Should Celebrity be worried about about Virgin Cruises?

[mnocket]

14 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Sure it is.   Per Wikipedia max capacity for Reflection is 3609

 

Well then, I stand corrected.☺️

[andyfriend80]

I have read this thread with interest.

 

I think I'm in VV target market (by age at least).  Having looked at the VV website it doesn't appeal at all; far too edgy.

 

I prefer the more laid back modern luxury of Celebrity.

 

 

[Mynki]

25 minutes ago, andyfriend80 said:

I have read this thread with interest.

 

I think I'm in VV target market (by age at least).  Having looked at the VV website it doesn't appeal at all; far too edgy.

 

I prefer the more laid back modern luxury of Celebrity.

 

 

I wish there was a cruise line with interesting itineraries with a good choice of two to three week trips that offered the type of luxury that LLP herself markets aged at those of us in late thirties and early forties. But it doesn't exist and I don't believe ever will. I followed VV with interest but won't be booking. 

Personally I think the short cruises are there to try and introduce the hundreds of thousands of Brits Branson flies across the Atlantic on package holidays to cruising. The short itineraries might appeal to those spending time in Orlando and Vegas etc. I hope that makes sense? 

[chemmo]

9 minutes ago, Mynki said:

Personally I think the short cruises are there to try and introduce the hundreds of thousands of Brits Branson flies across the Atlantic on package holidays to cruising. The short itineraries might appeal to those spending time in Orlando and Vegas etc. I hope that makes sense? 

 

Most of the Brits that book Virgin packages to Florida including a cruise are families visiting Disney....Having flown on Virgin many times to Orlando the planes are full of children. When children are in school there are still plenty of families with under fives on the plane...

 

When Virgin first announced its own cruise ship we thought it would focus on the family market as its holiday brochures presently offer mainly RC and Carnival Cruises....Our first ever cruise was on Carnival as part of a Virgin holiday package (25? Years ago, not been back on Carnival since!)....

Edited April 13, 2019 by chemmo

[Mynki]

1 minute ago, chemmo said:

 

Most of the Brits that book Virgin packages to Florida including a cruise are families visiting Disney....Having flown on Virgin many times to Orlando the planes are full of children.

 

When Virgin first announced its own cruise ship we thought it would focus on the family market as its holiday brochures presently offer mainly RC and Carnival Cruises....Our first ever cruise was on Carnival as part of a Virgin holiday package (25? Years ago, not been back on Carnival since!)....

I did Carnival once. Family holiday whilst staying in Orlando also. 

I won't sail on the line again, though it wasn't quite as bad as some people make out. No one in our party was robbed, murdered and no one died from food poisoning etc. We enjoyed our time in port though. :)

 

[chemmo]

10 minutes ago, Mynki said:

I did Carnival once. Family holiday whilst staying in Orlando also. 

I won't sail on the line again, though it wasn't quite as bad as some people make out. No one in our party was robbed, murdered and no one died from food poisoning etc. We enjoyed our time in port though. 🙂

 

 

For us it did open up our eyes to the cruise experience....We honestly had a good time although we found the ship a bit ‘basic’. For several years after that we enjoyed RC before moving over to Celebrity which we now cruise almost exclusively...

[Static events]

On 4/13/2019 at 9:56 AM, chemmo said:

 

For us it did open up our eyes to the cruise experience....We honestly had a good time although we found the ship a bit ‘basic’. For several years after that we enjoyed RC before moving over to Celebrity which we now cruise almost exclusively...

 

Celebrity and RCCL offer the best overall cruise experience when you compare against size of ship, price, quality, ENT etc 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Virgin cruise lines are not like any other at all. The cater to the fit and health conscious. You need to read what they offer on the ship. Nothing at all like a regular cruise line. Certainly not my cup of tea. I can join a local work out place if I want to do what they offer. I ma sure they will get those that love that. Not any cruise line has anything to worry about at all.

[Static events]

On 5/10/2019 at 11:43 PM, twodaywonder said:

Virgin cruise lines are not like any other at all. The cater to the fit and health conscious. You need to read what they offer on the ship. Nothing at all like a regular cruise line. Certainly not my cup of tea. I can join a local work out place if I want to do what they offer. I ma sure they will get those that love that. Not any cruise line has anything to worry about at all.

 

You make it sound like a gym at sea 😂

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Yup. That is my take on what it is. I do not thing any cruise line has any worries.

[wwcruisers]

As someone who spent a long time on the Virgin Voyages pre-sail list, I would say that the recent news about Cuba dealt them quite a blow. Their 2020 itineraries were only 4&5 day cruises, out of Miami -- with the Havana overnight route being the best of the three offerings. They're going to have to get very creative, coming up with another short cruise to replace that one!

 

IMHO -- Virgin totally shot themselves in the foot with these short, limited itineraries (the other two routes are to Costa Maya & the Dominican Republic). Not to mention what was the deal-breaker for me: their decision NOT to offer their Transatlantic take-out cruise for booking by the general public. It's apparently going to be limited to TA's, press agents, and other VIP's. I predict that this Cuba development will see yet another wave of potential Virgin cruisers asking for their money back!

[Cruising89143]

We looked at Virgin and it has no appeal to me at all. They’re going for a younger more active demographic and I saw very little that would work for us. It will be interesting to see how the “adults” only ship works too. My impression is that of a party ship. I wish them luck but we will not be cruising with them unless I see something totally different once their ship enters service.

[I_r_a]

>Should Celebrity be worried about about Virgin Cruises?

 

Only if they are underage.

 

Ira

[Denny01]

I’m always surprised at the ‘kids’ complaints on Celebrity cruises, been on 25+ Celebrity cruises and haven’t been even minimally bothered by kids. And I’d consider a ‘Virgin’ cruise, but I’m not virgin, so I’ll not be able to book it, would I???

