Any incentive to book future cruises while on board?

[CineGraphic]

Some lines offer an incentive, (usually small) for purchasing future cruise deposits or making future bookings while on board.

Whats the VV spin on this segment of the industry?

[_tacocat_]

the offer that is typically given now is put down a $300 deposit, get $300 off you next voyage + $300 onboard credit.  you can make up to 4 deposits with this offer (can only use 1 offer per cabin per voyage), but you can do "open deposits" if you don't have a specific date in mind.  you just need to call to book and sail those within 2 years.

 

they offered $600 OBC for those who were on Richard's Bday Bash last week, as well as those who were on the next voyage, but I'm not sure if they'll extend that.

 

the "my next virgin voyage" promo is combinable with other offers - apparently the one starting next monday will be 50% off the second sailor (or 50% off solo cabins).  that's only applicable to standard rooms, not suites.

[_tacocat_]

forgot to mention - they're transferable, so if a friend/family member is interested in going on a VV, you can use one of those deposits for them and get them whatever perks are applicable at that time.  

[CineGraphic]

3 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

the offer that is typically given now is put down a $300 deposit, get $300 off you next voyage + $300 onboard credit.

 

Thanks for all of the details.

If everything on board is as good as it appears, we'll be booking a TA for 2023.

[godzukihop]

We were on the SL in May and purchased the $300 deal and booked for for April 2023. Approximately $6,400. 6 weeks later the exact same deal is $8,400. Book before it goes up. Scarlet Lady was so awesome, worth every penny!!! 

[dippyblond]

14 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

the offer that is typically given now is put down a $300 deposit, get $300 off you next voyage + $300 onboard credit.  you can make up to 4 deposits with this offer (can only use 1 offer per cabin per voyage), but you can do "open deposits" if you don't have a specific date in mind.  you just need to call to book and sail those within 2 years.

 

they offered $600 OBC for those who were on Richard's Bday Bash last week, as well as those who were on the next voyage, but I'm not sure if they'll extend that.

 

the "my next virgin voyage" promo is combinable with other offers - apparently the one starting next monday will be 50% off the second sailor (or 50% off solo cabins).  that's only applicable to standard rooms, not suites.

So .... - I have 2 cruises coming up this year - if I were to put down the $300 deposit on each cruise I would be able to combine that to book a cruise for next year??

And would I be able to use my FVC also for same booking??

[drewdawg199]

2 hours ago, dippyblond said:

So .... - I have 2 cruises coming up this year - if I were to put down the $300 deposit on each cruise I would be able to combine that to book a cruise for next year??

And would I be able to use my FVC also for same booking??

Can’t combine two My Next Voyage offers, one each per cabin per cruise.

[dukefan94]

They (VV) let me combine a single My Next Voyage offer with FCC.

[dippyblond]

9 hours ago, dukefan94 said:

They (VV) let me combine a single My Next Voyage offer with FCC.

Thats good to know as I have FVC to use also

[_tacocat_]

15 hours ago, dukefan94 said:

They (VV) let me combine a single My Next Voyage offer with FCC.

yeah FVC is a payment method, so that makes sense.  you're able to combine the my next voyage offer with any current promotions, you just can't combine my next voyage offers with each other.

 

so you can either book 1 cabin on multiple cruises or multiple cabins on 1 cruise, but if two people have the $300 deposits, you can't get 2 discounts in 1 cabin on the same cruise.

[cantgetin]

They have had 5 different offers since they started cruising in October, 2021.  Most recently was a Richard's Birthday special which was a better deal than the standard placeholder or booking while on board, but that has now expired.  And yes, you can combine with any current promotion when you select your date.

[jj1814]

They offered $600 OBC and $300 discount on the cruise after Richard's Birthday cruise (July 22-27). We put deposits down on three future voyages.

