Does programming reduce significantly with reduced capacity?

[sfspider]

Starting to get a little concerned about sailing on an "empty" ship so I wanted to seek some input about how many (or little) shows/activities will likely be offered on a low-capacity sailing.  Our 8-day March Carribean cruise was recently canceled by Virgin so we rebooked the newly scheduled 8-day repositioning cruise in late March (San Juan to Miami).  Suites sold out in a day after the new schedule was announced but there are still hundreds of balcony cabins available at prices way below what Virgin normally charges but they do not seem to be filling up.  We are cruising to relax and eat good food as much as anything else, but are starting to wonder if no cabins are selling at these reduced prices, how will Virgin ever fill them?  Was hoping to get some input from anyone with more experience (this is our first time on Virgin) as to whether we should expect severely limited shows and activities.  Thanks for any help you can give.   

[MeganGC1983]

I will say that it does reduce, but not significantly. I’ve sailed close to full capacity and I’ve also sailed with only 800 sailors. Some classes might not be offered and they might only have one showing of a few shows, but nothing drastic. I will tell you, I’ve watch that sailing and I’m shocked by the lack of reservations on it. For the price… it’s fantastic. If I wasn’t on her just a few sailings before, I’d be going. 

Edited October 2, 2023 by MeganGC1983

[jon81uk]

It only really happens if there is less than 900 or so onboard, which is rare nowadays.

[CineGraphic]

28 minutes ago, sfspider said:

there are still hundreds of balcony cabins available at prices way below what Virgin normally charges but they do not seem to be filling up. 

 

Repositioning sailings like this one have historically been priced lower rate per day than your average Caribbean sailing. I wouldn't worry. Why would they cut back on activities when the crew that run these things are on the ship whether it's full or not.

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

Why would they cut back on activities when the crew that run these things are on the ship whether it's full or not.

The only reason to reduce the number of showings on some things is because it is better for the cast morale to have almost a full house instead of lots of performances with one a handful of guests. We did have one caberet show cancelled as only four of us turned up to see the singer.

[CineGraphic]

22 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

We did have one caberet show cancelled as only four of us turned up to see the singer.

 

We attended one cabaret performance where more crew were in attendance than sailors, but it was a mid-afternoon show. Something to keep the non-pool folks like us happy.

Edited October 2, 2023 by CineGraphic

[cantgetin]

The only difference I've seen on "less full" cruises is fewer repeats of shows.  Generally, they do the shows as planned at the beginning of the cruise as you never know when rough seas, illness of a cast member, or something else might force a cancelation later.  If you missed a show or couldn't get a reservation early on, ask Sailor Services whether it will be repeated (if you can't find it on the app).  If there is enough demand, they will.

My experience has been that they add programming as the number of sailors and length f the cruise increases.  

[jon81uk]

38 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

We attended one cabaret performance where more crew were in attendance than sailors, but it was a mid-afternoon show. Something to keep the non-pool folks like us happy.

Yeah this was 7pm so I don’t think there was enough crew available!

[-The-True-North-]

It can't be that empty. Price wise it's still comparable to other sailing. I know VV doesn't want to do last minute deals, but you would think they would try to promote more bookings with a little bit of a discount.

[_tacocat_]

i found that the programming did significantly increase or decrease based on passenger count.  i was on the 8 night eastern caribbean in december with over 2,300 onboard.  there were so many things to do - many showings of each show, a few paint & sips, lots of trivia events, even things to do during the day on port days.

 

i sailed that same itinerary in late january with ~800 onboard, and it was the first time in many voyages that i had been legitimately bored.  there were a couple nights where there was literally nothing going on nightlife wise (there was even a crew party in the manor one night!), and there were absolutely no events on port days.  we usually treat puerto plata as a sea day, so we were bummed that there were no organized activities onboard this time like there had been a month earlier.

 

as others said, there were some events that had more crew than passengers - basically any of the music events at on the rocks or the cabaret with the hostess events.  certainly a weird vibe and the ship felt like a ghost town. neither here nor there, but even on this very light sailing, passengers would still come up to the pool deck at the crack of dawn to "reserve" prime loungers by the pool and not show up until the afternoon grrrr.

 

give me 2,300+ pax over an empty ship any day - it's so much more fun when the ship is lively!  i'd say the sweet spot for not feeling crowded at all but also not being a ghost town is probably around 1,500-1,800.

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

It can't be that empty. Price wise it's still comparable to other sailing. I know VV doesn't want to do last minute deals, but you would think they would try to promote more bookings with a little bit of a discount.

THey have offered "no single supplement" as a way to fill ships in the past.

I've cruised with 1400 and 1800 and found both to be comfortably busy.

Edited October 2, 2023 by cantgetin

[raphael360]

My first 2 cruises were on Valient and Scarlett in January 2023 which had 800 and 1100 passengers respectively.  My last 4 cruises this year all had over 2000 passengers.  I didn't notice any difference in the activities on board between the 800 and the 2000 numbers.