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For everyone that loves cruising We are getting to that time of year
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where the end of winter is in sight And finally we can see on the horizon
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our summer vacations and plans.
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And we've seen from the news and the changes from Virgin Voyages over the
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past couple of weeks that this summer is gonna be very, very special indeed.
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If you are brand new here, I'm David from VV Insider, which is a website
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all about Virgin Voyages cruises.
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All the information, the guides and the news that you need to know
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When you are sailing on the best and the most fun adult only cruise line there is,
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and it's our job here at VV Insider to tell you exactly what you need
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to know about what's changing and what's going on on the ships.
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And this is our Virgin Voyages Insider Update, which is a regular
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catchup of all the news and changes that you'll need to know when you
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are sailing on Virgin Voyages.
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this week we've got a whole host of announcements and changes that
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are very exciting indeed, including some brand new bar and drink menus
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with loads of new beverages and cocktails that you need to hear about.
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We also have some long awaited news on who to expect to see onboard
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the Comedy Fest Voyage in the US.
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For those that want to take advantage of the Virgin Voyages Loyalty program, but
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you haven't sailed with Virgin before.
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There's some news about how you can match your status into the system, and I'm gonna
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tell you all about how you can do that.
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for fans of Lola’s Library.
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We have some news about a brand new cast joining the show on Resilient Lady.
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We are gonna meet the folks behind the new cast and some familiar faces that
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you might have seen on board before.
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So as you can tell, there's tons to cover in this update.
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So let's jump right in!
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Voyagers info, guides and news.
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From picking the perfect cabin to booking dining, or simply just
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making the most of your voyage and saving money while you do it.
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vvinsider.com has helped thousands of sailors around the world sail smarter!
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Support our work by hitting SUBSCRIBE and stick around to
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Starting off with some news for those that are joining the US Comedy Fest cruise on
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a five night sailing from New York City to Bermuda, these Comedy Fest voyages are
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a specialty sailing that introduces some familiar faces from across the comedy
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circuit onboard the Virgin Voyager ships.
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And this time is no different.
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For those joining Valiant Lady on April 11th in New York City,
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You'll be expecting to see some big names from across the comedy world,
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And this sailing in particular is shaping up to not disappoint at all.
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These Comedy Fest sailings have been going on for quite a while now,
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but this one's a little bit different, with the fact that this is actually
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a collaboration with a company called Don't Tell Comedy, which is a
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production company that creates comedy festivals in unexpected locations.
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In the past, these comedy festivals have been to backyards and warehouses,
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well now they're changing the scenery even more by going on board a cruise
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ship, and that ship is Valiant Lady.
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What this means in practice, on board the ship means that we might
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see some unconventional venues being used for these comedy performances.
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So whereas before with the Comedy Fest, you might be used to seeing an acts in The
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Red Room or The Manor, we might see with this new collaboration, some different
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uses of some venues and some pop-up performances being employed as well.
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So it'll be really interesting to see what 'Don’t Tell' Comedy do to
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this particular Comedy Fest Sailing.
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But we know when it comes to the Comedy Fest, people are really interested
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in who's gonna headline the thing.
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So starting off, we have Shapel Lacey,
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who is gonna bring his high energy storytelling style comedy
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to the high seas come April.
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Lacey is a regular at the Los Angeles Comedy Store
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and is really well known for his very direct and personal standup style.
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You may also know him from his podcast, Cooked in the Comments.
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Alongside Shapel, another headliner on board this voyage will be Emma Willmann.
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Willmann is a standup comedian and actress
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who performs regularly at the New York Comedy Cellar.
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you may well have seen Emma on Netflix's the lineup or the late
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Night Show with Steven Colbert.
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For those more of a fan of observational comedy, Usama Siddiquee
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is joining the lineup as well.
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Siddiquee has developed a name for himself with fast-paced comedy delivery
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and he may well have seen him from America's Got Talent or a few Netflix
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projects he's been involved with as well.
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If you head over to our article on vvinsider.com, we have a full list of
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who to expect on this voyage, and if it sounds great for you and you have some
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free time in April, then why not head over to that page as well and make a booking.
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There is still some availability on this particular voyage.
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for those joining the UK Comedy Fest, voyage in Portsmouth, watch
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this space 'cause we'll be reporting on the headliners for that show as
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soon as we have the information.
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So make sure you stay subscribed to this channel.
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Some welcome news for those that sail multiple times with Virgin Voyages
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and like to see a change or two here and there.
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Well, there are some brand new bar menus and drink options available
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on board across the whole fleet
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with some new alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
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we've scoured these menus to see what differences there are between the old
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menus and the new, here's the results.
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We have some brand new drink options available in the Draught Haus, not only
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in the new Brilliant Lady Draught Haus, but across the whole fleet as well.
