Has anyone done the book a future cruise on board for the $300 off the next voyage and $600 on board credit? Downsides?

[Jezo]

How does the $600 work?  Is this $600 for the current cruise or the next cruise?  

 

Outside of the obvious "if you dont spend it you lose it" is there any reason not to do this?  From reading the page if I spend $300 I get $300 off the next cruise and then have $600 to spend now?  So as long as I go on a future cruise it's basically free money, and I am going to go on a future cruise.

 

If it is for the current cruise do you get to use the $600 on anything you want or is it restricted somehow?  Why wouldn't I want to do this?  Even if I dont spend the full $600 its still a 1:1 on the next cruise and anything I do happen to spend gets covered up to $600?  Trying to figure out what the catch is.

[Wildcatllamas]

The "My Next Virgin Voyage" special is pay $300, which when you are ready to book it will be added toward your deposit. On my cruise next September I only had to pay about $148 on the deposit because the $300 was there. Then $300 is reduced from the full price of your cabin. On top of that you now have the $600 Sailor Loot for that new cruise. So it is a real deal all the way around. And if you watch the promotions there are ones that will give you money for your Bar Tab.

[CineGraphic]

You get nothing for your current cruise when buying a future cruise deposit (My Next Virgin Voyage MNVV) All benefits are for the future cruise. BTW...you don't have to actually book a particular future cruise when buying the deposit, consider it a placeholder.

[neverendingcruising]

It does have to be a SeaTerrace or higher room, so no inside/ocean view/limited view terrace. It can’t be combine with heavily discounted rates like a casino comp. If you’re going to sale in the next 24 months it’s a no brainer. 

[3rdCoastFan]

The only downside I'm aware of is that if you book directly using a voucher, then you cannot select your specific cabin. Easiest way around that is to work with a TA who will  be able to select a specific cabin for you. 

[jon81uk]

The other downside is it can’t be used with the lock it in guarantee rate. For our cruises this year the lock it in rate was a significant saving compared to using a MNVV voucher. Also with the current promo giving $600 bar tab anyway we didn’t need the extra loot credit. Of course that cheap lock it in rate isn’t always available and is more restrictive so has its own downsides too!

[cantgetin]

As above, it applies only to Sea Terrace rates and above.  While it can be combined with MOST promotions, it cannot be combined with casino fares, travel agent rates, etc.  The only downside is that if you don't use it in 2 years, you lose the $300 you paid, BUT it is transferrable, meaning that you can sell it to a friend .  If you buy it thru a Gold Tier travel agent  (VV's highest designation), you can often get additional perks and they will make sure you are getting the best possible deal.....and, if for some reason, you can't use your certificate, they can often sell it to another of their clients for you and pay you the cost of the certificate so you lose nothing.  The cruise must be sailed within 2 years, not booked within 2 years, I believe.

It does combine with the DBE loyalty credit, the current complimentary bar tab offer, etc.

[neverendingcruising]

On 11/13/2023 at 10:57 PM, 3rdCoastFan said:

The only downside I'm aware of is that if you book directly using a voucher, then you cannot select your specific cabin. Easiest way around that is to work with a TA who will  be able to select a specific cabin for you. 

You can pick cabin direct with the caveat that you have to call in to do so. 

[AlyssaJames]

The only downside is that there's no way they'll keep running this special forever. 🙂

[neverendingcruising]

New investors, new CEO, and the offer essentially hasn’t changed since they launched so I agree with you, probably won’t be around forever. 

[3rdCoastFan]

7 hours ago, neverendingcruising said:

You can pick cabin direct with the caveat that you have to call in to do so. 

That's good to know! My experience with the voucher has been that Virgin holds firm to the rule about auto-assigning a cabin unless you work through a TA. I had no issues calling in with my first Virgin cruise to select a specific cabin but was kindly rebuffed when I tried to use the voucher for a subsequent cruise. It's great that that's been changed since an unfavorable cabin could potentially ruin an entire trip. 

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, neverendingcruising said:

New investors, new CEO, and the offer essentially hasn’t changed since they launched so I agree with you, probably won’t be around forever. 

The offer did change since launch, but that’s because the original offer was stupid. It used to be that you charged to the deposit to your room account and got an onboard credit for the current cruise, which cancelled out the deposit. Therefore the discount on the future cruise was “free”.

 

That got nerfed early 2022 I think.

[neverendingcruising]

Yes, that’s why I said essentially. The early offer was wild and we took advantage of it greatly (sailed Oct 2021) and that was quickly changed to the current one where you have to put some skin in the game, but still a very good and flexible deal. Most of our previous cruising was as with Disney where they really didn’t need or have much of an onboard offer. 

[lisabucsfan1]

6 hours ago, 3rdCoastFan said:

That's good to know! My experience with the voucher has been that Virgin holds firm to the rule about auto-assigning a cabin unless you work through a TA. I had no issues calling in with my first Virgin cruise to select a specific cabin but was kindly rebuffed when I tried to use the voucher for a subsequent cruise. It's great that that's been changed since an unfavorable cabin could potentially ruin an entire trip. 

 

slightly different take on this... I purchased 3 MNVV and then immediately booked a new cruise while on board. The gentleman at the future cruise desk was able to get me 3 rooms all next to each other on the new cruise. He even was kind enough to help me search through the decks until we found 3 near each other.

