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It’s back: 7 nights Virgin Voyages full board cruises for two from 120,000 Virgin Points!

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Virgin Red has brought back its Virgin Voyages redemptions for the summer.

The pricing has, unfortunately, increased from 2023 but you will still be getting exceptional value from these cruises.

Options range from 5-night Caribbean cruises for 115,000 points for two to a transatlantic 14-day voyage for 280,000 Virgin Points for two.

Each cruise is full board. All your meals, soft drinks, fitness classes, entertainment etc are included – even tips. You only pay for alcoholic drinks.

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

7 nights Virgin Voyages full board cruises for two from 120,000 Virgin Points

A lot of HfP readers have jumped on these redemptions in the past few years. 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)

You can transfer points from another Virgin Points account to yours for a flat £10 fee. However, if both of you are travelling then the call centre should be able to take the points from two accounts.

Here are your options:

Which Virgin Voyages can you book?

As mentioned above, you have multiple options.

Mediterranean flash sale – 120,000 points

First up is a limited-time offer for Mediterranean cruises in May. These have been reduced to 120,000 points per cabin (sleeping up to two people) – as you will see below, later dates cost 160,000 Virgin Points.

There are two 7-day cruises you can choose from: ‘French Daze & Ibiza Nights’ and ‘Irresistible Med & Rome’.

This flash sale is only valid for cruises on Scarlet Lady, departing on either 12 May 2024 or 19 May 2024.

Seven nights in the Mediterranean between May and August – 160,000 points

If May is too soon for you, you can also book onto cruises from Barcelona or Athens for the entire summer. This includes Greek Island Glow, Adriatic Sea & Greek Gems, The Irresistible Med (or Elevate Voyage), Irresistible Med & Rome and French Daze & Ibiza Nights (or A Virgin Celebration Voyage).

Itineraries from Athens on Resilient Lady are available departing no later than 28th July 2024.

7 nights Virgin Voyages full board cruises for two from 120,000 Virgin Points

Five nights in the Caribbean between June and September – 115,000 points

Alternatively, if you want to venture further afar, you can snag one of Virgin Voyages’ Caribbean cruises for just 115,000 points for two. Itineraries include Riviera Maya, Mayan Sol, Miami, Grand Turk & Back and Dominican Daze (or A Virgin Celebration Voyage – Miami).

For the Caribbean cruises – and ONLY for the Caribbean cruises – some additional taxes will be due. These vary from $150 to $300 depending on the itinerary. These will be shown during the booking process.

Transatlantic Voyages

If you’ve got more annual leave than you know what to do with, you can book one of two transatlantic positioning cruises offering multi-week itineraries.

Things to know

There are a few things to know before you book:

  • you need to fly to and from Athens, Barcelona, Rome or Miami at your own expense
  • the cruises are adults only
  • the cost is per cabin, sleeping up to two – there is no discount for single occupancy
  • cabins are Central Sea Terrace or The Sea Terrace on Scarlet Lady or Resilient Lady, and will be determined by Virgin Voyages according to availability
  • it can take up to three working days to receive your Access Code once you have redeemed your points – once you have the code, you book via the Virgin Voyages website and use the code at the point of payment
  • Access Codes are transferable and do not need to used by the person who redeemed the points

Note that there is no guarantee that you can book the exact cruise you want – you need to make sure the cruise in question is still available for cash.

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 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.

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.

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

Comments (163)

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

  • patrick says:

    If there was an article offering £1,000,000 for clicking on a link, I am certain plenty of the people who comment here would complain it was not £1,00,001.

    • Bob says:

      Well it’s 2X points compared to last year, of course we’re not happy.

      • patrick says:

        I have been twice and am very happy – they were absurdly cheap before.

        • Kathy says:

          I am sitting on 115k Virgin points so was hoping to be able to pick up a 7 day cruise even anticipating a bit of a price bump (the 5 day itineries don’t interest me).

          Double the cost is just out of my price range. I will keep looking in case they do more last minute 120k offers, but am not banking on it

  • Andy says:

    FYI, VV have just confirmed Brilliant Lady launches next year. Sailing out of New York, Miami, Los Angeles & Seattle, across the season. Transiting Panama Canal with visits to ports including Canada, Mexico & Alaska.

    • IanT says:

      She’ll summer in Alaska and winter in more southerly climes.

      The Alaska cruise scene is absurdly competitive, so they’d be wise to get the pricing right.

