Bar Tab Calculator
What is a Bar Tab?
Virgin Voyages stands out in its approach to beverages. Unlike typical cruise lines with set drink packages, Virgin Voyages skips that model entirely. Instead, they bring in the concept of a Bar Tab for a fairer onboard experience.
Instead, each drink is charged separately – Virgin Voyages drink prices are fairly reasonable matching on land pricing. Using the calculator you can see how many are needed for your voyage length based on a daily drink spend.
You can read more about the differences between Sailor Loot & Bar Tabs here.
How Much Is It?
To help make drinks more affordable; Virgin Voyages offer sailors the opportunity to buy a ‘Bar Tab’ before they sail. Bar Tab can be purchased in a number of ‘chunks’ each with a corresponding bonus to incentivise sailors pre-purchasing the beverage credit.
- $200 Bar Tab: Bonus $25 (12.5% extra)
- $300 Bar Tab: Bonus $50* (16.7% extra)
- $500 Bar Tab: Bonus $100 (20% extra)
- $750 Bar Tab: Bonus $175 (23.3% extra)
- $1000 Bar Tab: Bonus $250 (25% extra)
*If you are a Sea Rover or Sea Blazer you continue to get a special bonus for $300 Bar Tab purchases ($100 for Sea Rovers and $125 for Sea Blazers).
Bar Tabs must be bought 48 hours before voyage sets sail, are non-refundable, and unavailable once the cruise begins. You can purchase them in the Virgin Voyages app or from the Virgin Voyages website.
Linking Bar Tabs to Share Purchases on Board
When it comes to sharing drink purchases on board with Virgin Voyages, linking Bar Tabs is an option. The Bar Tab is automatically assigned to the first sailor on the booking or whoever is selected for purchased Bar Tabs. There are two ways to link your Bar Tab with anyone in the same cabins:
- Pre-Sail: Before setting sail, you can link Bar Tabs in the Check-in section. Under Payment Method, select “footing the bill” for the sailor you want to share with. It’s important to note that this action will share all sailor loot and any purchases made by that sailor.
- On Board: Alternatively, you can link Bar Tabs together while on board by speaking to Sailor Services. This can be especially useful if plans change or if you wish to adjust sharing preferences during the voyage.
How many Bar Tab’s do I need ?
Because of this, it’s sometimes quite complicated to work out whether you need to buy one and how much money you might be able to save, we’ve made it easy. Just fill out the Bar Tab Calculator below and we’ll let you know what you should do to save the most money on drinks.
Average Drinks Prices for 2024
- $9.00 per glass of wine
- $8.00 per beer
- $14.00 per cocktail
- $9.00 per measure of spirits / liquor (mixers are free)
- $9.00 per juice or smoothie
- $5.50 per specialty soft drink (non-filter coffee, energy drinks and mocktails)
