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Well, we're just one week into March and already there's a ton of changes across
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the Virgin Voyages ships, which will no doubt have an impact on voyages this
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year, but also well into the future.
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if this is the first time we're meeting, my name is David from VV Insider,
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Which is a website that's dedicated to letting everyone know about what's going
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on across the Virgin Voyages ships,
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and I mean absolutely everything from food, drinks, entertainment, cabins.
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and keeping on top of all of the news and updates across the brand.
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This is our regular Virgin Voyages Insider Update where we take a look
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at all the news and all the changes that are happening on board that
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affect you when you are sailing.
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So If you've got a Virgin Voyages vacation coming up, or if you're
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thinking about booking one,
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I'm gonna take you through everything that you're gonna need
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to know about all of these changes.
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and it really has been quite a busy week in the VV Insider newsroom.
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So this time we're gonna take a look at some changes to one of the
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most popular events on board and how they're changing reservations.
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to try and help more sailors get a better view of the show.
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Then we're gonna take a sneak peek at Brilliant Lady's New MerMaiden season
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out of both Los Angeles and Seattle.
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There are some brand new itineraries now available to book
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on Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady.
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We're gonna take a quick look at those.
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Then we have a really important update for anyone who's planning to sail out of
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New York City on Virgin Voyages this year.
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And then finally, we're gonna take a look at some incredibly exciting
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Happenings, Cast news, including Valiant Lady's 11th Happenings Cast members.
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and for the very first time, we're looking at two brand new Happenings, Cast roles,
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which will bring the roster up to 14
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There's some crucial information you'll need to know about that, so stick around.
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So as you can tell, there's a ton to go through.
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So let's jump right in.
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1:55
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So a big shakeup to one of the most popular shows on board
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the Virgin Voyages ships.
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And we're talking specifically here about Murder in The
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Manor on board Brilliant Lady.
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Murder in The Manor was launched with Brilliant Lady back in September last
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year and ever since, it's always been an incredibly popular show, which has
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caused a little bit of drama on board.
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across the debut season of Murder in the Manor, we have heard personally
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stories of people waiting outside the Manor venue for a long, long time, hoping
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to get a good seat to see the show.
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It wasn't unheard of for this line to stretch all the way
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back to The High Street shops.
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And if you've been on board, you'll know that that's quite some
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distance for a line to take up.
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Well, for anyone who's experienced this or is hoping for a nicer and smoother
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experience for this show, when they're on board, you'll be thankful to know
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that Murder in The Manor has now been moved over to a reservations only system.
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Murder in The Manor is now a bookable by the app, and you will need a reservation
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in order to guarantee entry for the show.
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For those of you that have sailed on board Virgin Voyages in the
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past, this isn't anything new.
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Historically, you were asked to book events on the app before
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you arrived at the venue,
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and when this was the case, when the venue was full, you weren't able
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to get in without a reservation.
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well, last year we started to see that most events just allowing
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sailors to show up, but they were queued at the door before they
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were allowed entry to the venue.
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With Rockstar guests being able to gain entry first.
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this had a little bit of a mixed reception at first, but most of
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the time it seemed to work okay.
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The problem was when these much more popular shows came around during the
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Brilliant Lady's Launch season, things like Murder in The Manor led to many, many
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long cues waiting to get into The Manor.
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It'll be interesting to see if this type of reservation system
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is reintroduced to the brand.
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across other events on the ship and around the fleet.
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We, of course, here at VV Insider, we'll keep our ear to the ground around this
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and let you know if anything changes.
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but as for now, Murder in The Manor is the only event that will
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require reservations like this.
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If you want more information on these changes and how it might
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affect your journey, especially if you are a Rockstar, then head over
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to our article on vvinsider.com.
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You are also able to read a full show guide about what to expect when you head
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into Murder in The Manor on your sailing.
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Now some jolly exciting news for those of you that are joining The
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Brilliant Lady MerMaiden season on the west coast of the US.
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So Virgin Voyages are really looking forward to bringing the
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brand new ship Brilliant Lady, to both Los Angeles and Seattle.
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And as those voyages fast approach, those MerMaiden voyages are
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gonna be the real jewels in the crown of these new itineraries.
