Virgin Voyages has been criticised for depart Australian cruise winners with pricey itinerary adjustments then Oceania departures have been opposed following Crimson Sea assaults on ships.
Latter November, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson facetimed over 150 passengers aboard a Virgin Australia gliding to Tasmania to present each and every of them a sovereign Virgin Voyages cruise.
3 months after, Virgin Voyages introduced that Resilient Woman itineraries by the use of the Suez Canal have been opposed following assaults on transport, and sailings in Australia and Pristine Zealand would now not progress forward for the 2024–25 cruising season – handiest the second one departing Virgin’s Pacific ports.
In a remark in February, Virgin Voyages stated: “As the safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority, Virgin Voyages recently shared a change of course for our early 2024 repositioning voyage from Australia to the Med. On the heels of these recent changes and based on the regional and government advice we have received, we remain very concerned about potential escalations in the Red Sea over the next 12 months.
“We are currently working through options to return to Australia and the Asia Pacific region once regional repositioning opportunities become more tenable.”
To praise the promotional agreement, prize winners have been introduced a complimentary Eu or Caribbean cruise valued as much as $10,500 (£5,530) with the sequence – however this has come at a value to some shoppers.
One winner instructed ABC Information that the prize will now value her $8,000 (£4,214) in flights because of itinerary adjustments that require Australian winners to embark at a global port.
The nameless passenger, who in the beginning booked a cruise out of Brisbane, stated: “We were genuinely shocked, we thought Virgin would provide us with an alternative prize like a flight credit … or they would allow us to rebook on a later season.
“They sort of gave up on us … like ‘you’re a bit of a problem now’.”
A spokesperson for Virgin Australia Team stated: “We apologise to our winners who can no longer redeem their prize due to the cancellation of Virgin Voyages’ Australian and New Zealand cruises amid the conflict in the Red Sea.
“Like Virgin Voyages, safety is always our number one priority, and we are grateful that Virgin Voyages have offered all impacted guests the opportunity to take complimentary cruises on its other international sailings, including in Europe and the Caribbean.”
Virgin Australia added: “This is certainly not the outcome of the giveaway we set out to achieve for our wonderful guests, however, this significant and ongoing conflict puts unacceptable risks for the safe passage from Europe to Australia for Virgin Voyages’ crew and vessel.”