Celebrity vs Virgin Cruises

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Wow! Sounds awesome.  Thanks for sharing.  I've been hesitant to book O because of their NCL parent company.  NCL seems to be struggling and their CC boards are filled with all kinds of complaints about new fees and cutbacks (worse then Celebrity).  ...I guess I was worried that such might trickle over to Oceania.  Probably unfair of me to lump them all together so I will take a look.

We have close friends who love Oceania and have been trying to get us to book with them for years, they did one Celebrity cruise with us and will not do another. We are also looking at Oceania for a Boston to Montreal cruise one way in 2025, for 11 nights with 11 ports. Celebrity in 2024 is only doing round trip from Boston for 11 nights with 5 ports and has not released their 2025 NE schedule yet. I am believing our 2024 Edge cruise may be our last with Celebrity. We booked the 2024 Edge cruise to NZ a year ago in a Sky Suite, which today is priced $2000pp more for a SS than we booked at. If we hadn't booked the Edge cruise at the lower price we would be doing Oceania too.

[bigbenboys]

On 1/12/2023 at 2:59 PM, kwokpot said:

Yes, lol. Photo of our room on the Scarlet Lady in July. 

Does not the room attendant each morning change the bed into a couch. Will the room attendant make the bed after my lunch, so I can take a nap or is the change made while at dinner.

[Lastdance]

No way am I booking VV; there is enough of that stuff in high school, so no need to extend it to my vacay.  Okay, I am over-emphasizing both, but my interest lies with Viking considering🤫 thoughts about jumping ship!

Edited January 14, 2023 by Lastdance

[terrydtx]

The one couple, I know who have sailed with VV say it is an upscale Carnival cruise, that is more expensive, something I have zero interest in at my age. 

Edited January 14, 2023 by terrydtx

[C-Dragons]

39 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

No way am I booking VV; there is enough of that stuff in high school, so no need to extend it to my vacay.  Okay, I am over-emphasizing both, but my interest lies with Viking considering🤫 thoughts about jumping ship!

I was very interested in Richard Branson's new cruise line and read everything I could find when he launched it.When the first images of the ship were revealed he described why the cabins were designed in a specific fashion and he made it abundantly clear that he hoped many guests would “get together” to put it politely. 😳  Kind of like the behavior one would see in College dorm rooms.
Not the cruise line for us. YMMV. 😁

Edited January 14, 2023 by C-Dragons

[NutsAboutGolf]

32 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

I was very interested in Richard Branson's new cruise line and read everything I could find when he launched it.When the first images of the ship were revealed he described why the cabins were designed in a specific fashion and he made it abundantly clear that he hoped many guests would “get together” to put it politely. 😳  Kind of like the behavior one would see in College dorm rooms.
Not the cruise line for us. YMMV. 😁

All cruising is dominated by couples, so while the cruise line does is more “frisky” than others, the whole idea is many passengers as possible get frisk my on their sailing

 

Many content creators have stated it’s the best food at sea (they admit they haven’t been on super-luxury lines like Regent or Ritz) as all food including the “food hall” are made to order.  Also, Branson takes food seriously.  He is friends with many chefs who’s restaurants that have earned Michelin stars and they state every food item on the ship, including the food hall, was developed by a chef who worked at restaurant awarded stars.  FYI, Michelin stars are awarded to the restaurant, while some may call some chefs “Michelin star chefs” it’s incorrect because one has no idea if fuse chef developed the recipe and/or cooked the food and/or was an executive chef whose like a manager of the chef.

 

Finally you get a lot more variety of entertainment.  One thing I love about the big three is they many shows going on all night.  I feel like X is stuck in stone ages with its 7pm show which is repeated at 9pm and then there a pax participation show at 8pm.  Other likes have 3 comedians with multiple shows per night, a piano sing along, karaoke, the main show, etc

[Cruising89143]

If VV were to place a ship out west we might try it but I’m not flying across country to try it. I’ve had enough of the Caribbean. Here is their new ad campaign that just recently broke. 
 

https://youtu.be/R-bBQFk-L6Q

[kwokpot]

8 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

Does not the room attendant each morning change the bed into a couch. Will the room attendant make the bed after my lunch, so I can take a nap or is the change made while at dinner.

I think now it's only done on request. Precisely because of wanting to take potential naps at any moment is why we refrain from having the beds put in couch mode. I'm on the Valiant Lady right now and the bed was also in bed mode when we first arrived. Today is Day 1 on my second Virgin cruise in the same type of cabin and my original feelings about it still stand. We're on an 8 nt sailing, double what our first Virgin cruise was. We are light packers, and we had enough storage space for our clothes. Heavy Packers won't have enough storage. Here a couple of photos of the closet with the sheer curtain instead of solid doors.

