Up next in 10
Stay up to date with Virgin Voyages in our mid-August 2025 VV Insider update. We cover big new reveals for Brilliant Lady ahead of launch (including a first look at the Rojo by Razzle Dazzle menu), Scarlet Lady’s first-ever call to Iceland, and a handy onboard change that lets you order Ship Eats directly from your cabin tablet. We also spotlight a subtle tweak to Virgin’s iconic Sailor Bands (a slimmer chip now rolling out on red bands), confirm dates for the Eat & Drink Festival 2026, and reveal the first Brilliant Lady Happenings Cast (Abi the Hostess returns, plus Diva Dixie Krystal and more). Finally, we’ve got details of Brilliant Lady’s Halloween voyage in 2026 from Los Angeles—calling at Catalina Island, San Diego and Ensenada—and share what VV Insider has planned for launch coverage in the coming weeks.
📚 Book your voyage with extra perks ➜ https://vvinsider.com/book/
🚕 Book your cruise chauffeur port transfer ➜ https://www.book-online-transfers.com/en/vvinsider-airport-taxi
🇮🇸 Scarlet Lady heads to Iceland for the first time: https://vvinsider.com/scarlet-lady-completes-first-ever-iceland-visit/
🍽️ Ship Eats: how to order from your in-cabin tablet: https://vvinsider.com/ship-eats-room-service-now-available-on-in-room-tablet/
⌚ Sailor Bands: slimmer chip now appearing on red bands: https://vvinsider.com/virgin-voyages-smaller-wearable-bands-now-rolling-out/
🍷 Eat & Drink Festival 2026 dates confirmed: https://vvinsider.com/2026-eat-drink-festival-voyage-dates-announced/
🎭 Brilliant Lady Happenings Cast revealed (Abi the Hostess, Diva Dixie Krystal, Big Lew, Oscar, Naja, Faith, Dwayne and more): https://vvinsider.com/brilliant-lady-happenings-cast/
🎃 Halloween 2026 on Brilliant Lady: 5-night LA sailing (Catalina • San Diego • Ensenada): https://vvinsider.com/additional-brilliant-halloween-voyage-announced-for-october-2026/
💎 Introducing VV Insider Diamonds – earn Diamonds with every booking and redeem for perks: https://vvinsider.com/introducing-the-vv-insider-diamonds-loyalty-scheme/
📚 Book your voyage with extra perks ➜ https://vvinsider.com/book/
Whether you’re planning your first sailing or your fifth, this update helps you sail smarter. If it helps, tap 👍, hit subscribe, and turn on 🔔 so you’re first to see our Brilliant Lady launch coverage.
00:00 Exciting Reveals on Virgin Voyages' New Ship
01:06 Virgin Voyages' First Trip to Iceland
02:22 Halloween Voyage on Brilliant Lady
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
There has been some huge reveals about
0:01
what to expect on board Virgin Voyagers
0:04
brand new ship. I'm David from VV
0:06
Insider and I'm here with our Virgin
0:08
Voyages insider update telling you all
0:10
the latest news and what you'll need to
0:12
know on Virgin Voyages in August 2025,
0:15
including details about Virgin Voyages
0:17
very first trip to Iceland on Scarlet
0:19
Lady, an unexpected change to the
0:21
wearable technology on board Virgin
0:23
Voyages, full details about the new
0:26
Brilliant Lady happenings cast, as well
0:28
as tons of more information from
0:30
Brilliant Lady as she gears up for her
0:32
launch in the next few weeks, including
0:34
A sneak peek at the brand new menu for
0:37
Rojo by Razledazzle, the brand new
0:39
restaurant on board Brilliant Lady. VD
0:42
Insider is the number one resource for
0:44
the latest Virgin Voyages info, guides,
0:46
and news. From picking the perfect cabin
0:48
to booking, dining or simply just making
0:50
the most of your voyage and saving money
0:52
while you do it. Vincider.com has helped
0:55
thousands of sailor around the world
0:56
sail smarter. Support our work by
0:59
hitting subscribe and stick around to
1:01
hear how you can get exclusive perks by
1:03
booking directly with us.