Edited August 3, 2022 by jj1814

[AdoraBelle]

I’ll be sailing solo in a few weeks. While I’m onboard, I’d like to book a future cruise, but it’ll be like this:

 

one cabin for me

 

one cabin for a friend who will be sailing with me, but I’ll be paying for it

Can I buy two “deposits” and use one on each of the cabins above, even though the second cabin will have someone who isn’t me in it?

 

Thanks, have never paid for a cabin for someone else on any line. 

[cantgetin]

Yes, you can purchase more than one "deposit" or future cruise credit and they are transferrable.  You just purchase it in your friend's name. I know this for sure because we did it a few weeks ago.  There is a limit to how many you can purchase.  The "deal" varies, and has changed at least 5 times since Oct. 2021, meaning that you do not know what it will be when you cruise.  NOTE--some lines do not allow you to do this!  VV does, at least as of July 2022.

Something to consider...until Aug. 31, VV has a great deal going on cruises during 2022.  There is NO single supplement and there is a $100 bonus on bar tabs.  This, in English, means that you can book a 2 person sized cabin and only pay for one person.  If your future cruise is in 2022, this may be a better deal for you than getting a booking on board discount of $300, depending on how you feel about having a larger cabin.

[AdoraBelle]

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

Yes, you can purchase more than one "deposit" or future cruise credit and they are transferrable.  You just purchase it in your friend's name. I know this for sure because we did it a few weeks ago.  There is a limit to how many you can purchase.  The "deal" varies, and has changed at least 5 times since Oct. 2021, meaning that you do not know what it will be when you cruise.  NOTE--some lines do not allow you to do this!  VV does, at least as of July 2022.

Something to consider...until Aug. 31, VV has a great deal going on cruises during 2022.  There is NO single supplement and there is a $100 bonus on bar tabs.  This, in English, means that you can book a 2 person sized cabin and only pay for one person.  If your future cruise is in 2022, this may be a better deal for you than getting a booking on board discount of $300, depending on how you feel about having a larger cabin.

 
Thanks!

Regarding the second part, I will actually be on the ship well prior to Aug 31. Since my friend and I will both be solo (in our respective cabins), I was hoping to book with that pricing AND the perks for booking onboard. Do you think they will “stack”?

[_tacocat_]

3 hours ago, AdoraBelle said:

 
Thanks!

Regarding the second part, I will actually be on the ship well prior to Aug 31. Since my friend and I will both be solo (in our respective cabins), I was hoping to book with that pricing AND the perks for booking onboard. Do you think they will “stack”?

the onboard offers stack with other offers, but not themselves, if that makes any sense.  so you and your friend can book 2 separate cabins and each use the $300 off offer AND each get the $300 sailor loot associated with the onboard offer AND each take advantage of the current sale, but you can't apply 2 $300 offs to the same cabin.  additionally, the onboard offer is only applicable to standard sea terraces and up -- ltd view or lock it in sea terraces do not count -- but i think the sale has that floor too.

 

a word of caution though -- you can make "open deposits" and book whatever you want (i think within the next 24 months) by calling sailor services, but their system seems to be glitchy when combining with a future sale.  we booked one specific voyage onboard and did 3 others as open deposits.  when the august sale started, we opted to add a second leg to our existing voyage, and the system couldn't handle it because the booking was technically "made" before the sale started, when we placed our deposit. 

 

they opened a ticket and pushed our pay in full deadline out, but it still wasn't fixed by the day before the due date.  we called and they had to cancel our booking and rebook it, and we collectively had a mystery $300 in FVC in our accounts that we were then able to apply to the rebooked rate (which was actually slightly lower than we had originally booked, somehow).

 

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by _tacocat_

[AdoraBelle]

4 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

additionally, the onboard offer is only applicable to standard sea terraces and up -- ltd view or lock it in sea terraces do not count -- but i think the sale has that floor too.

