Should Celebrity be worried about about Virgin Cruises?

[Hlitner]

I think Celebrity (and RCI) need to fear MSC much more than Virgin.  MSC (which is adding about 2 new vessels per year) is still learning and refining its product for the Caribbean market.  This year they will have 4 ships in the Caribbean and they can easily expand their presence in future years (the line will soon have at least 29 ships including a higher end group of 4 smaller ships).  MSC is a family owned company which allows them to make fast decisions and changes without having to deal with various Boards, worrying about short term bottom line issues, etc.  Having spent 21 days on one of their ships (in the Caribbean) we were impressed by how they are doing things in a different way.   Unlike what we sense on American lines we got the feeling that MSC has more of an open mind and is trying to find what works for cruisers rather then "encouraging" cruisers to adapt to what the cruise line will deliver.   They certainly have a lot of "issues" (especially with the USA Customer Service) and it will be fascinating to watch how they evolve in the North American market.

 

Hank

[kelmac]

As long as Virgin keeps these lame 4/5 day cruises, Celebrity has nothing to worry about.  We have nine cruises coming up and none will be with Virgin.  I agree that MSC Yacht Club and HAL (sans the old smoking policy) are the real competition.  HAL is really a bargain as of late. (example: we are cruising Celebrity's Edge 11/24/19 at $2,238.38 for a CAT 9 inside cabin w/no perks; and HAL's new ship the Nieuw Statendam 12/01/19 at $1,238 for a CAT K inside cabin/no perks; both are 7 day cruises).

Our MSC Meraviglia cruise is in an YC inside cabin, all-inclusive for $2,902.46.  Even our Crystal Symphony cruise, all-inclusive including gratuities, is $3,564 in an outside cabin, which is not that far from Edge pricing.  

We will certainly give Virgin a try once they offer 10 -- 12 day cruises.

 

Enjoy!

Kel😄

[AdGuyMG]

Should Celebrity be worried about about Virgin Cruises?

 

The prime focus of all cruise line's competition is against land based vacations.

Not other cruise lines.

[kelmac]

19 hours ago, AdGuyMG said:

Should Celebrity be worried about about Virgin Cruises?

 

The prime focus of all cruise line's competition is against land based vacations.

Not other cruise lines.

Not sure about that?  I have nine cruises and one land based vacation coming up.  These cruise lines are off my to do list for various reasons:  Virgin -- only 5 day cruises; NCL -- used to cruise them but they upped their "fees" to the point that they are no longer competitive; Princess -- they are fine, but not great in any area.  I've thought about canceling my Edge cruise, but intrigue/curiosity is winning that war.  Celebrity, other than Edge is a good deal; RCL has some good deals; HAL is the best bargain as of late; MSC in the YC is a great deal;  Cunard is a good deal on their longer cruises; and sometimes you can find a bargain on Oceania, Azamara, and Crystal.(not very often however)

Very much a moving target.😄

 

Kel

[Denny01]

I haven’t read though this thread because I had little knowledge or interest in Virgin products so this maybe a repeat - I did post a few stupid jokes that everybody expected. But I then took a look and my opinion is Virgin and Celebrity aren’t even in the same category. Virgin sticks to 4-5 day cruises and the average cost appears to be about $450-$600 a day for a veranda. Got it. 

 

We teach a class on travel and one recommendation we make to those that haven’t cruised and are thinking about it is, Do Not go on a short cruise to sample it. You need a 7-day experience to understand what a cruise experience is all about. Unpack and don’t have to think about repacking in a few days; a bit of at-sea time to enjoy the ship; a mix of ports, etc. Virgin does have at-sea days, but appears in many cases to be a cruise to a Caribbean resort beach and back.  

 

So, no Virgin isn’t a ‘worry’ to Celebrity, in my view, it’s a completely different package. Virgin is a cruise to a resort and back with a few at-sea days to enjoy what appears to be an interesting ship. If I wanted to go to a resort beach, I’ll save lots of money and fly to a resort and enjoy it more than a day of so, which, to me, is the point of going to a resort beach. 

 

Den

Edited June 10, 2019 by Denny01

[Mynki]

Celebrity's real competition for non suite class staterooms is Princess and HAL. 

Suite class competition would be more Azamara and Oceania.