DAP2

I'm seeing a lot of posts on a group I'm in where people are drying laundry on their balconies.  Some clipping to the hammocks, others installing portable clothes lines.

The other lines I've been on have prohibited this. What is Virgin's position? And is it in writing anywhere? I couldn't find it. Maybe they don't care since they don't allow smoking on balconies. 

20 hours ago, Rambo24 said:

good feedback  Dap2 could you please post some YouTube links?

Type 'My Cruises reviews' into any search engine. 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i12290-k13733873-Mycruises_com-Bargain_Travel.html

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.mycruises.com.au

https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/my-cruises

Now on Sale: Cape Town to Barcelona or Sydney to Barcelona

So this is interesting. We always book directly with VV and have been told the first two legs of the upcoming repositioning cruise would not be for sale because the ports can't handle a sold-out ship.

But, if you really want to go on one of these itineraries, it is for sale through My Cruises. From what I gather, they are some type of travel agency/reseller in Australia. They apparently bought a large block of cabins on the original repositioning cruise from Virgin and then packaged and resold them. Now, it looks like they are trying to recoup some of their costs by still selling their inventory, which I assume has increased due to cancellations. 

Buyer beware: the comments in the FB groups I'm in and YouTube reviews are...well, do your own research.

Note, pricing is per person, not per cabin and is in AUD, not USD. Here's one example of the packages they are offering:

https://mycruises.com.au/package/virgin-adults-only-half-world-voyage-cape-town-to-barcelona-2024/

28 minutes ago, Jamesv281117 said:

3rd leg Barcelona to Athens is on sale now I noticed, nothing particularly special about the pricing I don't think for the 5 night voyage 

They're definetly working to recoup some costs from the long way around from Africa.

17 minutes ago, Jamesv281117 said:

Just requested the same, how long did it take to get confirmation out of interest?

Called last night about 5PM. It was updated in the app by 2AM. They did change our cabin and floor, so we needed to call this morning to get back on a floor we wanted.

Hello,

My understanding is that the bed locations on the Reselient Lady alternate in every other cabin. I'm looking of a cabin with the bed by the balcony, not by the entrance door. How can I determine the bed location? The VV agent said he didn't have that information.

Thanks!

I'm in! We've been rebooked and our details are in the app. All Add Ons transferred over.

18 minutes ago, Chrish2 said:

Any hints yet of launch price for the three voyages announced? Have a MNVV credit and considering the 5 night one.

Not yet and I called to ask. We all have to be rebooked by the 16th, so I presume they'll go on sale then. 

2 hours ago, Jamesv281117 said:

It's a really good question tbf! 

They're telling me you can only choose one leg. I will probably purchase the 5-night 3rd leg and continue on to Athens. Seems to me they broke it up this way intentionally to recoup some costs. A Barcelona to Athens leg as the start of the Med season will attract a lot of new sailors.

I was originally only booked on the Dubai to Athens leg. So, having read the email, I'm curious whether I can choose the last two legs or have to choose only one of the legs. I still need to get to Athens, but the second leg won't do that. I definitely don't want only a 5-night sailing. 

4 minutes ago, Jamesv281117 said:

Doesn't say yet how the nee voyages will be split but I imagine it would have to be Sydney to Cape Town, Cape Town to Casablanca and Casablanca to Athens.

I hope it is even split into legs! Some of the info makes it sound like a 'once in a lifetime' voyage from Sydney to Greece via Africa. No extra charge for those who can make the journey. I really hope I can get on in South Africa.

33 minutes ago, Splatt2010 said:

Looks like they are in process of cancellation. All 3 legs now showing as ‘cruise not available’ if you try to book. Not a surprise really. Wonder what they will offer us. 

Can confirm the same. May 9th Starry Nights appears to be still intact.

On 9/23/2023 at 6:45 AM, cantgetin said:

said the amount was 0.

Interesting.  Mine says $235..And it makes no sense. It's not 10% or 5% of my voyage. It doesn't match the taxes or deposit. I can't figure it out and the call center has no idea. 

From what I've read, this type of future voyage credit is usually due to canceling within a window of time when your deposit is non-refundable. This will be my first VV cruise. I haven't booked and canceled anything. I was part of the cancelations and rebooked. I do have DBE due to status match.  

Thanks in advance. You're all so helpful!

Check your emails over the next few days.

I just can't believe it. We just received a new email and by all appearances, we are now also getting a fare refund of $225. That brings our total cost per night down to $44.39 per night per sailor. Our actual cost is $53.32 per person as we had to pay a $250 fee to change a conflicting charter cruise.

The agent who handled our final rebooking for our canceled cruise explained that even though we were downgrading cabins (central sea terrace to obstructed view sea terrace),  we would not be getting any refund due to the cost and popularity of the repositioning itineraries. We were ok with being as we were going from 6 nights Carribean to 14 days Dubai to Athens. 

