Search Travel Market Report

mainlogo
www.travelmarketreport.com
  • News
  • Tours & Packages
  • Cruise
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Destinations
  • Retail Strategies
  • Niche & Luxury
  • Well-Being Travel
  • Training & Events
  • Who We Are
    • Anne Marie Moebes
    • Brian Israel
    • Dan McCarthy
    • Denise Caiazzo
    • Marilee Crocker
    • Paul M. Ruden
    • Dori Saltzman
    • Kelly Fontenelle

5 Client Types You Can Immediately Disqualify for a Virgin Voyages Cruise

by Dori Saltzman / May 09, 2022
5 Client Types You Can Immediately Disqualify for a Virgin Voyages Cruise

Not everyone will love a Virgin Voyages cruise. Photo: Virgin Voyages

 

Sometimes it’s easier to explain who is not right for a specific travel experience than it is to describe who the perfect fit is. With this in mind, we’re offering a list of five client types you can immediately disqualify for a Virgin Voyages cruise.

(Next week, we’ll dive deeper into who is the right client.)

1. Clients Who Prefer Structured Vacations
Virgin has created its cruise experience to be highly customizable, with multiple places to get food onboard throughout the day (none of which have set seating), lots of wellness and fitness choices and fewer group activities. For clients who expect a schedule to follow or want to be told where to be and when, the lack of structure on a Virgin sailing could be uncomfortable.

“Those who want a printout under their door every morning with the entire day scheduled out for them,” will be disappointed said Carla Woolstrum, owner of an Atlanta-area Cruise Planners franchise, who calls herself a “Virgin Voyages evangelist.”

“What I like most about Virgin Voyages (besides the amazing food) is that you are in complete control of your experience,” she added. “You can choose to participate or not, and the more you relax and just go with whatever may be happening at any given moment, the more fun you will have.”

2. Anyone Put Off by Visible Tattoos and/or Offended by “Blue” Language
Crew onboard Virgin’s ships are given the freedom to be themselves. While they are always friendly and customer service-oriented, they are not expected to put on a polished front. That means visible tattoos and the occasional (or more than occasional) bit of cursing.

Woolstrum calls it a “we’re all adults here” attitude and said it’s part of the Virgin Voyages appeal – for the right client.

Trapper Martin, owner of a Belle Isle, Fl Dream Vacations agreed. “As far as turn off clients, I would just say that anyone who isn’t comfortable being in a realistic adult environment,” he told TMR. “That the relationships between the ‘sailors’ and crew can be more truly interactive instead of scripted service lines. They are encouraged to share more and it is more of a friendship than a working relationship at times depending on the department.”

To put it simply, if you have a client you know would be upset if you accidentally dropped an F-bomb, they are not the right person for a Virgin cruise.

Not sure how your client would feel in an “adult” environment. Jesse Morris, of We Book Travel, LLC, an independent agency in the Avoya Network said he asks his clients a few key questions.

“I ask ‘What do you think about an ice cream place named Like Me Till Ice Cream?’ and ‘How do you feel about being exposed to a very liberal adult only experience?’ For those a bit more on the prudish side, those two questions will help immediately disqualify people for me.”

3. Picky Eaters
Virgin Voyages is not a meat ‘n potatoes kind of experience. While you can get a steak at The Wake, most of the food onboard is eclectic.

“Clients that are picky/plain eaters or not adventurous eaters,” should be disqualified, Samantha Schultz, owner of Plan Your Perfect Vacation, LLC, told Travel Market Report.

Christine Wolff, an advisor at Brentwood Travel, an Ensemble-member agency echoed Schultz. “I would say an immediate disqualifier would be someone who is a picky eater and doesn’t like trying new and unique food.”

Even the Mexican and Italian eateries onboard offer interpretations rather than traditional dishes. Clients will find a few of the usual cruise suspects at The Galley (which is more like a gathering of food trucks than a buffet), such as burgers and an all-day omelet station, but even here the traditional is outnumbered by things like sushi bento boxes, ramen and upscale tacos.

4. Clients that Oppose LGBTQ+ Rights
We’ve never been on a cruise that’s as LGBTQ+ friendly as Scarlet Lady. A large percentage of passengers on our April 2022 sailing were gay and there was often a flamboyance to the experience that was unmistakable. It’s part of what made the Virgin vibe fun. But it’s not for everyone.

“If your clients feel uncomfortable around the LGBTQ community, this might not be the right cruise for them,” said Richard Tennant, owner of Xanadu Travel, LCC, an independent agency in the Avoya Travel Network.

Sandy Clark, owner of Sandy Clark Travel in Plano, TX, a Nexion-member agency agreed. “I do not think I would recommend the cruise to more reserved, or conservative clients.”

Amy Madson, owner of an Orlando-based Dream Vacations franchise, spoke even more plainly, saying “Anyone easily offended, close-minded…” is not the right fit for Virgin Voyages.

