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2025 was a record-breaking year for Virgin Voyages, from the massive Brilliant Lady launch to controversial fare updates. In this data-driven recap, David breaks down the 5 biggest stories that defined the year based on what you, the sailors, cared about most.
💰 Ready to book your Virgin Voyages cruise? Get exclusive perks through our partners: https://vvinsider.com/book/
If VV Insider had a Spotify Wrapped, this would be it. We analyze real audience trends to count down the top news topics of the year, including the "Drink Like a VIP" trial and the confusing Voyage Fare rollout. Plus, we reveal the most-used planning tools on our site and give our predictions for what 2026 holds for the fleet, including Valiant Lady's upcoming dry dock.
Top news stories & references
🍹 Drink package trial details ➜ https://vvinsider.com/virgin-voyages-trials-unlimited-drink-like-a-vip-package-on-select-sailings/
💷 Voyage fare changes explained ➜ https://vvinsider.com/virgin-voyages-announces-changes-to-fares-and-gratuities/
❓ VoyageFair Choices Q&A ➜ https://vvinsider.com/virgin-voyages-voyagefair-choices-gratuities-qa/
🥟 New Gunbae menu ➜ https://vvinsider.com/first-look-virgin-voyages-new-gunbae-menu-with-pictures/
🎭 Happenings Cast guide ➜ https://vvinsider.com/guides-and-faqs/guide/happenings-cast/
Brilliant Lady launch coverage
✨ What’s different on Brilliant Lady ➜ https://vvinsider.com/brilliant-lady-whats-different-and-whats-new/
📹 Complete ship tour ➜ https://vvinsider.com/brilliant-lady-complete-ship-tour-videos-pictures/
🚢 Brilliant Lady ship guide ➜ https://vvinsider.com/ship/brilliant-lady/
Most-used planning tools
🍻 Bar Tab Calculator ➜ https://vvinsider.com/bar-tab-calculator/
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0:00
2025 has been a record-breaking year for
0:03
both Virgin Voyages and us here at VV
0:06
Insider. Not only did more people than
0:08
ever sail on Virgin Voyages, we also saw
0:11
a huge uptick in the amount of people
0:13
using vinsider.com
0:15
to plan their next Virgin Voyage. So,
0:18
we've been pouring over the data that
0:19
we've received about what our most
0:21
popular content has been this year, and
0:24
we're going to take a look at those
0:25
stories and how that's changed Virgin
0:27
Voyages and what that means for the
0:29
future. We'll also be looking at how our
0:31
tools have made your plans even easier.
0:34
And what's more, I'd like to give you
0:36
all an insight on how these stories come
0:38
about and how they're received by our
0:40
audience. So, come along as we take an
0:43
inside look at Virgin Voyages 2025.
0:47
V Insider is the number one resource for
0:49
the latest Virgin Voyages info, guides,
0:51
and news. From picking the perfect cabin
0:54
to booking dining, or simply just making
0:56
the most of your voyage and saving money
0:57
while you do it, vincider.com has helped
1:00
thousands of sailor around the world
1:02
sail smarter. Support our work by
1:04
hitting subscribe and stick around to
1:06
hear how you can get exclusive perks by
1:08
booking directly with us.
1:11
So, we all know 2025 was a huge year for
1:15
Virgin Voyages. And it turns out it was
1:17
a huge year for our VV Insider sailors
1:20
as well with our bar tab calculator tool
1:22
alone attracting 3,000 hours of usage
1:26
over the year. That is a lot of bar tabs
1:29
and a lot of people making sure they
1:31
have the right bar tab before they go on
1:33
board. We also saw hundreds of thousands
1:36
of people checking that their cabin was
1:38
absolutely right for them before they
1:40
sailed by using the VV Insider cabin
1:43
lookup tool. And another one of the most
1:45
used tools on our website are the
1:47
restaurant and bar menus. And again, the
1:49
data here shows that hundreds of
1:51
thousands of sailor have been checking
1:53
out what they're going to be eating and
1:55
drinking before they step foot on board.
1:58
Remember, all of these tools are free
2:00
for everyone to use. So, if you want to
2:02
get planning your voyage and be prepared
2:04
before you step on board, head over to
2:06
bvincider.com to visit those tools.
2:09
Aside from the free tools that we offer
2:11
on the site, we of course cover the big
2:14
stories of the day when it comes to
2:15
Virgin Voyages. This year alone, we've
2:18
covered over 300 different Virgin
2:20
Voyages stories. And as you can imagine,
2:23
some of them resonate with the audience
2:25
more than others. So, we thought it'd be
2:27
interesting to count down the five
2:29
topics of the year and take an insider
2:32
look at them about how they came about
2:34
and how they were received by our
2:36
audience. So, starting with the fifth
2:38
most popular topic and this was all
2:40
around the introduction of a trial for a
2:43
drinks package called Drink Like a VIP.
