Virgin fires a shot across Celebrity’s bow

[rmedistro]

Just now, kris4842 said:

NO buffet, no drink packages, measuring every drink, horrible service 

VV giving $600 in free drinks. The idea is to break away from packages.

[cgolf1]

1 hour ago, bnurick said:

I don’t complain about either DCL or X prices.

 

X has you pre-pay for beverage and specialty dining packages, then cuts, without an option to cancel for a full refund due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

DCL does not sell packages, so their prices adjust with the market. DCL MDR offerings have not been cut. Risk-free cancellation is much more liberal.

 

This is my second DCL cruise in 2023. October will be my second X cruise in 2023. My data points are current.

 

X took on more debt, thus are squeezing more to cover the expense.

 

It is not personal for me, will sail the best value option. Here are our actual DCL prices for verandah cabins:

 

November 2019 = $4,606

November 2022 = $5,006

September 2023 = $4,333

 

If you can find good deals it is worth it, although the product itself has changed a lot over the years we sailed. When we priced out insides last year, it was much more than X. X also does food allergies in the buffet better than Disney, MDR is about the same. We also sail best deals on lines we are ok sailing, and for a lot of years that was Disney. Now they are about 2x above either X, RCCL, or HAL when we look to book. We don't do specialty dining or drink packages minus the 2 on X where that was our only option at booking. We did enjoy the Palo Brunch on Disney and getting it free at platinum was nice. We don't sail for food as a highlight, so if it is decent we are happy. If I have to hunt for food on the buffet like I did on HAL I am less happy.

 

Our issue was Disney changed a lot over the time we were sailing them and raised prices a lot while we were there, sound familiar to X;), so we moved on. We did sail them 2-3 times without our daughter and enjoyed the trips a lot. What is crazy is your verandah cabin in 2019  was more than what we paid for a Cat V concierge room on the Fantasy in 2014 for 7 nights, in hindsight the Cat V rooms were a steal if you liked that kind of thing back then. 

[bnurick]

1 minute ago, cgolf1 said:

 

If you can find good deals it is worth it, although the product itself has changed a lot over the years we sailed. When we priced out insides last year, it was much more than X. X also does food allergies in the buffet better than Disney, MDR is about the same. We also sail best deals on lines we are ok sailing, and for a lot of years that was Disney. Now they are about 2x above either X, RCCL, or HAL when we look to book. We don't do specialty dining or drink packages minus the 2 on X where that was our only option at booking. We did enjoy the Palo Brunch on Disney and getting it free at platinum was nice. We don't sail for food as a highlight, so if it is decent we are happy. If I have to hunt for food on the buffet like I did on HAL I am less happy.

 

Our issue was Disney changed a lot over the time we were sailing them and raised prices a lot while we were there, sound familiar to X;), so we moved on. We did sail them 2-3 times without our daughter and enjoyed the trips a lot. What is crazy is your verandah cabin in 2019  was more than what we paid for a Cat V concierge room on the Fantasy in 2014 for 7 nights, in hindsight the Cat V rooms were a steal if you liked that kind of thing back then. 

I hadn’t focused on the pricing, but I recall it was an after Thanksgiving cruise, so that might have been why it was more. I pulled all the Disney Fantasy cruises on CruisePlum and sorted by cost per day. This current one fit with my Wife’s birthday. Next September we are doing X Canada in CC as The Retreat is not worth the cost per day anymore IMO. We are in a CS in October, a SS in January and CS in July on X and should know a lot more after those.

[bnurick]

This looks promising…

[PTC DAWG]

Now schedule some longer trips without ikea furniture and provide a drink package..oh, and many of the videos I’ve seen of the normal balcony bathroom shower look almost unmanageable. 
 

The grass is not always greener…that said, competition is always good. 

[Cap_D]

36 minutes ago, bnurick said:

This looks promising…

First @bnurick DCL food pictures and report is terrific.  The food looks good.  That's not what one hears about any Celebrity MDR in recent posts or on YouTube.

 

Second, the picture does look promising, but only if its consistent.  Are those mashed potatoes? 

 

When we sailed Retreat in 2021 and 2022 filet seemed to be in over abundance.  That was partially because we did Petit Chef, which cooks a tray of them for the main course, and had a well behaved jacket wearing toddler that would often order it.  But, if I were Celebrity (paging Cornelius Gallagher, Executive Chef, for cost control and mediocrity), I'd be pushing to have some Luminae Classics on the menu like a filet, some choices of sauce, etc., to address some of the criticisms.  I'd also be having someone go around to retreat rooms and proactively reset water bottles each day, and a few of the other things that are legitimate annoyances.  The noise about Retreat cutbacks has emerged in YouTube reviews, and other places, not just here.  I realize the desire to save money, but alienating Retreat cruisers makes no sense to me.  

