Middle aged and “boring” - but love to cruise.

[RMS Olympic]

I love the comment above.... butter my butt and call me a biscuit!🤪

im more fry my butt, call me bacon!

The closer I get to sailing Virgin the more curious I get.

I will celebrate my 68th birthday during the Sept 13th cruise so young Im not. pretty I’m not. Fun you bet your buttered bottom. I’m even taking a chance on the Valiant Lady as I have booked the following year to celebrate my 69th. So maybe Virgin will be an annual birthday event providing I survive Scarlet Lady. I’m a morning person and gym person so late nights won’t be part of my routine. Unless all the pretty people are dancing scantily clad.... then Ill get me a Bottle of champagne and watch the festivities. 😈👹🤓🤪😝

let the games begin.

hey bostonfred....pack the disco clothes...white shoes matching belt and ruffled tux shirt. Have wife in stacked heels, hose with seams in the back and something strapless.Teach the young How it’s really done.

We seasoned cruisers invented it! 70..... it was a good year 👹

[70KToM]

My partner and I are 38/40, but I expect most people on board will be in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. I've just posted a demographic survey. If you would all participate in it, I'd love to get a better sense of who will be sailing on Virgin Voyages!

[ano]

LOL. There seems to be many comments like "I'm 65 and over the target age" blah blah blah but I'm going.

 

So No Matter the "target age" they are going to have MANY older people, if not all.  There just isn't enough people in the "target age" to fill up a cruise ship. They have to have the money and the time off. I don't see it happening. Oceania was my last cruise, which is very similar to Virgin, like no extra charge restaurants, a bit more expensive, etc.  Didn't see many on that ship that were 40 or even 50.

[AlyssaJames]

50 minutes ago, ano said:

LOL. There seems to be many comments like "I'm 65 and over the target age" blah blah blah but I'm going.

 

So No Matter the "target age" they are going to have MANY older people, if not all.  There just isn't enough people in the "target age" to fill up a cruise ship. They have to have the money and the time off. I don't see it happening. Oceania was my last cruise, which is very similar to Virgin, like no extra charge restaurants, a bit more expensive, etc.  Didn't see many on that ship that were 40 or even 50.

I’ve seen multiple people post numbers from Virgin marketing  stating that the average age of the cruisers booked so far is 47.

[ano]

3 minutes ago, AlyssaJames said:

I’ve seen multiple people post numbers from Virgin marketing  stating that the average age of the cruisers booked so far is 47.

I would NOT go by that. Its a fade now. See what the average is in a year when all the 40-year olds have gone and been bored.  They need the people that go again and again. These people aren't 40.

[AlyssaJames]

14 minutes ago, ano said:

I would NOT go by that. Its a fade now. See what the average is in a year when all the 40-year olds have gone and been bored.  They need the people that go again and again. These people aren't 40.

I’ve been on at least ten NCL “bells and whistles” (new) ships in the Caribbean in the last five years, and adults 30-50, as well as families with teens, have made up the bulk of passengers I’ve seen. Yes there are retirees and the occasional scooter, but they are absolutely not the majority.

[timf2001]

As long as Virgin focuses on short, accessible itineraries, they will have a younger customer base.  Most people can manage to get vacation days up to a week at a time.  Once you go over 8 days including travel time, it becomes more difficult for people to get the time off so you end up with mostly retirees.  At this point, all of the itineraries are doable with 3-5 days off work.

[ano]

3 hours ago, AlyssaJames said:

I’ve been on at least ten NCL “bells and whistles” (new) ships in the Caribbean in the last five years, and adults 30-50, as well as families with teens, have made up the bulk of passengers I’ve seen. Yes there are retirees and the occasional scooter, but they are absolutely not the majority.

You have exactly proved my point.  I've been on 25+ cruises across many cruise lines and I see something similar in them all. Yes, on occasion  you find groups of younger cruisers. For example Carnival "booze" cruises reasonably priced do attract younger people, especially in summer. Also, from say May to August you find many younger families. Neither are these two segments is what Virgin is going after.

