What happened to Brilliant Lady

[chillyw]

10 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Us too....we get a yearly plan, the GeoBlue Globetrekker. Thankfully, we've never had to use it.

 

Love that plan! I get the same one.

[jon81uk]

2 hours ago, notme2012 said:

McAlpin is not the person to solve VV's problems with getting people under 35 to book VV cruise.

I don’t think that is their problem. They’ve acknowledged and changed their marketing, the sailors they thought they might attract when setting out five years ago are not the crowd onboard, but they have some very loyal 30 and 40-somethings and I think VV know that aiming for millennials and older is right now. Trying to go for millennial and younger will be a struggle as those who are younger won’t have the cash.

 

The Karma Chameleon advert at the beginning of the year much more closely reflected the sailors onboard and showed the market they are now aiming for. 

[DKNY26]

2 hours ago, jon81uk said:

I don’t think that is their problem. They’ve acknowledged and changed their marketing, the sailors they thought they might attract when setting out five years ago are not the crowd onboard, but they have some very loyal 30 and 40-somethings and I think VV know that aiming for millennials and older is right now. Trying to go for millennial and younger will be a struggle as those who are younger won’t have the cash.

 

The Karma Chameleon advert at the beginning of the year much more closely reflected the sailors onboard and showed the market they are now aiming for. 

I don’t know if you want to rule out the millennials and younger not having cash.  From what I have been observing there are a large influx that prioritize traveling and experiencing while delaying starting a family.  VV might hit that mark. 

[FFMilesJunkie]

5 hours ago, notme2012 said:

1-More proof that VV may keep the Brilliant Lady in Europe. 2-I checked all the Brilliant Lady sailings from San Juan, none are sold out. With the exception of suites, I could find insides, outsides and terrace cabins on every sailing. 3-Using a maiden voyage of ship in April 2022, still under Covid rules, really? Bad example! Most cruise ships were not even sailing half full.

 

The Celebrity Ascent's maiden voyage is 1 month before the Brilliant Lady's maiden and has been on sale for a longer time to a much larger loyal customer base and it's not sold out.  In fact, there's not a single sailing of the Celebrity Ascent in it's maiden season that is sold out.  Even the holiday sailings are WIDE OPEN with every category available even suites. By your logic Celebrity should redeploy the Ascent or maybe it's a sign the ship should be delayed. 

On the other hand, suites are sold out on the Brilliant Lady for almost all her sailings out of SJ and on a few of her sailings all that are left are a handful of insides and Central Sea Terraces. XL & Standard Sea Terraces are almost sold out on some sailings. 

Most of what is being discussed here is pure speculation.  None of us know for certain but we should know in the next few weeks.  With the BL now showing on port schedules (although spotty right now) at least we know things are moving in the right direction. Can't wait to see what's in store for BL2024!

[jon81uk]

49 minutes ago, DKNY26 said:

I don’t know if you want to rule out the millennials and younger not having cash.  From what I have been observing there are a large influx that prioritize traveling and experiencing while delaying starting a family.  VV might hit that mark. 

That is true, but I think that’s why they are aiming for the like to travel vibe rather than the drunken party dance music crowd. 

[cantgetin]

I think they turned off a lot of people initially with ads showing primarily 20 somethings.  For 2022, the average age on the ships was 43 with a range of 18 to 90s.  Our sailings were definitely not the drunken rowdies that another line might attract.  It was a very nice mix of people who seemed to like cruising.  Fortunately, their marketing has changed to reflect that.  They've also toned down some of the entertainment.

On our most recent cruise, there was a comedian that I wanted to see based on her bio, but really didn't enjoy.  My travel companion informed me that I was too old for her stuff. and that younger people would have loved her.  My feeling was that she only had one basic theme and hadn't deviated from that in 30 minutes.  But she was only one of a large number of entertainers on board.

[notme2012]

8 hours ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

By your logic Celebrity should redeploy the Ascent or maybe it's a sign the ship should be delayed. 

 

On the other hand, suites are sold out on the Brilliant Lady for almost all her sailings out of SJ and on a few of her sailings all that are left are a handful of insides and Central Sea Terraces. XL & Standard Sea Terraces are almost sold out on some sailings. 

