What happened to Brilliant Lady

[DAP2]

15 minutes ago, Splatt2010 said:

It’s all a bit of a shambles really. Whilst the numbers they are dealing with must be large, 2 separate agents told me it was 10,000 bookings that were cancelled. 

 

I think 10,000+ is the "don't panic people" official statement. 1,400 passenger cabins times 31 canceled sailings. Even if the ships were at half capacity,  that's over 21,000 bookings. Are they handling 3,000 a day? It sure doesn't sound like it.

 

All I want is a communication that says, 'We're sorry, we overestimated our processing power."...lol, "Rest assured, we will make your booking right, please allow 14 days to hear from us"

 

 

 

 

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, Splatt2010 said:

It’s all a bit of a shambles really. Whilst the numbers they are dealing with must be large, 2 separate agents told me it was 10,000 bookings that were cancelled. Considering it was 30ish voyages that were impacted that doesn’t sound too rosey in terms of forward bookings for VV considering these sailings are  less than 6 months out. 

well no one seems to have complained about Resilient Lady moving from Athens to Portsmouth for late summer 2024, so I guess those bookings were very very low, but maybe people didn’t want to book more than a year ahead. Also the repositioning Athens to Barcelona and Barcelona to Portsmouth are being sold as charters by Atlantis now.

 

most of the affected people on this board are either from Brilliant or Valiant Lady sailings it seems.

[Splatt2010]

17 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

well no one seems to have complained about Resilient Lady moving from Athens to Portsmouth for late summer 2024, so I guess those bookings were very very low,

That’s a very good point. Personally I suspect future sales aren’t that great across  across the board and I’d certainly have second thoughts handing over $$$ for anything scheduled beyond next summer but then I’m risk adverse and it’s also another discussion.  Pretty certain however if they thought they could have made  $$$, BL would have been delivered on time and all this avoided. 

[CineGraphic]

20 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

well no one seems to have complained about Resilient Lady moving from Athens to Portsmouth for late summer 2024, so I guess those bookings were very very low,

 

Low European bookings both this season and next are the main reason for all of the changes.

Celebrity & Virgin took a beating this summer.

[jon81uk]

15 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Low European bookings both this season and next are the main reason for all of the changes.

Celebrity & Virgin took a beating this summer.

Well that and Brilliant Lady not being ready!

 

But yes I think they expect sailing directly out of Portsmouth will attract more Brits

as it removes some of the travel costs. 
 

We’ve however gone for the Barcelona to Athens cruise as it is a fantastic price and offers more interesting stops.

[CineGraphic]

14 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

We’ve however gone for the Barcelona to Athens cruise as it is a fantastic price and offers more interesting stops.

 

We chose Portsmouth to Barcelona, so you'll be boarding her the day we disembark.

Now I need to decide which airport we'll fly into and where we'll stay.

[Freelancer3]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

We chose Portsmouth to Barcelona, so you'll be boarding her the day we disembark.

Now I need to decide which airport we'll fly into and where we'll stay.

 

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

Well that and Brilliant Lady not being ready!

 

But yes I think they expect sailing directly out of Portsmouth will attract more Brits

as it removes some of the travel costs. 
 

We’ve however gone for the Barcelona to Athens cruise as it is a fantastic price and offers more interesting stops.

We are on both. Enjoy!

[AlyssaJames]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

We chose Portsmouth to Barcelona, so you'll be boarding her the day we disembark.

Now I need to decide which airport we'll fly into and where we'll stay.

I'll be on this one. It will be my longest cruise ever and also my first time leaving North or Central America (What can I say, I'm not retired quite yet, and I was afraid of flying for a long time).

[Tolkmit]

3 hours ago, DAP2 said:

 

I think 10,000+ is the "don't panic people" official statement. 1,400 passenger cabins times 31 canceled sailings. Even if the ships were at half capacity,  that's over 21,000 bookings. Are they handling 3,000 a day? It sure doesn't sound like it.

 

All I want is a communication that says, 'We're sorry, we overestimated our processing power."...lol, "Rest assured, we will make your booking right, please allow 14 days to hear from us"

 

 

 

 

 

From the agent I spoke to, 10,000 is around how many people cancelled, that's not including the rebookings.

 

Virgin underestimated how many from Brilliant would cancel over the ship switch, how many from Valiant would cancel rather than rebook, and most importantly, how quickly people would take action. They expected a lot more people to take longer to put in their re-book or cancel choices for some reason.

[alemmo]

Well I was on the original Valiant Miami to Miami March 23-31.  It was cancelled and I requested a rebook on the new San Juan to Miami last Thursday evening once I found the itinerary.    On Monday morning I noticed that a Rockstar Aft Suite was only $200 more than my original Sea Terrace.  I called out and was able to request a change to the Suite, they said it would be placed on hold.  Then I never heard anything for days and was getting worried.  

 

Well today they called up and gave me the confirmation and had me pay the extra $200.  Really relieved.  

