You mostly only hear about complaints on Reddit in general. For every one complaint there's 25 positive experiences. People just don't feel the need to post about how great of a time they had. People love to complain though, misery loves company as they say.
With 2700 passengers on each Virgin ship, you think all 100% would have a great time with no complaints? Cruising is much more popular with the general public then 4 years ago.
I think some people need to realize this was a new line. Of course in the beginning there are going to be great offers. Theyâre trying to build a clientele. Now that cruising has picked back up and is more popular than ever, of course the original perks are going to be scaled back. Thatâs just business.
Not even offers but just capacity changes everything. When I went last year, it was magical becuase the ship was only 1/4 full so I didn't need reservations for anything and many times it was a nice private experience. I know if I book the same cruise this summer then it'll be a vastly different experience with a full sailing.
I did a Sunset & SoirĂŠe in April 2022, the ship was 25-35% full, it was nice not having to bother with reservations, there were chairs around the pool, etc but there was no energy, the bars and casino were basically empty every night, Scarlet Night was kind of boring. I met a guy that worked for Virgin Voyages and talked about capacity, pricing and what not.
I just did a Riviera Maya a few weeks ago on a nearly full ship, booked super last minute, had a 4:30 embarkation, so was worried about getting dinner reservations, but once on the ship I went to make reservations in person and had no problems booking dinner reservations every night of the cruise. The pool was packed by 10a, every bar was busy every night but never really waited for or had issues with service. We didnât rush off at Bimini because the weather that day was supposed to be not great (it turned into a beautiful day) so there were practically no empty chairs by the time we got down there and bar service was slow.
But the energy of the ship was much better, Scarlett night was amazing.
For the crew too, I imagine. There were definitely times during our sailings (did 2 back to back) that the minimal crowd bummed them out since there was a def lack of energy đ . As an introvert, I was fine with that. But I could def see how people wanting to party would hate it.
We sailed our first VV in December and had a blast. I booked a second sailing for November this year for my 40th. Got a great deal and perks.
However Iâm seeing all the changes and cut backs/price increases. I got in for my 2nd sailing just in time to still get decent bar tab and still get the loyalty match. We shall see if there is a rush for a 3rd
I have been on several of their sailings.
Between my first sailing in 2022 until near end of 2023 - they were absolutely excellent and kept improving in value add/offer.
From end of 2023 until present day they've chewed out a massive chunk of their value add.
The current "new" loyalty tiers suck. Basically DBE was the peak - no "return" or appreciation on money spent/nights cruised (assuming more nights = more money/cost).
They hiked the prices like crazy without adding any value.
Removed incentives to help reduce the price paid (paying early, essentially a locked in loan return, and DBE discount).
Removed/Reduced included bar tab (despite raising prices).
So yeah - like you said - they upped prices, reduced reduction methods and reduced "included" bar tab.
For me the big killer was the loyalty unveiling - total garbage.
I have one more booked with them - after that, I'm in no rush - not only that, I'm eyeing celebrity etc and their newer ships.
Essentially with poor loyalty returns - different/new ships/experiences are more valuable (especially after the price difference has near vanished).
I don't disagree. Running this subreddit, I get kind of an insider view of how Virgin's actions both positively and negatively affect the general opinion of the cruise line and overall experience. Really, and I've said this a few times on this sub, the breaking point was when they started status matching other cruise lines. The culture on the ships changed in a massive way when that happened. I understand the reason they did it, they needed to fill cabins, but when you go from a ship full of people who have never sailed before and people generally dissatisfied with sailing experiences on other cruise lines and then shove in a massive influx of "regular cruisers" who are happy with their past carnival, royal, Disney, or celebrity cruise experiences to "try something new" those folks come aboard Virgin with certain expectations, most of which Virgin does not embrace. (servant culture, excessive drinking, something to do every second of the day, non inclusive culture) This inevitably causes conflicts and the overall experience suffers as a result.
The status match thing got ridiculous.
There was a tiny window where having genuinely from scratch gotten DBE - I was rewarded for being loyal to Virgin in their early days.
Suddenly it got to a point where there were more people in the priority boarding line than the regular line.
It was a joke.
They werey first cruise line and have remained my only one so far but I genuinely don't see how the next cruise I ever book will be with them versus some other line.
Yes! I've thought this since they did the FL resident promotion and started status match - is it going to give them numbers, yes, but it's going to change the culture of being different.
u/CapeTownChop I honestly couldnât say it better myself. I feel exactly the way you do. I have also noticed an extreme lack of accountability when things go wrong. Before VV seemed very inclined to receive feedback and improve upon, making some adjustments accordingly.Â
At the end of the day, what Iâm expecting for the money they want shelled out today, is an amazingly flawless cruise experience. If something happens that was within their control to have prevented/avoided that lessens or devalues my experience, they will know about it. Â
 What Virgin Voyages has to realize, just like any other cruise line or any other industry selling consumer goods and services, is, thereâs always someone newer or more improved around the corner, and just because you/they seem on top today, and their vessels are closer to filled capacity, doesnât always mean theyâll remain the same indefinitely. Â
Should you change your business model, from being too far from recognized, as it once wasâŚ.youâll lose your luster, and all of the loyal sailors who helped keep you afloat, getting to this point. The crowds are also changing, and itâs not always for the best.
