Up next in 10
Virgin Voyages news is moving quickly again, and in this VV Insider update David breaks down the key changes sailors should know from the past two weeks. This episode covers Brilliant Lady’s debut in Los Angeles, a new look coming to Valiant Lady after dry dock, the full 2026 Eat & Drink Festival details, the latest semi-annual sale, early signs of shared-table restaurant bookings, and the Bermuda-to-Canada itinerary change that sparked a lot of discussion online.
Whether you are planning a Virgin Voyages cruise, comparing upcoming sailings, or just trying to stay up to date with the latest Virgin Voyages updates, this video brings the main developments together in one place.
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WHAT WE COVER TODAY 👇
🚢 Brilliant Lady arrives in Los Angeles and begins her LA MerMaiden
☕ Valiant Lady dry dock update: Grounds Club Too set for a redesign
🍽️ Virgin Voyages reveals the 2026 Eat & Drink Festival: Festival of Senses
🥂 New Festival of Senses events including A Feast for the Senses and the Sensory Dinner Series
💸 Virgin Voyages launches a semi-annual sale with fares from $89 per sailor, per night
👯 Shared-table restaurant reservations briefly appear in testing
🌦️ The New York to Bermuda sailing rerouted to Canada after bad weather
📱 Virgin Voyages responds after the itinerary change goes viral
🎥 Virgin Voyages prepares for an invite-only TikTok creator voyage
🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Just as Brilliant Lady, wound up her iconic journey from Miami to Los Angeles.
0:05
It started two weeks of headline grabbing news across the Virgin Voyages brand.
0:10
Virgin Voyages have made some big updates and changes that we all
0:14
need to know about as Sailors.
0:16
If we haven't met before.
0:17
My name is David from VV Insider, Which is a website that's all about Virgin Voyages.
0:22
All of the news, the updates, the guides that you'll need to know to plan
0:26
the perfect Virgin Voyages vacation.
0:29
We do these regular news updates called the Virgin Voyage Insider Update because
0:34
there's always news to keep on top of at Virgin Voyages and the past couple
0:38
of weeks has been no exception at all.
0:40
So we're gonna take a look at Brilliant Lady's first couple
0:42
of weeks in Los Angeles,
0:44
including a star studded press event, and the Los Angeles Mer As part of
0:49
our countdown to the new Valiant Lady when she leaves her dry dock.
0:53
We have an important glimpse at a space that's gonna be changing,
0:57
we're also gonna share the details of the Eat & Drink Festival for 2026.
1:02
This year, Virgin Voyages Iconic Food and Beverage event
1:05
is called Festival of Senses.
1:08
we're gonna walk through what that means and what to look forward to on board.
1:11
We're gonna take a quick look at Virgin Voyages Semi-Annual Sale and how you
1:15
can use this sale to save money on your next Virgin Voyages booking.
1:19
There also looks to be an upcoming change to the way reservations work
1:24
for restaurant bookings, including the ability to book shared tables.
1:28
We're gonna dive into what we know so far and what we need
1:31
to look out for in the future.
1:33
Crucially, we're gonna take a look at a headline grabbing piece of news
1:37
that Virgin Voyages have been involved with over the past couple of weeks,
1:40
which all revolves around an itinerary change from a sailing
1:44
from New York to Bermuda.
1:45
We're gonna take a look at why this particular itinerary change has
1:48
caused so much discussion online.
1:51
So as you can see, there's so much to dig into.
1:53
So let's get started.
1:55
So Brilliant Lady's iconic crossing of the Panama Canal came to an end
1:59
just a couple of short weeks ago.
2:01
And as those guests departed, they gave away to a very special
2:04
media preview event for Brilliant Lady on the west coast of the US.
2:09
As Brilliant Lady was alongside at the Los Angeles World Cruise Center.
2:13
It gave the opportunity for Virgin Voyages to invite media and to travel advisors
2:18
on board to show them what Brilliant Lady is all about on the West Coast.
2:22
for many in the region this was their first taste of the
2:25
Virgin Voyages experience.
