Just one of the reasons Virgin Voyages is a winner

[garymfreedman]

From Celebrity: The suggested gratuity for cruisers on Celebrity Edge is $14.50 per person, per day for anyone staying in a standard cabin; $15 per person, per day for anyone saying in Concierge Class or AquaClass rooms; and $18 per person, per day for people in suites. An 18 percent gratuity charge is automatically added to all beverage, mini-bar and spa/salon purchases.

Reminds me of the resort Fees Las Vegas hotels add on.... It sucks!

[twodjs]

No kids is a big winner for us! Did you read on the Celebrity thread where it sounds like their "kids sail free" promotion bit them in the ass, when about 600 kids showed up on a recent cruise. Their ships aren't designed for that and made the cruise less than pleasant for many. It would have been our cruise to Hell. Thank goodness for Virgin!

 

 

 

[garymfreedman]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[Biker19]

12 hours ago, garymfreedman said:

Reminds me of the resort Fees Las Vegas hotels add on.... It sucks!

As if the price doesn't reflect that? Don't look at marketing gimmicks, look at the bottom line price.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:31 AM, Biker19 said:

As if the price doesn't reflect that? Don't look at marketing gimmicks, look at the bottom line price.

Exactly!

[hotsauce126]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:31 AM, Biker19 said:

As if the price doesn't reflect that? Don't look at marketing gimmicks, look at the bottom line price.

 

The prices aren't any higher than competitor lines outside of the first few months

[RJB]

On 8/25/2019 at 7:45 PM, hotsauce126 said:

 

The prices aren't any higher than competitor lines outside of the first few months

The  ports suck.  No place that we would want to go.   Too bad as we were looking forward to sailing with Virgin.  Hope next year will have better offerings.

[PTC DAWG]

On 9/9/2019 at 4:39 PM, RJB said:

The  ports suck.  No place that we would want to go.   Too bad as we were looking forward to sailing with Virgin.  Hope next year will have better offerings.

For 4-5 day cruise out of Miami, what else would you expect to see?  You can only do so much in that time frame.  

 

Me, I like Cozumel...and the private island sounds nice.  Looking at something mid summer or later on VV.  

[RJB]

3 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

For 4-5 day cruise out of Miami, what else would you expect to see?  You can only do so much in that time frame.  

 

Me, I like Cozumel...and the private island sounds nice.  Looking at something mid summer or later on VV.  

Mexico, murder capital of the world.   Never go there again.    Also need longer cruises to better ports.  

[audaciousred]

I love that gratuities, wi-fi AND basic bevvies (sodas, water (still and sparkling) drip coffee...) are included! And side point -  if you're travel agent (like I am) they don''t rip you off of commission by putting the "non comissionables" in the cruise pricing...

 

And the dining is all included - no "fee dining" AND all of the exercise classes are included.  It's in line with the Virgin "no surprises" way of doing business.  
BRAVO!

[CruisingWalter]

On 8/25/2019 at 7:45 PM, hotsauce126 said:

 

The prices aren't any higher than competitor lines outside of the first few months

 

Actually they are at first glance. The 5 night Mayan Sol sail we're doing in August is a comparable price to a 7 night sail on any other line we've sailed.  But then you factor in no specialty dining fees, no WiFi fees and no soft drink fees in theory it should all even out.

 

But to the original post, the gratuities are all factored into the Virgin pricing. It's not like we're not paying those fees, they're just buried in the cost of the cabins. 

 

Impossible to call Virgin a 'winner' until they actually start sailing. REALLY easy to hype hype hype now (I work in Marketing) when no ships are sailing.  The launch will have to be near flawless for Virgin to live up to all the hype they are building. Every other cruise line and fans of other cruise lines will take any opportunity to knock Virgin down.  Any stumble, misstep, negative review will be pounced on "See I told you so!" 

 

That's actually the main reason we did not book until August so Virgin can work out some of the kinks before we sail. No launch is perfect or flawless, especially for a brand new cruise line launching their first ship.  

 

I do not envy the marketing team who will undoubtedly have to do some crisis management next April / May once real people sail with a real crew on a real ship and start writing their own reviews.

[hotsauce126]

On 10/22/2019 at 1:19 PM, creativegenius said:

 

Actually they are at first glance. The 5 night Mayan Sol sail we're doing in August is a comparable price to a 7 night sail on any other line we've sailed.  But then you factor in no specialty dining fees, no WiFi fees and no soft drink fees in theory it should all even out.

And no gratuities makes a big difference

[doll80]

I'm paying for the convenience of paying a lump sum rather than the fees afterwards. I'm okay if it's a little more expensive (though I believe creativegenious when they say it's comparable). VV says they're targeting people who don't go cruising. Surprise fees sure miffed me on the first and only cruise I ever went on. Built in fees mitigates the ignorance of new cruisers.The gratuity is non optional on VV. Their workers are getting paid whether youre stingy or had bad service. I kinda get it. Might be better to actually list out any fees during booking to make things transparent. Or maybe not, I expect Virgin did their research thoroughly.

[RJB]

2 hours ago, doll80 said:

I'm paying for the convenience of paying a lump sum rather than the fees afterwards. I'm okay if it's a little more expensive (though I believe creativegenious when they say it's comparable). VV says they're targeting people who don't go cruising. Surprise fees sure miffed me on the first and only cruise I ever went on. Built in fees mitigates the ignorance of new cruisers.The gratuity is non optional on VV. Their workers are getting paid whether youre stingy or had bad service. I kinda get it. Might be better to actually list out any fees during booking to make things transparent. Or maybe not, I expect Virgin did their research thoroughly.