 

Virgin is after this "hip" younger cruiser that maybe hasn't ever gone on a cruise before. OK fair enough. These younger people will try Virgin, but if they like cruising, they will quickly get bored with Virgins limited itinerary, and, guess what, they will try Carnival, Royal, NCL, Princess, Celebrity, maybe others.  So now the young "hipsters" Virgin attracted to cruising, if they stay cruisers, have blended in with the large mass of all cruisers.  

 

There just aren't enough of the type of cruisers Virgin is marketing to keep all the ships full of younger people.  Any specialized demographic eventually blends in with all other cruisers, irregardless of age. 

 

That isn't to say you can't attract certain demographics to certain cruise lines. There are premium cruises that attract well-off people, there are bargain cruises (Carnival, Royal, NCL) that attract generally younger people, there is Disney that attracts kids, but lots of adults without kids also. 

 

Virgin is trying to attract the upscale cruiser, less nickel-and-diming, no kids, that is hopefully young. There will not be enough of that demographic to keep Virgin going. There are certainly upscale cruise lines that don't nickel-and-dime, but anyone who has gone on one will tell you its NOT filled with younger people. (Oceania, Viking, etc.) So why will younger people pick Virgin over the others?  The tattoo parlor?   The record players in the room? Come one. You don't think these people will be attracted to all the other upscale cruise lines as well?  Of course they will be. 

 

The only way to JUST attract younger people is make it cheap, and unacceptable to older people.  Even Carnival can't do that.  But that is the model Virgin is going after.  

 

Wait a year and we will see how many 30 and 40 year-olds (without kids) will fill the Virgin ships?  I bet the percentage will be lower than Carnival.  I'm not saying Virgin won't be fun and hip, it will, it just won't be exclusively "young" hipsters.   

[rbt001]

On 4/19/2019 at 9:15 PM, Oville said:

Age discrimination for sure but a better idea would be an all suites areas and bar.  My guess would be the average age will be in excess of 50.😉

Ah... so you mean like Richard's Rooftop!

 

Booking a suite unlocks access to Richard's Rooftop; the exclusive deck where elegance meets exuberance. A lavish, elaborate and members-only outdoor space for stargazing parties and pre-dinner cocktail hours for you and the other rockstars.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

On 2/22/2020 at 6:21 AM, rbt001 said:

Ah... so you mean like Richard's Rooftop!

 

Booking a suite unlocks access to Richard's Rooftop; the exclusive deck where elegance meets exuberance. A lavish, elaborate and members-only outdoor space for stargazing parties and pre-dinner cocktail hours for you and the other rockstars.

 

This sounds an awful lot like a Las Vegas or a Beverly Hills VIP yacht party.  It's got proverbial Kim Kardashian written all over it.  I highly doubt this environment will appeal to your average Americans, let alone Millennial hipsters, who have an aversion to anything not down-to-earth and grass-roots, or at least not appearing that way.  (Like those pseudo-dive bars that still charge $7 a beer.)  Like I said in another thread, VV is targeting The Beautiful People to the exclusion of other demographics.  Well, more power to them, but I doubt there are enough Beautiful People to fill their ships.

 

VV would be better off emulating Carnival of the days of yore: laid back, boozy party ships, with gimmicky games and college-style drinking contests.

Edited March 14, 2020 by LandlockedCruiser01

[rbt001]

On 3/14/2020 at 12:57 PM, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

 

This sounds an awful lot like a Las Vegas or a Beverly Hills VIP yacht party.  It's got proverbial Kim Kardashian written all over it.  I highly doubt this environment will appeal to your average Americans, let alone Millennial hipsters, who have an aversion to anything not down-to-earth and grass-roots, or at least not appearing that way.  (Like those pseudo-dive bars that still charge $7 a beer.)  Like I said in another thread, VV is targeting The Beautiful People to the exclusion of other demographics.  Well, more power to them, but I doubt there are enough Beautiful People to fill their ships.

 

VV would be better off emulating Carnival of the days of yore: laid back, boozy party ships, with gimmicky games and college-style drinking contests.

It sounds like you've dreamed up a vision far from the VV vision. 

 

"Basically, we want people who are sophisticated and young at heart, people who want to have a good time," [Branson] said.

 

Despite your claim, I believe VV is smart enough to realize they'd never consistently fill their ships with just Millennials.  

 

I think would be better off letting VV decide how they want to market themselves to the public, rather than giving them half-baked advice.