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Virgin Voyages VoyageFair Choices & Gratuities Q&A

VoyageFair Choices has caused controversy and confusion. Our Q&A gathers answers to your common questions and helps separate fact from rumor from unreliable sources.

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Woman in cruise cabin by a window with VoyageFair Choices and Questions and Answers text
Virgin Voyages VoyageFair Choices & Gratuities Q&A © Photo by Virgin Voyages

If you haven’t yet, please read our original explainer article “Virgin Voyages NEW ‘Airline-Style’ Pricing + Gratuities Explained” which covers all changes in depth and in one place.

VoyageFair Choices Q&A

It’s safe to say the last day has been controversial in the Virgin Voyages community. Rumors and confusion, especially on places like Reddit, have spread quickly. We’re here to clear things up and bust some myths with straightforward answers to your questions.

Loyalty and Perks

Have they cancelled Deep Blue Extras?

No. Deep Blue Extras continues as before. Virgin Voyages has committed on stage to honoring it through the end of 2026 at this year’s Celebration Voyage. It can be used with all levels of the VoyageFair Choices system. You can read our full guide to Deep Blue Extras here.

What about Deep Blue Extras and VoyageFair Choice Premium?

If you have Deep Blue Extras you will pay the same $45 per person price for VoyageFair Premium option even though the Deep Blue Extras perk already includes Premium Wi-Fi for free

Can I still use My Next Virgin Voyage?

Yes. My Next Virgin Voyage can be applied at all levels of the new fare system, with the same perks as before. The same cabin category restrictions apply: The Sea Terrace and above. Check our My Next Virgin Voyage guide for more detail.

Can I still sell/transfer a My Next Virgin Voyage to family and friends?

Yes, you can transfer around as before, but once you’ve locked into a tier you’ll need to follow its policies.

Does this affect Sailing Club at all?

No. All voyage fares continue to earn Sailing Club loyalty, with the same rules as today. Special fares like access keys, interline, or casino comps remain excluded. See our Sailing Club guide for the full breakdown.

The Virgin Voyages Sailing Club
All Sailing Club perks remain the same as today © Photo by Virgin Voyages

Booking and Fares

Will prices increase on October 7th?

No. Virgin Voyages has confirmed that on October 7th, fares will reduce by $20 per person per night to reflect gratuities being listed separately. Read our full fares and gratuities explainer.

Fare comparison graphic for a Virgin Voyages cruise showing current $3,500 voyage fare and revised $3,220 with $280 transparent gratuities added
Illustration of how fares will appear different when gratuity costs are made more transparent© Photo by VV Insider

Will the Base rate reduce prices?

Yes, in theory. Base fares will generally be 5–10% cheaper than current standard fares. Think of them as a lock-it-in style option, but available across all voyages rather than limited sailings. More detail in our VoyageFair Choices – Base guide.

I’ve been thinking of booking. Should I do it now?

If you book before October 7th, you lock in a Legacy Fare. That includes two premium-level benefits under the new system: 60-day dining access and full flexibility. We explain Legacy Fares in our guide here.

I have a sailing in 2026/2027. Should I cancel?

No. Legacy fares continue with the same onboard and pre-boarding experience you have today.

Will Sail and Save weekly promotions still exist?

Yes. Virgin Voyages will continue to run promotional offers like Sail and Save alongside the new VoyageFair Choices structure. Keep an eye on our Offers page for the latest deals.

If I book after October 7th, will my onboard experience change?

No. The inclusions onboard stay the same as today, with the only difference being gratuities shown as a separate charge.

Dining

Will I have to eat in The Galley every night?

No. Whilst The Galley does have some great specials (be sure to check the Beef Wellington!) dining reservations work the same way as today. Time slots open at each stage of the booking window. Learn more about restaurants and dining.

Do all RockStars get a 120-day dining window?

Yes. Both legacy and new fares include the 120-day dining window for RockStars & Mega Rockstars, effective from October 7th.

My dining window hasn’t changed yet?