2:46
Specifically, this is a trial for a
2:48
drinks package on Virgin Voyages ships,
2:50
which is $95 per sailor. This was a very
2:54
limited trial that happened earlier this
2:56
year. It was originally introduced on
2:58
Valiant Lady Savings in March 2025 and
3:01
it was limited to only Rockstars. Of
3:04
course, Mega Rockstars already have
3:06
included drinks, so just Rockstars this
3:08
time. And the idea here is that you can
3:10
order two drinks per order. And this
3:13
included all drinks at every bar up to a
3:15
$20 limit. So, this behaves a little bit
3:18
like a traditional drinks package that
3:20
you might see on other cruise lines. We
3:22
originally reported this on the 19th of
3:25
February on vvincider.com
3:27
and it's fair to say the reception was
3:29
fairly mixed. So what surprisingly for
3:32
me at least was to see a lot of negative
3:34
sentiment around the fact that there
3:36
might be a drinks package introduced on
3:38
Virgin Voyages with a lot of sailor
3:40
actually preferring the pay as you go
3:42
style. Not least because some people
3:44
found that they can keep control of
3:46
their spending better that way. But
3:47
there was quite a lot of concern that an
3:49
unlimited drinks package like this could
3:51
spell bad things on board and could lead
3:54
to a lot of bad behavior if people were
3:57
over served. But on the other hand, some
3:59
sailor say that they prefer to have a
4:01
drinks package like this when they sail
4:03
so that they know exactly how much their
4:05
cruise is going to cost without having
4:07
to figure out how much bar tab you would
4:09
need or figure out how much you're going
4:11
to pay if you pay as you go. But despite
4:14
a few concerns, Virgin Voyages plowed on
4:16
and ended up extending this trial on
4:18
Valiant Lady in April and March as well.
4:21
But since we reported on that back on
4:23
the 31st of March, we haven't heard
4:26
anything else about this being extended
4:28
to any of the ships or any other
4:30
sailings. I do think it is quite an
4:32
interesting proposition and something to
4:34
watch out for in the future as we head
4:37
into 2026. Do we think we might see a
4:40
drinks package on Virgin Voyages that
4:42
will roll out to the entire fleet? Let
4:45
me know what you think in the comments.
4:46
Moving on to our number four topic, and
4:49
this was all around the introduction of
4:52
both Voyage Fair choices and
4:54
gratuitities being separated out from
4:56
the Voyage Fair. Now, if you've been
4:58
following us along over the past few
5:00
months, you'll know that this caused a
5:02
lot of controversy when this came about.
5:05
For those of you watching that are
5:06
unfamiliar with this change, the voyage
5:08
fair that's offered by Virgin Voyages
5:11
changed quite significantly back in
5:13
October this year. Where previously
5:15
Virgin Voyages had one voyage fair
5:18
choice for every single sailor, there
5:20
was a change introduced in October that
5:23
gave sailor the choice to choose between
5:25
a base, an essential, and a premium f
5:28
each with their own limitations,
5:30
flexibilities, and perks. Now, it's
5:32
interesting how this news unfolded. We
5:34
were originally given a bit of heads up
5:36
to get some information and some
5:38
materials ready to show everyone and
5:41
tell the story about how these voyage
5:43
fair choices were going to work and make
5:45
things as easy as possible for people to
5:47
understand. Now, of course, we
5:49
diligently did this and and if you watch
5:50
that video of ours, you'll understand
5:52
how easy we set it all out and how easy
5:54
we made it for people to understand.
5:57
Unfortunately, on the day that that news
5:59
broke, it actually came out on Reddit an
6:02
hour before we could say anything. And
6:04
what happened was a very garbled mess of
6:06
misinformation, blurry screenshots, and
6:09
a lot of back and forth in the comments,
6:11
and a lot of confusion that followed.
6:13
Now, remember, when this was all going
6:15
on, we were poised with our diagrams and
6:17
our video to explain all of this to
6:19
people, but we couldn't do anything
6:21
about it for a whole hour. But needless
6:23
to say, when the embargo lifted and we
6:25
were able to release the information, we
6:28
did smooth things over as best we could
6:30
with many, many of our viewers praising
6:33
our simple and straightforward
6:34
information around the topic. Some of
6:37
this was a little too little too late
6:39
and a lot of damaging misinformation was
6:42
spread. However, we did release a
6:44
follow-up video myth busting a lot of
6:46
the things that came from that very
6:48
messy period of time when Reddit was
6:50
going crazy. Well, we saw a huge amount
6:53
of people flock to VV Insider to gain
6:55
that clarity, and we're so glad that you
6:57
did, making this one of the most talked
6:59
about topics on our site at the time.