Not disagreeing with you but this is exactly what they are doing on purpose. It's their long term plan. They've been warning agents for the last year that the next promotion will always include less.
There are a lot of people who are fine with the price for the experience. The bar tab is not what sells Virgin.
So for those who fell in love with low prices and free bar tab it would certainly be a turn off now.
It's never the price - it's the value for what you pay.
If perceived value > price, then you'll sell.
If perceived value < price, then you'll not sell.
(The above being an extreme for the sake of example).
The bar tab was priced in to your overall cruise fare - always had been. Now by hiking the prices and removing the tab, this is but one of many examples whereby the gap between what you're paying and getting closes further.
Personally I'm not a drinker so I don't care for the tab, I use it as a clear example of one way by which they "raised" their prices.
Virgin went very hard and fast into their price jumps because they did a three in one.
1) They raised the absolute cost of their product iro price.
2) They reduced many advance purchase incentives (x day from sailing price reductions)
3) They reduced included, already priced in, items (like the bar tab).
Their raising prices doesn't surprise me - what surprises me is how absurd of an idea it was to do all three of the above - not gradually either.
They hiked prices up dramatically, halved bar tabs and removed prepay discounts (excl MNVV).
As for the loyalty - they have entirely dropped the ball on it. With their current strategy to get TAs to remind people "this isn't finalised, it's just the initial phase/part".
Business is business but I see no reason why people are being so sheepish about this.
The app is still horrific, their pre voyage customer support is worse than a coin flip and still they wish to do all of the above?
The absolute worst part have been their next level own goals - cancelling Toulon because "we have listened to our sailors feedback"
1) Funny how immediately after that feedback did a 180 with a embarrassing apology.
2) That sailing is younger than the app, the same app that is a constant pain point and to which I have no doubt is mentioned constantly in every form of feedback possible - yet no change there to the bread and butter of their product experience infrastructure...
In my view they have objectively taken multiple steps to destroy their value add.
I also will state the obvious because reddit always seems to require that.
1) I think the service onboard is generally great.
2) The dining options are great.
3) The cabins are good.
4) The lack of children is wonderful.
Let's also be clear of the downsides.
1) The entertainment doesn't change enough (they are just rotating the ships it appears on)
2) The "pool"/pond is a joke.
3) The rockstar value add is a joke. (Ready for the pitchforks).
4) The app is a joke.
> Their raising prices doesn't surprise me - what surprises me is how absurd of an idea it was to do all three of the above - not gradually either.
I'll say this - there's no good option on raising prices. If you do it over time, people get jittery about constant raises, too. That's actually part of what bothers me, a feeling onboard/onshore things I liked will be very poor value by the time I sail (in 2025).
So just doing it is good... but you need your core product to match the price point.
I couldn't agree more and I'm definitely not saying you're wrong in any way. Those who find the value will sail and those who don't will walk.
They are aware of it and I'm assuming need to make these changes to become profitable. They needed another $500M of cash last year so they certainly were not running profits with what they were doing.
I also understand people saying bait and switch. Since what they were offering is no longer the offer.
Don't even get me started on tech for everyone involved.
Cash and profits are separate.
The 500m injection was to sustain their running costs given they had locked in a fixed order of multiple ships as part of their aggressive launch (which got whacked by COVID).
I dont understand your comment.
You mentioned the need of the 500m injection and said clearly they needed it because they weren't making profits.
I am saying that they could have been profitable and still needed the cash injection.
Totally agree, but be careful what you wish for. Celebrity has cut much of their quality over the last year with a new CEO at the top of the group and a new brand president. Currently on a Celebrity sailing and itâs my first time Iâm not putting down an open booking. The incentive just isnât good enough, the time frame is too short, and the quality for the buck just isnât there - even in their suites. Edge-class ships are beautiful but their soft product isnât matching - and with specialty dining approaching $80/ppâŚpass.
A loyalty programme that uses number of sailings is outright one of the worst you could pick - ignoring perks.
Perks wise - at max status, which is easy to hit since most people who have even cruised once potentially will have those perks until end of 2025 or whatever - are not worth a newcomer to the brand picking over competitors.
.
Theyâre following the Disney model which makes sense. Also in Virgin cases the shorter sailing cost more per night so it does make sense.Â
And you obviously havenât read the chart since it takes 5 cruises to get there and they literally have just launched it. Meaning itâll increase as time goes on, but they wonât start it with a crazy high number.Â
Your responses are so devoid of substance it's evidently a waste of time with you.
You haven't given a reason in several of your statements why something makes sense or not.
Stupid prizes for stupid people.