 

 

[bnurick]

6 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

First @bnurick DCL food pictures and report is terrific.  The food looks good.  That's not what one hears about any Celebrity MDR in recent posts or on YouTube.

 

Second, the picture does look promising, but only if its consistent.  Are those mashed potatoes? 

 

When we sailed Retreat in 2021 and 2022 filet seemed to be in over abundance.  That was partially because we did Petit Chef, which cooks a tray of them for the main course, and had a well behaved jacket wearing toddler that would often order it.  But, if I were Celebrity (paging Cornelius Gallagher, Executive Chef, for cost control and mediocrity), I'd be pushing to have some Luminae Classics on the menu like a filet, some choices of sauce, etc., to address some of the criticisms.  I'd also be having someone go around to retreat rooms and proactively reset water bottles each day, and a few of the other things that are legitimate annoyances.  The noise about Retreat cutbacks has emerged in YouTube reviews, and other places, not just here.  I realize the desire to save money, but alienating Retreat cruisers makes no sense to me.  

 

 

Thank you. I know the DCL CC page doesn’t get much traffic, but I have been posting daily pictures of everything under a live review. We are having a great time and so far so good.

 

I agree with your comments regarding The Retreat. I remain hopeful for our October sailing, but paying $1,250+ a day I do expect in room bottled water as well as other past perks.

[rmedistro]

39 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Now schedule some longer trips without ikea furniture and provide a drink package..oh, and many of the videos I’ve seen of the normal balcony bathroom shower look almost unmanageable. 
 

The grass is not always greener…that said, competition is always good. 

I hope VV keeps everything the same.

Please stay on X going forward 

[doghog]

51 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Now schedule some longer trips without ikea furniture and provide a drink package..oh, and many of the videos I’ve seen of the normal balcony bathroom shower look almost unmanageable. 
 

The grass is not always greener…that said, competition is always good. 

Agree. IMO, VV Caribbean intinaries are horrible and that will keep us from booking with them. 

[eroller]

15 minutes ago, rmedistro said:

I hope VV keeps everything the same.

 

 

 

I'm with you 100%.  The last thing VV needs is to conform to what other cruise lines are doing.  Definitely NO drink packages.  I love that a mixed drink is $6.50.  No gratuity.  Fantastic.  Half of Celebrity for the same drink.  They are a breath of fresh air and hope they don't change. 

 

Plenty of other mainstream lines for people to choose from. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by eroller

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, rmedistro said:

I hope VV keeps everything the same.

Please stay on X going forward 

LOL, you must be a blast at parties. 🙂 Great at conservation..on a Celebrity board too.  I’ll sail any line I choose…but thanks for the advice.  

Edited September 25, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

Agree. IMO, VV Caribbean intinaries are horrible and that will keep us from booking with them. 

If someone can’t see the Caribbean itineraries are staid, I can’t help them.  That is the main reason my Wife and I haven’t tried one. 

[rmedistro]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

LOL, you must be a blast at parties. 🙂 Great at conservation..on a Celebrity board too.  I’ll sail any line I choose…but thanks for the advice.  

Don't have to worry about bumping into you on a VV or X cruise

[briguy1314]

On 9/20/2023 at 1:11 PM, scubagal44 said:

Just want to point out that VV does in fact offer longer than 4/5 night Caribbean sailings, I'm booked on a 7 night sailing in February.  

 

I've cruised both X and VV, and I don't think I'll be returning to X anytime soon with all of the goings on.  I also think most of you would be surprised by the actual demographic and atmosphere on board, but I get that you only know what you've seen in marketing campaigns and such.  Spoiler alert - all adult ages are on board!  It's much less "Las Vegas" than you'd think.

 

I couldn't care less who tries VV or not, I'd just caution against the quick assumptions.  In trying something new, you just might find something you really enjoy.  

we are elite on X and thought we would give VV a try as we loved their airline brand and it looked like a lot carried over to their ships. Loved the experience,

especially the food. We have returned to VV a few times for the restaurants alone. 
The unique vibe, non traditional cruising, and service levels have all been a breath of fresh air. 
 

On 9/21/2023 at 5:18 PM, ccqueenanne said:

 

As an ally (and daughter of, and parent of), I loved how queer-friendly VV was. I found it thrilling that staff could wear whatever uniform they wanted without regard to gender labels, that they were free to wear make-up or not, show their tats and piercings. It felt so much more welcoming and authentic, like they could bring their whole selves to work, and that guests were encouraged to do the same.

 

It's also the only line I've been on where I actually went to and enjoyed the evening entertainment. 

