raphael360

Eating at the bar at Extra Virgin is possible but, as mentioned above, availability depends on what time you go. I'm a fan of eating early to avoid the crowds (and the excruciatingly painful noise factor that comes with a full restaurant).

Put a cruise on 24 hour hold and submit using that booking number. I wouldn’t get to anxious or worried about getting status match in the short term. Current Sailors Club perks are ending April 30th 2023.

I would avoid it. The Manor gets SO loud it’s unbearable even with 30db earplugs.

I'm on Scarlett May 4th and it appears, from the online booking options, Scarlett is in Miami all of 2023. Resilient and Valiant are in Equope 2023 with Brilliant's launch scheduled for 2024. According to VV's website booking searches.

This was my 5th time this week trying to get through to the chat. This chat attempt was 7:15am EST today. I was #2 in the que and then #1 but I suddenly got bumped off after 60 minutes.

I too got my DBEs on my April cruise but not yet on my May cruise. TBD is the word on the street.

I haven't been able to successfully complete a sailor services chat for the past month. I either get the immediate: 'no agents available' message or, as today, was number 2 in the queue for an hour only to be kicked off with a message: "I'm sorry no agents are available right now." Nobody raves about VVs land-based sailor services but now it's impossible to get through. I prefer the chat option because I can save a transcript of the chat AND, being hearing impaired, find the phone support option nearly impossible for me. Any suggestions for better ways to reach Sailor Services other than using a TA?

I have been seated 'early' at the Wake many times but my Extra Virgin experience was special. I waited in the check-in queue for 30 minutes and arrived at the check-in station 15 minutes early. Was rudely told to come back at my appointed time so I got back into the queue for another 30 minutes to arrive back to the check-in desk 15 minutes late. With that said, Extra Virgin is really not worth a one-hour wait standing in the check-in line. Note to OP, avoid booking dinner reservations that coincide with the end of a show or shows. For example: Duel Reality ends 1 hour after its scheduled start time at which time hundreds of sailors make a mad dash to one of the major restaurants.

Brilliant is now being displayed on cruisedeckplans dot com and looks exactly like the first 3.

Restaurant reservations are usually held for 15 minutes past your scheduled arrival time but getting seated early is a crap shoot. I arrived 15 minutes early at Extra Virgin and was 'rudely' turned away. Regarding shows, Duel Reality has an absolute no-movement policy during the performance. You'll understand when you see it for the first time (and DO see it). I'll leave it up to other sailors to chime in on the other various shows. Hope this helps.

I have my TA working on this question with VV. Hope he has more luck than I had.

Good advice Scott... And this link explains why I'm seeing (-$1200 airfare credits) when poking around looking for future cruises. Free $1200 airfare credit unless you don't need air then $1200 discount 🙂

Our company learned early on that our customers liked 'good news', were OK with 'bad news', but HATED 'no news'. The fastest way to lose customers is the combination of inconsistency with poor or no communication. VV's On-line Chat has been overwhelmed and basically offline this week.

The best Sea Rover and/or Deep Blue extra perk is early boarding IMHO. I'm hoping this doesn't change or go away on May 1st. VV has been mum about the future of the Sailors Club so I may not find out until May 3th.

I’m booked on my 6th cruise in 2023 leaving May 3rd. Neither Deep Blue extras nor the $100 bonus bar tab are showing up on this booking like they did on my previous 5 bookings. 😳

I usually book online using their preassigned room and place my booking on a 24-hour hold. Then I call sailor services with the confirmation number and ask if my favorite room or rooms are available. Sailor Services can update your reservation with your preferred new room and you simply complete your booking online. Easy smeashy FYI I would avoid the 14th floor at all costs. My favorite site to look at cabins is cruisedeckplans dot com

I didn't experience any construction delays on my past 5 VV cruises (Jan, Feb, March, and April).

$0.63 will get your first-class letter from Key West to Nome Alaska (4530 miles). Now that's a deal 🙂

When is your cruise departing?

Make your reservations as soon as you can connect to the ships wifi once onboard

If in Miami you will be invited to pre board ahead of the 1:30 group. Go to the terminal doors around 12:30 to get your Sea Rover wrist bands and then hover around these same doors until they call for the Sailors Club passengers. Don’t get into the 3:30 que.

I was very excited to do a 7 day Venice to Venice cruise until I checked the airfare. $3500 to $4000 round trip Miami to Venice in economy plus. Ouch. Last year I bagged a Rt first class ticket on Air France for $3250. Oh my how times have changed.

Mine came via email with in 24 hours on my last 5 cruises.

Hummmm. Are you vegan?

I was on Scarlet 2 weeks ago with friend who is strictly 100% vegan. He’s been vegan for 20 years but found the vegan choices lacking in all of the main restaurants. I don’t know vegan but take him at his word. He was able to get vegan dishes but didn’t find VV as vegan friendly as I thought it would be. Most days He ended up with a vegan pizza.