Virgin pricing

[dvt8]

I have a MNVV voucher that I will use for an August cruise from Barcelona. I need to book within the next month to double my sailor loot. 

 

Does virgin tend to discount prices closer to sail date or do prices stay steady or even increase? If prices do fall, am I able to re price and still keep my $600 loot?

 

Thank you!

[jon81uk]

Prices are likely to go up not down for a majority of itineraries.

[cantgetin]

We had one cruise out of our 4 that decreased in price, but that price decreased almost a year prior to sailing.  Never saw a last minute "fire sale" like some lines do.

[kaysha2004]

Virgin's prices continue to rise after itineraries are released.  I've been tracking pricing for one of my cruises in December 2024 that I booked in September 2023.  It has now tripled in price in just six months.

[Chris86]

Hey they heavily discounted the Australian sailings the day the ship arrived. My friends that had bookings paid triple the fare than those who booked last minute. Although these sailings were mediocre most 3 to 5 nights. I would much prefer upfront clear pricing so appreciate the information others have forwarded. My friends called had a partial discount and room upgrade so they were good on that front.

I would question though I note they are advertising 60% off for this years Caribbean and Europe sailings. Would you say these fares are aligned with the first launched fares? Then progressively increased then came back to that original amount. 

 

My most recent cruises have been with Oceania and they adopt a similar strategy. Always booked those sailings in advance and sailed without a re-fare required. Its a welcome relief to the many other cruise lines flogging and tracking fares etc

[cantgetin]

I've seen VV  cruises in a Sea Terrace range from $75 pp per night to $350 pp per night. The lower costs are becoming harder to find.

I haven't seen anywhere advertising 60% off.  I've seen 60% off second sailor in same cabin--very different!.  VV does include a lot that is "add on" cost on other lines, so you need to do a little work to get as good a comparison as possible.

[Gretchendz]

Most TAs will help you reprice if possible. However sometimes that means canceling your booking and starting a new one. As you probably know, an MNVV can only be canceled and reused once.

 

Also consider the fact that the current bar tab promo ends March 27 and rumor is it will not be extended.

Edited March 20 by Gretchendz

[Chris86]

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

I've seen VV  cruises in a Sea Terrace range from $75 pp per night to $350 pp per night. The lower costs are becoming harder to find.

I haven't seen anywhere advertising 60% off.  I've seen 60% off second sailor in same cabin--very different!.  VV does include a lot that is "add on" cost on other lines, so you need to do a little work to get as good a comparison as possible.

 

Yes sorry I was referring to the promotion not meaning a hard 60% off the total price.

 

I wanted to fact check others stating the earlier you book the lower the price. After comparing 2025 sailings to 2024. I disagree 2024 is approximately 40% cheaper. However perhaps they bump the 2025 price up to justify the claim of 60% off the second sailor. I will be keen to see the pricing for the next sailing releases to see if booking then would achieve a similar rate to the current 2024 pricing.

[garycarla]

100% chance the price will change next month.

 

YOU have to decide how much you want to gamble on it going up, or going down.

 

Supply and demand at work.

[genian_travels]

On 3/20/2024 at 1:56 PM, garycarla said:

100% chance the price will change next month.

 

YOU have to decide how much you want to gamble on it going up, or going down.

 

Supply and demand at work.

 

I suspect you’re right - and that prices will go down relative to how much the free bar tab is worth, ie if a sailing had $300 free bar tab before 27 Mar, after 27 Mar the sailing will be $300 cheaper… 🧐

[dvt8]

8 minutes ago, genian_travels said:

 

I suspect you’re right - and that prices will go down relative to how much the free bar tab is worth, ie if a sailing had $300 free bar tab before 27 Mar, after 27 Mar the sailing will be $300 cheaper… 🧐

That's what I'm thinking 

[genian_travels]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:00 PM, dvt8 said:

I have a MNVV voucher that I will use for an August cruise from Barcelona. I need to book within the next month to double my sailor loot. 

 

Does virgin tend to discount prices closer to sail date or do prices stay steady or even increase? If prices do fall, am I able to re price and still keep my $600 loot?

 

Thank you!

