Old people just off Scarlet Lady first timers

[warmwinds]

1 hour ago, aqlollipop said:

I've stayed in 9102. You don't need to worry about the lifeboats. They are still a deck below. Here's a picture from the balcony. Obviously you can see the boats and they are closer than when you were on deck 11, but not obstructing. My recollection is there is no boat directly out from the balcony.

Thanks for that - yes we were 2 directly above that so the perspective will be a little different - will still see the wake and still have more room to roam around.  And for those that are unfamiliar with that cabin, when you look towards the left there are no lifeboats.

 

 

[kwokpot]

23 hours ago, basenji56 said:

No comedians?  I didn't realize that comedians were an "old people" form of entertainment?

 

I'll assume you were being facetious. But if you've sailed on Virgin you'll know there aren't comedians and comedy shows in the traditional sense like what you'll find on a Carnival cruise. Instead, it's imbedded into other forms of entertainment, such as the drag queen show, and other shows in the club. 

[basenji56]

3 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'll assume you were being facetious. But if you've sailed on Virgin you'll know there aren't comedians and comedy shows in the traditional sense like what you'll find on a Carnival cruise. Instead, it's imbedded into other forms of entertainment, such as the drag queen show, and other shows in the club. 

I have not sailed on VV (Although I have a cruise booked over Christmas).  I had no idea that it didn't have comedy shows in the traditional sense.

 

[warmwinds]

5 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I have not sailed on VV (Although I have a cruise booked over Christmas).  I had no idea that it didn't have comedy shows in the traditional sense.

Actually, on my recent cruise that wasn't exactly true.  First of all, the daily listing of stuff gives a person's name, but not what they do (comedian, singer, acrobat, juggler, harmonica impresario 😁) like they do on most ships.  So we saw "Joe Shmo" at 11 pm, but since that's past our bedtime anyway we never went.  Since we didn't know what Joe Shmo did, anyway. And we also hated using the app for everything, and since we've been crusing for almost 50 years we sometimes feel like we have seen it all.

 

BUT...

 

On the last morning of embarkation, I was talking to some people who were closer to our age (50s/60s) who asked if we had seen the comedian yesterday and wasn't he HILARIOUS, I mean they were going on and on about how funny he was.  And he performed....during the afternoon.  We never knew.

 

Anyway, next time we'll be smarter.

 

And I had also read somewhere that you don't get a "paper" listing of the day's events - that is not true.  It doesn't come to your cabin, but you can pick it up at several places throughout the ship - we got ours at the fancy coffee places, there's a box of them on the counter.

5 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

 

 

[jon81uk]

11 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I have not sailed on VV (Although I have a cruise booked over Christmas).  I had no idea that it didn't have comedy shows in the traditional sense.

 

Generally there won’t be a stand up comedy show, although occasionally they do feature as part of the rotating festival stage guests acts. But the diva drag queen presents a funny show, It’s a Ship Show has funny moments as well as Miss Behave gameshow and on Resilient Lady the Mind Mangler stage show is hilarious. But you generally won’t find stand up comedy.

[kwokpot]

7 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

Generally there won’t be a stand up comedy show, although occasionally they do feature as part of the rotating festival stage guests acts. But the diva drag queen presents a funny show, It’s a Ship Show has funny moments as well as Miss Behave gameshow and on Resilient Lady the Mind Mangler stage show is hilarious. But you generally won’t find stand up comedy.

That is what I was trying to say. If you haven't sailed on Virgin you wouldn't know that. That's quite important for some cruisers. I would say that's the #1 thing that set a Carnival cruise apart from all others. All their ships have a dedicated Comedy Club and on every Carnival cruise it's the most attended and most sort after activity/entertainment out of anything Carnival offers. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by kwokpot

[warmwinds]

Joe Shmo was definitely a stand-up comedian (according to folks we talked to).

 

Maybe...they change the entertainment from time to time?  Maybe the cruises you were on had different entertainers than the one we did?

 

The other thing that deflected us from seeing any shows was that "you have to reserve a space in advance, like THE MINUTE you get on the ship or you'll be shut out".

 

Like many things we found out, what we read in advance was very different from reality.

 

Next time we will be smarter.

 

I look at this 4-nighter as a reconnaissance mission so we know what to do/not do next time.

[jon81uk]

21 minutes ago, warmwinds said:

 

Joe Shmo was definitely a stand-up comedian (according to folks we talked to).