The new booking system starts on October 7th. Some voyages may see October 7th as their new dining window date. Our restaurant booking guide explains how it works.

Wi-Fi

Is Wi-Fi per sailor or per cabin?

Wi-Fi remains per sailor. One device is included for Base, Essential, and RockStar. Two devices are included for Premium, Mega RockStar, and qualifying Sailing Club loyalty members. For details on speed and tiers, see our Wi-Fi guide.

Why do RockStars only get Classic Wi-Fi?

That’s a fair question. Right now, Classic Wi-Fi is included, and there’s no announced upgrade. This is an area Virgin Voyages may review as it can be confusing on the wider grid when Premium is considered.

Other Questions

What happens if I booked with a Lock It In rate before October 7th?

Existing Lock It In fares remain as they are, with the inclusions and booking rules in place at the time you booked. Those booked after will have the reduced dining window and basic Wi-Fi, read more in our Lock It In guide.

If gratuities are now separate, can they be pre-paid?

Yes. Gratuities can be pre-paid before sailing or charged onboard, depending on your preference. Our gratuities explainer covers the details.

Can I opt out of gratuities?

If gratuities haven’t been prepaid, Sailor Services will handle it onboard. In most cases they’ll discourage opting out and instead look to resolve any concerns, since gratuities are part of how Virgin operates. Virgin Voyages believes their service is some of the best in the industry and that sailors won’t want to opt out

Got any other questions? Leave a comment below and we’ll try to get an answer for you.

About the author

Co-Founder and Editor. Blending technical know how from the iOS world with a love for Virgin Voyages with over 20 sailings around the world.

32 Comments

  1. Callum says:
    27 September 2025 at 00:42

    We’re likely to book friends onboard but this is likely after the 7th October.

    Previously, we have linked our accounts and booked dining reservations at 45 days.

    Since we’ve already booked we will be able to book 60 days in advance reservations. Could we still link cabins and book their reservations at 60 days or would we have to wait to add them or new reservations at 45 days when Essentials opens for their booking?

    Reply
    1. Rob Sammons says:
      27 September 2025 at 00:44

      Yes this should work (in theory). Right now the rockstar window allows standard sailors to be booked this way with their rockstar linked contacts.

      Reply
  2. Brenton Andrew says:
    26 September 2025 at 20:21

    As a first time ever sailor with VV a few months ago and first time cruiser ever I don’t see what the big fuss is about. I still think 99% of people will enjoy what VV have to offer with people having choice to choose the fare that suits them best.

    Dining reservations however is and to my knowledge has always been a issue, as an Australian though I didn’t have to get up at 11:59pm, it was a nice 2pm on a Thursday when I got to book, 45 days out. I followed VV insiders tips, made a list and I got everything I wanted and I was able to make slight changes before and during my sailing without issues.

    I loved all the food except Lucky Lotus by Razzle Dazzle it was gross except the HONEY SIRACHI STICKY RIBS and PEKING DUCK BAO BUNS (copy and paste thanks to VV insiders 😜)

    My next sailing is in 2027 then maybe again in the Australian summer of 2028 or 2029 (hint hint Virgin Voyages, hot tip sail from Sydney or Brisbane and not Melbourne and choose ports that ain’t colder than ice 🧊 sorry Hobart).

    Straight after my VV cruise in 2027 I will be going over to the dark side and sailing with Explora Journeys.

    Thanks VV insiders for all your work you put into making this site, it’s been very informative and useful since I discovered this site in late 2023.

    Reply
    1. Rob Sammons says:
      26 September 2025 at 20:49

      Thanks for the appreciation Brenton 🙂

      Reply
    2. Rob Sammons says:
      26 September 2025 at 20:49

      And yes bring back Australia!

