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September has been an incredibly
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exciting month for Virgin Voyages with
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the launch of Brilliant Lady, the fourth
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ship in the fleet. So, you'd be forgiven
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for thinking that things had slowed
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down, but we've noticed a whole host of
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new announcements and changes that you
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should know about if you're sailing on
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Virgin Voyages. I'm David from VB
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Insider and I'm here with this week's
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Virgin Voyages insider update where I'm
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going to talk you through a new
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happenings cast on Scarlet Lady, the
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announcement of the headline act for
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Brilliant Ladies Miami Mermaid Maiden,
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an exclusive offer that we have for a
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very special sailing that's happening
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very soon that includes Drag Queens from
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Rupaul's Drag Race, some big changes
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happening to the entertainment roster on
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board Virgin Voyage's first ship,
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Scarlet Lady, and then I want to tell
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you about some changes that we've made
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to one of the most used tools on our
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website that's going to make your voyage
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even better. So, there's so much to
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cover, so let's get down to it. VB
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Insider is the number one resource for
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the latest Virgin Voyages info, guides,
1:01
and news. From picking the perfect cabin
1:03
to booking dining, or simply just making
1:05
the most of your voyage and saving money
1:07
while you do it, vincider.com has helped
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thousands of sailors around the world
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sail smarter. Support our work by
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hitting subscribe and stick around to
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hear how you can get exclusive perks by
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booking directly with us.
1:21
The first big news story I want to cover
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is all to do with the Happenings cast on
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board Scarlet Lead. As ever at VV
1:28
Insider, we've had the privilege of
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letting everyone know who to expect to
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see on board Scarlet Lady in the Happens
1:34
cast and this is the 12th Happenings
1:36
cast on Scarlet Lady. This new group
1:39
will replace the 11th Happenings cast on
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Scarlet Lady. So, we're saying goodbye
1:43
at the moment to Hannah the Hostess,
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Vinegar Strokes the Diva, as well as
1:47
some other favorites like Devid the
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Charmer, and Cameron the Hype. But
1:50
replacing them on the 25th of September,
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we have the 12th cast, which is led by
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Summer the Hostess, who is making her
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Virgin Voyages debut after being a very
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successful vocalist on Regent 7C's and
2:04
Norwegian. A returning cast member is a
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diva that you might have noticed if you
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sailed with Virgin Voyages before, and
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that's a woman named Carlos. Carlos is a
2:13
huge fan favorite and a Virgin Voyagers
2:15
happenings veteran. So, expect to see
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some real fun and hy jinks in Light
2:19
Camera Drag as well as bingo with the
2:21
Diva and other events on board. Another
2:24
returner and fan favorite is Abby the
2:26
Balancer. Abby or Abs the Balancer has
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been on Scarlet Lady in both cast 8 and
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cast 10 and you can expect to see her in
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some more of the physical events like
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VHS workout and something that she
2:38
designed herself which is Broadway
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Boogie and it's one of my favorite
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happenings events. So make sure you go
2:43
along and see that as well. The rest of
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this happenings cast look incredibly
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talented. We've got a whole list of
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everyone that is joining this cast and
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you can head over to our article on
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vvincider.com to see who's about and
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also to follow their socials as well to
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get to know them before you sail. Moving
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on to Virgin Voyages newest ship,
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Brilliant Lady. Having just graduated
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past her inaugural few sailings from her
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New York mermaid to the new four foliage
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voyages that she's doing right now,
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she'll be heading down the coast in the
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next few weeks to host her Miami
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Mermaiden voyage. And this is really
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shaping up to be a very special voyage
3:20
indeed. And it's become even more
3:22
special by the announcement of a new
3:24
headline act that will be specifically
3:26
for this Miami Mermaiden. So, it has
3:29
been announced that Khis will be joining
3:31
the mermaid and voyage to be the
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headline act for that very special
3:35
inaugural sailing out of Miami. Khalis,
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of course, is a huge R&B and hip-hop
3:40
sensation known for his solo music as
3:42
well as incredible collaborations
3:44
between Little Kim, Outcast, and Bjork.
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Not only will Khalis be featuring in a
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pool deck performance, but also for this
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inaugural voyage, there's going to be a
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special treat in the wake. Not many
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people will realize that Khalis trained
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at Le Cordon Blur Culinary School and
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she's been working with the team at the
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wake to develop a special dessert just
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for this voyage called the Kes Sunday.
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This is a very special dessert offering
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that's only going to be available on
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this mermaid voyage. For this Mermaiden
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voyage as well, there's going to be a
4:13
new concept which are Miami bars at Sea.