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For those new to Virgin Voyages, MerMaiden is what they call their
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maiden voyages out of a new home port.
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So it's not necessarily a maiden voyage in the nautical sense because
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it's not the first time the ship is sailing, but it is the first time these
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ships are sailing from these ports.
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And the Brilliant Lady Mermaid in into has already had two stops.
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One being in New York City on the 6th of September, and
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then later last year in Miami.
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these two MerMaiden and sailings that you're looking for kicks
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off in Los Angeles on the 7th of April with the Seattle MerMaiden
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taking place on May 21st.
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something we definitely know is taking place on these MerMaiden
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voyages is the Eat and Drink Festival.
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The Eat and Drink Festival this year in 2026 is called Passport to Flavors.
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we've written quite a lot about what to expect during your Eat and Drink
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Festival, so if you wanna read more about that, head over to the website.
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But what we expect to see on these MerMaiden sailings are some dishes
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that are related to those home ports of Los Angeles and Seattle.
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We will also be expecting to see some MerMaiden memorabilia in the shops.
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And then of course those all important shows and special events.
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If you're looking for a full breakdown of the events to expect
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on onboard, Brilliant Lady.
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We have a video guide on here on our YouTube channel, and we also list out
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all of the events on our website as well.
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So if you want to know what to expect, head over to there.
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one big bit of news that Virgin Voyages fans are very excited for
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is the return of Abi The Hostess for these MerMaiden voyages.
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Abi, of course, is the original iconic Hostess of all the MerMaiden
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voyages that have gone before.
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So it's only fitting that she returns for these brand new MerMaiden
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sailings But she's not just hanging around for the MerMaiden voyages.
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She's taking over as Hostess for the rest of that Happenings Cast season.
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So expect to see Abi The Hostess back on, Brilliant Lady on March 21st,
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leading all the way up to July 16.
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One bonus thing to mention in Los Angeles is a glitzy launch party on April 6th.
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This launch party is reserved for media and travel professionals,
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so unfortunately there are no open tickets available to the public,
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it's likely during these type of events, we might see some
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footage from onboard with some celebrity guests and influencers.
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We'll be sure to cover the news that comes out of these MerMaiden
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voyages here on VV Insider.
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So if you haven't already made sure you subscribe to this channel to
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keep on top of all of those updates.
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it's been a busy week here in terms of the news that is coming out of Virgin Voyages,
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But also on the travel and booking side.
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It's been a big week too with the launch of the brand new Valiant Lady and
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Resilient Lady itineraries for the Winter, 27 28 Caribbean sailings itineraries
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With two very distinct vibes across the two ships.
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First of all, Valiant Lady will be taking the shorter sailings
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with the maximum sailing duration of seven nights and a minimum of just three.
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so, these are perfect.
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If you have limited paid time off and you just want to get away and have a great
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time onboard the Virgin Voyages ships.
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The three night sailings, for example, stop off at the Beach Club at Bimini,
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which is always a really fun time.
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Or if you prefer to take things a little slower, maybe Resilient
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Lady is the one for you.
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She starts off on a Halloween themed transatlantic voyage on October the 24th
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Where she sails from Barcelona to Miami via Majorca, Funchal and Tenerife,
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before spending a number of relaxing days at sea before reaching Miami.
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we expect that one to be very, very popular.
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Not least because it's a Halloween voyage, so it'll include the iconic
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Virgin Voyage's Halloween party as well.
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but when Resilient reaches Miami, She's gonna be doing those longer voyages.
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those six to eight night voyages calling out many places in the Caribbean.
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There's a huge amount of options with these Caribbean sailings.
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So head over to our article on vvinsider.com
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to look at, all the incredible ports that these itineraries have to offer.
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and of course if you're looking to get booked, are one of these itineraries
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that are a little bit further out, It's often that there are some incredible
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loot deals available for booking early.
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that comes in the form of our very special "Sail Forward" Sailor Loot offer,
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Where you can get $200 of extra onboard credit on top of the offers that are
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already advertised on Virgin Voyages.
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These are offered on most sailings if you choose a Limited Sea Terrace or
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above, and the amount of credit that you get depends on how long your voyage is.
