Virgin Voyages.

[taglovestocruise]

Anyone booking yet. Seems a little overpriced with a midship balcony at 250.00 pp pn. Little over $2400.00 for a 5 night cruise.  Also can not pick your cabin location or deck, they seem to know what you would prefer.  They were pleased to tell me a cabin by the elevators was a desirable spot, unfortunately I don't share their opinion. Deposits are 20% of total fare. Tips and specialty dinning included, but still overpriced.  We do fly Virgin Atlantic premium economy and pay a hefty uncharge , looks like the same business model.  Any thoughts.

[ldubs]

". . . . and pay a hefty uncharge"

 

I like the sound of an "uncharge".  

 

(just pulling your leg).  

[Flatbush Flyer]

5 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Anyone booking yet. Seems a little overpriced with a midship balcony at 250.00 pp pn. Little over $2400.00 for a 5 night cruise.  Also can not pick your cabin location or deck, they seem to know what you would prefer.  They were pleased to tell me a cabin by the elevators was a desirable spot, unfortunately I don't share their opinion. Deposits are 20% of total fare. Tips and specialty dinning included, but still overpriced.  We do fly Virgin Atlantic premium economy and pay a hefty uncharge , looks like the same business model.  Any thoughts.

Like Viking Ocean, Virgin Atlantic probably aspires to join the ranks of the premium cruise line segment (e.g., Azamara, Oceania) but will ultimately end up as a competitor with upper mass market lines like Celebrity, Cunard, Disney. 

Only time will tell 

[davecttr]

Apparently they are aiming at the no children couples in the 25 -35 age bracket with lots of money, not us old wrinklies who have no use for an onboard tattoo parlour!.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I listened to the spill yesterday on the Today show -- definitely over priced.  We are not interested in a short cruise.

[evandbob]

We flew Virgin premium economy class from LA to Australia, excellent service, food & comfort sleeping.  Much better than other Pacific long haul flights we have taken except Tahiti Nui 1st class paid with frequent flyer points!

 

I'd sail Virgin Ocean just for experiencing a new ship and culture.  If it was like our Virgin Air experience, it would be worth it.

[FlyerTalker]

29 minutes ago, evandbob said:

We flew Virgin premium economy class from LA to Australia, excellent service, food & comfort sleeping.  Much better than other Pacific long haul flights we have taken except Tahiti Nui 1st class paid with frequent flyer points!

 

I'd sail Virgin Ocean just for experiencing a new ship and culture.  If it was like our Virgin Air experience, it would be worth it.

 

That would have been on Virgin AUSTRALIA, while Branson's primary airline is Virgin ATLANTIC.  One is a licensed name and one it the original airline.  And there is no "Virgin Air".

 

 

[Kmkub]

5 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I listened to the spill yesterday on the Today show -- definitely over priced.  We are not interested in a short cruise.

Just looked at the prices. Utterly ridiculous. We're getting an 11-day MSC Yacht Club /balcony cabin cruise for much less than less than double what they are charging for an inside cabin 4-day. 

[Toofarfromthesea]

It seems pretty clear that their target market is not experienced cruisers.  They are looking for DINKs and SINKs of the millennial age group.

[Kmkub]

16 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

It seems pretty clear that their target market is not experienced cruisers.  They are looking for DINKs and SINKs of the millennial age group.

If that's the case, it shouldn't take too long for the prices to come down to something more reasonable, as this is not a sustainable business model. I'd love to try the Branson brand, but dang. I'm disappointed.

 

I saw the super mega star suite - the balcony is larger than the cabin, but the price is almost $5K/day per person (if two people.) 

 

I hope the MSC Yacht Club lives up to it's amazing reviews. Our 11-day costs would only pay for two 5-days on an inside, without all the suite life perks.

[Adventuresofmsrobinson]

I think virgin Voyages has great potential. It might not be for everyone but it seems to have a fun vibe for those young at heart. There are plenty of people that prefer more upscale amenities but more of a lively crowd then some of the higher end cruises tend to attract. 

I’m excited to give it a shot in July on Richards birthday bash cruise. I booked a cheeky corner suite and it was cheaper then what I spent when we went on RC symphony of Sea April 2018. 

[Sea Hag]

I like the looks of the cabin renderings, but there's no way my hubby will fly to Miami for a short cruise.

[evandbob]

8 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

That would have been on Virgin AUSTRALIA, while Branson's primary airline is Virgin ATLANTIC.  One is a licensed name and one it the original airline.  And there is no "Virgin Air".

 

 

Thanks for the correction.  Maybe I should have said Virgin air experience.  Anyway,  my opinion as stated still stands. 

 

I might book a Virgin 5 night Cuba cruise when I return from next week's cruise if my preferred dates are available. 

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 2/15/2019 at 9:24 PM, evandbob said:

Thanks for the correction.  Maybe I should have said Virgin air experience.  Anyway,  my opinion as stated still stands. 