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And this is set up like a speak easy
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which is going to be designed to
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celebrate Miami's cocktail scene. It's
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not clear just yet how this speak easy
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model will take place, but we'll have
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more details as we get closer to the
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event. So, follow us on our socials and
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subscribe to this channel for more
4:32
information before that Miami sailing
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kicks off on the 17th of October.
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Speaking of extra special voyages, on
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October the 15th, there will be a very
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special charter on board Valiant Lady,
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which is called Drag Stars at Sea, and
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it's exactly what it sounds like on the
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tin. This voyage will play host to
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incredible drag artists that you'll
4:53
recognize from RuPaul's Drag Race. This
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charter is being run by Atlantis and
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involves a good number of household
4:59
names in the drag world. So on this
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voyage, you're going to see special
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performances from Bob the Drag Queen,
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Trinity the Tuck, Bianca Del Rio, Alyssa
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Edwards, and Sugar and Spice. Those are
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the currently announced performers, but
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you could expect to see some more and
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some more surprises along the way as
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well. This 4-day charter starts with a
5:18
sea day, then heads over to Key West
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before stopping off at the beach club at
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Bumin and then returning back to Miami.
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And very excitingly, if you're
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interested in this particular voyage, we
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can give you $400 off the cost of any
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cabin or $200 off if you're traveling
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solo. You simply need to use the promo
5:36
code drag insider when you're booking
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your voyage. We have all the information
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that you need over on our article on
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vbvinsider.com. Now, I want to tell you
5:44
about an unexpected shakeup in the
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entertainment lineup on Scarlet Lady.
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So, the first thing to mention here is
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that Ships in the Night, a musical
5:53
performance, has ended its long run on
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board Scarlet Lady and now will not be
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shown anywhere across the fleet. Ships
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in the Night was one of Virgin Voyages
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longestr running shows and was developed
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by the team at the Seven Fingers, who
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also brought dual reality to life on
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board the Virgin Voyages ships. The show
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was a thought-provoking musical that
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looked at how we interact with others
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throughout the day. And the show
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particularly wanted audiences to think
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about those that we pass in the street
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without ever truly understanding the
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stories behind their lives. This was a
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great show with live vocals and
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choreography as well. So, it'll be very
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interesting to see what replaces this
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show on board Scarlet Lady and we'll be
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keeping a close eye on that and letting
6:33
you know as soon as we know. So do
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follow along on vbinsider.com and also
6:38
subscribe to this channel and we'll let
6:39
you know during one of these updates. If
6:41
you want to learn more about the
6:43
outgoing shows in the night, then do
6:45
make sure you visit vvincsider.com
6:48
because even if those shows leave us,
6:50
they never leave Vivv Insider. So do
6:52
have a look and we'll explain exactly
6:53
what you're missing now the show is
6:55
gone. Another departing show on Scarlet
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Lady is the Untitled Dan Show Party
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Thing. This was one of the original
7:02
shows on Scarlet Lady when she launched
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back in 2021. This show is a high energy
7:07
high concept dance performance that
7:09
always showcas an incredibly talented
7:12
dance troop interluded with some vocal
7:14
performances. Untitled dance show party
7:16
thing or untitled as we call it for
7:19
short was certainly one of those events
7:20
that did challenge audiences as they
7:23
went through the experience with some
7:25
elements of it being quite
7:26
thoughtprovoking or bizarre but always
7:28
really really fun. Now, thankfully for
7:30
fans of Untitled, this does continue on
7:33
board Valiant Lady. So, this show is not
7:36
leaving the fleet for good right now.
7:38
And again, this does, of course, leave a
7:39
gap in the schedule. But we do know what
7:42
will be replacing Untitled. And it's
7:44
something that's quite exciting for
7:46
anyone who's ever been on board
7:47
Resilient Lady. And that comes with the
7:49
early site that Pesphanie will be
7:51
launching on board Scarlet Lady.