    • Andy says:

      From Brilliant Lady promo video:-

      Sep 2025 Sailing out of New York to New England & Canada

      Oct 2025 to March 2026 Sailing out of Miami to Caribbean

      March 2026 Miami to LA via Panama Canal calling at ports in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico

      April & May 2026 Sailing out of LA to Mexican Riviera

      May to Sep 2026 Sailing out of Seattle to Alaska

  • patrick says:

    Does anyone know how long it takes for the 18,000 points sign-up bonus to hit one`s account after the first purchase with the paid mastercard please?

    • Rob says:

      They go across at the end of the month with the points from your standard spending.

  • VickyTM says:

    You have to pay taxes and fees on top for the Caribbean cruise…

    • Super Secret Stuff says:

      How much are they?

      • Matt Graham says:

        I priced a 5 day Caribbean cruise and the fare breakdown includes taxes and fees of $182 (out of total fare $2447). Hope it’s no more than that when redeeming.

  • James says:

    This is still ok compared to the full price virgin charges now but I wouldn’t have expected the same great rate from last year. Speaking to people onboard they’re getting a lot more traction with rebookings now and won’t struggle to fill the ships.

    • IanT says:

      Yep.

      The thing to bear in mind also is that they’re a new brand in a very competitive sector. Those deals from last year weren’t only designed to get the ships busier, but also to get people to sample Virgin and then have them re-book at the expense of competitors.

      Sometimes you have to be prepared to ‘buy’ market share, which is what those deals were about.

    • Charlie says:

      I don’t think it is though. £1,600+ of points for an £1,800 – £2,000 cruise? I’ve pulled the trigger on the 120k points offer for my parents in May, as that is still good value, but I’ll wait on the 160k offer and see if any other 120k offers surface. And if they don’t then I won’t be using 160k points on an £1,800- £2,000 cruise. I’ll pay cash.

      • mjb says:

        Go though a booking atm on VV the price up a central sea terrace (today) even with the 80% off second sailor it is £2758 so you got a good deal for you parents.

        • Charlie says:

          £2,434 for Sea Terrace for 19th May (though that cabin is not guaranteed, unlike last year), and insider is just under £2,000. Happy to spend 120k of points at that level, but not 160k points because I can attain greater value from them. And I don’t think a 7 day cruise (three of which we’ve done now) is worth £2,758. Even if the food is top notch.

  • Zoe says:

    We have gone for the Barcelona – Miami one. Am In right in thinking that there is nothing to be gained by referring other people on the same trip now? Haven’t done this before.

    • James says:

      Yeah nothing to be gained now unfortunately:(

      • executiveclubber says:

        I never did get the bubbles anyway… and it wasn’t champagne so you weren’t missing out hugely 🙂

  • Rahman says:

    Can you cancel the cruise and have points refunded – as with flight redemptions?

    • Travel Strong says:

      There are multiple reports of this being allowed (see the forum master-thread), but it is quite manual and subject to agents being helpful. Cancel the cruise and you still have an access code. Then contact virgin red to refund the purchase of an access code.

  • Philondon says:

    I can’t believe people think double the points is a good deal or even a bargain. Really disappointed…. no, really pi**ed off.

    • paul says:

      No idea why you’d be “really pi**ed off”

      It’s not like they reneged on a Contract or scre*ed you over in any way.

    • IanT says:

      So when Hello Fresh offer you 60% off the first box, or Amazon Prime give you the first 3 months for free, do you think it;s a rip-off after that?

      Companies will entice people with introductory offers in the hope that they’ll pay more for the same product next time.

      It’s not exactly a new strategy.

    • stevenhp1987 says:

      We paid ~£3k for Greek Island Glow last year and ~£3k for Adriatic Sea & Greek Gems cruise for July this year.

      160k VS for ~£3k value is phenomenal.

      • paul says:

        It’s only phenomenal if YOU personally value the product at £3,000

        I’d never pay it to begin with so to me it’s nowhere near even a nice deal.

        I do wonder how many people who rave about a Virgin cruise have actually tried other lines to compare.

        • Charlie says:

          The Adriatic tours, of which there were several last year, offered destinations that are not straightforward to get to. Plus the food on board is absolutely top notch. £2,700 is £385 per night for two, minus overpriced booze. At 80k points it was a very good points redemption. At 120k points it is fair value. At 160k points it is much less so, when those £2,700 holidays are being openly sold for £1,200…

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