Virgin returning to cruise from Australia?

[MMDown Under]

Has anyone heard a date for Virgin to return to cruising from Aust/NZ?

 

Is it worth holding on to advance deposit?  If not, how do you apply for a refund?  I will not be cruising with them from overseas.

[MicCanberra]

I believe they pulled out of the 2024/25 cruise season.

Certainly, no cruises are coming up.

Perhaps contact Virgin directly and or your TA.

[arxcards]

As much as they talked-up coming back when their delayed Brilliant Lady was launched, they have no Aussie port bookings for 25/26 or 26/27 either.

 

I have no idea about their refund process.

[SinbadThePorter]

My experience of their refund process is that there is no refund process unless Virgin are the ones to cancel the cruise.

 

Once they have your money, that's it.

[ceeceeDee]

That's not good.☹️

[aussielil]

I had paid a deposit while on board with Virgin earlier this year but since they cancelled  Australian future cruises I rang Virgin in Sydney and received a full refund. 

[mr walker]

1 hour ago, aussielil said:

I had paid a deposit while on board with Virgin earlier this year but since they cancelled  Australian future cruises I rang Virgin in Sydney and received a full refund. 

Good to know. We have an 'open' deposit that was purchased on our behalf by my sister whilst she was on cruise late last year. For US$150 each, DW & I got what looked to be a good deal - worked out as A$450 for two. My sister bought 2, we bought 2 & our other sister bought 2, all through our sister who we repaid the outlay.

 

About a week later, they canned all future Australian sailings & as Geoff wrote above there is nothing scheduled locally until at least 2027-28, if ever??

At some point I guess we will call uncle & request a refund - we are not going to travel OS for a short cruise.

[arxcards]

If the wind changes, there is plenty of time for them to drop a ship in Oz in 27/28. However, I got the feeling that while they were polite when they pulled the Resilient Lady itineraries, they really had no intention returning anytime soon.

 

For months, their 24/25 itineraries were on hold while they were making a "Red Sea" decision, while they already had port bookings in the Caribbean. They knew they were pulling out but were still selling future cruise deposits.

[MicCanberra]

Covering all bases only works with a larger fleet.

[Pushka]

I'm really keen to try Virgin and will be in Europe in 2026 so might look at some of their offerings. Australia is being impacted hugely by changes to Suez Canal transits. Can't believe we made it safely through just over a year ago. 

[dazadelaide]

We booked a future cruise deposit when on Resilient Lady in Oct 2023, hoping to use it on a cruise in OZ in 2025.

After the pull out was announced we tried to get a refund but were told by Virgin they would only refund deposits that were placed in OZ but as we paid for our deposit while on the ship before it arrived in OZ we are not able to receive a refund.

Their rationale is that because we paid the deposit internationally we could use it on any cruise in the world.

The future cruise deposit is valid for any cruise within 24 months of purchase but we have other plans and will not be able to go to Europe etc in that time so we loose our money.

It was only for $500 but still it's disappointing to loose that money.

Daz 

[ceeceeDee]

1 minute ago, dazadelaide said:

We booked a future cruise deposit when on Resilient Lady in Oct 2023, hoping to use it on a cruise in OZ in 2025.

After the pull out was announced we tried to get a refund but were told by Virgin they would only refund deposits that were placed in OZ but as we paid for our deposit while on the ship before it arrived in OZ we are not able to receive a refund.

Their rationale is that because we paid the deposit internationally we could use it on any cruise in the world.

The future cruise deposit is valid for any cruise within 24 months of purchase but we have other plans and will not be able to go to Europe etc in that time so we loose our money.

It was only for $500 but still it's disappointing to loose that money.

Daz 

What a load of rubbish!!! You paid the deposit in good faith and should be entitled to a refund. It was Virgin's decision to pull out of Australia. Frankly they are not doing their reputation any favours with this sort of behaviour. It may sound harsh, but the way I look at it they are using a loop hole to justify theft. To be honest $500 is nothing to sniff at. You could get an el cheapo short cruise for that.

[arxcards]

40 minutes ago, dazadelaide said:

We booked a future cruise deposit when on Resilient Lady in Oct 2023, hoping to use it on a cruise in OZ in 2025.

After the pull out was announced we tried to get a refund but were told by Virgin they would only refund deposits that were placed in OZ but as we paid for our deposit while on the ship before it arrived in OZ we are not able to receive a refund.

