librarylady19

Host Andy has reported that this was discontinued after guest feedback - he’s on Equinox.

Seems likely. Virgin is definitely on the official port schedules for Zeebrugge, Amsterdam and Akeuryi and Reykjavik for summer 2024.

I have been to all these places and they are all great (especially Lerwick in Shetland and Bruges). I just hope the BL TA gets confirmed soon as I'm booked on that and would like to firm up the rest of my travel plans.

But Celebrity gave people lots of notice, even before air schedules were available (unlike you know who!)

Yep, checking website daily and nothing 😙 people were complaining when Celebrity just announced they were cancelling late ‘24 and ‘25 sailings! Jeez, that’s nothing compared to this obfuscation😒

We were surprised to learn - on Rotterdam in May- that we couldn’t upgrade from Signature to Elite once onboard. Either way, HAL is much more reasonable with their drinks pricing than Celebrity and Royal.

We joke that they just go out to South Beach and get some "models". Same with Virgin!

That’s my approach too. Tried HAL this year (Rotterdam) and will be on Virgin for first time on December. Just like there is little tangible benefit on being loyal to airlines anymore unless you e got top tier status, same goes for cruise lines.

Gary - Tips for Travellers - is a great source of information! I really trust his opinions as he pays for his own cruises and is my age 😀

I'd buy tickets if they are changeable/cancellable with no fees for sure. Hold on to your cruise reservation (have you paid in full yet?) since I expect we will get some kind of compensation if it's changed/cancelled even if it's just some FCC.

I was trying the same thing! No listings for 2024 for Barcelona or Civitivecchia which could be likely stops.

Amsterdam recently invested millions in power infrastructure at the port and it was also mentioned that cruisers are only 1% of tourists so hardly the main problem. Another case of cruisers being targeted. ☹️

Interesting….thanks for posting this. Sure hope they decide to let us booked passengers know soon though. I’d take a repositioning as long as I can keep same price and perks for sure !

Me too. Was this on American?

And sometimes the airlines change plane types and you won’t get the class of seats you expected. We wanted to fly KLM’s new premium economy to Amsterdam, but it is not yet on all their planes as be aware that can always happen..

I (sort of) understand them altering itineraries, but what is so annoying is the lame excuses they are giving (a Virgin agent actually said the TA was sold out - as well as all future cruises on Brilliant Lady). Do they think we can't see that the ship has disappeared from their website, TA sites and port schedules! It is insulting to our intelligence and costing both money and a missed opportunity to book any other TA for next spring at a reasonable price.

Correct. Check cruisemapper: Santa Cruz de Tenerife: (supposed to be 4/27) https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/santa-cruz-de-tenerife-port-94?tab=schedule&month=2024-04#schedule Gran Canaria (4/28) https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/las-palmas-de-gran-canaria-port-1013?tab=schedule&month=2024-04#schedule Funchal: (4/29) https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/funchal-port-741?tab=schedule&month=2024-04#schedule Lisbon (5/1) https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/lisbon-port-65?tab=schedule&month=2024-05#schedule No Brilliant Lady anywhere! If you search by ship name, there is also nothing for Brilliant Lady after the April sailings in the Caribbean (from San Juan)....

Right! How do they explain the fact that the ship is not scheduled to be in any of the ports on the TA or Lisbon.

Well it was a bargain - way back when - but I doubt it now. Look what's happening to the people booked on Celebrity Beyond's 24 TAs (sailing Caribbean year round now). Celebrity will move them for the "going rate" which is generally higher than when most people booked. 🤔

Well said.

Since you mentioned Virgin, be careful! We booked the TA from San Juan to Lisbon on the Brilliant Lady (new ship) and the sailing (and everything after mid-April) has disappeared from Virgin's website and sites listing port schedules. Multiple calls to Virgin by myself and others - and they insist that this TA ...and all subsequent sailings are sold out. Come on.... Luckily I hadn't secured air fare and only have a small deposit on the line but my friends already paid in full. As with this Celebrity situation, it's hard to find an alternative TA for spring 2024 at this point. So I booked a bucket list Baltic itinerary on HAL for May (before those prices go any higher too). At least that was only a $25 deposit.

I also wonder if there will be a change of captains. Wouldn’t be surprised if Capt.. Kate is selected as the Captain for the yet unnamedEdge class #5 as she’s their star!

Whinging cruisers are everywhere 😮

Just checked the Virgin website and got the message “ We're making some updates to ensure smooth sailing.” Maybe we will see some updates soon….fingers crossed.

Just want to say thanks for your marvelous review and photos. I really appreciate all the time you put into this review, and the fact that you answered questions even while in your trip.