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There's a brand new Sangria option available at The Dock House and The Dock.
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If you've not tried the Sangria in those venues before, it's fantastic and we are
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really looking forward to trying this new option when we sail in the future.
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there's also some brand new cocktails available at On
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The Rocks and The Sip Lounge.
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For those of you lucky enough to be Rockstars with a black band when you
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head up to Richard's Rooftop, there are some new drink options available there,
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including a non-alcoholic Sunset spirit.
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A venue that sometimes overlooked is Juice Sea, which is the juice
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bar that's sandwiched between The Dock House and The Dock.
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The Juice Sea Menu has been expanded with some new options as well.
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One thing everyone will be very relieved to hear is that this
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new bar menu update surprisingly does not include any price hikes.
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This was one question we were asked multiple times as we were getting
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these new menus put together,
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But thankfully the only price rises there are to report are the price
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rises that happened a few months ago where the minimum price of beer,
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went up a dollar and the price of a Red Bull went up a dollar as well.
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One very cool new thing is the new option to have a Aperol Spritz
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party between you and your friends.
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This option is priced at $95 and with this you get some Aperol, a bottle
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of Cava, sparkling water, and some orange slices so you can make your
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own Aperol among you and your friends.
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the availability of this Aperol Spritz party kit depends on the
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ship that you're sailing on.
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So when you're on board, make sure to ask around.
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It sounds like the perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon.
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you'll of course be glad to note that the Bar Tab system still applies
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across the fleet and across all the options that I've mentioned.
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And if you wanna preview any of these new bar menu options yourself, then head over
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to vvinsider.com where we've been hard at work uploading all the brand new bar
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menus so you can take a look for yourself.
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These are all broken down per venue, and when they vary per ship, you'll be
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able to see that very clearly as well.
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But it's a great way to get an idea of the things that are gonna be available
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when you set sale in the future.
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Now of course, keeping these bar menus up to date.
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It's just one of those little jobs that we do here at vvinsider.com
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to make sure when you set sail, you know exactly what to expect and you
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can plan for the perfect vacation.
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Well, if you find those helpful tools and these videos useful at all and you'd like
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to support us, The best way to do that and ensure your support doesn't cost you
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a penny, and all you need to do is when you are making your next booking with
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Virgin Voyages is just to make sure that VV Insider is linked to that booking.
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To do that is really, really straightforward.
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You just go over to our website and click the 'Book Now' button and any
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voyage you were looking at, you'll be able to find on our website.
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all you do is make your booking just as you would before.
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You just use the link on our website and that makes sure we're connected together.
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It really is that easy and as a thank you for doing that,
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we'll make sure we give you some exclusive extras and perks as well!
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And you'll also be part of our loyalty program.
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So with that very first booking, you'll get your first set of diamonds And you
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can spend those diamonds on onboard credit, on your future sailings.
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And again, this costs you no more at all.
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It really is a win-win.
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if you wanna learn any more about that, or if you've got any questions
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for us at all, then head over to vvinsider.com/book And we'll answer all
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of the questions that you have and make sure we plan the perfect voyage together.
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and now is actually a great time to make those plans for the future because
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recently the details of the brand new February 'Wave Offer' have been announced,
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and this includes up to 80% off a second Sailor and up to $350 Bar Tab and up
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to $300 Sailor Loot for every booking.
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These offers of course come and go, but this one is actually
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very, very similar to the 'Wave Offer' that's just been and gone.
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that was incredibly generous.
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And this one is nearly the same value.
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This particular offer comes to an end in the next few days.
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so on the 26th of February, that's your last chance to
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snag at this particular offer.
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If you have a sailing in mind, make sure you get it in there
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before the 26th of February.
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now some really exciting news.
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For anyone that loved Lola’s Library.
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Lola’s Library is a very special cabaret show that's on board,
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Resilient Lady and started when Resilient Lady launched back in 2023.
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It truly is an iconic show that mixes dancing, live vocals, acrobatics, and
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a fantastic if not bizarre atmosphere that sailors absolutely love.
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Anyone that's seen it before will know that the titular character, Lola,
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is an absolute force to reckon with
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having been played in the past by only three actresses.
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each of which are absolutely iconic, and bring their own flair to the show.
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So in the past we've had Meg, we've had Jodie, and recently
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we've had Lexi as well.
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Stepping into those iconic heels and donning those incredible glasses.
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This time is Livi Rose.
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Livi is an actor, singer, dancer
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and fitness instructor from Long Island, New York.
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She graduated from Long Island University with a BFA in Musical Theater.
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Livi recently made her off-Broadway debut in the cast of the My True Love Musical.
