future cruise booking help

[mazz1]

i need help to understand how a future cruise booking works

 

my first booking is this October and we're looking at booking two cabins for Jan whilst were out in the usa

 

we have been status matched to deep blue extras and it says sea rover, i've also got a blue credit card at the side of my screen that says cha ching you've got credit but with a $0 next to it and it says get in touch to redeem 

 

i've already got myself a US travel agent who i have used a lot of times and i trust but i would like some idea on how i go ahead and book, do i wait until i get on the ship or trust in my travel agent to get me the best deal 

 

both myself and my husband were status matched and for our next cruise we'd like two rooms as we will be a party of three and i'm hoping we can get the future voyage credit off both rooms 

 

can anyone shed any light on all of this and tell me how it works

[CineGraphic]

Buy the $300 deposits on board, and book with your travel agent when you return.

You will need 1 deposit for each cabin. Have one in your name, and another in your husbands if you plan on two cabins.

As for the blue credit thingy on the webpage, we all have one, and it only shows a figure other than zero if you have a credit with them. Don't worry about it.

Edited June 3, 2023 by CineGraphic

[cantgetin]

You can buy up to 4 MNVV certificates/bookings each time you cruise, each good on the booking of one qualifying cabin.  The certificates are transferrable meaning that you can buy one in your name and "sell" it to a friend later.  As above, if you plan on 2 cabins, book one in your name and one in husband's name--you can shuffle the "who sleeps where" later. 

 

You can do the bookings while on board and name your travel agent.  This gives them the reservation from the start.  Or you can contact them within 30 days and they can take over the booking with your consent.  Or buy the certificates and let the TA book it for you when you get home.  SOME travel agents purchase the max they are permitted and then resell them to clients; you might ask your agent if he/she has any available.  

THere is no way to know whether the deal now is better or worse than the deal that might be available in October.  

[mazz1]

so what exactly does the $300 deposits get me

 

what is the advantage of it i am presuming there is a advantage or it's worth more at some point 

also what does MNVV mean 

[cantgetin]

8 minutes ago, mazz1 said:

so what exactly does the $300 deposits get me

 

what is the advantage of it i am presuming there is a advantage or it's worth more at some point 

also what does MNVV mean 

MNVV = My Next Virgin Voyage.   The current deal is that you buy the certificate for $300.  When you use it to book a cruise, you get the $300 you paid for the certificate deducted plus an additional $300 off the cruise fare.  In addition, you get $600 in "Loot," which is onboard credit.  And this is on top of whatever the current offer is on the cruise that you choose.  The certificate is good for 2 years, and can be transferred to someone else.  This means that if you are cruising with friends, you can bring their credit card info and buy one for them in their name...or buy it for yourself and "sell' it to them.

There is no difference between buying the certificate vs. doing an onboard booking in terms of benefits.  For instance, on my booking I got $300 for rebooking certificate, $300 cost of certificate ($600 deducted from posted cruise fare), $600 Loot (part of MNVV deal), and $600 bar tab (current special being offered).  In addition, I paid in full and got 10% off for that.

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by cantgetin

[mazz1]

Oh wow that seems a great deal 

the plan is to let my husband and son share so that's one in his name and then one room for me and then once onboard we will just shuffle who sleeps where 😉

[cantgetin]

Alternatively you can just buy one in your son's name and avoid the switching hassle.  It will work the save either way.

[jon81uk]

The only disadvantage to the my next Virgin voyage is that you can’t use it with lock it in rate. With the current free bar tab offer and a lock it in rate we got $600 to spend on drinks and paid around £1000 less for the room anyway using lock it in. Whereas the deposit would have saved us ~£250 and got $600 onboard spend. 
But of course the lock it in rare means you only find out a few days before what cabin you’ve got and it can be limited view. Although we bid and got a central sea terrace.

 

For the transatlantic where we know we want an XL cabin we did use the MNVV credit as wanted to guarantee the cabin type. But for tomorrows Greek Island and September Med cruises where it’s more about ports the saving on the lock it in rate is fantastic.

