Virgin Voyages fare tiers replaced the old one-size-fits-all pricing model in October 2025 with three distinct levels: Base, Essential, and Premium. Each tier bundles a different combination of flexibility, WiFi, dining reservation windows, cancellation rights, and included perks — and the tier you choose affects almost every other decision you make before and during your voyage. The wrong tier can lock you out of early restaurant reservations, remove your ability to change names on the booking, or leave you without the WiFi level you need. This guide breaks down every Virgin Voyages fare tier side by side so you can pick the right one based on how you actually cruise.
Before October 2025, every Virgin Voyages booking came with the same set of inclusions at the same price. The new VoyageFair Choices model splits the experience into three levels so sailors can pay for what they actually use. Sailors who want the lowest possible fare and don’t need flexibility get that option. Sailors who want early dining access, premium WiFi, and full cancellation rights can pay a bit more for those perks built in. The total cost of a voyage hasn’t increased — it’s been restructured so each sailor chooses how much flexibility and how many extras they want bundled into their fare.
This also brought a separate change to gratuities, which are now displayed as a distinct line item rather than bundled into the fare. The gratuity charge applies identically across all three tiers.
The lowest fare available. Base gives you a cabin at the best price but strips away nearly all flexibility. No changes, no cancellations, no name swaps on any sailor. You do get to choose your specific cabin at the time of booking, and you get Basic WiFi (one device). Dining reservations open just 15 days before sailing — by which point Essential and Premium guests have already taken most of the prime slots at popular restaurants like The Wake and Pink Agave.
No Bar Tab included. No name changes permitted on any sailor in the booking.
Best for: Sailors with locked-in plans who are certain about dates, names, and cabin — and who don’t care about early restaurant access. Also works for experienced sailors with Deep Blue Extras loyalty status, since their loyalty perks may compensate for what Base doesn’t include.
The middle tier and the one most sailors should book. Essential brings back the flexibility that made the old Virgin Voyages fare model popular: cancellation rights, Classic WiFi (one device), and a 45-day dining reservation window that puts you ahead of Base sailors by a full month. Name changes are allowed for Sailor 2 through 4 on the booking, but the lead sailor (Sailor 1) cannot be changed.
No Bar Tab included. Lead sailor name is locked.
Best for: The majority of sailors. Essential gives you enough flexibility to rebook or cancel if plans change, a dining window early enough to book the restaurants that matter, and a price point that’s only modestly above Base. This is the closest equivalent to the pre-October 2025 “classic Virgin” booking experience.
The top standard tier with the most included perks. Premium gives you Premium WiFi for two devices (streaming and video calls included), a 60-day dining reservation window, full cancellation flexibility, and the ability to change names on all sailors in the booking — including the lead sailor. It also includes a Bar Tab credit of $15 per sailor per day, which adds up quickly on a 7-night voyage.
Best for: New sailors who want everything handled, group organizers who need the ability to swap names as plans change, and anyone who would buy Premium WiFi and a Bar Tab separately anyway. When you add up the value of the included WiFi ($30+ per day), Bar Tab credit ($15 per sailor per day), and early dining access, the Premium tier can actually cost less than buying Essential plus those add-ons individually.
Here’s exactly what each tier includes so you can compare them directly:
Cancellation and changes: Base has no cancellations and no changes. Essential has moderate cancellation rights. Premium has full flexibility to change dates, cabins, and itineraries.
WiFi: Base includes Basic WiFi for one device (browsing and messaging only). Essential includes Classic WiFi for one device (same as Basic). Premium includes Premium WiFi for two devices (streaming, video calls, and faster speeds).
Dining reservation window: Base opens 15 days before sailing. Essential opens 45 days before. Premium opens 60 days before. RockStar and Mega RockStar suites open at 120 days regardless of tier.
Bar Tab: Base and Essential include no Bar Tab. Premium includes $15 per sailor per day in Bar Tab credit. On a 7-night voyage for two, that’s $210 in included drink credit.
Name changes: Base allows no name changes. Essential allows changes to Sailor 2 through 4 only. Premium allows changes to all sailors including the lead booker.
The dining window difference is one of the biggest practical impacts of choosing the wrong virgin voyages fare tiers level. On Virgin Voyages, the most popular restaurants — The Wake, Pink Agave, Test Kitchen — fill their pre-cruise reservation slots within hours of opening. If you’re on a Premium or Essential fare, you get a 45 to 60 day head start on Base sailors.
By the time the Base tier’s 15-day window opens, the best dinner times at the best restaurants are already taken. You’ll still eat well — walk-in availability and embarkation day releases fill the gaps — but if booking specific restaurants at specific times matters to you, Base puts you at a serious disadvantage. See our restaurant reservation guide for the full strategy.
The flexibility differences between virgin voyages fare tiers matter most for group bookings and uncertain plans:
Solo and couples with firm plans: If your dates are locked, your names aren’t changing, and you’re comfortable with the cabin you chose, Base or Essential works fine. The flexibility premium in higher tiers has no value if you’re never going to use it.
