Lightngsvt

Yes, it is a cary new world!  It uncharted territory that world has never seen and will affect most areas of our lives for the foreseeable future.  If I'm being honest, Im a bit leery about cruising again this year.  We are booked in Sept, and Ill wait until final payment is due before making a decision on canceling and possibly rebooking for 21, or continuing with our sailing this year, assuming the industry is back on its feet by then.

4 hours ago, DYKWIA said:

Who is V V targeted at?

 

Based on Scarlet Lady, i'd say

Young wealthy skinny people, with good knees to get out of low seats, who travel with little luggage and have an aversion to swimming pools

Well we're not that young (40's), not wealthy (but make a comfortable living), not skinny (but not not really fat), do have good knees for the most part, do tend to travel a bit heavy at times, and I do have an aversion to swimming pools.  Hopefully they let us on the ship still!  LOL!  😆😃

10 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

Anyone wanting a glimpse of the Scarlett Lady, here is some video. She just had an overnight in Dover. Looks like they’re still working on a few areas. 
 

 

Thats exactly what Ive been looking for, thanks!  I can see a lot of traditional elements on the ship, as well as a lot of more modern, urban-chic touches.  The spaces also seems a lot more "social", which may be good, or bad.

7 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

 

ive never been on either brand mentioned here but reading thru this forum i can pretty much guarantee no one that loves x will go on virgin. those rooms are too unrefined and 'crazy decorated'.

 

ive never flown to a cruise so flying for a 4 or 5 day doesnt excite me. i wish V offered longer ones as i may actually do it. i love the idea of all inclusive dining and all the other 'free' perks.  however if it hasnt been mentioned in this thread, you really better look at the beds in great detail before you book. theres quite the surprise there in the balconies! also not being able to pick your own room is a downer for me

Well, we love X and booked 3 months ago on a September sailing on Virgin so I believe there will be some crossover, at least in the beginning.  At least out of curiosity if nothing else.  I wonder if Virgin will introduce different/longer itineraries after their first year?  If you call to book your reservation, they will let you choose your cabin, thats what I did.

11 hours ago, expatcruiser88 said:

 

You used the word "hip", which means you are definitely too old for Virgin Voyages 😜

LOL!  Just look for 40-something old man with my walker and pants up to my arm pits talking about "the good old days".

Well, aint that something!  LOL!!! 😆

28 minutes ago, AlyssaJames said:

And even “upper class” Celebrity hosts swinger cruises. 

No kidding?

What?  I had not heard that before.  That will be an attraction to some, and another reason to avoid VV for others.

49 minutes ago, Lightngsvt said:

Yes sir, I did.  The reason being the fare we are paying in Aqua for 7 days in Alaska is about the same as we have been paying for similar accommodations in the Caribbean.  And both are 2020 sailings.  Itineraries are apples and oranges, but in my specific case, prices are not.  This is cruise only, not considering airfare/hotel.

I am willing to admit when I am wrong.  I just looked at our booking and see the Alaskan sailing is closer to $2400/pp, 7 nights in Aqua with all 4 perks.  While this is a good deal, you are correct, it is more than a Caribbean sailing.

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

We are far from the proposed demographic of VV.  However, we do love an adventure and if prices were to come down significantly or a bargain suddenly popped up, I would bite.  Tried MSC on a whim and liked it.  Trying to get as much mileage out of what life and health we have left.  EM

When I booked our 5-night on VV, I paid $1075/pp for a Central Sea Terrace cabin (+ taxes).  For a similar Caribbean sailing, though 7-nights, on X in Aqua it usually costs us between $1400-2000/pp.  Perhaps a Concierge cabin is more comparable?  I don't recall ever saying VV was less expensive than any mainstream line.  I just checked VV and the same cabin/sailing has gone up to $1400/pp for 5 nights.  I would think twice about paying almost $3k for 5 nights. 

For a more apples to apples comparison, a 5-night Caribbean on X in a Concierge cabin (April compared to September) is ~$900/pp with 3 perks.  So I agree, at current rates VV is much more expensive.

There is a chance I wont like VV after trying it, but I'm willing to take that chance.  Or, maybe it'll be exciting?  I've never been to a Hedonism/Sandals/etc resort, I dont have tattoos and have honestly enjoyed every X cruise we have been on, but that doesn't mean a new experience might not be fun!

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I see VV as a potential competitor for the premium under 40 age market to Viking Ocean, Azamara and Oceania not Celebrity. They are targeting  a younger demographic with less than 7 night cruises than the other premium lines. With only one ship and another on the way they do not offer much in the way of itineraries and seem to be more of a party ship for the elites. It looks more like the Sandal's crowd who want to cruise is their market.

