Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Virgin fires a shot across Celebrity’s bow

kk20

By kk20,
in Celebrity Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

Work2cruz!

Work2cruz!

Posted
Posted

I just canceled a Celebrity Cruise to try Virgin.  The last 2 Celebrity cruises the food and service was sub par and lots of changes in the menu.  Meatloaf was one of the mains  in Blu on the last night. 
 

Celebrity has increased prices, taken away amenities and is providing sub par service and food.   Now they have a major cruise line targeting their loyal customer base by offering the Match and Sea Program.

it will be interesting to see if they do any damage control or if the profits for all the changes compensate for any lost customers.   Only time will tell.   

  • Like 17
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
rj59

rj59

Posted
Posted

Well, it worked...I did my first 5 Celebrity cruises last year, but after an Eclipse Mexico trip in November was $440 for 2 people but $1300 for a solo, I decided to expand my cruise universe. Virgin had always been out of my price range, but due to delays for a new ship and rerouting Resilient Lady, they had a 9-night Barcelona to Athens cruise in October 2024 for under $100 a night, with solo cabin options as well, and a $600 drinks credit (no premium vs basic package nonsense pricing), loyalty matching for premium wifi, $10 daily coffee credit, and a free bag of laundry, and of course regular wifi and gratuities included. And even free Coke machines. I sail solo and cheap, so a lot of the X cutbacks don't affect me, and most of my sailing has been on HAL and Princess, so their cutbacks irk me even more (no more free Alfredo's pizza, HAL cutting out all their production shows), so I've learned that in the current climate of cutbacks and huge demand, it helps to be cruise line agnostic. 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dreamer321

dreamer321

Posted
Posted

I'm considering switching my spring 2024 transatlatic cruise from Ascent to Virgin Voyages. When you factor in included tips and WiFi as well a a complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, I would come out ahead.  I've heard lots of good thing about the food on VV.

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
basenji56

basenji56

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am doing a cruise on VV over Christmas.  The lack of children is a plus.  I got an insane amount of sailor loot ($900) and a $600 bar tab.  Competition is good. Celerity is in a race to downgrade the cruise experience as much as it can get away without losing inertia driven loyalists.  Particularly suite customers.

 

 

 

Edited by basenji56
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
doghog

doghog

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, ymncruise said:

Yes, their itineraries don’t look appealing and is the reason I haven’t already tried them. Maybe they will read these comments and make some changes 😉. 

I hope MSC also is listening. Their Caribbean intinaries aren't any better. That's why we haven't booked with MSC. 

Edited by doghog
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
doghog

doghog

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ymncruise said:

I didn’t miss the evening service at all, but we did request an extra supply of towels in case we needed them. 

With RC we choose the morning service. Still got ice twice a day, clean towels twice a day and the Cruise compass each evening. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
warmwinds

warmwinds

Posted
Posted

Many of you might remember me as being a 20 year Celebrity loyalist, last 10 years in Aqua/Blu.

 

We were getting bored and didn't appreciate the food decline,  so decided to...try Virgin.  I was apprehensive and thought I'd be running back to Celebrity.

 

3 days after getting off of Virgin we have booked another with them.  True, they only have a few ships and limited itineraires, but the on-ship experience is fabululous.

 

Who said they didn't like the decor of the ships?  We thought they were gorgeous, don't pay attention to the commercials which make everything look RED.  That is ONE night, Scarlet Night, and is actually a lot of fun.

 

And I can't say enough about the food.  No big dining room, no buffet (but rather sort of a food court), and everythng else in a separate, beautiful free standing restaurant.  And the food from breakfast to lunch to dinner to another dinner and another different restaurant - Italian, Steak and Seafood, Vegetarian (sort of), Korean BBQ, Mexican, Molecular (but not too weird)...I could go on and on.

 

So all I have to say is....Celebrity Who?

 

 

  • Like 16
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ISABELLA

ISABELLA

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Work2cruz! said:

I just canceled a Celebrity Cruise to try Virgin.  The last 2 Celebrity cruises the food and service was sub par and lots of changes in the menu.  Meatloaf was one of the mains  in Blu on the last night. 
 

Celebrity has increased prices, taken away amenities and is providing sub par service and food.   Now they have a major cruise line targeting their loyal customer base by offering the Match and Sea Program.

it will be interesting to see if they do any damage control or if the profits for all the changes compensate for any lost customers.   Only time will tell.   

We will be trying MSC YC. They also match X status. Elite + got Gold on MSC.

Time will tell if X learns their lesson.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RichYak

RichYak

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, ISABELLA said:

They also match X status. Elite + got Gold on MSC.

I'm only Elite on X. I don't remember what that equated to on Azamara prior to the split. But I used that status from Azamara, a line that I never sailed on, to match to Diamond on MSC, which I've also never sailed on. What a time to be alive!

  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
tschwa2

tschwa2

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, doghog said:

With RC we choose the morning service. Still got ice twice a day, clean towels twice a day and the Cruise compass each evening. 

I was on the millennium last month and chose evening service and unless I kept my do not disturb sign up until I went to dinner she would do morning and evening.   

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bobsgonecoastal

Bobsgonecoastal

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, rj59 said:

so I've learned that in the current climate of cutbacks and huge demand, it helps to be cruise line agnostic. 

Absolutely true.  We were diehard X cruisers prior to the restart and all the changes.  We have been spreading the business to other lines when it serves our needs.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
NutsAboutGolf Holiday Sharing Rare

NutsAboutGolf

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

You forgot to first say, "We understand your concerns and"

 

lol.  When I asked why they are still serving the inferior spiny lobster when both RCI and CCL are serving the superior Maine lobster, they said something close to: "We're happy to be able to continue to serve complimentary lobster to our guests on sailings seven nights or more and we do not have any plans to change that lobster offering or the type" 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...