1:06
So, the first story that we're going to
1:08
talk about is Virgin Voyager's first
1:10
trip to Iceland. And it's actually this
1:12
story that explains my croaky voice
1:14
today. We were fortunate enough to be on
1:16
board Scarlet Lady as she made her way
1:18
to Iceland. Unfortunately, I did not
1:20
pack enough warm clothes and I caught a
1:22
cold, but the show must go on. This
1:24
voyage marks Virgin Voyage's first
1:26
venture to Iceland. Having set off on
1:29
August 3rd from Portsmouth, she made her
1:31
way to Amsterdam for an overnight and
1:33
then across to Bergen in Norway before
1:36
calling at Lurwick in the Shetlands in
1:38
Scotland and then a little bit of a
1:40
bumpy crossing over to Iceland where she
1:42
visited two ports in Iceland offering
1:44
incredible scenery and amazing
1:46
excursions to some natural wonders
1:49
before heading to Recuik for one
1:51
overnight. And that is where the journey
1:53
ended. This was a hugely popular sailing
1:56
and the sentiment on board was that
1:57
Virgin Voyages is one of the best ways
2:00
to explore Iceland. Having the amazing
2:02
scenery on the daytime and then having
2:04
those great dining and beverage options
2:06
on board through the night times, an
2:08
incredible experience. A quick shout out
2:09
for anyone who said hello to us on that
2:11
voyage. It was so lovely meeting so many
2:13
of you and to hear your kind feedback
2:15
about the work that we do here at VV
2:17
Insider face to face is absolutely
2:19
phenomenal. So, thank you so much for
2:21
saying hello. As we reported in our last
2:24
insider update, the Halloween voyage
2:26
dates have been announced. There was at
2:28
the time a mysterious gap around when
2:30
Brilliant Ladies Halloween sailings will
2:32
be. Well, now we know Virgin's newest
2:34
ship will offer a five-night sailing on
2:36
the 24th of October, 2026. This sailing
2:40
is out of Los Angeles and will be
2:41
calling at Catalina Island and San Diego
2:44
before reaching Ensenada in Mexico and
2:46
then finishing back in Los Angeles.
2:48
Here's what to expect on board a
2:50
Halloween voyage on Virgin Voyages.
2:52
There'll be exclusive dining and
2:54
beverage options as well. We ourselves
2:56
have done a Halloween voyage before and
2:58
it is really fantastic. It's certainly a
3:00
great way to experience Virgin Voyages
3:02
if you've done it before. It's
3:03
definitely a different take on a normal
3:05
voyage. And don't forget, head over to
3:07
vbinsider.com to find the best price and
3:10
get exclusive perks by booking directly
3:12
with us. Now, this new story is a big
3:14
deal from us at VV Insider because over
3:16
the last few months, we've been working
3:18
really hard to put together a loyalty
3:21
program for all of those sailors that
3:23
are kind enough to book their next
3:24
voyage with us at VB Insider. We call
3:27
this our diamonds loyalty program. And
3:29
the way that it works is that for every
3:31
$500 you spend on a voyage, we add a
3:34
diamond to your Red Diamond Club
3:36
account. And you can collect those
3:38
diamonds to spend them on gifts like
3:40
onboard credit on your next voyage. This
3:42
is really a way from us at VV Insider to
3:45
thank you personally for supporting us
3:47
by booking your voyage through us. Of
3:49
course, your voyage never costs any more
3:51
than it would on virginoyagers.com.
3:53
You're simply booking on vbvinsider.com,
3:56
but we can give you these perks. And now
3:58
we can give you those diamonds that you
4:00
can spend on onboard credit as well. I
4:02
think we're at that point where we can
4:03
confidently say the best way to book a
4:05
Virgin Voyage is vincider.com.
