carpeperdiem

4 hours ago, RBCal said:

You will have to drink a lot to get your money's worth

As some have said, "I'd rather be lucky than good".
 

We used the level upgrade bids and was accepted MRS this time. Bid a little over the minimum for MRS... and it was a surprise to us as well.
But I did consider our expected spend on Bar Tab and other MRS benefits and factored that into my justification for the bid.
If the bid didn't clear, we would have been fine with any RS suite.
Or Sea Terrace and save the $.
The math worked out this time. It doesn't always.

1 hour ago, newsmike48 said:

Originally in a sea terrace

bid £1515 to upgrade to Brilliant suite and bid accepted

That's a great deal!
I am on the same sailing, had a sea terrace (via virgin red points),
They accepted my bid to Gorgeous (mega RS) bidding substantially more (it was still in the "poor" range of the bidding). I am satisfied with the process and final costs.

24 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

if you are into some of the very costly liquors that go for $40 per shot, the bar in the casino, and ONLY that bar serves 1/2 pours

That is a good suggestion -- especially for a flight or tastings. Thank you!

I wonder if Pink Agave will do 1/2 pours with the mezcals? (On Scarlet last month, they offered us a "split" pour -- we paid for one full mezcal shot and our waiter served it in two shot glasses (1/2 shot per person). This allowed us to do a flight of 3 mezcals (shared between 2 people) and it was a LOT of fun (and we learned a lot about mezcal in the process).

29 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

You CAN order full size cocktails in Test Kitchen

I will ask if we can order the full sizes of the cocktails in the pairing. Thanks for the suggestion.

Questions re: Mega Rockstar --

Our upcoming voyage will be our first time as Mega and we are thrilled!

I understand drinks up-to $25 are included, and two wine bottles per day, up-to $90 each are included. I believe the process is they comp these from your folio prior to debarkation. Hopefully. But...

1. How does Test Kitchen drink or wine pairing ($40) get handled for MRS?

In the past as RS, it was charged to our Bar Tab. But Red Glove support said Test Kitchen pairings are not included? 🤔

Since it is 6 drinks served in a restaurant, can we request each of the drinks in the pairing to be charged individually?

And perhaps they can serve full-size versions of each drink and bill individually?

Did you get Test Kitchen drink pairings comped when you sailed MRS?

2. VAT -- If in port, drinks are taxed (VAT). If VAT forces the drink over $25 (including VAT) or bottle over $90 (including VAT), how does that work for Mega bar tab?
Red Glove support was not able to answer this, other than "Yes, you're correct, we do charge VAT (Value-Added Tax) for Drinks along with services performed while docked in port." -- so what does that mean? How does the math work on the $85 bottle of wine -- does VAT kick it above $90 and the entire bottle is then no longer comped? Or a $23 shot, etc... ?
 

3. Bridge Tour / Behind the Scenes -- is this comped for MRS? Is this at the discretion of the RSA?

The email communication from Red Glove is moderately vague. Are they trying to tell me to shut up, and just let your RSA do their thing?

Thanks in advance for any MRS guidance or tips.

Test Kitchen - Wine and Cocktail pairing on Scarlet on 08-JUN-2023 was $40 each.

On 6/10/2023 at 4:56 PM, jame_g said:

I've seen videos of the food and the menu at Bimini. Unless it changes significantly before we cruise, I just plan to stay on the ship for our cruises. There's nothing on that menu that I would even consider eating. And I'm sure I would enjoy a less crowded ship to relax on where I could find something to eat.

Sadly, your loss. IMO, the beach club is well designed, and the beach/ocean is gorgeous.
The Bahamian food was good-enough for a beach club. I went back for more corn.

The layover in Paris fell through WHILE I WAS ON HOLD. Geez. 😡
Hate it when that happens.

The flights literally sold-out from under me while waiting for the agent to figure out how to do it.

So we booked JFK-CDG-BCN on AF from JFK arriving Barcelona on Saturday afternoon. We'll visit Paris another time.
We also will have to stay in Barcelona a day after the cruise -- getting out of Europe on Sundays can be very expensive.

My friend convinced me "Premium Economy" on AF or Virgin are NOT USA domestic premium economy... it's a very different product, so it's booked!

The moral of the story -- use cash if needed since not all flights can be booked with miles, and if the redemption value is in the toilet, do not let them charge 550k points for a flight that should be 45k.

I just booked Valiant for July 9 using 80k Virgin Red points (62,000 amex MR)

AirFrance JFK-BCN (in Premium Economy) including a 1-day stopover in Paris was only 30k points + $145 tax each

Then to get home - a bit of a compromise... since there are essentially ZERO avails from Spain or France on OneWorld partners - it took a bit of out of the box thinking...

The cruise returns to Barcelona on Sunday July 16 -- we will spend the day/overnight in Barcelona and fly EasyJet in economy to London Luton (LTN) on Monday - then - home to JFK on Virgin Atlantic in Premium Economy that evening. Only 27500 Virgin points (21,500 Amex with the bonus) -- but the taxes are steep --  £ 397.81 each - but overall it is a good value!

Because I have ways to convert points to cash at a reasonable redemption rate, I have options.

Still on hold with Air France to book the layover -- a few other moving parts here...
BUT -- in a day, it went from not possible to "we're going" !!
🎉

ANNNNDDD....

Amex is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to Virgin for a limited time for some accounts. I am lucky. I hope you are too.'

SO this 80,000 redemption = 62,000 MR points
For those of us earning at a 4x multiple for certain spend categories, this is almost free.

And the redemption value (62k points = $4,500-ish) redeems at about $0.0726 per point. Experts will tell you a very good redemption value is 4 cents per point. Do your own math.

Screaming deal is back for JUNE-JULY and now AUGUST Med sailings!
https://www.virgin.com/en-us/virgin-red/spend-virgin-points/seven-nights-in-the-med-between-june-and-july-16042

Getting to BCN or ATH in July or August is limited, but some flights are reasonably priced (points)
But -- finding a flight FROM BCN or ATH back to North America in July or August is insanity.
I consider myself a points/miles expert, and I've never seen anything like this, ever.

When a redemption is not a value, then you just pay the fare.
But this is beyond stupid.
350k points one-way BCN-NYC in July in ECONOMY
No. Thank. You.

On 2/25/2023 at 7:24 PM, garycarla said:

has anyone here booked their cruise using points and the $600 shows

No bonuses. It is a screaming deal as is.

IMO, with this offer, you can afford to buy your own booze.

1 hour ago, Tyler414 said:

It’s back for June and July sailings and is only 80,000 points.

SCREAMING DEAL ALERT!

https://www.virgin.com/en-us/virgin-red/spend-virgin-points/seven-nights-in-the-med-between-june-and-july-16042

That is IF you can get to Athens or Barcelona...

I was able to redeem 80k for Scarlet Lady out out Miami (back in March using original offer).

Sailing June 4 (5 nights).

FYI, the access key bookings can't be upgraded (via TA or sailor services for $$) -- but you may get a level upgrade offer.

I sent an email to sailorservices@virginvoyages.com on April 14, 9:28pm EDT about an upcoming sailing.
As of April 19, 12:20pm EDT, they have not replied.

I guess they don't answer email?

22 hours ago, cantgetin said:

There is a YouTube by a female

A female what?

"Female" is an adjective.