raphael360

I've done 6 cruises this year so hoping for the best....

Does anyone know how to get a free or discounted casino rate??

I've been told, by a supervisor at VV sailor services, DBE (including the above items you mentioned) will NOT be offered starting May 1st. I will be shocked and pleasantly surprised to get them when I board Scarlett next Wed. FYI, the badges on the website do not accurately represent one's Sea Rover status.

According to VV sailor services: Sea Rovers are getting nothing on my upcoming May 4th cruise. No DBE, no priority boarding, no premium wifi. Nothing. (I know, I know, there is still a bonus $100 bar tab when purchasing a $300 bar tab for Sea Rovers but this is not much of a perk for a non-drinking solo passenger). Sea Rover perks were a wonderful surprise when I arrived at my first VV cruise in January. 'Good job Virgin!' And Sea Rover perks were absolutely the primary deciding factor for booking cruises 2 - 6. (The WPT poker room was another factor.) With that said, can I live without DBE and/or any other Sea Rover status perk? Of course I can. Can I live without taking any more VV cruises in 2023? You bet ya. The food is so-so and the only good show, IMHO, is Duel Reality which I've seen 7 times.

You are right about the percentages of passengers being sailing club members. My 20 - 30 Sea Rovers number was in reference to how many of us were in terminal V's pre-boarding lounge waiting to check in and how it related to the 'everyone' comment. There were maybe 20 of us Sea Rovers checking in at 1:30 along with about 50 Romance Package sailors. Surprisingly few... Rock stars had their own lounge and entrance. I didn't do the sail away event party thing.

Hoping your right 😎

I just got off the phone with VV sailor services who confirmed the only perk left for Sea Rovers, after April 30th, is the $100 bonus bar tab with a $300 bar tab purchase. Also some mention of getting tokens for onboard spending towards future cruises. It is what it is. It was a good program to reward frequent sailors and one of the main reasons I booked cruises 2-6. "We have taken a deeper dive into your booking and we do sea you are sailing on May 3,2023 is not eligible for our Sailing Club, as you must sail by April 30,2023. "

It's better than most poker rooms on land AND the dealers and staff are friendlier than 95% of the poker rooms I play in. It's a fun room to play which is more important than glitz.

The format and setup of Scarlett's WPT poker room is the same as almost every poker room at every casino in the world. If you are a poker player (specifically texas holdem) it's like being in heaven. And the WPT is to poker like the NFL is to football. If you prefer games of chance (BJ, Rolette, slots) the casino is way nicer. They do offer freer Texas Holdem lessons (I think every day) if anyone fancies a free lesson or wants to see what holdem is all about.

On my past five cruises there were about 20 to 30 sea rovers out of 1800 passengers so it hardly represents “everyone”. But I do agree that they’re probably going to start with the higher spender rewards versus frequency rewards.

I booked this next cruise 'last minute' so my boarding slot is 3:30. The difference between Sea Rover priority boarding is: being in my cabin at 1:45 (and booking show reservations) or standing in the hot 3:30 queue and being in my room after 4 PM (only to find all shows sold out). That is a "HUGH" deal and is the difference between my ever booking more last-minute VV cruises or never booking another VV cruise again, ever. FYI I could give a crap about premium wifi or laundry.

As long as you don't end up on deck 14.....

I'm boarding 1 week from today but still in the dark about what to expect when I arrive at the port of Miami. Are priority boarding and free premium wifi gone? Is the Sea Rover program now defunct?? No one knows. Not even my TA who is currently on board Scarlett. I want to get excited about my upcoming 6th VV adventure but, even now, I'm hating the 'not knowing' experience. I'm hoping for a last-minute announcement from VV but I'm preparing myself for disappointment.

No for me too (5 cruises)

On my most recent voyage, the completed event lineup was only fully populated 10 days out. With that said, the main shows (Duel Reality, Dance Party Thing, ect.) populated on the app at 45 days out. As mentioned above, all events can and sometimes do change closer to embarkation.

Double book shows if you want. Not attending a show you booked won't leave an empty seat. Popular shows like Duel Reality start offering 'standby' sailors admission 15 minutes before show time for no-shows. If you don't show up at the door 15 minutes prior to showtime, staff can and may cancel your reservation and give your seats to sailors in the standby line. (That's how it's worded in the fine print on the app anyway.)

Food is a very personal preference but I agree with 'singleflyer'. I wasn't impressed with the resort's food quality and limited options.

This is a WPT-sponsered poker room with 10-plus tables and is a very welcome addition to the cruise experience. I played Holdem (both tournaments and cash) almost every day on the past 2 cruises. I'm taking my next 4-day cruise specifically to enjoy this WPT experience again.

I want on Scarlett with 2200 passengers last month. Duel Reality was 'unavailable' on the app but had many empty seats during the show. It was maybe ⅔ full.

You had to be inconvienced so VV and JLo could collaborate to pump up advertising for themselves. How nice for them. How awful for you. Hope you at least got a free JLo gift bag.

Wow.. what a nightmare. Sorry, this happened to you...

Same info I got on my April cruise. No one at VV knows anything about the future of the Sailor's Club. Even my TA can't get a straight answer. It's not that Sailor Club perks are huge, but things like priority boarding make a real difference when deciding to jump on a cruise or not. Next week is my 5th cruise in 3 months but I'm going to take a break until this gets sorted out. (If it gets sorted out.). Good news is welcome, the bad news is acceptable but NO news is totally unacceptable, in any business.

I booked my May 4th cruise last minute and when I tried to book dinner reservations via the app I found ALL of the restaurants fully booked. I called sailor services but quickly realized they use the same reservation system as the app. In short, if time slots weren't available via the app, they weren't available to Sailor Services. I'm sure RockStar roadies have more flexibility once on board but I'm not a rock star. With that said I have always been able to bag a table at the Wake once onboard. Heaven forbid I should miss a meal 🙂

One week away from Deep Blue Extras ending. Not a word from Virgin about the future of their Sailors Club loyalty program or its future.

Seabourn cruise line put it quite nicely this way: “ Gratuities are neither required nor expected”. As stated above, on board gratuities are included in the price of the cruise, but if tipping makes you feel good, tip away. It’s not expected.