The battle of the balance sheets - Is VV in a better position than the big 3?

[CrazyTrain2]

There seems to a flurry of mal-contents on the other CC boards regarding the reduction in services, price increases, additional fees, etc. from the Big 3 publicly traded cruise lines and their sub-lines. Since VV is funded by private equity versus publicly traded stock, will they be in a better position in the marketplace.

 

Personally, it seems that VV is charting its own course and not as subjected to the whims of Wall Street.  I hope VV crushes them - we need a diversity of choices out there.

 

How say ye??

[gordiej]

I mean public and private owners will both want to push for profitability. The main difference is that private owners can be more patient and maybe willing to let the company build up its brand. Surely that was part of the initial business plan, although the COVID delays may have changed that and it’s possible they’re itchy enough to try and make shorter-term moves to boost profits. Hard to really know without being in the board room!  I would note that one of the big cutbacks from the legacy lines is elimination of turndown, which is already consistent with VV. I’d probably be most worried about food quality deterioration and/or growing ancillary fees (eg, more menu up-charges, higher beverage prices).

[cantgetin]

Right now, VV is a better price than I can get with any of the brands that have been around for a while, which is consistent with their winning US New award for Best Price.  I got an ad from Celebrity yesterday, so for giggles, I priced out the most similar cruise I could find vs my next VV.  I could do the lowest price balcony on Celebrity for an almost identical fare to my Sea Terrace on VV, but when I added the "almost all inclusive" package (to mimic the included tips, soft drinks, and wifi that I have on VV), the price almost doubled.  And I LOVE the "no kids" policy on VV.  I didn't realize how much I'd like it until I was on my first VV cruise.  It should also be noted that VV's drinks, spa, etc. are all ultimately lower than the other lines because the "list" price is what you pay.

Will VV be able to make up for the differences with crew retention, rebookings, etc?  Time will tell.  For now, they have the highest repeat cruiser rate (second cruise within 12 months of first).  The rate that my TA quotes for his clients is higher than what VV cites.  Where VV's numbers will always lag is that most of their cabins hold 2 guests.  Royal, Disney, and NCL often quote rates of 108% occupancy (and higher)  because most of their cabins hold 3 or 4 and 100% means the number of guests is twice the number of cabins.  Will the model hold up?  So far VV is steadily increasing their occupancy.  Time will tell.

[CineGraphic]

I think that VV is in a much better position than the other lines simply because they have less ships to worry about filling in order to keep the bookkeepers happy.

 

I love the fact that VV is screwing with the other lines daily just by existing.

They are bringing many 1st time cruisers to the scene. Once they try the other lines, they'll realize just how special VV is. The other lines are indeed making cuts, and to make matters worse, they are understaffed.

 

I recently took a free cruise on another line. Dinner in the main dining room took 2 hours the first night. That was the last time I bothered going to the MDR. No wonder the buffet was so crowded.

So even though I only paid taxes and gratuities, I was underwhelmed by the whole experience.