First I was writing my comment late at night. Second, don't put words in my mouth. I didn't mention anything changing the Ascent's itineraries. Third, VV had Brilliant Lady selling at firesale prices prior to 1/1/23. Fourth, we should not have to speculate how or what VV will do with our sailing, period!

 

You cannot compare the Ascent to the Brilliant Lady or Celebrity to Virgin Voyages. It is apples to oranges. Cruise lines are still having significant difficulties post-Covid. Again why are you putting words in my mouth?

 

I will go back to what I have posted here since April. Virgin Voyages is still struggling to market their cruises. As recently as 4 months ago, VV ships were not sailing at full capacity or even close to full capacity. It worries me immensely that VV has not posted the BL schedule post April 20th. That date is only 8 months away. No other cruise line waits this long to post their schedules. 

 

I recently booked my flights and hotels in both SJU and Europe. But I think it is all for naught. I gave the T-ATL sailing less than 50% chance that it will sail. I don't trust Virgin Voyages! I think that VV is doing itself a great disservice by not keeping us informed. Plus, we cannot cancel without losing our deposits. Believe me if I had known that VV would be acting this way, I would not have booked this cruise.

[Wildcatllamas]

Here we are on August 24th and still nothing. Brilliant still doesn't show up after the 20th of April. They aren't rolling out any new promos to speak of, so maybe tomorrow. Who knows.

[librarylady19]

6 minutes ago, Wildcatllamas said:

Here we are on August 24th and still nothing. Brilliant still doesn't show up after the 20th of April. They aren't rolling out any new promos to speak of, so maybe tomorrow. Who knows.

Yep, checking website daily and nothing 😙 people were complaining when Celebrity just announced they were cancelling late ‘24 and ‘25 sailings! Jeez, that’s nothing compared to this obfuscation😒

[Wildcatllamas]

4 minutes ago, librarylady19 said:

Yep, checking website daily and nothing 😙 people were complaining when Celebrity just announced they were cancelling late ‘24 and ‘25 sailings! Jeez, that’s nothing compared to this obfuscation😒

Wow I hadn't heard about Celebrity. I bet that is going to be a nightmare. I have even been using different browsers, going back and forth between my two laptops and work computer (don't judge me 😏and constantly clearing my cache and cookies. Just keep hoping.

[WanderingTravels]

17 minutes ago, Wildcatllamas said:

Wow I hadn't heard about Celebrity. I bet that is going to be a nightmare. I have even been using different browsers, going back and forth between my two laptops and work computer (don't judge me 😏and constantly clearing my cache and cookies. Just keep hoping.

 

Now that Celebrity has a new president they are just changing some ships around to meet demand.  I just read Summit is moving from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale, much easier to get to so that's a plus.

[CanadianCruiser21]

43 minutes ago, Wildcatllamas said:

Wow I hadn't heard about Celebrity. I bet that is going to be a nightmare. I have even been using different browsers, going back and forth between my two laptops and work computer (don't judge me 😏and constantly clearing my cache and cookies. Just keep hoping.

While I have been checking almost daily as well, I also follow a ton of VV Facebook groups and I’m sure there will be a lot of posts once new sailings are up. 

[Wildcatllamas]

3 minutes ago, CanadianCruiser21 said:

While I have been checking almost daily as well, I also follow a ton of VV Facebook groups and I’m sure there will be a lot of posts once new sailings are up. 

I also follow several VV FB groups. Supposedly VV was supposed to release the remainder of 2024 sailings and 2025 today. Rumors were also that Brilliant Lady's cruises after April 20, 2024 would also be covered including the Transatlantic on 4/20/2024. 

[librarylady19]

3 hours ago, Wildcatllamas said:

Wow I hadn't heard about Celebrity. I bet that is going to be a nightmare. I have even been using different browsers, going back and forth between my two laptops and work computer (don't judge me 😏and constantly clearing my cache and cookies. Just keep hoping.

But Celebrity gave people lots of notice, even before air schedules were available (unlike you know who!)