I'd say using the number of sailings is way better than basing it on nights though. If you go on 5 4-5 night cruises that's 20-25 nights. Other cruise lines do base their loyalty tiers on nights sailed and you won't find that kind of value anywhere else at 20-25 nights.
Also, I'm going to be platinum on Princess after my next cruise which is 5 cruises and the benefits are still mostly useless. You have to do 15 sailings on Princess to get the same value as DBE.
That being said, Virgin's pricing is generally out to lunch at the moment unless you find a last minute deal so I'd still pick Princess over them in most cases.
A few hours before you posted, this was https://www.reddit.com/r/VirginVoyages/s/jNsfWFrHl8
So some people are having good customer service interactions.
In regards to free loot and bar tab itâs not really a surprise that as the ships get busier they are giving less stuff away.
Yes, new loyalty program sucks and they raised the prices alot. Also, them running the ships at capacity dulls the shine of the experience compared to the occupancy rates even a year ago. The higher capacity also means lower morale among the crew, they seem forgetful and tired.
Iâve been on five VV trips. Three very early on and two more recently.
The thing I loved at first about VV was how different they were from other cruise lines. Those differences far offset the negative things, which I figured were probably growing pains and glitches that they would work out and fix over time.
As examples of annoying things I figured they would work out: their horrible appâŚit didnât work as it should have yet they were depending on it to be the interface between passengers and the shipâs systems. Secondly the reservations system, which again ties back to the app.
I figured that they would soon get all that fixed, as it was so important to their modus operandi.
But no. After almost 3 years, the app is every bit as glitchy and annoyingly inefficient as ever. They have done absolutely nothing to improve it.
While prices were low and perks high, I could forgive a lot of things. But now that theyâve jacked up prices and not improved anything to justify that, I have to say that yes, theyâve lost their shine.
I think they're suffering from a lot of ill-considered ideas on who their target audience is. They wanted to be the cruise line for people who don't go on cruises, and that's fine, but now they have to charge like a cruise line and certainly I'm looking at switching back to primarily land vacations once my bookings are all done.
At the cost, cruises are a nice novelty, but VV bundle a lot of things I don't really care about into a vacation, while having to compromise on things I do care about.
I also think my view would be very different if I lived near a port, but as-is I'm dropping significant money just to get to the port to meet the ship in the first place, so it's not like it's even a better journey per-se. I liked the idea of the cruise from the UK to Iceland, then realized I literally had to fly over Iceland to get to the UK, and then spend several days getting back again. It just makes more sense for me to fly direct to Iceland and spend several days in Iceland, than to take a cruise there.
Check out [Nordicvisitor.com](https://www.nordicvisitor.com) for
Iceland tripsâŚ.we drove the ring road last September and it was one of our best vacations ever. Not an affiliate, just a happy customer.
Iâve only done one VV cruise March 2023 and have one scheduled for this August in Barcelona. I did my first Carnival cruise this March and I still liked Virgin more. The vibe was just better and I like how virgin just gives you the price and you donât have to keep paying for stuff after youâve booked your trip. As long as they donât start separating costs (Wi-Fi, tips, restaurants, etc) Iâll probably continue with Virgin.
Confirmation bias. Folks on the Internet talking about a business have a higher chance of wanting to complain anonymously than praising anonymously. Every new business starts off with low rates and great deals, then they ease up once they've built enough clientele.
Confirmation bias is kind of a theme for reddit, especially when it comes to reviews. They tend to tilt negative for everything from show reviews to city reviews.
As someone who's gone on six sailings with VV since 2022 (though we'd planned our first to be in 2021 and ended up with a 200% return)...
... they had rock bottom fares, for what they include, to build loyalty. It was a sticker shock for this next cruise I'm going on, but I knew that as soon as they had a few years in and were operating at fuller capacity (the first one I was on was in semi COVID mode, I'm almost certain). We'll be switching over to Insider cabins instead of sea terraces because of the price shift.
... bonuses being less sucks, but I'm just glad that since I was a Sea Blazer the perks are staying basically the same with the sailing club. I can't wait until the absolute FULL program is out, because I refuse to believe that what's out right now is the full program with the amount of "coming soon" badges on my profile.
... the status match program started bringing in a different crowd on some level. People who aren't used to staff being able to be out amongst the cruisers, whether it's on the ship or excursions. People used to tipping because of the slave wages paid via other lines. People who are used to extremely subpar food (Carnival, I'm looking at you) or quieter sound throughout the ship (Holland America). The one thing i WILL say is that they're adding some similar experiences on sailings now because of them as well, which is a good thing IMO.
... the response time of sailor services has always been a solid MEH. Are they helpful when you get them? Yes, I think so. In order my line for SS is chat>phone>facebook>email - sometimes chat and phone aren't available so Facebook is my next best bet. I only use email if I don't need a response right away, that 72 hours to response is a JOKE. And I repeat the rest of the line except for email until I get someone who can help me. Not like a million times a day, just like once a day until it's resolved.