[mazz1]

12 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Alternatively you can just buy one in your son's name and avoid the switching hassle.  It will work the save either way.

when we travel, we always have two rooms and my husband and son often share

[mazz1]

so helpful 😄 i do appreciate it 

[lisabucsfan1]

On 6/3/2023 at 12:50 PM, jon81uk said:

The only disadvantage to the my next Virgin voyage is that you can’t use it with lock it in rate. With the current free bar tab offer and a lock it in rate we got $600 to spend on drinks and paid around £1000 less for the room anyway using lock it in. Whereas the deposit would have saved us ~£250 and got $600 onboard spend. 
But of course the lock it in rare means you only find out a few days before what cabin you’ve got and it can be limited view. Although we bid and got a central sea terrace.

 

This is a very good point. When you use MNVV you must book Sea Terrace or higher. 

[cantgetin]

On 6/3/2023 at 12:50 PM, jon81uk said:

The only disadvantage to the my next Virgin voyage is that you can’t use it with lock it in rate. With the current free bar tab offer and a lock it in rate we got $600 to spend on drinks and paid around £1000 less for the room anyway using lock it in. Whereas the deposit would have saved us ~£250 and got $600 onboard spend. 
But of course the lock it in rare means you only find out a few days before what cabin you’ve got and it can be limited view. Although we bid and got a central sea terrace.

 

With MNVV, you get whatever the current special is.  Yes, the MNVV gives you $600 in loot, but we also got the $600 in bar tab that was part of the booking special.  It isn't a trade off of one or the other.
My cruise partner requires an accessible cabin, so a lock it in rate is not a possibility for us (we need the assigned cabin at the time of booking or she can't cruise.). 

You are totally correct that the MNVV rate requires a Sea Terrace booking or above.  And, depending on the cruise, the lock it in rate may be less.  You must price them individually each time to see which is the better "deal."

[jon81uk]

30 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

With MNVV, you get whatever the current special is.  Yes, the MNVV gives you $600 in loot, but we also got the $600 in bar tab that was part of the booking special.  It isn't a trade off of one or the other.

Yes sorry I wasn’t clear, I meant more that by getting the bar tab offer we don’t need the other $600. Especially on this Greek island itinerary where there are lots of port stops I don’t feel like we are onboard spending as much. So the bar tab plus lock it in worked out perfectly. 
 

I’m surprised you can’t get an accessible limited view cabin on lock it in though. Seems discriminatory and possibly against ADA and similar that you can’t get the same discounts due to disability needs. I would expect there should be a way to get accessible cabin on that rate just so everyone is able to pay the same price irrespective of their needs.

[cantgetin]

10 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

Yes sorry I wasn’t clear, I meant more that by getting the bar tab offer we don’t need the other $600. Especially on this Greek island itinerary where there are lots of port stops I don’t feel like we are onboard spending as much. So the bar tab plus lock it in worked out perfectly. 
 

I’m surprised you can’t get an accessible limited view cabin on lock it in though. Seems discriminatory and possibly against ADA and similar that you can’t get the same discounts due to disability needs. I would expect there should be a way to get accessible cabin on that rate just so everyone is able to pay the same price irrespective of their needs.

The problem is that the "lock it in" requires that you will accept any room that is assigned at or above the category you have selected.  We can't agree to accept "any room" and VV can't be required to save us a room that they otherwise might have booked at full price.  Yes, I am well aware of ADA requirements and issues.

We do have an approach on one other cruise line where, once the line advertises "GTY" rates, we can look on line and see whether there are any accessible rooms still showing as available.  If so, I can call our travel agent who contacts his "person" at the cruise line and can arrange for us to book at the GTY rate but immediately be assigned to the accessible room.  This only works quite late in the booking process, and obviously only when the rooms are available.  

VV does a good job with the accessible situation.  THey have a significantly greater number of accessible cabins than other ships of the same size.  They also have "ambulatory" cabins for people who may need bars by the toilet and bars/seat in the shower, but don't require full accessibility.

 

I do appreciate you suggestions...it is what it is, and we are very happy with the on board situation on Virgin.