2:27
With a very special Scarlet Night being hosted on that media night, it
2:30
gave everyone an opportunity to see what Virgin Voyages was all about.
2:34
There were also some crossover appearances from the Virgin Atlantic
2:38
brand seen here, joined by Katrina the Balancer, and Kara Kature The Diva.
2:43
Once the festivities of the night, were all over and done with that kicked off
2:47
the LA MerMaiden for Brilliant Lady.
2:50
This continues Virgin Voyages tradition of having a MerMaiden
2:53
voyage, A special voyage for every new sailing from a new home port.
2:58
This means there's only one left with the current roster of ships and that
3:02
will be in Seattle later this year.
3:04
Looking now to what will become a regular feature of VV Insider over
3:08
the next few weeks, which is revealing some new things to look forward to
3:12
with Valiant Lady when she comes out of her dry dock in May this year.
3:17
This update in particular actually takes us to The Galley, and although the
3:21
eateries in The Galley will remain the same post dry dock, it's actually a change
3:25
to do with the Grounds Club Too, which is the coffee shop inside of The Galley.
3:30
It's been revealed that Valiant Lady will be the third ship in the fleet to
3:34
take on the new Look Grounds Club Too.
3:37
This is an example of what we're talking about.
3:39
The Old Grounds Club had a coffee bean shaped style metal fixture above it.
3:45
I've hit my head on that a number of times, but that's gonna be removed
3:49
and replaced with the Grounds Club Too design that we see across
3:53
other ships in the fleet, including Brilliant Lady and Scarlet Lady.
3:57
Personally, I think this is a very welcome update Indeed.
4:00
The seating around this area is much more comfortable and the
4:03
whole coffee bar experience is much improved on those two ships.
4:07
Part of the reasoning behind these changes is to make Grounds Club Too into more
4:12
of a nighttime space as well with more comfortable seating and bar style seating,
4:17
so you can enjoy a late night cocktail in a more casual venue than maybe some of
4:21
the bars on the lower decks of the ship.
4:24
The New Grounds Club Too in The Galley is also a very popular place for people to
4:28
set up their laptops to work throughout the day as well, with lots of seating
4:33
options with tables and plenty of chargers it is a really practical space on board
4:38
and it's really good to see that this new design is coming to Valiant Lady
4:42
If you wanna read any more about the updates coming to Valiant Lady Post Dry
4:46
Dock, then head over to vvinsider.com where over the next few weeks, we're
4:50
gonna be releasing some more information about what to expect when Valiant
4:54
Lady comes out of the dry dock in May.
4:56
All of these changes, including the brand new Indian restaurant Ariya will be
5:01
launching with the first itinerary outside of the dry dock, which will be taking
5:05
place on the 25th of May out of Rome, ending in Barcelona six nights later.
5:11
There's still really good availability for that voyage, and if you are looking
5:15
for a bargain, the prices has come down significantly on that one as well.
5:19
So if you're looking to snag a deal, head over to vvinsider.com/book and you can
5:23
get on that particular sale link for under $1,500 for an Insider for two people.
5:29
Now onto something very exciting for those that enjoy the food and beverages
5:33
offered on the Virgin Voyages ships.
5:35
And that is the details about the new Eat & Drink Festival for 2026.
5:40
So as we reported ahead of time, the Eat & Drink Festival for 2026, will
5:45
be taking place from the 27th of August till the 28th of September.
5:49
This is the fifth year that this very special food and drink event has been
5:53
hosted on the Virgin Voyages fleet.
5:56
Well, this year has a very special theme, and this one is
5:59
all about the Festival of Senses.
6:01
This is where the culinary team has really dug deep to bring together an experience
6:06
that's meant to engage all five senses when it comes to this Eat & Festival
6:12
of Senses will look at how food and drink can be experienced at all levels,
6:18
where the experience is designed specifically to show off
6:21
food and drink without just concentrating on just the flavor.
6:25
This promises to blend culinary storytelling, interactive spaces
6:29
and brand new events as well.
6:32
the biggest addition to the Festival of Senses Eat & Drink Festival
6:36
is a brand new culinary event that will be taking place in The Manor.
