Base, Essential or Premium: Picking a Virgin Fare
Quick answer: For Sea Terrace cabins and smaller, Virgin sells three VoyageFair Choices. Base is locked: non-refundable, no changes, Basic WiFi, dining reservations from 15 days out. Essential lets you change your cabin and dates and cancel into Future Voyage Credit, with Classic WiFi and a 45-day dining window. Premium adds two-device WiFi, a daily drinks credit, a 60-day dining window and the most room to change names and dates. The food, shows and ship are the same on all three.
What stays the same on every fare
Virgin introduced VoyageFair Choices for new bookings from October 7, 2025, and is clear that the experience aboard does not change by fare. Every Sailor eats in all 20+ eateries, gets the essential drinks, the group fitness classes and the shows, and is on an adults only ship. The fare decides what happens around that: how connected you are, how early you can lock in a table, and what you can do if plans change. Our what's included guide covers the shared part.
The three fares side by side
| Base | Essential | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WiFi | Basic, one device | Classic, one device | Premium, two devices |
| Dining reservations open | 15 days before | 45 days before | 60 days before |
| Drinks credit | None | None | Daily drinks credit |
| Cabin | Assigned within your category, no changes | Choose the cabin type, change later if available | Choose the cabin type, change later if available |
| Date changes | No | Up to 45 days out, within a year of the original date | Up to 45 days out, within a year of the original date |
| Name changes | No | Not Sailor 1 | Any Sailor |
| Cancel 120+ days out | Non-refundable | Full refund within 7 days of deposit, then deposit becomes credit | Same as Essential |
Taxes and fees are refundable on every fare. Connecting cabins can only be booked on fares that allow cabin changes, which rules out Base.
Base: for plans that will not move
Virgin describes Base as the best-value option, and the trade is total commitment. Every payment is non-refundable apart from taxes and fees, there is no 7-day grace period, and you can't change the date, the names or the cabin. Cancel and there is no Future Voyage Credit. Virgin also assigns the cabin type within your category for you. Base suits someone whose dates are fixed and who does not mind where on the ship they sleep.
Essential: the middle ground
Essential is the fare most returning Sailors already know. You pick the cabin type, and you can change cabin later if one is free. Cancel more than 120 days out and you get a full refund within 7 days of your deposit; after that the deposit turns into Future Voyage Credit and the rest is refunded. Between 119 and 45 days out, fare payments become credit. From 44 days, fare payments are final, and you can swap any Sailor on the booking except Sailor 1.
Premium: the most room to change
Premium starts with the same cancellation terms as Essential beyond 120 days, then gives you more between 119 and 45 days out: you can move payments to Future Voyage Credit, change the date, or change names. Inside 44 days the fare is final, but any Sailor on the booking can be replaced. The extras aboard are two-device Premium WiFi that handles streaming and video, a daily drinks credit, and a 60-day dining window, the earliest outside the suites. Premium bookings also get a priority support line before the voyage.
Where suites and Lock It In fit
RockStar and Mega RockStar Quarters sit outside VoyageFair Choices. They open dining reservations 120 days out and come with their own WiFi tier. Separately, Virgin sells Lock It In on most categories, suites included: you pick a category, Virgin picks the cabin, and the terms are as strict as Base.
How to choose
- Sailing with a group. Group plans move. Someone drops out, someone else wants their place. Base can't absorb that, since names can't change. Essential lets you replace anyone but the lead Sailor late on; Premium lets you replace anyone. Because Base cabins are assigned for you, a group that wants cabins on the same corridor should not book Base. Everyone can still meet in the Nautir app before boarding, wherever their cabins end up.
- Friends sharing a cabin. You are on one booking, so you are on one fare. If one of you is less certain, that decides it: Premium is the only fare where either name can change close to sailing.
- Solo sailors. With fixed dates and no one to coordinate with, Base can work. If you want a seat at the popular restaurants on a short sailing, the earlier dining window on Essential or Premium is worth weighing. See our solo guide and solo sailings.
Rules on payment timing are in our deposits and cancellation guide. For upcoming hosted group sailings, your advisor can tell you which fares are open on each one.
FAQ
What are the Virgin Voyages fare types?
Since October 7, 2025, Virgin sells three VoyageFair Choices on Sea Terrace and smaller cabins: Base, Essential and Premium. Every fare gets the same ship, food and shows. They differ on WiFi, how early you can reserve dining, drinks credit and how much you can change or cancel. Lock It In is a separate guaranteed rate.
Is the Base fare refundable?
No. Virgin lists Base as non-refundable apart from taxes and fees, with no 7-day grace period, no date or name changes, no cabin changes and no Future Voyage Credit if you cancel.
What does Premium add over Essential?
Premium WiFi on two devices instead of Classic on one, dining reservations opening 60 days out instead of 45, a daily drinks credit, a priority support line, and more room to change things between 119 and 45 days out (moving payments to Future Voyage Credit, changing dates or changing names).
Do suites use VoyageFair Choices?
No. The three fares apply to Sea Terrace and below. RockStar and Mega RockStar Quarters have their own terms, including a 120-day window for dining reservations, and can also be booked at a Lock It In rate.
Which fare should a group pick?
If anyone's plans might change, Essential or Premium. Base allows no name, date or cabin changes, and Base cabins are assigned automatically, so friends who want to sit near each other on the ship lose that control.
Details checked against virginvoyages.com on November 9, 2026. Virgin changes its terms often; your advisor confirms them for your booking.