Brilliant Lady Launch Events – First Look at Virgin’s New Ship!

0:00
As Brilliant Lady Virgin Voyagers's
0:02
latest ship makes her way from Lisbon to
0:04
Portsmouth, she's getting ready to kick
0:06
off a week of fantastic pre-launch
0:08
events to make sure she's absolutely
0:11
ready for her big launch in New York
0:12
City on the 5th of September. This will
0:15
be our first chance to have a look at
0:17
some of the incredible new spaces on
0:19
board, some of the fantastic food, and
0:21
also those all new events that have been
0:24
planned for Virgin's first new ship in
0:26
over 2 years. I'm David from VV Insider.
0:29
Come with us as we have a look at all of
0:31
the rumors and updates that we're going
0:33
to be having a look at in person over
0:34
the next week. Vins Insider is the
0:37
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0:39
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0:41
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1:01
So whether you're interested in
1:02
Brilliant Lady because you've sailed on
1:04
the Virgin Voyager ships before, maybe
1:06
you've sailed on Scarlet Lady, Valiant
1:07
Lady, or Resilient Lady, or whether
1:09
Brilliant Lady will be your first
1:11
introduction to Virgin Voyages. We're
1:13
going to take a look at all the changes
1:15
that we're expecting to see over the
1:17
next week. And also, we're going to
1:18
delve into what to expect from all the
1:20
events and parties that are going to get
1:22
Brilliant Lady to launch before she sets
1:25
sail across the Atlantic to start her
1:27
mermaid and voyage from New York City on
1:29
the 5th of September. So, one thing
1:31
you'll need to know is that all four
1:33
Virgin Voyages lady ships are very, very
1:36
similar. They were all ordered and
1:37
designed at the same time and
1:39
effectively built at the same time as
1:41
well. So, one thing we do know for sure
1:43
is that Brilliant Lady won't be hugely
1:45
structurally different from the rest of
1:47
the fleet. But instead, it's the subtle
1:49
changes that we've been keeping a really
1:51
close eye on. And we're going to list
1:53
those off in this video so you know what
1:55
to expect. But of course, for those
1:57
Virgin Voyages nerds like ourselves, we
1:59
can't wait to get on board to see what
2:01
those tiny little changes might be. And
2:03
if you stay subscribed to this channel,
2:05
we're going to do a full walkthrough
2:07
tour so you can have a look at all those
2:09
tiny little changes yourself. and
2:11
crucially have a sharp eye and see what
2:13
makes Brilliant Lady different than her
2:16
sister ships. But let's break down what
2:18
we know already. So let's start off with
2:20
entertainment. This is an area that
2:22
Virgin Voyagers have really earmarked as
2:25
the key differentiator between the
2:27
different ships. So depending on which
2:29
ship you choose to travel on, your event
2:31
lineup may look very different indeed.