      Reply
    3. Lorraine Foreman says:
      29 September 2025 at 10:10

      Love a laid back Aussie . Agree with you re Lucky Lotus didnt like the food at all . However as a first time ever cruiser that is why you dont see the issue . For me it will be the dining I like locked in rates but now that will mean no nice dinners so forced to pay for benes I dont need ie wifi & flexibility just to get opportunity to have a decent timed dinner my opinion is the galley is still a buffet . Re gratuities sailors will opt out they just will !!!

      Reply
  3. Connie Bryant says:
    26 September 2025 at 20:04

    I wonder how much of revealing “tips” now is because of the new tax law requiring tips to be stated separately on an employee’s W2 in the event they qualify for the tip deduction on their tax return (if filing in US). Just a thought.

    Reply
  4. Deb says:
    26 September 2025 at 17:47

    Is the $15 per day per sailor bar tab cumulative for the voyage, or must you use it each day?

    Reply
    1. Rob Sammons says:
      26 September 2025 at 17:49

      It’ll likely be a lump sump at the start of the voyage like other promotional Bar Tab’s are but unclear at this time.

      Reply
  5. Lexx says:
    26 September 2025 at 17:34

    I and the public do not feel that this is “not going to change anything”, it absolutely will change and how will this affect my booking choices? Well, it’ll make me resentful because I don’t want to pay an extra $90/day (ok, net $60:day after you factor in the $15 pp/pd bar tab) just for the privilege of making dinner reservations 60 days out (post 07OCT2025).

    So I really would be paying an extra $420 on a 7 day cruise just to make dinner reservations. Given that all the dinner slots are gone by 12:15 a.m. EST the day reservations open, I have zero faith that those who choose the mid-tier option will be able to book dinners at reasonable times if others had a two-week head start. At this point, I’d start looking at Celebrity or NCL Haven or even Viking, rather than feel like I’m being nickeled and dimed just for the privilege of planning my dinners at a reasonable time. And the “basic economy” people can forget about it. VV may be able to lure Carnival cruisers over with a cheap fare, but when they find out they can’t book dinners 15 days out and have to eat after 9 pm every night, they will complain all over social media and it won’t be a good look for Virgin.

    As for WiFi, for a cruise 9+ days normally attracts 50+ retirees more than the younger people, meaning they are there to unplug and even the included basic WiFi is not something we care about. Upgraded WiFi only attracts “YouTubers”, “Streamers” or people like you in the industry who work from the ship and that group is very much a minority as passengers. I am confident to say (because this was part of my job when I worked on NCL as the ships IT manager) WiFi packages really don’t sell as well as you think. So they are trying to inject a “value” in something the majority of passengers truly don’t care about, you are only alienating your target audience.

    As for priority service, before I booked and before Virgin even knew my name, calling their support phone took all of ~5(ish) minutes on hold and had everything resolved within minutes with a total time on the phone less than 10 minutes. That is very good… So by introducing a tiered support system means the only way they can make it happen is to “extend” the hold time for the lower tiers. Knowing that this is an artificial hold again, just makes me more resentful and disrespected.

    No one likes airline tiered pricing, so why is Virgin trying to emulate it? I get it. People are stupid and lack the ability to compare apples to apples. Looks like Virgin is trying to attract more stupid people. What’s next? Unlimited drink packages with watered-down drinks? Poop brown wrist bands for the lowest tier?

    As for gratuities, I always heard that tips weren’t needed because Virgin pays their crew a decent wage. This makes VV look more like the other lines; and you will probably have some a-holes removing the gratuities, which will make prices go up for everyone. If there will be no changes to staff wages, are these really even tips? Sounds deceptive. To me this is NOT Virgin trying to be more transparent, quite the opposite really. In their example of $3,500 for a 7 night voyage, I as a potential passenger see the price (pre 07OCT2025), click on the link and see no change. go through the checkout process and nothing changes. This makes me respect Virgin and IS price transparency. Post 07OCT2025 I see the same voyage for $3,200, click on the link and then see the options that will increase the price to $3,500. This is bait and switch or click bait, which makes them just like every other cruise line out there. As I said above there will be a-holes out there that will abuse the system of choosing to remove gratuities for the cheaper $3,200 and then not pay anything on board. This will then allow Virgin to “react” and then change their policy again to nickel and dime more to fix that loophole all of which is engineered.

