Wildcatllamas

So now it is the end of August. Well, I won't be holding my breath.

The answer of "soon" is getting old. I keep reaching out to them and I can give the reply in my sleep now.

Well darn. The travel agent I know told me that he had moved over to NCL. I was all hopeful that Princess would improve. Guess not.

You did hear John Padgett is with NCL didn't you. They are "loving" him, but the honeymoon period glow is still there. I'm hoping Virgin gets their act together pretty soon. I just talked with one of the folks and they said if Virgin gets it listed they would consider cancelling and booking with Virgin.

Well darn! The friends who were going to go with me on this cruise got tired of waiting and booked one very similar on Princess. I hope that if this cruise happens that the fare is reasonable for a single.

Congratulations on your anniversary next year!! My late husband and I celebrated a couple of birthdays and anniversaries in suites on Princess, Norwegian and Celebrity. It is always a nice touch and I hope that Virgin treats you to a really special anniversary.

It's like a broken record.

Every time I reach out any more I ask if it is still in inventory maintenance. That way if I get a newbie they go to a supervisor to check..

So I had to reach out to Virgin about a vanishing MNVV credit that I had and decided to ask once again what was going on. It took 5 hours to get the MNVV back on my account and the rep I spoke with said I was the 5th person in the last week to call about this TA. Each time she has to pass it on up higher since she doesn't have an answer. That doesn't sound like a lot but if one rep is getting calls like that I wonder what the rest are getting. Maybe we all need to call once a week and ask about it.

I did find flights that were running about $60 a person one way. Unless I win the Power Ball my work only allows vacations not to exceed 14 days. So that would mean I wouldn't be able to fly to Lisbon and sight see and then on to London for a day of sight seeing. My boss said she could give me a bit of wiggle room but not over an extra 2 days. So I know the frustration.

This is only about the sudden disappearance of all the sailings of Brilliant Lady after April 20th, which includes the April 20th transatlantic. So far all the cruises prior to the April 20th transatlantic all still offered on Virgin's site. So you are good. Enjoy your time on Virgin.

I remember that as well. So now I wonder if they are making changes to cabins and need to adjust the inventory to reflect that. It is all a guessing a game.

So I reached out yesterday to the TA I used to use when my late husband and I traveled a lot. She reached out to her BDM. They confirmed that this sailing is indeed in inventory maintenance and should be back live and ready to book soon. So guess I will be checking daily.

I would love to have them on the West Coast. I just did a search and found a reference to San Diego doing a $5M renovation to their current terminal. This was released back in March. So maybe a small step till they can jump through the hoops to get another pier and terminal for cruise ships. In 2022 there was an article championing Virgins switch to biofuels and a small paragraph of how that would fit into West Coast sailings. Once again - who knows. https://cruisewestcoast.com/sustainability/virgin-voyages-partners-with-sustainable-marine-fuel-providers.html

I was just checking the Celebrity cruise that is close to this cruise. The price is crazy expensive. I haven't had time to call Virgin again and see if I can get anywhere with anyone. We are looking at almost two months since everything for Brilliant disappeared. While I was on vacation I spoke with a couple who have sailed twice on Virgin and were on Scarlet back in April. Now supposedly (we all know how that goes) they were told Brilliant was going to transit the Panama Canal and reposition to West Coast to Hawaii. I would normally say hogwash but with everything having disappeared who knows what could be going on.

I've thought of that as well. The goal was to go to Lisbon so not sure what the others will think about that. I only have so many days I can take at a time at work so have to plan accordingly. We had planned to sight see in Lisbon and then head to London for a couple of days to sight see there.

I just got back from vacation and see that we are still in limbo over this cruise. When I saw the mention of a TA on Celebrity I thought I would check in out. Nope - 3 different browser and it says access in denied. I cleared cookies and still no luck. I will try again on Monday to see if anyone know what is going on with this cruise. What is so strange is there is nothing for Brilliant Lady after the 20th of April. There used to be, because when I was checking on this TA I was thinking of doing a B2B on her there in the Mediterranean. It's like she just goes away.

Well, I tried calling Virgin again and the rep I spoke with once again went to her supervisor. This cruise is still in the inventory department. She said there are several tickets for review that have been put in. So who knows what they are up to.

Thanks for the update CineGraphic. I sure hope Virgin gets this sorted out because 3 friends and I want to go on it.

They also have the TA on 10/29/2023-11/12 on the Valiant Lady from Barcelona to Miami.

Yup, there it is on a Gay website for this particular cruise. So back to the planning board.

Not a word. I checked again last night and was told once again it is in the inventory department.

Very true. Kind of like calls to Princess. Five calls and one of them may be close to right.

Could be because the agent I spoke with had me on hold while she verified what was going on. She had me on hold for about 5 minutes, so I would think if it was sold out it wouldn't have taken that long.

I spoke with a Virgin agent yesterday and it isn't sold out. She did confirm it is in the Inventory Department.