Your Bar Tab is prepaid drink credit loaded onto your Band account — and how you use it determines whether you arrive home feeling like you maximized a valuable perk or left money on the figurative table. Bar Tab expires at the end of your voyage. Unused credit does not roll over. Here is the strategy for using it well.
Know Your Balance Daily
The Virgin Voyages app shows your Bar Tab balance in real time. Check it each morning. On a 7-night sailing with $350 in Bar Tab for two people, you have $50 per day to spend. If you check on Day 5 and have $200 remaining, you have some adjusting to do. Balance awareness prevents the two failure modes: running out too early and rationing unnecessarily, or arriving at Day 7 with $150 unspent.
Where Bar Tab Works
Bar Tab covers all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages at all bars and in all restaurants — The Manor, The Dock, Sip Lounge, Gym & Tonic, Richard’s Rooftop (suite guests), and every dining venue. It also covers specialty coffees and mocktails. It does NOT cover: room service delivery fee, spa charges, Shore Things, retail, or gratuities.
High-Value Bar Tab Targets
- Sip Lounge champagne and caviar: Champagne by the glass at Sip Lounge is a Bar Tab-eligible splurge that feels distinctly special. Budget a Sip Lounge session each sailing.
- Mixology class cocktails: Mixology class cocktails are sometimes Bar Tab eligible. Check with your class instructor.
- Specialty cocktails at The Manor and The Dock: These are the highest-quality cocktails on the ship — premium spirits, complex preparation, genuinely elevated. Worth spending Bar Tab on rather than basic beer.
- Bimini Beach Club last-day spend: The Beach Club has six bars and a full day of service. If you have remaining Bar Tab on your Bimini day (typically the last port day on Miami sailings), this is the ideal venue to drain the balance.
Premium Fare Bar Tab Math
The Premium VoyageFair fare tier includes $15 per Sailor per night in automatic Bar Tab credit. On a 7-night sailing for two Sailors: $210 in built-in Bar Tab. The Premium fare premium over Essential is $45 per person per night — $630 for two Sailors on 7 nights. If you would spend $630+ on Bar Tab anyway, Premium fare is neutral or better. If you drink moderately, Essential fare plus purchased Bar Tab is the better value.
Insider Tips from Joel and Erin
- Buy slightly more Bar Tab than you think you need. It is better to arrive at Bimini with $50 to spend than to run dry on Day 5. You cannot add Bar Tab onboard at promotional rates.
- Do not save Bar Tab for the last day then panic-spend. Spreading Bar Tab evenly across the voyage is more enjoyable than Day 7 speed-drinking. Monitor and adjust daily.
- The Shake for Champagne feature is Bar Tab eligible. Ordering a bottle of Moët to the pool deck on a sea day via the app shake feature is one of the most enjoyable Bar Tab uses — and a quintessentially Virgin Voyages moment.
Ready to Plan Your Bar Tab?
As certified First Mates, Joel and Erin can help you calculate the right Bar Tab amount for your sailing length and help you find current promotional Bar Tab offers.
Book your Virgin Voyages cruise at CruisePlanner.pro — and never run dry at sea