7:02
It's now been a couple of months since
7:03
those Voyage Fair choices came in, and
7:06
from what we can see, things have
7:08
settled down a little bit and people
7:09
understand a little bit better now what
7:12
those differences are between the Voyage
7:14
Fair choices. But I'm not naive. I do
7:16
know there are still many, many opinions
7:18
flying around that topic. So, if you do
7:20
have any more opinions on that topic,
7:22
let me know in the comments. Moving on
7:23
now to our topic number three. So, this
7:26
year there was lots of changes to do
7:28
with the food menus on board the lady
7:31
ships with new menus being introduced to
7:33
restaurants across the fleet. In
7:35
particular, changes to the menu in Gun
7:38
Bay. With many, many of our sailors
7:40
giving their opinion on the new menu.
7:42
From what we've seen, the new food at
7:43
Gun Bay has been received very well. But
7:46
there will always be a few sailors that
7:48
long for what has been lost. So if you
7:50
do feel agrieved that the Gun Bay menu
7:53
has changed, let me know in the comments
7:55
what you're missing the most. As ever,
7:57
whenever the menus change, whether that
7:58
be restaurant menus or bar menus, we try
8:01
to stay on top of those changes as best
8:04
we can. And as I've said many times
8:06
before on this channel, VV Insider is
8:09
nothing without our sailor community. We
8:11
can't be on board all of the time. And
8:13
if you notice something that's changed
8:15
or is slightly different, do reach out
8:17
to us to let us know. The changes to the
8:19
Gumbay menu is something we actually
8:21
found out from one of our sailor readers
8:24
who got in touch with us to let us know
8:25
that our menu was wrong. And actually,
8:27
we looked further into it and it turns
8:29
out it was very wrong indeed and there
8:31
was a brand new menu. We're currently
8:33
working with our connections to see if
8:35
we can get early sight of these changes,
8:37
but sometimes it's just not possible.
8:39
So, do let us know if you notice
8:42
something that's a little bit offkilter
8:43
on our website and we'll make sure that
8:45
we get that fixed and make it up to date
8:48
as possible. Moving on to our
8:50
penultimate topic. Topic number two is
8:53
all about the happenings cast on board.
8:56
VB Insider are well known now for
8:58
bringing you all the information about
9:00
the new happenings cast that are joining
9:03
every single ship. If you're not
9:05
familiar with the happenings cast, this
9:07
is the cast of people that replace the
9:10
traditional cruise director and cruise
9:12
staff on board the ship because as we
9:14
know, Virgin Voyagers like to do things
9:16
a little differently. So, in this cast
9:18
of characters, that's where you have the
9:20
hostess, which is an incredible vocalist
9:22
and hosts many of the largest parties on
9:25
board the ships, including the Sailaway
9:27
party, PJ party, and she transforms into
9:30
the octopus goddess for Scarlet Knight.
9:32
You also have the Diva, which is the
9:34
resident drag queen on board, and she
9:37
has her own shows on each of the ships.
9:39
You have, of course, the Foodie, which
9:41
hosts the food and drink related
9:43
activities on board. The artist, who
9:46
hosts arts and crafts activities, the
9:48
balancer, who hosts more of the physical
9:51
activities and workout classes, as well
9:53
as a host of many other cast members who
9:56
host events, dance, and sing their way
9:59
through your voyage. The Happlings cast
10:01
traditionally switch out around every
10:03
six months on each of the ships. And
10:05
each time it's a brand new set of faces
10:08
to get to know before you voyage. And we
10:11
know sailors like yourself like to know
10:13
what to expect when you head on board.
10:16
And sometimes it's nice to see if there
10:18
are familiar faces. Say you sailed
10:20
before and there's a particular cast
10:22
member that you really enjoyed. Are they
10:24
going to be on board your next sailing?
