It seems cruisers are in a constant struggle with themselves, complaining about being "nickel and dimed" with add-ons, while often being averse to higher fares that include amenities or services they may not want to pay for. Now, a cruise line that had simpler fares as a cornerstone of their brand is shaking things up. Will guests lament the complexity, or appreciate the options?
Common Cruise Fare Types
Let's start by touching briefly on some major cruise lines in different segments to see what's included with their most common fare types. Note that pretty much all lines today include, at least, your room, various entertainment options, and meals in a buffet restaurant and sit-down restaurant - so we'll look at what's offered beyond those things. Additional inclusions can be complicated (when there is WiFi, how fast is it, and how many devices are included?) Further, many lines include additional amenities or perks when booking more expensive suites.
- Norwegian Cruise Line generally includes alcoholic beverages, several specialty dining meals, shore excursion credits, and a limited amount of WiFi. Until recently, this was known as Free at Sea, but has recently changed slightly to their More at Sea program
- Royal Caribbean International, MSC, and Carnival Corporation includes only the basics, however they offer separate packages allowing bundling of specialty dining, drinks, WiFi, and more. MSC sometimes bundles some alcoholic drinks in with fares
- Princess Cruises guests frequently book Princess Plus or Princess Premium fees which include WiFi, gratuities, specialty dining, alcoholic beverages, and more. Base fares are available, but not as popular.
- Celebrity Cruise offers base fares as well as their Always Included package, which adds things like a limited alcoholic beverage package and Wi-Fi
- Holland America also offers base fares, as well as their Have it All Package, adding a more robust alcoholic drinks package, WiFi, gratuities, and some specialty dining meals, and shore excursion credits
As you can see, just looking at these six lines, what you get can really vary, and it's worth mentioning that further up-market, in the luxury space, it's more common to include more amenities. So, when a new premium cruise line started several years ago, it was interesting to see that they aimed to keep fares very simple, and include more. That line, the adult-by-design Virgin Voyages, included gratuities (not even mentioning them as a separate line item), WiFi, and all onboard dining, so you'd only pay for alcoholic beverages and specialty coffees you might want, and any shore excursions.
Changes to What's Included at Virgin Voyages
While many guests seemed to like Virgin's simpler approach to cruise pricing, nothing pleases everyone, and change is the only constant in life. Starting soon, Virgin Voyages will be introducing three types of fares, in addition to options for RockStars and Mega RockStars (suite guests). Let's look at each of the fares, what is included, and what other elements of the booking and cruise experience change. The below bullets are straight from Virgin, and you'll see they refer to guests as Sailors (we think it's kinda cute, honestly).
- With the Base fare, Sailors can choose the most value-driven option. This non-refundable fare introduces a new Basic WiFi tier for one device per Sailor designed for social media, messaging and light browsing. Dining reservations open 15 days before sailing, and while changes to names, cabins or dates aren’t permitted, it’s an ideal choice for Sailors who know their plans and prefer straightforward savings.
- The Essential fare remains closest to what Sailors know and love today. It includes Classic WiFi for one device per Sailor, with social media, messaging, browsing and audio calling. This option includes a 45-day dining reservation window, along with added flexibility to adjust voyage dates using a Future Voyage Credit. Name changes are also allowed for Sailors Two through Four, making this option a familiar favorite with a touch more flexibility.
- For those seeking more perks and freedom, the Premium fare delivers elevated benefits. For the first time, Sea Terrace categories and below will enjoy a 60-day dining reservation window, previously reserved only for suites. Premium also includes Premium WiFi for two devices per Sailor with streaming and video capabilities, an included Bar Tab (drinks credit), and access to a priority support line for pre-voyage booking. This fare is designed for Sailors who want greater convenience, more benefits and maximum flexibility.
Rockstars and Mega RockStars won't see major changes, except that they'll now be able to book dining 120 days out (where it was previously 60 days). This isn't surprising as one of the common reasons people opt for suites on cruise ships is have a leg up on other cruisers competing for bookings.
Want to see how these fares change between the current and new far structures? Click here to find a sailing and then re-check it after October 7.
What About Gratuities/Service Charges on Virgin?
