First cruise ship company to accept Bitcoin as a means of payment

The cruise ship company Virgin Voyages has announced that it will accept Bitcoin payments for its new annual pass. According to the company, this makes it the first in the industry to take this step.

"Virgin Voyages' Annual Pass will be the first cruise product to accept cryptocurrency payment option, Bitcoin", says the Florida-based company's website.

The annual pass, which at $120,000 - excluding taxes and fees - currently costs more than one Bitcoin, will allow travelers to board Virgin Voyages' cruise ships from any location for a period of twelve months.

The offer, which is valid from now until March 31, 2025, includes a place in a sea terrace cabin with balcony view, including meals.

Virgin Yoyages is part of the Virgin Group, co-founded by Richard Branson, which also includes the well-known airline Virgin Galactic, which is active in the field of space tourism.

Richard Branson is an early Bitcoin investor. In 2013, he announced that tickets for Virgin Galactic's space flights could be purchased with Bitcoin, which he considered to be an "interesting currency".

In a Bloomberg interview, when asked about Bitcoin, he also emphasized that he was concerned with the competition with Elon Musk's space company and that it was a different issue whether the company would also keep the Bitcoin.

SpaceX, like Tesla, has held Bitcoin on its balance sheet for several years - according to Arkham Intelligence, more than 8,285 BTC worth around 800 million US dollars.

However, Musk had previously only accepted Bitcoin payments with Tesla, but discontinued this a few months later due to environmental concerns that can no longer be justified.

The Bitcoin payment option at Virgin Galactic was also supposed to have been used - by the Winklevoss twins, among others. However, Tyler Winklevoss announced on the 𝕏 platform in 2019 that he regretted this.

In January 2014, I bought a ticket to space on Virgin Galactic with bitcoin. The price of 1 BTC was $800. I won't make that mistake again.
_{Tyler Winklevoss}

In the recent past, there have been more and more reports of companies opening up to Bitcoin. For example, a number of small public limited companies recently announced that they are establishing a Bitcoin strategy - Blocktrainer.de reported.

Among them was the Singapore-based AI company Genius Group, which also wanted to accept Bitcoin as a payment method for its own education platform. The company bought the first 172 Bitcoin yesterday.

Yesterday, the airline Volato Group also issued a press release in which the company announced its intention to monetize excess energy during flights by integrating Bitcoin mining - Blocktrainer.de reported.

From a Bitcoiner's point of view, it is positive when companies make use of Bitcoin or mining - whether as an investment object, means of payment or even a flexible energy consumer. This drives the adoption of digital money, which is just 16 years old, and strengthens the network and the benefits of Bitcoin.

However, it is difficult to assess whether there is genuine conviction behind reports such as Virgin Voyages', in addition to the hope of better sales of the annual pass. By making waves in the Bitcoin and crypto community, companies can draw attention to themselves and their products or services.

As adoption continues to advance, it can only be expected that more and more entities will find ways to profit from Bitcoin in the future. Bitcoin has now become a relevant marketing asset that companies can use to boost share prices or even improve sales figures.