Virgin Voyages Drinks: What's Included and Is the Bar Tab Worth It?

Quick Take

Here is the first thing you need to know: Virgin Voyages does not sell a traditional all-you-can-drink package. There is no daily-rate beverage plan like you'll find on other lines, and a lot of first-timers get tripped up by that. Instead, a good chunk of basic drinks are simply included in your fare, and for everything else you either pay as you go or pre-load a Bar Tab.

The Bar Tab is essentially store credit you buy ahead of time, and when you hit certain thresholds, Virgin tosses in bonus credit on top. That bonus is the only real discount on alcohol you'll get, so the question is not whether a package is worth it. The real question is whether you'll drink enough to make the Bar Tab bonus tier pay off.

Watch my full breakdown below, then let's get into the details.

What's Actually Free on Virgin Voyages

This is where Virgin shines, and it changes the whole math. Soda, still and sparkling water, juices, drip coffee, and a wide range of teas are all included at no extra charge. There are no soda packages to buy and no nickel-and-diming for a Coke at lunch.

You'll also find filtered water stations around the ship, so refilling a bottle is free and easy. Basic non-alcoholic drinks come with your meals as a matter of course. For a lot of cruisers, especially the ones who mostly drink water and the occasional soda, the included list covers nearly everything they want.

This included-basics approach is one of the most underrated parts of sailing Virgin. On other lines, a soda or coffee plan is a real line item you have to weigh. Here, that whole category is just handled, which simplifies your budgeting a lot.

What You Pay For

The drinks that cost extra are the ones you'd expect: cocktails, wine, beer, champagne, and spirits. A few specialty non-alcoholic items also land in the paid column, like espresso-based coffees, pressed juices, smoothies, and energy drinks. So your morning latte does cost extra, even though drip coffee is free.

Individual drink prices on Virgin are generally reasonable and clearly posted, and there is no automatic gratuity tacked onto each drink. That last point matters more than people realize, because the price you see is close to the price you pay. On lines that add a service charge to every drink, the real cost creeps up fast.

Because there is no package to gate access, you can drink exactly as much or as little as you want without pre-committing. You can have a quiet sea day with free coffee and water, then splurge on cocktails the next night. That flexibility is the whole philosophy behind how Virgin handles drinks.

How the Bar Tab Works

The Bar Tab is pre-paid drink credit you load onto your account before you sail. You pick an amount, and that money sits as a balance you draw down every time you buy a paid drink. When the balance runs out, you simply pay as you go for anything else.

The reason to bother with it is the bonus credit. When you pre-purchase at certain levels, Virgin adds extra credit on top of what you paid, and the bonus percentage climbs as the amount goes up. Larger tabs earn proportionally more bonus, which is the lever that makes this worth considering.

As a rough sense of the structure, a smaller tab earns a modest bonus and the largest tabs have earned a few hundred dollars in free credit. The exact thresholds and bonus amounts shift with promotions, so always check the current offer before you buy. The pattern holds, though: the more you load, the better the effective discount.

The Catch: Buy Early and Use It All

There are two rules that decide whether the Bar Tab is smart or a trap. First, the bonus credit only applies if you buy the tab before you sail, usually at least a day ahead. Buy it on board and you'll pay full price with no bonus, which defeats the purpose entirely.

Second, and this is the big one, unused Bar Tab credit is non-refundable at the end of your voyage. If you load five hundred dollars and only drink three hundred, that leftover credit is gone. The bonus is only a real discount if you actually spend the whole balance.

That changes the math completely. A Bar Tab is only a deal if you are confident you'll drink the entire amount you load. Over-buying to chase a bigger bonus and then leaving money on the table is the most common mistake I see.

Should You Buy a Bar Tab or Pay As You Go?

My framework is simple. Estimate your true daily drink spend, then multiply it across your sailing length to get a total, and only buy a Bar Tab at or below that number. If your estimated spend lands you in a bonus tier you'll use, the tab is free money on drinks you were buying anyway.

If you are a light drinker, skip the Bar Tab and just pay as you go. With free soda, water, and drip coffee already covered, plenty of cruisers spend very little on alcohol and never miss the package they didn't buy. There is zero downside to paying à la carte when your drinking is modest.

If you are a steady drinker who'll easily clear a higher tier, the Bar Tab is one of the best values in cruising precisely because the bonus stacks. The trick is right-sizing the amount. Aim a little under your estimate rather than over, since you can always pay as you go once it runs dry.