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Pesphanany is a show developed by Holly
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Anne Develin which is all based around
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Greek mythology. This show launched on
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Resilient Lady when she launched back in
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2023 and has received incredibly
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positive feedback from the Sailor
8:07
community. This show blends really good
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storytelling, incredible vocals, great
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dancing, choreography, acrobatics, and
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incredible costumes and lighting as
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well. Pesphanany is a really immersive
8:19
experience with much of the action
8:21
happening around the venue. This is our
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first early indication of which events
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have been concretely planned for Scarlet
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Lady for the next few sailings. We're
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keeping our eye on reports on social
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media and for those that are sailing on
8:34
those voyages to check their lineup and
8:37
see which events are showing up on the
8:39
app so we can have an indication of
8:40
what's coming up and what to expect for
8:42
sailors as well. We have heard some
8:44
incredibly exciting whispers, so we
8:46
can't wait to tell you about that once
8:48
it's all confirmed and we can tell you
8:50
more on our insider updates. So, do stay
8:52
subscribed to this channel, but also
8:54
head over to vbvinsider.com and
8:56
subscribe to our email newsletter as
8:58
well, cuz sometimes if we get some
8:59
really exciting news, we'll put it
9:01
straight out to our email subscribers
9:03
first. For those looking to snag a
9:05
bargain and get on board Virgin Voyages
9:07
for the lowest cost possible, the $109
9:10
end of summer sale is back with
9:13
discounted cabins on a huge number of
9:15
2025 and 2026 sailings. This offer runs
9:19
all the way up to the 30th of September,
9:22
but do make sure you snag those offers
9:24
early as the inventory is limited on
9:26
these sailings. And because we like to
9:28
make things really nice and easy here at
9:32
if you head over to our article on this,
9:34
we have a list of all the eligible
9:36
voyages for this particular offer. So,
9:38
if you're looking to get a bargain, take
9:40
a look at that list and see which
9:42
options match your needs. As ever, by
9:44
booking with VV Insider, you not only
9:46
get the best price possible, you also
9:48
get some exclusive perks by joining our
9:50
Red Diamond Club, which means that you
9:52
have adree access to our entire website.
9:55
And you also collect diamonds every time
9:57
that you sail, and you can trade those
9:59
in for things like onboard credit. This
10:01
is of course on top of the Virgin
10:03
Voyages loyalty program. So, it's almost
10:05
like getting rewarded twice every time
10:07
you sail. And it's with a lot of
10:09
confidence we can now say that the best
10:11
way to book your Virgin Voyages vacation
10:14
is through vvincsider.com/book.
10:17
If you join us over on there, not only
10:19
will you be supporting us, but you'll be
10:21
getting the best deal possible. Speaking
10:23
of the work that we do here at
10:25
VVincider, we have made some incredible
10:28
improvements to our cabin lookup tool.
10:30
If you haven't used the cabin lookup
10:32
tool before, let me quickly explain. For
10:34
a long time on Virgin Voyages, there was
10:36
no way of knowing if the cabin that
10:38
you'd been assigned during your booking
10:40
was a good cabin or one with a few notes
10:42
that you need to be aware of. So, what
10:44
we mean by that is that you could have
10:46
selected a sea terrace cabin, but not
10:48
all sea terraces are made the same. Some
10:51
sea terrace cabins don't have a glass
10:53
balcony and have a metal balcony
10:55
instead. Some sea terrace cabins don't
10:57
have one of those red iconic hammocks
10:59
and have a hanging seat instead. And
11:02
then there are also cabins that tend to
11:04
be in a more noisy area as well. So to
11:06
combat this, what we've done is we've
11:08
done all the hard work for you. So we've
11:11
scrolled through the deck plans. We've
11:13
used a huge amount of time and energy
11:15
matching all the cabins with all the
11:17
pros and cons that each of the cabins
11:20
might have. So, when you know your cabin
11:22
number through your booking
11:23
confirmation, you simply just use your
11:25
cabin number, pop it into the cabin
11:27
lookup tool on vvincider.com and we
11:29
explain in plain English what you need
11:32
to know about that particular cabin.
11:34
This is really useful to know before you
11:36
go because sometimes you're able to pick
11:38
up the phone to sailor services and they
11:40
can move you to a different cabin on
11:42
board. So, this all sounds incredible.
11:44
How could we possibly improve it? Well,
11:47
we've now had a look at all of those
11:48
cabins that sleep more than just two
11:51
sailors in the sea terrace categories.
