Sir Richard Branson may be joining your 80,000 Virgin Points Virgin Voyages cruise!

Virgin Voyages is currently offering an exceptional redemption opportunity for anyone with 80,000 Virgin Points to spare.

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.

If you don’t have 80,000 Virgin Points in your account, you can buy the extra here. You should still come out ahead.

EDIT: Virgin Red has now updated its T&C and has blocked the cruise with Sir Richard Branson from points redemptions.

What’s included with your cruise?

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

The following are not included:

• alcoholic drinks, although package deals are usually offered before departure allowing you to prepay for drinks credit at a discount if you wish
• flights and transfers to Athens or Barcelona
• someone to look after your children back home – these are adults only trips

A lot of HfP readers jumped on these redemptions last year and 100+ seem to have already booked for this summer. 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.

As one of our readers wrote this morning (the original comment is in the comments!):

“On ‘Greek Island Glow’ and can confirm we are pinching ourselves at the quality of this trip for the points paid. Absolutely amazing. Breakfast in The Wake this morning was nothing short of perfection. Anyone on the fence, with the points (or not, just buy them it’s still incredible value) just book it. You won’t be disappointed.”

If you are short of Virgin Points, options include:

• buying them via this link

• transferring Tesco Clubcard points (should happen overnight)

• transferring American Express Membership Rewards points (should be instant)

• transferring Heathrow Rewards points (not clear about timeframe)

Where can you go on a Virgin Voyages 80,000 points cruise?

You can see the full list of cruises available in this HfP article. For the sake of space I am not repeating it here.

You can join Sir Richard Branson!

Virgin Voyages has announced that the ‘Greek Island Glow’ cruise, departing from Athens on 27th August, will have Sir Richard Branson onboard.

Renamed “A Virgin Celebration Voyage”, it will give guests exclusive access to Sir Richard Branson, Virgin company leaders and the brand’s founding members.

To quote:

“Celebrate Virgin’s legendary history with Richard on August 27th from Athens.

Come make waves on our first ever voyage that celebrates Virgin’s 50+ year history at sea. With exclusive events and activities, get a behind-the-scenes peek behind the global brand — with Richard himself coming aboard to celebrate with you during this 7-night sailing from Athens.

It’s time to celebrate Virgin’s legendary history at sea. This special sailing pulls back the signature red curtain by offering you a rare glimpse into how Virgin became one of the most recognizable brands of all time. There will be exclusive events plus never-before-told-stories from Richard and his friends — taking you from Virgin’s rock-n-roll past and into its galactic future, in between visits to Santorini, Rhodes, Bodrum, and Mykonos. Join us August 27th on our most iconic voyage yet.”

Here is the itinerary for this cruise and indeed all of the other ‘Greek Island Glow’ cruises:

• 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.

Here are a few things to note:

• you need to fly to and from Athens 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

Can you still book onto Richard’s cruise with Virgin Points?

EDIT: Virgin Red has now updated its T&C and has blocked the cruise with Sir Richard Branson from points redemptions.

It’s not clear. Plenty of readers have already booked on this trip using points, before Sir Richard’s visit was announced.

On the positive side, the rules say:

“Each Access Key required to book a cabin is only applicable for a seven night sailing from Athens on Resilient Lady or a seven-night sailing from Barcelona on Valiant Lady departing no later than 31.08.2023. Any other use of the Access Key will be void.”

…. which means you’re OK.

However, the website also names the cruises included. Richard’s cruise is no longer a ‘Greek Island Glow’ but has been renamed ‘Virgin Celebration Voyage’.

Does this means it is excluded? We don’t know.

However, Virgin Red has been refunding bookings (unofficially, it is not in the rules) as long as the access key code has not been used. Once you are booked on a particular ship you cannot cancel.

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:

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.

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.

You can find out more – especially if you want to learn more about the other itineraries on offer – in this HfP article.

---

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (September 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 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

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.

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

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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.)