2:33
And actually, Brilliant Lady is
2:35
introducing a huge amount of new shows
2:37
and events. If you've followed VB
2:39
Insider for a while, you'll know that
2:41
these new events include things like
2:43
Murder in the Manor, which is a new Mana
2:45
show themed around a murder mystery. Red
2:48
Hot, which is a musical production
2:50
showing the last five decades of Virgin
2:52
Records. Out of Time, which is a new Red
2:55
Room show, which promises to be a
2:56
comedic caper, which is centered around
2:58
a character called Dr. Victoria Vortex,
3:01
who's trying to fix her malfunctioning
3:03
time machine. But one of the most
3:05
interesting events that we've been
3:06
looking forward to specifically is an
3:08
event called Up with a Twist, which is a
3:11
new supper club experience. This is a
3:13
paid for dining event which is much like
3:15
Another Rose, which is an event that
3:17
debuted on Resilient Lady when she
3:20
launched back in May in 2023. The idea
3:23
of Up with a Twist is that we're
3:24
returning to the Roaring 20s and the
3:27
Mana has been transformed into an
3:29
exclusive jazz club. The show promises
3:32
to include a live band with flapper
3:34
dancers and promises a modern spin on
3:37
vintage tunes. We now know the food that
3:39
will be served along with Up with a
3:41
Twist will be inspired by French
3:43
cuisine. One of the great benefits with
3:45
these type of supper events is that the
3:47
alcohol is included as part of your
3:49
ticket. While we don't have a proper
3:51
confirmation on exactly what the ticket
3:53
prices will be, we expect it to be very
3:55
similar to Another Rose, which is $50
3:58
per person. And if it's anything like
4:00
another rose, this will include
4:01
bottleless alcohol with the price of the
4:03
tickets. It's likely also that the
4:05
seating arrangements will be very
4:07
similar to what you've seen with other
4:08
supper club type events on Virgin
4:10
Voyages, where some of the seating is
4:12
right up front near the stage, while
4:14
others will be sat in the mana seating
4:16
around the edge. Here at VV Insider,
4:18
we're hoping to catch a real glimpse at
4:20
Up with a Twist on Tuesday and Wednesday
4:22
this coming week. So do stay subscribed
4:25
to our YouTube channel and also head
4:27
over to our website where you can
4:28
subscribe to our newsletter to stay
4:30
fully up to date with all the latest
4:32
happenings from Brilliant Lady. And when
4:34
it comes to the other events that I've
4:36
mentioned on Brilliant Lady, it's likely
4:38
we're going to see more of those over
4:39
the next couple of weeks as well. So do
4:42
stay tuned. Moving away from events and
4:44
more into the structure and the design
4:46
of this new ship, I want to start by
4:48
talking about the roundabout. If you're
4:50
unfamiliar with Virgin Voyages, the
4:53
roundabout is the atrium style area on
4:55
board. So, where on traditional cruise
4:57
lines, the atrium is this huge area with
5:00
elevators and stairs and a huge
5:02
chandelier, the roundabout on Virgin
5:04
Voyages is a little bit more subdued,
5:06
but nevertheless just as practical. And
5:09
exclusively on Brilliant Lady, it's even
5:11
more practical than ever. Virgin
5:13
Voyagers have looked at this space and
5:15
thought, "How can we actually make it
5:17
way more practical for these sailings
5:19
that will tend to be in colder
5:21
climates?" So, just to recap, Brilliant
5:23
Lady is designed specifically to get
5:26
around the world a little bit more nimly
5:28
than her sister ships. With some big
5:30
design changes to her lifeboats, they're
5:32
able to bring the lifeboats in to be
5:34
able to pass through the Panama Canal.
5:36
And what this means is that Brilliant
5:38
Lady will have access to the west coast
5:40
of the United States as well, which
5:42
enables Brilliant Lady to do sailings on
5:44
the west coast of Canada and Alaska.
5:46
Now, what does this actually mean for
5:47
the roundabout? Well, there are two
5:49
different aspects that the Virgin
5:50
Voyages design team has tried to
5:52
incorporate in the roundabout to
5:54
accommodate these new sailings.
5:56
Primarily, it all comes down to being
5:58
able to enjoy these scenic voyages with
6:01
the best view possible. If you've ever
6:03
sailed on Virgin Voyages in the past,
6:05
you'll know that the roundabout,
6:07
although it's beautiful, it is kind of
6:09
cumbersome. There are some elements that
6:11
do block your view to the windows, which
6:13
I'm assuming at launch meant that they
6:15
could segment these areas off and make
6:17
unique spaces around the roundabouts.
6:19
Well, one of the big changes that you'll
6:20
see in the roundabout on Brilliant Lady
6:22
is that segmentation is gone. It's now
6:25
one sweeping area, so sailors can now
6:28
see outside of both sides of the ship.
