Boarding Pass?

[eroller]

Quick question.  Does VV issue and electronic boarding pass via their app?  I sail tomorrow on my first Virgin Voyages cruise on VALIANT LADY.  I'm really excited to try out this new experience.  I've filled out everything required on the app, including the Health Questionnaire which just became available this afternoon.   I thought it might then populate an electronic boarding pass (with a bar code to scan at the terminal) but nothing.  Am I missing something?

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2022 by eroller

[cantgetin]

Not missing anything.  Just show up at the terminal.  Check in will take less than 5 minutes.

 

[eroller]

39 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Not missing anything.  Just show up at the terminal.  Check in will take less than 5 minutes.

 

 

Thank you!

 

[cantgetin]

You should have a terminal arrival time--do not show up more than 30 minutes prior to that time or you will be routed to either a bus to a local shopping center or a line based on scheduled arrival time.  You won't get on board until everyone with a time earlier than yours has had the opportunity to board.  In Barcelona, you will be routed to a local coffee shop or park like area next to the terminal to wait.

 

[eroller]

46 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

You should have a terminal arrival time--do not show up more than 30 minutes prior to that time or you will be routed to either a bus to a local shopping center or a line based on scheduled arrival time.  You won't get on board until everyone with a time earlier than yours has had the opportunity to board.  In Barcelona, you will be routed to a local coffee shop or park like area next to the terminal to wait.

 

 

Thanks for the heads up. We have a 1:30pm boarding time in Miami.  Won’t show up until 1 at the earliest.  We do need to park the car as well.  We live in Fort Lauderdale so a short drive.  No rush.  

[cantgetin]

3 hours ago, eroller said:

 

Thanks for the heads up. We have a 1:30pm boarding time in Miami.  Won’t show up until 1 at the earliest.  We do need to park the car as well.  We live in Fort Lauderdale so a short drive.  No rush.  

The car park is right across the road from the terminal.  You can pull up to the luggage drop and unload luggage, then park....or you can park first and wheel your luggage over.  We had a 1:30 time (it is technically a terminal arrival time, not  boarding time.  We were able to go thru security at about 1:05, maybe 2 cabins ahead of us,  and right to check in.  No shoes off or anything, just scan carry ons and walk thru metal detector.  We told them our room number and they did need to see our passports (yes, they had been scanned into the system). They looked us up in their computer by room number, and presumably verified names and passport photos.  Got our wrist bands and our ribbon band for admission to the Deep Blue Extras party (we found this so annoying that we cut it off and carried it to the party...that's all it is used for).  Then we had to wait a very short time until boarding opened at 1:30.  When the person scanned my bracelet, he said that he needed another security photo of me (guess my selfie didn't cut it), which he took in about 3 seconds.  I can't tell you the exact time we got to our cabin, but we were there at 1:40, having dropped carry ons and opened the door to head to lunch...and our luggage was there..  We hauled the bags in and started our cruise.

[eroller]

3 hours ago, cantgetin said:

The car park is right across the road from the terminal.  You can pull up to the luggage drop and unload luggage, then park....or you can park first and wheel your luggage over.  We had a 1:30 time (it is technically a terminal arrival time, not  boarding time.  We were able to go thru security at about 1:05, maybe 2 cabins ahead of us,  and right to check in.  No shoes off or anything, just scan carry ons and walk thru metal detector.  We told them our room number and they did need to see our passports (yes, they had been scanned into the system). They looked us up in their computer by room number, and presumably verified names and passport photos.  Got our wrist bands and our ribbon band for admission to the Deep Blue Extras party (we found this so annoying that we cut it off and carried it to the party...that's all it is used for).  Then we had to wait a very short time until boarding opened at 1:30.  When the person scanned my bracelet, he said that he needed another security photo of me (guess my selfie didn't cut it), which he took in about 3 seconds.  I can't tell you the exact time we got to our cabin, but we were there at 1:40, having dropped carry ons and opened the door to head to lunch...and our luggage was there..  We hauled the bags in and started our cruise.

 

Thanks for all the info!   Can’t wait!  

[_tacocat_]

Make sure you know your cabin number when you pull up to the port- the porters start grabbing your luggage as soon as the car rolls to a stop haha. Goes much smoother if you can give them your cabin number immediately.  
 

Also note that porters aren’t VV employees, so their tips are not included.  They basically shake you down for tips up front and some people don’t get that they’re not part of the “tip free” VV experience and get a little miffed (to be fair, they’re pretty damn aggressive…).  VV should do a better job of explaining that experience starts once you enter the terminal 

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

Make sure you know your cabin number when you pull up to the port- the porters start grabbing your luggage as soon as the car rolls to a stop haha. Goes much smoother if you can give them your cabin number immediately.  
 

Also note that porters aren’t VV employees, so their tips are not included.  They basically shake you down for tips up front and some people don’t get that they’re not part of the “tip free” VV experience and get a little miffed (to be fair, they’re pretty damn aggressive…).  VV should do a better job of explaining that experience starts once you enter the terminal 

It’s also (unsurprisingly) unique to Miami, when boarding in Barcelona and Portsmouth tips were not expected to the baggage handlers because European tip culture is very different to USA.

[cantgetin]

THe porters at Miami were the most aggressive I've ever encountered.  They are union employees of the terminal and make a very good salary, but if you want your bags to get on the ship in good condition, I'd recommend a tip!  No one expected tips at BCN, although we did generously tip a very helpful man at the airport.  We did not tip at the cruise terminal there.

 

Question--is checking luggage at a VV desk an option at Miami or is the curbside porter the only option?  We used the porters in Miami, but both options were available at Barcelona.  There was a desk operated by VV employees with a short line for luggage check in.  No, it isn't that I'm too cheap to tip; it is that I really didn't like the way they treated us at Miami.

[neverendingcruising]

No option in Miami, as mentioned, it's a unionized port so large luggage must be handled by the porters. 

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, neverendingcruising said:

No option in Miami, as mentioned, it's a unionized port so large luggage must be handled by the porters. 

Thanks for the info

[angela12345]

How much $$ is parking per night if you park right there at Terminal V ?

edit: are there any other options folks recommend ?
 

Edited December 12, 2022 by angela12345

[cantgetin]

7 minutes ago, angela12345 said:

How much is parking if you park right there at Terminal V ?

edit: are there any other options folks recommend ?
 

Lots of parking at terminal V.  I've never seen the parking structure anywhere close to filled.

[_tacocat_]

2 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Lots of parking at terminal V.  I've never seen the parking structure anywhere close to filled.

Can’t remember where I saw this (another thread here, FB or Reddit), but someone recently said the close garage was full and they needed to go to a remote garage/shuttle in

[neverendingcruising]

We were parked on the roof of garage G for Sunday's sailing. It wasn't full but it was pretty tight. 

[eroller]

Just disembarked VL a few days ago. The parking garage was pretty packed. We had to park on the roof. When we left even the roof had every space filled but it was early and as pax disembarked the various ships spaces would empty out. 
 

Keep in mind this is not just a VV garage. It was there long before the VV terminal and is used by Carnival Terminal F and Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Terminal G. If you get some big ships in those terminals (like Carnival’s massive new CELEBRATION) the garage will easily fill up. 

[Ekposh]

What are you expected to tip per bag? 

[raphael360]

1 hour ago, Ekposh said:

What are you expected to tip per bag? 

I usually tip $5 per bag.