What do I need to know

[caymancouple]

Frequent cruiser on several other lines.  What do I need to know about my first time on Virgin?  

Do I book shows?

Do I book dinner reservations?

What do I need to do ahead of time?

Thanks

[cantgetin]

Dinner reservations 45 days prior to boarding on app or by calling VV.  Shows/exercise classes/spa, etc. booked after boarding on app.  Shore excursions book in advance or after boarding. If you book in advance, you have to pay with credit card; if you book on board you can use "Loot," but you risk excursions filling up.  Trick is that you can book in advance.  Then as soon as you board, cancel (at least 24 hours notice required) and go to the red desk on deck 7 and rebook it as soon as you cancel!  That way, they will send a refund to your credit card when you cancel and use loot for the rebooking.

There are no drink packages.  They do what is called a bar tab.  For every $300 you put on a tab in advance, you get a bonus based on the current special (usually $50 or $100).  Tab can be shared with everyone in your cabin and you can use it to buy drinks for anyone else you wish.

 

On the app, you will be able to choose or be assigned a terminal arrival time.  If you show up more than 30 minutes before this time, you can take a bus to a shopping area near the port (Miami) or wait at a nearby coffee shop or plaza (Barcelona).  Showing up early will not get you on board any earlier, and if you won't leave, you'll just get to stand around and wait.

 

There are lots of good YouTube videos with great info.

What you need to know--VV is unlike any other line.  I told my cruise partner that if we compare it to other lines, some line will always come up short.  Take it as new and different and enjoy the good as well as the things you may not like as a new experience.  We loved VV and did 3 bookings on board during our first cruise. But, as always, there are things other lines do better.

Edited January 19, 2023 by cantgetin

[Fogcityca13]

You can book dinner reservations 45 days before your cruise or 60 if you are in a rockstar suite. Some folks have had luck with walk ups, but if you can’t/don’t want to be flexible making a reservation is a good idea. You can do this in the app, they open 12am EST.

 

Show and events will be booked once you board the ship and connect to the ships WiFi. It helps the snag an early boarding time. When you fill in your “check in and get ready to sail”  info in the app, step 6 has you select your boarding time. It really speeds up you time checking in if you complete those steps in the app.

 

You really should get familiar with the app and make sure you don’t have any issues. The app is a work in progress, sadly. Getting things solve in advance is much better than waiting until you board.

[kwokpot]

Biggest must do: DONT make constant comparisons while you're on the cruise to other cruiselines. Enjoy the differences for what they are.

*Make your embarkation dinner time for slightly later than your normal go to dinner time. Why? On Virgin you're generally boarding later than other cruiselines, so the EARLIEST you'll be have lunch onboard is 2ish. 

*Don't be confused with the Galley. It's a semi service food hall. If you like you can take a walk around and see what's available, THEN sit-down, grab a menu, flag down an employee, and order food from them. You can ask them to get a beverage for you or that's also self service. Other self service areas in the Galley are all sweets and breads, and the Bento box area(cut fruit in the morning, great sushi in the afternoons) The Fresh Mix area (hot oatmeal & bagels for breakfast, salads for lunch).

At the entrances to the Galley are plastic boxes which are to-go premade and boxes food items.

*Bring your own water bottles since there's no bottled water for free or purchase anywhere on the ship; however, there's filtered water bottle fillers everywhere, the gym, upper sun decks, the Galley, everywhere.

*If you have a sweet tooth the desserts, pastries and other sweets ( don't miss the yummy sweets at the Social Club) are outstanding and high-end bakery quality.

*The pizza and ice cream counter is separate from the Galley and kinda off in their own hallway on a lower deck. Don't forget about them.

*If you use body lotion bring your own, they don't provide that in the cabin. The other toiletries are of excellent quality.

*Several of the shows are audience participation shows, especially The Miss Behaved Game Show. Bring an open mind and just have fun, get in on the action! 

 

[kwokpot]

*Scarlet Night is the biggest evening/night event of the whole cruise. There's three parts to it. The first part are events and happenings inside the ship on decks 6&7. Then it's the main event, the pool party which is the best deck party given by any cruiseline. There's entertainment, performances, and yes the pool is open and actively used by both the ship performers and  guests. It's really crazy in a fun Vegas pool party atmosphere. Fair warning though: the music IS LOUD. I mean LOUD. The last part is the after party at the Manor nightclub. 

Edit: Remember to bring something red to wear. And if you want to get wet during the pool party, you can change into nice looking pool gear so you're not afraid to dance in the wading area of the pool and get your regular Party clothes wet. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by kwokpot

[warmwinds]

Uh oh the only piece of red clothing I own is a Nebraska Cornhuskers hoodie (it was a gift from my NE son-in-law's family) 🤣 somehow I don't think that's what they have in mind!

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, warmwinds said:

Uh oh the only piece of red clothing I own is a Nebraska Cornhuskers hoodie (it was a gift from my NE son-in-law's family) 🤣 somehow I don't think that's what they have in mind!

It's Scarlet Night and I'm having dinner at Razzle Dazzle (the pasta is excellent) and someone walked in with a RED  Georgia Bulldogs t-shirt, so he's thinking like you are! 😉😁

[cantgetin]

Any red goes---a red headband or pocket handkerchief is just fine...a t-shirt is great.

 

[optimusprime82]

17 hours ago, cantgetin said:

There are no drink packages.  They do what is called a bar tab.  For every $300 you put on a tab in advance, you get a bonus based on the current special (usually $50 or $100).  Tab can be shared with everyone in your cabin and you can use it to buy drinks for anyone else you wish.

 

We're booked for March of 2024 and are trying to decide how much to invest in a bar tab. Neither of us are heavy drinkers, maybe three of four drinks at most per day each, likely less unless we're at sea. Are you able to use the "bar tab" for anything else on board, like in the gift shop, or is it a "use it or lose it" policy?

 

We're not sure if $350 (or $400) is enough or if $700 (or $800) is way too much for us lol.

[AlohaGirlinthe540]

17 hours ago, kwokpot said:

*If you use body lotion bring your own, they don't provide that in the cabin. The other toiletries are of excellent quality.

 

What toiletries are included/available?

[Fogcityca13]

42 minutes ago, optimusprime82 said:

 

We're booked for March of 2024 and are trying to decide how much to invest in a bar tab. Neither of us are heavy drinkers, maybe three of four drinks at most per day each, likely less unless we're at sea. Are you able to use the "bar tab" for anything else on board, like in the gift shop, or is it a "use it or lose it" policy?

 

We're not sure if $350 (or $400) is enough or if $700 (or $800) is way too much for us lol.

The bar tab can only be used for specialty coffees, fresh pressed juice, and alcohol. It’s also use it or lose it. If you go past the $350/$400 per paid bar tab, they’ll just add the charges to your final bill. 

[optimusprime82]

49 minutes ago, Fogcityca13 said:

The bar tab can only be used for specialty coffees, fresh pressed juice, and alcohol. It’s also use it or lose it. If you go past the $350/$400 per paid bar tab, they’ll just add the charges to your final bill. 

 

Thanks. For us it might be worth doing a little math to decide what amount we should spend on the bar tab option. Drinking just to use up our balance isn't our idea of a good time. Over the course of a week I think we could easily go through $300-400 on drinks but $700+ might be a stretch. 

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, AlohaGirlinthe540 said:

 

What toiletries are included/available?

Bar soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, body wash. The last 3 are in wall mounted pump bottles. I body lotion is included in Suite cabins but not any cabins below that. 

[AtSeaWithChris]

38 minutes ago, optimusprime82 said:

 

Thanks. For us it might be worth doing a little math to decide what amount we should spend on the bar tab option. Drinking just to use up our balance isn't our idea of a good time. Over the course of a week I think we could easily go through $300-400 on drinks but $700+ might be a stretch. 

The only thing you’d lose from only doing another $300 bar tab with the $50-125 bonus is another $50-$125 bonus for another $300 paid. Use it or lose it. If not a big drinker I’d just take advantage of the bonus with $300 and just pay as you go. 

[optimusprime82]

1 hour ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

The only thing you’d lose from only doing another $300 bar tab with the $50-125 bonus is another $50-$125 bonus for another $300 paid. Use it or lose it. If not a big drinker I’d just take advantage of the bonus with $300 and just pay as you go. 

 

I imagine that's what we'll do. We've got more than a year to go before we sail, I'll be keeping an eye out for a better promotion that includes a higher bonus amount than $50. 

[AtSeaWithChris]

21 minutes ago, optimusprime82 said:

 

I imagine that's what we'll do. We've got more than a year to go before we sail, I'll be keeping an eye out for a better promotion that includes a higher bonus amount than $50. 

If you have loyalty status with another line you can match status and get $100 bonus plus extras

[jon81uk]

3 hours ago, optimusprime82 said:

 

Thanks. For us it might be worth doing a little math to decide what amount we should spend on the bar tab option. Drinking just to use up our balance isn't our idea of a good time. Over the course of a week I think we could easily go through $300-400 on drinks but $700+ might be a stretch. 

If it helps with the maths, standard spirits are $7 plus a free mixer. Cocktails $10-16. Beer $6-12 wine $6-12. Latte coffee $4.

[cantgetin]

3 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

If you have loyalty status with another line you can match status and get $100 bonus plus extras

That is only announced to be in effect thru 3/31/2023.  It could be extended or they could start their own program then.  It has already been extended once.

Remember when you are looking at drink prices that they already include the tip.  In October, most of the mixed drinks were $13 and under, most wines around $10.  Of course there were some that were a lot higher.  If you don't think you'd use a second bar tab, there is no reason to get it.  Use the first one, any loyalty or other tab money you might have, and then move on to "pay as you go" status (charged to any loot you have and ultimately to your credit card.)  Sure, you'd miss out on the "bonus," but you wouldn't leave anything on the table that way.

[Cloud9 Bob]

That you are going to have a great time!

[chrisa2711]

I had some surplus Bar Tab and ended up buying a full bottle of wine to carry off with me. 

[seapad]

Does anyone know regarding the Deep Blue Extra benefit - there is $100 complimentary bar tap included.

- Is it per person or per cabin? (given both people in the cabin gets Depp Blue Extra benefit) 

- Is this in addition to the $600 bar tab promo? I understand the $600 is per cabin, so will the 2 of us get a total of $800 bar tab in total (between the 2 of us)? 

 

Thanks.

[Db85]

1 minute ago, seapad said:

Does anyone know regarding the Deep Blue Extra benefit - there is $100 complimentary bar tap included.

- Is it per person or per cabin? (given both people in the cabin gets Depp Blue Extra benefit) 

- Is this in addition to the $600 bar tab promo? I understand the $600 is per cabin, so will the 2 of us get a total of $800 bar tab in total (between the 2 of us)? 

 

Thanks.

Hey the deep blue extras are per cabin only on the main sailors account.

 

The bartab promo is also only on the main sailors account.

 

On our last cruise i made the mistake of signing up the wrong sailor to pay (as when you check in you can choose) and sailor services were not happy about transferring the money to the other name.

[seapad]

14 minutes ago, Db85 said:

Hey the deep blue extras are per cabin only on the main sailors account.

 

The bartab promo is also only on the main sailors account.

 

On our last cruise i made the mistake of signing up the wrong sailor to pay (as when you check in you can choose) and sailor services were not happy about transferring the money to the other name.

Thanks! So thus means given today's promo, we'll get $700 total bar tab for the cabin, would that be correct? 

[cantgetin]

26 minutes ago, seapad said:

Thanks! So thus means given today's promo, we'll get $700 total bar tab for the cabin, would that be correct? 

If you have the $600 from booking promo and $100 from loyalty match, then yes.

[Db85]

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

If you have the $600 from booking promo and $100 from loyalty match, then yes.

How many days is your cruise?