6:40
This event is gonna be called "A Feast for the Senses".
6:43
And this promises to be an immersive sensory experience where a short
6:47
film will be played alongside the food and drink options available.
6:51
It's already known that we don't need reservations for this experience,
6:55
so this probably won't be a sit down meal, but more of an amuse-bouche
6:59
or hor d'oeuvres style setting.
7:01
the idea here is that Sailors will freely move around The Manor and experience
7:06
different stations as they go through.
7:08
So if you're expecting this to be a sit down style dinner show, like
7:12
you would see with "It's A Ship Show" or "Another Rose" or "Up With
7:15
A Twist", it's not quite like that.
7:17
This will be a very different type of experience.
7:20
But as you'll know, if you've been along to one of these Eat & Drink Festivals
7:24
before, or you've read about it on vvinsider.com, you will know that there
7:29
will be some new offerings available on the menus across the entire fleet.
7:33
The lineup this year has already revealed that there will be new offerings
7:37
available at The Wake and The Dock.
7:39
This is always welcome news for those of us that have sailed with Virgin Voyages
7:43
a few times in the past, and we'd like to see the menu shaken up a little bit.
7:47
So it's always nice to see some new additions there.
7:50
There will of course be some new events available across the fleet
7:54
during this Eat & Drink Festival.
7:56
One highlight for this year is called the Sensory Dinner Series, which is a limited
8:00
capacity bookable dining experience.
8:03
which will feature four courses and curated drink pairings.
8:07
This will also feature guided storytelling by guest winemakers,
8:11
brewers and distillers.
8:13
This particular experience is brought to Virgin Voyages, courtesy of husband
8:17
and wife team behind Caputo's Kitchen.
8:20
foodies might recognize them as the authors of "The Flavor Matrix".
8:24
What we know already is that this will sit around 18 to 20 Sailors per event,
8:29
we know that bookings will be handled as events, not as dining.
8:33
So if you're looking for this particular experience, as we get closer to the
8:37
time on those sailings, make sure you look in the lineup for events.
8:40
There's also a ton of other events that have been announced for this
8:43
Eat & Drink Festival this year.
8:45
So if you're looking to read more about them, head over to our
8:48
article on vvinsider.com where we break them all down for you.
8:52
If you are heading on a sailing that starts between the 27th of August or ends
8:57
before the 28th of September, you'll have the Eat & Drink Festival available on your
9:02
voyage, if you're yet to book one of these particular sailings and are interested
9:06
in the Eat & Drink Festival, we have a list of eligible voyages on vvinsider.com
9:11
and we'll show you all the best prices available as well with some exclusive
9:15
perks if you book through our link.
9:17
So make sure you head over to the article for more information on that.
9:21
Speaking of getting on board, Virgin Voyages have announced a semi-annual sale
9:26
with prices from just $89 per Sailor, per night.
9:30
And the great thing about this sale is that it applies across a huge number of
9:34
itineraries and sailings around the world.
9:37
So if you are looking for a great deal on a Virgin Voyage, now
9:40
is a really good time to do it.
9:42
If you head over to our article, we list out all of those eligible voyages.
9:46
and don't forget if you hit the "Book Voyage" button on our website, You'll
9:49
also see a list of all the voyages where we can give you extra Sailor
9:53
Loot when you book using our link.
9:56
This is a really good way to get some extra free onboard credit before you
9:59
sail, which you can use to spend on anything onboard, including shore
10:03
excursions, spa treatments, you name it.
10:06
all the details for that can be found at vvinsider.com/book.
10:10
A really interesting feature that we saw popup, if not just for a moment, was a
10:14
new option provided on the Virgin Voyages website when you go to book a restaurant.
10:19
And interestingly, this showed up as an option to book a shared
10:23
table rather than just a private table like you could before.
10:28
Here's a quick example of what that looked like in practice.
10:31
so there are times listed where you can book a table as a standard
10:34
booking, just as you do before,
10:36
But you'll see a purple option here, which allows you to book a shared table.
10:40
you'll see in this example in Gunbae where the tables are a lot larger,
10:44
is that actually there's a lot more availability for a shared table
10:48
rather than a standard booking.