10:26
So, our Happenings Cast articles are
10:29
designed to do exactly that, give you a
10:31
sense of what to expect. It also enables
10:34
you to follow them on social media as
10:36
well if you want to know more about them
10:38
before you head on board. And this year,
10:41
our articles introducing the new
10:43
happenings members on board each of the
10:45
ships totaled over 75,000
10:48
page views. That is a huge amount of
10:50
people planning ahead and wanting to see
10:52
if there are familiar faces on board
10:54
their next sailing. As I said, it's
10:56
something that we're very known for here
10:58
at VV Insider. So, we're going to keep
11:00
up the good work as we head into the new
11:02
year. But I'm interested, is there a
11:04
particular face that you look out for
11:05
when you see these Happenings cast
11:07
articles go up? Do you have a favorite
11:09
happenings cast member that you're
11:10
always wishing is on board? Let me know
11:13
in the comments who that is. Now, before
11:15
I reveal topic number one, what the most
11:17
talked about thing about Virgin Voyages
11:19
this year has been, let me just pause
11:21
here to ask you a quick favor and just
11:23
double check. Now, if you haven't
11:25
subscribed to our channel yet, please go
11:27
ahead and click subscribe. It will do us
11:29
the world of good in getting this
11:31
information out to as many sailor as
11:33
possible before they head on board. And
11:35
if you're thinking of heading on board
11:37
in 2026 or beyond, and you're still yet
11:41
to make those plans, then do head over
11:43
to vvincider.com/book
11:46
where we can make sure we give you all
11:47
the best discounts and perks that we
11:50
possibly can for your next booking. It
11:52
also helps support the work that we do
11:54
here at VV Insider and we would very
11:56
very much appreciate it. Okay, so we're
11:59
on to the big one. This should come as
12:01
no surprise to anyone that has been
12:03
following Virgin Voyages this year. And
12:06
the number one most talked about topic
12:08
on vbvinsider.com
12:10
was the launch of Brilliant Lady. This
12:13
is Virgin Voyages fourth and most
12:15
current lady ship. Her launch had been
12:18
delayed for nearly two years, and it was
12:21
such a privilege to be along on
12:23
Brilliant Lady's launch earlier this
12:24
year. As we've been covering all of the
12:26
updates ready for Brilliant Lady,
12:28
including the changes to some of the
12:30
spaces on board, as well as the
12:33
fantastic new entertainment that's on
12:35
Brilliant Lady. It was a real honor to
12:37
be on board Brilliant Lady as she sailed
12:39
from Portsmouth to New York City to
12:42
prepare for her mermaid voyage. Not only
12:44
was it fantastic to see Brilliant Ladies
12:47
brand new spaces, including a newly
12:50
designed roundabout, which in our
12:52
opinion by far exceeds the standard
12:55
design or the original design of the
12:57
roundabout, this is a really lovely area
13:00
with lots more seating options, many
13:02
more views out to the sea, and generally
13:05
a much more chilled and laidback vibe.
13:08
We love the new roundabout on Brilliant
13:10
Lady. She also has a brand new looking
13:12
athletic club deck as well with the
13:15
removal of large seating around the
13:17
perimeter of the deck which means that
13:19
we can look straight out onto the
13:22
scenery. Now we know in particular from
13:24
our readers that this change is very
13:26
very welcome indeed. And then of course
13:28
we can't forget one of the largest
13:30
changes on the ship which is the brand
13:32
new restaurant. So Razledazzle was
13:34
replaced by Rojo by Razledazzle which is
13:37
the Spanish themed restaurant.
13:39
Personally for me, the food in Rojo by
13:41
Razledazzle is absolutely incredible. I
13:44
still dream about the Basque cheesecake,
13:46
and I can't wait to try it again when I
13:49
get on board next year. We also saw the
13:51
introduction of the brand new
13:53
entertainment that's available on
13:55
Brilliant Lady including the new dinner
13:57
show Up with a Twist and the two
13:59
headline shows which includes Out of
14:01
Time that launched during her New York
14:04
Mermaiden season and Red Hot which
14:06
launched during the Miami Mermaiden
14:09
season. This all new entertainment has
14:11
been received incredibly well with
14:13
sailors around the world. Now, comments
14:15
both on the website and on YouTube as
14:17
well have been absolutely glowing about
14:19
the new entertainment on Brilliant Lady,
14:22
which is just a testament to both the
14:23
production and the cast that go into
14:26
bringing these shows to life. So, as I
14:28
say, Brilliant Lady launched back in
14:30
September this year. But just before she
14:32
launched, there was a big party in New
14:34
York Harbor that we were very privileged
14:37
to be part of where Richard Branson
14:39
himself showed up and led a choir of all
14:42
of us singing Queens Don't Stop Me Now.
