Up next in 10
Join us for the second half of our Brilliant Lady Pacific Coastal voyage 🚢 This time we pick up in San Francisco and continue north to Vancouver, with port calls in Astoria and Victoria along the way. In this video, David shares what the second half of the sailing was really like — from Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco and dinner at The Wake to Scarlet Night indoors, a standout Up With a Twist show, and one of the wildest whale watching excursions we have ever done.
This works as a standalone watch, but it also follows on from part one if you want the full story of this Los Angeles to Vancouver repositioning sailing.
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📌 What we cover
• The second half of our Brilliant Lady sailing from San Francisco to Vancouver
• Trying Waymo driverless taxis in San Francisco
• Dinner at The Wake and our missed Golden Gate Bridge filming moment
• What Bingo Blitz After Dark is actually like
• Live music on board, including Larger Than Lions and a special duet at On the Rocks
• Why Up With a Twist is still one of Brilliant Lady’s best paid experiences
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
We were on board Brilliant Lady's iconic
0:02
voyage from Los Angeles to Vancouver.
0:04
And if you joined me last week, you
0:05
would have seen everything we got up to
0:07
from leaving the UK to going to LA and
0:10
coming up to San Francisco. Well, now
0:12
I'm glad to tell some more tales and
0:14
stories from that very memorable voyage.
0:17
This time picking up from where we left
0:19
off in San Francisco, heading all the
0:21
way to Vancouver, stopping at Atoria,
0:24
Oregon, and Victoria, British Columbia
0:26
on the way. And trust me when I say the
0:28
second half of this voyage gets even
0:30
more crazy and wild than we ever thought
0:32
possible when we were planning this trip
0:34
many many months ago. If this is your
0:36
first time here, my name is David from
0:38
VV Insider, which is a website all about
0:41
Virgin Voyages. We tell everyone the
0:44
information. We give people guides and
0:46
news, everything that they'll need to
0:47
know to plan their perfect Virgin
0:49
Voyages trip. Now, of course, we've been
0:51
on many, many Virgin voyages in the
0:53
past, but even then, it doesn't prepare
0:55
us for some of the eventualities that
0:57
happen during these trips. So, I'll be
0:59
really honest when we talk about
1:00
everything we got up to on board this
1:02
voyage and let you know any mistakes
1:04
that we made along the way so you can
1:06
avoid making the same ones when you
1:08
sail. So, picking up where we left off
1:09
last week when we had that incredible
1:11
view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the
1:13
Hawk Hill viewpoint. So, we dropped off
1:16
the higher car back at the car hire
1:18
place, and that's when we decided we'd
1:20
like to do a spot of shopping in San
1:22
Francisco. We were willing to walk, but
1:24
it looked like quite a hike from where
1:26
we were. So, we decided to get a taxi
1:28
instead. But we'd seen on the Facebook
1:30
group that many people were using a
1:32
service called Whimo. And this isn't
1:34
just any taxi service. This is a taxi
1:36
service without any drivers at all.
1:39
Instead, all of the electric cars that
1:41
run this service drive themselves. So,
1:44
all we had to do was open the app and
1:46
choose on the map where we'd like to go.
1:47
And then about 5 minutes later, a car
1:50
arrived for us. When we got in the car,
1:52
all we needed to do was press go and the
1:55
car drove itself 40 minutes across the
1:58
city to where we needed to go. Now, I've
2:00
been driving since I was 17, and I don't
2:03
necessarily make a very good passenger,
2:04
even when there's a human behind the
2:06
wheel. So, I thought I was going to be
2:07
terrified. But I will say when we were
2:09
sitting in the back, there is this
2:11
lovely ambient and calming music that's
2:13
playing. And because we're in the back,
2:14
you can't really see what's ahead of you
2:16
on the road. And there's a little screen
2:18
that shows you what the car is seeing.
2:21
So it can see cyclists and pedestrians
2:23
and other road users. So I think that
2:25
was enough to convince me that it knew
2:27
what was going on and it was avoiding
2:28
all the hazards and it was driving
2:31
slower than other traffic. So, it did
2:33
put my mind at ease a little bit, but it
2:35
was a little unnerving being in the car
2:37
for the first time where a robot was
2:39
completely in control. I would recommend
2:41
if you're in an area that has Whimo,
2:43
give it a try. It's something fun to do
2:45
when you're in one of these ports. So,
2:46
after our little bit of shopping, we
2:48
caught another Whimo back to the port
2:50
and it dropped us off just in time to
2:52
relax in the cabin a little bit before
2:54
dinner. And today's dinner was at the
2:56
Wake. The Wake is the upmarket themed
2:58
steakhouse on board and I will say it's
3:01
one of my personal favorites and it is a
3:03
favorite of many many people that sail
3:05
on Virgin Voyages and I think it's down
3:07
to the fact that they do have rather
3:10
classic dishes on the menu. So you of
3:12
course have a selection of different
3:13
steaks, chicken and fish, but there is
3:16
an option also to have a rack of lamb
3:18
and that's exactly what I went for. One
3:20
of the incredible features of the wake
3:21
are these large windows that look out
3:24
to, you guessed it, the wake of the
3:26
ship. And peeking out the window, I
3:27
could see we were just about to sail
3:29
under the Golden Gate Bridge. And this
3:31
is a perfect moment to capture some
3:33
footage for this exact YouTube video.
