Price Hikes! Holy Hot Dogs!

[-The-True-North-]

I'm sensing that price drops have to be in store. This is across the board, not just VV.

 

The Hype of cruising is passing and a recession is all but confirmed.

 

Pandemic travel itches have been scratched and people are watching spending.

 

From sounds of it, people may still travel, but shopping only for deals.

[AlyssaJames]

I’m not seeing any “confirmation” of a recession. I am, however, seeing a lot of unbooked five-figure cabins on VV ships when I do mock bookings. One of their most egregiously priced sailings in 2025 still has every single type of suite available. So I’m in wait and see mode. 

[crusinthrough]

6 hours ago, AlyssaJames said:

I’m not seeing any “confirmation” of a recession. I am, however, seeing a lot of unbooked five-figure cabins on VV ships when I do mock bookings. One of their most egregiously priced sailings in 2025 still has every single type of suite available. So I’m in wait and see mode. 

Which region in 2025?  Curious if the price hikes were across every region or just some.  

[Mark_UK]

Done two cruises a year for the past 10 or so. This is the first year where I'm thinking one will suffice for next year given the crazy pricing and wider financial circumstances (mortgage fix ending). For the per night pricing on European cruises in particular can get a much better deal on land. This isn't just for Virgin, but Royal, Celebrity, NCL, also. 

Edited January 2 by Mark_UK

[Freelancer3]

14 new cruise ships launching in 2024 of various sizes. Lets see how this affects all line's prices in 2025.

[CrazyTrain2]

We sailed on the October TA on Valiant. We fell in love with VV.  Bought 2 MNVV cert while on board.  Got home and started looking.  We went from Fell in Love to Fell Overboard. I'd say we are 75% sure we are going to sell our MNVV certs.

 

The only discounting I am seeing is for the Aussie sailings and the airfare and travel time kills that idea.  Currently, there is a demand supply in balance - VV does not have enough ships to satisfy the demand.  But these prices are going to move the demographic to older, more affluent sailors.  The parties are going to move from off the charts to needing a hip replacement.

 

We'll see how this shakes out but it is a real bummer for our formerly favorite cruise line.

[-The-True-North-]

1 hour ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

But these prices are going to move the demographic to older, more affluent sailors.  The parties are going to move from off the charts to needing a hip replacement.

We really noticed this on our last cruise (Dec 10 - 16). The crowd was a lot older then our Mediterranean one.

 

Priced out the younger crowd.

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

We sailed on the October TA on Valiant. We fell in love with VV.  Bought 2 MNVV cert while on board.  Got home and started looking.  We went from Fell in Love to Fell Overboard. I'd say we are 75% sure we are going to sell our MNVV certs.

 

Prices have definitely gone thru the roof.  If you used a travel agent, they can likely help you sell your MNVV.  There are a few cruises with decent rates still out there (or at least there were in mid December). but not many.  Also keep your eyes open--we are seeing occasional people on FB who need to sell a good booking for various reasons.  My TA always posts and tries to resell if one of her clients needs to cancel in order to pass a good deal to someone else; some sailors try to sell their bookings privately as well (I'd be cautious of this!)

We are on the April TA on Scarlet. The current price for a Sea Terrace is 4 times what we paid for our booking!

[aimee0715]

We bought a MNVV while onboard Resilient Lady for her 2nd and 3rd voyages.  I have been seeing the rumblings about the price hikes.  This week, I decided to see what looked good for our MNVV.  We like sea days so I was looking at a transatlantic.  Traditionally, transatlantic repositioning cruises are bargains.  I was absolutely astonished at the prices.  We enjoyed VV a lot but I'm not paying over $9,000 for a transatlantic in a sea terrace.  For comparison's sake, I looked at a similar itinerary on Princess and Azamara.  On Princess, we could go for $3,000 less and that was including their "plus" package which includes the gratuities, the wifi, and the drink package.  On Azamara, we could do a similar itinerary in a Club Continent Suite for the same price as a  sea terrace on VV.  On Azamara, gratuities and drinks are included in the price.  Looks like I'll be using the MNVV on a cheap Caribbean cruise and going back to Princess, Azamara, and Celebrity.   I'm really kicking myself for not just booking our next VV cruise back when we were on Resilient Lady.

