Virgin Voyages Customer Service Experience

[McGarrett5oh]

We live in the Tampa Bay area and up until last night (9/27/22), we were in the dead center of the path of the Hurricane Ian. So, a couple of days ago I called Virgin to see what our options were to cancel. We had bought their "Voyage Protection" insurance (really pretty inexpensive comparatively) when we booked directly on their website a couple of months ago and it includes coverage for: "a documented weather condition preventing You from getting to the point of departure for Your Trip"

 

When we originally spoke with a Virgin Voyages "Crew Member" on the phone, they confirmed that this is a coverage and that if we wanted to take advantage of it, we would need to cancel at least 48 hours before departure and then file with AON Affinity Insurance, who issues the policy. I decided to call AON afterwards to confirm what Virgin Voyages told me. AON did confirm everything. I asked what we would need to submit (which is done online and looks straight forward). They said we would need to submit:

 

1. Advisory Proof of the Hurricane (newspaper or other media)
2. Cancellation Invoice from Virgin
3. Trip Itinerary

 

And it would takes about 30 days and we would get 100% of Fare back (less the cost of the insurance). Any cancelled shore excursions or bar tabs would be refunded by Virgin.

 

So yesterday (72 hours before departure), I called Virgin to either cancel, or see if I could just reschedule the cruise. I explored the cancel option first with the Crew Member, who at first, was confused about the AON coverage allowing us to cancel due to the "documented weather event". I will give him a pass on that because, after considering the options of cancelling and waiting on the refund from AON, what we really wanted to do was take a cruise!

 

We asked about moving our reservation to the same 5-day Dominican Daze scheduled for November 11th, 2022. The crew member couldn't have been nicer and informative and we made the change, rebooking us and we just needed to pay the difference between the promotional fare we booked for the original cruise and the promotional fare in place for November. It cost us an additional $222 total (regular Sea Terrace cabin), however, it also included their November "Free $300 bar tab" promotion, so we will net a less expensive cruise (as we would have bought the tab)!

 

We received email confirmation of the change and the app was updated showing the new cruise dates before I hung up. The only thing we had to do was rebook our dinner reservations for the new dates on the app.

 

So, bottom line, the experience with Virgin Voyages and AON Affinity Insurance could not have been better. It was easy, hassle free and very positive.

[CineGraphic]

I'm glad to hear that they were able to move our reservation.

My only experience has been with requesting a re-fare due to a lower price, (we were paid in full) and we were told "no".

[CruisingWalter]

That's an incredible experience and so different from so many stories we see here on CC. Most people have very bad experiences with Cruise Line offered travel insurance. Very refreshing to hear that the VV experience was a good one for you! 

[gordiej]

On 10/2/2022 at 1:02 PM, WheresWalter said:

That's an incredible experience and so different from so many stories we see here on CC. Most people have very bad experiences with Cruise Line offered travel insurance. Very refreshing to hear that the VV experience was a good one for you! 

Well, OP didn't really have to deal with the insurer as they didn't file a claim ultimately. None of what an insurer's customer service agent tells you *really* matters until the claim is filed and reviewed and then approved or denied. It sounds like it probably would have been straightforward though.

[Krissykris]

First experience has been the worst experience. I'm so disappointed. I purchased, in full, a December "introvert" Sunset and Soirees trip. Unfortunately the day I was supposed to fly to my port of call tornados erupted all over the south and  flights were cancelled. I called Virgin directly to speak with someone on the best course of action. Since I had taken the insurance he told me to call AON and explain the weather events. He then stated 'if they are unable to assist give us a call back and we'll see what we can do on our end."

 

I filed the claim with Aon on December 20, 2022.....today is February 12, 2023. I still have not gotten anything back from Aon after being told it takes 30 days.

 

I would have rather just rebooked for another time. Any time I call AON I'm met with the same "we need more time" broken record it's shameful at this point. So I called Virgin to let them know the terrible job their partner insurance provider  was doing, since Virgin is who directed me to Aon to buy insurance in the first place.  I asked if there was anything that could be done on their end since the previous agent who cancelled my initial reservation said they could.

 

I was then told by the Virgin Supervisor, "I see his notes, I don't know why he told you that, there's nothing we can do. I will speak with him."

 

This is awful....getting insurance doesn't insure and customer service doesn't honor what their representatives tell customers... even if it's documented. Despicable. Don't waist your time or money on Virgin or AON. Travel with a more reputable another company with a more reputable insurance provider.

 

 

[rebeccac]

Another reason never to buy the cruise line insurance.  We always go third party.  Always better coverage and generally costs less.  

[cantgetin]

Buying insurance thru any cruise line is a mistake.  In my experience, we can get much better coverage for the same or less cost thru a private company.  Insurance thru the cruise line is typically based on a percentage of the cruise cost and will cover only those things you booked thru the cruise line.  By going with a private company, cost is based on the age of the traveler as well as the cost of the items you insure.  You can choose whether to cover only the cruise or also the air, hotel, etc. The company I use sells in $500 "blocks,"   The coverage amounts for things like medical are typically a lot higher than with the cruise line.

 

As to VV's customer service...yeah...they are answering the phone quicker now, but they don't really appear to know what they are doing.    THat isn't fair; there are some that are excellent, but whether it is their computer system or the people's training, getting a quality rep for even simple things is very touch and go.

[CineGraphic]

9 hours ago, Krissykris said:

I filed the claim with Aon on December 20, 2022.....today is February 12, 2023. I still have not gotten anything back from Aon after being told it takes 30 days.

 

I've read on other forums that Aon is taking longer than usual to process claims.

There's a shortage of help.

Nobody wants to work for a wage that doesn't cover their basic needs.

As a victim of the Southwest Airlines Christmas Nightmare, I had to re-book on another airline, and pay for a hotel.......no refund from Southwest yet either.