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We can explain everything to you and make sure you get the best offer possible.
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Just head over to vvinsider.com/book and find a sailing that looks right to you.
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not only do we have this extra special Sailor Loot offer, But regardless of
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that offer, there are a ton of perks by booking with VV Insider anyway,
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Including the peace of mind that comes from booking with the number
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one expert Virgin Voyages resource, a dvert free access to all of our tools
9:57
and content, and earn loyalty diamonds for every booking that you make that
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you can spend on more onboard credit.
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It really is a win-win, and it helps support the work that we do here.
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So we'd love to hear from you and plan that perfect voyage together.
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speaking of our incredible sailors support.
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We've already let our sailors know that there's been a port change to those who
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are sailing out of and to New York City this year with Virgin Voyages moving
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their port from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
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this move was made because of infrastructure work
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happening around Pier 90,
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Which has meant that there's a bottleneck at the old port.
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So to make sure that sailors have minimal disruption, Virgin Voyages
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have moved their home port to Brooklyn.
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The new address that you'll need to know is 210 Clifton Wharf,
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and every single Sailor who's booked on those itineraries will
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be receiving an email from Virgin Voyages letting them know about the
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changes over the next day or so.
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now for some really exciting news if you are heading on board Valiant
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Lady over the next few months, and that's with the introduction
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of the brand new Happenings Cast.
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This is Happenings Cast 11 onboard, Valiant Lady.
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this new cast includes some familiar faces, mostly from Valiant cast number 9.
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There are some new faces as well.
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so let's take a look at who to expect.
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So firstly, our voyage hosts.
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so the first of those two pairs of iconic heels will be
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filled by Annabel The Hostess!
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Annabel will be a familiar face to anyone that has been on Valiant Lady before.
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Not only was she The Hostess in Valiant Cast 9, but prior to that,
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you'll also have recognized Annabel as the vocalist on board, including
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performing her incredible vocals at both
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"It's A Ship Show" and the UNTITLED DANCEPARTYSHOWTHING.
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Then we welcome back Cordelia Facade the Diva.
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Cordelia Facade is a Nashville based drag performer who starred as The Diva
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as well on Valiant Lady cast number nine.
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Headlining Valiant Ladies drag show, which is Virgin Voyage's original drag show
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called "Around the World with the Diva".
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Interestingly on Valiant Lady, this is the only diva show that's presented in
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the Red Room as opposed to The Manor.
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You'll also see Cordelia at things like Bingo with the Diva and hosting a few
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other events around the ship as well.
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Then moving on to the aficionados.
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We're welcoming back.
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Caitlyn the Gamer from Valiant Cast 9.
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A warm welcome to Mark the Charmer, who is a brand new face on board Virgin Voyages.
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Returning again, is Shelby the Artist.
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Another brand new face is Abby the Foodie.
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And yet another returner, this time from both Cast 9 and cast 7 on Valiant Lady
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Now moving on to the influencers and dancers.
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Firstly, as the Spark.
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We're welcoming Austin.
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who is brand new on board Virgin Voyages, But has been with the
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company as a swing or a stand in on the Happenings Cast on land,
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So it'd be great to see him on board.
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Then from Valiant Cast number 9, again, we have Megan back as the Glow.
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Then another familiar face to Virgin Voyages fans.
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Lili'u joins the cast of Valiant Lady after previously being on
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board Scarlet Lady Cast number 10.
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Where we saw her last year in Iceland,
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as well as Resilient Lady Cast 6 and Valiant Lady Cast 2.
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Then as the Hype, we welcome back Sammy, who is no stranger to
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Virgin Voyages, having been with the brand during the debut seasons
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of Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady,
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and then finally as the Bounce, We have Ali who joins from
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Scarlet Ladies cast 6 and cast 8.
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This looks like yet another incredible Happenings Cast.
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They took the helm on February 28th and we'll be on board until August 27th,
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which means of course they will be on board for Valiant Lady's dry dock coming
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up in the not too distant future in May.
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We're hoping to get some more information about what to expect on board Valiant
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Lady when she comes out of Dry Dock.
