On the heels of Virgin Voyages’ (VV) fourth ship’s debut with Brilliant Lady, Virgin Voyages is looking to shake things up yet again.
Starting with bookings made Oct. 7, 2025, and beyond, VV is offering a first-of-its-kind, three-tier pricing structure called "VoyageFair Choices," which is designed to offer more flexibility to customers when they book a cruise with Virgin Voyages.
“We’ve been listening to our Sailors and our First Mates (travel advisors), and a common theme that kept coming up is that they wanted more flexibility, more choices and more transparency,” said Nirmal Saverimuttu, CEO of Virgin Voyages, during a press conference. “We were kid-free first, we were the first to eliminate a main dining hall, the first to eliminate the buffet and the first to do away with dress codes. So for me, it was a very natural progression for Virgin … we’re now the first to offer a three-tier pricing model for cruising.”
We’ve been listening to our Sailors and our First Mates (travel advisors), and a common theme that kept coming up is that they wanted more flexibility, more choices and more transparency.
The line is growing swiftly in just 2.5 years in operation post-pandemic, he mentioned, seeing a 45% increase in sailed revenue year-over-year since 2024, and on-the-books revenue for 2026 up 70%, as of press time. That’s in addition to an impressive 30% repeat rate for VV Sailors.
Saverimuttu also noted that a large target market for VV is new-to-cruise clients, and this change in pricing will be especially appealing to them, as it reflects similarities with the way most customers are used to booking other aspects of travel, such as flights and accommodations.
Here’s what to know about the new structure.
VoyageFair Choices is a three-tiered pricing structure.
There will be three fare classes available to Sailors who book a Sea Terrace cabin category and below: Essential, Base and Premium.
- Essential fare: The Essential cruise fare mirrors what VV Sailors and First Mates are already used to when booking a voyage, and includes access to dining reservations 45 days before departure, the ability to change passenger names (for Sailors Two through Four) prior to departure, the ability to adjust voyage dates using a Future Voyage Credit and Classic W-Fi access (offering social media, messaging, browsing and audio calling for one device per Sailor).
- Base fare: An always-available, nonrefundable fare similar to a Basic Economy air ticket booked through an airline, the Base Fare bookings are for “those looking for less flexibility, but for a bit of a deal,” according to Saverimuttu. This fare limits access to some of the pre-voyage experiences (for example, pre-voyage dining reservations will only be available 15 days in advance). Changes to names, cabins or dates are not permitted, and Basic Wi-Fi will include access for one device (per Sailor) for social media and light browsing.
- Premium Fare Class: Premium fare class is a fully refundable fare that gives Sailors access to dining options 60 days out, a priority support call line and a Bar Tab packaged into the fare. They'll also receive elevated Wi-Fi access (two devices, per Sailor, with streaming and video capabilities).
Other things to note: RockStar and Mega RockStar Quarters' perks will remain the same; however, dining reservations will now be open 120 days prior to departure for these Sailors. Additionally, existing reservations (made before Oct 7) will be locked into the Essential fare. However, those clients with existing bookings will also receive a bonus, with a 60-day window to book dining (matching the new Premium fare), at no additional cost.
VV’s change reflects “how people book travel today."
Saverimuttu noted that the change marks “a really big step forward for us — and for the industry — because it does truly align with how people book travel today.”
“All of us book airline tickets, and we’re all used to the idea of having a nonrefundable fare and then having a fully refundable fare, and something in between,” he said. “People are experiencing travel products this way.”
The plan has been in the works for the last six months to a year, he noted, and followed feedback from a focus group and discussions with both Sailors and First Mates.
”All of us want to be able to curate our own experience nowadays,” Saverimuttu added. “We want to be able to tailor our own travel experiences, because travel is so personal. To be able to curate your experience pre-voyage and really pay for what you want becomes a very, very powerful tool for us."
To be able to curate your experience pre-voyage and really pay for what you want becomes a very, very powerful tool for us.
Nothing will change regarding the onboard experience, either.
“The onboard experience is not changing one bit,” Saverimuttu added. “We are very proud of the onboard experience. What we offer for our Sailors and Crew onboard does not change. This is merely about offering choice and transparency, [and more] flexibility pre-voyage so that you have more ways to book Virgin Voyages.”
Additionally, the crew and onboard staff will not be aware of which cruise fare a client has booked.
The way gratuities are handled is also changing.
VV will also begin unbundling gratuities from the cruise fare, a change made in response to feedback from First Mates and Sailors. Moving forward, gratuities will appear as a separate line item so clients and advisors can see what proportion of the fare goes to service tips. Guests will be able to pre-pay these tips for a discount, at $20 per Sailor, per day (a savings of about 10%), or pay onboard at $22 per Sailor, per day. Gratuity rates remain the same across all cabin categories.
This update will not include any changes to the way that VV compensates its crew, or to the onboard experience, Saverimuttu said.
“All we’re doing is simply providing a bit more transparency, a bit more choice and, most importantly, more flexibility pre-voyage,” he said, noting that this move also helps travel advisors comparison shop with other cruise lines.
We want to make it as easy as possible to sell for our First Mates and even as easy as possible for our Sailors to understand us.
“Breaking this out allows for an easier comparison for our First Mates,” he said. “It means they don't have to do as much homework, they don't have to do math for people … The last thing we want is our First Mates having to do math to explain any travel product, right? We want to make it as easy as possible to sell for our First Mates and even as easy as possible for our Sailors to understand us.”
VV’s First Mate commission structures remain in place.
VV has no NCFs and pays commission on anything in the voyage fare (which includes pre-paid gratuities). The line offers a 16% commission on bookings, with 10% on pre-booked additional items.
“All of this is fundamentally about changing how people book, but it’s not about changing the sales experience, the crew experience or the First Mate Experience.” Saverimuttu said. “In this case, we’ll be holding and paying the 16% commission on the gratuity as long as it’s pre-paid before the voyage."