 

Den

[mnocket]

imho Virgin is taking a far greater risk with the Scarlet Lady than Celebrity did with Edge.  It will be interesting to see how the market develops for the kind of experience Virgin is going to offer.  Perhaps they will become the "starter" cruise line that appeals to young people until they grow older and their tastes change (doesn't everyone's tastes change as they age/mature?) at which time they move on to more traditional cruising.  I could be completely wrong about this.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 4/7/2019 at 1:22 PM, medtech71 said:

 

Kids bad, drag queens good?  Don’t let the door hit ya....

 

 

Great cruises for a low count for children is Celebrity and Princess which really do not have much in the way of water fun for children. No rock climbing walls, no water slides. Most all are in camp anyhow. Traveling when school is in and not summer break and there are few in view if any on those ships. Carnival and Royal are a total different story. They also have adult children on them.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 hours ago, Denny01 said:

I’m always surprised at the ‘kids’ complaints on Celebrity cruises, been on 25+ Celebrity cruises and haven’t been even minimally bothered by kids. And I’d consider a ‘Virgin’ cruise, but I’m not virgin, so I’ll not be able to book it, would I???

 

Den

Go ahead. Just make sure they are going to the Virgin islands.

[DYKWIA]

Anyone care to bet that the "no children rule" will be gone within 2 years?

[Presto2]

Perhaps I'm boring, but I've just had a look at the website and it really does not appeal to me in any way, shape or form. The whole feel of the website puts me off and I hate the cabins. They look like a cheap Travel Lodge Room. Horrible. Not for us.

[paulh84]

Ideally we would find a line that's on par with Celebrity but a little less sleepy. We're in our late(r) 30's so typically on the younger end of the of the spectrum even for a Caribbean cruise. Virgin just doesn't seem to do it. 5 nights is too short, the prices are high, the 20% deposit is higher than normal and I'm undecided about the cabins. I also feel like they are aiming for an atmosphere more like a Las Vegas pool party or adults-only all inclusive place like a Breathless. Unfortunately, I don't like either of those places, at all. I think the concept is interesting and there is a decided gap in the market to fill, but I'm not sold yet. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 6/7/2019 at 10:14 AM, paulh84 said:

Ideally we would find a line that's on par with Celebrity but a little less sleepy. We're in our late(r) 30's so typically on the younger end of the of the spectrum even for a Caribbean cruise. Virgin just doesn't seem to do it. 5 nights is too short, the prices are high, the 20% deposit is higher than normal and I'm undecided about the cabins. I also feel like they are aiming for an atmosphere more like a Las Vegas pool party or adults-only all inclusive place like a Breathless. Unfortunately, I don't like either of those places, at all. I think the concept is interesting and there is a decided gap in the market to fill, but I'm not sold yet. 

Celebrity and princess are about equal in that respect. Carnival is stated as the FUN ship and it is. Royal Caribbean has several choices for you. That is my recommendation. Not NCL or MSC or HAL. They do have ships that cater to the older crowd and the young crowd and the in between. Certainly not Virgin.

[hcat]

Celebrity  is starting to liven things up quite a bit...esp on EDGE class...

Can't wait to go back!

[scifimonkey]

On 4/6/2019 at 4:07 PM, Static events said:

I am curious to see what people think. 

 

I am very loyal to Royal and Celebrity however the new Virgin ship does look very good. 

 

Do you think the Virgin cruises will disrupt the market for Celebrity? 

 

😅

 

Frankly I think the scarlet lady interiors look like they are full of easy clean American diner furniture. It may be more high quality than it looks but what it looks like is a holiday camp! 

I am sure that the entertainment will be brilliant especially if club culture is what you want from a cruise and it is not really covered by any other cruise line however I am slightly concerned that the interiors seems be designed with cleaning up after the night before’s excesses in mind.

What I had hoped for from Richard Branson was Necker Island on a ship but there 

is not much sophistication on view in the images.

It looks like it will be great fun if what you want is the worst excesses of Ibiza at sea! Time will tell if there are enough people with the money to cruise who want to dance and drink themselves to a standstill so that they do not notice or care how spartan their surroundings are.

It is telling that they are not offering cruises of longer that about 5 days! This is clearly planned in order to keep the prices within the range of a very young client base.

Love many of the ideas, but would want a balance of sumptuous and quiet chill spaces sophisticated dining options and luxurious cabins to balance out the fun. Not for me as it stands at the moment but then there are existing offers that cover my preferences.

Mr Branson is not often wrong and would not have invested so much if the market research did not ensure him a demand but I think he is looking to create new cruisers rather than steal the existing ones. iMHO the existing lines only need to be concerned about competition for their short 2-3 day party cruises!

 

[Essiesmom]

I think I'll go over to the Virgin board and see what they are saying about the Cuba (not) cruises.  Half of their cruises are to Bimini/Havana, the other half Bimini/Costa Maya.  Of course, they won't be sailing until April 2020.  A lot could happen between now and then...  EM

[NutsAboutGolf]

The reference to the Vegas pool party crowd seems very accurate.  A lot of people don't know that a lot of the top Vegas pool parties can be $50+ to get in, beer and mixed drinks at NFL stadium prices while Cabanas start at $1000.  It's no surprise that the Hard Rock casino will eventually become a Virgin Hotel and many predict its nightclub and pool parties to be the next Vegas hot spot despite it being off strip.  The Vegas Hotel and Voyage ship could have all sorts of cross-offers.  The affluent person who wants to be seen at the top Vegas venues isn't the typical Celebrity or even cruise customer.

 

As far as changes to Celebrity/cruise industry, I think the one thing to watch is 20+ dining venues without a buffet.