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So make sure that you stay subscribed to this channel for more information
13:45
on the new Valiant Lady changes we're very much looking forward to seeing,
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especially what the new Razzle Dazzle restaurant will end up looking like.
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now, sticking with Happenings.
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There's some very exciting and somewhat unexpected news came out of Miami just
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last week, and that is the introduction of two brand new Happening Cast roles.
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These aren't just new Happenings, Cast members, brand new roles.
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and this is the first time we've ever seen an addition to the Happenings Cast roles
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over and above the 12 that we're quite familiar with, that
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we just went through earlier.
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just as a little bit of Virgin Voyages trivia, there was a 13th
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Happenings Cast member in the debut season called The Doctor.
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we don't have the time to go into what the doctor was all about, but if you
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want to give it a quick Google, I'm sure you'll find some information on it
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and I think you'll be quite surprised.
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but we're talking about the future now, And that is the introduction of
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two brand new Happenings Cast members.
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But the caveat is these are specifically for the Alaska season on Brilliant Lady.
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So this unfortunately is not across the entire fleet.
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So the two cast members are The Naturalist and The Lumberjack,
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and the idea here is that these are gonna be destination
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experts for the Alaska sailings.
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Of course, it's not uncommon to have destination experts for a season like
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this where you are going to a specific destination, and it's mostly about the
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ports instead of what's onboard the ship.
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Well, Virgin Voyages are hoping to blend the ship and the destination together
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with the introduction of these roles.
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Traditionally on other cruise lines, these destination experts tend to offer things
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like lectures and talks about what to expect when you get to different ports.
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the idea of Virgin Voyages introducing these two members as Happenings Cast
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members instead, is that they're hoping to break the mold a little
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bit And do slightly more intimate and fun activities to introduce the
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idea of all of these new experiences that sailors will find in Alaska.
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So first off, The Naturalist will be an expert in the natural wonders of Alaska.
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What to expect when it comes to nature,
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the well-balanced ecosystem that you're gonna be expecting to see pass by
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Brilliant Lady as she travels along the coast of the USA's most northernly state.
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Then The Lumberjack, on the other hand, will be looking specifically at what
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regional industry looks like in Alaska.
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Providing a cultural voice and explaining how industry and culture has shaped Alaska
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throughout the last few hundred years.
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So it'd be really interesting to take a look at the lineup of the Brilliant
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Lady as she goes into that Alaska season and what new Alaska specific events
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we're gonna see show up on the lineup.
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it's likely we'll learn more about this before she sets sail in Alaska.
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So again, stay subscribed to our channel to learn more about what to expect there.
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I think what we're really interested in here is the implication of
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having these new Happenings Cast members be region specific.
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and it brings up the question of whether we'll see more of this as Virgin
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Voyages expands in the future with new itineraries and new destinations.
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What I will say is as we head towards the Alaska season, if you are headed on
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board, it's worth making sure that you are attending those events by both The
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Naturalist and The Lumberjack to show the brand that this type of thing is
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welcome and these new Happenings, Cast members are what we wanna see on board.
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As well we know Virgin Voyages take Sailor feedback very seriously to
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make sure go along to these events and share your feedback on the
17:15
survey to let them know how they do.
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Thanks for coming along on this Insider Update as I said, of course there was
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tons to go through, But if you found those updates useful, then please do
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give us a like and make sure you are subscribed to this channel as well.
17:28
If you'd like to support us in any other way, the best way to do that
17:31
is to make sure that your Virgin Voyages booking is connected to us.
17:35
you can find out more about how to do that free of charge at vvinsider.com/book.
17:40
And what's more, if you've already made a booking, there might still be a way
17:43
to have us connected to that booking.
17:45
So read the information about transferring a booking on that page, and we'll be in
17:49
touch to let you know how to do that.
17:51
We put out a video guide last week letting you know how to make the most of
17:55
traveling as a group on Virgin Voyages.
17:57
So if you're looking for something more to watch in the theme of Virgin Voyages,
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I recommend heading over to that video To pick up some tips about how to make the
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most of traveling with a larger group.
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Well, thank you so much for coming along.
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We'll be back with a new video guide next week.
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But until then, happy sailing!