10:49
now, it's important for us to mention that this is no longer on the website,
10:53
so it does look like they were testing this feature out just for a limited time,
10:57
so it looks like this might be a glimpse of something that they
10:59
might be launching in the future.
11:01
So we'll keep an eye out for any news that we have on that.
11:04
but we did see a lot of discussion and a lot of opinions being shared on
11:08
our Facebook page about this change with many people, assuming that shared
11:12
dining would now be the default option like it is on other cruise lines.
11:17
Well, we didn't really get that impression when we saw this pop up.
11:20
We think that this might be provided as an alternative to the standard
11:24
style of booking, But like I say, we don't have all the details yet,
11:27
but do make sure you follow the news on vvinsider.com and stay subscribed
11:31
to this channel for any such changes.
11:34
We'll keep you up to date with anything that you'll need to know, especially
11:37
when it comes to restaurant reservations 'cause that's a hugely important part
11:41
of your Virgin Voyages experience.
11:43
Just a quick mention.
11:44
If you're looking to get on board and you're not ready to put your
11:47
money down yet, don't worry.
11:49
We have a free voyage giveaway on the go at the moment.
11:53
So if you'd like to be in the runnings for this free five night cruise in September
11:57
from Miami, onboard Resilient Lady, then make sure that you head over to our
12:01
website at vvinsider.com/giveaway all the information you'll need about entering
12:07
the draw will be available on there.
12:09
It doesn't cost you anything at all to enter, and one lucky winner will win a
12:13
cabin for two on board of that voyage.
12:16
now for something that's been catching some headlines, and this is all about an
12:20
itinerary change that happened a couple of weeks ago from a sailing that was supposed
12:24
to leave New York and head to Bermuda.
12:27
Well, as we covered back on the 4th of April, there was a change
12:30
made to this due to bad weather.
12:32
This happens all of the time in the cruising industry.
12:36
Ultimately it's up to the captain of the ship and the cruise line in
12:39
general to decide whether it's worth heading somewhere, if it's gonna make
12:43
a miserable experience for Sailors or put anyone in harm's way, well, the
12:48
decision was made that this particular sailing on the 6th of April was gonna
12:52
be rerouted and the new port was gonna be in New Brunswick in Canada,
12:56
Now, as you can imagine, that is very different from
12:59
Bermuda, very different indeed.
13:01
And as I say, sometimes these type of things are unavoidable.
13:05
Well as Virgin Voyages are attracting a new breed of Sailors that might
13:09
not have sailed on other cruise lines before and are maybe slightly unfamiliar
13:13
with this idea of itinerary changes,
13:15
some of those new Sailors might just have a very big social media following,
13:20
and this was the case when it came to Sailors on board that particular voyage.
13:24
This couple with a TikTok account called @themccues, posted a video
13:28
explaining the experience of receiving this email, telling them
13:31
that this itinerary has changed.
13:33
as you can imagine, the shift between Bermuda and Canada as potential vacation
13:38
opportunities is quite the contrast.
13:41
It's Friday night.
13:42
Monday morning we board a cruise ship.
13:45
We sent our luggage packed and ready to go for our destination We're going
13:49
with his family to celebrate in Bermuda.
13:53
And we leave in, what, what is that?
13:55
Two, two days.
13:56
We just got an email.
13:58
From Virgin Voyages
13:58
"AHOY Sailor wanted to share an important update about your upcoming voyage.
14:04
Due to forecasted weather, it's become necessary to adjust our itinerary to
14:09
keep things smooth, safe to comfortable.
14:12
Instead of Bermuda, we'll be heading to Northern Canada in St. John New Brunswick,
14:19
this is my favorite line of the whole email.
14:21
Mm.
14:22
Right here in writing Virgin Voyages, St. John will feel a
14:25
little bit different from Bermuda.
14:27
Yeah, no doubt!
14:29
St. John will feel a little bit different from Bermuda with crisp coastal air and
14:34
a completely new backdrop to explore.
14:37
You may wanna bring a few extra layers.
14:39
We already packed.
