My Next Virgin Voyage and Why We Wouldn’t Get One Again

On our last Virgin Voyages cruise, we decided to take advantage of their My Next Virgin Voyage offer. It’s a scheme where, while you’re still on board, you put down a deposit for a future sailing. In return, you get a discount, some Sailor Loot (onboard credit), and a few other perks. The idea is simple - commit early, save money, and lock in a future holiday to look forward to.

It sounds great, and for some people it is. But after going through the process ourselves, we’ve realised it’s not something we’ll be doing again. Here’s why.

How It Works

When you’re on board, you can visit Sailor Services and pay a deposit towards your next Virgin Voyages cruise. The deal includes:

• Discount off your cruise fare – The amount depends on how long your next cruise will be, but it can be up to a few hundred pounds off the price.

• Bonus Sailor Loot – This is onboard credit you can spend on drinks, spa treatments, shore things, or in the shops on board.

• Extra perks for longer voyages – For example, a bigger discount and more Sailor Loot if your next cruise is longer than 7 nights.

• Extra discount when booking with a travel agent – You can still pass your booking to your preferred agent for any extras they might offer.

• A full year to decide – You don’t have to pick your sailing there and then. You have 12 months to choose your dates and itinerary, and you can sail up to 24 months after purchasing the voucher.

On paper, it’s a good way to lock in a deal before you’ve even unpacked your current cruise case.

The Rules That Caught Us Out

The first big one is cabin type restrictions. You can only book certain cabins - and the minimum you can book is a Sea Terrace. That excludes Limited View Sea Terraces, and it also means you can’t use the offer for any cheaper cabin category.

We usually book the best-value fare for the cabin we want. For us, that’s normally a standard Sea Terrace, booked at the cheapest rate available at the time. Unfortunately, the My Next Virgin Voyage rules mean you can’t combine it with their lowest “Lock It In” rates, which are often the best bargains.

Why It Changed Our Plans

Our original trip was a nine-night cruise from New York. Using the My Next Virgin Voyage deal, the cheapest Sea Terrace for that sailing came to around £3,463 vs the cheapest Sea Terrace at £2,757 - way over what we’d normally spend. Because of that, we had to rethink completely.

In the end, we settled for a cruise from Barcelona for £2,000, still in a Sea Terrace. It’s an itinerary we’ve done before, so it didn’t have that same “new adventure” excitement. But the alternative was spending alot more for the New York sailing, which just wasn’t sensible for us.

The Bottom Line

If you’re happy to always book a Sea Terrace (or higher) and don’t mind skipping the cheapest rates, My Next Virgin Voyage can be a nice perk. You’ll get the discount, the Sailor Loot, and the peace of mind of having another cruise locked in.

But for us - travellers who like to book smart and chase the best value - the restrictions took away the flexibility we enjoy. We’d rather keep our options open and book whatever fare works best for our budget, without being tied to a specific cabin category or price bracket.

Would we sail with Virgin Voyages again? Absolutely. But would we use My Next Virgin Voyage again? No - it just doesn’t suit the way we book our trips.