    It’s like they think we are all idiots and cannot see what they are doing, yes some stupid people will not see this and book and if that is what they want then prepare for all the passenger brawls Carnival is dealing with. If Virgin wants to play this game with tiering, then they just adjusted their position in the cruise industry from a “Premium” line (Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Celebrity, Disney) down to the “Value” line (RCCL, Carnival, MSC & NCL).

    Make sure they know this, they need this feedback so they can have time to retract this garbage, I am going to go on my voyage and I am going to have a good time but I will not be booking again as long as this policy is in place. This current voyage I am booked on only won by a very thin margin against the Celebrity Edge, next time I will just book with them.

    Reply
    1. Charisse hebert says:
      26 September 2025 at 19:34

      Thank you for your comments. I feel the same.

      Reply
    2. Glen says:
      26 September 2025 at 19:41

      If the amount being paid to staff as gratuities is not changing then, if I paid them onboard and was charged an extra $2 a day for doing so, where does that $2 difference go? Will there be a second table when we board, next to the buy your bar tab before you board table?! They could have just broken down the gratuity in the list of what you pay so we knew how much and could compare. I can’t help but think this adds confusion especially with other lines having a package that includes extras like gratuities and internet etc that you’d add on to compare prices.
      For me, as a solo I’m not going to need the premium or even the essential packages so this is good as long as prices don’t creep up. Time will tell.

      Reply
      1. Rob Sammons says:
        26 September 2025 at 19:44

        We’ve asked the question. The Virgin Voyages website says 100% goes to crew for both options. Those who don’t pre pay will be automatically charged to their folio.

        In theory as a solo you would actually not be paying double gratuities.

        Reply
        1. Emily says:
          27 September 2025 at 14:01

          So is crew compensation dependent on how many people pay gratuities? What if the ship is half full? What if people opt out? What if lots of people pay the $22 rate? Are crew still receiving a flat, non-tipped wage, or are they now receiving a lower base wage plus the gratuities paid by sailors? If 100% of the extra $2 per day goes to crew, that implies they are not paid a flat rate?

          And the big question, if VV is paying them a flat rate that is not dependent on how full the ship is or how many people decide to opt out of gratuities, how long do they commit to sticking with that model? My fear is that if Virgin moves to a compensation model similar to other cruise lines, we will see a major decrease in crew morale and service level.

        2. Rob Sammons says:
          27 September 2025 at 15:59

          Crew contracts haven’t changed and they are paid a flat rate. We’ve asked about the extra $2 to get an answer https://vvinsider.com/guides-and-faqs/guide/tipping-gratuities/

    3. Donna says:
      26 September 2025 at 21:14

      Lexx, your response was very well thought out and 100 percent articulated my concerns as well.

      Reply
    4. Larissa says:
      29 September 2025 at 03:52

      Everyone needs to give feedback to VV at voyagefairchoices@virginvoyages.com

      Reply
  6. Jeffrey Dreiblatt says:
    26 September 2025 at 15:26

    Please feedback to VV that we don’t see any advantage to the sailor and only to VV. This only sets up for future nickle and dimeing, which was their point of distinction before.

    Reply
    1. Sharon DiStaulo says:
      26 September 2025 at 18:31

      Seems like VV is de-valuing the Premium WIFI perk for DBE. Am I reading this right? We’ll have to pay $45 now?

      Reply
      1. Rob Sammons says:
        26 September 2025 at 18:36

        No the Premium VoyageFair Choice includes premium WiFi which as Deep Blue Extras you already get. There’s no discount.

        Reply
  7. Linda says:
    26 September 2025 at 15:15

    Creating fare classes certainly allows price raises & increased profits &?they are a business. Problem is, they sold it as a community that does things differently. Now if you can’t afford higher fares, you will likely not see the inside of more popular restaurants or brunches, changing the experience for some, causing resentment & changing the experience for all. Never thought I’d ever look elsewhere, but while I’ll wait & see, I’ll also look at other premium lines. Bad move VV.