6:30
So when Brilliant Lady is passing
6:32
through those really scenic areas of the
6:34
world, sailors will have a lovely
6:36
uninterrupted view of the scenery as she
6:38
passes by. The other aspect that they're
6:40
trying to address here is the ability
6:42
for them to host more events that happen
6:45
inside the ship. And the reason for that
6:47
is that when Brilliant Lady goes to
6:49
these more scenic areas, generally the
6:51
climate and temperature of those are
6:53
going to be on average a lot colder and
6:55
wetter than they would be on the other
6:56
ships that tend to go out of Miami and
6:59
the Mediterranean, for example. So, in
7:01
order for Virgin Voyages to deliver a
7:03
fantastic entertainment experience, what
7:05
they're doing is bringing some of that
7:07
entertainment inside when they need to.
7:09
And Virgin Voyagers are not new to this.
7:11
Sometimes during inclement weather, the
7:13
team have had to bring Scarlet Knight
7:15
inside rather than hosting the iconic
7:17
pool party outside. And of course,
7:19
they're going to continue to do that,
7:21
but they do know that it is a little bit
7:22
of a disappointment when the pool party
7:24
doesn't go ahead. So, what they're
7:26
attempting to do is really beef up that
7:28
inside entertainment on board. And these
7:30
adaptations to the roundabout to make it
7:32
a lot more open has done exactly that.
7:35
It's effectively created a brand new
7:37
space to host some of those internal
7:39
events. It will be really interesting to
7:41
see how Virgin Voyages pull this off and
7:44
any changes that they've made to Scarlet
7:45
Knight as well. So, expect to see more
7:48
information about those events over the
7:50
next few weeks. A few of the things that
7:52
we're looking forward to see in person
7:54
are the new seating arrangements around
7:56
the roundabouts. We've seen a few
7:58
glimpses of some new sofas and some new
8:01
places to relax and also work from sea.
8:04
But actually, we can't wait to have a
8:05
proper look oursel and go through area
8:08
by area and have a look to see what
8:10
those new places to sit and relax really
8:12
look like. Again, stay tuned to
8:14
bbinsider.com
8:16
and we'll bring all of those new photos
8:18
and videos to you as soon as we have
8:20
them. One other quick thing to mention
8:21
on the roundabout is that the draft
8:23
house, which is the pub style bar that's
8:25
connected to the roundabout, has had a
8:27
little bit of an overhaul as well. It's
8:29
always been a place to get draft beer,
8:32
but now it will also include an espresso
8:34
coffee machine. So, crucially, it
8:36
becomes one more place to grab coffee on
8:38
board, which is very welcome news indeed
8:40
because sometimes the queue at Grounds
8:42
Club gets a little bit too long for my
8:44
liking. So, it's going to be nice to
8:46
have somewhere else to go and break down
8:48
the line a little bit. Moving upstairs
8:50
to another location which has had a
8:52
massive renovation and facelift and this
8:55
is the athletic club. If you've sailed
8:58
on Virgin Voyages before, you'll know
9:00
the athletic club as the place where the
9:02
big red net has been. The big red net,
9:04
for those that are uninitiated, is
9:07
exactly what it sounds like. It's a
9:08
catamaran style net, which you can stand
9:10
on and look down to deck 7 all the way
9:13
from deck 16. It's of course not for the
9:16
faint-hearted, but it is a nice little
9:18
activity that you can do on a sea day,
9:20
see if you're brave enough. It makes for
9:21
a great Instagram picture as well. But
9:23
the changes that you're going to notice
9:24
on Brilliant Lady are around the net.
9:27
And the changes all boil down to that
9:29
exact reason I mentioned before, which
9:31
is to open up the ship to those new
9:33
scenic sailings. So historically on
9:35
Virgin Voyages around the athletic club
9:38
is this huge daybed. I believe they call
9:40
it the largest daybed at sea. And it's
9:43
exactly that. It's a daybed that
9:44
stretches all the way around the after
9:46
the ship. And this is really nice
9:48
because you can spread out. There's room
9:50
for loads of people there. The main
9:52
problem with this though is that it
9:53
blocks the view to the back of the ship.
