Knowing when to book Virgin Voyages is the single biggest factor in how much you pay and which cabin you get. Book too late and the best rooms are gone. Book at the wrong time and you miss promotions that could have saved you hundreds. The good news is that Virgin Voyages has predictable promo cycles, generous repricing policies, and tools like MNVVs that let you lock in a price now and improve it later if a better deal drops. If you’re searching for when to book virgin voyages, this guide covers the best booking windows, how to stack savings, and the strategies that experienced sailors use to get the lowest price on every voyage.
Virgin Voyages runs several major promotional periods each year. The discounts, bonus perks, and Sailor Loot amounts vary by campaign, but the windows themselves are consistent. If you’re planning when to book Virgin Voyages for maximum value, these are the dates to target.
This is the biggest promotional window of the year across the entire cruise industry, and Virgin Voyages participates aggressively. Wave Season typically runs from late November through the end of January, with the strongest offers landing in December and early January. Expect bonus Sailor Loot on bookings, discounted or bonus-loaded MNVV certificates, enhanced Bar Tab bonuses, and sometimes reduced deposits or fare drops on select sailings.
Wave Season is when to book Virgin Voyages if you want the highest total value. The promos stack — you can combine a fare reduction with bonus Sailor Loot and a Bar Tab promotion on the same booking. If you’re booking through Serious Sailors, we track every Wave Season offer and can reprice your existing booking if a better deal launches mid-window.
Virgin Voyages runs flash sales around Black Friday that sometimes overlap with the start of Wave Season. These tend to be shorter windows — 48 to 72 hours — with aggressive pricing on specific sailings or bonus perks that exceed the standard Wave Season offers. The catch is that they’re unpredictable in terms of which sailings or cabin types get the deepest discounts. If you’re flexible on dates, Black Friday deals can be the cheapest fares of the entire year.
Virgin runs mid-year promotions that are smaller than Wave Season but still meaningful — typically bonus Sailor Loot or reduced deposits rather than outright fare drops. These sales often target fall and winter sailings that need filling. If you missed Wave Season or you’re booking a sailing that’s six or more months out, spring sales can still deliver solid value.
Virgin Voyages occasionally drops prices on sailings that haven’t filled. Last-minute deals can offer the lowest per-night fares available, but the trade-offs are real: limited cabin selection (you’ll get what’s left, not what you want), less time to plan flights and logistics, and no ability to use repricing strategies since you’re already inside the final payment window. Last-minute booking works best for flexible solo travelers or couples who don’t care about specific cabin locations.
The conventional cruise advice of “wait for a deal” doesn’t apply well to Virgin Voyages. Here’s why booking early — even outside a promo window — is almost always the smarter strategy:
Best cabin selection. The most desirable cabins — mid-ship Sea Terraces, quiet locations away from noisy venues, RockStar Suites with the best views — sell first. By the time a last-minute deal drops, those rooms are long gone. Early bookers get to choose their exact cabin number rather than taking whatever is left.
Early pricing is often the lowest. Virgin Voyages frequently launches sailings at introductory pricing that creeps up as cabins fill. The initial price for a new sailing is often competitive with or better than the promo pricing that comes later — especially for popular itineraries and peak dates like holiday cruises.
Free repricing protects you. This is the key that makes early booking risk-free. If you book today and a better price appears during Wave Season or Black Friday, you can reprice your booking to the lower fare — no penalty, no rebooking fees. You keep your cabin, keep your sailing date, and pay less. This only works if you book early enough to be outside the final payment window when the promo drops.
More time to plan. Flights, hotels for pre-cruise stays, restaurant reservations onboard, and shore excursions all benefit from advance booking. Last-minute cruisers pay more for flights and have fewer options for everything else.
My Next Virgin Voyage (MNVV) certificates are $150 credits you buy onboard during a sailing that unlock discounts and bonus perks on future bookings. They’re valid for up to two years from purchase and are one of the best tools for reducing your total cost. If you’re figuring out when to book Virgin Voyages, MNVVs should be central to your strategy.