4:08
And you get the extra benefit of
4:09
supporting the work that we do here at
4:12
VV Insider, which is to get all of this
4:14
great information and all the Virgin
4:16
Voyages news out to everyone for no
4:18
additional cost. It's a win-win. Now,
4:20
this is a piece of news that came
4:22
directly out of the Celebration Voyage
4:24
that left in Lisbon a couple of weeks
4:25
ago. And this is where the executives
4:28
revealed that you don't need to use the
4:30
app to order your ship eatats anymore to
4:32
your room. Ship Eats, if you're not
4:34
familiar, this is what the room service
4:36
is called on board Virgin Voyages. And
4:38
this is where food and beverages can be
4:40
delivered directly to your cabin. Now,
4:42
historically, you had to do this by
4:44
using the phone app. But now, you can
4:46
stay in the comfort of your cabin and
4:48
simply use the cabin tablet that you
4:50
would traditionally use for controlling
4:52
the lights, the TV, and the shades. But
4:55
now there's a new option where you can
4:56
now order your ship eats directly
4:58
through the tablet itself as well. We've
5:00
gone to the effort of documenting this
5:02
process to show you how to do it on the
5:04
tablet. So if you do want to order ship
5:06
eatats from the tablet in your cabin, go
5:08
to vbvinsider.com. This article explains
5:11
the entire process with pictures to
5:13
guide you as well. There are a few room
5:15
service and ship eatats caveats and
5:17
rules that do apply and how much it
5:19
costs, including what the minimum spend
5:20
is. So do head over to binsider.com
5:23
where we explain the whole process in
5:25
detail and how to make the most out of
5:27
that service. There are a few tips and
5:29
tricks that you can use to get the most
5:30
from it. Now this one is quite a subtle
5:32
but quite a big change and that is to do
5:35
with the iconic bands that you get when
5:37
you sail on board Virgin Voyages. These
5:40
iconic bands are the wearables that
5:42
you'll use with embedded technology that
5:44
allows you to not open your cabin door
5:47
but also make purchases as you go around
5:49
the ship as well. This is a real perk of
5:52
Virgin Voyages because normally on a
5:54
cruise line you'll be given a key card
5:55
or a medallion that you have to keep on
5:57
your person at all times. So often
5:59
you'll have to wear a nerdy looking
6:00
lanyard to carry your key card on. But
6:03
instead on Virgin you get this quite
6:04
stylish wearable that you wear around
6:06
the ship. It's waterproof. You can use
6:08
it in the pool. It's great. But there is
6:10
a slight difference that's been made
6:12
over the past few weeks. And this is
6:14
something that we noticed when we sailed
6:16
on Scarlet Lady just a couple of weeks
6:17
ago. And this is for now specifically
6:20
the red sailor bands. The red is for
6:22
everyone except rock stars and mega
6:23
rockstars. And it's all to do with the
6:25
size of the chip. So this is the small
6:28
piece of plastic that you use to touch
6:29
against the pad on your cabin to get
6:31
into the door. And you would also hold
6:33
it against a reader if you're paying for
6:35
something on board as well. It's never
6:36
been too chunky, but Virgin Voyagers are
6:39
always about sustainability. So bringing
6:41
down the amount of plastic that they're
6:43
using on board is probably the key
6:45
driver in all of this. So, the band
6:47
itself mainly remains the same. It's the
6:49
plastic chip that's getting reduced
6:51
down. Now, as I say, we noticed this was
6:53
limited to the red bands only. It's
6:55
probably going to roll across the black
6:57
bands as well, and we'll keep you
6:59
updated when that happens. Another piece
7:01
of news for those that like those
7:02
special voyages, and that's the Eat and
7:05
Drink Festival for 2026, dates have been
7:08
announced. If you're not familiar with
7:10
the Eat and Drink Festival, this is
7:11
Virgin Voyagers chance to really go all
7:13
out and really explore some culinary and
7:16
some beverage options that they don't
7:18
have the freedom to do the rest of the
7:19
year. We have a full write up of what
7:21
the Eat and Drink Festival in 2025
7:24
looked like. And this was all around a
7:26
taste of Brilliant. So, this was showing
7:28
off cuisines and cocktails inspired by
7:30
those new itineraries and those new
7:32
locations that Brilliant Lady will be
7:34
visiting when she launches later this
7:36
year. We of course do not know what to
7:38
expect with the 2026 Eat and Drink
7:41
Festival, but do stay subscribed to our
7:44
channel or subscribe to our newsletter
7:46
on our website and we'll let you know as
7:48
soon as that information becomes
7:50
available. As always, we have updated
7:52
our sale and save offer list if you're
7:54
not familiar with the sale and save
7:56
offers on Virgin Voyages. These are a
7:58
collection of the most cost effective
8:00
voyages. So, if you're just looking to
8:02
get away on Virgin Voyages for the least
8:04
price possible, here's where to look. We
8:07
update our sale and save offers every
8:09
single week, where we give you a quick
8:11
glimpse at the itineraries and also tell
8:12
you how much it is per night, so you can
8:14
get the best bang for your buck with
8:16
some sailings on the latest update from
8:18
as little as $90 per person per night.
