My first and only cruise experience was a seven-day Virgin Voyages trip in the Mediterranean in 2023., and calling the experience excellent was an understatement. back then, not only were award redemptions incredibly cheap, but it was also easy to status-match into their Sailing Club and enjoy tons of perks. Truly delightful!
Now their status match program has returned for a limited time:
- Valid through January 16
- Supports a wide range of cruise lines, airlines, and hotel loyalty programs
- Successful matches receive an access key that unlocks Blue Extras benefits
- Applies to bookings made before March 31
- No application fee
The bar is very low. Cruise and airline tiers aside, even mid-tier hotel statuses like Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Accor Gold, and IHG Gold qualify.
Normally, you earn Blue Extras on your third voyage. Key benefits include:
- One free laundry bag
- One handcrafted coffee per day
- Invitation to an exclusive cocktail event
Starting from your fifth voyage, you can further upgrade to Deep Blue Extras, which adds priority boarding, a $100 onboard credit, and complimentary premium Wi-Fi.
This round of status matching is easy to qualify for, but honestly not particularly exciting. The main issue is the access key:
- It can only be used once
- It cannot be used in conjunction with other offers, e.g. award redemption
So it doesn’t feel very practical. And ever since Virgin Voyages’ points redemption skyrocketed from 80,000 to absurd levels, I’ve stopped paying attention altogether.
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