Resilient Lady Cancelled Australian Season

[Jumping Cruiser]

12 hours ago, leck57 said:

Using the Red Sea problems as an excuse is just rubbish. As said above they would find a way if the area was profitable. The marketing was off the mark from the outset. 

Don’t forget they’ve still got Brilliance too… well, if she ever makes it into service that is.

 

If Aus was making a profit, they would make it work. Whether that would be keeping a ship there and brining Brilliant into service in the Med or just going round Africa like they’re doing now, there would be a solution.

 

I’ve lost count of the amount of excuses used by VV over the years. From the problems with the initial brand identity, to the constant chopping and changing of itineraries, nothing really shocks me anymore. It’s evident they’re lacking experience in managing a cruise line, and this has been the case since day 1.

 
They went for a niche market, tried to launch too many ships at once, and didn’t actually research what people were looking for. But they thought they could do it the Virgin way! And let’s just say… it’s definitely backfired!  

[dgmaso1]

Anyone had success rebooking any of these cancelled voyages?  I was booked from Dubai to Perth (2 legs) so called last night and asked to rebooked on Scarlet TA this fall and next Spring.  Agent was really helpful but she had to send the requests to "the team" and said that I'd be getting email confirmations...nothing yet at 24 hours here.  Haven't been able to log into my account on Virgin since last night either.

[CineGraphic]

7 minutes ago, Jumping Cruiser said:

And let’s just say… it’s definitely backfired!

 

Is that why they keep winning so many awards?

[Jumping Cruiser]

1 minute ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Is that why they keep winning so many awards?

As I say… suitable for the niche market. That’s the likely source of the awards, especially in the Caribbean. Their global approach doesn’t have the same effect though. 

[wintrev]

13 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Is that why they keep winning so many awards?

Yep they have certainly won the award for pi...... off some many people!

 

[CountessCookie]

12 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Well they were following the same model they did here in Miami. Give away cabins cheap, get people interested in the brand and then raise the pricing once they're hooked. But it sounds like that model didn't work. With only three ships, they need to send them to the most profitable locations. There's a reason why every cruise line has 4 or 5 ships in the Caribbean every winter. 

 

For me, it is less about why they are doing this, than how they are going about that. If Vorgin was being honest about under preforming this season having a role in thwse cancellation, I would be more forgiving. They are a buisness and need to make profits.

 

However, it seems they are solely blaming the issues in the RedSea for the cancellation, which seems to be false and, I feel, in bad taste. The email they sent even said, "Virgin Voyages was embraced by Aussies with such a warm welcome, and together, we celebrated an extremely successful inaugural season — and that love was very much mutual." From what we are hearing, that season wasn't "extremely successful."

 

[Luvsbooks]

On 2/27/2024 at 10:42 AM, CruisingWalter said:

 

Honest question for those of you who sailed in Australia.  How full were the ships?  From the little information I was able to glean, it didn't sound like the sailings in Australia were sailing full.  Just curious for those who actually sailed the ships in Australia, were the ships sold our or sailing light? 

Our 5 night cruise late January-early February was 95% full according to a staff member. VV had many of the passengers onboard and trying to book for the next season, but the Get Lost counter couldn't take bookings as it was all under review. VV initially branded itself incorrectly, but once a few sailings had occurred and word got out as to how good they were, more people got interested and booked to give them a try. I have friends who are Princess and Celebrity die-hard cruisers who now only want to sail on VV. All that effort to initially get their VV brand noticed and build a following in our Region to now not return seems a shame.

[jon81uk]

5 hours ago, CountessCookie said:

 

For me, it is less about why they are doing this, than how they are going about that. If Vorgin was being honest about under preforming this season having a role in thwse cancellation, I would be more forgiving. They are a buisness and need to make profits.

 

However, it seems they are solely blaming the issues in the RedSea for the cancellation, which seems to be false and, I feel, in bad taste. The email they sent even said, "Virgin Voyages was embraced by Aussies with such a warm welcome, and together, we celebrated an extremely successful inaugural season — and that love was very much mutual." From what we are hearing, that season wasn't "extremely successful."

 

But on what basis do you think they are lying? They may have performed as expected for their first season in Aus, they wouldn’t have expected to sell out the first time and they would use this one as an advert to get word of mouth for next year.

 

I think they did want to go back to Australia but the slower route via Africa isn’t as popular and on balance they decided it’s more worthwhile to go to the Carribean.

[Naomigruis]

On 2/27/2024 at 10:42 AM, CruisingWalter said:

 

Honest question for those of you who sailed in Australia.  How full were the ships?  From the little information I was able to glean, it didn't sound like the sailings in Australia were sailing full.  Just curious for those who actually sailed the ships in Australia, were the ships sold our or sailing light? 