Thanks. For what it’s worth, on the sailings I’m looking at (mid Oct), the sale DOES seem to apply to “lock it in ltd view terrace”, or at least one sailor can get into it for for $880 right now. but I do see in some other documentation that I wouldn’t be able to use the onboard booking perks for it. 
 

(I had planned to book myself an xl terrace and the friend in the $880 room above. I’ll probably just grab a regular terrace, it’s not that much more.)

 

Thanks again. Here’s hoping prices stay steady till I can board & book in a few weeks. 

[AdoraBelle]

Bumping for one more question—

 

I’ve only bought CruiseNext certificates before (NCL) because I usually didn’t know exactly when my next cruise would be, so I don’t know what the answer is for VV or any cruise line.

 

Can I actually book the specific trip on board, and if so are the sales folks fairly knowledgeable? This is a specific trip I need to plan that’s only a few months away, and I’d like to book the whole thing the first or second day I’m onboard. I want to get it locked down during the Aug promo. 
 

(I guess I could just buy the “deposits” and book for myself using the onboard wifi … if the deposits show up on your account that fast.)

[cantgetin]

You can book a specific cruise while on board or purchase whatever VV calls the future certificate.  Yeah, I've purchased one and don't remember the name.  If you purchase while on board, you get whatever "deal" is current at the time plus the benefits of rebooking on board.  You'll get a great deal IF your next sailing is in 2022 as the August promo is very good.  I'm waiting because when they announced the Aug. promo, the cost of the 2023 cruise I want increased by $800 (they removed some 2023 discounts.  Thus, I got the future certificate and will wait till a promo applies to the dates I want.

[cantgetin]

On 8/16/2022 at 12:08 PM, AdoraBelle said:

 
Thanks!

Regarding the second part, I will actually be on the ship well prior to Aug 31. Since my friend and I will both be solo (in our respective cabins), I was hoping to book with that pricing AND the perks for booking onboard. Do you think they will “stack”?

Yes, they stack on top of any current offer at the time you actually lock in a date.  As others have noted, you can only use one booking on board credit per cabin.  Absolutely book before the end of August for 2022 dates.  I have no personal experience with actually booking the cabin for your friend, but the future booking credit IS transferrable( I have experience with that), and since you are paying, I don't see why the wouldn't let you book in friend's name as well.

[_tacocat_]

On 8/20/2022 at 5:37 AM, AdoraBelle said:

Can I actually book the specific trip on board, and if so are the sales folks fairly knowledgeable? This is a specific trip I need to plan that’s only a few months away, and I’d like to book the whole thing the first or second day I’m onboard. I want to get it locked down during the Aug promo

Yep, they have 2-3 "Holiday Matchmakers" onboard that have access to the whole booking system, so they can show you exactly what cabins/suites are available + the pricing.  We've booked onboard 3x and have found it super easy.  If you do an open booking, you need to call sailor services to complete the booking, which has frankly been a royal pain in the ass lately.

[AdoraBelle]

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

If you do an open booking, you need to call sailor services to complete the booking, which has frankly been a royal pain in the ass lately.

They've had that same hold song since 2020. (I had to call recently to use my about-to-expire FVC from early covid days.) I never need to hear that song again. 

[cantgetin]

8 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

Yep, they have 2-3 "Holiday Matchmakers" onboard that have access to the whole booking system, so they can show you exactly what cabins/suites are available + the pricing.  We've booked onboard 3x and have found it super easy.  If you do an open booking, you need to call sailor services to complete the booking, which has frankly been a royal pain in the ass lately.

Or you can have your TA (First Mate) do it for you....that's why they are earning the commission!

[AdoraBelle]

I can’t “prove” it because I don’t think it’s in writing anywhere yet, but I booked two cruises onboard today and was told the OBC is being increased to $600 per cabin. (Including on what I booked today.)

 

Also this ship is to die for. And the food. 

[ownedbypets]

I disembarked this morning and booked another cruise while onboard. $300 deposit and $600 OBC and have 2 years to book it.