Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

AMAZING DEAL: 7 nights Virgin Voyages full board cruises for two for 80,000 Virgin Points

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If you missed these amazing offers last year, they are back. You will not find a better points redemption in 2023.

EDIT: Deal now includes August sailings! We will update the article later.

You can get a seven night European cruise on ‘Valiant Lady’ or ‘Resilient Lady’, the 2nd and 3rd ships in the Virgin Voyages fleet, for just 80,000 Virgin Points for two people.

The cruise is full board. All your meals, soft drinks, fitness classes, entertainment etc are included – even tips.

Remember that these are adults only trips. Flights and transfers are not included.

Valiant Lady Virgin Voyages

A lot of HfP readers jumped on these redemptions last year. The feedback in our forum has been fantastic – from young and old, from those who wanted a bit of a party to those who simply wanted a quiet break after a tricky couple of years. There is a Virgin Voyages master thread in our forum for your Q&A.

If you are short of Virgin Points, options include:

  • transferring Tesco Clubcard points (should happen overnight)
  • transferring American Express Membership Rewards points (should be instant)
  • transferring Heathrow Rewards points (not clear about timeframe)

Here are your options:

Greek Island Glow

Departing 4th June, 18th June, 25th June, 9th July, 16th July, 30th July

  • Day 1 – Piraeus (Athens). Departs at 7:00pm.
  • Day 2 – Santorini. Arrives at 9:00am, departs at 10:00pm.
  • Day 3 – Rhodes. Arrives at 9:00am, departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 4 – Bodrum. Arrives at 8:00am, departs at 8:00pm.
  • Day 5 – Sailing.
  • Day 6 – Mykonos. Arrives at 9:00am.
  • Day 7 – Mykonos. Departs at 2:00pm.
  • Day 8 – Piraeus (Athens). Arrives at 6:30am.

Adriatic Sea & Greek Gems

Departing 11th June, 2nd July, 23rd July

  • Day 1 – Piraeus (Athens). Departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 2 – Sailing.
  • Day 3 – Split. Arrives at 9:00am, departs at 9:00pm.
  • Day 4 – Dubrovnik. Arrives at 9:00am, departs at 10:00pm.
  • Day 5 – Kotor. Arrives at 9:00am, departs at 07:00pm.
  • Day 6 – Corfu. Arrives at 9:00am, departs at 09:00pm.
  • Day 7 – Sailing.
  • Day 8 – Piraeus (Athens). Arrives at 0630.

The Irresistible Med

Departing 4th June, 18th June, 2nd July, 16th July, 30th July

  • Day 1 – Barcelona. Departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 2 – Toulon. Arrives at 9:00am, departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 3 – Marina di Carrara. Arrives at 8:00am, departs at 8:00pm.
  • Day 4 – Sailing.
  • Day 5 – Ajaccio. Arrives at 8:00am, departs at 5:00pm.
  • Day 6 – Ibiza. Arrives at 7:00pm.
  • Day 7 – Ibiza. Departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 8 – Barcelona. Arrives at 6:30am.

French Daze & Ibiza Nights

Departing 11th June, 25th June, 9th July, 23rd July

  • Day 1 – Barcelona. Departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 2 – Marseille. Arrives at 8:00am, departs at 7:00pm.
  • Day 3 – Cannes. Arrives at 8:00am, departs at 9:00pm.
  • Day 4 – Palma de Mallorca. Arrives at 6:00pm.
  • Day 5 – Palma de Mallorca. Departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 6 – Ibiza. Arrives at 7:00pm.
  • Day 7 – Ibiza. Departs at 6:00pm.
  • Day 8 – Barcelona. Arrives at 6:30am.

Here are a few things to note:

  • you need to fly to and from Athens or Barcelona at your own expense
  • it is adults only
  • the cost is 80,000 Virgin Points for a Sea Terrace or Limited View Sea Terrace cabin, which sleeps one or two people – there is no discount for single occupancy

How much do these cruises cost for cash?

