Old people just off Scarlet Lady first timers

[warmwinds]

To answer your questions, Tarwood3, I think mainly we had become bored with Celebrity, and had seen the quality (especially the food quality) deteriorate from the highs of Michel Roux (yes, that long ago) to what it has devolved into today.  I don't even recall the era of Boulud being that much of a bump.

 

On Celebrity we had mostly stayed in Aqua and eaten in Blu.  We did a suite one time, a nice suite, the "secret" 6134/6135's and while we liked the extra space, we did not feel the food in Luminae was any better than in Blu.  And our butler really had very little to do (he kept bringing us stuff so he felt that he was doing his job!)

 

We were stuck in a rut with Celebrity, and decided to do something completely different.

 

At the risk of repeating myself either on this thread or elsewhere, we made a conscious decision not to go "too" upscale - no Silversea or Crystal, etc.

 

Why?  Honestly I couldn't tell you (outside of knowing people who liked those lines whose personalities were not aligned with ours).  Not to say there aren't great people you can meet on any line.  

 

I wanted to rock the boat, so chose VV.  Sounds crazy, but was expecting not to like it.  But...4 nights out of our lives wasn't going to kill us.

 

We are also early to bed so didn't get to see any shows or do anything except, literally, eat/drink/sleep/swim/repeat.  This was fine with us.  Next time we'll participate more.  But it was such a beautiful ship, kind and friendly workers, nice  people to talk to next to us at almost every restaurant...and that was fun, not Blu or Luminae every night, a different experience every night.

 

As the cruise got nearer, I got more and more nervous...so much so that I just shut down and didn't read one more word about VV until we sailed.

 

I don't want to wax poetic anymore, and as you can see from my original review on this thread, there were things we weren't crazy about (music not our style), but the ship, the people, the food were all a very pleasant surprise to us.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much.

[Tarwood3]

12 hours ago, cantgetin said:

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.

Thank you so much! Appreciate taking the time to reply!   Feeling better already…

[cantgetin]

Walter kinda nailed it.  Our first Celebrity cruise was pretty good.  There was one issue on it that wasn't Celebrity's fault and one that was.  This was way back when the fancy brunch was included.  My travel companion has a progressive mobility deterioration, and one of the first issues was an inability to climb stairs.  At that point, we did not need an accessible cabin or anything, but we were told that we could not be seated on the first floor for the brunch.  Essentially "no brunch for you."  So we. couldn't attend.

We loved the food, the entertainment was good, etc.  We didn't like the concept of the three classes on board.  And then we started reading about things being dropped or becoming charged items, and it rather turned us off. 

 

Trying VV was sort of a fluke--I called my agent and did some quizzing as we aren't the "20 something cruising on daddy's money" crowd.  I wasn't a bit sure it was right for us. But we loved it and got off tthe ship with 3 more booked.

[Tarwood3]

11 hours ago, warmwinds said:

To answer your questions, Tarwood3, I think mainly we had become bored with Celebrity, and had seen the quality (especially the food quality) deteriorate from the highs of Michel Roux (yes, that long ago) to what it has devolved into today.  I don't even recall the era of Boulud being that much of a bump.

 

On Celebrity we had mostly stayed in Aqua and eaten in Blu.  We did a suite one time, a nice suite, the "secret" 6134/6135's and while we liked the extra space, we did not feel the food in Luminae was any better than in Blu.  And our butler really had very little to do (he kept bringing us stuff so he felt that he was doing his job!)

 

We were stuck in a rut with Celebrity, and decided to do something completely different.

 

At the risk of repeating myself either on this thread or elsewhere, we made a conscious decision not to go "too" upscale - no Silversea or Crystal, etc.

 

Why?  Honestly I couldn't tell you (outside of knowing people who liked those lines whose personalities were not aligned with ours).  Not to say there aren't great people you can meet on any line.  

 

I wanted to rock the boat, so chose VV.  Sounds crazy, but was expecting not to like it.  But...4 nights out of our lives wasn't going to kill us.

 

We are also early to bed so didn't get to see any shows or do anything except, literally, eat/drink/sleep/swim/repeat.  This was fine with us.  Next time we'll participate more.  But it was such a beautiful ship, kind and friendly workers, nice  people to talk to next to us at almost every restaurant...and that was fun, not Blu or Luminae every night, a different experience every night.