Edited January 5 by aimee0715

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, aimee0715 said:

We bought a MNVV while onboard Resilient Lady for her 2nd and 3rd voyages.  I have been seeing the rumblings about the price hikes.  This week, I decided to see what looked good for our MNVV.  We like sea days so I was looking at a transatlantic.  Traditionally, transatlantic repositioning cruises are bargains.  I was absolutely astonished at the prices.  We enjoyed VV a lot but I'm not paying over $9,000 for a transatlantic in a sea terrace.  For comparison's sake, I looked at a similar itinerary on Princess and Azamara.  On Princess, we could go for $3,000 less and that was including their "plus" package which includes the gratuities, the wifi, and the drink package.  On Azamara, we could do a similar itinerary in a Club Continent Suite for the same price as a  sea terrace on VV.  On Azamara, gratuities and drinks are included in the price.  Looks like I'll be using the MNVV on a cheap Caribbean cruise and going back to Princess, Azamara, and Celebrity.   I'm really kicking myself for not just booking our next VV cruise back when we were on Resilient Lady.

Look at the December 2024 and May 2025 transatlantic voyages for more sensible pricing. The April 2024 Miami to Med has some weird pricing for some reason, I think it’s almost sold out and they jacked the price up. But the November 2024 Rome to Miami is £5300 for a terrace and May 2024 Miami to Barcelona is £4400. It’s still a lot more than they were charging for a transatlantic a year ago, but it’s not as crazy as the April one this year.

[Tralfaz1138]

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

The April 2024 Miami to Med has some weird pricing for some reason, I think it’s almost sold out and they jacked the price up.

I assume they have some sort of demand based algorithm driving prices on both entire cruises and even just cabins on some cruises.  I ran across one thing (that worked in my favor I suppose) where a Brilliant Suite on the 12 night UK to Spain and Morocco cruise this year seemed a lot cheaper than on similar cruises.  The day after I booked it the price on the web site jumped by over $4k so perhaps my booking one spiked demand?.  I also ran across a cruise where the price for the biggest terrace Cheeky Corner Suite was less than that of the big terrace Cheeky Corner Suite.  Not by much, but still a weird pricing glitch.  (It is the England to Iceland & Norway cruise in 2025.  $16274 for the biggest terrace, $16484 for the bigger, and $16924 for the big.  So weird.)

 

That said, at current prices this is likely the last time I'm going to be a Rockstar on one of these cruises.  I still have one MNVV to use, so it'll likely be on something shorter and less expensive.

[-The-True-North-]

2 hours ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

 I also ran across a cruise where the price for the biggest terrace Cheeky Corner Suite was less than that of the big terrace Cheeky Corner Suite.  Not by much, but still a weird pricing glitch.  (It is the England to Iceland & Norway cruise in 2025.  $16274 for the biggest terrace, $16484 for the bigger, and $16924 for the big.  So weird.)

We were excited and ready to book that Norway cruise and Singapore to Dubai cruise for 2025... until we saw the price at launch...

 

GET OUT of here Virgin Voyages. You lost your mind. And that for a sea Terrace. You are a baller for dropping $16k.

[cantgetin]

6 hours ago, aimee0715 said:

We bought a MNVV while onboard Resilient Lady for her 2nd and 3rd voyages.  I have been seeing the rumblings about the price hikes.  This week, I decided to see what looked good for our MNVV.  We like sea days so I was looking at a transatlantic.  Traditionally, transatlantic repositioning cruises are bargains.  I was absolutely astonished at the prices.  We enjoyed VV a lot but I'm not paying over $9,000 for a transatlantic in a sea terrace.  For comparison's sake, I looked at a similar itinerary on Princess and Azamara.  On Princess, we could go for $3,000 less and that was including their "plus" package which includes the gratuities, the wifi, and the drink package.  On Azamara, we could do a similar itinerary in a Club Continent Suite for the same price as a  sea terrace on VV.  On Azamara, gratuities and drinks are included in the price.  Looks like I'll be using the MNVV on a cheap Caribbean cruise and going back to Princess, Azamara, and Celebrity.   I'm really kicking myself for not just booking our next VV cruise back when we were on Resilient Lady.

