Sea Rover - Deep Blue Extras. The future???

[raphael360]

Several posters have been discussing the future of the Sea Rover loyalty program in other discussion posts on this board.  The consensus of most is: the Sea Rover program is or may be ending on the first of April and being replaced with a yet-to-be-disclosed new loyalty program.  The future of Deep Blue Extras is also TBD. Nobody in the Virgin customer service department (either by chat or phone) is aware of what Virgin is planning.

 

Because I loved my first Virgin experience in January so much I'm taking my third Virgin cruise next week with cruises 4 and 5 booked for March and April.

 

Having owned a nationwide customer service department for over 35 years servicing the Veterinary industry, experience has taught me one thing:  Customers hate "not knowing'.  Good news is welcome, bad news is acceptable, but NO NEWS drives customers crazy. I'm hoping Virgin releases its new loyalty plan sooner than later or keeps the existing structure in place.  Either way, it would be nice to know when planning future cruises.

 

Any updates on this topic would be very much appreciated 🙂

[CineGraphic]

I don't think Virgin even knows what they are gonna offer yet, but they've already won us over, and they'd be fools to leave everyone they worked so hard to attract, hanging high & dry.

[raphael360]

37 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

I don't think Virgin even knows what they are gonna offer yet, but they've already won us over, and they'd be fools to leave everyone they worked so hard to attract, hanging high & dry.

Perfectly stated.  

 

Virgin is winning the game so far and I'm really hoping they don't fumble the football.  I would love to call Virgin my only choice of cruise lines (and I've tried them all - almost).

[cantgetin]

Virgin's IT and marketing departments have issues. They lost me for one cruise based on their silly postings when they literally doubled the price by removing discounts on a cruise I was planning (but had not booked), then a week later, after I had canceled my air, put the discounts back on.  I'll forgive the early on marketing when the ads made the ship look like it was full of 20 somethings cruising on Daddy's money...I don' think they had a clue as to who would be attracted to this new product and willing/able to pay for it.  There have been MANY times when we've been told that something was going to end on X date, and it is then extended, and looking at just my bookings, so many little screw ups with loot, payments, benefits, etc.

It is really hard to understand.  THey have such a good product once we get on the ship, but are such a mess before that....and you are right that I don't think there is anything other than continuing Deep Blue into my April cruise that will make me happy at this point.

[raphael360]

4 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

It is really hard to understand.  They have such a good product once we get on the ship, but are such a mess before that....and you are right that I don't think there is anything other than continuing Deep Blue into my April cruise that will make me happy at this point.

The ships are great, the staff is wonderful and the food is excellent.  IT department...needs to up it's game.  (Virgin will probably cancel me for saying this 🙂

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by raphael360
sic

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, raphael360 said:

The ships are great, the staff is wonderful and the food is excellent.  IT department...needs to up it's game.  (Virgin will probably cancel me for saying this 🙂

 

 

Couldn't agree more....but they'd be nuts to cancel you for complaining about their screw-ups.

[Eliminator55]

This whole situation is ridiculous. I'm considering whether or not to book the transatlantic voyage on the Valiant Lady that departs on April 22. I'd have already booked it if I knew that the Deep Blue Extras would be applicable to that voyage. I've chatted with sailor services and have also inquired about this matter with them by phone. They kindly said that they will not be updated on the situation until the current promotional period ends or just before it ends on March 31. It's very disappointing. I'm gold with MSC Voyagers Club and am thus eligible for the Match & More offer. But with all this being up in the air, there's no way to know what benefits may or may not be available on voyages departing after March 31, 2023. 

 

The two sailor services representatives that I communicated with did not have any details on when the full-scale loyalty program will launch. So, I don't get the sense that it will launch anytime soon. The third or fourth quarter of 2023 would be my estimate for the actual launch. If they just commit to extending the Deep Blue Extras until the full-scale loyalty program launches, then they could launch it in 2024 or 2025 as far as I'm concerned. And I don't think other sailors would mind such a delay either as long as they continue offering the Deep Blue Extras. Hopefully they realize this and will announce something sometime soon. It's unacceptable to leave their customers, especially the loyal ones, in the dark. 