Groups across multiple cabins: Premium is worth serious consideration. Group trips almost always involve at least one name change as someone drops out or a new person joins. Essential locks the lead sailor name, which creates problems if the person who originally booked can no longer go. Premium’s full name-change flexibility solves this entirely.
Booking far in advance: If you’re booking 8 to 12 months out using a Wave Season promotion, plans can change significantly before sailing. Essential or Premium gives you the safety valve to reprice or rebook if a better deal appears or circumstances shift. Base locks you in with no exit.
Among virgin voyages fare tiers, Premium costs more than Essential upfront, but the included perks can make it cheaper overall depending on what you’d buy separately. Here’s the math for a typical 7-night voyage for two sailors:
Premium WiFi purchased separately: $30 per day × 7 days = $210 for one device, or $315 for two devices ($30 + $15 per day).
Bar Tab credit included in Premium: $15 per sailor per day × 2 sailors × 7 days = $210 in drink credit. That’s roughly equivalent to buying the second-tier Bar Tab add-on.
Combined value of Premium inclusions: $210 WiFi + $210 Bar Tab = $420 in add-ons that would cost you on top of an Essential fare. If the price difference between Essential and Premium for your sailing is less than $420, Premium is the better deal. On most sailings, the gap is $150 to $300 — which means Premium frequently pays for itself with room to spare.
This math gets even stronger on longer voyages. A 14-night transatlantic doubles the per-day values, making Premium almost always the smarter buy if you’d use WiFi and drink onboard.
Lock-It-In is a promotional fare that Virgin Voyages offers periodically — it sits between Base and Essential in terms of flexibility with a price point near Base. The Base vs Lock-It-In comparison is worth understanding if you see both options available for your sailing. Lock-It-In typically gives you limited cancellation rights at a lower price than Essential, making it a solid middle ground for sailors who want some flexibility without paying the full Essential premium.
RockStar and Mega RockStar Suite bookings operate outside the standard tier system. Suite guests automatically get the highest level of dining access (120-day window), premium or top-tier WiFi, full cancellation flexibility, and all suite-specific perks regardless of which fare tier label appears on the booking. If you’re booking a suite, the fare tier distinction is largely irrelevant — the suite itself includes everything Premium offers and more.
Book Base if: You have firm, unchangeable plans. You don’t care about early dining access. You have loyalty status that compensates for the missing perks. And you won’t need to change any names on the booking under any circumstances.
Book Essential if: You want the classic Virgin Voyages experience with reasonable flexibility. This is the right tier for the majority of sailors — it covers cancellation rights, a 45-day dining window, and enough flexibility to handle normal plan changes. If in doubt, Essential is the safe default.
Book Premium if: You’d buy WiFi and a Bar Tab anyway (the math usually favors Premium), you’re organizing a group and need full name-change flexibility, you want the earliest possible dining window outside of suite bookings, or you’re a first-time sailor who wants everything handled and included.
If you’re booking through Serious Sailors, we run the tier math for your specific sailing and tell you exactly which fare tier saves the most money based on the add-ons you’d buy anyway. Sometimes Essential plus separate add-ons beats Premium. Sometimes Premium is the clear winner. The right answer changes with every sailing and every sailor’s plans.
Virgin Voyages offers three fare tiers under VoyageFair Choices: Base (lowest price, no flexibility), Essential (moderate flexibility, 45-day dining window), and Premium (full flexibility, 60-day dining window, Premium WiFi for two devices, and included Bar Tab credit). RockStar and Mega RockStar suites operate outside the standard tier system with their own included perks.
Essential is the best value for most sailors — it offers cancellation rights and a 45-day dining window at a modest premium over Base. Premium becomes the better deal if you would buy WiFi and a Bar Tab separately, since the included perks frequently exceed the price difference between Essential and Premium.
It depends on your fare tier. Base allows no name changes. Essential allows name changes for Sailor 2 through 4 but the lead booker is locked. Premium allows name changes for all sailors including the lead booker. This is a critical distinction for group organizers.
Yes, significantly. Base opens dining reservations 15 days before sailing, Essential opens at 45 days, and Premium opens at 60 days. The most popular restaurants fill their pre-cruise slots within hours, so a longer window gives you much better access to prime dinner times at The Wake, Pink Agave, and Test Kitchen.
The Virgin Voyages fare tiers are straightforward once you understand what each level includes. Essential is the right choice for most sailors — it delivers the flexibility and dining access that made Virgin Voyages popular without overpaying for perks you might not use. Premium is worth the upgrade when the included WiFi and Bar Tab credit would cost more as separate add-ons, which is the case on most 7-night and longer sailings. Base is a viable option only if your plans are completely locked and you don’t value early dining access. Run the math for your specific voyage, factor in what you’d buy separately, and pick the tier that gives you the most value — not just the lowest fare.