 

Maybe...they change the entertainment from time to time?  Maybe the cruises you were on had different entertainers than the one we did?

 

The festival stage acts change every 2-4 weeks depending on the ship and the artist availability. But they can be variety, comedy or magic. I’ve seen Tape Face (was on AGT) who is a mime act and others have seen Abandoman who is a rap comedian. But also seen Performing Nerd (memory magic act with Rubik’s cubes) and Ben Price (mentalist magician). So although there are often comedic acts it’s not guaranteed as the festival stage changes every few weeks. 
 

but the main point is there isn’t a stand up comedy club where you will always see a solo comedian like on other cruise lines.

[warmwinds]

17 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

The festival stage acts change every 2-4 weeks depending on the ship and the artist availability. But they can be variety, comedy or magic. I’ve seen Tape Face (was on AGT) who is a mime act and others have seen Abandoman who is a rap comedian. But also seen Performing Nerd (memory magic act with Rubik’s cubes) and Ben Price (mentalist magician). So although there are often comedic acts it’s not guaranteed as the festival stage changes every few weeks. 
 

but the main point is there isn’t a stand up comedy club where you will always see a solo comedian like on other cruise lines.

See how everyone's experiences are different.  I don't think I've ever, in all the cruises I've been on, been on a ship that had a dedicated venue/club/comedy club for comedians.  Most ships I've been on have the main showroom, period, and all the different acts from the revue shows to singers to comedians and everything in between perform in that same place.

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, warmwinds said:

See how everyone's experiences are different.  I don't think I've ever, in all the cruises I've been on, been on a ship that had a dedicated venue/club/comedy club for comedians.  Most ships I've been on have the main showroom, period, and all the different acts from the revue shows to singers to comedians and everything in between perform in that same place.

You have never sailed on Carnival then. 

[_tacocat_]

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

But if you've sailed on Virgin you'll know there aren't comedians and comedy shows in the traditional sense like what you'll find on a Carnival cruise. Instead, it's imbedded into other forms of entertainment, such as the drag queen show, and other shows in the club. 

we actually had two different comedians on back to back sailings on scarlet earlier this year - part of the rotating "festival stage."  the one on the first leg was great - mostly self-deprecating millennial humor, but the guy on the second leg was horrendous - it was a painful hour of sex and drug jokes that simultaneously failed to make any mark and crossed the line. 

 

i frequent the major and tiny comedy clubs in LA and am familiar with and a fan of all types of comedy from squeaky clean to absolute filth, but jeez, when a guy is just talking about his peen for almost a full hour set... i wanted to walk out, but was trapped up front!

 

it's a fine line in getting "the right" comic to come onboard VV.  you don't want a squeaky clean corporate set, but you also don't want to ostracize half your audience with a comic's well-known subject matter.

[warmwinds]

25 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

You have never sailed on Carnival then. 

You are correct, and I've actually said that verbatim on this thread.  I said I've never been on Carnival and I've never been on Crystal, but I know myself well enough to know what I'd be happy with, and it would be neither of those extremes.  This is based on knowing several people who have been on both.

 

Virgin was a refreshing, within our wheelhouse change.

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

we actually had two different comedians on back to back sailings on scarlet earlier this year - part of the rotating "festival stage."  the one on the first leg was great - mostly self-deprecating millennial humor, but the guy on the second leg was horrendous - it was a painful hour of sex and drug jokes that simultaneously failed to make any mark and crossed the line. 

 

i frequent the major and tiny comedy clubs in LA and am familiar with and a fan of all types of comedy from squeaky clean to absolute filth, but jeez, when a guy is just talking about his peen for almost a full hour set... i wanted to walk out, but was trapped up front!

 

it's a fine line in getting "the right" comic to come onboard VV.  you don't want a squeaky clean corporate set, but you also don't want to ostracize half your audience with a comic's well-known subject matter.

So it seems the TYPES of entertainment varies from cruise to cruise as opposed to other mainstream cruise lines where there will ALWAYS be at least one standup comedian and a magician/juggling act. 

[warmwinds]

4 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

So it seems the TYPES of entertainment varies from cruise to cruise as opposed to other mainstream cruise lines where there will ALWAYS be at least one standup comedian and a magician/juggling act. 

I would say that's a fair statement. Remember Virgin has a very small footprint, so they don't have the advantage of the bigger cruise lines with lots of ships that, say, when they get to Nassau or Barbados or Aruba, the comedian/singer/magician that you saw on your ship jumps over/gets traded with the entertainers that were on another ship, so they have a constant source of new blood.