8:20
These really are the voyages that have
8:22
the best prices at the moment. If you
8:25
want to find these more quickly, when
8:26
you head to our website, go to
8:27
vbvinsider.com and in the menu, you'll
8:30
see offers. If you head on to offers,
8:32
you'll see the lowest prices and all the
8:34
deals that are available right now. Now,
8:37
of course, it is not a VV Insider update
8:39
without us mentioning Brilliant Lady 100
8:41
times and that is because the excitement
8:44
is building. She is launching in just a
8:46
few short weeks time. And over the last
8:48
couple of weeks, there's been a few
8:49
stories that really bring the launch to
8:51
life. One of these stories was from
8:53
Virgin Voyages themsself, celebrating
8:56
the crew that is making Brilliant Lady a
8:58
reality. Virgin Voyages released a video
9:01
celebrating their crew who are doing an
9:03
absolutely incredible job putting the
9:05
ship together ready for her launch. And
9:08
if you're looking for some sneak peeks,
9:09
I would recommend heading over to our
9:11
article on vivvinsider.com and watching
9:14
the video because you might see some
9:16
sneak peeks of those spaces that have
9:18
been updated on the ship behind some of
9:20
the action happening in the video. So,
9:22
it's certainly worth it if you want some
9:23
spoilers about what to expect on
9:25
Brilliant Lady. Speaking of the cast and
9:27
crew on board Brilliant Lady, we have
9:30
had the privilege to announce the new
9:31
happenings cast for the launch of
9:33
Brilliant Lady. So, this is happening as
9:35
cast number one for Brilliant Lady. A
9:38
few mentions here that you'll already be
9:40
familiar with, and that is Abby the
9:41
Hosess returns to launch her fourth
9:44
Virgin Voyages ship, and that of course
9:46
means that she has the esteemed honor of
9:48
launching every single one of the Virgin
9:50
Voyages vessels. She is an iconic and an
9:53
incredible hostess. You can expect to
9:55
see her in some of the most iconic
9:57
moments on board, including the saila
9:59
away, the PJ party, the big Scarlet
10:02
Night celebrations, as well as the
10:04
hostess's own show, Love, Love, Love
10:06
with the Hostess. Abby has an incredible
10:08
hosting personality and an amazing
10:11
singing voice. So, do not miss her as
10:13
she becomes the octopus goddess on
10:15
Scarlet Night in the Octopus Garden.
10:17
We're also thrilled to see Dixie
10:19
Crystals, the Diva, return to Virgin
10:21
Voyages as well to launch Brilliant
10:23
Lady. The Diva is the resident drag
10:25
queen on board Virgin Voyages and you
10:27
can expect to see her in things like
10:29
Bingo with the Diva, the PJ Party, but
10:32
actually there's a brand new show on
10:33
Brilliant Lady. And we talk about this
10:35
more on vivvinsider.com, but it's called
10:38
The Diva Goes West and this is a
10:40
countrythemed diva show which will be
10:42
brand new to Brilliant Lady. So, we
10:44
can't wait to see what changes have been
10:46
made there. A few other mentions include
10:48
Big Lou, who returns as the gamer, Oscar
10:51
returning as the charmer, AA returning
10:53
as the artist, and Faith returning as
10:56
the foodie. Dwayne the Balancer also
10:58
returns. And for the complete
11:00
information and links to Instagram
11:01
accounts, head over to vbvinsider.com
11:04
where we have them all listed out for
11:06
you. It was also announced that when
11:08
Brilliant Lady reaches New York City on
11:10
the 3rd of September, she will be
11:12
hosting an exclusive launch party meant
11:15
specifically for sailing club members.
11:18
This sailing club is Virgin Voyagers
11:20
loyalty program, and invites to this
11:22
exclusive launch party have gone out to
11:24
those that are already members. The
11:26
tickets cost $150, but at the time of
11:28
recording this, it looks like they might
11:30
be sold out, but certainly have a look
11:32
on our article and check the link. You
11:34
never know if there's been more tickets
11:35
released. So, what does this party look
11:37
like? Well, the ship opens at 5:00 p.m.
