Valiant cruises departing 4, 15 and 18 April will no longer go ahead due to the ship being privately chartered. Customers took to social media on Wednesday (9 March) to voice their frustrations at the late notice of the schedule change by the line.
Some guests due to sail Valiant’s “MerMaiden” voyage to Bruges on 18 March were wrongly informed their cruise had also been cancelled.
A Virgin Voyages spokesperson later confirmed to TTG that had been “an error” and only “a very small handful” of customers had received the message.
“We completely understand that impacted sailors [customers] were caught off guard and apologise for any inconvenience that this has caused,” the spokesperson added.
Valiant, the second ship launched by Virgin Voyages, arrived in the UK last week and is due to call in Tilbury and Liverpool for showcase events before sailing from Portsmouth until May.
The line confirmed to TTG it would protect agent commission on paid voyage fares, even those partially paid or in cases where clients choose refunds.
It is offering a number options to guests impacted by the cancellations, with those who rebook automatically receiving a 150% future voyage credit on their fare amount paid to date. Those opting for a refund will be fully reimbursed for the amount paid to date and receive a 25% future voyage credit.
Affected customers will also have the chance to book a free five-night voyage departing from Amsterdam.