    Reply
  8. D Martin says:
    26 September 2025 at 15:11

    Seems like the brand is setting up a class system. Why? Trying to attract a younger crowd perhaps ? What’s the point of it all. As it is, I had a very difficult time getting reservations at the restaurants at a reasonable hour and I booked as soon a I was able. A large group of us that are all repeat sailors with DBE, could not get reservations. Now it will be impossible.

    Reply
    1. Cath says:
      26 September 2025 at 16:42

      It’s funny though how most voyages (not all) had a $20-$50 per night per person increase a few days ago around September 23rd, VVInsider price history also shows this….lets increase total price and remove the gratuities from Oct 7 to bring it back to level. It’s just hilarious at this point

      Reply
      1. Jesica says:
        26 September 2025 at 20:00

        I noticed the same. A few days ago, the cruise I’m booked on increased by $200 and I was thinking I got in just in time for a good deal, and then this came out and I realized that’s the exact amount of the gratuities for my cruise. Sigh.

        Reply
  9. Russell Everett Darling says:
    26 September 2025 at 13:57

    I do get that fares and crew compensation aren’t really changing. For me, it just leaves a poor taste because Virgin made such a big deal about their original stance. What’s missing here is the “why.” In my mind, they haven’t effectively explained what’s driving this change or why it’s a win for us as sailors and for the crew. Do you have an answer for that?

    Reply
    1. Rob Sammons says:
      26 September 2025 at 13:58

      The general reason given by them was that no one else when comparing cruises fully understood that tips were included and they’d compare pricing oranges to oranges

      Reply
  10. Russell Everett Darling says:
    26 September 2025 at 13:32

    Virgin built its brand on “doing things differently,” and part of that was eliminating the tipping culture that puts pressure on both crew and guests. The message was always that crew are paid fairly and don’t have to perform for tips to make ends meet.

    By bringing tipping back into the conversation, Virgin is aligning with the very cruise lines it once set itself apart from. It also shines a spotlight on something that was intentionally hidden — especially for non-American guests who find tipping confusing or off-putting.

    And since tips are, by definition, optional, some people will inevitably cancel them if they feel service didn’t meet expectations. That creates uncertainty for the crew, the opposite of the stability Virgin originally promised.

    Reply
    1. Rob Sammons says:
      26 September 2025 at 13:41

      Hey Russell Virgin Voyages has reassured that crew will be paid identically as they are today. Opting out will be treated as an exception handled by Sailor Services https://vvinsider.com/guides-and-faqs/guide/tipping-gratuities/

      Reply
    2. Brandon says:
      26 September 2025 at 14:56

      I’d argue it’s more Virgin getting away from their stance of not “nickel and diming” people. Now, like other cruise lines, they can advertise a lower price (not including “tips”) and then add that cost in later. Well, other cruise lines also don’t include soda in the listed price, that’s an optional add on. Other cruise lines don’t include internet, that’s an optional add on. Other cruise lines don’t include their best dining options, that’s an optional add on. The next logical step for Virgin, if they want their list price to be apples to apples with those cruise lines list price, is to do the same. Stop including internet altogether unless you buy a higher tier package. Stop including soda unless you buy a higher tier package. Stop including the reservation required restaurants unless you buy a higher package.

      These moves aren’t good for passengers, almost everyone is either getting less (no more primary name changes, 3rd in line for reservations instead of 2nd) or paying more. But the much bigger concern, at least for me, is that this is a sign of things to come.

      Reply
      1. Sabrina Enz says:
        28 September 2025 at 06:57

        I agree and well explained.

        Reply
    3. Nilda Serrano says:
      26 September 2025 at 15:22

      I agree

      Reply
    4. Sabrina Enz says:
      28 September 2025 at 06:59

      I agree and well explained.

      Reply

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