3:35
So, I sprung out of my seat before the
3:37
lan arrived and headed up to deck 7 to
3:39
the dock to record some footage of us
3:42
going through the Golden Gate Bridge.
3:44
After I captured the footage, I went
3:45
back down to the wake and exclaimed to
3:47
my husband, "Oh my god, I have the best
3:49
video of us going through the Golden
3:50
Gate Bridge. I then looked at the
3:52
footage and here it is." So, as you can
3:54
see, in the excitement of the moment, I
3:56
somehow confused record for stop and
3:59
stop for record and completely missed
4:01
the moment. To anyone that knows me
4:03
well, this will come as no surprise at
4:05
all. Well, luckily, a couple of days
4:06
later, I got talking to this wonderful
4:08
couple and I was telling them this exact
4:10
tale and showed them the footage that
4:12
I've managed to capture. And to my
4:14
surprise, they were lovely enough to
4:16
say, "Actually, if you want a video, I
4:18
got one." So, thank you so much, Michael
4:20
and Nikki, for being my complete saviors
4:22
here and sending me this beautiful
4:24
footage that you got of us passing
4:26
through the Golden Gate Bridge. It
4:28
honestly was a really special moment.
4:30
And I will say from where I was at the
4:31
dock, there was cheers and applause from
4:34
sailors and crew that happened to be
4:36
there at the time. It was a really
4:37
special moment and I'm so glad that I
4:39
left dinner temporarily to experience
4:41
the moment, albeit I didn't actually
4:42
capture it. When I got back to dinner,
4:44
the lamb was incredible as I expected.
4:47
But there was a special for dessert, a
4:49
sticky toffee cake, and it was presented
4:51
very well. But I will say we do have
4:53
sticky toffee pudding in the UK and
4:55
often is served warm with custard. This
4:57
was a slightly different take on that,
4:59
but it was still delicious. After
5:00
dinner, we headed to a bar for a couple
5:02
of drinks before bingo blitz after dark.
5:05
If you know anything about Virgin
5:06
Voyages, you'll know that they do bingo
5:08
slightly differently from the other
5:10
cruise lines. Often you'll see on the
5:12
schedule things like bingo with the
5:14
diva, where the resident drag queen on
5:16
board will host bingo in the red room.
5:18
You might also see bingo with other
5:20
members of the happenings cast as well.
5:22
But bingo blitz after dark is very
5:24
different indeed. And this brings bingo
5:27
into the manor. This event shows up as a
5:30
paid for event on the lineup. So it will
5:32
say $50 to attend. This isn't actually
5:35
necessary to attend. The $50 is for the
5:38
bingo card so that you can play along
5:40
and win cash prizes. But if you simply
5:42
want to go along and watch the show and
5:44
see what it's all about, then you don't
5:46
have to pay anything at all. You can
5:48
just show up to the mana and enjoy. So,
5:50
the way that it's presented is that
5:51
there's a little bit of a dance break
5:53
and they introduce the unicorn mascot of
5:55
the evening who performs a dance number.
5:58
It's all very bizarre. It's all very
6:00
silly. And other members of the
6:01
Happlings cast will dance and perform as
6:03
well before Cara Couture, the diva,
6:06
starts the bingo calling. Now, during
6:08
the bingo calling, some numbers will
6:10
activate particular mini games or
6:12
scavenger hunts that anyone in the venue
6:14
is able to participate in. So, you don't
6:17
need to be holding a bingo card to get
6:19
involved with these silly mini games.
6:21
So, it might be something like finding
6:22
the hairiest legs or finding the
6:24
weirdest socks or things like that. But
6:26
those who are able to impress the
6:27
happenings cast during the scavenger
6:29
hunt bit will win themsel a free drink.
6:32
So, it's well worth participating if you
6:34
want to get some free booze. Now,
6:35
although we weren't lucky enough to win
6:37
this one, we did actually win the very,
6:39
very first bingo blitz that ever went on
6:42
during the friends and family sailing on
6:44
Brilliant Lady back in August. So,
6:46
that's our little claim to fame. But
6:47
something that does happen when you win
6:49
bingo blades is that you will find
6:51
yourself the center of this celebratory
6:54
dance at the very end of the show where
6:56
the unicorn mascots and the happenings
6:58
cast will dance around you to celebrate
7:00
your big win. When we won back in
7:02
August, it was my husband holding the
7:04
winning ticket and he's very, very shy.
