Virgin Voyages Bar Tab Calculator
Find the right Bar Tab tier for your drinking habits
6
Cocktails $14, wine $9, beer $8
$12
7
2
Pay Cash
$504
Out of pocket
No Bar TabPay as you go
$200 Bar Tab
$479
Out of pocket
Credit$225
Bonus+$25 (12.5%)
Overage$279
Best Value
$300 Bar Tab
$454
Out of pocket
Credit$350
Bonus+$50 (16.67%)
Overage$154
$500 Bar Tab
$500
Out of pocket
Credit$600
Bonus+$100 (20%)
Wasted$96
$750 Bar Tab
$750
Out of pocket
Credit$925
Bonus+$175 (23.33%)
Wasted$175
$1000 Bar Tab
$1,000
Out of pocket
Credit$1,250
Bonus+$250 (25%)
Wasted$250
You save $50 with $300 Bar Tab!
A $300 Bar Tab saves you $50 on $504 of expected drink spend across 7 nights.
Expected drink spend: $504
Gratuities (new bookings post-Oct 7, 2025): $280 prepaid or $308 onboard. Gratuities are separate from Bar Tab.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Instead of selling an unlimited drink package, Virgin Voyages offers a pre-loaded Bar Tab that returns a bonus credit. Buy a $200 tab and get $225 of drink credit, $300 gets $350, $500 gets $600, $750 gets $925, and $1,000 gets $1,250. The bonus is effectively 12.5% to 25% off depending on tier. Unused credit is forfeited at the end of the sailing.
Virgin Voyages includes non-premium still and sparkling water, drip coffee, tea, soft drinks, and most juices in the fare for every Sailor. Alcoholic drinks, specialty coffee at Grounds Club, and premium bottled water are extra. The Bar Tab applies to all premium beverages fleet-wide, including drinks at Beach Club at Bimini. It does NOT cover room service drinks.
Not anymore. Virgin Voyages separated gratuities from the fare on October 7, 2025 under a program called VoyageFair Choices. New bookings are charged $20 per Sailor per night if prepaid, or $22 per Sailor per night if paid onboard. Bookings made before October 7, 2025 keep the old structure with gratuities bundled in the fare.
Typical bar pricing: cocktails $14, wine by the glass $9, beer $8, spirits $9. Unlike most cruise lines, Virgin Voyages does NOT automatically add a gratuity to bar purchases. Specialty coffee at Grounds Club is extra. Champagne and premium bottles are priced higher and not discounted by Bar Tab bonus tiers.
Pay cash if you expect to drink less than $200 total on the cruise, the smallest Bar Tab tier is $200 and unused credit is forfeited. If you expect to drink more, the best tier is the smallest one that covers your actual spend, because every dollar of the bonus is only realized when you actually use it. Over-buying a Bar Tab is the most common mistake.
Related guides
- Virgin Voyages Bar Tab and Gratuities: The Real MathVirgin Voyages charges $22 per Sailor per night in service gratuities and adds nothing on top of your drinks. Measured against that $22, the trade starts paying off at $12.50 a day of bar spending versus Celebrity and $25 versus Carnival. Pre-pay and both thresholds fall sharply. Here is the crossover point on four lines, plus what the Bar Tab bonus is really worth once you account for forfeited credit.
- Is the Drink Package Worth It? Every Cruise Line ComparedEvery cruise line prices drinks differently, adds a different gratuity, and sets a different trap. Here is the all-in daily cost and real break-even for NCL, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, MSC, Virgin Voyages, and Disney, side by side.
- Bringing Wine on a Cruise: What Corkage Fees Really CostSeven lines let you carry wine aboard, and the corkage fee runs from nothing in your cabin to $35 a bottle at a Celebrity table. Priced per pour, a $15 bottle costs $3 a glass in a Carnival cabin and $6 in its dining room, against $15 for the average glass at the bar.