dvt8

12 hours ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

I'm having the same experience. Have they blocked booking the last day or is it their way of telling us brunch is full??

I've managed to book brunch in the app for the last day prior to getting onboard. 

52 minutes ago, airhose said:

Can one book a breakfast at 8 and a lunch at 12 on the same day?

its the same menu, effectively brunch. Although I imagine you could eat at Razzle Dazzle at 8 and the Wake 12 and book them onboard. 

I booked before boarding, the same time as booking my evening dining when reservations opened. This was for a trip completed in January 2024. 

There is now no free bar tab so I'm thinking that this promotion is no longer valid? 

On 3/22/2024 at 5:13 AM, brandneweyez said:

Interesting. My booking shows the access key was used but the doubled bar tab does not reflect in my add-ons.

Same for me

The new promo is 80% off second sailor. When I do the calculations on the now increased base fare, it basically works out the same as what I paid on the 60% off plus $200 drinks. 

So what I've learned is that virgin promos are pretty much like other cruise line promo/discount. They shuffle everything around to appear like they are discounting but only truly discount when needed. 

Thanks for all of the comments. I decided to book the cruise last week. The price seemed fair to me and I locked in the 600 sailor loot. I had a look at the cruise today and it has gone up $500! Im thinking that the price might have gone up for a deeper discounted promotion next cycle to get back to the same price that I paid? I'll find out in a few days time!

8 minutes ago, genian_travels said:

 

I suspect you’re right - and that prices will go down relative to how much the free bar tab is worth, ie if a sailing had $300 free bar tab before 27 Mar, after 27 Mar the sailing will be $300 cheaper… 🧐

That's what I'm thinking 

I have a MNVV voucher that I will use for an August cruise from Barcelona. I need to book within the next month to double my sailor loot. 

Does virgin tend to discount prices closer to sail date or do prices stay steady or even increase? If prices do fall, am I able to re price and still keep my $600 loot?

Thank you!

9 minutes ago, sippican said:

I think it stinks!

It totally ignores loyalty levels.

 

Have they confirmed what happens to loyalty levels? The press release says there will be new benefits although I can't see the detail. 

7 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Feels so good I bet

It feels good that they have listened to customers. I was part of the research groups where they sent surveys on AI and I pretty much supported what they were thinking. So yes, it feels good that they are offering something that I want to buy. 

20 hours ago, dvt8 said:

 

All inclusive is whatever the cruise line deems to be profitable. I suppose it's like flying economy, premium or business on a full service airline. The level of all inclusiveness will depend on the class in which you choose to travel. Drinks might be included for everyone but you might pay a higher price if you want a premium package. Wifi might be included for everyone but do you want to check emails or stream movies? 

 

These changes are designed to increase profit so don't go expecting one level of AI in my opinion. 

 

 

Looks like I was right in that they have offered 3 levels of all inclusive. Doesn't surprise me at all

Just now, LGW59 said:

No praise coming your way from here...silly statement that people see Celebrity as a charity, truly very very silly 

yes, I was being sarcastic. Are you implying that I have made a silly statement by simply reading all of the posts where people are wanting celebrity not to change for the benefit of survival? Or are you one of the people that don't want celebrity to change? 

Either way, I'm personally for the change and I hope that celebrity come out of this crisis as a viable cruise line. 

5 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner!

It's an obvious statement, I don't want praise. It's just as I read all of the many posts it appears that some people think that Celebrity are a charity run to please thier individual needs! 

7 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

How is that all inclusive? It either is or isn't.

All inclusive is whatever the cruise line deems to be profitable. I suppose it's like flying economy, premium or business on a full service airline. The level of all inclusiveness will depend on the class in which you choose to travel. Drinks might be included for everyone but you might pay a higher price if you want a premium package. Wifi might be included for everyone but do you want to check emails or stream movies? 

These changes are designed to increase profit so don't go expecting one level of AI in my opinion. 

