Any NEWS on VV? Please post it here...

[timf2001]

It looks like nothing more than a typical Unisex bathroom with a new inclusive-sounding name.

[flgrl67]

Co-ed, all gender, unisex...whatever. As long as they are clean.

[hotsauce126]

From the looks of it on instagram people have started receiving their bands in the mail 

 

[Smiesgiy]

Chatted with a rep today as our 45 day window is coming up this week for our voyage end of April.  He informed me that Virgin will be allowing rebooking of voyages up until 48 hours prior to departure.  Policy on the website doesn’t yet indicate yet but would be inline with competitors with the current travel uncertainties. 

[garymfreedman]

2 hours ago, Smiesgiy said:

Chatted with a rep today as our 45 day window is coming up this week for our voyage end of April.  He informed me that Virgin will be allowing rebooking of voyages up until 48 hours prior to departure.  Policy on the website doesn’t yet indicate yet but would be inline with competitors with the current travel uncertainties. 

Been waiting  856 days for this cruise, so if it kills me, it kills me...

[Smiesgiy]

8 minutes ago, garymfreedman said:

Been waiting  856 days for this cruise, so if it kills me, it kills me...

Wish we could be that definitive as well.  Unfortunately leaving 2 young kids at home with the grandparents so have to weigh the possibility of not getting back to them for an extended period of time if their are any issues on board. 

[resstation]

10 minutes ago, garymfreedman said:

Been waiting  856 days for this cruise, so if it kills me, it kills me...

Hahaha! That really did make me laugh out loud! SAME HERE. Our paid trip is in September but we are invited to the inaugural voyage on the 17th of March and come hell or high water I'm going! Unless, of course, I'm the unlucky one who gets coronavirus and have to stay home. 🙄

[flgrl67]

Kind of hoping that a lot of people cancel so that there's more room in the tiny pool for our cruise.🤣🤣🤣

[AdoraBelle]

2 hours ago, resstation said:

Hahaha! That really did make me laugh out loud! SAME HERE. Our paid trip is in September but we are invited to the inaugural voyage on the 17th of March and come hell or high water I'm going! Unless, of course, I'm the unlucky one who gets coronavirus and have to stay home. 🙄

The 17th? Jeez, how many inaugural cruises are they going to have?

[garymfreedman]

Kinda like Cher's Farewell tour--The inaugural cruises keep happening......

[rbt001]

55 minutes ago, AdoraBelle said:

The 17th? Jeez, how many inaugural cruises are they going to have?

I think he posted in another thread that this cruise on the 17th is a fam trip for people in the industry.

 

I'm curious to know if it's a few days, if they are going over to Bimini, or just a cruise to nowhere overnight.

[resstation]

1 hour ago, rbt001 said:

I think he posted in another thread that this cruise on the 17th is a fam trip for people in the industry.

 

I'm curious to know if it's a few days, if they are going over to Bimini, or just a cruise to nowhere overnight.

I'm a she 😊. It is for invited guests and all I know so far is that it is "A 2 night voyage" but did not say anything about Bimini as far as I know at this point.

[rbt001]

16 hours ago, resstation said:

I'm a she 😊. It is for invited guests and all I know so far is that it is "A 2 night voyage" but did not say anything about Bimini as far as I know at this point.

Pronoun apologies.

 

I think they SHOULD give you a taste of the new Bimini Beach Club:  another opportunity to get the operational kinks out.  And if the TripAdvisor reviews of the Hilton at Resorts World International (with whom VV has partnered to provide the beach club) are any indication, there'll be plenty of need for training.

[sid_9169]

On 3/8/2020 at 2:05 PM, Smiesgiy said:

Chatted with a rep today as our 45 day window is coming up this week for our voyage end of April.  He informed me that Virgin will be allowing rebooking of voyages up until 48 hours prior to departure.  Policy on the website doesn’t yet indicate yet but would be inline with competitors with the current travel uncertainties. 

This makes me feel better about the possibility of losing a few thousand dollars I paid for the May 17 the sailing.. I would feel better to see it in writing, though... Like someone else said, if it sails, I'm going no matter what......

[AdoraBelle]

Virgin's site still does not reflect any changes to their cancellation policy.

 

Has anyone canceled yet due to COVID19 and can relay their experiences?

I'm almost certainly going to have to cancel the sneak-a-peek, as my company will require a 2-week quarantine after I go if not. 

[biminis]

2 hours ago, AdoraBelle said:

Virgin's site still does not reflect any changes to their cancellation policy.

 

Has anyone canceled yet due to COVID19 and can relay their experiences?

I'm almost certainly going to have to cancel the sneak-a-peek, as my company will require a 2-week quarantine after I go if not. 

I canceled my 4/5 sailing this week. They refunded the taxes and gave me a credit towards a future cruise with the remaining balance. 

[awestover89]

Wish there was something official, but good to hear about the cancellation policy. We may end up having to cancel on 3/26 due to work. I'm supposed to start a new job on 3/30 and it's up in the air if going on this cruise will impact my employment

[awestover89]

Virgin is suspending operations through August. Passengers on a cancelled sailing can choose from full refund and 25% FCC or a 200% FCC

[britincanada]

Birthday Bash Cruise is still going ahead as planned! July 15th!

[rbt001]

Despite their email which states that refunds can take up to 30 days to process, mine posted just 2 days after I got my requested callback on Tuesday 3/17.  

 

Thank you VV!  I will rebook.

[Biker19]

https://www.cruisehive.com/filipino-crew-member-dies-on-virgin-voyages-cruise-ship/39808

[gkbiiii]

Its getting to people, sad about the suicide on the Scarlet Lady!

[SeaHunt]

Just in case you haven't seen this news yet 😉

 

"Fincantieri recently completed the float out of a new cruise ship. It was a milestone for the company returning to work after a long suspension while Italy fought the coronavirus. Fincantieri began to scale up production in May while also taking steps to maintain the safety of its employees.

 

The Valiant Lady, under construction for Virgin Voyages, left the building dry dock on May 20 being moved to the fitting out berth at the Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponte shipyard near Genoa. Assembly of the Valiant Lady had begun in March 2019 and she was originally scheduled to be floated out in March 2020.  Due to the work suspension and virus mitigation efforts work is currently approximately two months behind schedule".

 

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/fincantieri-completes-float-out-of-new-cruise-ship-valiant-lady

 

 

[Biker19]

Not sure what it means but Scarlet Lady is on a transatlantic back to Genoa with a scheduled arrival of 7/6. 

[RMS Olympic]

Thanks for the info Biker 19.

Returning to Europe makes sense at this point in time.

With the pandemic slowing in Europe compared to the US, cruising could start up in the Mediterranean sooner. With Virgin starting off with shorter cruises they might find passengers.much sooner than here.

second....having the ship in Europe might make returning crew easier than having to fly them to Miami when they start up.

third...dock fees in Italy might be cheaper than Florida.

Fourth...Virgin won’t be faced with our CDC who could continue issuing no sail orders.

I wish Virgin all the best.