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Loyalty match

riredsox

By riredsox,
in Virgin Voyages

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jon81uk

jon81uk

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, chereya said:

FYI I just checked the VV website and it looked like the status match expiration date is next year Dec 31, 2024, not this week.


that’s changed then. Current loyalty program was due to end but I guess it’s been extended yet again.

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jon81uk

jon81uk

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Just because they've extended the status match program doesn't mean they won't roll-out a loyalty program.

The whole thing of gaining status by cruising twice has been extended to December 2024 not just status match. Therefore I don’t see anything changing for at least the first half of next year as many will still qualify by sailing twice.

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Lustate

Lustate

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Just because they've extended the status match program doesn't mean they won't roll-out a loyalty program.


I second that. With the current perks ending 31/12/24, it makes sense to also end the matching period for that set of perks. I can see the new details coming so people in 2024 and see what they get in 2025 etc, and people who already have sea blazer or been on a few voyages can see new perks for them. 

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Gretchendz

Gretchendz

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

The expiration date for status match has changed so many times that I can't even keep track of it.....maybe 5 times....?

 

You and me both!!!  It's a whirlwind 🙂

The first time I decide I can rely on them to extend it, that's when they won't 🙂

Edited by Gretchendz
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MisterBill99

MisterBill99

Posted
Posted
On 12/26/2023 at 4:50 PM, cantgetin said:

The expiration date for status match has changed so many times that I can't even keep track of it.....maybe 5 times....?

 

Reminds me of the Holland America shareholder perk offer. It always has a one-year expiration and  people think it's going to expire, but they keep extending it.

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cantgetin Great Review Rare

cantgetin

Posted
Posted

VV keeps extending their status match, giving increasing numbers of sailors "Sea Rover" status even on their first cruise......at the same time, DCL has announced that if you haven't cruised with them in the past 5 years, they "retain the right" to cancel your Castaway Club status.

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_tacocat_

_tacocat_

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, cantgetin said:

DCL has announced that if you haven't cruised with them in the past 5 years, they "retain the right" to cancel your Castaway Club status.

this makes a ton of sense to me.  i think 5 years is a pretty generous timeframe too!  if you're not sailing with them that frequently, you're not really "loyal" to the brand, and others who are more active can enjoy perks without the dilution that comes from folks who sailed a ton decades ago and decide to hop on again now.

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cantgetin Great Review Rare

cantgetin

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

this makes a ton of sense to me.  i think 5 years is a pretty generous timeframe too!  if you're not sailing with them that frequently, you're not really "loyal" to the brand, and others who are more active can enjoy perks without the dilution that comes from folks who sailed a ton decades ago and decide to hop on again now.

While I can see this on most lines, DCL may be a little different than "most."  We went thru a phase with kids where we chose DCL.  Mine still liked Disney in the teen phase, but I can see other kids preferring the more "exciting" lines like Royal.  Then we hit the college phase where, honestly, there wasn't much cruising.  And then came  a phase where we explored the world to places where Disney doesn't go.....and now that the grandparent phase is nearing, it just doesn't seem right that DCL is going to make us start our "status" all over.  I could honestly see a 10 year gap of college and young adult where many people would not be in a DCL frame of mind, particularly when that included 2 years of no one cruising.  
We basically did 5 years of no vacations between covid and then cancer treatment.  But then, status perks are nice, but not the end of the world.

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wintrev

wintrev

Posted
Posted

We just returned from the Resilient Lady Christmas cruise - we booked another cruise whilst on board and even got them to book friends via phone at the same time. When I asked about status matching for our friends she informed me that it had to be done before December 31 this year or they would not get it. So confusing as to wha they are sticking to!

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robertsammons

robertsammons

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, wintrev said:

We just returned from the Resilient Lady Christmas cruise - we booked another cruise whilst on board and even got them to book friends via phone at the same time. When I asked about status matching for our friends she informed me that it had to be done before December 31 this year or they would not get it. So confusing as to wha they are sticking to!

So anyone who already has perks or gets them before December 31st this year gets them till end of next year. But the way people can get into the club is apparently changing … hopefully find out next week !

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Gretchendz

Gretchendz

Posted
Posted
On 12/28/2023 at 3:29 PM, cantgetin said:

VV never seems to know what they are up to...things appear on line or on the app only to be changed a few days later.  They'll figure it out eventually.

 

Exactly this. I now have no idea what is extended or not...I keep chalking it up to them being new.

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cantgetin Great Review Rare

cantgetin

Posted
Posted
Just now, Gretchendz said:

 

Exactly this. I now have no idea what is extended or not...I keep chalking it up to them being new.

about 15 months ago, I almost booked a cruise in order to have the "2 cruises by the end of " the year.  I even got plane tickets on SW because they were cheap and I knew I could cancel them if they didn't work.  BUT I really didn't want to book the cruise till after I sailed the first one.  Well.....a couple days after I got off Valiant, VV doubled the price of the cruise.  I realized that it wasn't worth that kind of money to qualify for Sea Rover, so canceled my flights.  A week after that, VV took the price of the cruise back down to what it had been, but by then the air was a lot more....so I didn't book the additional cruise (we already had 3 booked, but not in that calendar year.). And a month or so after all the drama, VV extended the status match and the time to qualify as Sea Rover

Bottom line, the benefits are nice.  Dealing with some of the nonsense that VV manages thru Shoreside Sailor Services and their web site is not at all nice.  That's where a good TA helps, but this nonsense is still ridiculous.  We have a repo cruise booked in 2024, and then we are taking a break.

 

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