[AtSeaWithChris]

Honestly the Deep. Blue extras are a nice perk but I would not let it dissuade me from cruising them.  

[Eliminator55]

24 minutes ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Honestly the Deep. Blue extras are a nice perk but I would not let it dissuade me from cruising them.  

 

I can certainly understand that sentiment. But these additional perks definitely make the voyage for more attractive. The premium WiFi and priority boarding are the big ones for me. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by Eliminator55

[_tacocat_]

35 minutes ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

I can certainly understand that sentiment. But these additional perks definitely make the voyage for more attractive. The premium WiFi and priority boarding are the big ones for me. 

fwiw, the premium wifi has only been available on voyages ex-miami.

Edited February 13, 2023 by _tacocat_

[cantgetin]

I'm on the April TA.  We've already been notified that premium wifi will not be available either free or for purchase.  The same applied in October 22 on that crossing. On Caribbean cruises out of Miami, premium wifi is $10 per day for length of cruise or $15 for a 24 hour period, complimentary on embarkation day....so you can try it before you buy it. That's a lot better than  some other lines!  Yes, I agree that the deep blue extras are great, but honestly not enough to be a "make it or break it" on a cruise.  Reality..what we used on the October TA...bag of laundry ($30 cost if paid), a few trips to The Grounds Club (not coffee drinkers, the hot chocolate was made from powder, and the standard tea was better than premium...$10 per day max value), 1 shake for champagne (we had this as a booking feature as well, but they only give 1 bottle no matter how many promos for it you have.  I do like that now it is $100 bar tab instead....value $100).  That's really it.  The cocktail party was just ok, we already had 1:30 arrival time, 

So, had we maxed out paying for these benefits, it would have been $270.  Not a nothing, but not worth make it or break it on a booking.

[Eliminator55]

*far more attractive. Please excuse that error. My brain must've dipped out for a sec. 

[Eliminator55]

*far more attractive. Please excuse that error. My brain must've dipped out for a sec. 

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

fwiw, the premium wifi has only been available on voyages ex-miami.

 

What does "ex-miami" mean? Are you saying that the premium WiFi is limited to certain itineraries only?  

[_tacocat_]

1 minute ago, Eliminator55 said:

*far more attractive. Please excuse that error. My brain must've dipped out for a sec. 

 

What does "ex-miami" mean? Are you saying that the premium WiFi is limited to certain itineraries only?  

yeah - premium wifi is currently only available on itineraries in the caribbean from miami.

[Eliminator55]

59 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

I'm on the April TA.  We've already been notified that premium wifi will not be available either free or for purchase.  The same applied in October 22 on that crossing. On Caribbean cruises out of Miami, premium wifi is $10 per day for length of cruise or $15 for a 24 hour period, complimentary on embarkation day....so you can try it before you buy it. That's a lot better than  some other lines!  Yes, I agree that the deep blue extras are great, but honestly not enough to be a "make it or break it" on a cruise.  Reality..what we used on the October TA...bag of laundry ($30 cost if paid), a few trips to The Grounds Club (not coffee drinkers, the hot chocolate was made from powder, and the standard tea was better than premium...$10 per day max value), 1 shake for champagne (we had this as a booking feature as well, but they only give 1 bottle no matter how many promos for it you have.  I do like that now it is $100 bar tab instead....value $100).  That's really it.  The cocktail party was just ok, we already had 1:30 arrival time, 

So, had we maxed out paying for these benefits, it would have been $270.  Not a nothing, but not worth make it or break it on a booking.

 

Why is the premium WiFi not being offered on the April 22 itinerary? Plenty of other ships offer their top tier WiFi service on transatlantic voyages. Why can't Virgin Voyages do the same? And if they can't offer the premium service, even for a fee, that must mean the complimentary service will be either unavailable or outrageously slow. It's very disappointing. 

