Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Book a Virgin Voyages UK cruise this August with your Virgin Points

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Virgin Voyages, the brand new cruise company launched by Virgin Group, is planning a series of UK-only staycation cruises this August.

You can book them using your Virgin Points, with priority booking available until next Tuesday when cash bookings will be opened.

For three weeks in August, the Virgin Voyages ‘Scarlet Lady’ ship will be making six short sailings around the coast of England.

The dates are:

  • Friday 6th – Monday 9th August
  • Monday 9th – Friday 13th August
  • Friday 13th – Monday 16th August
  • Monday 16th – Friday 20th August
  • Friday 20th – Monday 23rd August
  • Monday 23rd – Friday 27th August

All sailings depart from, and arrive back into, Portsmouth.

What does it cost?

There are two packages available:

  • the three-night ‘Long Weekender’ cruises will cost 180,000 Virgin Points for a two-person Sea Terrace cabin
  • the four-night Summer WeekDaze cruises will cost 215,000 Virgin Points for a two-person Sea Terrace cabin

All bookings made with Virgin Points will receive a free bottle of sparkling wine in their cabin.

You must book by 13th April.

Cash prices appear to be £499 per person based on two travelling for the three-night cruise and £599 for the four nighter, which means you get just over 0.55p per Virgin Point – in line with most Virgin Red redemptions.

Am I likely to be trapped on the boat for six weeks after a coronavirus outbreak?

Absolutely not.

The good news is that very strict covid rules will be in place.

The bad news is that they will mean that this is likely to be an oldies cruise.

You can only book if you will have had BOTH doses of coronavirus vaccine at least three weeks before you sail.

Given the current UK vaccine roll-out, this means that it is unlikely that anyone under the age of 50 will qualify unless they have been vaccinated as part of their job or have an underlying health condition.

Basically …. if you haven’t had your first vaccination by very early May, you won’t have had your second in time to join the final cruise. You are almost already too late to have your initial jab if you wanted to join the first cruise on 6th August.

Given that Virgin Voyages appears to be pitched as ‘Club 18-30 on the water’ (“Play all night, sleep all day” says the Virgin Voyages website) it could make for an interesting few days. I’m not sure how your average 50+ cruiser feels about spending a few days with:

“the dopest up-and-coming acts in the DJ world“.

Only the dopest residents of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be allowed to book. You cannot travel to the UK to join a cruise.

Children are not allowed. This will block off even more of the potential market, like myself.

How many over 50’s without children are there who want to go on a slightly chilly Virgin Voyages party cruise around the UK? We’ll find out soon enough.

Points bookings must be made via the Virgin Red app or website. If you are not a Virgin Red member, you need to register first – free – at this page.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points. 

Category

Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (91)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • 1ATL says:
    10 Apr10 April 04:21

    This dope ship reminds me of the one and only time I went to STK Restaurant in London and vowed never to set foot back in the place – it was like being in an extension of Sugar Hut with fakes and posers all around. Despite being in the catchment demographic and having already received both barrels of Pfizer, I can safely say I won’t be setting foot on this Butlins at sea monstrosity now or ever.

    • Jonty says:
      10 Apr10 April 14:02

      I used to look down on Butlins till I went there for a “just for tots” break. I thought the staff were great, not just the redcoats and obvious front of staff roles, even the maintenance people seemed to like the company, get what the mission was, and really care about people having a great time. I think it’s the only holiday I’ve ever been on where I booked for next time before leaving

      • 1ATL says:
        10 Apr10 April 17:35

        It certainly sounds the ideal cruise for you then – minus the tots

  • ChrisC says:
    10 Apr10 April 04:25

    You could always deposit the kids at the grandparents and call it bonding time!

  • First class says:
    10 Apr10 April 05:59

    Dope? Really? Morons.

  • Thywillbedone says:
    10 Apr10 April 06:02

    Virgin brand marketing always leads the way in cringe-inducing copy ….that some people think there is anything remotely cool about anything in that group of companies is truly mystifying

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:
      10 Apr10 April 08:04

      I remember all the cringe inducing marketing associated with Virgin Trains East Coast. Despite LNER being run be the same people the cringe disappeared almost immediately after Virgin lost the franchise.

      For a while Virgin has felt a bit of a ‘dad’ brand, one that is trying to be too hard to appear cool to their kids.

      • Callum says:
        10 Apr10 April 09:12

        While I would never use the word “dope”, I found their advertising for the cruise to be pretty attractive. I’ve always thought cruises were ridiculous, but I can see myself enjoying this one (not that I’d pay these prices for it).

  • Matty says:
    10 Apr10 April 06:04

    I’m assuming that not all of the crew will be over 50. Will they be vaccinated?

  • roberto says:
    10 Apr10 April 06:13

    Dope, a word that brings “starsky & hutch” to mind and if your old enough to remember the show you’re too old for the demographic that Virgin are aiming for on their ships.

    Looks to me like the interior designer is a millennial on spacedust (or what ever its called nowadays)..

    • Secret Squirrel says:
      10 Apr10 April 07:57

      Rob was wearing his baseball cap backwards and sporting his new tracks and gold chains whilst writing that article header. 😂

    • Oh! Matron! says:
      10 Apr10 April 08:22

      Dope means imbecile where I come from. Is this a vain attempt top appeal to the “yoof”?

      • Rob says:
        10 Apr10 April 10:18

        Dope doesn’t mean imbecile anymore. Get yourself a 13 year old (not in an Epstein way, obviously …..).

  • BSI1978 says:
    10 Apr10 April 06:47

    Apropos of nothing, huge banner atop this page advertising the next Genesis tour later this year……!

    • Nick M says:
      10 Apr10 April 07:00

      I think that’s to do with your browsing history… mine is for some accounting software

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      10 Apr10 April 07:14

      Well Virgin purchased the Charisma record label – who had signed Genesis – in 1983, so at that point Genesis moved on to the Virgin label itself (well, once Virgin retired the Charisma name a few years later). Genesis, Virgin, dope pensioners, HfP, see it’s all linked 😀 .

    • CarpalTravel says:
      10 Apr10 April 08:18

      Mines for a Google phone. Just glad it’s not Viagra. 😮

  • Paul says:
    10 Apr10 April 07:13

    Dante imagined 9 levels of hell. Not even he could have imagined a Virgin Voyage of the damned.
    Despite being eligible I’ll pass thanks.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!