I sailed just before Christmas and the ship was full. I am a sailing again in 3 days and another sold out sailing. The reason why? They are short weekend sailings and the amount of onboard credit is more than we paid for the whole cruise. 
 

I am a regular cruiser and had already decided this would be out last with VV. The style of having to book restaurant and the shows not lining up with dinner without a major drama is just to much of a hassle for me. I also just think the quality of the food is ok, no better than what I eat at our local Melbourne restaurant and the shows are a seen once and then done. 
 

Honestly I just don’t think our Australian cruise market is big enough to sustain a full season for a ship that has a narrow market. I called then not returning to the Australian market months ago. 

[The_Big_M]

7 hours ago, jon81uk said:

But on what basis do you think they are lying? They may have performed as expected for their first season in Aus, they wouldn’t have expected to sell out the first time and they would use this one as an advert to get word of mouth for next year.

 

I think they did want to go back to Australia but the slower route via Africa isn’t as popular and on balance they decided it’s more worthwhile to go to the Carribean.

 

Simply put, as another poster said, if they considered themselves successful, they would have stuck with their original plans and stayed for 24/25.

 

Cutting and running only 9 months out, with all those cancellations to process, all for the sake of avoiding a single relocation cruise (that they'll be doing in another direction anyway) tells you it's purely a commercial decision. Which is not what they're saying.

 

The fact they are happy to make such drastic changes so often - and without supporting travel compensation - means I consider them very risky, especially to make long distance, far off travel plans. Which is not what they want, but the message they are sending.

[Watchmen]

People acting like there isn’t a crisis in the Red Sea. VV isn’t the only cruise line making adjustments. It may be that the changes impact them more because they’re a smaller line. 

[Tralfaz1138]

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

The fact they are happy to make such drastic changes so often - and without supporting travel compensation - means I consider them very risky, especially to make long distance, far off travel plans. Which is not what they want, but the message they are sending.

 

Not that I'm saying the way they are handling some of these issues is right, but to be fair Virgin ended up with the unfortunate bad luck to launch a new cruise line at just about the worst time in world history to do so.  Their inaugural itinerary was screwed up by ... someone ... shutting down Cuba.  This caused my family to cancel our booking for one of their earliest cruises since the new itinerary was less interesting.  Then that didn't even matter since their launch (and what would have been our cruise) were cancelled by covid.  Even when they did launch they now had to compete with everyone "relaunching" the cruise industry when interest in it was still very weak, which meant lower fares than originally planned.  I also assume Brilliant Lady's delay was residual fallout from covid supply/labor issues.  To pile on to all of this, now they end up with the red sea issues cancelling another itinerary.

 

I seriously doubt they are happy to make such drastic changes so often.  Given the comparatively cheap fares they have had to offer when travel resumed and in general up into last year I have to imagine they currently need to make decisions with the maximum expected profit in mind.  I don't know exactly what numbers they are looking at, but assuming the boat would be a lower occupancy for a month travelling around Africa vs 2 weeks across the Atlantic and "new" itineraries for two weeks in the Caribbean that alone likely made it worth the change for their bottom line.

 

This doesn't make what they have been doing optimal for customers or mean that people should trust that the cruise they've booked might not change.  I just get that they've likely had the most challenging world situation to "launch" in of any cruise line.  All of this said, I thoroughly enjoyed our cruise last year and really hope they can make everything work out since I'd like to keep being able to do cruises with them

Edited February 28 by Tralfaz1138

[Clintwits]

Yeah when you look at VV's size vs the bigger lines/conglomerates as well... for the bigger lines its easier to spread the cost of a longer and less profitable relocation avoiding the Red Sea across the company as a whole, where-as when you are dealing with just 3 (maybe 4) ships it has a bigger impact esp in the middle of all the other issues since launch/in the last few years

Don't get me wrong, as an Aussie who really enjoyed our VV cruise this year (booked our second while onboard which is not something ever did on Princess) am frustrated and disappointed they wont be back next season, and def think there are parts of this that could and should have been handled better, but also do still understand why it was done

[arealcheapskate]

Attended their TA live stream yesterday and basically no answers. "they will be back" 

 

MNVVs extended a year but refunds are "case by case" 

 

What a crock of garbage. Won't be selling or advocating for their product anymore. 

[jcarter4551]

On 2/28/2024 at 5:45 AM, Naomigruis said:

I am a regular cruiser and had already decided this would be out last with VV. The style of having to book restaurant and the shows not lining up with dinner without a major drama is just to much of a hassle for me. I also just think the quality of the food is ok, no better than what I eat at our local Melbourne restaurant and the shows are a seen once and then done. 