9:56
So historically in the athletic club, if
9:58
you wanted to see the scenery or simply
10:00
just look into the ocean, you would have
10:02
had to very unsafeely clamber up onto
10:04
this day to look out the back of the
10:06
ship. Well, thankfully, Virgin Voyages
10:08
have made a change here on Brilliant
10:10
Lady and removed that daybed entirely.
10:13
What this does is open the view to these
10:15
glass railings so you can get a full
10:18
panoramic view out the back of the ship.
10:20
This, of course, is going to be a hugely
10:22
welcome change for those that are
10:23
sailing on those more scenic voyages
10:25
like in Alaska and Canada. Now, for
10:27
those that are mourning the loss of that
10:29
huge daybed, have no fear. It looks like
10:31
they've installed some brand new
10:33
furniture in this location. So, there's
10:35
still plenty places to sit, lounge, and
10:38
relax. And again, we haven't had a good
10:40
view of what this space looks like yet.
10:42
So, as soon as we're able to, we're
10:44
going to bring you video footage and
10:45
images of those areas so you can see
10:48
exactly what to expect on Brilliant
10:50
Lady. So, make sure you stay subscribed
10:52
to our channel for more on that over the
10:54
next week. Heading back down into the
10:56
ship, we're going to talk a little bit
10:58
about the brand new restaurant that's on
11:00
Brilliant Lady, and that is called Rojo
11:03
by Razledazzle. If you've followed along
11:05
before, you'll know all about Rojo by
11:07
Razledazzle. This is the brand new
11:09
Spanish inspired restaurant on board
11:11
Brilliant Lady. If you sailed on
11:13
Brilliant Lady's sister ships, you might
11:15
have been to the old Razledazzle, which
11:17
was originally set up to offer vegan and
11:20
vegetarian fair, but it has since
11:22
evolved to offer sort of American
11:24
classic dishes. But starting with
11:26
Scarlet Lady last year, it became clear
11:28
that Razledazzle is the restaurant of
11:30
choice and Virgin Voyages wants to make
11:33
a slight difference to the cuisine
11:34
offered on board. Scarlet Ladies
11:37
Razledazzle was transformed into Lucky
11:39
Lotus by Razledazzle, which was an Asian
11:41
inspired restaurant. And it was during
11:44
this dry dock that the inspiration for
11:46
Rojo by Razledazzle began. A video from
11:49
Virgin Voyages was released just
11:51
yesterday, which delves into a little
11:53
bit more of the design influence and the
11:55
food influence that we're expecting to
11:58
see inside of Rojo by Razledazzle. I've
12:00
put together a few clips from that
12:02
video, which I'm going to play now. Have
12:03
a look at these fantastic newly designed
12:06
spaces and seating areas that you're
12:08
going to see when you board Brilliant
12:10
Lady yourself.
12:10
Jamie and Nicole and team started to
12:14
develop this concept, this new modern
12:17
Spanish concept and had a lot of really
12:20
strong vision with the warmth that was
12:23
needed in the space. Um, lots of
12:27
inspiration through the cuisine. So, I
12:29
think from a material standpoint and
12:31
just refining the design, as I said, it
12:34
was easy easy to fall in love with, we
12:37
had a lot of really great back and forth
12:39
with types of materials. Um, the tones
12:43
really are just inspired by the Spanish
12:47
culture and what you would see walking
12:49
the streets um of Malaga, which we had
12:52
the chance to do. As you can see from
12:54
that video, a huge attention to detail
12:57
has been given to Rojo by Razledazzle.
