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Adults-Only Cruise Line

Virgin Alcohol Policy

What you can bring aboard, the corkage rules, drink packages, and the drinking age on a Virgin cruise in 2026, verified against the official policy.

Quick answer

Virgin lets you bring some of your own alcohol aboard at embarkation. Virgin Voyages has no traditional drink packages. The onboard drinking age is 21 in US waters and 18 on international sailings.

Bringing your own alcohol

Allowed, with limits

Sailors may bring two 750 ml bottles of wine, sparkling wine, or Champagne per cabin in carry-on bags on embarkation day. No liquor or beer is allowed. Alcohol found in checked luggage is collected and returned at the end of the voyage. Specialty liquors bought in port are handed to security and held until the final night.

Corkage fee

$25 per bottle

Virgin Voyages charges a $25 corkage fee to serve your own wine at its eateries, and you can pay it with your Bar Tab.

Drink packages

Not offered

Virgin Voyages has no traditional drink packages.

Bar Tab is optional, and not every Sailor in a cabin has to buy one. It can be used to buy drinks for others. It must be pre-purchased in the app or My Account up to 24 hours before sailing and cannot be bought on board. Unused credit is not refundable, and it cannot be used for packaged items such as bottles of wine or spirits to take home.

Minimum drinking age

21

Virgin is an adults-only line: the minimum age to book and sail is 18. Sailors 18 and older may drink in international waters unless the itinerary restricts it. The US drinking age of 21 applies in the United States, and on Alaska itineraries all Sailors must be 21 or older to buy or drink alcohol.

Good to know

Virgin Voyages does not sell a traditional unlimited drink package. Instead it offers Bar Tab, prepaid drink credit bought in the app or your account up to 24 hours before sailing (it is not sold on board), which adds bonus credit and covers premium drinks for you or anyone you choose; not every Sailor in a cabin has to buy one. Essential drinks, including filtered still and sparkling water, non-pressed juices, sodas, teas, and drip coffee, are included.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bring my own alcohol on a Virgin cruise?
Yes. Sailors may bring two 750 ml bottles of wine, sparkling wine, or Champagne per cabin in carry-on bags on embarkation day.
What is Virgin's corkage fee?
$25 per bottle. That is what Virgin charges to serve wine you brought aboard yourself.
Does Virgin have a drink package?
No. Virgin Voyages has no traditional drink packages. Essential drinks are included in the fare. Sailors can pre-purchase a Bar Tab, onboard credit for premium drinks that earns bonus credit of up to $250, to spend on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on the ships and at The Beach Club at Bimini.
How do you pay for drinks on Virgin?
Bar Tab is optional, and not every Sailor in a cabin has to buy one. It can be used to buy drinks for others. It must be pre-purchased in the app or My Account up to 24 hours before sailing and cannot be bought on board. Unused credit is not refundable, and it cannot be used for packaged items such as bottles of wine or spirits to take home.
What is the drinking age on a Virgin cruise?
21 in US waters and 18 in international waters on Virgin.
Does the drinking age change between US waters and international waters on Virgin?
Yes. The onboard minimum is 18 internationally, rising to 21 while the ship is in US waters.

More on Virgin

Alcohol policies on other cruise lines

C
Caden Sorenson

Travel data researcher and publisher

Caden Sorenson runs Travel Vient, an independent travel research site built on a verified database of airline baggage rules, airport connection times, cruise line policies, and eSIM plans. He built the verification pipeline behind it: each record is read from the company or government page that publishes it (connection times: OAG data via ExpertFlyer), stored with that source link and the sentence it came from, and re-checked on a schedule. He is a senior staff engineer with 15+ years building software, a Computer Science graduate of Utah State University, and based in Logan, Utah.

Figures link to the source they were read from and show the date last checked; some cite a travel publication or aggregator rather than the company.

Sources

Facts, costs, and travel details in this guide were verified against the following sources. See our research methodology for how we vet and update data.

If a figure looks wrong, email hello@vient.org, see how we handle corrections, or browse past fixes in our public changelog.

Cruise lines change alcohol policies and prices without notice. Confirm with the line before you sail.