[Eliminator55]

1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

I'm on the April TA.  We've already been notified that premium wifi will not be available either free or for purchase.  The same applied in October 22 on that crossing. On Caribbean cruises out of Miami, premium wifi is $10 per day for length of cruise or $15 for a 24 hour period, complimentary on embarkation day....so you can try it before you buy it. That's a lot better than  some other lines!  Yes, I agree that the deep blue extras are great, but honestly not enough to be a "make it or break it" on a cruise.  Reality..what we used on the October TA...bag of laundry ($30 cost if paid), a few trips to The Grounds Club (not coffee drinkers, the hot chocolate was made from powder, and the standard tea was better than premium...$10 per day max value), 1 shake for champagne (we had this as a booking feature as well, but they only give 1 bottle no matter how many promos for it you have.  I do like that now it is $100 bar tab instead....value $100).  That's really it.  The cocktail party was just ok, we already had 1:30 arrival time, 

So, had we maxed out paying for these benefits, it would have been $270.  Not a nothing, but not worth make it or break it on a booking.

 

 

Thanks for that information. I'm trying to decide what type of stateroom to book. The April 22 voyage doesn't seem to be very full. I think it's only at like 30% capacity at the moment. Thus, I considered booking the lowest rate and then bidding for an upgrade to a Central Sea Terrace. It seems like that would work since decks 8-11 are wide open. I just don't care for the uncertainty that goes along with that. So it's possible I'll decide against it. 

[jon81uk]

9 minutes ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

Why is the premium WiFi not being offered on the April 22 itinerary? Plenty of other ships offer their top tier WiFi service on transatlantic voyages. Why can't Virgin Voyages do the same? And if they can't offer the premium service, even for a fee, that must mean the complimentary service will be either unavailable or outrageously slow. It's very disappointing. 

In good weather there is nothing wrong with the speed of the standard WiFi. The premium doesn’t get a better speed, just allows streaming. 
if the weather or satellite signal causes the speed to drop it would affect the premium as much as the regular.

On the transatlantic last October we had one day of very bad weather from Malaga to Funchal and the internet stopped working. But for the whole period crossing the Atlantic it was fine. 

[_tacocat_]

10 minutes ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

Why is the premium WiFi not being offered on the April 22 itinerary? Plenty of other ships offer their top tier WiFi service on transatlantic voyages. Why can't Virgin Voyages do the same? And if they can't offer the premium service, even for a fee, that must mean the complimentary service will be either unavailable or outrageously slow. It's very disappointing. 

virgin's premium wifi doesn't actually give you any additional speed, it just unlocks streaming ports on the connection, so virgin's basic wifi is probably comparable to other lines' top tier wifi to begin with.

 

i also believe virgin uses a different vendor/technology for their wifi than most lines.  they were apparently piloting starlink in the med last year, but starlink has a land-based component, so it doesn't work in the middle of the atlantic.  i wasn't on the transatlantic, but i've read others' reports.  the wifi was a little dicey when there was weather, but was okay the rest of the time.  if having perfect connectivity is a priority for work or other critical things, the transatlantic is probably not the place to test that out haha

[Eliminator55]

28 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

In good weather there is nothing wrong with the speed of the standard WiFi. The premium doesn’t get a better speed, just allows streaming. 
if the weather or satellite signal causes the speed to drop it would affect the premium as much as the regular.

On the transatlantic last October we had one day of very bad weather from Malaga to Funchal and the internet stopped working. But for the whole period crossing the Atlantic it was fine. 

 

I was aware of the difference between the included vs the premium service. But I still appreciate the explanation. I like to watch YouTube as well as YouTube TV while on board. So, I'd most definitely need the premium to do that. I guess the included service is only suitable for viewing webpages with text and photos. 

[Eliminator55]

29 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

virgin's premium wifi doesn't actually give you any additional speed, it just unlocks streaming ports on the connection, so virgin's basic wifi is probably comparable to other lines' top tier wifi to begin with.