11:39
and those that have purchased tickets
11:41
were able to choose dining in one of the
11:43
restaurants, including the new
11:45
restaurant Rojo by Razledazzle, which is
11:48
inspired by Spanish cuisine. They'll
11:50
also be hosting their signature
11:51
entertainment offering, including one of
11:54
the new headline shows on Brilliant Lady
11:56
called Red Hot, which is an exploration
11:58
of the history of Virgin Records. We
12:00
can't wait to see what happens on the
12:02
night and what special surprises Virgin
12:04
Voyages has in store for the big New
12:06
York City launch, but I'm sure this is a
12:08
party that nobody wants to miss. We have
12:10
a sneak peek at the full menu available
12:12
at Rojo by Razledazzle. As I mentioned a
12:15
little earlier, this is the brand new
12:17
restaurant that will be on board
12:18
Brilliant Lady. And this is really a
12:20
showcase of Spanish cuisine. We have the
12:23
full menu available on vegan.com. But a
12:26
few highlights include a shrimp dish
12:28
with fennel, red peppers, and almonds,
12:30
grilled octopus with a brown butter
12:32
fondue, a grilled ribeye with chorizo
12:34
and charred shallots, and something that
12:36
I'm particularly excited about, which
12:38
are the baby back ribs with harissa
12:40
honey. The full menu includes details
12:42
about the treat yourself option, which
12:44
is a lobster paella, and also has all
12:46
the information about the signature
12:48
cocktails and drinks available at the
12:50
restaurant as well. So, if you want to
12:51
see the full menu, head over to
12:53
vvanssider.com to see that. Now, as the
12:55
brilliant launch is fast approaching,
12:57
that means that we're going into
12:58
overdrive planning all the content for
13:00
the launch. And the great thing is we're
13:02
going to bring you along with us. So,
13:04
when you join us next Sunday, we're
13:06
going to have a video explaining how the
13:08
launch is going to progress and what
13:09
content to expect from us over those
13:12
three weeks. We're already putting some
13:14
really exciting plans together, but if
13:16
you followed along before, you know that
13:18
I had ambitions of doing a YouTube live
13:20
from Brilliant Lady. Now, I don't trust
13:22
the technology enough to do that, but
13:24
instead, we're going to go one better
13:26
and produce a full walkthrough of
13:29
Brilliant Lady as quickly as we possibly
13:31
can, which means if you stay subscribed
13:33
to vbvinsider.com, you'll be the first
13:36
to have a look on board the new ship.
13:38
The dates and times for that we're still
13:40
figuring out with Virgin Voyages, but
13:42
we're going to try and get that out as
13:43
quickly as we can because we know
13:44
everyone is desperate to see what the
13:46
new ship is all about. We're also going
13:49
to be taking a look at all of the new
13:50
entertainment on board. So, expect a
13:52
roundup of all the new entertainment and
13:54
our first taste at Rojo by Razled
13:57
Dazzle. So, we're going to see what all
13:58
that Spanish food is all about and bring
14:00
all the details and reviews to you as
14:02
quickly as we can as well. We certainly
14:04
have a busy few weeks ahead of us. And
14:06
again, if you want to support any of the
14:08
work that we do at vbvinsider.com,
14:10
it's certainly not easy pulling all of
14:12
this information together. So, we would
14:14
really appreciate if you're making your
14:16
next Virgin Voyages booking that you
14:18
take a look at vbvinsider.com/book
14:21
where you can browse all of the latest
14:23
offers as well as all the prices for
14:25
every voyage that's sailing on Virgin
14:27
Voyages. You can either use the links on
14:28
that page to book directly on virgino
14:30
voyagers.com and we'll be linked with
14:32
your booking. Or if you prefer us to
14:34
help you out personally, send us an
14:36
inquiry and we'll be in touch to make
14:38
sure we can book your next perfect
14:39
Virgin Voyages for the best price
14:41
possible, including any perks and extras
14:43
that we can give you as well. Thank you
14:45
so much for tuning in. I'm going to take
14:47
some rest for the cold that I have at
14:48
the minute, but I'm hoping to be
14:50
fighting fit, ready to bring you all the
14:52
latest information about the Brilliant
14:53
Lady launch. So until then, happy
14:56
sailing.
14:58
[Music]
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