Will Virgin Voyages ever come to the West Coast?

[pumpkin 11]

East coast born and raised but now live in Denver CO. As they add more ships anyone think it likely they would come to the west coast like LA, San Diego, or SF?

 

Would love to at least try Virgin. Was on Majestic Princess in December and the flight time and logistics were really easy from San Pedro. Recently did a TA on Celebrity Apex from FLL and the travel time to get to south Florida just isn't super easy especially when one looses 2 hours and there are so many flight issues. 

 

Curious to hear thoughts. 🙂

Edited June 24, 2022 by pumpkin 11

[cantgetin]

At this point, they haven't even been cruising for a year.  I think it is likely they will, at some point, do West Coast/Alaska cruises, but no idea how long that will take.  They have delayed Resilient Lady for now, so Australia will have to wait and see.  Their CEO used to be the CFO at Disney Cruise Line.  It took DCL from 1997 until 2005 before they started West Coast cruising.

[_tacocat_]

hope so - flying to miami is such a schlep from LA

[Jasukkie]

I hope so. I think the vibe is a good fit in that market and sailings would sell well.

[yarramar]

There is a 4th ship being built. If all goes well and it is launched, chances are good.

15 hours ago, cantgetin said:

They have delayed Resilient Lady for now, so Australia will have to wait and see.

What does that mean? I am on the repositioning cruise from Athens to Sydney which is pretty well sold out. Australia is in the bag. They have been filling the other 2 ships with credited passengers by delaying the launch of Resilient Lady. A pretty good move strategically.

[Fogcityca13]

I would be so happy if they sailed off the west coast, even for only part of a season. We’re considering flying in two days in advance since we loose an entire day traveling to the east coast. Per-Covid a flight delay put us a huge risk of missing a cruise, we ended up making it to EWR at 11:30pm vs to 4:30pm as planed. For our trip in November there is just no way we could fit the extra day into our schedule.

[CruisingWalter]

On 6/24/2022 at 1:49 PM, pumpkin 11 said:

East coast born and raised but now live in Denver CO. As they add more ships anyone think it likely they would come to the west coast like LA, San Diego, or SF?

 

Eventually, the ships will play well with the LA vibe and Mexico sailings. I'm not sure they'll ever go to Alaska. As long as the ladyships can fit through the new lanes of the Panama Canal, there's no reason they would not be able to go to the West Coast.

 

There were originally plans to have two Ladyships in Florida after the Resilient Lady's initial season. If that comes into play in the future there's no reason one of those ships couldn't go through the canal and spend at least a month on the west coast. But we're probably looking at least three years down the road for that. They still need to establish themselves. I'm really curious to see how many folks are on our July 8 Scarlet sailing. 

[pumpkin 11]

On 6/25/2022 at 10:32 AM, Fogcityca13 said:

I would be so happy if they sailed off the west coast, even for only part of a season. We’re considering flying in two days in advance since we loose an entire day traveling to the east coast. Per-Covid a flight delay put us a huge risk of missing a cruise, we ended up making it to EWR at 11:30pm vs to 4:30pm as planed. For our trip in November there is just no way we could fit the extra day into our schedule.

Exactly. It basically takes an entire day. And with the market they are attracting taking time off for that group is never easy

 

[Wildcatllamas]

I have been asked for input from Virgin twice since my cruise in December. Both times I suggested West Coast sailings and possibly one to Hawaii on occasion. It is so much easier to fly to West Coast out of Colorado then it is to the East Coast.

 

They really listen to input from their guests and also read the boards here. While on Scarlet in December people were upset about no football games or sports bar. They immediately began making changes to one of the bars to turn it into a sports bar and added American football to their TV line up. My friend and I curled up in our cabin and watched the game. 

 

So keep on tossing out suggestions and lets see what happens as they get all their ships going. 

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, Wildcatllamas said:

I have been asked for input from Virgin twice since my cruise in December. Both times I suggested West Coast sailings and possibly one to Hawaii on occasion. It is so much easier to fly to West Coast out of Colorado then it is to the East Coast.

 

They really listen to input from their guests and also read the boards here. While on Scarlet in December people were upset about no football games or sports bar. They immediately began making changes to one of the bars to turn it into a sports bar and added American football to their TV line up. My friend and I curled up in our cabin and watched the game. 

 

So keep on tossing out suggestions and lets see what happens as they get all their ships going. 

I have also said the same thing on the surveys!

Fingers crossed

[cantgetin]

It doesn't make sense to have 2 ships in the Caribbean in the winter, especially at current occupancy numbers....so maybe.

[rebeccac]

Although, the nice part about the two ships in the Caribbean from Florida in the winter is that Scarlet will be doing the shorter itineraries and Valiant will be doing longer ones.  We just came off a 5 day on Scarlet and it was not nearly long enough.  

[ccqueenanne]

Another request for West Coast ports, in case they are tracking...