7:06
So, he's mortified to be in the middle
7:07
of this dance number. But at the very
7:09
least, it give us all a huge laugh and
7:10
we did win a few hundred. So, we can
7:12
call that his appearance fee. Once
7:14
Bingle Blitz After Dark is finished, the
7:16
Mana then reopens for a DJ set. So those
7:19
that want to use it as a nightclub later
7:21
in the night can do that. But personally
7:23
for me, I took myself to On the Rocks
7:25
because there was a live music act on
7:27
called Larger than Lions. I find that
7:30
the guest music acts that Virgin
7:31
Voyagers managed to get on board are
7:33
really, really top class. And the lead
7:35
singer of Larger than Lions is called
7:37
Penny. And she has one of the most
7:39
incredible voices. And I was lucky
7:41
enough on this night to see a very
7:42
special set where Lynn Weber, who plays
7:45
the lead vocalist in both Red Hot and
7:48
Out of Time, joined Penny on stage in On
7:50
the Rocks and they performed a couple of
7:52
incredible duets. It was a really
7:55
special moment. And this does sometimes
7:57
happen with the guest artists on board.
8:00
You can imagine all of these very
8:01
talented people together on a ship all
8:04
the time. And you can imagine them
8:05
rehearsing together and enjoying each
8:07
other's music. They all love music and
8:09
they all love to collaborate. And we've
8:11
seen a few times where guest artists
8:12
will collaborate with each other or with
8:14
other cast members from shows on board
8:17
the ships. And for me, it's always nice
8:18
to see another side to these cast
8:20
members rather than seeing them in the
8:22
scripted shows actually performing and
8:25
enjoying singing music that they choose.
8:27
This was really a perfect way to round
8:28
off such a lovely, lovely day in San
8:30
Francisco. So after such a lovely but
8:33
quite a big day, it was nice that there
8:35
was a sea day afterwards so we could
8:36
enjoy a little bit of relaxation. Well,
8:39
we did exactly that and didn't get up to
8:41
too much on that sea day apart from
8:43
relaxing and enjoying the ship. And one
8:45
of the reasons we took it easy is cuz we
8:47
had big dinner plans cuz we had booked
8:49
up with a twist which is the big cabaret
8:52
style show on board Brilliant Lady. Now
8:54
this is a paid for event so you do need
8:57
to book it in the app and it will go
8:59
against any sailor loot that you might
9:00
have. have available on your account,
9:02
but it is $50 each. Now, trust me when I
9:04
say that will be one of the best $50 you
9:07
will spend across any of the Virgin
9:09
Voyager ships because not only is the
9:11
show amazing, you also get an incredible
9:13
dinner and five special cocktails
9:16
included with the cost, but even for
9:18
getting the food and the drinks, the
9:19
show itself is well worth the entrance
9:22
fee. We produced an event highlight
9:24
video last year talking about Up with a
9:26
Twist in a little bit more detail. So,
9:28
if you want to deep dive into that, feel
9:30
free to watch that video next. But all
9:32
you need to know is that this is a great
9:34
show with a live jazz band. And this is
9:37
all very lively jazz music. If you know
9:40
what postmodern jukebox is, you're in
9:42
the right area. So, it's newer
9:44
contemporary music and pop songs that
9:46
are performed by a jazz band and in a
9:48
jazz style. And this is accompanied by
9:51
incredible live vocals as well as
9:53
amazing choreography and incredibly
9:56
captivating circus performances as well.
9:58
There's also a bit of silliness and
10:00
humor in as well. If I'm sounding
10:02
enthusiastic about this show, it's
10:04
because personally for me, it's my
10:05
number one favorite show on Virgin
10:07
Voyages, and I've got a very special
10:09
souvenir from that show, which I don't
10:11
think many people have. This normally
10:13
belongs up here in my YouTube
10:15
background, but I thought I'd bring it
10:17
down today to show you what it is. This
10:19
is the logo to Lady Valentina's Emporium
10:22
of Excess. And in this bag is a pack of
10:24
tarot cards. And these tarot cards have
10:26
the brilliant lady mermaid on the back
10:28
of them. On the front of them, it's all
10:31
the cast and crew that brought up with a
10:33
twist to life turned into tarot card
10:36
characters. So, here's an example. This
10:38
is the Queen of Wands, and the lady that
10:40
you see here is Hollyanne Develin. She
10:42
is the producer of Up with a Twist. She
10:45
created the whole thing and I'm
10:47
particularly thankful to her not only
10:49
for bringing up with a twist to light,
10:50
but also for this incredible deck of
10:52
tarot cards. This has to be my most
10:55
prized Virgin Voyagers keepsake. So, for
10:57
now, I'm going to pop them back up where
10:58
they belong. Now, one health warning I
11:00
will give about Up with a Twist is that
11:02
those five cocktails do pack a punch.
