CanadianCruiser21

I had noticed Brilliant Lady TA not appearing on those port schedules a few weeks ago, but I wonder what data source is used to populate those sites. I would like to believe that VV booked those ports at some point and wouldn’t just cancel them until they were sure they were cancelling the TA. If they are sure, what’s stopping them from telling us? It’s not like they have been shy about cancelling their other voyages, albeit sometimes weeks after they have chartered it. 

Not sure if this matters to you, but the Burrata Caprese is different. At Cucina Del Capital, it’s actually proper fresh burrata, whereas at Sabbatinis, it’s more of a fresh mozzarella. Some people might prefer the mozzarella, but they shouldn’t call it Burrata if it’s not real Burrata.

With the way VV has been going, they seemingly haven’t even finalized Q1-Q3 of 2024. They recently changed a bunch of Austrailia sailings and are probably figuring out where to sail Brilliant Lady after April. As much as I am impatiently waiting for the late 2024/ early 2025 itineraries, it’s probably better they don’t release them until they get a better idea. 
I noticed the transatlantic style routes around Athens/Dubai/Singapore were selling well though, even with the higher nightly rates. 
The Caribbean sailings out of Miami are pretty solid as well. 
I also speculate that the prices will go up significantly and I’m afraid of being priced out as a solo sailor.

1 hour ago, StevenUS said:

Well, excuse me, almost 1/3rd happy now?

It’s really closer to 1/4, unless you are staying in a suite. 

Cancel the reservation. Not sure why you aren’t able to via the app. They will refund your credit card. Maybe try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. My app recognized the 2 dining credits and I was able to apply it when booking in advance. 

7 hours ago, marden1970 said:

We had several different brands on our last cruise (Crown March/April), one of which was Kirkland.

That’s where I saw it (in a video)! It was a Princess cruise food review couple and they were on a long cruise on the Crown in April. I am a Costco fanatic so I recognize kirkland anywhere. I even have ostentatiously branded Kirkland clothing. 

Was this all MDR?

where did you get the chocolate covered strawberries?

Yes. From some videos I’ve seen, they sometimes serve Kirkland spring water. 

Yes, it doesn’t cost you anything. And even if you are perfectly competent to book your own stuff, you get free on board credit. For example, if you book a sea terrace (not lock it in), you get $700 sailor loot (OBC). In addition, if there are any issues, they are the ones who deal with the customer service wait times, not you. 
Plus, it’s not like anything is out of your control if you use a TA. I’m still able to log into my account, make payments, changes, add ons, etc. 

Lastly, they can help deal with any issues you may have while on board too. 
Just make sure you find a good TA. 

I paid more to pick a caribe deck balcony just for the footstools! I’m on Crown in October. I hope they have them! 

17 hours ago, Ozz12 said:

Canadian Cruiser, yes they did. It’s 1 year from the date Virgin cancelled.

 

Given we only have a limited season here it’s pretty much use it in this upcoming December to March season or lose it… other than buying flights to the US or Europe. 

Woah. I thought it would be 1 year from the original sail date. 

17 hours ago, Ozz12 said:

 

That being said we have been given a FUTURE VOYAGE CREDIT of approximately AU$2400. 
 

FUTURE VOYAGE CR

Did they give you an expiry date to use the FVC?

Question for those who have used MNVV and opted for the full refund option: how did that work? Did you get the MNVV deposit back as well?

Please take screenshots from the app and post them here. 

52 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Some ships allow it, others do not.  We’ve been told, they are not allowed to do that and will have RS deliver it to the room. Same story in the MDR.

 

We did not ask on the Crown at the Crown Grill.  We did ask this in the MDR and it was delivered to the room by RS.

 

That’s a good data point! 

For the Crown Grill, will they pack my dessert to go? I tend to get full easily but hungry again an hour later. I’ve heard of others doing this, but not sure if it was an exception or ship specific. I’ll be on the Crown Princess. 

19 hours ago, Freelancer3 said:

VV is currently working though a bunch of January-March 2024 cancelled cruises in Australia. Maybe they will update us on Brilliant Lady after they process these cancellations and rebookings.  

I think what this tells us is that VV is still adjusting their 2024 itineraries to maximize profit, and are willing to just cancel on people who are already booked. 
 

