Joe and I have been on one 5-day Virgin Voyages (VV) cruise together and we had a BLAST. I then went with a friend of mine on a “leave the husbands at home” 4-day cruise. It was Nicole’s first cruise ever, she’s since become a VV fan and has brought her husband on one or two VV cruises, as well. Our 2023 vacation “dance card” is pretty full, but we’re now looking at doing 2 more VV cruises in 2024.
There are a few types of people who probably wouldn’t like being on a VV cruise. Happily, we’re not those people. One thing we like about VV is that it’s cool. Sophisticated. Low key. It’s a cruise with no judgments; you can go to dinner in a ballgown (regardless of what gender you were assigned at birth), shorts and a T-shirt, or your PJs, and no one will bat an eyelash. On top of all that, they don’t have photographers in your face everywhere, there are no buffets, and, hello, it’s adults only; you can’t board if you’re under 18.
VV’s coolness factor went up even more in our eyes with the announcements they made about the plans for their second and third ships, Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady. And then, when people were grumbling about one aspect of their cruise and they fixed it? Awesome!
VV is relatively new to the cruise industry. Their first ship, Scarlet Lady, was supposed to make her “mermaiden voyage” in 2020, but we all know how that went. She began operating in the UK in August 2021 (with just UK itineraries), and then from PortMiami in October 2021, sailing mainly four-to-five night cruises in the Caribbean. Finally, in August 2022, VV announced its rewards program, Deep Blue Extras. Perks include:
- Expedited boarding
- $100 bar tab credit
- Unlimited premium Wifi (where available)
- Dedicated Sailor Services (read: customer service) support onboard
- An exclusive cocktail event
- Laundry service (2 pressed items, one specialty-cleaned item and a bag of laundry, all done for free)
- $10 daily specialty coffee credit per cabin
You could (and still can) unlock the perks in 3 different ways. From VV’s website:
COMING IN 2023 —-
The first-ever crowd sourced
Rewards programs should be built around you, our Sailors. So we’re encouraging our Sailors to channel their inner-Richard — igniting your sense of entrepreneurship and telling us what (other) perks we should be offering, how we should elevate the program, and what we can do to make our 2023 club the most irresistible one at sea (or on land! or in the sky!). And remember, just like Richard says, no idea is ever too big…
There’s then a window marked “Share Your Ideas,” which brings you to a page where, “Sailors to channel their inner-Richard — igniting your sense of entrepreneurship and telling us what (other) perks we should be offering.”
The plan is very smart, and I can’t think of any cruise that’s ever crowdsourced for something like this before. After all, maybe there’s something VV can offer that costs them little or nothing (similar to expedited boarding) but could make those with Deep Blue Extras feel more like superstars. Maybe special seating areas in the shows, or something like that.
Of course, Sailors (guests) would never know what changes came about because of the crowdsourcing, so VV could always just say it was from one of their fellow sailors, and no one would be the wiser. Same as if they decided to remove a perk; “Sailors told us they didn’t find much value in a bag of laundry, so we’re removing that but giving you something else instead.” Disney does that all the time – they take something away and say it’s because of “Guest feedback.”
But the fact that VV wants to appear as if they’re listening (and who knows, maybe they really are!) is kinda cool.
Feature Photo: Virgin Voyages
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
The best cruise line ever. No kids allowed entertainment all the time. Always something to do. Very nice and new and clean.