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and start as Doralee in Dolly Parton's, 9 to 5 musical in North Carolina.
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This Marks Libby's very first contract on board a cruise ship.
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so we wish her all the best, and we just know she's gonna
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be amazing as the new Lola.
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Joining Livi in the library is Charis Vaughn, who you may know from her
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previous engagements with Virgin Voyages, both in Persephone and Another Rose.
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And playing the iconic role of Dewey is Jonny Stranks, who UK sailors may
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recognize as Johnny is a previous winner of Britain's Got talent.
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if you're planning on sailing on Resilient Lady, you may wanna
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learn more about Lola’s Library.
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Well, we have an entire guide that you can read through about
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this event and what to expect.
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And quite recently there's a brand new show called Booked:
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a Lola’s Library Story, which launched on Scarlet Lady last year.
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The story of Booked serves as a prequel for Lola’s Library,
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but includes some familiar characters from the original story.
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We've seen some very encouraging news from the Virgin Voyages brand
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recently who've reported that revenues are up 20% this year during
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Wave Season compared to last year.
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This is really encouraging news for those that love the brand and want to
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see it go as far as it possibly can.
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it's certainly easy to see how the launch of Virgin Voyages fourth ship,
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Brilliant Lady, has played into this, but industry reports are indicating
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that the 'kid-free' strategy, the adult only strategy on Virgin Voyages
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is a real trend across the industry, and that's why we're
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seeing such a buoyant market when it comes to these kid free cruises.
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I know for me personally, it's one of the things that keeps me
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going back time and time again.
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and it's one of those things when you step off the ship and onto land, it
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takes you somewhat by surprise When you see a kid running around or screaming,
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it certainly makes you appreciate why you chose Virgin in the first place.
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There's been some new information about Virgin Voyages status match program.
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The reason why this is so anticipated is that you don't need to have cruised
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at all before in order to match to a status program within Virgin Voyages.
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And That means if you have status already with a cruise line or an airline or
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a hotel chain, you can status match into the Virgin Voyages program.
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There is, of course a list of programs that will help you match into the
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Virgin Voyages program, but the perks that you'll get are Blue Extras.
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And of course, over on vvinsider.com, we have a list of all the perks
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that you'll get with Blue Extras.
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This includes dedicated Sailor services support, including an
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exclusive line down in Sailor Services.
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So you can skip the queue.
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an exclusive Blue Extras cocktail event you get complimentary cocktails
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for an entire hour during the Blue Extras party onboard your sailing.
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You also get a free bag of laundry during your sailing as well,
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which comes in incredibly handy.
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And you also get one free specialty coffee per day.
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You don't need to go to the coffee bar for that.
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You can order them in a restaurant as well, but you get that totally free of
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charge as part of the loyalty program.
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in order to match your loyalty status.
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There's a little bit of a process involved, but we spell it out
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really easily over on our article on vvinsider.com, and if you get in
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touch with us, we can help you make sure you match your status as well.
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So absolutely feel free to reach out.
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This week saw the release of some brand new Scarlet Lady itineraries
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going into 2027 and 2028.
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It all starts with this Halloween transatlantic sailing, leaving from
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Barcelona and heading to San Juan.
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San Juan will then be the home port for Scarlet Lady, offering some really
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nice hot weather alternatives in the Caribbean, in those winter months.
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so for those of us that live in the northern hemisphere in winter
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and are battling rain in England or snow in North America, maybe
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these are the sailings for you.
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If you are looking for something to watch.
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I did my own video report of a Resilient Lady sailing in the
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Caribbean that we took back in January.
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We made some mistakes along the way and I put that video report
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together to tell you which mistakes I made and how to avoid them.
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So head over to that video for tips on how to deal with a missed or
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a canceled port in the Caribbean,
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and how to take some very simple planning steps with excursions and Shore Things to
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make sure you have the best time possible.
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Just to say thank you so much for your support, not only for our
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website, but also the videos that we have here on our channel on YouTube.
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if you'd like to support us along making this content and putting
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these videos out, then of course make sure that you're connecting
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us to your Virgin Voyages bookings.
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Head over to vvinsider.com/book to find out exactly how to do that.
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It's really easy, but if you think you've missed the boat, if you pardon
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the pun and you've already made a booking that isn't connected with us,
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There are perhaps some ways that we can still be connected to your booking.
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So again, You'll find some information on there on how to transfer your booking to
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us, and we make it as simple as possible.
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if you want any help with booking or with transferring, then please
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do let us know and reach out.
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well, I'll be back next week with a new 'Sail Smarter' Guide, Which looks
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at a particular topic about sailing with Virgin Voyages and how to make
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sure you get your planning perfect.
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So I'm looking forward to seeing you next week, but until then, happy sailing!
