Virgin Voyages Bar Tab Guide How to Save on Drinks at Sea
Virgin Voyages Bar Tab Guide – How to Save on Drinks at Sea
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What’s up with Virgin Voyages’ bar tab? Virgin does everything a little differently, which some people love and others hate. I am, of course, team LOVE. Virgin is my favorite cruise line. I have been cruising for just over a year and a half, and I have learned that comparing cruise lines is like comparing apples and oranges. No two are alike, then there is Virgin Voyages. Instead of a Virgin Voyages Drink Package, they have a Bar Tab.
Virgin Voyages
How to Get Bonus Credits with Your Bar Tab
Bar Tab — flexible prepaid drink credits for all alcoholic and non-alcoholic premium beverage purchases. You can use it for wine, cocktails, beer, mocktails, and specialty coffee. Buying a Bar Tab in advance gives you extra value for your money! Virgin Voyages drinks are affordable, and don’t forget the price you see includes gratuity. You do not have to purchase a bar tab to sail with Virgin Voyages. However, if you purchase one before your cruise, you can earn extra credit toward drinks. For example, if you buy a Bar Tab for $300, you get $350 worth of drinks.
My glass of cab at the Dock
Travel Hack Tips for Using the Bar Tab
I’m a big fan of Virgin Voyages’ Bar Tab—it saved us a ton on our recent 5-night cruise aboard the Resilient Lady. Before sailing, my husband and I pre-purchased a $300 Bar Tab, which gave us prepaid credits to use on drinks throughout the ship. Thanks to a status match I did with Virgin late last year, I now have Deep Blue Extras through the end of 2025. That perk gave me an extra $100 in bonus Bar Tab credit—bringing our total to $400. Even if you don’t have status, Virgin still offers a $50 bonus when you buy a $300 Bar Tab, which is a great deal.
We used our credits for cocktails, wine, and even lattes. I love a glass of wine (or two) with dinner, and we usually order a bottle to save compared to buying by the glass. I also treated myself to a margarita at the Dock House and grabbed a daily latte—sometimes two! By the end of the cruise, we went just $50 over our Bar Tab, which felt like a win considering how much we indulged.
Comparing Bar Tab vs. Traditional Drink Packages
If we had been on other cruise lines, a drink package would have been around $60 each day. I would have overindulged trying to get my money’s worth.
To further save money, I could have brought two bottles of wine on board (one for each of us). With two back-to-back cruises, I forgot to do this. Virgin provides free Coke products, water, and carbonated water, so we didn’t need a bar tab to purchase any of those.
Want to learn more about Virgin Voyages? You can visit my First Mates link. Be sure to check out my Virgin Voyages Cruise Guide .