11:04
So, do make sure you pace yourself
11:06
through the day before you head off to
11:09
that show. Just know those words of
11:10
wisdom come from a place of experience.
11:13
So after up with a twist, we didn't want
11:14
too much of a late night because it was
11:16
Atoria the next day. And this in
11:18
particular was a port I didn't know too
11:20
much about. Atoria is famous for being
11:23
the filming location for a few very
11:25
famous films. The top one being The
11:27
Goonies. You'll also recognize Atoria if
11:30
you've watched Kindergarten Cop or Short
11:32
Circuit or Free Willie. But I must
11:34
admit, I have seen most of those films,
11:36
but I can't really remember what the
11:38
place looked like. So I didn't have a
11:40
huge amount of expectations for a story.
11:42
But we had a lovely day. The weather
11:44
wasn't particularly nice and actually
11:45
the port location wasn't great. We found
11:48
ourselves walking over gravel and car
11:50
parks to get to where we needed to go.
11:52
There was an option to take a trolley
11:53
car downtown, but it did come quite
11:56
infrequently and we didn't have any cash
11:58
to hand, so we decided to walk instead.
12:00
It took around about 30 minutes to walk
12:03
to downtown, but the walk itself isn't
12:05
too pleasant. You do find yourself
12:07
walking past a few breweries and fish
12:09
processing plants and the smell isn't
12:11
great. Thankfully, when we got into
12:13
Atoria, though, it was a lovely little
12:16
town, very much small town America, and
12:18
I assume this is exactly why it's been
12:20
used as a filming location for all these
12:23
years. Well, we had a nice little look
12:25
around the gift shops. It was very artsy
12:27
and very bohemian, and there was
12:29
generally just a very nice vibe to
12:31
Atoria. But otherwise, it was just
12:32
lovely to stretch our legs and see some
12:35
of the lovely architecture and sightes
12:36
that the little town had to offer. After
12:39
a spot of lunch, we headed back to the
12:40
ship because there was a big night
12:42
ahead. We had to get ready for the big
12:45
scarlet night party. And this is where
12:47
with this being a colder weather cruise,
12:49
we really saw one of the biggest
12:51
differences from some of our other
12:53
sailings. So, if you know much about
12:54
Virgin Voyages and you've done some
12:56
research, you'll know that Scarlet
12:58
Knight generally tends to end in this
13:00
big pool party and often it does, but
13:04
obviously when the ship is heading up
13:06
north and going towards Alaska, for
13:08
example, they do need to make some
13:10
changes. And that means bringing the big
13:12
Scarlet Knight party inside. So, this
13:15
Scarlet Knight got kicked off just like
13:17
every other Scarlet Knight, which is
13:19
deciding whether to get Scarlet Night
13:21
ready before or after dinner. Now, this
13:23
is a question we hear quite a lot, but
13:25
really it is down to personal preference
13:27
and generally how late you've booked
13:29
your dinner. I always recommend during
13:31
Scarlet Night to book an early dinner
13:33
reservation, and that means that you'll
13:35
be out and ready to enjoy Scarlet Night
13:37
when it kicks off. If you end up with a
13:39
later dinner reservation, you might
13:40
still be eating by the time everyone's
13:42
having a great time toasting the start
13:45
of the Scarlet Night. But we had an
13:46
earish dinner. We went to test kitchen
13:48
again to see our favorite server,
13:50
Laurian, and I spoke about her in last
13:53
week's episode. And we just had a quiet
13:55
word to ask whether things could be sped
13:57
up a little bit just so that we could
13:58
get on with Scarlet Night. And
14:00
thankfully, she was able to oblige no
14:02
problem. We ended up skipping one of the
14:04
courses just to make sure that we didn't
14:06
miss anything. So, if you ever have
14:08
plans that intersect with dinner, ask
14:09
your server and they'll try and
14:11
accommodate you the best that they can.
14:12
We ended up taking this Scarlet Knight
14:14
really easy and just meandering around
14:16
to see which activations were about. We
14:18
walked to the back of the ship to the
14:19
dock house where Larger than Lions, who
14:21
we saw the night before, was doing a
14:24
very special Scarlet Knight set, which
14:26
was a little bit more lively than a
14:27
standard set that you'd see at the dock
14:29
house. And she was wearing this
14:31
wonderful red outfit, as of course
14:33
everyone on the ship was. We then had a
14:35
little bit of a catch up and a dance
14:36
with the Happenings cast in the Grounds
14:38
Club. The Grounds Club during Scarlet
14:40
Night will be set up with a DJ. It's a
14:42
very unconventional place to have a DJ,
14:44
but I think it's a fun atmosphere to
14:46
have in a corridor when people are
14:48
passing by. You can have a little dance
14:50
as you're walking from venue to venue.