Take a look – you’re getting up to £2,900 of value for your 80,000 Virgin Points on peak dates. Here is a ‘Greek Island Glow’ quote for the 30th July sailing:

Virgin Voyages 80000 Virgin points offer

This is a ludicrous 3.6p per Virgin Point. That’s 3.6x more than you’ll get for a premium cabin flight in most cases, and 7x more than you’ll get for any other redemption via the Virgin Red site.

Here is what the Virgin Red site has to say:

Ahoy there! This is a limited-time special offer, and there is only a limited number of cabins available. Choose a seven-night sailing departing from either Athens on Resilient Lady or Barcelona on Valiant Lady between 01 June and 31 July 2023.

The price is per cabin (one or two persons). There is no single sailor supplement available.

Virgin Voyages has curated four glamorous itineraries that allow you to experience some of the most picturesque islands and coastal cities in the Mediterranean. Thanks to late-night departures or overnight finales, you’ll have plenty of time to explore each stop in addition to the ship itself (a destination in its own right). It’s called having your cake and eating it too.

Speaking of cake… Virgin Voyages takes food, and the experience around it, very seriously. With a-la-carte menus crafted by Michelin-starred chefs, you can munch your way through countless unique eateries, from the Korean BBQ and elegant steakhouse to the red hot Mexican and 24/7 diner.

This adults-only voyage is designed to give you plenty of chances to relax, with workout classes, gym facilities and luxe spa treatments to name but a few. And if you want to sit back and do nothing, fresh-pressed juices served poolside will make “nothing” feel like everything.

And when you’re done with whatever self-care looks like for you, the one-of-a-kind, I’ve-definitely-never-seen-anything-like this-before entertainment awaits your arrival. With immersive pop-up acts that could happen anywhere on board, you’ll see the ship brought to life in new and unexpected ways.

As for digs, you’ll be kicking back in The Sea Terrace (or Limited View Sea Terrace, depending on availability). These cabins boast a configurable bed and high-tech mood lighting, allowing you to transform the space and create your own vibe. To top it all off, the hammock on the terrace is perfect for a little ‘me’ time, while the 24-hour food delivery service will be at your beck and call in the unlikely event of hunger pangs.

Wait. It gets even better… When it comes to additional costs, Virgin Voyages has you covered – all food, soft drinks, tips, group fitness classes, entertainment and Wi-Fi are always included.

Word of advice: don’t pay for any flights or transfers until your place on board is confirmed by Virgin Voyages!

Spaces are filling up quickly, so make a splash by booking your spot today. Hurry, these cabins will be gone faster than you can say “cannonball”.

Note that there is no guarantee that you can book the exact cruise you want, although in reality – with loads reportedly low – it shouldn’t be a problem.

If you want to find out more about Virgin Voyages, here is our report from an afternoon on ‘Scarlet Lady’, the first ship in the fleet.

If you want to top up your balance by buying Virgin Points, the link is here.

You can book via the Virgin Red app or online. Read the instructions carefully before booking – you need to check there is still a relevant cabin available for cash before ordering your booking code, and once it arrives you should book ASAP before the availability disappears. Based on last year, you should be offered the chance to upgrade your cabin for cash nearer the time of departure if you want something larger.


How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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 15,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

A generous earning rate for a free card at 0.75 points per £1 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 40,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 40,000 Virgin Points.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a 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

40,000 points sign-up bonus 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

(Want to earn more Virgin Points?  Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)

Comments (241)

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

  • Sy says:

    Hi Guys, I am new to HFP and only took out the Amex Platinum card around 4 months ago, I’m interested in this deal, I have over 80K in points but I don’t quite understand what others mean about status match, is this something I can do and what will this offer me?