[Raiders4Life32]

Add me to the West Coast request list.  They could just do Cabo and back for a 4-5 day and it would sell out.  All we have is garbage Carnival ships out of L.A. at the moment.

[_tacocat_]

22 minutes ago, Raiders4Life32 said:

Add me to the West Coast request list.  They could just do Cabo and back for a 4-5 day and it would sell out.  All we have is garbage Carnival ships out of L.A. at the moment.

100%!!! I would go like every other month if they did that!

[Janthere]

20 hours ago, Raiders4Life32 said:

Add me to the West Coast request list.  They could just do Cabo and back for a 4-5 day and it would sell out.  All we have is garbage Carnival ships out of L.A. at the moment.

Add us too! I would be on that ship all the time - we hate flying to Florida from Vegas. It sure seems like L.A. would fit their target market perfectly too 

[ceilidh1]

On 7/15/2022 at 3:49 PM, _tacocat_ said:

100%!!! I would go like every other month if they did that!

That's what worries me. I would need a second job to fund my cruising...lol

[Fogcityca13]

As much as I would love for VV to sail out of SF, LA would probably be a better port. I was hoping that Resilient Lady might visit after Australia. Always envious of the ease the folks in Florida have for cruising. 

[drewdawg199]

spoke to the Tom McAlpin, the CEO, last night onboard, specifically asked him about west coast.  He said there are no good ports on the west coast (I tend to agree), so it didn't sound like they were even considering it anytime soon.  I also asked about Cuba, he said if the Gov't opens up Cuba, they will be there the next day.

[Raiders4Life32]

5 hours ago, drewdawg199 said:

spoke to the Tom McAlpin, the CEO, last night onboard, specifically asked him about west coast.  He said there are no good ports on the west coast (I tend to agree), so it didn't sound like they were even considering it anytime soon.  I also asked about Cuba, he said if the Gov't opens up Cuba, they will be there the next day.

 

Costa Maya and Puerto Playa are not the greatest ports either. I love the resort in Bimini, but the other ports are time-wasters with not a ton to do. I'd take Cabo San Lucas over those ports anyday.  

[pumpkin 11]

On 7/10/2022 at 3:00 PM, Wildcatllamas said:

I have been asked for input from Virgin twice since my cruise in December. Both times I suggested West Coast sailings and possibly one to Hawaii on occasion. It is so much easier to fly to West Coast out of Colorado then it is to the East Coast.

 

They really listen to input from their guests and also read the boards here. While on Scarlet in December people were upset about no football games or sports bar. They immediately began making changes to one of the bars to turn it into a sports bar and added American football to their TV line up. My friend and I curled up in our cabin and watched the game. 

 

So keep on tossing out suggestions and lets see what happens as they get all their ships going. 

Exactly, it is so much easier. Princess seems to dominate the west coast, and they're okay but I am more intrigued by virgin.

[pumpkin 11]

6 hours ago, Raiders4Life32 said:

 

Costa Maya and Puerto Playa are not the greatest ports either. I love the resort in Bimini, but the other ports are time-wasters with not a ton to do. I'd take Cabo San Lucas over those ports anyday.  

100% on cabo. The port are there, and so is the demand I'd think, so I feel like that answer from the CEO is a cop out.

[drewdawg199]

I don't disagree, we didn't get off the ship in Costa Maya and are on the ship right now while we are in Cozumel.

[Raiders4Life32]

I went to Costa Maya a few years ago while on a NCL cruise and it was highly forgettable.  It's like a fake port, fake Mexico, like something you would see at Epcot Center or Disney. The town was only built to give cruise ships a place to dock, but there was nothing authentic about the port itself unless shopping at Diamonds International is your kinda thing. On our Virgin Voyage this past May, we just stayed on the ship and treated it like an at-sea day. If Virgin doesn't switch up their ports out of Miami, I don't think we would rush to go back for another cruise and we absolutely loved the ship itself. I think they are truly missing an opportunity to take control of the premium West Coast cruise market here. 

[ceilidh1]

14 minutes ago, Raiders4Life32 said:

I went to Costa Maya a few years ago while on a NCL cruise and it was highly forgettable.  It's like a fake port, fake Mexico, like something you would see at Epcot Center or Disney. The town was only built to give cruise ships a place to dock, but there was nothing authentic about the port itself unless shopping at Diamonds International is your kinda thing. On our Virgin Voyage this past May, we just stayed on the ship and treated it like an at-sea day. If Virgin doesn't switch up their ports out of Miami, I don't think we would rush to go back for another cruise and we absolutely loved the ship itself. I think they are truly missing an opportunity to take control of the premium West Coast cruise market here. 

I agree - if they want repeat cruisers, they will have to switch up ports a bit. I, personally, sail more for ship than itinerary, but the majority of folks don't. West Coast has the opportunity of short cruises (3-5 days), longer Mexico 7 or 10 days, California Coastals and Hawaii. Why wouldn't VV want to do those?