Match your Flying Club Gold status to the new Virgin Voyages Sailing Club

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• Paul says:

  7 Sep7 September 08:24

  I can’t work out the Virgin scheme in a meaningful way – mainly because the offers seem so biased towards 2022 holidays. I think we qualify as we sailed in 2021 so I’m signed up anyway but beyond that, at its core, it seems to be a revenue based model. And that’s not great if you really only offer 3-8 night trips. Because it’s simply not practical to be booking many times a year.

  I can’t help shift my mindset that VV is way too US-biased (partly as a result of a failed booking they could only price in USD). It’s a shame because I’m definitely a “fan” – which I’d like to think goes beyond the pure $$$ spent (naive I know).

  I know it’s not core to HfP but it would be good to get some analysis of the system once it’s clearer (partly because the 95k deal this year was a genuinely outsized redemption of Flying Club points)

• Chris says:

  7 Sep7 September 08:40

  Currently onboard the very first VV sailing with deep blue peeks, was totally unexpected. And the perks are quite generous IMO onboard. Already rebooked for next year and the amount of “sailer loot” (onboard spends) we are racking up is getting embarrassing.

  Onboard they currently are having to manually reallocate the charges as it’s not automatic. We had a first world problem of having to get the 95$ charge for shake for champagne removed as they had missed it on the night we used it.

  On this particular voyage they have 1800 pax (busiest ever) and for the staff it’s been quite a shock compared to the 900 pax last week. They still seem to be ironing things out. It would have been better for the staff to have launched this next week or stepping up the program rather than launching it overnight.

  One down side, seen a handful of American passengers freakout and treat the staff in ways that staff should not be expected to deal with which is a shame.

  • stevenhp1987 says:

    7 Sep7 September 09:08

    Just got matched for our 2nd VV trip next month.

    How does the priority on-boarding work? Do you just use the rockstar queue?

    What is the cocktail party? An event with free drinks? When was it for you?

    What are the current offers on-board, we’re considering booking for one of the ones departing from Athens next year.

    • Chris says:

      7 Sep7 September 12:49

      I was on back to back as the scheme launched so matched for the 2nd one. As a result we didn’t see what the priority boarding is.

      The cocktail party was at 6pm on the first port day for us. I’m not sure if it was then due to it only been launched and it was the only time they could fit it in. It was in the Manner upstairs with Champagne and sangria.

      Onboard it’s currently buy a pre paid deposit for $300 and get a further $300 off the price of a cabin AND $600 sailer loot. Cabin must be see Terrace or above (not limited view, not lock it in rate). We got a further $200 sailer loot via status match. You can also book this direct onto a sailing, and it seemed you only paid the lesser of deposit or $300 (with the current fx rate this might be a good thing). They have run this better offer for a total of 2 cruises. It usually is only $300 sailer loot.

  • James says:

    7 Sep7 September 13:19

    I’m currently onboard Valiant Lady as well and agree the new perks are quite rewarding! We’ve made use of the daily coffee and laundry and will get the champagne at some point.

    Also thanks to the referrals from here and cruise critic we’re enjoying $750 of onboard credit. Lots of ways to get a lot more extra out of your sailing with Virgin.

  • Florian says:

    7 Sep7 September 22:42

    I am on the cruise too with the Deep Blue Extras, I think it’s very busy, and the staff is really overwhelmed but are still very professional despite some customer being unfair.

• Alex W says:

  7 Sep7 September 08:53

  I wonder if anyone has tried calling United to pay for their booking with multiple cards? I have the offer on all 4 of our Amexes so that would be a very nice discount off a business class fare.

  • Lumma says:

    7 Sep7 September 14:08

    Says “online only” so I doubt call centre bookings would work.

• Andrew. says:

  7 Sep7 September 09:23

  Virgin Voyages is a near permanent fixture on Virgin Money Back. Currently showing on mine as 10% rebate “finishing today” – but no doubt will be back tomorrow.

• Andrew. says:

  7 Sep7 September 09:37

  Very good fare of £325 in upcoming weeks to NYC. With the £250 rebate that’s down to £200 per passenger.

  Wednesday 21st September
  Out via Dublin UA7653 & UA316

  Wednesday 28th September
  Rtn UA 934

  • Andrew. says:

    7 Sep7 September 10:24

    That flight does depart from the UK and is sold by United.

    UA7653, LHR to DUB. UA316, DUB to EWR.

    • Skywalker says:

      7 Sep7 September 10:33

      I understand now – thanks – I was missing the “LHR” bit – then that is a very good price indeed – thanks for the tip.

• AndyGWP says:

  7 Sep7 September 10:03

  “Just submit your proof here, book a voyage, and VIP status is automatically unlocked.”

  … except the status match page asks for a booking reference 🤦🏻‍♂️

  • wolf says:

    7 Sep7 September 10:16

    I don’t think they have a dedicated membership right now – it looks like status is given to you per individual booking not you as a person

• wolf says:

  7 Sep7 September 10:17

  The VV status page says they match Virgin Atlantic “Gold” or “Wings”. Anyone know what VS Wings status is?!

  • Rob says:

    7 Sep7 September 10:47

    See earlier comments …

• thelargeguy says:

  7 Sep7 September 10:30

  I’m not sure the opening offer at the Hoxton is that good at £150 with £50 credit as on most dates the standard rate is £100!

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