3 minutes ago, Airbalancer said:

That’s not to bad , glad to see they don’t have the the $300 obc included 

 from what I've heard there will be different levels of all inclusive. One of them will include OBC

4 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

The chance of them going to all inclusive is probably about 0. They know what percentage of their customers currently buy all four perks, and I'm guessing that number is pretty low. The people that don't buy it because they don't want/need them so it's pretty stupid to pay hundreds of dollars for something you didn't want to begin with. They surely aren't going to throw them in at no extra charge. Rather than paying the extra money, people would either not go or go with some line that gives them options.

We had all four once because we had a suite, and we ever got anywhere near the value of it because we don't change what we want just to justify the extra cost.

I do think that all inclusive is happening but I think it would be futile for us to guess what AI will actually include. Celebrity would have a huge amount of customer insight for them to understand the types of customers that they want to attract and they would also understand how much they are willing to pay. This might not sit well with many of their existing customers but it is quite clear that they have been chasing a younger and more affluent demographic for some time - just look at the edge series and all of the marketing targeted at the LGBT demographic. It actually makes even more sense when RCCL would be trying to differentiate between all of their brands and to fend off competition from young/hip newcomers such as virgin cruises. 

Just my thoughts but I'm sure the rumour will either come to fruition shortly or just die like many of them before. 

27 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

No one knows for sure how they would handle it if they decided to go all-inclusive but I seriously doubt they would just allow all the current bookings to convert to all-inclusive.  That would be so unfair to those who booked with perks.  The uproar would be huge and ugly.  I don't know how they will handle it (if the rumor is true) but just converting current bookings makes zero sense to me.

Agreed. Makes no sense and not profitable for X. I would imagine that you would need to change an existing booking and pay any extra amount to enjoy the new benefits. They are a business intent on making a profit above everything else! 

I have also heard the rumour.

I also mentioned in a forum that I received a survey a couple of months ago with various all inclusive options where I was asked to rate how likely I would pay for certain things etc included in the price - link below with more detail. 

People were calling me crazy at the time to think that the survey would lead to anything. But like I said, times have changed with covid and companies need to respond in the best way that they see fit for survival. 

By taking part in the survey it is clear that 'all inclusive' can mean many things. I'm sure they will be smart enough not to make an all inclusive offer infringe on what I would imagine to be a successful loyalty program. Time will tell. 

37 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise on Equinox next year...we were on her last October, it seems a lifetime ago now!

 

Whilst the Retreat Deck on her isn’t ideal (not enough shade and no water feature) it was pleasant and the service was excellent! We dined most nights in Murano’s and Tuscan (thanks to the unlimited speciality dining) and the food quality and service was the best we had ever experienced.

 

Next cruise for us is next September on Silhouette, that seems a lifetime away too...

 

 

 

 

Yes, it is a shame that they didn't get to finish it properly. We had a suite on Edge last August and the Retreat deck and lounge were highlights for us. 

10 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

The snag with bundling, perks etc is the overlap...We tend to cruise in RS so a premium package comes with our room category, then we also get a premium package for 2 with the suite category on U.K. pricing, then we are E+ so we get evening cocktails free and we can also drink for free in Michael’s/Retreat! So each of our evening drinks is somehow ‘paid for’ 4 times?!?!

 

Not complaining, I love having a drinks package even though I am sure we barely break even. Before packages I would stick with drinks I knew I liked now I can happily experiment!

 

Re things ‘you don’t want’...Whilst we rarely pose for ships pictures and very rarely buy one would we if they came ‘free’ as part of a package? Perhaps, and that perhaps is where good marketing could come in. If your ‘free’ package was ‘choose any five photos’ but for $xx you could then have all photos I wonder how many people would be tempted to upgrade?  Equally a ‘free’ spa treatment could be offered but for $xx more you could add in a hair appointment or a manicure, that might temp more to use a facility not running at capacity...Just a thought. Alternatively Celebrity could drop the price of their picture and spar treatments and many more of us would probably book them anyway!

We are in a similar position, we are elite+ and have booked a RS on equinox next year. With all of the perks and benefits combined it can get confusing about where your next 'free' dink is coming from! Thats kind of why the idea of spa treatments and tours are of interest to me given they aren't really part of any elite or retreat class benefit. 