 

As the cruise got nearer, I got more and more nervous...so much so that I just shut down and didn't read one more word about VV until we sailed.

 

I don't want to wax poetic anymore, and as you can see from my original review on this thread, there were things we weren't crazy about (music not our style), but the ship, the people, the food were all a very pleasant surprise to us.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much.

Thanks so much for your detailed reply..,I do feel better now.  Truth be told, no matter what ship we are on, we always have a good time…always find people we enjoy hanging out with. And you’re probably right…I should stay off the facebook page for our cruise….

[Tarwood3]

7 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Walter kinda nailed it.  Our first Celebrity cruise was pretty good.  There was one issue on it that wasn't Celebrity's fault and one that was.  This was way back when the fancy brunch was included.  My travel companion has a progressive mobility deterioration, and one of the first issues was an inability to climb stairs.  At that point, we did not need an accessible cabin or anything, but we were told that we could not be seated on the first floor for the brunch.  Essentially "no brunch for you."  So we. couldn't attend.

We loved the food, the entertainment was good, etc.  We didn't like the concept of the three classes on board.  And then we started reading about things being dropped or becoming charged items, and it rather turned us off. 

 

Trying VV was sort of a fluke--I called my agent and did some quizzing as we aren't the "20 something cruising on daddy's money" crowd.  I wasn't a bit sure it was right for us. But we loved it and got off tthe ship with 3 more booked.

We quit Celebrity and went back to Silversea and Oceania because the sky suites had gotten so expensive that they weren’t much different Silversea…so it was a no brainer to switch back.  I did like the energy on Celebrity…but always perfectly happy on SS or Oceania.   We do have another VV already booked…Summer 2024.  We take our nieces and nephews on a trip anywhere in the world they want to go for their HS graduation.  The last one graduates next year…she wants to do Greece on Virgin…so it was booked.  Hopefully we enjoy our TA so we arent dreading next years trip!

[cantgetin]

5 minutes ago, Tarwood3 said:

We quit Celebrity and went back to Silversea and Oceania because the sky suites had gotten so expensive that they weren’t much different Silversea…so it was a no brainer to switch back.  I did like the energy on Celebrity…but always perfectly happy on SS or Oceania.   We do have another VV already booked…Summer 2024.  We take our nieces and nephews on a trip anywhere in the world they want to go for their HS graduation.  The last one graduates next year…she wants to do Greece on Virgin…so it was booked.  Hopefully we enjoy our TA so we arent dreading next years trip!

Greece is good....just limit to ONE excursion to visit ruins.  We did a 28 night Med cruise with some amazing excursions.  Ephesus was the best  (other things were in that day as well), but we should have stopped there.  The Acropolis and the theatre were good, Vesuvius /Pompei was good...but by the time we got to a tour guide named George on one of the Greek islands, we had hit the "if I never see another ruin" level.

[Tarwood3]

57 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Greece is good....just limit to ONE excursion to visit ruins.  We did a 28 night Med cruise with some amazing excursions.  Ephesus was the best  (other things were in that day as well), but we should have stopped there.  The Acropolis and the theatre were good, Vesuvius /Pompei was good...but by the time we got to a tour guide named George on one of the Greek islands, we had hit the "if I never see another ruin" level.

Yep, I have done Greece many times and while I love it, I was hoping she would have chosen somewhere else….  We have been to 100 countries…so hard to find a place we haven’t been to yet.. ha!

[RNPJN]

You still can get that deal in the following week you will get one with access codes

[Morecruisesplz]

On 9/15/2023 at 1:42 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. 

Drag queen? Now that's some comedy for you.

[cantgetin]

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. 

We definitely had comedians on the 14/15 night transatlantic cruises.  Yes, regular comedians--some in the Red Room who also did magic or memory stuff as part of their act, others in The Manor who did simply stand up comedy.  This was in addition to things that were part of the diva show, etc.

[boltnut55]

On 9/14/2023 at 10:23 AM, kwokpot said:

People seem to focus on age but age isn't the issue. It's all dependent on the types of activities and entertainment choices and environment you're interested in spending your vacation. If you're looking for ballroom dancing, big band music, show tunes, '50s sock hop night, comedian shows you're not going to find that on a Virgin cruise. 