14:52
It's very fun. We then headed to the
14:54
octopus garden, which is in the red
14:55
room. And this is where Abby the hostess
14:57
is transformed into the octopus goddess.
15:00
We absolutely never miss an octopus
15:02
garden during Scarlet Night. And this is
15:04
always a lovely time during Scarlet
15:06
Night just to sit and relax and reset a
15:08
little bit before you get back to the
15:10
party. We managed to catch the last
15:12
showing of the octopus garden. So, it
15:14
was time to get out of the red room when
15:16
the red room was being transformed into
15:19
the venue for tonight's big party. And
15:22
like I say, because this is a colder
15:24
temperature sailing, it meant that this
15:25
is a replacement to what you would
15:26
normally get on deck 15 and 16, which is
15:29
where you would have the big pool party.
15:31
I will say for me I definitely prefer
15:33
the pool party. There's definitely a lot
15:34
more of a celebrationary vibe. I do feel
15:37
like the red room it feels a little bit
15:39
like a school disco sometimes when they
15:41
do these big parties in there. But they
15:42
do their best and of course it wasn't
15:44
going to be pleasant weather for
15:45
everyone to be out on the pool. So we're
15:47
all thankful to be inside. With that
15:49
being said, although it's not as good as
15:51
the pool party, it is still blinking
15:53
fantastic. And I really have a great
15:55
time at these parties. And it gives all
15:58
the sailors an opportunity to hear Abby
16:00
the hostess belt out the big Scarlet
16:02
Knight song. This time joined by the
16:04
dancers, the acrobats, and the rest of
16:06
the happenings cast in this huge dance
16:08
number, which is a really big
16:10
celebration of Scarlet Knight. It's
16:12
always a fantastic moment, and it's one
16:14
of those moments where you're just
16:15
really thankful to be on the voyage.
16:17
Once all the big singing and dancing is
16:19
done, then the party is taken over by a
16:22
DJ. And everyone had a really great time
16:24
closing the party out with the DJ. But
16:26
if you still want to keep the party
16:27
going, that's where you move into the
16:29
mana, which is exactly what we did. And
16:32
that's where the DJ will take over for
16:34
another party, which will take you into
16:36
the wee hours of the morning. And this
16:38
has become a bit of a theme here where I
16:40
was very thankful that it was a C day
16:42
the next day. So, it was time to recover
16:44
and recoup after that big scarlet night.
16:47
We had a bit of a lazy morning and
16:49
headed to the galley for food. We ended
16:51
up sitting in Gun Bay, which is the
16:52
Korean barbecue restaurant that leads
16:55
off from the galley. But if you're ever
16:57
looking for a seat in the galley and you
16:58
can't find one, have a look at Gun Bay
17:00
cuz often they will open it up for extra
17:03
seating for the galley and you'll often
17:05
find completely empty tables there. So,
17:08
if you simply want to grab some food and
17:10
head into Gun Bay, you certainly can do.
17:12
And you can even place orders from there
17:15
as well. If you put the flag up on the
17:17
menu, a server will come over and ask
17:19
what you'd like to eat from the several
17:21
eeries in the galley. So that's a bit of
17:23
a pro tip if you're looking for a table
17:25
and things are a little bit busy. After
17:26
a spot of lunch, I headed downstairs and
17:28
had a little wander through deck 7 where
17:31
larger than lions again were performing
17:33
in the dock house. This time it was a
17:35
nice chilled morning set. I ended up
17:37
meandering a little bit further and
17:39
headed in to the diva goes west. And I'm
17:42
so glad I did. We saw D.A. Goes West
17:44
last time we were on Brilliant just a
17:46
few months ago, so I didn't want to take
17:47
any space or any seats that other people
17:50
could have used to see the show, but I
17:52
managed to stand in the back and watch
17:53
some of the show. And Cara Couture was
17:56
absolutely hilarious. There's something
17:58
about her Irish accent mixed with the
18:00
Western United States theme. It just
18:02
works so well in a really bizarre way.