 

I might book a Virgin 5 night Cuba cruise when I return from next week's cruise if my preferred dates are available. 

I'm sure sailing with a few "preferred dates" would be most appropriate for a Virgin sailing 😎 

[Velvetwater]

As a somewhat experienced cruiser and as an apparent millennial (born in 86 but hate labels) my husband and I agreed we would not cruise the voyages offered. We also have no kids at the moment and enough disposable income.

 

We like the concept of the unlimited wifi and the dining included options for sure but with the money for a 5 day cruise on virgin you could book much more exciting voyages elsewhere. If they are really targeting my age group then they need to up their game on that. Also the way the website is trying to be 'cool' with rockstar suites and 'bevvies'. It just comes across as a bit sad to be honest.Also adult only can often mean an older passenger base anyway but we will see on that.

 

Maybe a previous poster was right....maybe they are targeting first timers.

 

I'll choose my Japanese cruise with Royal over this any day. It also costs £690 pp for 7 DAYS with drinks included.

Edited February 17, 2019 by Velvetwater

[DemNotes]

I could not disagree with many of you more. I consider myself a relatively seasoned cruiser (“Elite” on Celebrity), but nearly every concept about Virgin has me excited to cruise with them next August. I immediately plunked down a deposit for a cruise. Tattoo parlor on board? Yes, please! Drag lunch? Absolutely! Hammocks on the balconies? No specialty dining fees? Topless sunbathing?Ummm... SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!

 

And while some cruises are fairly expensive, others (including the one I picked) are less than $1k per person for a balcony. Take into account that there are no tips, and that reduces the relative cost as well. In any event, my best domestic economy class airline experiences were on Virgin America (which, I know, Branson didn’t run after the initial operating; however, the culture of Virgin was definitely still there). If they can do that with a cruise, I’m all in. Call me a sucker if you want, but I’m going to have fun in my ignorant bliss. 

[deliver42]

I don't think the price is unreasonable, especially if you deduct what would be other lines DSC, and maybe add one or two specialty restaurants if you are so inclined. $ 2000.00 per couple for a balcony including grats and any kind of dining is fair IMHO. I don't like the fact you can't pick a cabin. I mock booked for a mid balcony, and was "given" deck14, by the elevator. I would never pick deck 14, since it's under everything noisy. I would want cabins over and under me. These comments are just my opinion. You can agree or disagree.

[LadyLion_AP]

If you call you can select a new cabin more to your liking.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Biker19]

19 hours ago, deliver42 said:

 $ 2000.00 per couple for a balcony including grats and any kind of dining is fair IMHO. 

Most mainline cruises in low season are lower than that ($500/day). Once the newness wears off and second ship launches, I'd expect that to fall to about $300/day (low season).

[LadyLion_AP]

Most mainline cruises in low season are lower than that ($500/day). Once the newness wears off and second ship launches, I'd expect that to fall to about $300/day (low season).

We also know that most mainline cruises don’t have the following included in the base price:
Gratuities, ALL eating venues, soda, sparkling water.
Most mainline cruises allow children.
Most mainline cruises that sail to Cuba sail on smaller vessels.

Right now...those facts alone make it worth at least trying.

Tried Disney for a premium & it was very nice but to me wasn’t worth the premium.

I’ll see how it goes & determine if the quality of the product meets the premium!


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[LadyLion_AP]

Duplicate

[Biker19]

12 minutes ago, LadyLion_AP said:

Most mainline cruises that sail to Cuba sail on smaller vessels.

RCI's Majesty is not that small and the "Cuba premium" has mostly worn off - at least for RCI. The prices I mentioned was mostly an apples-apples comparison including WiFi, grats, etc. Food is very subjective and VV including all venues may not mean much.

[LadyLion_AP]

RCI's Majesty is not that small and the "Cuba premium" has mostly worn off - at least for RCI. The prices I mentioned was mostly an apples-apples comparison including WiFi, grats, etc. Food is very subjective and VV including all venues may not mean much.

It’s smaller than 100,000 tons. For me, during hurricane season that automatically wins. I have terrible motion sickness. Was only willing to sail Grandeur in July in order to take my mom who refuses to fly & doesn’t like long car rides.

As far as food....one wouldn’t know until one tries!
My husband & I ALWAYS purchase dining packages so to not have to will be great.

$2k to find out if it’s worth it to me is not a big deal. Won’t cry over it if it’s not. I’ll simply continue to cruise with products I know I like!


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[timf2001]

It's not just that other cruise lines send small ships to Cuba, but they send old ships.  Virgin Voyages is the first to send a ship built in the past decade, and a brand new one at that.

[AdoraBelle]

3 hours ago, LadyLion_AP said:

We also know that most mainline cruises don’t have the following included in the base price:
Gratuities, ALL eating venues, soda, sparkling water.
 

 

And wifi.