Virgin Voyages Sailor Loot is onboard spending credit that automatically applies to almost everything you buy on the ship — drinks, spa, excursions, shopping, and more. It’s one of the most common questions new sailors have because the system is genuinely simple once you understand it, but confusing if nobody explains the order of operations between Sailor Loot, your Bar Tab, and the credit card on your account. This guide covers exactly how Virgin Voyages Sailor Loot works, what it can and can’t be used for, how it interacts with your Bar Tab, and the strategies to make sure you use every dollar before your voyage ends.
virgin voyages sailor loot is the same thing as Sailor Loot — this guide uses both phrasing so you can find what you need fast, regardless of what you searched.
Sailor Loot is Virgin Voyages’ onboard credit system. Think of it as a prepaid balance loaded onto your Sailor Band that gets spent automatically whenever you make a purchase onboard. You don’t activate it, you don’t tell the bartender to use it, and you don’t need to select it at checkout — the system deducts from your Sailor Loot balance first before touching your credit card.
Sailor Loot can come from multiple sources, and all of it pools into one combined balance regardless of where it originated. The most common sources are booking promotions during Wave Season and Black Friday, My Next Virgin Voyage (MNVV) bonus offers, travel advisor perks (booking through Serious Sailors often includes bonus Sailor Loot), group booking incentives, and Sailing Club loyalty rewards.
Sailor Loot covers almost every onboard purchase. The list is broader than most sailors expect:
The short version: if you can charge it to your Sailor Band onboard, Sailor Loot covers it.
This is the part that confuses people. When you make a purchase onboard, Virgin Voyages applies your credits in a specific order:
Step 1: Bar Tab is used first on qualifying drink purchases. If you have a Bar Tab and you order a drink, the charge comes off the Bar Tab before anything else. Sailor Loot is not touched until the Bar Tab is depleted.
Step 2: Sailor Loot is used next. Once your Bar Tab runs out (or for non-drink purchases where Bar Tab doesn’t apply), Sailor Loot kicks in automatically. It deducts from your balance with no action required.
Step 3: Credit card is charged last. Only after both your Bar Tab and Sailor Loot hit zero does your credit card on file get charged.
Here’s how this plays out in practice. Say you have $200 in Sailor Loot and a $300 Bar Tab, and you order a $14 cocktail. The $14 comes off your Bar Tab first — leaving you with $200 Sailor Loot and $286 Bar Tab. Now say your Bar Tab is down to $10 and you order that same $14 cocktail. The system takes $10 from Bar Tab and $4 from Sailor Loot — leaving you with $196 Sailor Loot and $0 Bar Tab. From that point forward, every drink comes off Sailor Loot until that’s gone too.
For non-drink purchases — spa, shopping, excursions, casino — the Bar Tab doesn’t apply, so Sailor Loot is used from the first dollar. This is an important distinction for the Bar Tab vs. Sailor Loot comparison: they’re not interchangeable. Bar Tab only covers drinks. Sailor Loot covers everything.
You can track your Sailor Loot balance in real time through three methods:
The Virgin Voyages app. Navigate to Wallet in the app to see your current Sailor Loot balance, your Bar Tab balance (if applicable), and a transaction-by-transaction breakdown showing what was charged, how much Sailor Loot was applied, and your remaining balance.
Your cabin TV. The in-room television has an account section that displays your balances and recent charges.
Sailor Services. Visit the Sailor Services desk and request a printed statement if you want a physical record of all transactions.
Check your balance early and often, especially in the last two days of your voyage. Sailor Loot expires the moment you disembark — there’s no reason to leave money on the table.
Stack multiple sources. All Virgin Voyages Sailor Loot pools into one balance regardless of source. A $100 booking promo, $200 MNVV bonus, and $50 travel advisor perk all merge into a single $350 balance. The more sources you stack, the more onboard spending gets covered before your credit card is ever touched. Booking during Wave Season through a travel advisor is the easiest way to stack multiple Sailor Loot sources on one booking.
Use it for high-value purchases early. If you have $500 in Sailor Loot, don’t spend it all on $14 cocktails when you could use it for a $250 spa treatment, a $150 shore excursion, and still have $100 left for drinks. Plan your big-ticket onboard purchases first, then let the remaining balance handle smaller charges throughout the voyage.
Buy a smaller Bar Tab if you have significant Sailor Loot. Since the Bar Tab gets used first on drinks anyway, having a large Bar Tab and a large Sailor Loot balance means the Sailor Loot might not get spent on drinks at all. If you have $400 in Sailor Loot, you might not need a Bar Tab — or you could buy the smallest tier and let Sailor Loot handle the overflow. The math depends on how much you drink versus how much you plan to spend on spa and excursions.
Cover your gratuities. Since gratuities are no longer included in the base fare, Sailor Loot is a painless way to handle tips without feeling like you’re spending extra out of pocket. A couple spending $50 to $100 in gratuities over a week barely notices it coming off a healthy Sailor Loot balance.
Don’t let it expire. Sailor Loot is use-it-or-lose-it — it does not roll over, cannot be refunded, cannot be transferred to another sailor, and expires at the end of your voyage. If you’re approaching the last day with a remaining balance, treat yourself to a spa treatment, pick up something from the shops, or splurge on a premium shore excursion at the final port. There is zero benefit to leaving Sailor Loot unspent.
Yes — and it happens automatically. Every source of Sailor Loot merges into a single onboard balance. If you received $100 from a booking promotion, $200 from an MNVV offer, and $50 from your travel advisor, you’ll see one combined $350 balance in your Wallet. There’s no need to track which credit came from where. The system treats it all as one pool and spends it down in order until it’s gone.
Yes. Sailor Loot is applied automatically to every onboard purchase with no action required. If you have a Bar Tab, the Bar Tab is used first on drink purchases, then Sailor Loot covers the remainder. For non-drink purchases like spa and excursions, Sailor Loot is used from the first dollar. Your credit card is only charged after both Bar Tab and Sailor Loot are fully spent.
No. Sailor Loot is use-it-or-lose-it and expires at the end of your voyage. It cannot be refunded, transferred to another sailor, or carried over to a future sailing. Plan to spend your full balance before disembarkation.
Yes. Since Virgin Voyages removed gratuities from the base fare in October 2025, Sailor Loot can be used for bar service tips, spa gratuities, casino tips, and any other optional gratuities you add onboard.
Bar Tab is prepaid drink credit that only covers beverages. Sailor Loot is onboard spending credit that covers everything including drinks, spa, excursions, shopping, casino, and gratuities. When both are present, Bar Tab is used first on drink purchases and Sailor Loot covers everything else.
Virgin Voyages Sailor Loot is one of the best perks of booking smart — it’s free onboard credit that applies automatically to almost everything on the ship. Stack it from multiple sources during Wave Season and through your travel advisor, plan your big-ticket purchases first, let it handle your gratuities, and don’t leave a single dollar unspent when you disembark. Combined with a right-sized Bar Tab and a solid MNVV strategy, Sailor Loot can cover hundreds of dollars in onboard spending that would otherwise come straight off your credit card.