18:04
But from what I could tell, the audience
18:06
were loving it. It was a completely
18:08
packed house. There were people upstairs
18:10
watching the show on TV monitors. It was
18:13
that busy. But it's just lovely to see
18:15
those drag performances getting so much
18:17
love on the ship as they well deserve. I
18:19
then headed into the shopping area which
18:20
is called the High Street. And I was
18:22
delighted to see a shop has been
18:24
transformed to be the Alaska dedicated
18:27
shop. So, it was really nice browsing
18:29
the different items that are going to be
18:30
available for sale during these Alaska
18:33
sailings. A lot of this stuff looked
18:35
really nice and there was a huge
18:36
variety. The only thing that we didn't
18:38
spot was anything that was Virgin
18:40
Voyages, Alaska themed. There were
18:42
things that were Virgin Voyages themed
18:43
and then things that were Alaska themed,
18:45
but they didn't seem to have any
18:46
merchandise that blended the two ideas
18:49
together. Then, because this was our
18:50
last sea day, we decided to keep things
18:52
really chill. We had some time walking
18:54
around the deck on deck 16 and 17. We
18:57
could see the Canadian mountains in the
18:59
distance. It was just a really lovely
19:00
time to be walking around the decks and
19:02
it was actually quite quiet up there as
19:04
well. Then we headed down to deck 7 and
19:06
spent some time on the dock. It was opa
19:09
so we managed to have that lovely
19:11
Mediterranean style cold mezz with some
19:14
lovely peter bread and vegetables and a
19:16
variety of different dips to dip them
19:18
in. It was a really nice way to spend a
19:20
relaxing hour or so. Later we had dinner
19:23
reservations extra virgin. Now because
19:25
I'd already eaten at Opra Hour, I
19:27
decided to just order an appetizer. But
19:29
this is the beauty of being on a cruise.
19:31
You can decide when and where you want
19:33
to eat. You don't always need to have a
19:35
sit-down three course meal. Sometimes
19:37
you can just go ahead to a restaurant
19:39
for an appetizer or a dessert with a
19:41
glass of wine. You can really take
19:43
things at your own speed. And certainly
19:45
on this eight night voyage, we had the
19:46
opportunity to do that. After our late
19:48
dinner, we had a look at the lineup and
19:50
there was a band playing called Forward
19:52
Motion and there was a fantastic
19:53
atmosphere in there. It's really lovely
19:55
to go along to these events where people
19:57
are actually dancing to the live music
19:59
in the manor and this band and the
20:01
vocals were absolutely incredible. We
20:03
had such a lovely night dancing the
20:05
night away and working off that Opour
20:07
food and the appetizer from Extra
20:10
Virgin. Really was a lovely way to
20:12
finish a nice relaxing sea day. But that
20:14
led on to one of the most exciting and
20:16
chaotic days I think I've ever had on
20:18
Virgin Voyages. And that was all because
20:21
we just arrived at Victoria in Canada.
20:24
We got up fairly early to go along to a
20:26
whale watching shore thing. Now, when it
20:28
comes to port excursions in this part of
20:31
the world, whale watching has to be one
20:32
of the most popular options, and there's
20:34
a few different ways you can do it.
20:36
There was an option to go on a much
20:37
larger vessel that kind of looked like a
20:39
ferry, but we decided to take the ribbo
20:42
ride instead because we'd done something
20:44
quite similar in Australia and really
20:47
enjoyed it. The day started off with us
20:49
getting changed into overalls and they
20:51
said, "You might get a little bit wet."
20:53
And we thought, well, this is great.
20:54
We're all covered up. We're not going to
20:55
get too wet at all. Well, there comes a
20:57
point in this tale where I certainly eat
20:59
my words and I certainly eat a lot of
21:00
sea water. So, we got into the ribbo and
21:03
left the dock and that's when we started
21:04
to speed up to nearly 30 knots. So, the
21:07
waves were a little choppy and a little
21:08
hair raising and a few people got wet in
21:11
the back, but I was feeling very smug.
21:12
No water had touched me at all. Then
21:14
eventually after about an hour, we ended
21:16
up to where we were going where we
21:18
started to look for whales and we were
21:20
told to look out for signs that whales
21:21
were in the area. So, we were looking
21:23
for dorsal fins emerging from the water
21:25
and plumes of water from humpbacks.
