NEWS & OFFERS: Virgin cruises available from 85,000 points, Aer Lingus sale and Fiji Airways becomes full oneworld member

Virgin cruises available from 85,000 points

I recently wrote about the Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises that were bookable on Virgin points. I actually ended up booking one of them myself as it is a great deal for using your points since no cash is needed and it covers everything apart from excursions and alcohol. Now Virgin Voyages sailings departing from the UK are vailable on Virgin Red, alongside the Caribbean and Mediterranean sailings.  

Virgin Red members can now book a Virgin Voyages sailing departing from Portsmouth from 85,000 Virgin Points. 

Here are the details of the UK sailings available on Virgin Red:

Three-night round trip from Portsmouth to Zeebrugge (Bruges) – 85,000 Virgin Points: 

·         Departs 27 August 2024. 

·         Day 1 – Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Departs at 6:00pm. 

·         Day 2 – Sailing. 

·         Day 3 – Zeebrugge (Bruges). Arrives at 8:00am, departs at 5:00pm. 

·         Day 4 – Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Arrives at 6:30am. 

Four-night round trip from Portsmouth to Amsterdam – 110,000 Virgin Points: 

·         Departs 30 August or 19 September 2024.  

·         Day 1 – Portsmouth, United Kingston. Departs 6:00pm. 

·         Day 2 – Amsterdam. Arrives at 7:00pm.  

·         Day 3 – Amsterdam. Departs at 6:30pm. 

·         Day 4 – Sailing.  

·         Day 5 – Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Arrives at 6:30am. 

Six-night round trip from Portsmouth to Spain and France – 170,000 Virgin Points: 

·         Departs 8 September 2024.  

·         Day 1 – Portsmouth, United Kingston. Departs 6:00pm. 

·         Day 2 – Sailing.  

·         Day 3 – La Coruña. Arrives at 8:00am, departs at 5:00pm.  

·         Day 4 – Bilbao. Arrives at 10:00am, departs at 6:00pm. 

·         Day 5 – Le Verdon (Bordeaux). Arrives at 8:30am, departs at 8:00pm.  

·         Day 6 – Sailing 

·         Day 7 – Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Arrives at 6:30am. 

The price is per cabin (one or two people) and covers all food, soft drinks, tips, group fitness classes, entertainment and Wi-Fi. Spaces are limited and you can find full details and terms on the Virgin Red website or app. 

I actually did the Zeebrugge cruise a while ago and you can read my review here.

Aer Lingus UK sale

Aer Lingus has launched a new sale featuring routes out of Manchester from 3 June – 10 June 2024. Both economy and business class are included. You can travel between today and 31 March, 2025.

Aer Lingus fly from Manchester to New York, Orlando and Barbados. I am actually writing this on my way back from the US on Aer Lingus (although via Dublin) and I have to say I have been very impressed with the overall experience. You can now also earn BA tier points as well as Avios on these flights.

You can find the sale page here. 

Fiji Airways becomes full oneworld member

oneworld® has announced that Fiji Airways is to become its 15th full member airline.

Fiji Airways, the flag carrier of Fiji and the South Pacific, has been a oneworld connect partner which was a rather complex “lite” version of being part of oneworld.  During this time, the airline has developed cooperative links with all oneworld member airlines. Fiji Airways’ transition to full membership will commence immediately and will be completed within the next 12 months. 

Fiji Airways, with its hub at Nadi International Airport, serves 26 destinations in 15 countries and territories globally, including oneworld hubs at Sydney, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Fiji Link, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiji Airways, will become an affiliate airline of oneworld and extend the alliance’s network further by bringing its domestic flights to Suva, Nadi, Labasa, Taveuni and Kadavu; as well as regionally to the Pacific Island nations of Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Fiji has enhanced its fleet with new state-of-the-art Airbus A350 aircraft as well. 

As a full oneworld member airline, Fiji Airways will provide oneworld Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby customers with a full suite of oneworld benefits including earning and redeeming miles, earning status points, priority check-in and boarding and lounge access. 

2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the oneworld alliance, which was founded in 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. Later this year, Oman Air will become the 14th member airline of the alliance, joining Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian and SriLankan Airlines.