That last part is what I'd like to avoid, been there, done that. 

 

My niece went on VV and loved it.  I did ask about the age thing (and we're "only" in our late 50s), but she seem to think it was no big deal and saw people of all ages, so I also feel better after reading this.  

[Gretchendz]

On 9/14/2023 at 2:33 AM, jdacombe said:

I'm 72 next year and my wife will be 64, but we are both "young at heart", with regard to music and outlook on life.

Considering VV lean towards a younger demographic would a cruise with Virgin be suitable for a couple of "old codgers" like us.

Thanks for any information 

Totally. I am in your age bracket and loved every minute. Never felt out of place as everyone is open and welcoming.

[webbstuff]

On 9/14/2023 at 2:33 AM, jdacombe said:

I'm 72 next year and my wife will be 64, but we are both "young at heart", with regard to music and outlook on life.

Considering VV lean towards a younger demographic would a cruise with Virgin be suitable for a couple of "old codgers" like us.

Thanks for any information 

Almost the same as my wife and I.  Love VV.  Have been on 3 voyages with them and have 3 more already booked.  NYE, Trans Atlantic and Barcelona!

[DorothysFriend]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:06 PM, Tarwood3 said:

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! 

I am curious to hear how you are enjoying VV so far, if you have boarded already. I did the French Daze and Ibiza Night with my gay BFF (since my wife couldn't come) - we are 47 and 54. We stayed in a Brilliant Suite since that has a sofa that can be made up into a separate bed. I think going Rock Star is going to be key for quiet, early to bed types since you have access to Richard's Rooftop and a calmer vibe on top of the ship. I also loved being able to order room service without any additional charge - fresh fruit and pastries to your room in the morning may suit you better than the considerably noisy galley for breakfast. You will probably have trouble drinking all the alcohol that comes with the room, in addition to the bar tab (I know we did).

 

One of my fave things about VV was the inclusive vibe on the ship, being welcomed by the very diverse and fun "happenings" cast on embarkation and seeing them all around the ship, eating where we did, etc. The Rockstar agent was very helpful making any reservations we wanted and changing anything, etc but it was not English Butler service if that's what you are used to on other lines.

 

I will say that traveling with my BFF and a large gay group meant that I left my early to bed, early gym workout days behind me for a week and stayed up late for meals at 9am and the big parties afterward. That was fun but also wore me out and I am looking forward to a quieter cruise with my wife next year. I wanted to maybe try one of the VV Greek ones but it was sold out for the dates we wanted. Although we attended nearly all of the parties, I also met people on the ship who went for earlier meals and entertainment and seemed to really enjoy their cruise without going to the late night parties. We did some of the group workouts but I would have liked to spend more time in the gym. I am really interested in hearing about your experiences on VV, given your background with other cruise lines and smaller ships.

Edited November 3, 2023 by DorothysFriend
creating paragraphs out of my word vomit

[cantgetin]

I'm on BCN to MIA now.  It is definitely an older average group then the previous crossing.  The longer the cruise, the quieter it seems to be....we love long cruises.  THe parties are there if you want them, but in general there are more calm activities and they bring on extra things like comedians, mentalists, etc.  Room service if not in a suite has a $7 delivery fee which is waived if you order any item with a charge....like a $4 coffee or hot chocolate or any alcohol.  No reason to avoid ordering from room service due to the "charge."

[Tarwood3]

On 11/3/2023 at 2:30 PM, DorothysFriend said:

I am curious to hear how you are enjoying VV so far, if you have boarded already. I did the French Daze and Ibiza Night with my gay BFF (since my wife couldn't come) - we are 47 and 54. We stayed in a Brilliant Suite since that has a sofa that can be made up into a separate bed. I think going Rock Star is going to be key for quiet, early to bed types since you have access to Richard's Rooftop and a calmer vibe on top of the ship. I also loved being able to order room service without any additional charge - fresh fruit and pastries to your room in the morning may suit you better than the considerably noisy galley for breakfast. You will probably have trouble drinking all the alcohol that comes with the room, in addition to the bar tab (I know we did).