14:42
Thank you for rolling with us.
14:44
We've added $100 to your account
14:47
make this voyage an incredible one.
14:49
Now with a little Canadian twist.
14:53
I wanna barf
14:54
this video has now over 3 million views on TikTok.
14:57
with viewers opting to share this with other people over 65,000 times.
15:03
this video actually went live a few days after that sailing had already started.
15:07
so actually what started as a fairly quiet news item, sharply became
15:11
something that was on everyone's lips.
15:14
which meant that just a few days ago, Virgin Voyages were forced
15:17
to respond to this situation with some social media posts.
15:21
This included this apology message put on Instagram
15:24
which reads "Welp! That Bermuda to Canada email really wasn't it!"
15:29
This, of course, follows that very Virgin tone-of-voice that we're very
15:32
used to seeing from Virgin Voyages.
15:35
But again, as this messaging was heading to a brand-new audience
15:38
which aren't quite familiar with this type of tone-of-voice, started
15:41
a new level of conversations around how this situation has been handled.
15:46
there continues to be a lot of discussion around this particular video.
15:50
with that original TikTok account, still posting about their experience from
15:54
that voyage a few days after the fact.
15:56
So it'll be really interesting to see what they actually thought of the
15:59
voyage once they're fully caught up.
16:01
And as ironic as it is, Virgin Voyages are actually set to host a
16:05
very special TikTok themed cruise starting tomorrow on the 19th of April.
16:12
This is an invite only voyage that is specifically for TikTok creators.
16:17
This is an official partnership between Virgin Voyages and TikTok.
16:21
So we're expecting to see many, many TikTok'ers onboard that
16:25
particular voyage starting tomorrow.
16:27
It'll be really interesting to see how that conversation that started on TikTok
16:31
from that New York to Bermuda to Canada sailing back at the start of this week
16:36
will actually end up with thousands of new TikTok videos hitting from this
16:40
very special invite-only TikTok Cruise.
16:43
We'll be keeping a close eye on the output of this very special sailing
16:47
and seeing how the conversation goes over on social media.
16:51
as you can see, the updates and news across Virgin Voyages is a bit of a
16:55
moving feast, and sometimes it's a little tricky to keep up with all of this,
16:59
you're best to subscribe to this channel so you can get updates just like this.
17:04
We're in our final preparations for a very special sailing that we're
17:07
heading on in just a couple of weeks, so you'll be seeing some new content
17:11
from us directly from the ships.
17:13
So I'm excited to capture that for you and bring this to the channel.
17:16
For those of you that have been kind enough to make it to the
17:19
end of this video, I'm gonna tell you what this is all about.
17:21
I actually had a bit of a workplace accident with the arm that holds this
17:26
screen up and it hit me straight in the face and left me with a very sore nose.
17:30
But I'm absolutely fine.
17:32
It's healing okay, but it is probably gonna be sticking around for the next
17:35
couple of videos to get used to it.
17:36
Otherwise, I've been working on a very cool tool that we're gonna be
17:40
launching on the website very shortly.
17:42
So if you haven't ever been over to vvinsider.com, the website that we run,
17:46
which is the main part of all this.
17:48
These YouTube videos really are an extension to all of that, then do please
17:52
head over, we have some real cool tools on there; Including a way to calculate how
17:56
much Bar Tab you need before you set sail.
17:59
You can also look up the cabin that you're gonna be sailing in to see
18:02
whether it's a good one or whether you might wanna make a change.
18:05
we also have all of the restaurants and bar menus and
18:08
all the deck plans there as well.
18:10
It's a real one-stop shop if you're planning your next Virgin Voyage
18:14
and it's about to get even better.
18:15
I'm not ready to reveal all the secrets of our new tool 'cause
18:19
there are a lot of people out there that love to steal what we do.
18:22
But as soon as it launches, I'll be letting you know on this YouTube channel.
18:26
So again, make sure you stay subscribed and help support the work that we do.
18:30
I'll be back with you with a brand new video guide next week.
18:33
So I'm looking forward to putting that together for you.
18:35
But until I see you next week, happy sailing!
#Travel & Transportation