Virgin Voyages Cabin Upgrades & Upgrade Bidding: How It Works
There are two ways to move up on Virgin: pay the difference, or bid for it. Here's how both work — including the fine print the invitation email doesn't spell out.
1. A straight (manual) upgrade
You can simply move to a higher category by paying the fare difference, handled through Sailor Services (or us). One catch: if you booked a Lock It In (guarantee) rate, manual upgrades generally aren't allowed — for those, bidding is your path up (more below).
Before you assume bidding is the cheaper route, price the straight upgrade first. When the gap between your cabin and the next category is small, the guaranteed move often costs less than what winning bids are clearing at — and we've seen exactly that on plenty of sailings.
2. Upgrade bidding (the "Level Upgrade" program)
Closer to sailing, Virgin often invites you to bid on an upgrade: you name what you'd pay to jump to a higher category — all the way up to RockStar and Mega RockStar Suites — and if your bid is accepted, you move up. If it isn't, you keep your original cabin, no harm done.
Because a winning bid is treated as a new fare, even Lock It In bookings are eligible to bid, including into the suites. The one hard exclusion fleet-wide is the Massive Suite — you can't bid your way into that one.
How bidding actually works — the fine print
When invitations arrive. Bid invitations typically show up around 45 days before sailing, though timing varies by voyage and the emails are famously unreliable. Don't wait on your inbox — from about 70 days out, check the upgrade portal on Virgin's site directly with your booking number every few days. If it says you're not eligible, try again in a private browser window before assuming you're locked out.
How the bid is priced. You'll see a slider with a minimum and maximum for each category you can bid on. The amount you enter is the total for the cabin — not per Sailor and not per night. A $1 authorization hold verifies your card when you submit; nothing else is charged unless you win.
When bids clear. Virgin decides no later than about 48 hours before departure, but acceptances often land earlier — sometimes several days or even a couple of weeks out. If your bid wins, your card is charged immediately (the charge may appear from "Plusgrade," the company that runs the program — don't panic) and the upgrade is final and non-refundable.
Changing your mind. You can modify or cancel a bid up until roughly 72 hours before sailing, as long as it hasn't already been accepted. So never bid a number you wouldn't happily pay today.
What happens to your original cabin. It goes back into Virgin's inventory. Your fare tier, Bar Tab, Sailor Loot, and existing promos carry over to the new cabin — you don't pick up whatever perks the higher category was being sold with.
Improving your odds
Minimum bids rarely win on popular sailings. Something like 15–25% above the slider minimum is a more realistic starting point.
Sanity-check against retail. Look up what the higher category actually costs for your sailing. A winning bid usually needs to be a meaningful fraction of that gap — and if the gap is small, the straight paid upgrade from section 1 may beat bidding entirely.
Bid on the unloved categories. Everyone bids on the flashy suites. A bid into a less glamorous step up — or on a shoulder-season or repositioning sailing with open inventory — clears far more easily.
Check availability first. If your target category is nearly sold out, competition is stiff and odds are long.
Our take: treat a bid as a bonus, not a plan. Book the cabin you'd be happy sailing in — our how to pick a cabin guide helps there — then bid opportunistically.
Wondering if a suite is within reach? Before you bid at all, send us your sailing — we'll price the straight upgrade against a smart bid and tell you honestly which is the better play. No booking fees, ever. Ask The Cruise Boys®.