 

One of my fave things about VV was the inclusive vibe on the ship, being welcomed by the very diverse and fun "happenings" cast on embarkation and seeing them all around the ship, eating where we did, etc. The Rockstar agent was very helpful making any reservations we wanted and changing anything, etc but it was not English Butler service if that's what you are used to on other lines.

 

I will say that traveling with my BFF and a large gay group meant that I left my early to bed, early gym workout days behind me for a week and stayed up late for meals at 9am and the big parties afterward. That was fun but also wore me out and I am looking forward to a quieter cruise with my wife next year. I wanted to maybe try one of the VV Greek ones but it was sold out for the dates we wanted. Although we attended nearly all of the parties, I also met people on the ship who went for earlier meals and entertainment and seemed to really enjoy their cruise without going to the late night parties. We did some of the group workouts but I would have liked to spend more time in the gym. I am really interested in hearing about your experiences on VV, given your background with other cruise lines and smaller ships.

Hey there…thanks for asking.   Yes, we are half through the 14 day cruise across the Atlantic.   Short answer to your question is that yes, we are enjoying ourselves more than we thought we might.  Im 56 and there are a lot of people much older than us.  It’s a very mixed bag of ages.  All my concerns about cruising have been put to rest fortunately.  

 

Are there a few things we don’t care for or miss from other cruise lines…yes. But they don’t outweigh the positives we have experienced 

 

A couple of the negatives.  The veranda furniture is terrible.  2 little hard metal chairs.  We like to read or watch Netflix on sea days and those hard little chairs are good for about 10 mins on the bum, that’s it.  We are used to chairs that at least recline a bit and have some padding.  

 

We have a nice size room… a Brilliant suite but I don’t like that there are no drawers or cabinets in the bathroom…..so all of our toiletries just sit out on the ledge..not a big deal…but always nice to have all that stuff put away when not using. 

 

I get that VV doesn’t like doing announcements ….but on a 14 day cruise, not to hear from the captain daily is weird.  We are at sea, no idea what the weather will be for the day, tomorrow,   When the seas may calm down…they have been rough for days now.  We have no idea our position in the Atlantic.  There is no channel on the tv to see ship’s speed, the temperature, progress on our route….I think that could be improved.  

 

Wish we could use Richards Rooftop…but it’s always so windy up there , that it’s completely empty all the time.  So I guess it’s good for when you are in port, but anytime you’re sailing, it’s a no-go it seems.  

 

Yesterday they did the dumbest thing. Our first full sea day after leaving Funchal and they decide to re finish half the pool deck in the middle of the day when everyone wants to lay by the poool.  So yes, they closed half the pool deck for ours , during prime hours on a sunny warm day.  Why couldn’t this have been done when we were in port the day before in Funchal when no one was on board? Or early in the morning, or late afternoon?  

 

Food has been pretty good.   We have been to all the specialty restaurants and found Gunbae our least favorite.  It was fine, but kinda boring in my opinion.  We have canceled our 2nd night there.  Someone had said that breakfast in Razzle Dazzle is best on the ship.  So we booked twice there…. Well after eating there the first time, we canceled our 2nd breakfast there.  Menu is a bit odd.   We like dinner there and are going again tonight.  

 

There are an enormous amount of events going on every day.  Pretty impressed with the number of musicians, entertainers etc they have brought on.  I don’t know what normal is like, but my guess is we have more than normal for the transatlantic.  

 

I had read on the facebook group one time, someone had complained how terrible the drinks were on Valiant lady this summer.  Said they used watered down cheap tonic, drinks were blah, no beer available etc….  We have not found this to be true at all.  All of our cocktails have been great …zero complaints.  

 

Anyway, I could go on and on about random things but overall we are quite happy.  Will it be our go -to cruiseline , no.   We prefer the small ships of Silversea and Oceania.  And the itineraries are so much better on the smaller ships.  We have traveled to over 100 countries, so VV doesn’t really offer anything we haven’t’ already done.  We are taking another VV cruise next summer around Greece ( our 4th time there) because we are taking our nieces for their graduation present and thats what they wanted to do.   But other than that, Im not sure when we will sail again.  But if we find an itinerary we find interesting, we wouldn’t hesitate in booking it.  

 

In short, I definitely don’t feel too old for Virgin! 