21:28
Well, we were very lucky indeed because
21:30
our boat were the first ones to spot
21:32
orcas, a pod of orcas that were very
21:34
close to San Juan Island. And that's
21:37
where things really got exciting cuz we
21:38
started to follow from a safe distance
21:41
this pod of orcas. And what was really
21:43
cool is the skipper of our boat was
21:45
radioing all the other boats to say that
21:47
we'd found this pod. And then all of the
21:49
other whale watching boats in the area
21:51
started to coalesce on where we were. So
21:53
not only were we witnessed to the whales
21:55
which was a fantastic site but it was
21:57
just really exciting to be part of this
21:59
group that were all hunting for this pod
22:01
of whales. Now every single vessel in
22:03
the area were all about conservation and
22:06
there are rules about leaving certain
22:08
pods of orcas alone and staying at least
22:11
200 m away from the whales. It was
22:13
lovely to hear about all the
22:14
conservation efforts that have been
22:16
going on for the last few decades. But
22:18
after we'd spent some time observing
22:20
this pod of orcas, it was time to head
22:23
back. The weather had turned a little
22:25
bit and made the sea extremely choppy
22:28
indeed. And this is where I really saw
22:29
the contrast between what I thought was
22:31
choppy before and what was actually
22:33
choppy now. It was like a roller coaster
22:36
ride. The boat was actually leaving the
22:38
water at times and you could feel it
22:40
jumping over waves and landing back. And
22:42
of course, when it lands back, then the
22:44
water sprays up. And when I was feeling
22:46
smug for being dry earlier, well, Karma
22:49
truly decided to get me back because I
22:51
got absolutely drenched. And when I say
22:53
drenched, it was like somebody was
22:55
throwing buckets of water over me for a
22:57
good 20 minutes. Needless to say, we
22:59
were all having such an incredible time.
23:01
We were giggling and laughing, but I
23:03
could sense there was a little bit of
23:04
anxiety from the skipper because I don't
23:06
think he was quite used to waves like
23:09
this. When we managed to survive and get
23:11
back to the dock, he actually told us
23:12
that those were the worst and choppiest
23:14
waters he'd been in for the whole two
23:16
years that he'd been doing this job. And
23:18
he actually went ahead and cancelled the
23:20
trip that was about to take place in the
23:22
afternoon because the water was just too
23:24
dangerous. So, we really did come quite
23:26
close to the edge of our trip being
23:28
cancelled, but we managed to have such
23:30
an amazing time even though it was
23:32
slightly deathdeying. Well, after we
23:34
headed back on board the ship, we
23:36
decided to do a little bit of packing
23:38
because unfortunately it was the last
23:40
day. But of course, there's always that
23:41
final night. And on Virgin Voyages, they
23:44
tend to do a party on the last night.
23:47
Depending on which ship you're on, this
23:48
will be a different theme. But because
23:50
we're on Brilliant Lady, the theme of
23:52
the final night was circus disco. And
23:54
circus disco is pretty much exactly what
23:56
it says on the tin. So you've got
23:58
acrobats and circus performers as well
24:00
as the happenings cast all performing
24:02
this wonderful disco show, but it's also
24:05
the precursor to a disco themed club
24:08
night as well. The dress code for circus
24:10
disco is shiny silver. So if you've got
24:12
anything that's silver and glittery and
24:14
shiny and you want to show that off,
24:16
then this is definitely the party for
24:17
you. But as ever with the themes on
24:19
these club nights, it's entirely up to
24:21
you. You don't need to dress to the
24:22
theme if you don't want to. It's just an
24:24
extra bit of fun if you want to get
24:26
involved. But the show itself was really
24:27
fantastic. And there was a really nice
24:29
vibe in the room as well. So this was
24:31
the perfect way to finish off such an
24:33
incredible voyage. And with that, it was
24:35
off to bed because it was time to arrive
24:37
in Vancouver the next day and finally
24:40
disembark Brilliant Lady. Because we had
24:42
such an amazing time on this voyage. I
24:44
will say there was a little bit of
24:46
sadness when we were walking down the
24:48
gang way to end that voyage. It was just
24:50
fantastic. But we were lucky enough to
24:52
spend a few days in Vancouver. And I
24:54
will say Vancouver was a complete
24:56
surprise to us. We weren't expecting to
24:58
enjoy it as much as we did. But we also
25:00
got lucky with the weather. It was
25:01
lovely and sunny the day we arrived. We
25:03
did a bit of shopping and spent a lot of
25:05
time downtown. We also took a ferry over
25:07
to Granville Island, which is kind of a
25:09
market with arts and crafts and food and
25:11
drink. And there's some live music
25:13
playing outside as well. We also
25:15
couldn't resist trying out a sea plane
25:17
for the first time. It cost around $120
25:21
each. I think you can get it a little
25:23
bit cheaper if you shop around if I'm
25:24
honest. But it was such an incredible
25:26
experience flying in a sea plane for the
25:28
first time and also seeing Vancouver
25:30
from that high up perspective. The
25:32
flight took around 30 to 40 minutes. And
25:34
I will say I was a little bit nervous.
25:36
I'm not normally a nervous flyer, but
25:38
it's such a small plane and of course
25:39
you are taking off and landing on water.
25:42
Because we were downtown for most of the
25:44
time, we did want to stretch our legs a
25:46
little bit. So we hired a car on the
25:48
very last day before we were going to
25:49
head to the airport. We drove out of the
25:51
city over the Lion's Gate Bridge and up
25:54
towards Squamish. We ended up stopping
25:56
off at a viewpoint where we could see
25:58
Vancouver and the surrounding ocean
26:00
before heading up for a short walk
26:02
around Shannon Falls. It's a really nice
26:04
wooded area. We did have a nice walk.
26:06
Then we decided to go to the sea to sky
26:08
gondola which had come highly
26:10
recommended. We had a lovely ride up the
26:12
mountain. It was a really long journey
26:14
on the cable car and it was lovely to
26:16
see the surrounding landscape up there.
26:18
There was also a suspension bridge you
26:20
could walk over and some really lovely
26:22
walking routes as well. We just did one
26:24
of the shorter ones because it was
26:26
getting late in the day. So, we had a
26:27
walk that took us about an hour and
26:29
there was some more viewpoints to look
26:31
out of as well. Really lovely place to
26:33
go, but I do think the cost of
26:35
admission, it cost around $60 US each
26:37
just to get on the cable car. I do feel
26:39
that was maybe a little steep, but it
26:41
was lovely to see the surrounding area
26:44
of Vancouver and the incredible scenic
26:46
nature trails that surround the city.
26:48
But that was the end of our Canadian
26:50
adventure. We then drove the higher car
26:52
back to the airport and began our
26:54
journey home. I just wanted to put this
26:55
clip in here because I just love landing
26:58
in London. It's just the most incredible
27:00
view. You can see the rivers, the Shard,
27:02
Buckingham Palace. You can see the House
27:04
of Parliament and Big Ben. It's a real
27:06
favorite of mine and it's exactly why I
27:08
always want the window seat when we're
27:10
traveling back home. So, to sum it all
27:11
up, we had an absolutely incredible time
27:14
on this trip from Los Angeles to
27:15
Vancouver, including our pre-sale visit
27:18
to Los Angeles and our postsale journey
27:20
around Vancouver as well. All in all,
27:22
because it was a repositioning voyage,
27:24
the actual cost of the voyage itself was
27:26
fairly minimal. Cost just under $3,000
27:29
for the whole thing. And we also managed
27:31
to use some points and air miles for our
27:33
air transport to get there. Even though
27:35
this was totally a once- ina-lifetime
27:37
vacation, it didn't break the bank,
27:39
honestly, and we had just an incredible
27:41
time. The response from last week's
27:43
video has been amazing, and there was so
27:45
many people that have watched this video
27:46
that were also on that trip that have
27:48
put in the comments just how much they
27:50
enjoyed this voyage, and I have to
27:51
agree. I think we might look at
27:53
something like an inverse, maybe going
27:55
from Vancouver to LA, so maybe doing the
27:57
opposite direction. But we really want
27:59
to go back to these ports. It was just
28:01
such an incredible trip. If you've
28:03
enjoyed listening about what we've got
28:04
up to on that voyage and you're looking
28:06
forward to your own voyage, well, do
28:08
make sure that you follow along. Make
28:09
sure that you subscribe to this channel,
28:11
but also check out our website at
28:13
vvincider.com
28:15
cuz it has all the information that
28:17
you'll need to plan your perfect trip.
28:19
And of course, if you want to support
28:20
the work that we do at VVI Insider,
28:23
which is to get all of this information
28:24
out about Virgin Voyages, then do make
28:27
sure when you're making your next
28:28
booking that you head over to
28:30
vinsider.com. We do have some incredible
28:32
feedback about our customer service.
28:34
That's on top of all the included extras
28:37
and perks that you get just by booking
28:39
with us. It's a real win-win. It really
28:41
is. Now, the work here never stops.
28:43
We're heading on board Valiant Lady
28:45
very, very soon to check out all the new
28:47
things that have happened on Valiant
28:49
Lady since Dry Dock. And that's not only
28:52
just the new Indian restaurant area by
28:54
Razled Dazzle, but it's also some new
28:56
spaces around the ship, including On the
28:58
Rocks and the Athletic Club. They've all
29:01
had a makeover. So, we're going to show
29:02
you everything that's happened on
29:04
Valiant, but also there's 20 new
29:06
happenings events that happening around
29:08
the ship as well. So, we're going to
29:10
carve up some time to go along to a few
29:12
of these happenings events and showing
29:14
you what those new events look like.
29:16
We've heard some details about a few of
29:18
them and they all sound absolutely
29:20
incredible. So, make sure that you stay
29:22
subscribed to find out about all the new
29:24
stuff happening on Valiant Lady. But as
29:26
I say, there's plenty of work to do and
29:28
I need to pack for that trip for
29:29
Valiian. But until I see you next time
29:32
from Valiant Lady, happy sailing.
29:37
[music]
#Travel & Transportation