[cantgetin]

I think it depends on the specific ship and length of cruise.  On the 14 and 15 night cruises we've done on VV, there have been various entertainers that I believe were there just for the longer cruise.  We had a "mentalist" and a "magician" who were not part of the Happenings Cast and both could have been considered stand up comedians.  In addition, there was a person listed by name only who was supposedly a comedian...that comment tells you what I thought of her...and a couple of other acts that we didn't see.

[hansolosmom]

On 9/15/2023 at 3:47 PM, warmwinds said:

Joe Shmo was definitely a stand-up comedian (according to folks we talked to).

 

Maybe...they change the entertainment from time to time?  Maybe the cruises you were on had different entertainers than the one we did?

 

The other thing that deflected us from seeing any shows was that "you have to reserve a space in advance, like THE MINUTE you get on the ship or you'll be shut out".

 

Like many things we found out, what we read in advance was very different from reality.

 

Next time we will be smarter.

 

I look at this 4-nighter as a reconnaissance mission so we know what to do/not do next time.

we're doing the same thing, I have a 4 nighter booked in Nov. Great price and a nice length cruise to see what VV is like. We've done a lot of RC cruises so want to see what this one is like

 

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, hansolosmom said:

we're doing the same thing, I have a 4 nighter booked in Nov. Great price and a nice length cruise to see what VV is like. We've done a lot of RC cruises so want to see what this one is like

 

My only comment would be that short vv cruises are quite different than longer cruises.  Still, 4 nights will give you an idea of the food, amenities, etc.

[warmwinds]

48 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

My only comment would be that short vv cruises are quite different than longer cruises.  Still, 4 nights will give you an idea of the food, amenities, etc.

Can you elaborate?  I've been on long and short on Celebrity and they are pretty much the same.  

[_tacocat_]

19 hours ago, warmwinds said:

Can you elaborate?  I've been on long and short on Celebrity and they are pretty much the same.  

the shorter cruises tend to attract more of a party vibe - more large groups celebrating birthdays, bachelor/bachelorettes, etc.  also the shorter voyages trend younger on average than the longer itineraries, as in general younger people have less PTO and discretionary income than people more established in their careers or retired.  i'm 35 and i've been on 4, 5, 7 and 8 nighters, and i've never gotten a real "party" vibe on any of the 7 or 8 nighters.  the 4 nighters are as close as VV comes to a "booze cruise" that may be common on other lines.

[cantgetin]

Exactly--short cruises tend to have more drinking and acting out, more party atmosphere, as well as the feeling of "we have to do EVERYTHING."  Long cruises tend to be more relaxed, less of a party, less or a frenetic atmosphere.  People know they have time to do things and likely will be back.

 

[warmwinds]

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

the shorter cruises tend to attract more of a party vibe - more large groups celebrating birthdays, bachelor/bachelorettes, etc.  also the shorter voyages trend younger on average than the longer itineraries, as in general younger people have less PTO and discretionary income than people more established in their careers or retired.  i'm 35 and i've been on 4, 5, 7 and 8 nighters, and i've never gotten a real "party" vibe on any of the 7 or 8 nighters.  the 4 nighters are as close as VV comes to a "booze cruise" that may be common on other lines.

Our next one is exactly a 6 nighter, lol.  Can't wait.

[brilliantseas]

On 9/15/2023 at 2:42 PM, kwokpot said:

I'll assume you were being facetious. But if you've sailed on Virgin you'll know there aren't comedians and comedy shows in the traditional sense like what you'll find on a Carnival cruise. Instead, it's imbedded into other forms of entertainment, such as the drag queen show, and other shows in the club. 

 

Virgin is starting to introduce fly-on comedians as a form of entertainment on the Miami-based sailings. The shows take place in The Manor under the headline of "Festival Stage". Note that the Festival Stage shows include a variety of fly-on acts, from magicians and comedians to musicians and hypnotists, so you can't guarantee comedy shows on a particular sailing, but Virgin is listening to sailor feedback and bringing a wider variety of entertainment to their ships. In my personal opinion, this is incredibly important to keep the experience fresh as both Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady share much of the same onboard entertainment. 

[cantgetin]

On each of the crossings we've had comedians, mentalists, magicians, etc. My guess was that they were being brought on to keep us occupied for the 14-15 nights.

