Yes, the price has gone up, but the food has gotten better, and we had great entertainment in the lounge in Feb.. It is a better deal than X, that's for sure.
As far as Diamond, just reapply with your X status. Oh, and you still get chocolate, but it is no longer a ship :(.
We tried VV twice. It was interesting, but we are over it. The food is the same every day. I can't imagine a long cruise with the same food every day. The food was better than Luminea.
Virgin was definitely different!