Hello,

This will be our first cruise on Oceania-Sirena. There's not much out on the web on specific cabins. We've stayed in 6005 on Azamara. Looking for a recommendation on deck 4, Oceanview Deluxe. 

Thanks.

1 hour ago, CruisingWalter said:

It does seem like the re-bookings are picking up the pace over the past few days from what I've been seeing in my various social feeds. 

I'm starting see the first of the rejections too. It's sad seeing people who aren't getting on the alternative cruise they selected or the RS suite they originally booked. Sure, no one is directly out money,  but the time, effort, and planning loss is sad when people have to start over at this point on a different line. 

I, too, am confirmed. The app and account on the computer are restored. New sailor loot and extra credits applied. I do not have a TA. My initial contact with VV was via phone on Friday, September 8th, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern to ask about the price difference since our cabin category wasn't available on the desired sailing. 

13 hours ago, DAP2 said:

I, too, am getting discouraged. It's time for Virgin Voyages to send an update email. 

 

...

...

 

Sigh...back to the waiting game. 

WELL, I'm a person who can absolutely admit when they are wrong! And I'm happy to report that I've spent the last couple of hours sorting out airfare to Dubai for my new CONFIRMED cruise. We were moved from a 6-day in March to a 14-day Dubai to Ancient Athens. Just like magic...our app and account are now working, and we can see all credits and purchase extras should we choose. 

We did not get a refund for downgrading from Central Sea Terrace to Obstructed View Sea Terrace. Downgrading was free if your cabin category wasn't available. Upgrading to XL Sea Terrace was quoted at $12,000. So, it appears the pricing differentials are based on the CURRENT ship sailing pricing, not when you booked your original cruise.

The agent said we were lucky to book as this is a very popular alternative. After us, she called our friends who were booked. They would not have been next in line, so mention anyone in your party when they call. 

Important FYI, neither of us retained our bookings that were held with confirmations and cabin numbers. She even chuckled a bit. Those are basically irrelevant. My first call to VV was Friday morning, so they've made it to Friday. She even referenced the exact words I said to the agent on Friday morning. On that call, I wanted to know how the price difference worked, and that's when our "case" was created. Our initial form was filled out Friday night, and I called to get the meaningless reservations on Saturday morning and again yesterday.

We are happy with our total price per sailor, after loot, bar tab, and DBE down to $53.42 per sailor per night. 

GOOD LUCK, everyone. I was pretty hopeless and stressed, but there is hope. I'd recommend have a second choice available based on how popular these long cruises seem to be.

8 minutes ago, Giraffes said:

Update: I have received my confirmation for my rebooking on 12/23. It was not the stateroom. I had originally requested, but I just successfully called to change it.

Oh dear God, that means they are still working on last Thursday 😳, the day your case was created with your original phone call. 

Congrats! I think many of us are hoping for a similar result. It's getting harder and harder to keep a chin-up attitude about the whole thing though 😕.

Yes, mine is down again today, even after after working with VV tech support yesterday to get it working. Due to the cancelations, there are thousands more individuals trying to access the app and their accounts this week than last. Their tech was already glitchy, but they definitely dont have the infrastructure for the extra traffic.

15 minutes ago, Splatt2010 said:

It’s all a bit of a shambles really. Whilst the numbers they are dealing with must be large, 2 separate agents told me it was 10,000 bookings that were cancelled. 

I think 10,000+ is the "don't panic people" official statement. 1,400 passenger cabins times 31 canceled sailings. Even if the ships were at half capacity,  that's over 21,000 bookings. Are they handling 3,000 a day? It sure doesn't sound like it.

All I want is a communication that says, 'We're sorry, we overestimated our processing power."...lol, "Rest assured, we will make your booking right, please allow 14 days to hear from us"

11 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

others have said there was IT changes, it’s not just the bookings. Most of those with cancellations wouldn’t now be using the app to book dining or anything. 

I can't imagine that VV released an update or a patch the same week they knew they were going to massively increase/drive traffic with cancellations. 

It's a numbers game. You've got over a thousand cabins per cruise times 31 canceled cruises. We aren't using the app or online account for dining or booking. We're using it to check on our bookings and see if our cruises that are on "hold" status have confirmed. I'm on at least 10 times a day now, as is my husband. 

And then there's the curiosity factor. Even if your TA books your dining, you do eventually want to see it for yourself in the app. A lot of people who had multiple sailings lost access to all their cruises in the app when the cancelations occurred. So, they're putting extra traffic on the system too.

13 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

They did something to their IT systems last week and it’s made everything even worse than it was.

The "something" is that they canceled 31 cruises over three ships last week. So, you have people like me who weren't accessing the app at all who are now on it several times daily trying to get our situations sorted. They don't have the capacity for the number of people trying to use the app or the online accounts via computer.