I do like the bed by the closet configuration better than by the balcony. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

If VV were to place a ship out west we might try it but I’m not flying across country to try it. I’ve had enough of the Caribbean. Here is their new ad campaign that just recently broke. 
 

https://youtu.be/R-bBQFk-L6Q

 

I much prefer a Caribbean itinerary over the Mexican Rivera.  I LOVE Cabo but it's much better to stay in a nice land resort

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I wonder if VV will be the first cruise line to have pot cafes on the ship

Gen X,Y , and Z drink less than Boomers

only problem weed does smell, besides that it wouldnt bother me at all if they did 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1). Virgin launched a status match program and includes celebrity (and most other lines) for elite and above

 

2) It would appear you do need to have a sailing already booked

 

3) You’ll need to upload proof and they state they want your FULL name and CC status in an image; neither the app or website gives this info but your eDocs do

 

4) VV status match URL: https://vvprod.secure.force.com/SubmitLoyaltyProofOfStatusForm?_ga=2.236341633.1220451790.1673793496-454321569.1673793496&_gl=1*14j5fpm*_ga*NDU0MzIxNTY5LjE2NzM3OTM0OTY.*_gid*MTIyMDQ1MTc5MC4xNjczNzkzNDk2*_fplc*bUoyOEdaMDBFWDJQQlBERCUyRnE5dEgzSXJzSElVVmV5Wk04JTJGUnVScGpGd0hqdW4lMkZIOUxXOE1sTWFQdVJOSTh0Y1lyMm9pNEsxdGtlNjI4VnZobFU0TCUyQkV0NVc1MnVUaEM5TmxLVlFFZlNnOEVLUW1tTlk4YiUyQnlzd2lseU5HZyUzRCUzRA..*_ga_6QKCE3P4MF*MTY3Mzc5MzQ5NS4xLjEuMTY3Mzc5MzcxMC4wLjAuMA..

 

Once you’re awarded status, here’s what you get:

 

• Bar Tab bonus, for every $300 you spend, receive $100 
• Expedited boarding
• Premium WiFi (where applicable)
• Dedicated Sailor Services Support on board
• Exclusive cocktail event
• Laundry service
• $10 daily coffee credit

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I thought expresso was included 

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I thought expresso was included 

On Virgin?  I have no idea

[Crazy planning mom]

3 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I wonder if VV will be the first cruise line to have pot cafes on the ship

Gen X,Y , and Z drink less than Boomers

only problem weed does smell, besides that it wouldnt bother me at all if they did 

 

Yeah, I don't like the smell of pot.  They could do an edibles cafe.

[terrydtx]

This thread has prompted me to look at Virgin again, they have some longer cruises in Australia for next year 12-14 days and they are very competitive to our Celebrity Sky Suite pricing. I had to look twice and then see that Virgin prices their cabins at total coat per suite, not per person. If it is true, they match loyalty status, we are Elite on Celebrity, they are even more competitive. I wonder if at 73 we maybe too old for Virgin, they make it sound more like party ships in their marketing

Edited January 15, 2023 by terrydtx

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

This thread has prompted me to look at Virgin again, they have some longer cruises in Australia for next year 12-14 days and they are very competitive to our Celebrity Sky Suite pricing. I had to look twice and then see that Virgin prices their cabins at total coat per suite, not per person. If it is true, they match loyalty status, we are Elite on Celebrity, they are even more competitive. I wonder if at 73 we maybe too old for Virgin, they make it sound more like party ships in their marketing

Why not give it a try?  If nothing else you’d receive much better tasting food, a better selection of food and better availability of food (X’s MDR is open for 90mins during lunch)

[iandjm]

On 1/12/2023 at 2:00 AM, RTShaker said:

But then so is Celebrity...

Especially as us singles pay the same on Celebrity to add drinks tips and WiFi as two people would!

[kwokpot]

4 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I thought expresso was included 

Drip brewed coffee is included, not espresso based coffee drinks. 

[kwokpot]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

This thread has prompted me to look at Virgin again, they have some longer cruises in Australia for next year 12-14 days and they are very competitive to our Celebrity Sky Suite pricing. I had to look twice and then see that Virgin prices their cabins at total coat per suite, not per person. If it is true, they match loyalty status, we are Elite on Celebrity, they are even more competitive. I wonder if at 73 we maybe too old for Virgin, they make it sound more like party ships in their marketing

I'm on the Valiant Lady right now for an 8 nt Caribbean cruise. You're looking at it from the wrong point of view. You realize all the classic rock musicians are in their 70s? Virgin  Voyages is for a specific state of mind. If you would rather stay at a W, Aloft or Moxy hotel brand you would enjoy a Virgin cruise. If your idea hotel brand is Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton then Virgin isn't the line for you. Yes, the ideal passenger demographic is 25-50. Everything, and I mean everything is geared towards those looking for a young, contemporary vibe and a non traditional cruise experience. 