I totally agree on the prices of spa treatments being too high, if they dropped them I would definitely book a few! I guess that's where the onboard credit comes into play I guess! 

10 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We have been cruising since I retired in 2010.   With 20 cruises, 11 on Celebrity, 7 on NCL and 2 on Royal C. I still look for value and itinerary.   Celebrity is our first choice, Royal second.  

 

Our first cruises, we had no elite benefits and I always kept track of how much I spent on alcohol.  On a typical two week cruise we would spend about $550 total.

 

When beverage packages started the pricing became more complicated.   Some lines like NCL made you pay huge gravities on the overvalued beverage packages, others like Celebrity didn't.   My evaluation of the value to us of beverage packages was easy, since i had data from our cruises showing what we spent for alcohol without a package.

 

It was clear from the beginning that the cruise lines used beverage packages to inflate their cruise prices.   We have never selected a beverage package because the additional cost was always significantly more than what we spend on a cruise.   After we because elite, our average for a two week cruise, dropped even more, down to about $350.

 

NCL is a real problem since they only allow booking without the beverage package when you are close to the cruise date and we always book early.   We haven't booked NCL for two years.

 

We did discover Royal C. and their wonderful expansive Diamond benefits.  On both Royal cruises, we spend NOTHING for alcohol, since we could order wine with our meals in the MDR until 8PM or 8:30PM.

 

Price bundling has been a bust for us, but I guess if you drink a dozen alcoholic drinks a day starting with breakfast, it might work for you.  

It's always tricky to work out the value of these bundles and it becomes even trickier when they include things that you just don't want. 

As the cruise companies seek to recoup lost revenue it'll be interesting to see if they dilute loyalty benefits across the board so that these bundles appear more attractive! I have elite status so I'm hoping that they don't!!! 

2 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

It’s normal marketing surveys done by so many companies.  They need to reach out and see how the customer is looking at the product and where they put value in.  Get them all the time with different things from other companies.  Of course this is for the company and see where they can charge and put in price points.  The company is for profit and answered to its stakeholders.  Tho now times are very different so the consumer is changed moving forward I would assume.  

Totally agree on all of that. The industry is clearly going for a difficult time so I imagine that they are trying to understand where they can generate higher profits from within the business. I do work in marketing so I'm probably finding the survey more interesting than others! 

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

We have received several similar questionnaires over the years. From the types of questions asked I wonder if they are looking at adding further perks and what the likely uptake would be. Present included drinks packages have been very popular.

 

Many lines already have included excursions (especially the more elite lines who have evolved from river cruises). I would think presently much of the OBC perk is being spent on speciality dining too. So perhaps in the future we can add a super perk of ‘choosing 3/4 excursions and a 3/4 night dining package’. Or perhaps choose any three of the following five ‘photography package, spa credit, excursion package, dining package, full ship tour with lunch.....’ If the saving on the package was significant perhaps people who rarely visit the spa or buy photos or go on ship excursions may be tempted.

 

Whilst we enjoy a drinks package we are never really interested in full packages. We like to choose our own pre cruise hotels (wider range and cheaper than X) and sort our own flights. Whilst we occasionally book Celebrity excursions (to use up OBC) we often don’t want a walking tour or an island highlights with a shopping stop, we often just want to do our own thing. With inclusive packages you can end up paying for things you don’t really want!

 

As always when you see anything as a package you need to really consider what you want and work out if there is any ‘bargain’ from the deal.

 

I thing the more inclusive packages may appeal more to to first time cruisers who perhaps lack the confidence to do things on their own and perhaps are more concerned about the cost of incidentals and prefer to have an ‘up front’ all inclusive price.

Yes, with the various price points that were presented I'm thinking they were trying to work out how hight they could go before I was turned off by the offer. At the end of the day, the packages are always built to benefit the company but as you say they could be looking to attract new customers who want the security and ease of everything included. 

37 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

This isn't the first survey they've conducted. Here's a thread from 2018:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2550922-on-board-cruising-experience-survey-by-hanover-research/

Yep, aware it's not the first survey but I wasn't really asking if it was.