Their rationale is that because we paid the deposit internationally we could use it on any cruise in the world.

The future cruise deposit is valid for any cruise within 24 months of purchase but we have other plans and will not be able to go to Europe etc in that time so we loose our money.

It was only for $500 but still it's disappointing to loose that money.

Daz 

I agree with above. 

It is an open deposit, and you should be entitled to have it refunded should you change your mind or if it expires. It seems we hold established brands to much more scrutiny than Virgin (both air and sea). They have a very casual way of taking money they are not entitled to. FCDs on established cruise lines are refundable.

Edited August 6 by arxcards

[ceeceeDee]

17 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I agree with above. 

It is an open deposit, and you should be entitled to have it refunded should you change your mind or if it expires. It seems we hold established brands to much more scrutiny than Virgin (both air and sea). They have a very casual way of taking money they are not entitled to. FCDs on established cruise lines are refundable.

Exactly

[MicCanberra]

I would appeal with the complaints department via email, you may get a better result as it becomes a personal case refund rather than a mass refund for everyone.

[dazadelaide]

We tried e-mail etc but again were told that the deposit was for any cruise anywhere in the world valid for 24 months from when we paid the future deposit.

We knew the terms when we booked so as Virgin said we can use it in the next 24 months (14 now) as it wasn't conditional to an Australian cruise.

Daz

[ceeceeDee]

Not that my opinion matters to Virgin, but I still think that you should be able to cancel and get a refund, especially this far out. It's not like the deposit is due to expire next week!

[Ondine]

Maybe you could butter them up and say how good it would be for public relations after the disappointment felt by Australian cruisers at their unexpected pull out.  They didn't do themselves any favours with the way we were treated with changes in itineraries, cancellations and all the rest while they were here.

[ceeceeDee]

40 minutes ago, Ondine said:

Maybe you could butter them up and say how good it would be for public relations after the disappointment felt by Australian cruisers at their unexpected pull out.  They didn't do themselves any favours with the way we were treated with changes in itineraries, cancellations and all the rest while they were here.

Worth a shot. But I posit they don't give a whatsit for Australian cruisers, seeing us as very small biccies in the grand scheme of things. A shame really as I would think on a per capita basis (still small biccies compared to the US for instance) we are a fairly big market. However, the bean counters hold sway I suspect.

[dazadelaide]

We really enjoyed our Virgin experience 90% of the cruise was positive the only negative for us was the whole restaurant booking system.

That is why we booked a future cruise deposit but we just can't manage a Europe trip in 2025.

An Aussie cruise would be possible and that was our plan but unfortunately it ended up not being Virgins plan.

Our experience over the deposit issue won't dampen our view of Virgin.

Daz 

[ceeceeDee]

You are far more giving than I, Daz

[Pushka]

On 8/6/2024 at 9:36 AM, ceeceeDee said:

What a load of rubbish!!! You paid the deposit in good faith and should be entitled to a refund. It was Virgin's decision to pull out of Australia. Frankly they are not doing their reputation any favours with this sort of behaviour. It may sound harsh, but the way I look at it they are using a loop hole to justify theft. To be honest $500 is nothing to sniff at. You could get an el cheapo short cruise for that.

Depends on whether the deposit was put onto a specific cruise in Australia.  Which was then cancelled. If that's the case then I'd be contacting the credit card company for refund.   If it's an open deposit, which it seems it was, then you can still use it which is what the cruise would argue. And really, that's true. It's your preference not to use it. I understand why you don't want to use it  but that doesn't help with consumer rights. 

Edited August 9 by Pushka

[JJK2008]

That is a very poor business practice by Virgin, IMHO. 

[dazadelaide]

That is exactly the problem Pushka.

It wasn't for a specific cruise in OZ.

We had a choice of booking a specific cruise or take a open deposit and that is what we chose.

As I said the ensuing events haven't affected our mostly positive view of Virgin.

Just would have been happier if we got a refund or even an extension on the time we would be able to use the deposit.

We did ask for an extension but to no avail.

Daz

[arxcards]

VV are not wrong in not refunding them, but they are way out of step with other cruise lines that will refund if you change your mind or let them expire.

 

As for those deposits being sold on Resilient Lady after 24/25 itineraries were put on hold, that was deceptive.