Here’s how experienced sailors use them:
Buy two MNVVs for every future sailing you’re considering. Each MNVV allows one reprice or rebook. By purchasing two, you get a backup — if you use the first one to lock in a booking and a better deal drops later, the second MNVV lets you rebook at the lower price without losing your original flexibility. Total investment: $300 for potentially thousands in savings.
Not all cabins qualify. MNVVs can only be applied to eligible cabin categories — generally Sea Terrace and above. Make sure the cabin type you want qualifies before building your strategy around MNVV savings.
Worst case, you don’t lose the money. If you decide not to use an MNVV, it converts into a Future Voyage Credit (FVC) that can be applied to a future booking or onboard purchases. The $150 isn’t wasted — it just shifts to your next voyage.
When to book Virgin Voyages also means choosing the right fare tier. Virgin offers multiple service tier levels with different included perks and cancellation policies. The two most common are Base Tier and Lock-It-In — Base is the cheapest but non-refundable, while Lock-It-In costs slightly more but gives you cancellation flexibility. For most sailors, Lock-It-In is worth the premium because it pairs perfectly with the reprice-and-rebook strategy: book early at Lock-It-In, then reprice if a better deal appears, or cancel with minimal penalty if plans change.
The most popular itineraries with the highest demand. Book six to twelve months in advance for the best cabin selection. Caribbean sailings rarely get deep last-minute discounts because they fill reliably. Wave Season is the sweet spot — book during the December-January window and you’ll likely get the best combination of price and cabin choice.
Transatlantic voyages are longer (10 to 14 nights) and attract a more experienced cruise audience. They tend to price higher per night but offer more total value because of the included sea days. Book early — these sailings have limited inventory and the best cabins sell fast, especially on Brilliant Lady which runs the most scenic transatlantic routes. You’ll also want time to plan one-way flights which get expensive if booked last-minute.
Holiday cruises — Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving — sell out fastest and almost never get discounted. Book these as early as possible, ideally the moment they’re released. The demand is high enough that Virgin has no incentive to drop pricing, and the premium cabins disappear within weeks of launch.
Newer to Virgin Voyages’ rotation and still building demand. These can occasionally see mid-cycle price drops or enhanced promos because they’re less established than Caribbean routes. If you’re flexible on dates, these itineraries offer the highest chance of finding a genuine deal during Wave Season or spring sales.
Six to twelve months for Caribbean sailings, eight to fourteen months for transatlantic crossings and holiday cruises. Booking early gives you the best cabin selection and allows you to reprice if a better deal appears later. There is no penalty for booking early on Virgin Voyages since their repricing policy protects you.
Yes. The biggest sales happen during Wave Season from November through January and around Black Friday. Virgin also runs smaller promotions throughout the year with bonus Sailor Loot and reduced deposits. Booking through a travel advisor means you get alerted when new promos launch so you can reprice existing bookings.
Yes. Virgin Voyages allows repricing on existing bookings as long as you are outside the final payment window, typically 45 days before sailing. You keep your cabin and sailing date but pay the lower fare. This makes booking early a risk-free strategy.
Wave Season usually offers the highest total value when you combine fare pricing with bonus Sailor Loot, Bar Tab promotions, and MNVV discounts. However, initial launch pricing on new sailings can sometimes be lower than Wave Season fares. The safest approach is to book whenever you find a good price and reprice during Wave Season if something better appears.
The best time to book Virgin Voyages is as early as possible, ideally during Wave Season for maximum promo stacking. Book early to secure the cabin you want, use a Lock-It-In fare tier for flexibility, buy two MNVVs per sailing for repricing backup, and let your travel advisor monitor for price drops so you can reprice without lifting a finger. The repricing policy eliminates the risk of booking early — if a better deal appears, you get it. If it doesn’t, you still locked in a good price with the best cabin selection available. Either way, you win.
