The Virgin Voyages Lock It In rate is the cheapest way to book a sailing, and you will also see it called the Base fare. They are the same thing.
You are locked into your date, your price and your room type, and you do not get to choose your actual room. No changes, at all, once it is booked.
The price is genuinely good. The restrictions are what make people unhappy, and most of them only become real once you are already on board.
My co-agent JC and I book sailors on this rate every week, so we see both sides of it. Plenty of people are delighted. One sailor got off the ship early and flew home. Here is exactly what you are agreeing to, so you can tell which one you would be.
What the Virgin Voyages Lock It In Rate Actually Is
Virgin Voyages changed how it prices sailings in October 2025. There are now three fare tiers, and each step up buys you flexibility rather than a better room.
Base is the lowest tier and the cheapest. It is the one the website and your agent will both call Lock It In. Above it sit Essentials and then Premium.
Nothing about the ship changes between the tiers. The food is the same, the entertainment is the same, the crew is the same. What changes is how much control you have over your own booking.
That is the whole trade. You are buying the same holiday with fewer options, and you are paying less for it.
What You Are Locked Into
Four things, and none of them move after you book.
Your date. You cannot move to a different sailing. Not a week later, not a different ship, not for any reason.
Your price. That is the good half of the deal. It also means you are not repricing later if the fare drops.
Your room type. If you booked an Insider, you are in an Insider. You cannot move up to a Sea Terrace later.
Your actual room, which you do not get to choose. This is the one that catches people out, and it gets its own section below.
The one that surprises sailors most is the date. People book a year out, life happens, and they come to us wanting to move to the next sailing. On a Lock It In fare there is nothing anyone can do.
You Cannot Pick Your Room, and You May Not See It Until You Board
Where your booking would normally show a cabin number, a Lock It In booking shows GTY. That stands for guarantee, and it means you are guaranteed a room of that type, not a specific one.
You will not see the number early. Sailors have been driving to the port with the app still saying GTY.
For some people that is completely fine. They are going on a cruise, a room is a room, and they will find out when they find out.
For others it is the worst part of the whole rate. If you are the kind of traveler who wants to see where you are on the deck plan, work out what is above you and what is below you, and picture the week before you go, GTY takes all of that away.
Neither of those is the wrong way to travel. You just need to know which one you are before you book.
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The Noise Is the Part That Ruins Sailings
A ship is not a rectangle, and some rooms sit under, beside or above something loud. When you cannot pick, you are in the lottery for those rooms.
A sailor who had been perfectly happy on previous sailings booked a Lock It In for the first time and was put next to The Manor. He could not sleep. He got off the ship in Cozumel and made his own way home.
Leaving a cruise early is neither cheap nor convenient, and that is a sailor who loved Virgin Voyages before that week.
It is not only the venues. Deck 14 is one of my favourite decks because it is close to The Galley, but I do not want to be on the stretch of it that sits under the gym. At 6am you hear the weights come down, every single morning.
Rooms near the Red Room can hear the shows. Rooms at the very front of the ship move more in bad weather, which matters if you are sensitive to motion.
If none of that would bother you, this section is not a warning, it is just information. If reading it made you wince, that is your answer on Lock It In.
The 15 Day Dining Window Means a 9pm Table
Restaurant reservations open on a schedule set by your fare. Base opens 15 days out. Essentials opens at 45 days, and Premium at 60.
Fifteen days is late. By then the popular tables are gone, so expect to be offered 9pm or 9:30pm, or to eat at The Galley instead.
Nobody goes hungry on Virgin Voyages. The Galley is genuinely good and it is where JC and I eat most nights anyway, because we rarely book ahead.
But we are not the test case. If this is your first Virgin sailing and you have been looking forward to Extra Virgin, Razzle Dazzle and Rojo, a 15 day window is the difference between eating at those restaurants and reading about them.
This is the single most common complaint we hear about the rate, ahead of the room.
Don’t forget to pack THIS!
Virgin Voyages has reimagined sailing and what you need to pack on for this trip is DIFFERENT than a normal cruise line. There are many items I wish I knew to bring (that I didn’t have with me on my first sailing).
Get a free printable pack list and save yourself the headache!
OR if you’re just looking for some inspo! See the curated list of Amazon items I’ve put together (and use!) for Virgin Voyages.
You Cannot Upgrade a Lock It In Rate
This is the question we get asked most after someone books one. You have a Lock It In Insider, you have thought about it, and now you would like a Sea Terrace. Can you pay the difference?
No. That is not an option on this fare, and it is policy rather than a pricing decision anyone can lean on.
It surprises people, because it looks like money Virgin Voyages is choosing not to take. When you are locked in, you are locked in.
Bidding Is the One Way Out, and It Is Not a Guarantee
There is exactly one route to a different room, and it is the upgrade bid. You can put in a bid on a Lock It In booking like anyone else.
A bid is not a purchase. It can be declined, and plenty are. Whether it lands depends on how your particular sailing is selling, which is different on every ship and every date.
If you want to know what is actually left, look at the sailing on the Virgin Voyages website and see which room types are still available to book. That tells you more than guessing does, and you can check it yourself the day you decide to bid.
Treat a bid as a nice surprise if it works, never as the plan that rescues a booking you already regret.
Not sure if we can get you the best deal? Learn more about us in Virgin Voyages Facebook group by clicking here!
Who Is Actually Happy With the Lock It In Rate
There is a clear pattern, and it is not the people you might expect. The sailors who love this rate are the experienced ones.
They have sailed Virgin enough times to know the deck plans. They know which corners are odd, which stretches are loud, and roughly what they are likely to be given. They already know where they are going to eat.
It is also mostly solo sailors rather than couples. One person has less to negotiate, is more often out on the ship than in the room and is usually more relaxed about where that room ends up.
Nobody in that group is putting up with anything. They ran the numbers, decided the room was not where they wanted their money, and spent it on the sailing instead.
If that sounds like you, Lock It In is not a compromise. It is the smartest fare on the page.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Virgin Voyages Lock It In Rate
Is Lock It In the same as the Base fare?
Yes. Two names for the same lowest tier. You will see both used, sometimes in the same conversation.
What does GTY mean on my booking?
Guarantee. You have a room of the type you booked, and the specific room has not been assigned to you yet.
When will I find out my cabin number?
There is no promised moment. Some sailors get it a few weeks out and some are still looking at GTY on the drive to the port.
Can I change my sailing date?
No. The date is fixed from the moment you book, and that is true no matter how far out you are.
Can I request a quiet room?
You can ask, and nobody can promise it. If a quiet room is genuinely important to you, that is a reason to book a fare where you choose the room yourself.
Can I upgrade after I book?
Not on this fare. The upgrade bid is the only route to a different room, and it is not guaranteed.
So, Should You Book the Virgin Voyages Lock It In Rate?
Book it if you are flexible about where you sleep and when you eat, and you would rather put the savings toward the next sailing. That is a real strategy and the sailors who use it are happy.
Do not book it if you are sensitive to noise or to the ship moving, if you want to see your room on the deck plan before you go, or if you have a list of restaurants you are counting on. The money you save will not fix any of those once you are on board.
If you are not sure which one you are, that uncertainty is itself the answer. Pay for the fare that lets you choose, and enjoy the sailing you were picturing.
