Completely at sea over possible first cruise Mel-Hob Virgin Voyages.

[DisabledSeawoman]

Hi All,

 

This is my first time cruising and I’m hoping for some help before I know I’m doing the right thing. 
 

Virgin have sent out an email with an offer to trade 80,000 frequent for the cruise Melbourne to Hobart Jan 27, 2024 -  1 Feb, 2024. A$3824 I think this is US $ so it will be more expensive for again for us. 
 

I need to confirm that the cabin is fully accessible for an electric wheelchair as I’m taking my mother and she can’t push my usual wheelchair. 
 

I’ll have time to train my Service Dog to toilet in the box so that should be ok…
 

Is it a good idea to use my points? I only just found out that bloody Qantas stopped rolling over our points and I lost over 50K so I don’t want that to happen again. 

is there anything ive missed please?

[jon81uk]

I generally value Virgin points at 0.5-1p (in British pence) per point. So 80,000 points could be worth £800. For flight redemption we can fly London to Miami in economy for 45,000 plus taxes.

Cheapest price for a sea terrace on that Melbourne to Hobart is £1960, so you are saving around £1000 by using point.

 

yes I’ve used pounds for the examples as I’m British, but the logic should be the same. Unless you can see a flight you want to spend the points on, the cruise is a pretty good use of them. Your only other cost will be alcoholic drinks onboard.

[CruisingWalter]

5 hours ago, DisabledSeawoman said:

This is my first time cruising and I’m hoping for some help before I know I’m doing the right thing. 

 

Welcome to the cruise family! My biggest advice is for you to find a local, trusted travel advisor. We cannot recommend TAs in these forums because that violates the rules. A good TA will help you navigate the ship, the cruise itself and help ensure you have the necessary accessible cabin to meet your needs. There are very few fully accessible cabins on any cruise ship, usually less than 10% of the cabins on any given ship. You generally have to book far in advance to get them. 

 

I have heard there are some TAs who can work with and sell VV globally, even in native currencies, no matter where their offices are located.  

 

As for the points conversion, I think @jon81uk gave a great example of points scenario. Good luck with everything and I really hope you're able to make this cruise work! 🙂

[neverendingcruising]

There are different rules for service animals on ships depending on your destination as well so would highly recommend calling Virgin to understand that process. 

[lyndarra]

I received the same offer. From my understanding the cruises are out of Sydney or Melbourne, are only four or five days and are not port intensive. It may be ok if you just want to give it a try to see if you like cruising with usual extras included as standard.

I've decided to give it a miss as I much prefer longer cruises. There is a thread already started on this in the Australia and New Zealand forum.