12:59
We can't wait to see what the space
13:01
looks like, but crucially also what the
13:03
food and beverages are like as well. And
13:05
if you want a quick glimpse at that,
13:07
vinsider.com now hosts the full menu for
13:10
both dinner, brunch, and the drinks
13:13
available at Rojo by Razledazzle. If you
13:15
head over to vbvinsider.com,
13:18
you can get a sneak peek at all of those
13:20
menus and plan what you might want to
13:21
order when you get into the restaurant
13:23
yourself. But we haven't tasted the food
13:25
or drinks yet. So, we're really excited
13:27
to get on board and bring that
13:28
information to you over the next few
13:30
weeks. So, again, stay subscribed and
13:32
follow us for more information on those
13:35
as they come. A quick roundup of other
13:37
things that we're going to expect to see
13:38
on Brilliant Lady is another welcome
13:41
change that comes from Scarlet Lady,
13:43
which is a re-engineering of Grounds
13:45
Club 2, which is the coffee bar inside
13:48
of the galley. This again is a really
13:50
welcome change because the Grounds Club
13:51
2 setup on board Valiant Lady and
13:54
Resilient Lady is a little bit
13:55
cumbersome and it doesn't really fit the
13:57
space as well as it does on Scarlet
13:59
Lady. We're expecting to see that lovely
14:02
new design from Scarlet Lady come to
14:04
Brilliant Lady where Grounds Club 2 is
14:06
not just a coffee bar, but it's also set
14:08
up as a nighttime bar as well. The
14:10
design is much nicer and the seating is
14:13
way more comfortable. So, we're looking
14:15
forward to seeing that on Brilliant
14:16
Lady. And a few small things that we've
14:18
noticed on some of the Instagram posts
14:20
and press images that have been released
14:22
leading up to the launch of Brilliant
14:23
Lady are new artwork installations. So,
14:26
I'm putting up a few examples of the new
14:28
artwork that we've seen here, but when
14:30
we do our full ship tour and analysis
14:33
next week, we're going to bring more of
14:35
those spottings and sightings for you,
14:37
so you can see exactly what those
14:38
changes are on Brilliant Lady versus her
14:41
sister ships. Now, that's all the visual
14:43
things that we've noticed from some of
14:44
the information that's already been
14:46
released. Some other bits of information
14:47
that we know already about Brilliant
14:49
Lady is that 75% of Brilliant Lady cast
14:52
and crew are returning members of staff.
14:55
So, they've been on the other lady ships
14:57
and they're ready to bring that
14:58
fantastic Virgin Voyages sailor
15:00
experience to people on their new ship.
15:03
One other thing that we've noticed, and
15:05
this is something that Virgin Voyages
15:07
nerds are very interested in indeed, is
15:09
the unique color of Brilliant Lady. And
15:11
what I mean by that is there is a unique
15:14
but subtle color connected with each of
15:16
the Virgin Voyages ships. This, of
15:18
course, kicked off with Scarlet Lady,
15:20
where nobody was surprised to see that
15:22
red is the color that was chosen for the
15:24
souvenir octopus that's in the room,
15:26
nicknamed Inky, and also the exclusive
15:29
dessert that's served on board in the
15:31
galley called Scarlet Lady, where the
15:34
icing and glaze is red as well. Moving
15:36
over to Valiant Lady, the color of Inky
15:38
in the room, and the color of the
15:40
dessert is purple. And then with
15:42
Resilient Lady, the color for those two
15:44
items are teal. So, this had a few of
15:47
the Virgin Voyages nerds like ourselves
15:49
speculating what the new color might be
15:51
for Brilliant Lady. We had guessed
15:53
orange, but unfortunately, we were
15:56
wrong. And actually, the new color of
15:57
Inky and the Desert is black. That's
16:00
certainly not something we were
16:01
expecting, but as far as we know, that's
16:03
the color for the new ship. So, now we
16:05
have red for Scarlet, purple for
16:07
Valiant, teal or turquoise for
16:09
resilient, and now black for brilliant.
16:11
A couple of other things that we've
16:12
noticed. We've heard that the iconic VHS
16:15
1980s style workout has been revamped
16:18
for Brilliant Lady. So, we're excited to
16:20
see what the new VHS workout is all
16:22
about. And one very subtle change that
16:24
we're going to be looking out for, which
16:25
again is all around making sure that
16:27
Brilliant Lady can pass safely through
16:29
the Panama Canal is that there is a
16:31
small overhang on the dock at the very
16:34
aft of the ship. This overhang has been
16:36
removed and it's now become a little bit
16:38
narrower. This is a really subtle change
16:41
and it's something that we're going to
16:42
try and capture on video or on photos to
16:44
try and more clearly demonstrate what we
16:46
mean by that. But we're going to be
16:48
looking out for that over the next week.
16:49
So, those are all the changes that we're
16:51
aware of so far, big and small. But
16:53
everything will become a lot clearer
16:55
over the next week when we actually get
16:57
on board and we're able to see these
16:59
changes for ourselves. Which brings me
17:01
to a plea, which is to try and get all
17:03
of this fantastic information and all of
17:06
these new features out to as many people
17:08
as possible. So, make sure that you
17:10
subscribe to our channel because we're
17:12
going to be bringing you exclusive
17:13
content from on board Brilliant Lady as
17:16
she sits in Portsouth for the next week
17:18
before she heads off on her
17:19
transatlantic journey to get ready for
17:21
her big launch on the 5th of September.
17:24
So, a few things we know for sure that
17:26
we are going to be bringing you over the
17:27
next week, which is a full shipwide
17:29
tour. So, we're going to be walking
17:31
through every single space on Brilliant
17:33
Ladies, so you can see them for
17:35
yourself. We're going to be bringing you
17:36
a comprehensive video for those that
17:38
have sailed before, just highlighting
17:40
the differences between Brilliant Lady
17:42
and the other ships. We're going to be
17:44
getting one of the first peaks at the
17:46
new cabin category, which is the
17:47
slightly smaller sea terrace, which very
17:50
excitingly not only includes one of the
17:53
iconic red hammocks, but actually two
17:55
red hammocks. So, it'll be interesting
17:57
to see how that's all laid out and how
17:59
that works. We're going to bring you
18:00
coverage of the Brilliant Lady launch
18:02
party, which is happening on
18:04
Weddednesday next week. That promises to
18:06
be an incredibly exciting night and
18:08
hugely popular with those in the UK that
18:11
are Virgin Voyages fans. We know tons of
18:13
our friends are going to be there, so
18:14
we're really excited to join them for
18:16
that celebration. And as Brilliant Lady
18:19
makes her way to New York City at the
18:21
end of next week, we're going to be
18:22
bringing you content from that voyage.
18:25
That voyage is an exclusive invite only
18:27
event that's only for friends and family
18:30
of Virgin Voyages employees, but we're
18:32
going to try and bring you some
18:33
information and content about all the
18:35
new entertainment and food offerings on
18:37
Brilliant Lady from that very sailing.
18:40
So the only place to get all of this
18:42
information in one place is
18:44
vivbinsider.com.
18:45
So do come along and follow us on
18:47
Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube
18:49
channel, and if you want all the latest
18:51
information directly to your mailbox,
18:53
head over to our website and subscribe
18:55
to our newsletter as well. We are
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building the largest community of Virgin
18:59
Voyagers nerds the world has ever seen.
19:01
So do come along with us and we'll nerd
19:03
out together. And if you're enjoying
19:05
this content and finding it useful at
19:07
all, the biggest way that you can show
19:09
your support for the work that we do
19:11
here at BB Insider is to trust your next
19:13
voyage with us. We'll always make sure
19:15
we get you the best price possible and
19:18
also we'll see if there's any perks or
19:19
extra sailor loot or bar tab we can give
19:22
you as well. So, do head over to
19:23
vbvinsider.com/book
19:26
and we'll give you all the information
19:27
that you'll need about supporting the
19:29
work that we do whilst also getting some
19:31
exclusive extra perks that cost you no
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more at all. It's a win-win. And with
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our own loyalty scheme launching just a
19:38
few weeks ago, we can now confidently
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say there is no better way to book a
19:43
Virgin Voyage than to book it with
19:45
vivvincider.com.
19:47
And we can't wait to help you plan your
19:49
next voyage. So, I'm off to get ready
19:50
for an incredibly exciting, if not very
19:53
stressful week. So, until I speak to you
19:55
next time, happy sailing.

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