5. Previous Cruisers Who Like Cruising Just the Way It Is

Madson also said that people looking for the typical cruise experience aren’t the right fit for Virgin Voyages, adding that “unadventurous types that don’t like to try anything new” don’t belong on a Virgin ship.

  69
  1
Related Articles
Virgin Voyages Will Drop Pre-Cruise Testing This Month
The New Virgin Hotel in Glasgow Opens for Booking
Hear Kids Sing an 80s Inspired Power Ballad About Virgin Voyages’ Adults-Only Policy
Who Is the Ideal Virgin Voyages Client?
Virgin Voyages to Homeport Resilient Lady Down Under
Virgin Voyages Fourth Ship Will Be Brilliant
Here Are the New Cruise Ships Debuting in 2023
J-Lo Joins Virgin Voyages as Chief Entertainment & Lifestyle Officer
Virgin Voyages Cuts Ribbon at New PortMiami Terminal
Virgin Voyages Offering ASTA Members Bonus Commission

MOST VIEWED

Brought To You By
  1. Princess Cruises Forced to Adjust Alaska Sailings After White Pass Rail Road Decision
  2. River Cruise Lines Prepare to Deal with Low Water Levels on the Rhine
  3. Updated Cruise Line COVID-19 Vaccination, Booster, & Testing Requirements
  4. Lufthansa Group of Airlines Will Change its Distribution Cost Charge Starting in September
  5. Here Is Some of the New CDC Guidance on Cruise Ship Travel
  6. Southwest Airlines’ Flight Credits Will No Longer Expire

MOST EMAILED

Brought To You By
  1. River Cruise Lines Prepare to Deal with Low Water Levels on the Rhine
  2. Updated Cruise Line COVID-19 Vaccination, Booster, & Testing Requirements
  3. Canada Will Restart Random COVID-19 Testing at Airports Next Week
  4. Southwest Airlines’ Flight Credits Will No Longer Expire
  5. U.S. Passport Wait Time Is Now 8 to 11 Weeks for ‘Routine Service’
  6. Viking Cruises' New Octantis Is So Much More than Just a Cruise Ship
TMR Subscription

Subscribe today to receive daily in-depth coverage, analysis of industry news, trends and issues that affect how you do business. Subscribe now for free.

Subscribe to TMR

Top Stories
Carnival Cruise Line Will No Longer Require Guests Be Fully Vaccinated to Sail
Carnival Cruise Line Will No Longer Require Guests Be Fully Vaccinated to Sail

Unvaccinated guests will still need to test prior to embarkation. 

Read...
Cunard Will Drop Testing Requirement for Majority of Voyages Next Month
Cunard Will Drop Testing Requirement for Majority of Voyages Next Month

Cunard is changing its testing protocols from “mandatory” to “highly recommended” for vaccinated guests. 

Read...
Royal Caribbean Joins Norwegian in Dropping Vaccination Requirements for Some Cruises
Royal Caribbean Joins Norwegian in Dropping Vaccination Requirements for Some Cruises

The new rules apply to all cruises from Los Angeles, Galveston, and New Orleans, along with all sailings out of European homeports. 

Read...
Princess Cruises Alters Alaska Itineraries (Again)
Princess Cruises Alters Alaska Itineraries (Again)

Princess will maintain two-thirds of its remaining visits to Skagway, Alaska this year, but 10 sailings will need to be changed. 

Read...
Paul Gauguin Cruises Offers $500 Per Guest Air Credit
Paul Gauguin Cruises Offers $500 Per Guest Air Credit

Applicable sailings are May 6 and 13; and June 10, 17, and 24, 2023.  

Read...
Explora Journeys Reveals Culinary & Beverage Offerings Onboard Explora I
Explora Journeys Reveals Culinary & Beverage Offerings Onboard Explora I

Options will include 18 distinct venues including six restaurants.

Read...
TMR OUTLOOKS & WHITE PAPERS
lux cruise outlook
CP White Paper
Multi-Gen Outlook
Distribution Outlook (1)
New to Cruise Outlook
River Cruise Outlook 2019
View All
Advertiser's Voice
https://img.youtube.com/vi/U6CJNU-CRPQ/0.jpg
MasterAdvisor 56: How Travel Advisors Can Use Instagram Reels
About Travel Market Report Mission Editorial Staff Advisory Board Advertise
TMR Resources Webinars Calendar of Events
Subscribe to TMR
Select Language
Do You Have an Idea Email
editor@travelmarketreport.com
Give Us a Call
1-(516) 730-3097
Drop Us a Note
Travel Market Report
71 Audrey Ave, Oyster Bay, NY 11771
News|Leisure Travel|Land Vacations|Cruise|Canada Retail Strategies|Well-Being|Luxury|Training
© 2005 - 2022 Travel Market Report, an American Marketing Group Inc. Company All Rights Reserved | 243 South Street, Oyster Bay, NY, 11771 USA | Telephone (516) 730-3097| Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy