Up next in 10
Virgin Voyages has rolled out several notable updates this month 🚢 From its new AI-powered Project Ruby and Rovey assistant to updated onboard device rules, a fresh Happenings Cast on Resilient Lady, and more details on Valiant Lady’s dry dock changes, there is quite a lot to catch up on. In this VV Insider weekly update, David breaks down what is changing, what is confirmed so far, and what it could mean for your next sailing.
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📌 WHAT WE COVER
• Virgin Voyages’ new AI initiative, Project Ruby, and the launch of Rovey
• The updated policy banning Starlink and other satellite communication devices onboard
• The new Happenings Cast on Resilient Lady
• Confirmed and expected updates from Valiant Lady’s dry dock
• How to enter the VV Insider September giveaway for a chance to sail for free
• A quick look ahead to our upcoming Brilliant Lady trip report
📚 LINKS & RESOURCES
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0:00
with both Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady now on the transatlantic voyages heading
0:05
over to Europe for the 2026 summer season.
0:08
Virgin Voyages are putting some finishing touches to some huge changes that
0:12
are happening over the coming weeks.
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Meaning there's a whole host of news and updates that are gonna change the way you
0:18
sail with Virgin Voyages in the future.
0:20
I'm David from VV Insider, which is a website all about Virgin Voyages,
0:25
including all the information, the guides, and the news that you need
0:28
to plan the perfect Virgin Voyage.
0:30
And this is our regular Virgin Voyages Insider Update that tells you about
0:35
everything that's been changing across the brand over the past couple of
0:39
weeks And we've got tons to cover, including the launch of a brand new
0:43
AI project, which is gonna change the way that both the crew and Sailors
0:48
interact with the Virgin Voyages brand.
0:50
We're gonna take a look at how that might change the way that
0:52
you plan your next voyage.
0:54
there's also been a policy update to do with an item that some
0:58
Sailors bring on board to help improve their internet connection.
1:01
we'll take a look at those new rules and how to avoid getting caught out.
1:05
Just a few short days ago, a brand new Happenings Cast
1:09
took over on Resilient Lady.
1:11
We're gonna take a look at this new cast and there are a couple
1:13
of familiar faces you might recognize from sailing in the past.
1:17
And as promised, we've got some new updates on what to expect from
1:21
Valiant Lady when she comes out of dry dock at the end of May.
1:25
Then, if you stick around, I'm gonna tell you how you might
1:27
be able to sail for free.
1:29
Joining a Virgin Voyage in September this year.
1:32
We'll come onto that and more, but we've got tons to get
1:35
through, so let's jump right in.
1:36
First Virgin Voyages have been in the headlines, introducing a brand new AI
1:41
project This announcement was made during the Google Cloud Developer Conference.
1:45
With Virgin Voyages' VP of Marketing & Digital Innovation, Billy Bohan Chinique,
1:50
presenting on-stage "Project Ruby".
1:53
This is Virgin Voyages multi-year AI project that's been running in
1:58
collaboration with Google Cloud.
2:00
It's already very well known that Virgin Voyages intend to really
2:04
embrace artificial intelligence in the way that they operate the business.
2:09
And many months ago we heard that Virgin Voyages were working closely
2:13
with Google Cloud to develop their own artificial intelligence platform.
2:17
Well, the details of that collaboration are now made clear,
2:20
with the very first implementation of this new project called "Rovey".
2:24
The idea here is that "Rovey" uses data about not only the sailings,
2:29
but also the Sailors themself
2:31
to intelligently help and assist a Sailor plan, the next Virgin Voyage,
2:36
in addition to this, there's also a crew-facing element which promises to
2:41
help the crew understand more about the Sailors when they're on their voyage.
2:45
Google published a collaborative video between Virgin Voyages and
2:48
Google, to help explain what this new AI project hopes to deliver.
2:53
I'm gonna play a clip from that video now so you can see what
2:56
the hopes are for this project.
2:58
Our people are a secret source, so anytime we can use data to make our
3:02
people more empowered, we're all in
3:04
Gemini Enterprise is helping us bring Project three to life.
3:08
It's going to allow our crew to feel confident with any question they're asked.
3:12
So for sailors, Rovey is a personal concierge To maximize the value they
3:16
get out of their vacation, inspired at home all the way through the last
3:20
day of their voyage to make sure they have the best time on vacation with
3:23
us, our crew are already world renowned and award-winning for the exceptional
3:28
service they deliver As humans, we want Project Ruby and Gemini Enterprise
3:32
to be able to take that even further.
3:34
We could truly see a day where you get on a Virgin Atlantic flight, stay at a Virgin
3:38
Hotel, and end up on a Virgin Voyage.
3:41
All connected seamlessly by Project Ruby and Gemini Enterprise.
3:45
So as you can see from that introduction, Virgin Voyages are hoping that
3:48
"Project Ruby" will really overhaul and innovate the whole Sailor experience.
3:54
As you can imagine here at VV Insider, we do see a lot of community feedback
3:59
about the Virgin Voyages brand and some of the feedback about Virgin Voyages'
4:03
use of AI has been somewhat mixed.
4:06
So it'd be really interesting to hear from you.
4:08
How do you think this new AI initiative is gonna affect the way that you sail?
4:13
Is this something you want to see more of from the brand?
4:16
Let us know in the comments.
4:17
It's not often that Virgin Voyages make sweeping policy changes, but
4:21
something that caught our I over the last couple of weeks is the insistence
4:25
from Virgin Voyages that Starlink devices are now prohibited on board.
4:30
An update to policies on the 10th of April, have now explicitly called out the
4:35
use of satellite communication devices.
4:37
This includes the use of satellite phones, Starlink systems, HAM
4:41
radios, and internet routers,
4:43
Along with any devices that deliberately interfere with electronic communications.
4:49
It looks like the most newsworthy thing there is the
4:51
prohibition of Starlink systems.
4:54
If you're not familiar, Starlink is a satellite internet company.
4:57
where subscribers can use a portable satellite dish to get
5:00
high speed internet anywhere.
5:03
with changes to the Virgin Voyages Wi-Fi policy, meaning that you can't use things
5:07
like VPN unless you are on the highest tier, many Sailors have been using these
5:12
types of devices to get around paying those extra charges to Virgin Voyages.
5:17
Well, with this policy change, it looks like that loophole
5:20
has now been put to an end.
5:22
Those who need faster Wi-Fi or need to use VPN access, will now need to subscribe
5:28
to the Work-From-Sea Wi-Fi package
5:31
as ever.
5:31
On vvinsider.com, we have a guide that explains exactly what you'll
5:35
need to know about connecting to Wi-Fi onboard the ships.
5:39
So if this change does affect you, then you can get all the
5:41
information you need over there.
5:43
The 25th of April was the day that the new Resilient Lady Happenings Cast took over.
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This is Resilient Lady eighth Happenings Cast having launched in Athens in 2023.
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the previous Happenings Cast performed their last evening on the 24th of
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April, including Milly The Hostess, Jake The Foodie, Varena The Artist,
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and many, many other fan favorites.
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But fear not The new Happenings Cast on board, Resilient Lady
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look absolutely incredible.
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The cast is fronted by two incredible hosts with Ariana The
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Hostess making her Virgin Voyages debut on board Resilient Lady.
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Ariana is an accomplished singer and actor, and although it's her first
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engagement with Virgin Voyages,
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It looks like her background is a perfect match for bringing that incredible
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Hostess energy to the huge amount of events that are on Resilient Lady,
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including Love, Love, Love with The Hostess, and of course transforming
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into the Octopus Goddess during the Octopus Garden on Scarlet Night.
6:39
Joining Ariana is Giselle Brooks The Diva.
6:42
Giselle is an incredibly gifted drag performer from Chicago, although new
6:46
to Virgin Voyages, it looks like she's gonna be absolutely incredible at
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events like Bingo With The Diva and exclusively on Resilient Lady Diva Fever.
6:55
Which is a fun and campy, 1970s disco themed drag show.
6:59
They'll be joined by Lester The Gamer, Jordan The Charmer, and
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Amanda The Artist.
7:04
The other two aficionados you may remember from previous sailings with Virgin Voyages
7:09
if you've been on the ships in the past.
7:11
Firstly, we have Caldine The Foodie.
7:13
Now Caldine hasn't actually been a Happenings Cast member before, but
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you may recognize her face as she's been a member of the Virgin Voyages
7:21
Box Office team for many, many years.
7:24
We've personally had some lovely interactions with Caldine in the past.
7:27
and she's always had an incredibly bubbly and happy personality.
7:30
so this is an absolute perfect move for her moving into the
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Happenings Cast as The Foodie.
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And it's also really great to see that Virgin Voyages have recognized that spark
7:40
and helped her move into this new role,
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we absolutely wish it all the best!
7:44
Another familiar face and fan favorite is Dwayne The Balancer, having originally
7:49
started on Virgin Voyages as part of the eighth Happenings Cast for Valiant Lady.
7:53
He was also The Balancer for the very first inaugural cast
7:58
of Brilliant Lady last year.
7:59
Dwayne is an incredibly popular Balancer, really motivational, really high energy
8:04
and you can catch The Balancer at those more high energy type Happenings
8:08
events, including things like Broadway Boogie, Dodgeball, VHS Workout and more.
8:14
The hosts and aficionados are joined by the influencers and dancers, one
8:18
of which will be very familiar to those that have sailed in the past.
8:21
And that is Chris The Spark.
8:23
Chris is back once again on Resilient Lady having been part of the inaugural
8:27
cast as well as cast three and six.
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Chris is an incredibly popular Happenings Cast member, so it's great
8:34
to see a familiar face back again.
8:36
He's joined by newcomers to the Virgin Voyages brand, Including
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Millie The Glow, Chloe The Flare,
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Aldrin The Hype, and A'isha The Bounce.
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If you wanna know more about the cast and want to visit their Instagram profiles,
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head over to our article on vvinsider.com.
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Simply search "Happenings Cast", and you can find all the information on this
8:54
cast as well as all the other casts on all of the four Virgin Voyages ships.
8:59
Now as part of a bit of a regular section we have going, we have some
9:03
more details about what to expect on Valiant Lady when she comes
9:07
out of dry dock at the end of May.
9:09
The first thing to mention are pretty routine.
9:11
so you're gonna see some replacements for some wear and tear.
9:14
In general, you're gonna see new carpets fitted around the ship as
9:18
well as some replacements to the marble in the RockStar bathrooms.
9:22
There's also gonna be some welcome updates to the cabins, which include replacements
9:26
of some USB power outlets to USB-C.
9:30
That's gonna be a replacement to around 1,400 different power
9:33
outlets all around the ship.
9:35
One thing we know for sure, which will be different from Scarlet Lady's dry
9:39
dock is that there's not gonna be an introduction to any new RockStar Suites.
9:44
If you've been following along for a while, you'll know that Scarlet Lady
9:47
got a whole new host of Seriously Suite RockStar cabins during her dry dock.
9:53
Well there were no new RockStar Suites added to Brilliant Lady,
9:56
and it's being confirmed that there will be no new RockStar Suites
9:59
added to Valiant Lady as well.
10:00
One surprising piece of news is that we know there will be a mermaid refresh.
10:05
So each of the Virgin Voyages ships are represented by a different mermaid
10:10
with very different characteristics for each one.
10:12
this was somewhat expected because Scarlet Lady had a mermaid refresh when she
10:17
went in for her dry dock back in 2024,
10:20
when the original Scarlet Lady Mermaid, who was blonde, was changed completely
10:25
with new artwork, with a new mermaid.
10:27
depicting her with big, thick, curly red hair.
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Well, we don't know what the new design for the new Valiant Lady
10:34
Mermaid looks like quite yet.
10:36
But stay tuned to VV Insider for all the details as soon as we have it.
10:40
There will, of course be an exterior overhaul, including the
10:44
painting and resurfacing of lots and lots of the outdoor spaces.
10:48
This resurfacing will include 15,000 liters of paint and three
10:53
kilometers of masking tape.
10:55
So there's gonna be plenty of new shine and sparkle when Valiant Lady is ready!
10:59
A few of the changes include some efficiency updates with a new
11:03
silicon-based coating applied to the hull of the ship to allow her
11:06
to gide through the water easier.
11:08
We're also expecting to see Valiant Lady get a new look Athletic Club.
11:13
Although the new design of the Athletic Club is not confirmed yet, what we assume
11:18
will happen is that she will get the same makeover that Brilliant Lady had,
11:23
which includes the removal of the "largest sunbed at sea" it was called at
11:27
the time, which is the large red sunbed that wraps around the back of the ship.
11:31
well, we expect Valiant Lady to get that Brilliant Lady glow up with new
11:35
seating, which makes it easier for people to look out the back of the
11:39
ship if they want to, rather than it being restricted by this large sunbed.
11:43
so as you can see from this image, you can see that glass railing, so
11:47
you can see a much wider panoramic view of the ocean or the port.
11:51
Also a few changes to the pool area, including the removal of
11:55
those static triangular shaped sofas
11:58
that are closer to the edges of the ship around the pool.
12:01
and we're also expecting to see those new steps and railings that we saw
12:05
on Scarlet Lady and Brilliant Lady to allow easier access to the pool.
12:10
Some other changes that we saw from the Scarlet Lady that have been confirmed
12:13
for Valiant include the removal of some of the outdoor gym equipment to allow
12:18
for a wider, more unencumbered walkway.
12:21
And finally, Virgin Voyages have promise to spruce up The Runway race track as
12:24
well with some new lettering and vinyls.
12:27
As you can see, there's plenty detail going into the Valiant Lady dry dock.
12:31
There is also more changes to come, so make sure that you stay subscribed
12:35
to our channel for more information on the Valiant Lady dry dock, or head
12:39
over to vvinsider.com, you can sign up for our email newsletter so you'll get
12:44
information about all the changes and news to your email inbox free of charge.
12:49
And it really is the bread and butter of what we do here at VV Insider,
12:52
which is to collect all of this information about the changes that
12:56
are going on at Virgin Voyages and letting everyone know about them.
12:59
If you've been following us for a while, you'll know we have the unique
13:02
opportunity to give one of you lucky readers and you lucky viewers, a way
13:07
to sail on Virgin Voyages for free by entering into our Virgin Voyages giveaway,
13:12
We're giving away a five night voyage on onboard Resilient Lady this September.
13:16
The sailing starts on the 5th of September, and the itinerary
13:19
includes a stop in Grand Turk and the Beach Club at Bimini, which is
13:24
Virgin Voyages' private beach club.
13:26
You only have until the 7th of May to enter this competition.
13:29
it doesn't cost you anything to enter at all.
13:31
And if you want to learn more, just head to vvinsider.com/giveaway for all the
13:36
information you need on how to enter.
13:38
We will be drawing the winner randomly and contacting them on the 8th of May.
13:42
We are heading off shortly to join Brilliant Lady for a sailing
13:46
from Los Angeles to Vancouver.
13:48
we plan to capture our experience on that voyage,
13:50
we're gonna bring you a trip report with everything that
13:53
happens on board that voyage.
13:54
So if you wanna catch that special trip report coming in the next
13:57
couple of weeks, make sure you stay subscribed to this channel.
14:00
If you found this update useful and you'd love to support the work
14:04
that we do here, then it doesn't cost you any more to do that.
14:07
You can simply connect us to your next Virgin Voyages booking.
14:11
You can do this completely free of charge and we make it totally easy.
14:14
Just head to vvinsider.com/book.
14:17
Where you can use our tools to find the perfect voyage, and as long as you use
14:21
our link, we'll be connected automatically and we'll be able to give you some
14:24
exclusive free planning perks as well.
14:27
If you're looking for something to watch now, we put together a guide of all the
14:31
different themed nights that are available across all four Virgin Voyages ships.
14:36
We walk through exactly what to expect and what you should
14:38
wear for each night as well.
14:40
I'm gonna put a link to that video just after this.
14:43
But until I see you next time for another Virgin Voyages Guide.
14:45
Thank you so much for watching and happy sailing!
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