    • Track says:

      Status match if you have Virgin Airlines Gold level, found this
      https://www.virginvoyages.com/sailing-club/eligible-loyalty-programs

      You should have been transferring Amex –> Virgin Airlines, linking VA account to Virgin Red account, and requesting the code ASAP.

      You can still run for it, cruises have a lot of availability as of Tuesday still. Hopefully, Virgin Red teams will be faster with codes than over this past extended weekend.

      • ba says:

        If you don’t have Virgin Airlines Gold, you can use your Amex Platinum to obtain Hilton Gold status. Then go on the MSC Cruises website and match it with them. They will give you MSC Gold status. Then go to Virgin and match your MSC Gold to get Sea Rover status + Deep Blue Extras

        • Peter says:

          I tried this, because I was going to use my Hilton Gold to match with MSC but it looks like you have needed to go on a cruise with them in the past or future booking to create an account. Do you or anyone know of a workaround? I would love to get the added benefits.

          • rob(staaaar) says:

            Me too!

          • ba says:

            Don’t create an account . Go here
            https://www.msccruisesusa.com/our-cruises/status-match And fill it out with your details and a screenshot of your Hilton card . They get back to you by email with a membership number. You can then use that as proof for Virgin . You won’t get a physical MSC gold card unless you go on an MSC cruise!
            It can take a while to process so no guarantees it will be sorted by the time of your cruise .

        • SY says:

          Hey BA, How do I find the screenshot of my gold Hilton status card? I am trying your method of MSC status match without making the account

  • rob(staaaar) says:

    With flight availability beginning to look like hens teeth, hands up: who’s considering an non-flight journey to/from Athens?

  • Howard says:

    My two access codes came after about 80 hours. They are for my wife and I and two friends. I booked the sea view for both but the access code fell away on our friends booking. Not sure what happened but Virgin Red and Voyages worked together to sort the problem out. I even got phone calls as 10 and 10.15 pm last night. We did nothing wrong in our booking and it seems the IT queried me having two access codes. Have to give both Red and Voyages 10/10 in sorting issue. My only concern was the cruise June 25th from Barcelona being sold out. Anyhow it’s all sorted and very happy at this brilliant redemption. We did the other Barcelona cruise last year so pleased we have a different itinerary this year. We got 4 BA club London-Barcelona on rewards which is a bonus. Would have liked the Greek cruise but won’t pay the the high price on flights.

    Thanks Rob for the article.

    • Track says:

      Have to create another account to use 2nd Virgin Red Access Code.

      Two codes per account (two bookings with Access Codes) seems to be an issue

  • LewisB says:

    Does anyone know if you can amend a cruise booked with an Access Key from July now to August?

  • jyloox says:

    Thanks Rob for highlighting this deal. After much deliberation about changing holiday plans we took the plunge and booked the Adriatic cruise for 23 July. I’ll put the referral link on the masterthread in case it is of use to anyone. (Requested the access code yesterday afternoon and came through mid morning today so quite quick.) Have spent ages researching flights that were acceptable from a time and cost perspective given lack of Avios availability! Not a steal but given peak season and that the cruise is on points ended up paying £812 for 2 direct MAN to ATH on Jet2 (alternatives involved multiple connections even when travelling to another UK airport as a starting point etc etc and we had relatively fixed dates to travel without our daughter!). There is a 10% off code for Jet2 flights if you are a member of their travel club which helped. (Not sure if you can get it by signing up today but anyone looking to travel from MAN could try.) Thanks again to the headforpoints team.

    • Ryan says:

      Did the Jet2 10% code get emailed to you? Just signed up now as I will prop fly with Jet2 from BHX

  • Chris says:

    Does anyone know if you can have 3 adults in a cabin? What about booking 2 and 2 adults and then sleeping 3 in 1 cabin and 1 in the other cabin?

  • SY says:

    Thanks all, Booked Greek island Glow for the 9th of July. Also a massive shoutout to BA for the MSC Gold advice. I have also just submitted VV status match will let you know how it goes. A really nice community here!

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

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