[Tarwood3]

On 9/13/2023 at 1:20 PM, warmwinds said:

And kicking ourselves for not booking on board.  We weren't "sure", there were things we didn't like as well as many, many that we did.  And now 3 days later we've booked another with half the on-board credit. 

 

I'll be telling things and asking things, too.  For our background we started cruising in 1976 (we met on a cruise, NCL) 😍and in the ensuing years tried Sitmar, Princess, Royal, HAL, and finally settled on Celebrity where we have been for literally the last 20 years.  Loved Celebrity, but they started to downgrade and downgrade and quite frankly, we were getting bored with the same old same old - so decided to shake it up.  Decided NOT to go high end (Crystal, Seabourn, etc) but to really shake it up - So Virgin was the choice.  Great choice.

 

We lucked into one of the angled balcony "secret" cabins from the other thread - 11102Z.  Just booked and that's gone, only 02 on either side is 9102Z - we could look down on the lifeboats from 11, will they be in our faces, blocking the rear view from deck 9?

 

We thought the ship was gorgeous, loved all the different areas, so many nooks and crannies.  Loved the food - from the lowliest burger to the most gourmet.  Ate at the Wake, Extra Virgin, Test Kitchen, Razzle Dazzle, as well as many of the more casual venues (Dock or Dockside mezze were fabulous).  Sleeper breakfast?  The heart attack on a plate French Toast Breakfast Burger.  We got pizza only once because we like different types, so 2 whole ones was too much, wish they had slices.  Had drinks in many different bars.  Service throughout was outstanding.

 

Loved the pool, it was bigger than what I was expecting based on reviews, but very difficult for seniors to get up that 2 foot wall around it - we're not disabled, just in our 70's and not 22 and athletic anymore.  They really need one step on one side somewhere to facilitate that.

 

We are not late night people so missed much of the entertainment, etc., but that's ok, it was a short 4 day cruise and we were happy just to get to know the ship.  I can honestly say we did not care for much of the music we did hear, but that's our age and our taste.  You can't please everyone, and there were pockets of "oldies" music that we appreciated when we came across it.

 

Loved the super simple embarkation and disembarkation.  Got used to the wrist band quickly.  

 

Just booked a 6 nighter and will delve more into the entertainment.  Really just an unexpectedly positive experience - I knew it would be "different" for us, and it was, but in a good way.

 

 

Happy to see your post.  We have had the 14 day Transatlantic booked from Barcelona to Miami for quite some time.  Now that the cruise is only 3 weeks away, I have begun to get nervous that VV isn’t for us.  We travel primarily on Silversea, Seabourn, Oceania and Celebrity.     We have done one RCCL and hated it…too many drunks, belly flop contests, just seemed like a trashy booze cruise.  Plus we don’t like big cruise ships…we like Celebrity even though the ship is larger, but we stay in the Retreat…so it’s a smaller more intimate luxury experience.    Now that our cruise has gotten close, I worry that it’s just a glorified Carnival or Royal type of cruise.  We aren’t into dressing up in costumes and silly theme nights..so not sure if we will feel odd by not participating in these events?  We are a gay couple…56 and 50.  We enjoy a good time but definitely prefer the finer things in life.  And are looking forward to all the restaurants!   We booked a Brilliant Suite, hoping that might mimic more what we are used to in cruising.  We have done 30 cruises and book based on itinerary, not so much the ship itself as the destination which is what we are doing on this VV cruise as we have been to all the ports before…so we are hoping that we are pleasantly surprised! We are early risers, early to bed kind of folk….we like to drink…but only a cocktail or 2 a day due to medication reasons….  So my question is..what did you like on VV much better than Celebrity? And I would also be interested if anyone on here has experience on luxury lines…we have been on them all…and their thoughts as well! Thanks so much! 

[cantgetin]

I'm 69 and somewhat conservative.  We liked VV overall better than Celebrity, but there are things we liked about Celebrity as well.  It is definitely NOT a glorified Carnival or ROyal.  You can party and jump into the pool if you want, but we found plenty to do at our age without being party animals.  I've done both TAs that VV has had so far and am cruising later this month with you as well.  We got off our first VV cruise with 3 more booked, for what that tells you.

 

Food great, friendliest crew at sea, love the "almost all inclusive concept...,and if you aren't already signed up for the status match loyalty program, do it now.  You'll love the complimentary HUGE bag of laundry that is part of the loyalty perks.