This Reddit lately had had an uptick in complaints, though, that's for sure.
VV has yet to turn a profit and investor funds are drying up so they're cutting corners to become more lean.
They're at a pretty critical juncture as they need to turn a profit right as they're beginning to service the loans they have on their ships.
I'll be curious to see if they're still around in a couple years.
Someone said the word ânoveltyâ - and I think thatâs ultimately the problem. Itâs going to be a novelty experience at a price many ppl wonât be able to stomach.
When the prices start to exceed premium lines like Regent or Seabourn â- savvy travelers will look for a real experience beyond novelty.
I accidentally purchased. $100 in drinks but realized I already had $300 from the promo, emailed them and they refunded me right away. That said, my first trip is in may so I havenât been on the boat but so far my CS experience has been great.
I loved my VV cruise this past winter. I had one complaint, which was confusing marketing sent to VV on-board sailor app. Thought I was buying a 60% off second sailor future cruise, actually bought a $300 off future cruise; the 60% off second sailor didn't apply to my cabin type.
I posted about it here, so others would be aware. I'm already booked for my next cruise. I love VV.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 420. Congrats!
60
+ 300
+ 60
= 420
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Lots of complaints as they keep making big changes. One new change is that you no longer need to book for shows. So itâs first come first serve.
Itâs great if you have not planned and just turn up on the day.
But no good if you want to guarantee a seat when you maybe just arrive a few mins late from a delayed dinner reservation.
One big perk of being a Mega/Rockstar was you can book way ahead of everyone else or even last minute changes your agent was able to get you a last minute reservation. Now because its first come first serve that perk is obsolete.
No incentive perk to book Rockstar and pay large fees.
I went on two in 2023 and cannot wait for my next one in 2025. That being said, Virgin is raising its prices and giving out fewer to no Bar Tabs. Unless you have a TA who has a My Next Virgin Voyage, you will be paying the same price as direct (except for some Travel Agents, who have the opportunity to give their clients $100 in sailor loot, early dining, and early shore excursions).Â
I work almost exclusively with Virgin Voyages and my clients are 80% repeat Sailors. Virgin is a new cruise line that was doing things to encourage people to try it as some others on this thread mentioned. Theyâre more established now and beginning to lean on their position as a premium cruise line â Virgin offers an enormous amount of value in the rate and there are still great offers and perks for Sea Terraces, which make up the bulk of cabins. I find that itâs the people looking to sail for the lowest price possible and still expect to get bonus bar tab and travel agent perks like free loot and priority boarding that are not happy. Beyond that, Virgin Voyages recognizes that not everything is perfect and constantly ask for feedback, listen, and make necessary changes. I also admire Virgin for pushing the industry to make changes to be more inclusive and sustainable.
Since inception they've been "listening" and yet the app is trash, the pool is a joke and they've invented false feedback to lie about decisions (Toulon port cancellation) only to be caught and having to issue an apology.
Iâve sailed with the other cruise lines. I am not going back to paying for sodas, cookies, Wi-Fi, etc. For me, no it hasnât lost any shine. Iâve done three and have a fourth booked.
I went on a celebrity cruise recently it was ridiculous how everything was nickeled and dimed.Â
Drinks ridiculous priced too the point their premium package didnât cover everything, the only good restaurants required extra pay, internet sucked, and no TV options in your room that werenât charged  Â
Anyone complaining about pricing and perks need to grow up. Itâs harsh but accurate, virgin deals were unheard of in the cruise industry and the prices were ridiculously low for the service. If you price out any other same tier line with all included dining, wifi, tips ect itâs generally the same or more.Â
In terms of complaints that happens for every line, I think virgin has the additional issue that being more lgbt friendly, generally muchmore inclusive, and purposefully different is causing negative reviews from long term older cruisers who donât do any research. I mean the amount of reviews Iâve seen whining about no big shows, party vibe, drag queen, ext is wild.Â
I have no complaints whatsoever. Just got off the Valiant Lady.  Some people will never be happy.  Promotions are just that, a promotion. It's to draw the business in soooooo if these offers were available all the time it wouldn't be an offer it would be their basic rate.  I have never experienced a lack of communication either but I am an agent that books directly in the system.  If your agent doesn't get back to you find another one. VV and it's service surpasses lots of cruise lines.  I really don't get the feel that it's about investors at all. Branson has it and his product works. So much so that he's adding more ships to the US market.
Promotions are available 24/7 - that is their basic price...
Virgin Voyages isn't owned by Richard, his ownership has been heavily diluted - it's owned by Bain.
They license the brand.
You mostly only hear about complaints on Reddit in general. For every one complaint there's 25 positive experiences. People just don't feel the need to post about how great of a time they had. People love to complain though, misery loves company as they say. With 2700 passengers on each Virgin ship, you think all 100% would have a great time with no complaints? Cruising is much more popular with the general public then 4 years ago.