I booked 2 VV cruises in January - one sailing in August and one for May 2025. The prices had been steadily rising, with the sailing next year going up by almost $1000. This past week however, the prices on both have fallen lower than what I originally paid - August’s sailing by $200 and May 25 by $700. Called my amazing TA who repriced and my add-ons including sailor loot from my MNNV transferred over. And I saved almost $1000 too 😃

[garycarla]

3 hours ago, genian_travels said:

 

I suspect you’re right - and that prices will go down relative to how much the free bar tab is worth, ie if a sailing had $300 free bar tab before 27 Mar, after 27 Mar the sailing will be $300 cheaper… 🧐

 

Maybe.  But that is big assumption. This may be an indirect way of raising prices.   (might be a small assumption)

Edited March 23 by garycarla

[genian_travels]

2 minutes ago, garycarla said:

 

Maybe.  But that is a big assumption. This may be an indirect way of raising prices.

 

I wouldn't say it's a "big" assumption. Assumption, yes. But a "big" one? Given that this is the pricing strategy many other cruise lines adopt, it's not too much of a stretch to suspect it may also be the case in this instance. Either way, we'll see next week...

[cantgetin]

I was able to rebook an upcoming cruise some time ago....MNVV transferred over.  I saved $400.  But that change was made a year ago.  Since then, the cruise has greatly increased in price.  However, it is down $1000 from the top price I've seen for a Sea Terrace.

[Gretchendz]

In general, the past few months, Virgin has been clear with TAs on calls, that the days of virtually giving cruises away are over. 

 

I have clients who amassed huge amounts of bar tabs and on board credit last fall. Like, even more than I could spend, and I can spend pretty well!

 

VV is saying they know they have a premium popular product and they need to start making money 🙂  While certainly prices on sailings that are not selling well may drop, expect prices to slowly increase over time.  In general, expect to get the best prices booking early. If the price does drop, you can usually get it refared or cancel and rebook if you are before final payment date.

[cantgetin]

A lot of the "deals" are decreasing....amount of complimentary bar tab, loot on MNVV, on new purchases.  

[-The-True-North-]

Virgin is losing it luster. Thankfully we only had 1 sea day last cruise.

[Giraffes]

7 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Virgin is losing it luster. Thankfully we only had 1 sea day last cruise.

In what way? 

[cantgetin]

13 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Virgin is losing it luster. Thankfully we only had 1 sea day last cruise.

I agree....or maybe we were just too entranced with their new way of doing things.  Our upcoming cruise is the last VV we have booked, and we have no plans to book more at this point.  I don't mind the sea days.  I've had it with their badly malfunctioning tech--make dining reservations 45 days out, but the app never works long enough to get the reservations made.  Enter all your pre-travel info....and when you look a month later, it has all disappeared.  As of this morning, my account is non-existent on their web page.  Fortunately, I have screen shots of everything and my travel agent is on the same cruise we are on should there be an issue.  That, combined with multiple episodes of tiny charges (51 cents to $2) showing up after we paid in full....being removed....then showing up again later....I'm just tired of dealing with it.

We have another cruise booked on another line....and I may bounce back to VV after that experience.  But for now, my feeling is that they've had 2 years to fix their crap and haven't managed it. 

[-The-True-North-]

16 hours ago, Giraffes said:

In what way? 

Ships are all the same.

Shows are different, but on repeat. Seen them all now and don't plan on seeing them again. Miss behave was amazing the first time... Second was a snooze.

Foods the same

Activities the same

Drinks are the same.

Decor the same

Pool SUCKS!!!!

 

Its Groundhog Day. 4 ships and they are all identical. Brilliant lady hasn't even launched, but it's already going to feel like a 5 years old ship.

 

Thankfully we pick itineraries based on locations, and don't have many cruising days so experience limited time on the ship.

 

If it's your first sailing, you'll have a blast (hopefully). After that each sailing loses it's luster. 

[jon81uk]

4 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Shows are different, but on repeat. Seen them all now and don't plan on seeing them again. Miss behave was amazing the first time... Second was a snooze.

Try resilient lady, the only show that the other ships have is Miss Behave.

[dvt8]

Thanks for all of the comments. I decided to book the cruise last week. The price seemed fair to me and I locked in the 600 sailor loot. I had a look at the cruise today and it has gone up $500! Im thinking that the price might have gone up for a deeper discounted promotion next cycle to get back to the same price that I paid? I'll find out in a few days time!

[cantgetin]

Completely unpredictable.  All you know for sure is that the free bar tab is going away.  VV prices go up and down with sometimes no seeming logic.

[dvt8]

The new promo is 80% off second sailor. When I do the calculations on the now increased base fare, it basically works out the same as what I paid on the 60% off plus $200 drinks. 

 

So what I've learned is that virgin promos are pretty much like other cruise line promo/discount. They shuffle everything around to appear like they are discounting but only truly discount when needed.