And some of us got that April transatlantic for just over $2K for 2 sailors in a Sea Terrace after all discounts (MNVV, PIF, etc).  We booked it for $2400 and then were able to rebook for $2100.  Now if I could just convince them that I don't still owe $2......(yeah, my TA is working on it....she gets rid of it and VV puts it back on despite documentation that I am fully paid!)

[Tralfaz1138]

53 minutes ago, -The-True-North- said:

GET OUT of here Virgin Voyages. You lost your mind. And that for a sea Terrace. You are a baller for dropping $16k.

 

I should clarify I did NOT book that Norway cruise.  No way I'm dropping $16k on a cruise.  The XL sea terrace on that cruise is more than what I paid for the Brilliant Suite on the cruise I did book and it's a shorter cruise by 2 days.

 

So I still need to figure out what to do with my remaining MNVV.  I might go with a regular sea terrace on that cruise, but I need to think on that a bit.  Like I said, pretty sure my Rockstar days are over (unless I somehow win a lowball upgrade bid).

[-The-True-North-]

1 minute ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

 

I should clarify I did NOT book that Norway cruise.  No way I'm dropping $16k on a cruise.  The XL sea terrace on that cruise is more than what I paid for the Brilliant Suite on the cruise I did book and it's a shorter cruise by 2 days.

 

So I still need to figure out what to do with my remaining MNVV.  I might go with a regular sea terrace on that cruise, but I need to think on that a bit.  Like I said, pretty sure my Rockstar days are over (unless I somehow win a lowball upgrade bid).

Not to sure how, but if I am not mistaken, someone said they were able to get a great deal using a well know website that sells cruise VACATIONS at prices marked TO GO.

 

Every time I looked at this website, their prices matched up exactly to what was on VV.

 

Wonder if they have some hidden options, and if MNVV can be applied to those.

[cantgetin]

I seriously doubt that any agency has prices below the posted prices other than incorporating those discounts like MNVV.  Any site I've ever seen that claimed to do so either had failed to update their website or had the same prices as everyone else.

[-The-True-North-]

Guess we need someone to reach out and report back.

[CineGraphic]

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

Not to sure how, but if I am not mistaken, someone said they were able to get a great deal using a well know website that sells cruise VACATIONS at prices marked TO GO.

 

The fare in question was an interline fare....I don't think the sailor in question ever mentioned how they qualified for such a fare. It's for airline employees and their families. How does one prove their father-in-law is a retired airline pilot?

[aimee0715]

On 1/5/2024 at 6:04 PM, -The-True-North- said:

Not to sure how, but if I am not mistaken, someone said they were able to get a great deal using a well know website that sells cruise VACATIONS at prices marked TO GO.

 

Every time I looked at this website, their prices matched up exactly to what was on VV.

 

Wonder if they have some hidden options, and if MNVV can be applied to those.

 

I always book through that certain company.  You can't actually book on the website.  You have to call and speak to an agent to book.  Normally it is the same price as the cruiseline but they throw in some extra OBC.  However, I once called to book a cruise on Celebrity Beyond and it just so happened that they had a group of rooms on that ship.  I saved over $2500 over the price on the Celebrity website and on their own website.  I've been booking with them for years and only lucked into that once.  

[Petco]

The 10% discount for pay in full appears to be back!

 

[Petco]

40 minutes ago, Petco said:

The 10% discount for pay in full appears to be back!

 

But only on my iPhone not on my computer!

[AndyUK]

1 hour ago, Petco said:

But only on my iPhone not on my computer!

I don’t see that on either my phone or PC! How strange ! 

[Petco]

1 hour ago, AndyUK said:

I don’t see that on either my phone or PC! How strange ! 

Don’t know how I’ve managed to get this but it’s certainly there. 

[-The-True-North-]

Did you use an old MNVV? That was  bought prior to the end of PIF?

 

If so, it's been reported that is the only way to get PIF

[Petco]

4 minutes ago, -The-True-North- said:

Did you use an old MNVV? That was  bought prior to the end of PIF?

 

If so, it's been reported that is the only way to get PIF

No, was a regular booking but only seems to work in USD and not GBP