were not called "Fresh Squeezed."  They were called "cold pressed" and were served out of cartons from specified bars at certain times during the morning.  There was no "fresh squeezed" OJ on the room service menu.  You can get them in some restaurants and room service as well as the specified bar locations (it is the one by The Dock and the one by the gym)

12 hours ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

Is the delivery charge $7 per person or $7 per order? How exactly does this work? Never tried it.

As above, the delivery charge is per order, regardless of order size.  And you can order a $4 hot chocolate or $5 specialty tea and have the fee waived--any charged purchase eliminates the fee.  It was interesting that on our first 2 cruises, the fee for the charged item went to our "loot" while on our more recent cruises, it was charged to our bar tab.  

19 hours ago, steve thfc said:

Are the beds in rock star cabins better than sea terrace? I was told mattresses are better 

The beds in suites are totally different and much better.

13 hours ago, hoklun said:

Ramen in the galley should be a lunch/dinner option rather than breakfast/lunch 

Some of the crew from Ramen and Panini place work the restaurants at night.  My guess is that ramen wasn't the most popular dinner place so that's one that they close.

14 hours ago, steve thfc said:

I will need to get off at 730 also. Tottenham vs Arsenal sat sep 14th. Have rock star so should be no issue I assume. 

Rockstar won't help if there is a medical situation on board!  Normal self disembarkation will start some time between 7 and 7:30.