 

I loved the restaurants and food, and while I missed the drink packages from Celebrity, I was also healthier as I didn't drink nearly as much. Yes, I was doing the math in my head on the additional spend, and that was a bit of a bummer. But my liver and waistline were both well served by that.

 

Sure, the staterooms weren't very plush, but I don't spend much time in my room (awake) anyway. 

 

I do wish they had better itineraries ex-US and very much wish they'd send a ship to the west coast, as I'm not keen on sailing from Florida anymore.

all this 1000%

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 hours ago, kris4842 said:

NO buffet, no drink packages, measuring every drink, horrible service 

 

Care to expand on horrible service?  VV proudly touts it doesn't have a buffet but I've recently learned it isn't an order-and-grab food hall/cafeteria, you have wait service with lengthy wait times

[George C]

4 hours ago, rmedistro said:

VV giving $600 in free drinks. The idea is to break away from packages.

Is that 600 per person or for cabin?

[Baynanno1]

21 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

While it's an overall generalization, hateful, offensive, or having facial tattoos is going to make the majority including myself uncomfortable

 

I enjoy reading your posts, but the comment (although clarified by the words "overall generalization") may be seen as offensive by some of our Pacific neighbours who have practised the art for centuries, depicting such things as initiation, rites of passage, achievement, social status, geneaology and historical information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tā_moko

Edited September 26, 2023 by Baynanno1

[NutsAboutGolf]

5 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

I enjoy reading your posts, but the comment (although clarified by the words "overall generalization") may be seen as offensive by some of our Pacific neighbours who have practised the art for centuries, depicting such things as initiation, rites of passage, achievement, social status, geneaology and historical information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tā_moko

 

My apologies, I should have mentioned cultural exceptions.  I will add I had no idea this existed and therefore have never seen this in person.  The overwhelming majority of the facial tattoos I've seen with my own eyes are connected to violence in one form or another or are tattoo artists themselves

[Shep_Proudfoot]

Bah. Last two cruises were on Celebrity and VV, and despite all of Celebrity’s cutbacks and things it has never done well to begin with (entertainment comes to mind) I still found the Reflection superior to Valiant Lady in most ways (service, embarkment, public spaces, cabin, food as long as avoiding the Celebrity MDR) despite Reflection being a decade older.
 

VV is more hype than substance.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Shep_Proudfoot

[Shep_Proudfoot]

2 hours ago, George C said:

Is that 600 per person or for cabin?

That is per cabin. Rumor is it is going down to $500 soon.

[hcat]

8 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

My apologies, I should have mentioned cultural exceptions.  I will add I had no idea this existed and therefore have never seen this in person.  The overwhelming majority of the facial tattoos I've seen with my own eyes are connected to violence in one form or another or are tattoo artists themselves

Don't feel bad...  I see no intention to offend on your part. Most of what we see on US TV news of people with facial tattoos, are  very scary looking criminals who we would not care to sail with.. Have not seen any Pacific neighbors on cruises.

 

( To some tattoos conjure up sad reminders of the numbers that were branded on prisoners in concentration camps during the holocaust.  To some a little butterfly  denotes a  breast cancer survivor)

 

******

As to the main topic we have decided we would not book Virgin or MSC 2 although  some X cruisers have  enjoyed them. We are looking at Cunard and Oceania.

[Baggy178]

14 hours ago, kris4842 said:

NO buffet, no drink packages, measuring every drink, horrible service 

 

 

The thing is unless you swallow like a minke whale drink packages are a ludicrous waste of money particularly if there's a decent number of shore days on your cruise.

Even when packages are 50% off I'd far rather buy drinks in the conventional manner.

I suspect UK and US passengers might view this differently - in my experience with all the sales taxes and gratuities drinking in the US is far more expensive so perhaps drinks packages seem more reasonable to our American chums.

 

[C4HCG]

14 hours ago, Cap_D said:

First @bnurick DCL food pictures and report is terrific.  The food looks good.  That's not what one hears about any Celebrity MDR in recent posts or on YouTube.

 

 

Lots of recent posts and reviews on here from people either live, or having just sailed, report the food in the MDR as good. 

[rmedistro]

11 hours ago, George C said:

Is that 600 per person or for cabin?

• $600 in premium drinks per cabin on sailings of at least 7 nights
• $300 in premium drinks per cabin on sailings up to 6 nights
  
  The offer mentioned Europe sailings only, but we had the offer on a Caribbean itinerary we were looking at also.

[deliver42]

All of the VLOGS i've seen on You Tube about Virgin have pretty much been the same. Food is excellent everywhere. Drinks are very weak, the beds are very low and hard, request a topper, which the have. The ships are beautiful, but the cabins are very sparse as far as art or anything. The service is very good, and they would all sail Virgin again. These are normal people that shared their experience, not the comped vloggers ot TA's.