Many people dream of living at sea, living a life of luxury, sailing from port to port, and constantly being on vacation.
The reality of it all brings most of those dreams back down to earth. There’s the logistics of actually living away from home, but also the costs can be a big hurdle. We’ve done the math and estimate the cost of sailing a full year on a cruise ship would come out to nearly $200,000 for a couple.
Meanwhile, there are around-the-world cruises that sail for less, but that means being on one cruise and one ship for months on end.
Now, a cruise line known for doing things differently is serving up a new offer that actually puts living aboard a cruise ship within reach.
Virgin Voyages just announced a completely new offer: “Virgin Voyages’ Annual Pass.” The offer is exactly what it sounds like. Buy the pass, and then for an entire year you can sail on any Virgin cruise aboard any ship in the fleet anywhere in the world.
“Now, Sailors can jump aboard any of our ships, across an endless variety of exciting destinations for an entire year,” said Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group. “We’re offering unlimited opportunities for adventure in a way that has never been done in cruising before.”
In all our years of covering cruising, we’ve certainly never heard of an offer like this. It comes on the heels of the cruise line’s Season Pass that allowed passengers to sail for an entire month on one ship at a set price. Now, that’s been extended to an entire year, with added flexibility of sailing across any ship and at any time you like.
What’s surprising to us, however, is the price. The new Annual Pass costs $120,000 for two people in a Sea Terrace (balcony) cabin. Taxes and fees will be extra and dependent on the actual trips you book.
That comes out to just $60,000 per person — a little more than $1,000 a week — to be able to sail for an entire year.
And because it’s Virgin Voyages, that price also includes a lot of perks that most lines charge extra for. This includes wi-fi, gratuities, all dining onboard, and more. Plus with the Annual Pass, you also get priority boarding, complimentary laundry, two daily specialty coffees, upgraded wi-fi and a $100 Bar Tab credit each trip you book.
If you want to book, there are a few more details to know. First, it’s available only on a first-come, first-serve basis. To book, you will need to contact the cruise line. The offer is available through March 31, 2025 and you can select a start date of January 1, February 1, March 1, or April 1 to begin your year.
A couple of other important details: Payment must be made at the time of booking and the Annual Pass is non-refundable. And as another first, you can even purchase the offer in Bitcoin if you want.
You can find more details about the pass on Virgin Voyages’ website.