 

My wife and I have a VV cruise already booked in April (Turks) and then in Europe in July and just the other night - as we were up at midnight EST trying to ensure we got the restaurants/times we wanted for the April cruise- stated that she needed a break from VV for awhile. Even though we get comp cruises through the casino, I tend to agree. As you said, the shows are always the same thing, you can only do Scarlet Night so many times, and the hassle of setting up restaurants is annoying. I do love the vibe and crowd on the cruise ship, but that's all there really is to do for us - gamble, drink, party. 

I am hopeful they start adding different types of parties/shows onboard, ditch the 70s dance club night, switch up scarlet night, and stop interrupting the dance club vibe with the happenings cast. I was just on a RC ship and their club was more lit up than Virgin...which shouldn't be the case.

Edited February 29 by jcarter4551
typo

[jon81uk]

3 hours ago, jcarter4551 said:

I am hopeful they start adding different types of parties/shows onboard, ditch the 70s dance club night, switch up scarlet night, and stop interrupting the dance club vibe with the happenings cast. I was just on a RC ship and their club was more lit up than Virgin...which shouldn't be the case

One of the first club nights on VV, Heartbeat was created by New York based House of Yes and that blended in dancers and surprise moments perfectly. Whereas WeFancy I think was made in-house by VV and does like you said just feel like the dancefloor is being interrupted, the moments don’t add to the dancing like with Heartbeat, they kill and have to restart it. Klub Rubiks wasn’t so bad for it at least. I like the circus start to the night before the Studio 72 night but I think the main reason it doesn’t quite work is that it is the last night and people don’t seem to be as up for it.

[jcarter4551]

22 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

One of the first club nights on VV, Heartbeat was created by New York based House of Yes and that blended in dancers and surprise moments perfectly. Whereas WeFancy I think was made in-house by VV and does like you said just feel like the dancefloor is being interrupted, the moments don’t add to the dancing like with Heartbeat, they kill and have to restart it. Klub Rubiks wasn’t so bad for it at least. I like the circus start to the night before the Studio 72 night but I think the main reason it doesn’t quite work is that it is the last night and people don’t seem to be as up for it.

Thanks for background on Heartbeat. I didn't know that had a story behind it. 

I agree with you that Studio 72 is the last night and people are tired. But, I think if it was a different genre it may help with getting people to the club. I mean, you can off the ship at 10 a.m., unlike others that push you off at 730 am. 

[notme2012]

On 2/28/2024 at 10:45 AM, CineGraphic said:

 

Is that why they keep winning so many awards?

First, media and influencers who received free cruises are not reliable at rating cruises.  2nd, VV ships prior to June 2023, sailed with far less passengers, than most VV sailings now have.

[notme2012]

On 2/28/2024 at 9:45 PM, Naomigruis said:

I am a regular cruiser and had already decided this would be out last with VV. The style of having to book restaurant and the shows not lining up with dinner without a major drama is just to much of a hassle for me. I also just think the quality of the food is ok, no better than what I eat at our local Melbourne restaurant and the shows are a seen once and then done. 
 

We just got off the Resilient Lady in Sydney.  After 56 cruises, our first Virgin Voyage, we will not sail with them again. VV is just terribly poor at running a cruise line. The fact that they plan on 800-900 people every night eating in the Galley, is pitiful.  That entertainment venues only accommodate hundreds of people is just poor ship designs and planning. Our sailing was 90% full, 2550 pax. The weather was poor during our cruise.  So the pool deck was hardly used. That means all the pax were on decks 5,6 and 7. Crowded would be an understatement. Food was very mediocre. For every good meal there were 4 bad ones. 12 nights of torture! Did I state how uncomfortable the mattresses are? For us, it was a just a bad cruise, to never be repeated! 

[DCGuy64]

On 2/27/2024 at 8:24 PM, CountessCookie said:

 

For me, it is less about why they are doing this, than how they are going about that. If Vorgin was being honest about under preforming this season having a role in thwse cancellation, I would be more forgiving. They are a buisness and need to make profits.

 

However, it seems they are solely blaming the issues in the RedSea for the cancellation, which seems to be false and, I feel, in bad taste. The email they sent even said, "Virgin Voyages was embraced by Aussies with such a warm welcome, and together, we celebrated an extremely successful inaugural season — and that love was very much mutual." From what we are hearing, that season wasn't "extremely successful."

 

What would you have had them say instead? "We lost money on the Aussie market, so we're out of here?" I can't remember the last time a corporation said something like that.