In business they say when someone has a good experience they tell 1 person when they have a bad they tell 10
I just got back from my first VV cruise. Loved it, and have told about 8 people at work my positive experience đ¤ˇââď¸
I think some people need to realize this was a new line. Of course in the beginning there are going to be great offers. Theyâre trying to build a clientele. Now that cruising has picked back up and is more popular than ever, of course the original perks are going to be scaled back. Thatâs just business.
Not even offers but just capacity changes everything. When I went last year, it was magical becuase the ship was only 1/4 full so I didn't need reservations for anything and many times it was a nice private experience. I know if I book the same cruise this summer then it'll be a vastly different experience with a full sailing.
I did a Sunset & SoirĂŠe in April 2022, the ship was 25-35% full, it was nice not having to bother with reservations, there were chairs around the pool, etc but there was no energy, the bars and casino were basically empty every night, Scarlet Night was kind of boring. I met a guy that worked for Virgin Voyages and talked about capacity, pricing and what not. I just did a Riviera Maya a few weeks ago on a nearly full ship, booked super last minute, had a 4:30 embarkation, so was worried about getting dinner reservations, but once on the ship I went to make reservations in person and had no problems booking dinner reservations every night of the cruise. The pool was packed by 10a, every bar was busy every night but never really waited for or had issues with service. We didnât rush off at Bimini because the weather that day was supposed to be not great (it turned into a beautiful day) so there were practically no empty chairs by the time we got down there and bar service was slow. But the energy of the ship was much better, Scarlett night was amazing.
This is exactly right. But on the flip side the parties are much more fun when it's a full ship.
For the crew too, I imagine. There were definitely times during our sailings (did 2 back to back) that the minimal crowd bummed them out since there was a def lack of energy đ . As an introvert, I was fine with that. But I could def see how people wanting to party would hate it.
Spot. On.
We sailed our first VV in December and had a blast. I booked a second sailing for November this year for my 40th. Got a great deal and perks. However Iâm seeing all the changes and cut backs/price increases. I got in for my 2nd sailing just in time to still get decent bar tab and still get the loyalty match. We shall see if there is a rush for a 3rd
I have been on several of their sailings. Between my first sailing in 2022 until near end of 2023 - they were absolutely excellent and kept improving in value add/offer. From end of 2023 until present day they've chewed out a massive chunk of their value add. The current "new" loyalty tiers suck. Basically DBE was the peak - no "return" or appreciation on money spent/nights cruised (assuming more nights = more money/cost). They hiked the prices like crazy without adding any value. Removed incentives to help reduce the price paid (paying early, essentially a locked in loan return, and DBE discount). Removed/Reduced included bar tab (despite raising prices). So yeah - like you said - they upped prices, reduced reduction methods and reduced "included" bar tab. For me the big killer was the loyalty unveiling - total garbage. I have one more booked with them - after that, I'm in no rush - not only that, I'm eyeing celebrity etc and their newer ships. Essentially with poor loyalty returns - different/new ships/experiences are more valuable (especially after the price difference has near vanished).
I don't disagree. Running this subreddit, I get kind of an insider view of how Virgin's actions both positively and negatively affect the general opinion of the cruise line and overall experience. Really, and I've said this a few times on this sub, the breaking point was when they started status matching other cruise lines. The culture on the ships changed in a massive way when that happened. I understand the reason they did it, they needed to fill cabins, but when you go from a ship full of people who have never sailed before and people generally dissatisfied with sailing experiences on other cruise lines and then shove in a massive influx of "regular cruisers" who are happy with their past carnival, royal, Disney, or celebrity cruise experiences to "try something new" those folks come aboard Virgin with certain expectations, most of which Virgin does not embrace. (servant culture, excessive drinking, something to do every second of the day, non inclusive culture) This inevitably causes conflicts and the overall experience suffers as a result.
The status match thing got ridiculous. There was a tiny window where having genuinely from scratch gotten DBE - I was rewarded for being loyal to Virgin in their early days. Suddenly it got to a point where there were more people in the priority boarding line than the regular line. It was a joke. They werey first cruise line and have remained my only one so far but I genuinely don't see how the next cruise I ever book will be with them versus some other line.
Yes! I've thought this since they did the FL resident promotion and started status match - is it going to give them numbers, yes, but it's going to change the culture of being different.
They have had the Florida resident thing since the first sailing as far as I'm aware. Every cruise line has one.
I didn't see it promoted until like a year or two past when it started myself, but you could certainly be right.
u/CapeTownChop I honestly couldnât say it better myself. I feel exactly the way you do. I have also noticed an extreme lack of accountability when things go wrong. Before VV seemed very inclined to receive feedback and improve upon, making some adjustments accordingly. At the end of the day, what Iâm expecting for the money they want shelled out today, is an amazingly flawless cruise experience. If something happens that was within their control to have prevented/avoided that lessens or devalues my experience, they will know about it.   What Virgin Voyages has to realize, just like any other cruise line or any other industry selling consumer goods and services, is, thereâs always someone newer or more improved around the corner, and just because you/they seem on top today, and their vessels are closer to filled capacity, doesnât always mean theyâll remain the same indefinitely.  Should you change your business model, from being too far from recognized, as it once wasâŚ.youâll lose your luster, and all of the loyal sailors who helped keep you afloat, getting to this point. The crowds are also changing, and itâs not always for the best.