Another theme is that their compensation model does not make things “right” in that people can’t just book a similar sailing on a different date, since prices have doubled for the people who booked in Fall 2022. 
IMHO, people should get at least an equivalent/similar cruise for what they originally paid. 

6 minutes ago, notme2012 said:

Thank you! I am happy that someone else gets my drift... This isn't meant to be hurtful to anyone, but I am not happy with the VV experience pre-cruise. This is a cruise line that was developed by non-cruisers and venture capitalists. What could go wrong? Well everything!

 

If I get 150% of what I paid, that is less than $1500. Why should I even bother staying with VV? If this is what transpires, I am done with Virgin Voyages!  

To be a bit fair to VV, it only sucks so much because the fares have increased so much in the past few months. Otherwise, 150% would have been fine. 
Cunard cancelled a transatlantic cruise the morning they were supposed to depart (engine issues). All they offered was a full refund and 20% FCC. Now THAT is truly awful. 

39 minutes ago, notme2012 said:

Not one Brilliant Lady cruise is in final payment. Most people have less than $1000 paid. If I get 200%, I get $1000. That is nothing for the efforts that I have go thru, to cancel all the other arrangements that I have made for this trip. Again, I am not holding my breath. It would be nice, but I sincerely doubt that VV will be as liberal as they were in the past.

Someone on FB just posted that Virgin chartered their cruise for World Poker Tour. This gives a sense of what they are offering for cancellations a year out. 

I found this online “WPT Voyage onboard Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady March 31st to April 6th 2024 - Full Ship TAKEOVER!”

The FB poster said  “Virgin Voyages offered either a 100% refund of what you've paid OR 150% of what you've paid towards a future voyage”.

I really hope this Brilliant Lady TA doesn’t get cancelled because that’s totally shitty considering how much prices have gone up since people initially booked the Brilliant TA. 
Even 200% would be shitty since prices have more than doubled. I don’t think VV will ever have fares as low as they were in 2022. 

Personally, I’ve spent way too many hours planning travel around this cruise and stressing about it being cancelled. The reward flight ticket I was going to book is now sold out too. Overall, pretty disappointed. Even a 100% refund would be shitty because I paid in a different currency (used a TA for MNVV and the deposit was in USD), so I’ve fully paid and I’ll definitely take a hit on the conversion rate. 

Does anyone know how the MNVV works in the case of a refund without rebooking? Will I also get that $300 deposit back? 
 

4 hours ago, nimbex1970 said:

ugh, have to be diamond on RCCL. 

Do you have status with any hotels? Hilton gold? 

6 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

You just have to note when you go in that the dining is included with your package so you won’t be inadvertently charged.  
We found that it is easier to address it proactively. A couple of times, we forgot to tell them it had already been charged and we got double billed.  Easy enough to fix but now we always try to remember to just let them know when before they seat us.  

Thank you for the tip! I would have thought that booking it through the app would have been enough since it shows the charge to your credit card. In my case, it was 0 since I had the dining credits. But when I tried to make another reservation, it did show as $39.99. From other posts I’ve seen all over FB, people mentioned their credit cards were charged well before the cruise. 
 

I will mention it to them though! Always better to be proactive. 

32 minutes ago, memoak said:

What ship has a Sabatini’s that is open for anything but dinner and full suite breakfast ?  Never heard of such a thing 

I guess I heard it was open for breakfast so I wasn’t sure if it was open for lunch or if they had staff there in the afternoon for room service. 

For ships where sabbatinis is only open for dinner (Crown Princess), are you able to order from Sabbatinis for room service in the afternoon? 

Do they really give those mini bottles of liquor? They are so cute. I am tempted to order the sundae just to get the little bottle. I assume they are unopened.

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Perhaps you are seeing the higher amount as it is in CAD which you likely booked your cruise in?  On board costs are always USD, unless an Australia-based voyage.

 

That said, if a guest uses their dining credit to go to Sabatini's, there is no remaining balance to use elsewhere (Sabi's costs less than CG, for example).

I just bit the bullet and added Princess Premier. Then I booked a dinner for me and my friend at Sabatinis (who I added as a travel companion earlier for booking dinners), and the dining credit was applied for both! 
 

hoping it sticks and there are no surprises.