Check 2024 bookings for price drops

[FFMilesJunkie]

Many 2024 bookings now qualify for the Bar Tab and the 45% off second sailor. Many I looked at today are cheaper and also have the bar tab. Time to call and reprice.  A lot of happy sailors today! Nice to get an email from a travel agent that says your cruise is cheaper and also includes a $600 Bar Tab… and it’s not an April Fools joke! 

Edited April 1, 2023 by FFMilesJunkie

[CanadianCruiser21]

My sailing fare went up by 600, but after the discounts, it is only $83 plus a $600 bar tab. 

[cantgetin]

I'm waiting to hear from my TA....My 2023 cruise went up, so will stay as is.  My 2024 cruise went down by $72 and will include the bar tab (at least there is one tiny line on the web site that implies it will)...so the real question is whether it will layer on top of my rebooking on board .  TA will check it out and let me know.

[FFMilesJunkie]

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

I'm waiting to hear from my TA....My 2023 cruise went up, so will stay as is.  My 2024 cruise went down by $72 and will include the bar tab (at least there is one tiny line on the web site that implies it will)...so the real question is whether it will layer on top of my rebooking on board .  TA will check it out and let me know.

It should be eligible. MNVV placeholders are allowed 1 change. Good luck!

[CruisingWalter]

12 hours ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

Many 2024 bookings now qualify for the Bar Tab and the 45% off second sailor. Many I looked at today are cheaper and also have the bar tab. Time to call and reprice.  A lot of happy sailors today! Nice to get an email from a travel agent that says your cruise is cheaper and also includes a $600 Bar Tab… and it’s not an April Fools joke! 

 

All the pricing I've seen has gone up because the discount changed from 50% to 45% 

[CruisingWalter]

9 hours ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

It should be eligible. MNVV placeholders are allowed 1 change. Good luck!

 

The Bar Tab promotion does not apply to MNVV bookings. 

[cantgetin]

5 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

The Bar Tab promotion does not apply to MNVV bookings. 

Thanks for the info....can't say I like it, but....good to know.

[CruisingWalter]

1 minute ago, cantgetin said:

Thanks for the info....can't say I like it, but....good to know.

 

MNVV's page says it can be combined with 'most other offers' but not deeply discounted offers. The Bar Tab must be considered a 'deeply discounted offer' because I could not use MNVV and get a $600 Bar Tab on a planned 8-night Valiant Lady sailing. 

[FFMilesJunkie]

55 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

All the pricing I've seen has gone up because the discount changed from 50% to 45% 

 

The 2024 sailings were not part of the wave offer, so the discounts never applied.  They are now included, so the 45% discount is in most cases deeper than the original discount.  Most of the bookings I've looked at for 2024 have dropped in price with the new promo.

[FFMilesJunkie]

56 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

The Bar Tab promotion does not apply to MNVV bookings. 

That's not correct.  MNVV can definitely be combined with the $300/$600 Bar tab.  I'm sailing in a couple months on a Greek Island Glow itinerary and I have $600 OBC from MNVV + $600 Bar Tab from it being a 7+ night sailing.  If you booked your MNVV before the Bar Tab was included, then your travel agent will need to ask Virgin to change the promo on the booking.  It's really easy and the Virgin reps are happy to do it.  But you have to ask, because they will just book whatever promo was on the original placeholder.  

 

 

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

That's not correct.  MNVV can definitely be combined with the $300/$600 Bar tab.  I'm sailing in a couple months on a Greek Island Glow itinerary and I have $600 OBC from MNVV + $600 Bar Tab from it being a 7+ night sailing.  If you booked your MNVV before the Bar Tab was included, then your travel agent will need to ask Virgin to change the promo on the booking.  It's really easy and the Virgin reps are happy to do it.  But you have to ask, because they will just book whatever promo was on the original placeholder.  

 

 

TA is gong to deal with it tomorrow...I'll let you know what happens.

[CineGraphic]

The original price/deal we booked for our April 2024 sailing, San Juan to Lisbon is better than the current deal by several hundred $, but thanks for the heads-up. It just didn't work in our favor this time around.

[_tacocat_]

4 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

The Bar Tab promotion does not apply to MNVV bookings. 

Yes it does, I’ve been able to get it on 3 different bookings using MNVV offers

[CineGraphic]

Remember to factor in any perks you may have received from the initial booking.

[CruisingWalter]

2 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

Yes it does, I’ve been able to get it on 3 different bookings using MNVV offers

 

I've been told multiple times by the folks on the phone that it did not apply to MNVV offers because of the $600 Sailor Loot already given in the MNVV. 