[CruisingWalter]

On 11/13/2023 at 12:27 PM, 3rdCoastFan said:

The only downside I'm aware of is that if you book directly using a voucher, then you cannot select your specific cabin. Easiest way around that is to work with a TA who will  be able to select a specific cabin for you. 

 

If you book anything directly via VV's website you cannot select a cabin. You must work with a TA or call VV to have a cabin selected for you. 

[CruisingWalter]

On 11/13/2023 at 10:22 AM, Jezo said:

How does the $600 work?  Is this $600 for the current cruise or the next cruise?  

 

You pay $300 onboard the ship for each MNVV. That $300 is put towards your 20% deposit when you convert your MNVV to a cruise.  You can purchase up to 10 MNVVs per cruise per person.

 

You get $300 off the cruise fare for your selected voyage. You must book a Sea Terrace or higher.

 

You get $600 Sailor Loot for your selected voyage.

 

That Sailor Loot can be combined with most current VV promos such as the current Bar Tab promo. You could have $600 Sailor Loot and $600 Bar Tab if you book a 7 night or longer cruise using an MNVV.

 

If you book with a Gold Certified First Mate (TA) you would get $100 more Sailor Loot added.

 

MNVVs are 100% transferrable and they make great holiday gifts (just sayin). But seriously you can buy extras if you think you might have some friends or family who would want to go with you on a future cruise. A TA or Sailor Support can easily change the names and book the new cruise for them. 

 

The only real downside is you have 2 years to book AND sail. Some future cruise certificates and credits must be booked within 2 years, but with VV you have to sail within 2 years. 

 

 

[Morecruisesplz]

On 11/16/2023 at 9:59 PM, CruisingWalter said:

Gold Certified First Mate (TA)

How does one find a G.C.TA?

[cantgetin]

4 minutes ago, Morecruisesplz said:

How does one find a G.C.TA?

Cruise Critic makes it hard as we can't recommend TAs.  Go to some of the recommended YouTube videos, other social media groups for your anticipated cruise dates, etc.  There are many places that I would happily share the names of several that I'm aware of, but I can't do it here.

Some of the best YouTubes about Virgin are by "Where's Walter Travels", the same guy as "CruisingWalter" above.

[Tralfaz1138]

On 11/14/2023 at 4:19 AM, cantgetin said:

The only downside is that if you don't use it in 2 years, you lose the $300 you paid,

We talked to one of the reps about this earlier today on the cruise we are on.  He said, if you don't use it in 2 years, you can convert the $300 to a cruise credit for another year after.  So you loose the extras but not necessarily the $300.

[CruisingWalter]

4 hours ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

We talked to one of the reps about this earlier today on the cruise we are on.  He said, if you don't use it in 2 years, you can convert the $300 to a cruise credit for another year after.  So you loose the extras but not necessarily the $300.

 

That is a first for me. I've never heard of that and with the recent changes removing the Pay In Full Discount, that would surprise me if they will allow that to be extended moving forward. During our most recent Valiant Lady cruise our discussions with the onboard reps are that that MNVV will be the next item up for change. Possibly changing that Sailor Loot offer to $300/$600 following the Bar Tab model for length of cruise. Or dropping the Sailor Loot to $300 permanently.  It'll be interesting to see what changes roll out over the next 6 months after the abrupt cancellation of the PIF discount this past week. 

[CruisingWalter]

On 11/23/2023 at 12:49 PM, cantgetin said:

Some of the best YouTubes about Virgin are by "Where's Walter Travels", the same guy as "CruisingWalter" above.

 

You're very kind! I shot some new food review materials while on VL last week and will have a new food review up as soon as possible. 🙂 

[Tralfaz1138]

51 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

It'll be interesting to see what changes roll out over the next 6 months after the abrupt cancellation of the PIF discount this past week. 

I did ask him about the PIF discount being discontinued.  He said he only found out about it about the same time the public found out, so the higher ups apparently kept that change very close to the vest.

[CruisingWalter]

2 minutes ago, Tralfaz1138 said:

I did ask him about the PIF discount being discontinued.  He said he only found out about it about the same time the public found out, so the higher ups apparently kept that change very close to the vest.

 

Yes, TA's were given 6 hours notice and the Sailor Services were notified at the same time. It was a terrible way to roll that out giving TAs really no chance to reach out to their clients to give them one last chance to take advantage of the PIF discount.

 

My hope is that it returns, but you will have to actually Pay In Full at the time of booking which is how the plan was originally intended. But VV allowed TAs and Sailor Service to apply the discount at any time so long as we were 180 days out.  But bringing it back with PIF at the time of booking would be reasonable and would eliminate some of the accounting nightmares on the back end that apparently made the system a problem. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by CruisingWalter

[karlje]

Anyone know if the credit aspect of this offer stacks with other promos?

I have a MNVV credit and the current Black Friday promo offers an extra $300 of bar tab. Was wondering if I'd get both the $600 + $300 credit?

[jon81uk]

33 minutes ago, karlje said:

Anyone know if the credit aspect of this offer stacks with other promos?

I have a MNVV credit and the current Black Friday promo offers an extra $300 of bar tab. Was wondering if I'd get both the $600 + $300 credit?

Yes you do. It stacks with the current promo. 
 

If you have the loyalty status as well then that gets a further $100 of bar tab. Plus some travel agents give more.

 

For our 9-night trip next year we have $700 in loot and $800 in bar tab.