 

i also believe virgin uses a different vendor/technology for their wifi than most lines.  they were apparently piloting starlink in the med last year, but starlink has a land-based component, so it doesn't work in the middle of the atlantic.  i wasn't on the transatlantic, but i've read others' reports.  the wifi was a little dicey when there was weather, but was okay the rest of the time.  if having perfect connectivity is a priority for work or other critical things, the transatlantic is probably not the place to test that out haha

 

It's not necessarily a priority. I just like to be able to stream video and audio content while at sea. I especially don't like being unable to stream content on YouTube. 

 

[Chrish2]

I'm sure I read somewhere they was using a point-to-point ship-to-shore system which would explain why no wi-fi on the transatlantic. They might have a fallback to satellite but maybe they cut it back to save costs?

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, Eliminator55 said:

Why is the premium WiFi not being offered on the April 22 itinerary? Plenty of other ships offer their top tier WiFi service on transatlantic voyages.

 

There's a big difference between offering and actually providing.

Read any review or live from a transatlantic and the subject of crappy internet for parts of the voyage is bound to come up. Currently, the amount of satellites in some areas of the Atlantic is considerably lower than the Caribbean.

[jon81uk]

31 minutes ago, Chrish2 said:

I'm sure I read somewhere they was using a point-to-point ship-to-shore system which would explain why no wi-fi on the transatlantic. They might have a fallback to satellite but maybe they cut it back to save costs?

There was perfectly good WiFi on the transatlantic. Could FaceTime, surf the web, stream music and use social media fine.

[Eliminator55]

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

There was perfectly good WiFi on the transatlantic. Could FaceTime, surf the web, stream music and use social media fine.

 

Did you have the premium WiFi on that transatlantic voyage or was it just the complimentary WiFi? It's hard to believe that you can stream and video chat on the standard WiFi. But, I'll certainly take your word for it, if that was what you experienced. THANKS for sharing your experience with this. It helps others know what to expect on their voyage(s). So it's really appreciated. 

[cantgetin]

3 hours ago, Eliminator55 said:

 

Did you have the premium WiFi on that transatlantic voyage or was it just the complimentary WiFi? It's hard to believe that you can stream and video chat on the standard WiFi. But, I'll certainly take your word for it, if that was what you experienced. THANKS for sharing your experience with this. It helps others know what to expect on their voyage(s). So it's really appreciated. 

I was on the October 22 TransAtlantic.  We had only the complimentary wifi.  For the first several days, while we were sailing close to land, it was fine.  I could stream and essentially do everything I can do at home.  Then during the crossing my internet was OK for checking emails or looking at FB messages, but not for streaming or anything else.  It wasn't that those things were slow, they just plain didn't work.  I've read other people's reports that say their internet was fine the whole way....mine was not.  I tried rebooting the computer, etc. with no improvement.  The cruise was about 50% booked--1400 boarded in Barcelona and supposedly about 100 got off at the last port before the crossing as that was right after our rough sea day.  Our weather was beautiful and the seas were great with the exception of one rough day.  We were told that was due to going thru the Strait of Gibraltar.  

As to the issue above concerning booking low and doing a bid to a sea terrace....I can't tell you what to do.  There are a total of 1408 cabins on the ship.  78 of these are suites and over 1000 are sea terraces.  Thus, there will certainly be upgrades for anyone who wants them.  I don't know how full it is currently booked, but I have no reason to doubt your figures.  My cruise buddy needs an accessible room, so the bidding upgrade option won't work for us.  Your other option would be to go to the desk for upgrades in the terminal before boarding.  The advantage of that is that you'll know exactly what cabin you're getting, eliminating the guess factor.  You're already beyond many of the discounts, but the $600 bar tab is in effect until the end of the month.  The website is down at the moment, so I can't see prices or what is available.  My best guess is that if you are not happy with your upgrade bid result, you'll probably be able to exchange it for another same type of cabin at the port, but I can't say that I know that will work.  The $600 bar tab deal is supposed to end at the end of the month, so don't wait too long.  There will undoubtedly be another special of some sort announced at the beginning of March, but no one has a clue what that will be.