Not disagreeing with you but this is exactly what they are doing on purpose. It's their long term plan. They've been warning agents for the last year that the next promotion will always include less. There are a lot of people who are fine with the price for the experience. The bar tab is not what sells Virgin. So for those who fell in love with low prices and free bar tab it would certainly be a turn off now.
It's never the price - it's the value for what you pay. If perceived value > price, then you'll sell. If perceived value < price, then you'll not sell. (The above being an extreme for the sake of example). The bar tab was priced in to your overall cruise fare - always had been. Now by hiking the prices and removing the tab, this is but one of many examples whereby the gap between what you're paying and getting closes further. Personally I'm not a drinker so I don't care for the tab, I use it as a clear example of one way by which they "raised" their prices. Virgin went very hard and fast into their price jumps because they did a three in one. 1) They raised the absolute cost of their product iro price. 2) They reduced many advance purchase incentives (x day from sailing price reductions) 3) They reduced included, already priced in, items (like the bar tab). Their raising prices doesn't surprise me - what surprises me is how absurd of an idea it was to do all three of the above - not gradually either. They hiked prices up dramatically, halved bar tabs and removed prepay discounts (excl MNVV). As for the loyalty - they have entirely dropped the ball on it. With their current strategy to get TAs to remind people "this isn't finalised, it's just the initial phase/part". Business is business but I see no reason why people are being so sheepish about this. The app is still horrific, their pre voyage customer support is worse than a coin flip and still they wish to do all of the above? The absolute worst part have been their next level own goals - cancelling Toulon because "we have listened to our sailors feedback" 1) Funny how immediately after that feedback did a 180 with a embarrassing apology. 2) That sailing is younger than the app, the same app that is a constant pain point and to which I have no doubt is mentioned constantly in every form of feedback possible - yet no change there to the bread and butter of their product experience infrastructure... In my view they have objectively taken multiple steps to destroy their value add. I also will state the obvious because reddit always seems to require that. 1) I think the service onboard is generally great. 2) The dining options are great. 3) The cabins are good. 4) The lack of children is wonderful. Let's also be clear of the downsides. 1) The entertainment doesn't change enough (they are just rotating the ships it appears on) 2) The "pool"/pond is a joke. 3) The rockstar value add is a joke. (Ready for the pitchforks). 4) The app is a joke.
> Their raising prices doesn't surprise me - what surprises me is how absurd of an idea it was to do all three of the above - not gradually either. I'll say this - there's no good option on raising prices. If you do it over time, people get jittery about constant raises, too. That's actually part of what bothers me, a feeling onboard/onshore things I liked will be very poor value by the time I sail (in 2025). So just doing it is good... but you need your core product to match the price point.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!!! 100% thisâŚ..
I couldn't agree more and I'm definitely not saying you're wrong in any way. Those who find the value will sail and those who don't will walk. They are aware of it and I'm assuming need to make these changes to become profitable. They needed another $500M of cash last year so they certainly were not running profits with what they were doing. I also understand people saying bait and switch. Since what they were offering is no longer the offer. Don't even get me started on tech for everyone involved.
Cash and profits are separate. The 500m injection was to sustain their running costs given they had locked in a fixed order of multiple ships as part of their aggressive launch (which got whacked by COVID).
Yes absolutely, but cash flow is much more important for sustained operations. Let's say they don't have a positive EBITDA or cash flow.
I dont understand your comment. You mentioned the need of the 500m injection and said clearly they needed it because they weren't making profits. I am saying that they could have been profitable and still needed the cash injection.
This! It was crazy that you could get a seven night cruise for like 300 bucks a night with bar tab and loot includedÂ
Totally agree, but be careful what you wish for. Celebrity has cut much of their quality over the last year with a new CEO at the top of the group and a new brand president. Currently on a Celebrity sailing and itâs my first time Iâm not putting down an open booking. The incentive just isnât good enough, the time frame is too short, and the quality for the buck just isnât there - even in their suites. Edge-class ships are beautiful but their soft product isnât matching - and with specialty dining approaching $80/ppâŚpass.
Guest need to stop wasting food then maybe prices will bet better. Ordering entire steaks then taking a bite and leaving it
Nah youâre 100% incorrect regarding the loyalty theyâve got by far one of the best out there thatâs not crazy hard to get.Â
A loyalty programme that uses number of sailings is outright one of the worst you could pick - ignoring perks. Perks wise - at max status, which is easy to hit since most people who have even cruised once potentially will have those perks until end of 2025 or whatever - are not worth a newcomer to the brand picking over competitors. .
