Looking for a cruise deal this upcoming “Wave Season”? Virgin Voyages is offering up one of the most intriguing offers we’ve seen in a while, with a new sale that not only gives the usual discounts you might see elsewhere, but also provides a bonus for paying your cruise in full.
Starting this month through mid-February, Virgin is rolling out its “Sea Blue, Save Green” deal. With this offer, you can book any cruise on any ship (including those on upcoming ships Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady) through the published schedule in October 2023. When you do, you’ll receive 20% off the fare and a $100 bar tab bonus. But what’s unique is that Virgin is also offering an additional 10% off when you pay in full.
Cruzely has written before about the debate between paying just a deposit and then paying the rest of your cruise off slowly, or simply paying in full when you book.
According to a survey of our readers, more than 70% chose to pay a deposit and then pay the rest in installments when buying their cruise. While many respondents mentioned that it was easier financially to pay in smaller amounts, one recurring theme was that there was no point in giving a cruise line more money upfront by paying in full.
With this sale from Virgin Voyages, there’s a substantial incentive to now pay for the cruise all at once. For example, on a $2,000 cruise, passengers would save $200 off the price tag simply by paying when booking instead of just a deposit. That’s in addition to the 20% discount off fares already.
What’s more is that this discount also could save you more with Virgin than it would on other cruise lines. That’s because Virgin Voyages includes more things in the cruise fare. Things like all food, wi-fi, and tips are included in the cost of Virgin Voyages trips.
Say you took a cruise on a normal cruise line. In that case, you might spend $1,500 on the actual cruise fare, but then spend another $500 on the ship between specialty restaurants, Internet access, and gratuities. A 10% discount on the cruise fare would net you only $150 in savings.
But by including these items in the cruise fare with Virgin Voyages, it means that your 10% discount for paying in full goes farther. If the total cost of the fare is $2,000 with the extras included, you save $200.
This is definitely a unique take on the typical cruise sale, and one that could save you some serious cash if you have the means to pay in full.
There are only a handful of a trips ineligible for the offer:
- December 24, 2021 sailing of Scarlet Lady
- March 31, 2022 sailing of Valiant Lady
- July 3, 2022 sailing of Valiant Lady
- October 30, 2022 sailing of Valiant Lady
Apart from these few trips, the 20% off, bar tab offer, and 10% pay in full discount should apply. You can see more on Virgin Voyage’s website.
