Virtuoso and Silversea - who actually pays for credit

[drkitkat123]

Just got this email from our travel agent  (Not our usual one because this is a specialty golf cruise). It's interestingly worded and I wondered who actually pays for the credit. (At the end of the day this is a minor amount of money in relation to the cost of the cruise, so that is not the issue):

 

" You are booked on a Port to Port discounted cruise fare on your upcoming Silver Muse .....Cruise.  .....  ....... we registered your room at the time of your booking with the Virtuoso Voyages cruise programme which entitles each guest to an up to USD 200 pp on board credit.    We do this as ......Travel is a Virtuoso agency and this is a benefit our guests receive.    We have done this on all Virtuoso Voyages cruises over the past 10 years plus without any problems.  

 

However, without any prior warning (and many months after we registered most of you for the Virtuoso on board credit), we have been advised by Virtuoso that it will not provide the on board credit as Silversea will not honour the credit on Port to Port discounted fares.    We have objected to this ruling but we could not reverse.

 

Thus, we regret to advise that the up to USD 200 pp on board credit we advised should come with your booking will no longer form part of your booking. "

 

[MHF]

Interesting.  I bet that will be a topic of discussion at this weekend's Virtuoso Executives meeting in Italy.

[ggo85]

We booked through a Virtuoso agent and depart next week.  Will let folks know if we receive a similar communication. 

[drkitkat123]

1 hour ago, ggo85 said:

We booked through a Virtuoso agent and depart next week.  Will let folks know if we receive a similar communication. 

were you port to port?

[ggo85]

I think so.  We can’t do the car service because they don’t serve our (major) city.  

[rojaan19]

We occasionally get on board credit as our TA  is Virtuoso agent,  if your cruise is on the virtuoso website and it has OBC listed and you book through them,  you get it.

Edited October 21, 2023 by rojaan19

[drkitkat123]

the cruise is on there and there is $200 credit listed but subject to terms and conditions which are not possible to find

[labrasett]

The key is in the terms and conditions of the agent through whom you signed up ie who is your contract with?     

[drkitkat123]

2 minutes ago, labrasett said:

The key is in the terms and conditions of the agent through whom you signed up ie who is your contract with?     

i think in Australia we pay the cruise-line (even though maybe via the travel agent). Would have no idea where/which terms and conditions to look at.

 

Interested if anyone else gets denied virtuoso credit if booking port to port?

[drkitkat123]

also the wording is quite interesting"

 

"we have been advised by Virtuoso that it will not provide the on board credit as Silversea will not honour the credit on Port to Port discounted fares."

 

Surely Virtuoso can still provide the $200 directly to the client

[Abuckett]

We are booked Port2Port on our Christmas/New Year cruise directly through Silversea, not through Virtuoso. I was told that OBC was not allowed on P2P bookings.

[Tex1]

32 minutes ago, Abuckett said:

We are booked Port2Port on our Christmas/New Year cruise directly through Silversea, not through Virtuoso. I was told that OBC was not allowed on P2P bookings.

Many TA provide there own OBC, independent of what SS offers.  

[lincslady]

3 hours ago, drkitkat123 said:

also the wording is quite interesting"

 

"we have been advised by Virtuoso that it will not provide the on board credit as Silversea will not honour the credit on Port to Port discounted fares."

 

Surely Virtuoso can still provide the $200 directly to the client

Surely they could, but presumably do not want to, having got credit from clients for providing it who did not realise that it was actually provided by Silversea?

[Gourmet Gal]

  Sounds like a credit for the booking from Virtuoso that SS will no longer give and there are probably too many bookings that Virtuoso wants to cover.  “Nickel and diming” all around.

Edited October 21, 2023 by Gourmet Gal

[ronrick1943]

To me if Virtuoso gave you the impression they were giving you $200pp sbc they should honor that comment.  But really that isn’t much of an incentive when booking a cruise/

[pavementends]

On 10/20/2023 at 7:56 PM, drkitkat123 said:

were you port to port?

 

That's what OP said. Port to port is discounted and I'm not surprised.

[drkitkat123]

 

 

On the Virtuoso website - who knows where to find T&C????

 

[gcornell]

I recently received a completely opposite email.  We are booked on an Iceland cruise next July and not only have P2P but repriced a few months ago when they had a pay in full discount.  My Virtuoso agent recently informed me that my OBC is going from $300 to $400 per cabin.  

[zqtchas]

Try Signature, I hear they give a better deal.

[cotto22]

48 minutes ago, zqtchas said:

Try Signature, I hear they give a better deal.

Our last SS and upcoming cruise on SS are Signature and they are giving us OBC that was almost a chore to use! We had a lot of fun with others trying to find ways to use it, since we are not normally spa users. My husband did get the best haircut he has ever had and it was quite a bargain. Others enjoyed specialty wine and we did some Christmas shopping. Not really complaining, lol! 

[sea bright]

Tully (and I suspect others) give a rebate- much better than OBC on Silversea.

[zqtchas]

13 hours ago, sea bright said:

Tully (and I suspect others) give a rebate- much better than OBC on Silversea.

Yes, there are others. But I don’t think it’s allowed to name them here. It would probably cause too much competition friction for CC?