[The_Big_M]

2 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

What would you have had them say instead? "We lost money on the Aussie market, so we're out of here?" I can't remember the last time a corporation said something like that.

 

Then that says more about corporate ethics than whether it's the right thing to do.

 

We're all adults - in fact, they make it that way by not accepting children - so how about treating us like that and being upfront with us instead of lying, so you never know what's true or not?

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Then that says more about corporate ethics than whether it's the right thing to do.

 

We're all adults - in fact, they make it that way by not accepting children - so how about treating us like that and being upfront with us instead of lying, so you never know what's true or not?

Well, that assumes you believe they're lying. I don't.

[notme2012]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Well, that assumes you believe they're lying. I don't.

I think Virgin Voyages lies and misrepresents in many situations.  VV made an extremely foolish decision to try to be in as many markets as possible. The decision to sail in the Oceania market was made over 2 years ago. Covid restrictions were still in place in many countries. Instead of establishing the brand in the US and Europe, and getting a base of repeat customers, they became overly confident. After my 12 night Virgin Voyage, the utter lack of planning was very apparent. The "Happenings Cast" cannot deal with anything that they have not experienced before. They just do not have the operational experience. Very few staff have ever worked in the cruise industry, either. The best thing for VV is for a bigger cruise company buying them. That will give VV the structure and experience that they so desperately need.

[DCGuy64]

49 minutes ago, notme2012 said:

I think Virgin Voyages lies and misrepresents in many situations.  VV made an extremely foolish decision to try to be in as many markets as possible. The decision to sail in the Oceania market was made over 2 years ago. Covid restrictions were still in place in many countries. Instead of establishing the brand in the US and Europe, and getting a base of repeat customers, they became overly confident. After my 12 night Virgin Voyage, the utter lack of planning was very apparent. The "Happenings Cast" cannot deal with anything that they have not experienced before. They just do not have the operational experience. Very few staff have ever worked in the cruise industry, either. The best thing for VV is for a bigger cruise company buying them. That will give VV the structure and experience that they so desperately need.

I guess you and I have different definitions of lying, then. I would submit that nearly everything you wrote represents an opinion of the cruise line. A negative opinion isn't a lie. It sounds like you didn't have a good experience with VV, and you're certainly entitled to feel disappointed or let down. But I guess I don't see how being disappointed equals being lied to. Like I said, I guess we have different definitions. It's interesting to me because I have been watching a lot of video reviews of VV, and they're almost universally positive. Same goes for the vast majority of people who review them on here. I think your negative experience is unrepresentative of the company as a whole. We just booked our first cruise with VV following a conversation with some friends of ours. They couldn't stop talking about what an amazing and unforgettable experience they had.

[Tolkmit]

4 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

I guess you and I have different definitions of lying, then. I would submit that nearly everything you wrote represents an opinion of the cruise line. A negative opinion isn't a lie. It sounds like you didn't have a good experience with VV, and you're certainly entitled to feel disappointed or let down. But I guess I don't see how being disappointed equals being lied to. Like I said, I guess we have different definitions. It's interesting to me because I have been watching a lot of video reviews of VV, and they're almost universally positive. Same goes for the vast majority of people who review them on here. I think your negative experience is unrepresentative of the company as a whole. We just booked our first cruise with VV following a conversation with some friends of ours. They couldn't stop talking about what an amazing and unforgettable experience they had.

 

Virgin hasn't been lying; but they have been making statements open to interpretation. They say the season in Australia was successful. It probably was in the sense that it got better than targeted post-cruise survey ratings. It almost certainly wasn't in a financial sense. People infer them claiming a successful season to mean they were happy with the result, which them cancelling this upcoming season suggests isn't true. But Virgin didn't actually lie.

 

If Applebee's decided they didn't care about making money and dropped their prices by 90%; they'd have amazing reviews and be winning awards from people who were used to eating at McDonalds and Taco Bell. If instead of lowering prices, Applebee's doubled their prices overnight, their reviews would tank from what they currently are. Virgin was amazing when they were charging half of what they charge now and gave you tons of onboard credit to go with it, especially when the ships weren't sailing full. All of that is changing now that they are trying to be a successful company; so referencing reviews from people who paid 12 or 24 months ago prices isn't very relevant. Virgin was amazing for the price. But some of the issues that were excused based on them being new, ignored based on the low price, or minimalized by the low population onboard; are starting to be talked about a lot more. Yes, there are some posters who are hardcore fans who will defend Virgin no matter what. But reviews of start-up prices Virgin is not a good response to reviews of today's prices Virgin.