[JandPB]

I hope Virgin does keep a presence in San Juan. We just booked a Feb '24 cruise on the Brilliant. We love sailing from there in the winter. 

[MeganGC1983]

Just came by to see what the outlook was. I heard somethings. Not looking great. 😩

[aviators99]

1 minute ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Just came by to see what the outlook was. I heard somethings. Not looking great. 😩

What did you hear? 

[cantgetin]

On 8/24/2023 at 8:04 AM, Wildcatllamas said:

I also follow several VV FB groups. Supposedly VV was supposed to release the remainder of 2024 sailings and 2025 today. Rumors were also that Brilliant Lady's cruises after April 20, 2024 would also be covered including the Transatlantic on 4/20/2024. 

These rumors were baed on the fact that the previously available discounts expired 2 days ago.  People were guessing that when those deals expired, new announcements and deals would be released.  This has not always been the case in the past--on one cruise that I was considering, they raised fares by removing the "deals," then a week later, re-instated the previous pricing.  The current rumor is that they will make an announcement during the upcoming cruise that Branson and McAlpin will be sailing on--again, jut rumor.  TAs keep being told "soon" when they ask.  As usual, VV will make an announcement when they are ready,

[MeganGC1983]

Just now, aviators99 said:

What did you hear? 

Well there’s a hiring freeze for all of Sept. That led me to ask questions of VV employees. Deductive reasoning says there are 2 reasons why they wouldn’t be hiring… 1. Delay 2. They have everyone they need. 
So Happenings Cast 1 just finished on RL. Maybe they are Re-signing for BL cast 1. 
Apparently, that is not the case as of yet. But some of them do have contracts for other ships. 
Interesting. 
Next week is when all the answers are suppose to be announced. 

[cantgetin]

Interesting.  On our October 22 cruise, one member of the Happenings Cast told us about his plans for the 6 weeks or so after the cruise as his contract ended the day we docked.  On our next cruise, he was back on board.  One never knows with the entertainers,

[FFMilesJunkie]

The crewmor mill is running wild these days. On the Scarlett now. The Get Lost crew are still confident the BL is launching on time. But others are skeptical since no one has been assigned to the BL yet. Some are saying they think the whole winter/spring schedule will be cancelled and she will launch in Europe like the resilient did. But it’s getting pretty late. Final payment for the mermaidens are due right now.  They need to decide one way or another. The fact they are waiting is hopefully a sign they are trying their best to finish her on time and maybe at worst a short delay. I’d hate to see a whole season get cancelled like on RL. The bookings are too strong right now.  That could  kill momentum in the brand. 

[SummmerInKefalonia]

7 hours ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

The crewmor mill is running wild these days. On the Scarlett now. The Get Lost crew are still confident the BL is launching on time. But others are skeptical since no one has been assigned to the BL yet. Some are saying they think the whole winter/spring schedule will be cancelled and she will launch in Europe like the resilient did. But it’s getting pretty late. Final payment for the mermaidens are due right now.  They need to decide one way or another. The fact they are waiting is hopefully a sign they are trying their best to finish her on time and maybe at worst a short delay. I’d hate to see a whole season get cancelled like on RL. The bookings are too strong right now.  That could  kill momentum in the brand. 

Some are saying they think the whole winter/spring schedule will be cancelled and she will launch in Europe like the resilient did.

 

I think this as well. Same thing happened with Resilient last year.

[Lustate]

52 minutes ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

Some are saying they think the whole winter/spring schedule will be cancelled and she will launch in Europe like the resilient did.

 

I think this as well. Same thing happened with Resilient last year.

I think we all just need to be very British about it, and have a nice cup of tea, and wait to see what happens. 

[tbmrt]

13 hours ago, JandPB said:

I hope Virgin does keep a presence in San Juan. We just booked a Feb '24 cruise on the Brilliant. We love sailing from there in the winter. 

We are on that cruise also. Never cruised out of San Juan before, but have been to the other ports except Guadeloupe.  Really hope we hear something soon.

[Lustate]

It might just be an error, but looks like BL is not getting the next set of discounts being released by VV according to terms. I assume they will correct it before go live, but if you are about to book, 100% check with the agent first that you get the offer.