[MidnightOpal]

On 9/14/2023 at 3:18 PM, 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.

What does the balcony look like looking forward? Any obstructions? We have the for an upcoming cruise. Thanks!

[webbstuff]

On 11/5/2023 at 9:01 AM, Tarwood3 said:

Hey there…thanks for asking.   Yes, we are half through the 14 day cruise across the Atlantic.   Short answer to your question is that yes, we are enjoying ourselves more than we thought we might.  Im 56 and there are a lot of people much older than us.  It’s a very mixed bag of ages.  All my concerns about cruising have been put to rest fortunately.  

 

Are there a few things we don’t care for or miss from other cruise lines…yes. But they don’t outweigh the positives we have experienced 

 

A couple of the negatives.  The veranda furniture is terrible.  2 little hard metal chairs.  We like to read or watch Netflix on sea days and those hard little chairs are good for about 10 mins on the bum, that’s it.  We are used to chairs that at least recline a bit and have some padding.  

 

We have a nice size room… a Brilliant suite but I don’t like that there are no drawers or cabinets in the bathroom…..so all of our toiletries just sit out on the ledge..not a big deal…but always nice to have all that stuff put away when not using. 

 

I get that VV doesn’t like doing announcements ….but on a 14 day cruise, not to hear from the captain daily is weird.  We are at sea, no idea what the weather will be for the day, tomorrow,   When the seas may calm down…they have been rough for days now.  We have no idea our position in the Atlantic.  There is no channel on the tv to see ship’s speed, the temperature, progress on our route….I think that could be improved.  

 

Wish we could use Richards Rooftop…but it’s always so windy up there , that it’s completely empty all the time.  So I guess it’s good for when you are in port, but anytime you’re sailing, it’s a no-go it seems.  

 

Yesterday they did the dumbest thing. Our first full sea day after leaving Funchal and they decide to re finish half the pool deck in the middle of the day when everyone wants to lay by the poool.  So yes, they closed half the pool deck for ours , during prime hours on a sunny warm day.  Why couldn’t this have been done when we were in port the day before in Funchal when no one was on board? Or early in the morning, or late afternoon?  

 

Food has been pretty good.   We have been to all the specialty restaurants and found Gunbae our least favorite.  It was fine, but kinda boring in my opinion.  We have canceled our 2nd night there.  Someone had said that breakfast in Razzle Dazzle is best on the ship.  So we booked twice there…. Well after eating there the first time, we canceled our 2nd breakfast there.  Menu is a bit odd.   We like dinner there and are going again tonight.  

 

There are an enormous amount of events going on every day.  Pretty impressed with the number of musicians, entertainers etc they have brought on.  I don’t know what normal is like, but my guess is we have more than normal for the transatlantic.  

 

I had read on the facebook group one time, someone had complained how terrible the drinks were on Valiant lady this summer.  Said they used watered down cheap tonic, drinks were blah, no beer available etc….  We have not found this to be true at all.  All of our cocktails have been great …zero complaints.  

 

Anyway, I could go on and on about random things but overall we are quite happy.  Will it be our go -to cruiseline , no.   We prefer the small ships of Silversea and Oceania.  And the itineraries are so much better on the smaller ships.  We have traveled to over 100 countries, so VV doesn’t really offer anything we haven’t’ already done.  We are taking another VV cruise next summer around Greece ( our 4th time there) because we are taking our nieces for their graduation present and thats what they wanted to do.   But other than that, Im not sure when we will sail again.  But if we find an itinerary we find interesting, we wouldn’t hesitate in booking it.  

 

In short, I definitely don’t feel too old for Virgin! 

If you want to know where you are...

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9805336

[Tarwood3]

Just now, webbstuff said:

If you want to know where you are...

https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9805336

Yep, we have that and look at it daily…but it’s still nice to have all that and more on the tv at least…several people were talking about it at lunch in the galley.  In fact, one of the crew was walking by and he was so excited to see where we were when we had cruisemapper pulled up on phone….got us talking about the Bermuda Triangle…we were just south of Bermuda at lunchtime 

[aqlollipop]

18 hours ago, MidnightOpal said:

What does the balcony look like looking forward? Any obstructions? We have the for an upcoming cruise. Thanks!