There is another big...and simultaneously meaningless change to all Virgin Voyages bookings - gratuities. The line made a big deal about the staff being paid independent of gratuities (sometimes referred to as service charges), where other lines assess this as a daily costs to guests during their sailing, if not prepaid. With the new fares, Virgin is saying nothing additional is being added, but they are breaking out gratuities as a separate line item. In other words, when Sailors book with Virgin they'll now see that $20 per person, per night, of their fare, goes to gratuities. If Sailors want to pay them at the time of sailing instead of at the time of booking, that goes up to $22 per person, per night.
You can see a more detailed view of the fare types and options on the below grid (click to enlarge)..The new fare types, as well as the breakout of gratuities, will start on October 7, 2025.
Other Changes on Virgin & Billy's Take
My gut reaction to this announcement, as someone who has taken over a dozen Virgin Voyages sailings (watch some of our vlogs, tips videos, etc here) is that this seems a significant departure from one of their core approaches to cruising - I liked the simplicity...but I also acknowledge others appreciate having more options, and potentially saving some money with more restrictive fares. So perhaps, to me at least, a lot of this will come down to the actual value prop of the new pricing structure and how it impacts Sailors' wallets. Still, I can't help but think there may be some confusion (or cleanup) ahead, since in addition to the three fare types, and RockStar/Mega RockStar fares, there are also differences across these when you choose a "Lock It In Rate", which is like a guarantee rate on other cruise lines (we explain this and other types of booking in this video) but with additional restrictions, such as not allowing upgrade bids. That means there are now EIGHT public fare types on Virgin, and honestly, that just seems like a lot.
There are a couple other things that I do want to call out, however, which Virgin slipped in (or perhaps, didn't).
- With breaking out gratuities and allowing Sailors to pay on the cruise (rather than only bundling them with the fare), does that mean they'll have the option to remove these charges? We asked Virgin about this, and the answer is interestingly yes, but they emphasized that they've commited to their crew, in writing, that this will NOT impact their earnings. They also made sure to explain that crew wages aren't dependent on tips.
- Changes to changes. Most lines require at least one person on a booking stays the same, so you can change who you're sailing with, but you can't simply give (or sell) your booking to someone else if you can't cancel. Virgin allowed all names to be changed for a while, but now this seems only possible on some fare types, while the most economical fares don't allow any changes at all. The flip side of this is that they now have more fare types that allow cancellation for a Future Voyage Credit, which is nice in the event your plans change, and not for you an insured reason. You DID buy insurance, right? Watch this video to demystify insurance.
- Those Sailors booking with a Premium fare now get $15 per person, per night, for drinks. That's a drink or two, depending on what you fancy.
- The WiFi included with Premium fares for non-RockStars is now better than that included for RockStars (though not as good as what's included for MegaRockstars). This seems...complicated and strange.
Overall, circling back to what we mentioned earlier, while some will likely appreciate the options now available (we may be among them), it does seem much more complicated than when Virgin Voyages started out - and we've seen other cruise lines do this type of thing only to adjust course again later and keep things a bit simpler (Celebrity and NCL, to name just two). Will this keep us from sailing Virgin? Not at all - we love sailing with them. Will this make this make the decision of booking a bit more tedious, and result in us relying on our travel agents way more? Yep.
What Cruisers Should Do About Virgin's Changes
Anytime complexity is increased in booking travel it makes it all the more important to make sure that you have someone helping to decipher things, ensure you're getting what you're expecting, and doing what makes the most sense for you. There are great resources out there, like r/VirginVoyages, various vlogs, and Facebook groups - but you can also have a professional guide you through your travel and help you get the best deal - and this service won't cost you. I'm a big advocate for using a *good* travel agent - there's just so much value, expertise, and advocacy, that even as someone who has cruised well over 100 times across over a dozen lines, I still use their services every time.
Consider using a good agent to make sure you're getting what you want, and at the best price. Our friends and partners at Touring & Cruises can help you by filling out the purple form on this site, or you can even book yourself on Virgin's site using this link and still get their assistance and advocacy. Whoever you book with though, please do consider an experienced travel professional.