 

If any cruise line is a  Celebrity competitor it is Viking Ocean with their smaller ships, long and varied itineraries and all inclusive cruises. A cabin on a Viking all deluxe suite type cabin is very competitive with the Edge Class cabins in AQ  and Suites Class when you count all that is included in the fare of VO. This why we are trying VO later this year. In two years VO will have a total of 8 ships sailing all over the world and most of their cruises are sold out a year in advance. Our Venice to Athens cruise in September was sold out by December 2018, we booked in October 2018 with one of the last Penthouse Veranda( PV1) cabins. Celebrity will always have their market and loyal customers but the Premium lines like VO will be an alternative for something not that much more in price and loaded with a lot more all inclusive amenities. When we booked our VO cruise we looked at an almost identical HAL cruise on the Veendam but when we added in all that was included in the VO cruise VS the Veendam suite with a veranda VO was actually less in cost.

 

Will VO become our cruise line of choice, I do not see that because we book a cruise more on itinerary than brand, that is why we are booked on the Infinity for next year. No other line had the Spain and Portugal itinerary that we wanted.

I've only sailed Azamara once, but being in our 40's I found we were the younger passengers onboard.  It was an superb experience and we plan to cruise Azamara again in the future.

I'd love to sail VO, but when I have checked I've found the prices to be much higher than Celebrity and more inline with Azamara, or even more expensive.  My assumption is VO is a "superior" product to Celebrity with smaller ships, more inclusions, more upscale, and more varied itineraries.  But I thought they were more of a Luxury line, compared with Celebrity being a Prmium line?

I guess I could have been more clear in my first post, by threat I did not mean that VV could/would lead to the demise of Celebrity.  I was thinking more in terms of stealing market share, or causing Celebrity to possibly change the way they do some things.

5 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

You compared an Alaskan sailing to Caribbean sailing in terms of cost?

 

Pending on where one is traveling from, even, that is not a good compression IMO.

 

Even different port experiences for both regions.

 

bon voyage

Yes sir, I did.  The reason being the fare we are paying in Aqua for 7 days in Alaska is about the same as we have been paying for similar accommodations in the Caribbean.  And both are 2020 sailings.  Itineraries are apples and oranges, but in my specific case, prices are not.  This is cruise only, not considering airfare/hotel.

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Thought I saw the  same topic / title awhile ago..

Wondering if this is new or a re do? Reads like a promo....

 

We have NO interest in Virgin .  EDGE Class with a few tweaks is a great direction for Celebrity!

Nope, this is a new post.  I wasn't aware of anyone else posting a similar topic.  And, this is definitely not a promo for Celebrity or Virgin.  I have no affiliation to either line, travel agency, etc.  I am a loyal Celebrity customer who is also going to give VV a try this fall.

To each their own, but I wasn't overly impressed with Edge when we sailed.  The decor was very nice, and so were the amenities, but I felt the design of the ship was to "inward facing" and not as open to the sea as it should be.  It felt more like a resort hotel than a cruise ship.  The Solstice class ships seems to incorporate the outdoors better, and the larger atriums with the glass elevators bring the ship together instead of creating a number of separate spaces.

First, let me say my wife and I have been loyal to Celebrity (10 sailings so far), and Azamara (1 sailing).  I have also been on Carnival and Norwegian.  I love Celebrity, and the experience you get onboard.  I have to be honest I was not that impressed with the Edge and am in no hurry to go back on her or the Apex, I much prefer the Solstice ships and even the Millenium ships.  The Summit with the revolutionizing was excellent!  We will continue to book the "old" ships whenever possible.  The one thing Edge had is the decor, and Im glad to see that coming to the entire line.  Anyway, after hearing the hype and looking into it I became very intrigued by Virgin Voyages and what they have to offer.  We are in our 40's, a bit older than their target some would say, but I've heard they are for the young at heart regardless of age.

The decor, cabin design, deck plans, array of eateries and bars, etc are all much more modern (in a hip way) than Celebrity and most other cruise lines.  A huge bonus is no kinds onboard, though Celebrity does a good job of keeping kids entertained.  Lets not forget the free beverages, free wifi, free gratuities and no up-charge for specialty dining as well as 24hr food and drinks on VV.  On a per day basis, our Sept Caribbean sailing on Virgin is no more costly than our upcoming June Alaska sailing on Celebrity Solstice.  I'm very excited for our Virgin cruise in September honestly.  

My long winded point/question is do you think this "new" way of looking at cruising will have an impact on more traditional/main stream lines like Celebrity?  Will it affect their bottom line?  Will they be more likely to offer "all-inclusive" fares (beverages, wifi, gratuities) as standard?  I know that they offer the various perks depending on sailing, but it's not quite the same thing.  Will they look for way to bring a more "hip" crowd to the brand?

On 1/23/2020 at 5:45 PM, Midwestgal said:

I’m thinking 21 to 40 tops. Looks to be more of a younger demographic with the things they have on the ship. Tattoo parlor, boxing ring, and the sun pads type of pool area. 
Don’t see much personal space ....guess time will tell. 
I couldn’t imagine people who enjoy Princess , HAL , or Celebrity would enjoy this line.  

