Gretchendz

Thanks for posting! They change things so often, but this is a positive.

But for anyone wanting to status match--it is scheduled to end December 31 so do it now 🙂

They usually send an email...key word usually. Lately people have gotten approved within a day or two. If you used a TA they can go into your booking and see if the DBE has been added. Also, at some point, if granted, it should show up on the app.

Be sure to do it NOW as it appears the current status match program will end on December 31!

Or both, as some cruise lines do!

I don't disagree but as Virgin is a fairly new cruise line, and the pandemic, many people have not had the opportunity to sail with them 10, 20, 30 times (yet!). I would hope to see them implement something like this in the future.

A few months ago they were crowd-sourcing ideas from some of us for ways to improve the program. It's alreay quite generous. To me the biggest pain point for most is the dining reservation pressure. I suggested that Sailing Club members would be allowed to book after Rockstars but befor regular sailors.

Congratulations! I suspect you are correct that it was a technical issue on their end. I was able to get people "refer a friend" On Board credit long after it was officially discontinued. That's gone too now, sadly.

Interesting. Most cruise line executives would disagree, I think. They are almost all seeing record bookings and raising fares accordingly. https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Cruise-executives-lament-price-gap-with-resorts However, of course, only time will tell who is correct! And if you are right, you will see most lines cutting prices again.

Ugh--sorry. I assume you have tried a different browser, using incognito mode for the web account? And for the app, uninstalling and reinstalling?

Nice!

And the Virgin price includes crew gratuities.

I thought it might be helpful to summarize some of the new changes at Virgin. 1. Has many have noticed, prices are rising. Virgin says their ships are sailing full and they offer a premium product so it is time for all the pandemic-era bargains to end. While many people are angry, I understand. And BTW lots of cruiselines are raising prices on cabin and packages and gratuities right now. 2. If you hope to status match through Virgin (well worth it IMHO), place a booking and file for it NOW. They are saying the ability to status match like this will end December 31. 3. The Loyalty program will remain and the Deep Blue Extras perks will change. We don't know how yet, but they have been crowd-sourcing surveys much of this year for suggestions. 4. Florida resident rate has gone down to 5% and you still must book 45 days or less out from the cruise to receive it. 5. MNVVs are going to change somehow early next year. We don't know how. I'm sure existing MNVVs will be honored. 6. Travel agents belonging to a certain consortium adding $100 on board credit to their clients continues. 7. Gold Tier agents will (probably) continue to add more on board credit for clients adding a Zoom call and then booking. 8. The current offer ending January 31 is Save 70% off your 2nd Sailor plus up to $600 in free drinks on select voyages through October 2025 • 70% off 2nd Sailor on select voyages in 2023, 2024, and 2025 • $600 in free drinks per cabin on sailings 14+ nights • $300 in free drinks per cabin on sailings 7+ nights • $200 in free drinks per cabin on sailings 5-6 nights • $100 in free drinks per cabin on sailings 2-4 nights Sale ends January 31st, 2024. Restrictions apply. 9. Expect to see future promotions doing the lower amounts of bar tab on shorter cruises. No more $600 in 4 days 🙂 10. Pre-Purchased Bar Tab. You will continue to be able to buy a $300 Bar tab and get $50 added credit. They will be adding two lower levels, for people who don't want $300 worth. $200 Bar Tab will receive a $25 credit and $100 will receive $10. These must be purchased before the sailing. 11. Paid in full discount is gone.

This is true--many TAs who sell Virgin have a constant demand for MNVVs. It is a little tricky as it can only be changed once but it is doable. Usually the purchaser sends you the $300 through Venmo or similar, then you get on phone with VV (preferably with the TA on the phone too) and transfer to placeholder cetificate to the purchaser. Then the purchaser or their TA makes the desired booking.

And the 10% paid in full discount was recently discontinued.

No. It is a $300 fare reduction. But it may feel like $600 because you have also prepaid $300 toward the deposit. If the fare now is $2,000, the fare you pay is $1,700. But also you have a $300 credit toward the deposit and get the $600 OBC.

That's why prices are rising. Virgin is getting many former Celebrity loyal guests so they figure they should be similar in pricing. Many Celebrity veterans prefer the Virgin experience.

Well technically it is just a $300 price reduction PLUS $300 applied toward your deposit and the $600 OBC

Not true. If you bought on board, the $300 you paid now becomes your deposit on your next cruise, then on top of that you get $300 off the price of the next cruise, then you get $600 on board credit too.

I had this happen to a client recently. It took me about a week to get their original cabin reinstated, but Virgin finally did it. I imagine it is too late for you to get a TA assigned, but TAs can go into the system and see which cabins are still available. (and keep checking until something opens up) So sorry this happened to you--it is beyond annoying. I hope you will find the onboard experience makes up for this!

Where the ships will be Virgin Voyages - Lady Ship Grid 12.11.23.pdf

For those of you who did get confirmation of DBE but the perks are not showing in the app, if you used a travel advisor, ask them to go into your booking and print or screenshot the confirmation document. Assuming it says you have the DBE, keep a copy with you when you board to show Sailor Services if you need to.

Plus, most of the towns had decent coffee shops 🙂

We did! The machine in the 1893 Bar was free and included hot chocolate, lattes, cappuccinos, etc. It wasn't bad!

So glad it is going well. I forgot to mention the nurse. One of our party had a sinus infection--the nurse made a "house call" to the cabin 🙂 Enjoy the beauty of the trip!