There are no obstructions. The lifeboats are all down on deck 7/8. As far as looking forward goes, I'm not sure if you mean straight out or the reverse of the picture I posted. But I would say no. However, you really are unlikely to be looking towards the front of the ship, simply because the angle on the balcony makes that rather awkward. Mostly you'll be looking out or back as pictured.

 

Hope that helps.

[MidnightOpal]

22 minutes ago, aqlollipop said:

There are no obstructions. The lifeboats are all down on deck 7/8. As far as looking forward goes, I'm not sure if you mean straight out or the reverse of the picture I posted. But I would say no. However, you really are unlikely to be looking towards the front of the ship, simply because the angle on the balcony makes that rather awkward. Mostly you'll be looking out or back as pictured.

 

Hope that helps.

Yes! That does! Thanks 🙂

[Hyuaul]

On 9/14/2023 at 10:23 AM, kwokpot said:

People seem to focus on age but age isn't the issue. It's all dependent on the types of activities and entertainment choices and environment you're interested in spending your vacation. If you're looking for ballroom dancing, big band music, show tunes, '50s sock hop night, comedian shows you're not going to find that on a Virgin cruise. 

Sailed on Scarlet Lady in Oct. Beautiful ship! Found major difference-At no time did I ever feel spoiled not even with the  Splash of Romance package-app failed. Except at the Dock deck  7. I guess that  can be considered an age thing- over 65 married 44 years.

[TripsYouMustDo]

Glad you enjoyed it. Funnily enough, my wife and I had the opposite reaction (we are around 50 and 70 yo). We sailed on Scarlett (5nt) and Resilient (7nt Greek Isles) and while it was OK for the Amex points we spent (used reward points, not cash), I would never book a VV cruise paying cash. Love the food, but that was it.

 

It's interesting you said the ships were beautiful coming from Celebrity. I found them utilitarian and minimalistic, not beautiful. On the other hand we just came back from a 6nt on Celebrity Eclipse, which is their older ship and due for refurbishment, and we were blown away by how beautiful and elegant the ship was. The tree suspended in the atrium , the library, even the concierge lounge open to the atrium - gorgeous. Compared to that VV ships are like Holiday Inn vs Waldorf Astoria (with VV being Holiday Inn and Waldorf Astoria being Celebrity). We were lowest class on Celebrity and enjoyed basic dining room just fine (Moonlight Sonata). I thought the food was just fine even compared to VV food (though I won't argue that VV has the edge there). Enjoyed the simplicity of not worrying about what I need to book when, and trying to be on-time on Celebrity. On VV Resilient we missed our dining at Extra Virgin and were told by condescending Matre'd "too bad, so sad, be on time next time".  Tried to come in early another day (again at Extra Virgin) and was told the same thing "we are busy, go away and come back whenever it is your rservation says" without any effort or attempt to accommodate us. That Matre'd was the worst though, the rest of the restaurant staff  was much more accommodating. 

 

Anyway, again, glad you enjoyed your cruise enough to book another one and actually pay cash for it. The best deal is not getting onboard credit though. The best deal is the award cruises on points if you know how to do that. Our Resilient Lady cruise cost us 63,000 Amex Membership Reward points (transferred to Virgin), or about $600 - for the Central Veranda cabin, 7-night Greek Isle cruise, this August (8/28 to be exact). To make it better it turned out to be their first "President's" cruise, with Richard Branson gracing us with his presence for a few minutes after the Champaign toast. 

 

Search the threads in this forum, plenty of info on the points deals. I've seen it three times so far. Our sailing out Miami on Scarlet was also on points but a much worse deal. Paid about 90,000 points for 5nt Western Caribbean cruise (Cozumel and Bimini). Better than $2500 it would've cost us, but not as good as 63,000 points for $5,000 Greek Isles cruise out of Athens.

 

FWIW, we paid $350/each for the Sunset Veranda on Celebrity Eclipse (yes, there was extra charge for port fees &taxes, and tips, and internet, still not anywhere close to what VV would've cost us).

 

Glad you found the cruise line you enjoyed, have fun! Hope you continue to enjoy them as much. And again, thank you for sharing!

Edited November 11, 2023 by TripsYouMustDo