Sure  hope they are correct with their research.  Kinda late if they are not. 

[Sif]

On 10/16/2019 at 4:32 PM, RJB said:

Mexico, murder capital of the world.   Never go there again.    Also need longer cruises to better ports.  

 

Huh? Mexico is #22 in homicides per capita, well behind the US Virgin Islands, Belize, Jamaica, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and several other popular cruise ports. I am very interested to know where you are cruising that is not any of those countries.

 

To say nothing of the fact that homicides in cities like Tijuana contribute to Mexico's overall homicide rate while having very little effect on people in Cozumel thousands of miles away.

[CruisingWalter]

2 hours ago, Sif said:

 

Huh? Mexico is #22 in homicides per capita, well behind the US Virgin Islands, Belize, Jamaica, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and several other popular cruise ports. I am very interested to know where you are cruising that is not any of those countries.

 

To say nothing of the fact that homicides in cities like Tijuana contribute to Mexico's overall homicide rate while having very little effect on people in Cozumel thousands of miles away.

 

100% agree.  It's good to have the facts correct than throw a blanket statement like "murder capital of the world."  

[Biker19]

18 hours ago, Sif said:

To say nothing of the fact that homicides in cities like Tijuana contribute to Mexico's overall homicide rate while having very little effect on people in Cozumel thousands of miles away.

Right, but Tijuana didn't have ferry bombings like Cozumel did.

[Sif]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Right, but Tijuana didn't have ferry bombings like Cozumel did.

 

Yeah but nobody died or was seriously injured in the bombing, so I don't see how that would contribute to the homicide rate either.

 

Not saying that the bombing wasn't bad, it obviously was, but even the news articles that talk about the bombing mention that that area of Mexico has a much lower violent crime rate than the rest of the country.

[JSR]

Sir Charles is British. Europeans have a different philosophy towards tipping. US tipping has gotten way out of control. Used to be 10-15%, then 18%, now I see 20-25% suggested tip on my dining receipts. I have apps where I order things and you prepay the tip, then its a fee not a tip for good service. I am glad the tipping is bundled in the cost, as is changing the sheets, food, etc. I do not need a breakdown, I just need to know what is not included. I can't wait to give them a try. We sail the Caribbean often and really do not care where the ship goes. My 24 year old daughter can't wait, though she thinks the ship belongs in California. We too are going to wait until November to give them a chance to iron out the kinks. 

[RJB]

On 10/26/2019 at 5:30 PM, creativegenius said:

 

100% agree.  It's good to have the facts correct than throw a blanket statement like "murder capital of the world."  

Looks like the whole country is being controlled by the drug cartels and the government can't or wont do anything about.  Read the news. Do not know where they will mass  murder next.  I will stay away. 

[CruisingWalter]

6 hours ago, RJB said:

Looks like the whole country is being controlled by the drug cartels and the government can't or wont do anything about.  Read the news. Do not know where they will mass  murder next.  I will stay away. 

 

Sad to live in such fear.  I choose to go by actual facts.  

[RJB]

2 hours ago, creativegenius said:

 

Sad to live in such fear.  I choose to go by actual facts.  

The actual facts are all over the newspapers and T.V.   That is what is so sad.   No fear if I do not go there.  

[Pstreet12]

And yet, I know many Mexicans who feel the U.S. is too dangerous.  They point out that Mexico has the calculated violence of the cartels (which they feel is, mostly, avoidable), but the U.S. has crazies who shoot up movie theaters, coffee shops, schools, churches, etc.--and is totally unpredictable.  Americans tend to forget that Mexico is a huge country; violence in one part of the country says nothing about other parts:  not going because of violence in Tijuana is like not going to Paris because of violence in Naples.  Having said all that, it's no vacation if you're afraid, so if afraid, it's definitely best to avoid those areas.

[SanDiego Single]

On 11/16/2019 at 12:39 PM, Pstreet12 said:

And yet, I know many Mexicans who feel the U.S. is too dangerous.  They point out that Mexico has the calculated violence of the cartels (which they feel is, mostly, avoidable), but the U.S. has crazies who shoot up movie theaters, coffee shops, schools, churches, etc.--and is totally unpredictable.  Americans tend to forget that Mexico is a huge country; violence in one part of the country says nothing about other parts:  not going because of violence in Tijuana is like not going to Paris because of violence in Naples.  Having said all that, it's no vacation if you're afraid, so if afraid, it's definitely best to avoid those areas.

What you said.

[Yvonne]

On 8/25/2019 at 7:45 PM, hotsauce126 said:

 

The prices aren't any higher than competitor lines outside of the first few months

I looked into booking one of their 5-night cruises and a balcony stateroom was $2700.  That’s $1350 each adult, and with no extra charge for tips, non-alcoholic drinks and WiFi I think the price is very reasonable.  And the BIGGEST perk?  NO KIDS!  
 

I am extremely interested but...I will wait to see actual photos and read reviews to see what it’s really like.  And to see if people in their early 60’s with not-so-perfect-bodies are really welcome🙂

And hopefully they will soon offer longer cruises, we prefer at least 7 nights.