 

I think we made out pretty well 8 days in an Aft Suite even bigger terrace for $3800 with $700 in sailor loot and $600 in bar tab.  This will be our first cruise with Virgin.   

[DAP2]

Congrats! I think many of us are hoping for a similar result. It's getting harder and harder to keep a chin-up attitude about the whole thing though 😕.

[def0715]

My 3/23 Valiant Lady sailing from Miami was canceled but it looks like I was automatically moved to the San Juan sailing. I filled out the form Monday morning and put in for a different itinerary/date/ship. I don’t want VL out of San Juan. Anyone else on the original 3/23 Miami VL sailing have this happen? The app - when it works - shows I’m on the 3/23 VL sailing from San Juan and shows the countdown.

 

I’m having to drop down from regular terrace to limited view on new sailing, FWIW.

Edited September 14, 2023 by def0715

[CineGraphic]

9 minutes ago, alemmo said:

I think we made out pretty well 8 days in an Aft Suite even bigger terrace for $3800 with $700 in sailor loot and $600 in bar tab.  This will be our first cruise with Virgin. 

 

We upgraded from a regular Terrace to a Sweet Aft Suite Even Bigger Terrace for the 12 day sailing from Portsmouth to Barcelona. When you see a price of $230 pp/pd to sail as a rock star, you jump on it.

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

We upgraded from a regular Terrace to a Sweet Aft Suite Even Bigger Terrace for the 12 day sailing from Portsmouth to Barcelona. When you see a price of $230 pp/pd to sail as a rock star, you jump on it.

That’s a great price, but the nine night was even better deal, we got seriously suite for $188 per person per night.

[Giraffes]

Update: I have received my confirmation for my rebooking on 12/23. It was not the stateroom. I had originally requested, but I just successfully called to change it.

 

My next concern, because why not have some first world problems, is the reimbursement for flights. If I booked round trip to Miami back in May instead of a flight into MIA and home from SJU, I am SURE the price of the flight would have been a few hundred dollars less. Is VV considering these variables when determining flight/hotel reimbursements?? My magic 8 ball is saying "are you out of your mind?". But let's wait and see how generous they decide to be with the flight/hotel reimbursements. 

 

Anyone on my Dec 23 VL Caribbean Holiday sailing, you can be very nice to me and partake in helping me use all my sailor loot- $700 bar tab+ $600 promotion+$1,000 no idea.🤯 I wish I could have used some of it for flights and/or future sailings.

[aviators99]

If someone wants a refund, I assume it's possible to transfer to another interested party instead?  I'd love to get my in-laws on our replacement booking with us, but it's too expensive for them.

[DAP2]

8 minutes ago, Giraffes said:

Update: I have received my confirmation for my rebooking on 12/23. It was not the stateroom. I had originally requested, but I just successfully called to change it.

Oh dear God, that means they are still working on last Thursday 😳, the day your case was created with your original phone call. 

[kwokpot]

12 minutes ago, Giraffes said:

Update: I have received my confirmation for my rebooking on 12/23. It was not the stateroom. I had originally requested, but I just successfully called to change it.

 

My next concern, because why not have some first world problems, is the reimbursement for flights. If I booked round trip to Miami back in May instead of a flight into MIA and home from SJU, I am SURE the price of the flight would have been a few hundred dollars less. Is VV considering these variables when determining flight/hotel reimbursements?? My magic 8 ball is saying "are you out of your mind?". But let's wait and see how generous they decide to be with the flight/hotel reimbursements. 

 

Anyone on my Dec 23 VL Caribbean Holiday sailing, you can be very nice to me and partake in helping me use all my sailor loot- $700 bar tab+ $600 promotion+$1,000 no idea.🤯 I wish I could have used some of it for flights and/or future sailings.

My take on flight and hotel reimbursements are they are refunding  cancellation fees, not fare and hotel differential fees. In other words if there $150 cancel fee they will absorb that, but if there an extra $300 fare difference they will not be paying for that. Same thing for hotel reservations. If you reserved a non-refundable hotel and need to cancel it, and it was $300,that will be refunded. But if it now costs $450 for a pre-cruise hotel  they WILL NOT absorb that. In other words cancel fees yes, fare and hotel pricing differentials, no. 

[giraffic]

13 minutes ago, DAP2 said:

Oh dear God, that means they are still working on last Thursday 😳, the day your case was created with your original phone call. 

 

If the initial holds for replacement cruises were really only 7 days as some people were told, is there a system for making sure those don't disappear? The sailing I'm trying to move to only has Ltd view sea terraces left, and if I lose my hold and someone else snaps up the cabin I'm not sure I'd want to drop down that much.

Guess there's nothing to do but wait and try to come up with a back up option just in case.

[Golfergirl1]

2 minutes ago, giraffic said:

 

If the initial holds for replacement cruises were really only 7 days as some people were told, is there a system for making sure those don't disappear? The sailing I'm trying to move to only has Ltd view sea terraces left, and if I lose my hold and someone else snaps up the cabin I'm not sure I'd want to drop down that much.