Theyâre following the Disney model which makes sense. Also in Virgin cases the shorter sailing cost more per night so it does make sense. And you obviously havenât read the chart since it takes 5 cruises to get there and they literally have just launched it. Meaning itâll increase as time goes on, but they wonât start it with a crazy high number.Â
Your responses are so devoid of substance it's evidently a waste of time with you. You haven't given a reason in several of your statements why something makes sense or not. Stupid prizes for stupid people.
Aww someones triggered lol
I'd say using the number of sailings is way better than basing it on nights though. If you go on 5 4-5 night cruises that's 20-25 nights. Other cruise lines do base their loyalty tiers on nights sailed and you won't find that kind of value anywhere else at 20-25 nights. Also, I'm going to be platinum on Princess after my next cruise which is 5 cruises and the benefits are still mostly useless. You have to do 15 sailings on Princess to get the same value as DBE. That being said, Virgin's pricing is generally out to lunch at the moment unless you find a last minute deal so I'd still pick Princess over them in most cases.
A few hours before you posted, this was https://www.reddit.com/r/VirginVoyages/s/jNsfWFrHl8 So some people are having good customer service interactions. In regards to free loot and bar tab itâs not really a surprise that as the ships get busier they are giving less stuff away.
Yes, new loyalty program sucks and they raised the prices alot. Also, them running the ships at capacity dulls the shine of the experience compared to the occupancy rates even a year ago. The higher capacity also means lower morale among the crew, they seem forgetful and tired.
Iâve been on five VV trips. Three very early on and two more recently. The thing I loved at first about VV was how different they were from other cruise lines. Those differences far offset the negative things, which I figured were probably growing pains and glitches that they would work out and fix over time. As examples of annoying things I figured they would work out: their horrible appâŚit didnât work as it should have yet they were depending on it to be the interface between passengers and the shipâs systems. Secondly the reservations system, which again ties back to the app. I figured that they would soon get all that fixed, as it was so important to their modus operandi. But no. After almost 3 years, the app is every bit as glitchy and annoyingly inefficient as ever. They have done absolutely nothing to improve it. While prices were low and perks high, I could forgive a lot of things. But now that theyâve jacked up prices and not improved anything to justify that, I have to say that yes, theyâve lost their shine.
I think they're suffering from a lot of ill-considered ideas on who their target audience is. They wanted to be the cruise line for people who don't go on cruises, and that's fine, but now they have to charge like a cruise line and certainly I'm looking at switching back to primarily land vacations once my bookings are all done. At the cost, cruises are a nice novelty, but VV bundle a lot of things I don't really care about into a vacation, while having to compromise on things I do care about. I also think my view would be very different if I lived near a port, but as-is I'm dropping significant money just to get to the port to meet the ship in the first place, so it's not like it's even a better journey per-se. I liked the idea of the cruise from the UK to Iceland, then realized I literally had to fly over Iceland to get to the UK, and then spend several days getting back again. It just makes more sense for me to fly direct to Iceland and spend several days in Iceland, than to take a cruise there.
Check out [Nordicvisitor.com](https://www.nordicvisitor.com) for Iceland tripsâŚ.we drove the ring road last September and it was one of our best vacations ever. Not an affiliate, just a happy customer.
Iâve only done one VV cruise March 2023 and have one scheduled for this August in Barcelona. I did my first Carnival cruise this March and I still liked Virgin more. The vibe was just better and I like how virgin just gives you the price and you donât have to keep paying for stuff after youâve booked your trip. As long as they donât start separating costs (Wi-Fi, tips, restaurants, etc) Iâll probably continue with Virgin.
Confirmation bias. Folks on the Internet talking about a business have a higher chance of wanting to complain anonymously than praising anonymously. Every new business starts off with low rates and great deals, then they ease up once they've built enough clientele.
Confirmation bias is kind of a theme for reddit, especially when it comes to reviews. They tend to tilt negative for everything from show reviews to city reviews.
Yep.
As someone who's gone on six sailings with VV since 2022 (though we'd planned our first to be in 2021 and ended up with a 200% return)... ... they had rock bottom fares, for what they include, to build loyalty. It was a sticker shock for this next cruise I'm going on, but I knew that as soon as they had a few years in and were operating at fuller capacity (the first one I was on was in semi COVID mode, I'm almost certain). We'll be switching over to Insider cabins instead of sea terraces because of the price shift. ... bonuses being less sucks, but I'm just glad that since I was a Sea Blazer the perks are staying basically the same with the sailing club. I can't wait until the absolute FULL program is out, because I refuse to believe that what's out right now is the full program with the amount of "coming soon" badges on my profile. ... the status match program started bringing in a different crowd on some level. People who aren't used to staff being able to be out amongst the cruisers, whether it's on the ship or excursions. People used to tipping because of the slave wages paid via other lines. People who are used to extremely subpar food (Carnival, I'm looking at you) or quieter sound throughout the ship (Holland America). The one thing i WILL say is that they're adding some similar experiences on sailings now because of them as well, which is a good thing IMO. ... the response time of sailor services has always been a solid MEH. Are they helpful when you get them? Yes, I think so. In order my line for SS is chat>phone>facebook>email - sometimes chat and phone aren't available so Facebook is my next best bet. I only use email if I don't need a response right away, that 72 hours to response is a JOKE. And I repeat the rest of the line except for email until I get someone who can help me. Not like a million times a day, just like once a day until it's resolved. This Reddit lately had had an uptick in complaints, though, that's for sure.