[CruisingWalter]

5 hours ago, FFMilesJunkie said:

That's not correct.  MNVV can definitely be combined with the $300/$600 Bar tab.  I'm sailing in a couple months on a Greek Island Glow itinerary and I have $600 OBC from MNVV + $600 Bar Tab from it being a 7+ night sailing

 

Its so interesting to hear you guys saying that when I was told the MNVV would not include the Bar Tab due to the $600 OBC already included with MNVV. I guess they've changed their policies of late. 

[cantgetin]

3 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Its so interesting to hear you guys saying that when I was told the MNVV would not include the Bar Tab due to the $600 OBC already included with MNVV. I guess they've changed their policies of late. 

It seems to be varying depending on  (?) which agent your TA deals with or whatever.  On this and another site, there are people saying that they were able to rebook and get the bar tab as well as the MNVV, as well as others saying they couldn't get it. I know my TA said it wasn't possible on my October 2023 cruise....we'll see what they say for 2024.

[_tacocat_]

1 hour ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

I've been told multiple times by the folks on the phone that it did not apply to MNVV offers because of the $600 Sailor Loot already given in the MNVV. 

For datapoints, I booked them via their call center with the MNVV last October.  Best advice is to hang up and call again until you get someone who knows what they’re talking about.  I think it shows up automatically anyway, so it doesn’t really matter what they say on the phone if the system pulls it automatically 

[FFMilesJunkie]

The only tricky part is if you booked your placeholder pre Dec 2022 before the Bar Tab promo.  Those bookings don't include the Bar Tab so the rep has to apply the current promo.  If you (or your TA) doesn't tell them then you will just get whatever promo was running when you originally booked the placeholder.  The other thing about MNVV is that you can only make 1 change after you convert it to a full booking so if you reprice, I'm pretty sure they count that as your 1 change. Of course like anything with VV, Your Miles May Vary 😆 

Edited April 2, 2023 by FFMilesJunkie

[Fogcityca13]

We bought two MNV in November 2022. Our TA applied it to our July Greek Glow, booked Dec 2022. Showing $600 in loot and $600 bar tab on the website, $300 in loot and $600 bar tab on the app.

 

Didn’t see the 45% off second sailor when looking at early 2024 cruises last night, just 20% off.

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, Fogcityca13 said:

We bought two MNV in November 2022. Our TA applied it to our July Greek Glow, booked Dec 2022. Showing $600 in loot and $600 bar tab on the website, $300 in loot and $600 bar tab on the app.

 

Didn’t see the 45% off second sailor when looking at early 2024 cruises last night, just 20% off.

Don't worry about the app....it is usually wrong until you board the ship.  I take screen shots of the website to prove it in case there is an issue.

[Lustate]

All very interesting this. 

So I emailed my agent this morning as I think the core price dropped for me, plus the bonus bar tab went from $200 to $600. The reply is that the deposit I paid them (the agent) would be lost which is $375, and that VV do not swap promotions out for free like this. 

Mixed messages hey?

[AdoraBelle]

19 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

 Best advice is to hang up and call again until you get someone who knows what they’re talking about.

 

Unfortunately, this is the way. You can pretty much tell by the way they answer the call. 

Edited April 3, 2023 by AdoraBelle

[CanadianCruiser21]

@Lustate if your sailing is more than 120 days out, the deposit would be converted to  future voyage credit. It might be time for you to get a new Agent.

 

 

from the VV site

https://www.virginvoyages.com/addl-terms-and-conditions

- You have the most flexibility outside of 120 days prior to your departure date. If you're booking at this time, you have a 7-day grace period to request a full refund on your deposit and any other payments made. Refunds will be issued to your original form of payment.

- After the grace period (but still before the 120-day mark), you can receive a full refund on any payments, not including your deposit. For your deposit, you can request a Future Voyage Credit at this time.

 

 

[cantgetin]

5 hours ago, Lustate said:

All very interesting this. 

So I emailed my agent this morning as I think the core price dropped for me, plus the bonus bar tab went from $200 to $600. The reply is that the deposit I paid them (the agent) would be lost which is $375, and that VV do not swap promotions out for free like this. 

Mixed messages hey?

This sounds like your agent is ripping you off.  Did you pay additional money to the agent/agency for their services?  There are agencies in the US that try to do this and make you sign a service agreement including non-refundable fees to them.  That  is not the norm as most agents make their income from the commission they are paid by the various cruise lines, and VV's commissions are more than the norm.

VV Does allow you to "trade promotions" at least up to 120 days prior to sailing.  It usually involves a cancel and rebooking.