How Virgin Compares to a Traditional Package

Coming from a line with a flat-rate drink package, Virgin feels different, and mostly in a good way. You are not paying seventy-plus dollars a day whether you drink or not, and you are not doing mental math to justify a fifth cocktail. The free basics remove a whole category of upcharges that other lines profit from.

The flip side is that heavy, all-day drinkers can sometimes spend more on Virgin than they would under a flat package on another line. If you drink ten-plus alcoholic drinks a day, an unlimited package elsewhere might cap your spend better. For that specific profile, run both scenarios before you book.

For most people, though, Virgin's model is friendlier and more transparent. You pay for what you actually consume, the included list is generous, and the Bar Tab bonus gives steady drinkers a fair discount. It rewards honesty about your own habits rather than punishing it.

How to Right-Size Your Bar Tab

Right-sizing is the whole game, so let me make it concrete. Start by being brutally about a typical drinking day for you on vacation, not your best-case party day. Maybe it's two cocktails and a glass of wine, maybe it's a beer at lunch and two drinks at night, whatever is normal for you.

Take that daily number, attach a realistic price to each drink, and multiply across your number of nights. That gives you a ceiling, and your Bar Tab should land at or just under it, never above. Buying under your estimate is safe because you can always pay as you go once the credit runs dry.

Remember that port days usually knock your drinking down, since you're off the ship for hours. Factor those days in at a lower rate rather than a full sea-day rate. Skipping that step is how people end up with a tab they can't finish.

If you're sailing as a couple, decide whether you each want a tab or whether one of you barely drinks. There's no rule that both people need one, and the included free basics mean a light drinker can skip it entirely. Tailor it to each person rather than buying two big tabs out of habit.

Watch the Current Promotion Before You Buy

Virgin runs frequent wave and seasonal promotions, and the Bar Tab bonus tiers shift with them. Sometimes the bonus is richer, sometimes a sailing comes with bonus Bar Tab credit included in the fare itself. That last scenario is great, because it means free drink money you didn't have to load.

Before you pre-buy a tab, check what your specific booking already includes. If your fare came with a credit, you may not need to add much, or any, additional Bar Tab on top. Stacking your own purchase on top of an included credit only makes sense if you'll spend all of it.

This is exactly the kind of moving target where it pays to have someone watching the offers for you. Promotions come and go, and the math changes with them. A few minutes of checking the current deal can save you from over-loading or from missing a better one.

✈️ WORK WITH ME

Want help deciding if a package pays off for your sailing? I'm a travel advisor and I book cruises at no extra cost, and I'll run the math with you. Get a free quote and grab my free tips on Substack: substack.com/@jacksonjetsetting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Virgin Voyages have a drink package?
No, there is no traditional all-you-can-drink package on Virgin Voyages. Many basic drinks are included for free, and for paid drinks you either pay as you go or pre-load a Bar Tab. The Bar Tab is store credit, not unlimited drinking.

What drinks are free on Virgin Voyages?
Soda, still and sparkling water, juices, drip coffee, and a wide range of teas are all included at no charge. There are also filtered water stations around the ship. Espresso drinks, pressed juices, smoothies, and energy drinks are not free.

Is there gratuity added to drinks?
No, Virgin Voyages does not add an automatic gratuity to individual drinks. The price you see is close to the price you pay. This is a meaningful difference from lines that tack a service charge onto every drink.

Does unused Bar Tab credit get refunded?
No, leftover Bar Tab credit is non-refundable at the end of your voyage. If you load more than you drink, that balance is lost. Only buy an amount you are confident you'll spend in full.

Do I have to buy the Bar Tab before I sail to get the bonus?
Yes, the bonus credit only applies to Bar Tabs purchased before your voyage, typically at least a day ahead. Buy on board and you'll pay full price with no bonus. Pre-purchase is the only way to earn the discount.

Is the Bar Tab worth it for light drinkers?
Usually not. With free soda, water, and drip coffee already covered, light drinkers can simply pay as you go and spend very little. Save the Bar Tab for when you'll clearly use the whole balance.

Final Thoughts

Virgin Voyages flips the usual drink-package question on its head, and I think that's a good thing. There is no flat daily package to overthink, the free basics are generous, and the Bar Tab gives steady drinkers a real bonus when they size it right. Your only job is about how much you'll actually drink.

If you want help estimating your spend and choosing the right Bar Tab tier, that's exactly the kind of thing I do with clients. I book Virgin Voyages at no extra cost to you, and I'll make sure you don't overload a tab you can't finish. Reach out and let's plan your sailing.

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