If you're used to a Sky Suite I wouldn't book anything less than Virgin's rockstar suites. 

It's not a party ship atmosphere per SE, but contemporary music is omnipresent everywhere at various volume levels. Some of the folk type performers you'll find on Celebrity is what you'll find here. 

The food is overall better than Celebrity. I just finished lunch. Had an amazing salad AND the sushi pictured below, which is included, no extra charge. 

[terrydtx]

35 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm on the Valiant Lady right now for an 8 nt Caribbean cruise. You're looking at it from the wrong point of view. You realize all the classic rock musicians are in their 70s? Virgin  Voyages is for a specific state of mind. If you would rather stay at a W, Aloft or Moxy hotel brand you would enjoy a Virgin cruise. If your idea hotel brand is Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton then Virgin isn't the line for you. Yes, the ideal passenger demographic is 25-50. Everything, and I mean everything is geared towards those looking for a young, contemporary vibe and a non traditional cruise experience. 

If you're used to a Sky Suite I wouldn't book anything less than Virgin's rockstar suites. 

It's not a party ship atmosphere per SE, but contemporary music is omnipresent everywhere at various volume levels. Some of the folk type performers you'll find on Celebrity is what you'll find here. 

The food is overall better than Celebrity. I just finished lunch. Had an amazing salad AND the sushi pictured below, which is included, no extra charge. 

Thanks for all the information. We are going to sit down and seriously look at their 2024 Australian cruises. I already figured we would want the Rockstar Suites as they look close to the SS on Celebrity. In other areas like the Med, they do not do longer cruises and that's what we do now. We have a B2B on the Edge in Australia for 22 total nights and then we will do a 10-day land tour on our own. The Equinox cruise in June is with our 12 year old granddaughter in a SS and then we are done with any more cruises in the Caribbean. Just gotten too old for beaches and sun, we now cruise for places to go in the world where we have never been.

Edited January 15, 2023 by terrydtx

[NutsAboutGolf]

10 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I wonder if VV will be the first cruise line to have pot cafes on the ship

Gen X,Y , and Z drink less than Boomers

only problem weed does smell, besides that it wouldnt bother me at all if they did 

 

 

7 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Yeah, I don't like the smell of pot.  They could do an edibles cafe.

 

Cruiselines won't do it until it's legal at the (US) federal level which it isn't currently.  Also, I smell weed in multiple places on every sailing therefore its seemingly very easy to smuggle on.  So why would someone want to pay X's most likely expensive prices if it's offered (rhetorical)?

Edited January 15, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[kwokpot]

The hammocks aren't a gimmick. They're truly comfortable to lay in and enjoy the late afternoon winter sun. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by kwokpot

[breadandbutter]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:08 PM, Crazy planning mom said:

I wonder if the food cutbacks will lead to more people going to Virgin.

I'm definitely looking at Virgin, the price hikes and cut backs celebrity has done are ridiculous. 

Having said that I was just on Seabourn Sojourn and there were a lot of cut backs there as well, Mainly food.

[Cruising89143]

3 minutes ago, breadandbutter said:

I'm definitely looking at Virgin, the price hikes and cut backs celebrity has done are ridiculous. 

Having said that I was just on Seabourn Sojourn and there were a lot of cut backs there as well, Mainly food.

I have been reading the various cruise boards over the last few weeks. Seems that changes are happening on just about every line. Complaints vary from package prices, entertainment and food. I expect that we will see more.

[tfred]

On 1/14/2023 at 6:01 PM, terrydtx said:

The one couple, I know who have sailed with VV say it is an upscale Carnival cruise, that is more expensive, something I have zero interest in at my age. 

that doesnt sound attractive.  I have flown Virgin Atlantic (Upper Class) many times.  Fun, hip with high quality service. The Clubhouse in LHR is absolutely great.  I am sure they tried to have that same atmosphere with the ships.  

 

We, like you, are looking to minimize the craziness.  We have tried Oceania and liked it.  Some of the X suite prices are now over $10k and starts to make smaller ships more attractive.  We like the X suites because of food and service.  The bonus is big ship activities after the sun goes down.  Doesn't exist on O.  Dinner is the activity