14:44
This was an absolutely unforgettable
14:46
moment and we're so privileged to have
14:48
been there in person. It really was
14:51
spectacular. Now, of course, it does beg
14:53
the question of what do they mean by
14:55
don't stop me now? And that of course
14:58
leads on to our conversation about what
15:00
is next for Virgin Voyages. Here at
15:03
vbvinsider.com,
15:04
we've always got our ear to the ground
15:06
to hear what's coming up next for Virgin
15:09
Voyages, but I'd love to hear what your
15:11
opinion is. What do you think is going
15:13
to come next from the brand? There has
15:15
been some huge speculation about new
15:18
ships and what that could mean. But
15:19
looking a little bit closer and in the
15:21
near future, Valiant Lady is due for a
15:24
dry dock in summer next year. And if
15:27
there's one thing we can be pretty
15:28
confident about, it's that Razledazzle
15:31
will be replaced by a brand new concept
15:33
of Razledazzle. So, of course, on
15:35
Scarlet Lady back in 2024, she got Lucky
15:38
Lotus by Razledazzle, which was an Asian
15:41
themed restaurant. And then this year,
15:43
Rojo by Razledazzle launched on
15:45
Brilliant Lady, which is a Spanish
15:47
themed restaurant. So, what do we expect
15:49
to see for Valiant Lady when she comes
15:51
out of Dry Dog? And also, do we expect
15:53
to see any of those other changes that
15:55
we saw on Brilliant Lady like the
15:57
roundabout and the athletic club come
15:59
over to Valiant Lady? Or maybe there's
16:01
some other changes in store, that'll be
16:03
very interesting to see indeed. And of
16:06
course, if there's one thing that we can
16:07
be sure on in the world of Virgin
16:08
Voyages is that you can't be sure about
16:11
anything and things change all the time.
16:13
So, if you want to keep up to date with
16:15
all of the changes across the brand,
16:17
then do head over to vbvinsider.com.
16:20
There you can subscribe to our email
16:22
newsletter and we'll let you know when
16:24
anything changes and all that exciting
16:26
news and that goes on top of you
16:28
subscribing here on our YouTube channel.
16:31
And speaking of YouTube, let's have a
16:33
quick bonus round about what our top
16:35
three videos this year were all about.
16:37
So, coming in at number three, we were
16:39
talking about all the changes when it
16:41
came to Brilliant Lady in a video called
16:43
Everything New with Brilliant Lady. So,
16:45
if you're sailing on her in 2026, why
16:48
don't you head over to that video to see
16:50
what to expect coming up a very close
16:53
number two is our ultimate guide to
16:55
Scarlet Night. So, in this video, we
16:57
talk about Virgin Voyages exclusive red
17:00
party, Scarlet Night, where everyone
17:03
dresses in red. I tell you all the top
17:05
tips and I even talk you through what my
17:08
Scarlet Knight outfit is all about as
17:10
well. And then finally, our top video
17:12
this year was actually my first video on
17:15
this channel back in March, which was a
17:17
video all about how to save money on
17:19
drinks. So, in that video, I go through
17:22
some top tips on how to shave off those
17:24
few extra dollars on your bar tab when
17:26
you go on board the Virgin Voyages
17:28
ships. It's very easy to see why that's
17:30
our number one video. Who doesn't want
17:32
to save money, especially on drinks when
17:34
you go on vacation? I do know that that
17:37
particular video needs a little update
17:38
because of Voyage Fair choices. So,
17:41
watch out in the new year. Make sure
17:43
that you stay subscribed and I'll be
17:45
producing a brand new video on how to
17:47
save even more money on drinks on Virgin
17:49
Voyages in 2026. So, that's it. That's
17:52
all your Virgin Voyages news for 2025
17:55
all wrapped up. We have a couple more
17:57
videos coming before the end of the
17:59
year, so stay tuned for those. But
18:01
again, if you'd like to support the work
18:03
that we do here at vbvinsider.com,
18:06
which is to get this information,
18:08
guides, and news about Virgin Voyages
18:10
out there for everyone for free, then
18:12
please help us out by going ahead and
18:14
booking your next Virgin Voyage with us.
18:17
It doesn't cost you any more and you're
18:19
making your booking securely on the
18:21
virginoyagers.com website. You simply
18:24
need to visit our website first and
18:26
click a link. That's all you need to do
18:28
and we can give you all those perks and
18:31
you support us in the process. It's
18:33
really, really easy. For anything more
18:35
complicated, like if you want us to dig
18:37
down and make sure you can stack all
18:39
your discounts up and save the most
18:41
money possible, you can send us an
18:42
inquiry and we can do some of the leg
18:44
work for you as well. It's always worth
18:46
asking us before you decide to book
18:48
direct. So, please get in touch. So,
18:51
I'll be back with you next Saturday with
18:52
a new insider update. But until then,
18:56
happy sailing.
18:58
[Music]