11:53
So, where cabins are noted as sleeping
11:55
three or four sailors, we now tell you
11:58
what the bed configuration is going to
12:00
look like in those cabins. So, as you
12:02
can see in this example, here's an
12:04
illustration of how that extra bed will
12:06
fit into the room. But some of these
12:08
beds actually pull down from the
12:09
ceiling. So, we have illustrations of
12:11
what that looks like as well. And this
12:13
is for your individual cabin number. so
12:15
you can see what the actual
12:16
configuration is like for your actual
12:19
cabin. What we've also done is spent a
12:21
huge amount of time figuring out whether
12:23
the bed is positioned closer to the
12:26
window or closer to the bathroom. This
12:28
is something that's surprisingly
12:30
important when you sail because some
12:32
people prefer to have extra space next
12:34
to the window or extra space next to the
12:37
bathroom. Well, now using the VV Insider
12:39
cabin lookup tool, you can see what to
12:42
expect before you even sail. and we've
12:44
created these really simple
12:46
illustrations demonstrating the point so
12:48
you can get a really good sense of what
12:50
the room layout is going to look like
12:51
before you even sail. Some other
12:53
improvements that we've made is we've
12:55
added those extra special cabins that
12:57
belong to individual unique ships. So,
12:59
for example, there are a whole host of
13:02
new seriously sweet Rockstar cabins on
13:04
Scarlet Lady thanks to her recent dry
13:07
dock. And of course, Brilliant Lady has
13:09
a brand new cabin type called the
13:11
slightly smaller balcony sea terrace,
13:13
which includes two hammock seats instead
13:15
of the one iconic red hammock. So, what
13:17
will happen now when you put the cabin
13:19
number of one of these special cabins
13:21
in, you will then be asked whether
13:23
you're sailing on board that unique
13:25
ship, so in this case, Brilliant Lady,
13:27
or you're on any of the other ships
13:28
where the cabin will just be generic. If
13:30
you select the corresponding ship, you
13:32
will now be presented with all the
13:34
correct information for that particular
13:36
cabin. We're so incredibly proud of the
13:38
work that we've put into the cabin
13:40
lookup tool. So, we're so glad to get
13:42
this out for everyone to use. We know
13:44
that sailors, first mate, and Virgin
13:46
Voyages employees themselves use the
13:49
cabin lookup tool every single day to
13:51
know more about the cabins that they're
13:53
going to stay in during their voyage or
13:55
the cabin that their client or customers
13:57
will be staying in as well. Remember,
13:59
the cabin lookup tool is nothing without
14:01
the support of the community. So, if
14:03
you've sailed recently and you want to
14:05
tell us about the cabin that you stayed
14:06
in or send us the pictures that you've
14:08
taken of the cabin as well, find your
14:10
cabin on the cabin lookup tool and use
14:12
the comments or the upload photo
14:14
function available there. The more
14:16
information we have about all these
14:17
cabins, the better the tool becomes. A
14:20
little note I wanted to mention about
14:21
this YouTube channel is that we've now
14:23
moved into a new era where we're now
14:25
uploading two videos a week. So, these
14:28
updates will continue every other
14:30
Saturday as normal. In between those,
14:32
you're going to get our deep dive Virgin
14:34
Voyages guide where we look at a
14:36
particular topic and really look to see
14:38
how you can have the best Virgin Voyage
14:40
you possibly can. But now that's going
14:42
to be joined with a midweek upload which
14:44
is going to be talking about a
14:45
particular event in the lineup. And the
14:47
reason we're doing this is to make the
14:49
pages on vbvinsider.com about all of
14:52
these individual events even more useful
14:54
than they currently are. So, at the
14:56
moment, most events on the Virgin
14:58
Voyagers fleet have an event page tied
15:00
to it on vbvinsider.com
15:02
where we explain in plain language and
15:04
photos what to expect in this event, but
15:07
sometimes easier to see clips from the
15:09
events and a little conversation like
15:11
this about what to expect in the event
15:13
as well. So, we've kicked things off
15:15
already. We've done two of these. The
15:16
first one was Out of Time, which is a
15:18
new event on Brilliant Lady. And then
15:20
this week we also looked at Up with a
15:23
Twist, which is another event on
15:25
Brilliant Lady. This one in particular
15:27
was a bit of a longer one because it's a
15:29
dinner style show that carries an
15:31
upcharge. So we have a dive in to see
15:33
what you get for that $50 and also
15:35
whether it's worth the price of entry.
15:37
So it's a little bit of a deep dive and
15:39
I do recommend you go and watch that
15:41
because Up with a Twist is one of my
15:42
absolute favorites and I don't make any
15:44
attempt to hide my love for it. So I'm
15:46
going to link that video at the end of
15:48
this update. So, because we do upload
15:50
those event highlights midweek, they
15:52
don't get as many views as normal, but
15:54
if you do see one pop up in your feed,
15:56
do give it a watch and help support the
15:58
channel. So, thank you very much for
16:00
that in advance. So, that's everything
16:02
from this insider update. Thank you so
16:04
much for coming along and until next
16:06
time, happy sailing.