Guess there's nothing to do but wait and try to come up with a back up option just in case.

I’m in the same situation. I had an XL Sea Terrace and now the only cabin showing on the sailing I want is the Ltd View. I called my TA yesterday with a Plan B. I don’t want to have to put in another request form. 

[Yinster]

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

That’s a great price, but the nine night was even better deal, we got seriously suite for $188 per person per night.

So it's your fault that they put us from a seriously suite to a brilliant suite. 😛

 

We actually thought there was a glitch cos the price was too good. Paying our original price which is more than you but the biggest cabin so can't complain. Though it would have been also nice if we receive the same cabin type for the cheaper price.

[Giraffes]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

My take on flight and hotel reimbursements are they are refunding  cancellation fees, not fare and hotel differential fees. In other words if there $150 cancel fee they will absorb that, but if there an extra $300 fare difference they will not be paying for that. Same thing for hotel reservations. If you reserved a non-refundable hotel and need to cancel it, and it was $300,that will be refunded. But if it now costs $450 for a pre-cruise hotel  they WILL NOT absorb that. In other words cancel fees yes, fare and hotel pricing differentials, no. 

Might not matter either way. Live view of me trying to submit my flight reimbursement. 

[soccersharon]

1 hour ago, DAP2 said:

Oh dear God, that means they are still working on last Thursday 😳, the day your case was created with your original phone call. 

That seems correct, based on what folks on several roll calls are reporting.  I’d be absolutely amazed if we hear anything about our request by Monday.

 

A CSR told us yesterday that they were hoping to get everything done by the end of the month  😳 

Edited September 14, 2023 by soccersharon

[DAP2]

13 hours ago, DAP2 said:

I, too, am getting discouraged. It's time for Virgin Voyages to send an update email. 

 

...

...

 

Sigh...back to the waiting game. 

 

 

WELL, I'm a person who can absolutely admit when they are wrong! And I'm happy to report that I've spent the last couple of hours sorting out airfare to Dubai for my new CONFIRMED cruise. We were moved from a 6-day in March to a 14-day Dubai to Ancient Athens. Just like magic...our app and account are now working, and we can see all credits and purchase extras should we choose. 

 

We did not get a refund for downgrading from Central Sea Terrace to Obstructed View Sea Terrace. Downgrading was free if your cabin category wasn't available. Upgrading to XL Sea Terrace was quoted at $12,000. So, it appears the pricing differentials are based on the CURRENT ship sailing pricing, not when you booked your original cruise.

 

The agent said we were lucky to book as this is a very popular alternative. After us, she called our friends who were booked. They would not have been next in line, so mention anyone in your party when they call. 

 

Important FYI, neither of us retained our bookings that were held with confirmations and cabin numbers. She even chuckled a bit. Those are basically irrelevant. My first call to VV was Friday morning, so they've made it to Friday. She even referenced the exact words I said to the agent on Friday morning. On that call, I wanted to know how the price difference worked, and that's when our "case" was created. Our initial form was filled out Friday night, and I called to get the meaningless reservations on Saturday morning and again yesterday.

 

We are happy with our total price per sailor, after loot, bar tab, and DBE down to $53.42 per sailor per night. 

 

GOOD LUCK, everyone. I was pretty hopeless and stressed, but there is hope. I'd recommend have a second choice available based on how popular these long cruises seem to be.

Edited September 15, 2023 by DAP2

[h2owill]

15 hours ago, Giraffes said:

Update: I have received my confirmation for my rebooking on 12/23. It was not the stateroom. I had originally requested, but I just successfully called to change it.

 

My next concern, because why not have some first world problems, is the reimbursement for flights. If I booked round trip to Miami back in May instead of a flight into MIA and home from SJU, I am SURE the price of the flight would have been a few hundred dollars less. Is VV considering these variables when determining flight/hotel reimbursements?? My magic 8 ball is saying "are you out of your mind?". But let's wait and see how generous they decide to be with the flight/hotel reimbursements. 

 

Anyone on my Dec 23 VL Caribbean Holiday sailing, you can be very nice to me and partake in helping me use all my sailor loot- $700 bar tab+ $600 promotion+$1,000 no idea.🤯 I wish I could have used some of it for flights and/or future sailings.

So far they seem to be strict on reimbursements. I had 2 cruises under my name and one under another family member's. I submitted flight reimbursements for each, they ignored my family member's flight receipt and said my refund was complete after just refunding the cruise for my family member. Then on my cruises they asked me to somehow forfeit the flight credit with Jetblue, I said I didn't know how to do that, but they wouldn't give a refund, so Virgin should be honoring the reimbursement. Then the other cruise they said I didn't attach receipts even though I did, so I just replied with the same receipts as the first time. Still waiting to hear back on those 2 that I replied too. Very frustrating experience for everyone and this was supposed to be my family's first Virgin cruise, but I don't think I can talk the family into trying them again after this horrible experience with them cancelling and then making up new rules on getting refunds for air.