Im a huge fan of Celebrity, even enjoyed Azamara.  We are booked for the 9/3/20 sailing, so we'll see how it goes.

7 hours ago, Cruisevirgin75 said:

We are 49/45 and joining Richards Birthday Bash Trip Ali day with our 40/38 year old friends.  We‘ve done a couple cruises before Royal and Norwegian and hated them.  Shows we’re too geared towards kids and even the late night comedians weren’t that funny.  Food was always horrible.  Giving cruising one last try.  The over 18 only and restaurants and shows geared towards adults are what appealEd to us.  Cuba did too but we all know what happened there.  Personally I don’t think the demographics will be all 20 year olds, the prices are too high and the younger group goes more for cruises with all inclusive drink packages.

Be sure to post your opinion after you get back.  We've been on over 10 Celebrity and 1 Azamara cruises and have had the exact opposite of yours.  Food was always very good, most trips had very few kids running around, the comedians were good about 75% of the time and many of the shows were good.  We did Cuba on Azamara, and so glad we did hile it was still an option!  It was a great experience.

5 hours ago, ronbe65 said:

 

This ship will be a good fit for Celebrity clientele.

Give it a try.

Happy cruising!

We are sailing over Labor Day.  Looking forward to trying something new.

Thanks everyone.  We've decided to go for it and give it a try.  We're going to book the Labor Day sailing, shorter sailing and less time off work since we're doing Alaska the end of June.  I think it'll be cool, though I dont think we'll be taking part in the drag brunches (probably going to be crowded anyway) and the tattoo parlor (though I think its a cool touch! Hopefully you can watch people getting tattooed though 🙂 ).  

My wife and I are very interested to give VV a try, love the idea of a new ship and a new concept in cruising.  We arent newb's but not old salts either, we have about 10 cruises under our belts, all on Celebrity.  The marketing/advertising seems to send a bit of a mixed signal and Im not sure if we're the target demographic?  We are 45 & 46, not party animals (though I like an occasional late night!) and not swim suit models 🙂 .  So what is the target VV hopes to attract?  Do you think a mid 40's married couple would fit in?  I know hard to say since nobody has actually sailed VV yet.

Biker19, I'm a rider too.  But Im on a Harley not a sportbike.  Anyway, you think VV is on par with Celebrity?  The advertising and "hype" seem as though they are trying to position themselves as a luxury line, but geared more toward a younger yet affluent demographic.  Im probably 10-15 years older than their target (Millenials) but it seems like they have a somewhat fresh take on cruising.  Time will tell.

Well, gratuities, all dining venues, and wifi are definitely inclusion most lines don't include so that's a plus.  I really didn't expect excursions to be included, but was curious.  Alcohol, even if just a "standard" package would be a nice touch. It looks like they dont offer drink packages, any idea on the cost of drinks?

I've been following the VV Scarlet Lady with excitement and see the booking is live.  We might try to book something in 2020 as the fares don't seem to bad.  What I'm excited about is that this seems like a new experience.  We've done 10- Celebrity and an Azamara and really enjoy them, but variety is the spice of life.  They seem to be billing this as all-inclusive, but I haven't been able to find exactly what is included.  I believe gratuities, wifi, any/all dining and fitness classes are included, but what about drinks (cocktails, beer, fresh juices, soda, etc), entertainment, excursions, etc?  If everything is truly included then $4000 (inc taxes) for a 5 night to Havana in a balcony cabin doesn't seem bad at all, we paid close to that for a 4-night Havana on Azamara last year and that wasn't all-inclusive.

I’m writing this from the Hilton Marina, we leave for our cruise this morning. We were here 2 nights and I will say that I’d stay here again. It’s very close to the cruise port and airport, the water taxi stops here, and it’s a short walk to places to eat. The pool is very nice, staff has been friendly and food here has been good. 

Were in in a poolside room and it appears to have been updated in the past few years. Honestly if you look you will find some signs of age here. BUT, overall the room and property is clean and well maintained and for the prices here I recommend staying here. We will again in March before our Edge sailing. 

Side note, the Edge arrived here yesterday, very cool to be able to see it on its first trip to the US. 

To correct my original post, the price spread was closer to $40/night.  I also booked the Hilton Marina in 2 weeks at $254 for 2 nights.  Was tempted to stay at the Margaritaville again (LOVE that place!), but at over $590/2 nights the Hilton seems like a huge bargain.  Hopes it's decent!

Has the Riverside been renovated recently?  I've never stayed, but looking at some of the pics on Google, the rooms appear clean but quite dated.

When are you staying?  I'm trying to pick a hotel in that area right now for next Sunday (Nov 18) - Tuesday (20) and am finding with AAA discount that the Hyatt, B, Hilton and Embassy Suites are all within $20/night of each other for a similar type of room.  Im also having a hard time trying to decide on which hotel to stay at?