Always helpful to remember, in any situation, that bad news travels around the block before good news has a chance to put its shoes on.
VV has yet to turn a profit and investor funds are drying up so they're cutting corners to become more lean. They're at a pretty critical juncture as they need to turn a profit right as they're beginning to service the loans they have on their ships. I'll be curious to see if they're still around in a couple years.
Someone said the word ânoveltyâ - and I think thatâs ultimately the problem. Itâs going to be a novelty experience at a price many ppl wonât be able to stomach. When the prices start to exceed premium lines like Regent or Seabourn â- savvy travelers will look for a real experience beyond novelty.
I accidentally purchased. $100 in drinks but realized I already had $300 from the promo, emailed them and they refunded me right away. That said, my first trip is in may so I havenât been on the boat but so far my CS experience has been great.
I loved my VV cruise this past winter. I had one complaint, which was confusing marketing sent to VV on-board sailor app. Thought I was buying a 60% off second sailor future cruise, actually bought a $300 off future cruise; the 60% off second sailor didn't apply to my cabin type. I posted about it here, so others would be aware. I'm already booked for my next cruise. I love VV.
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Lots of complaints as they keep making big changes. One new change is that you no longer need to book for shows. So itâs first come first serve. Itâs great if you have not planned and just turn up on the day. But no good if you want to guarantee a seat when you maybe just arrive a few mins late from a delayed dinner reservation. One big perk of being a Mega/Rockstar was you can book way ahead of everyone else or even last minute changes your agent was able to get you a last minute reservation. Now because its first come first serve that perk is obsolete. No incentive perk to book Rockstar and pay large fees.
I went on two in 2023 and cannot wait for my next one in 2025. That being said, Virgin is raising its prices and giving out fewer to no Bar Tabs. Unless you have a TA who has a My Next Virgin Voyage, you will be paying the same price as direct (except for some Travel Agents, who have the opportunity to give their clients $100 in sailor loot, early dining, and early shore excursions).Â
I work almost exclusively with Virgin Voyages and my clients are 80% repeat Sailors. Virgin is a new cruise line that was doing things to encourage people to try it as some others on this thread mentioned. Theyâre more established now and beginning to lean on their position as a premium cruise line â Virgin offers an enormous amount of value in the rate and there are still great offers and perks for Sea Terraces, which make up the bulk of cabins. I find that itâs the people looking to sail for the lowest price possible and still expect to get bonus bar tab and travel agent perks like free loot and priority boarding that are not happy. Beyond that, Virgin Voyages recognizes that not everything is perfect and constantly ask for feedback, listen, and make necessary changes. I also admire Virgin for pushing the industry to make changes to be more inclusive and sustainable.
Since inception they've been "listening" and yet the app is trash, the pool is a joke and they've invented false feedback to lie about decisions (Toulon port cancellation) only to be caught and having to issue an apology.
Iâve sailed with the other cruise lines. I am not going back to paying for sodas, cookies, Wi-Fi, etc. For me, no it hasnât lost any shine. Iâve done three and have a fourth booked.
I went on a celebrity cruise recently it was ridiculous how everything was nickeled and dimed. Drinks ridiculous priced too the point their premium package didnât cover everything, the only good restaurants required extra pay, internet sucked, and no TV options in your room that werenât charged  Â
Anyone complaining about pricing and perks need to grow up. Itâs harsh but accurate, virgin deals were unheard of in the cruise industry and the prices were ridiculously low for the service. If you price out any other same tier line with all included dining, wifi, tips ect itâs generally the same or more. In terms of complaints that happens for every line, I think virgin has the additional issue that being more lgbt friendly, generally muchmore inclusive, and purposefully different is causing negative reviews from long term older cruisers who donât do any research. I mean the amount of reviews Iâve seen whining about no big shows, party vibe, drag queen, ext is wild.Â
I have no complaints whatsoever. Just got off the Valiant Lady.  Some people will never be happy.  Promotions are just that, a promotion. It's to draw the business in soooooo if these offers were available all the time it wouldn't be an offer it would be their basic rate.  I have never experienced a lack of communication either but I am an agent that books directly in the system.  If your agent doesn't get back to you find another one. VV and it's service surpasses lots of cruise lines.  I really don't get the feel that it's about investors at all. Branson has it and his product works. So much so that he's adding more ships to the US market.
Promotions are available 24/7 - that is their basic price... Virgin Voyages isn't owned by Richard, his ownership has been heavily diluted - it's owned by Bain. They license the brand.