0:00
Only a few weeks after Virgin Voyages
0:02
set sail to Alaska for the first time,
0:04
they then introduced the sailing world
0:06
to Valiant Lady 2.0 with all the brand
0:09
new changes after Dry Dog. Well, in
0:11
those few short weeks, there's also been
0:13
a huge amount of changes across the
0:16
brand and across the fleet as well,
0:18
including some massive changes to
0:20
entertainment with 20 new events added
0:22
to the lineup. There's also some huge
0:25
updates and announcements that every
0:26
Virgin Voyages sailor needs to know
0:28
about. If this is your first time
0:30
joining us, my name is David from VB
0:32
Insider, which is a website all about
0:35
Virgin Voyages and nothing else,
0:37
including everything you'll need to know
0:39
about every single venue, every cabin,
0:41
every bar, every restaurant on the ship.
0:44
Well, this is our regular Virgin Voyages
0:46
insider update, where we take a look at
0:48
all the news over the past couple of
0:50
weeks and fill you in on the most
0:52
important bits that might change the way
0:53
that you sail in the future. And in
0:55
today's edition, we're going to take a
0:57
quick look at the new changes on board
0:59
Valiant Lady as she came out of Dry Dog
1:02
just a couple of weeks ago. For those
1:04
that like to plan ahead, we're taking a
1:06
quick look at some new Caribbean
1:07
sailings in 2028. We're also going to
1:10
dive into what Pride Month is really
1:11
like when you step on board. There's
1:13
also been a shakeup to the Virgin
1:15
Voyages group program. So, if you're
1:17
planning a special celebration and
1:19
you're bringing a number of your friends
1:20
along, there's a few ways that you can
1:23
save. But that program has been shaken
1:24
up a little bit. So we're going to take
1:26
a look to see what you need to know. And
1:28
Virgin Voyagers have announced a June
1:30
July offer that offers sailors a free
1:33
balcony upgrade, but not as all it
1:35
seems. So we're going to take a quick
1:36
look into that as well. There's also
1:38
been the announcement of the featured
1:40
act that will be joining the Comedy Fest
1:42
voyage on August the 20th. So as you can
1:45
see, there's a ton to get through. So
1:46
let's jump right in. But before I do,
1:49
for anyone that's waiting on our Valiant
1:51
Lady Dry dock coverage, we were on board
1:54
last week and we were able to capture a
1:56
ton of footage. The issue is we did run
1:59
into some issues with the Wi-Fi on
2:01
board. And although those issues did get
2:03
resolved later on in the voyage, we
2:05
simply did not have enough time to edit
2:07
everything together and upload it. But
2:09
by the end of the voyage, we had the
2:11
chance to do a few more happenings
2:12
events, and I really want to tell you
2:14
about them because they were really
2:15
incredible. So, I'm going to re-record
2:17
the entire thing and really do it
2:19
justice because you need to know how
2:21
incredible the new Valiant Lady is. So,
2:24
that will be this week all being well.
2:26
So, make sure if you haven't subscribed
2:28
yet, make sure you do. I'm going to talk
2:30
you through all of the spaces, the brand
2:32
new events, and of course, the brand new
2:34
Indian restaurant Arya by Razledazzle.
2:37
So, we're going to cover all of that in
2:39
a separate video. But with that said,
2:41
let's leave Valiant to the side and talk
2:43
about some new sailings, this time on
2:45
Resilient Lady. The Resilient Lady Short
2:47
Caribbean sailings in 2028 have finally
2:50
been made available for booking. This is
2:53
particularly useful if you're the type
2:54
of person that really likes to plan in
2:56
advance. This entire release is a roster
2:59
of 38 new voyages that have been added
3:02
to the calendar in 2028. And these are
3:04
the real Caribbean favorites. Those four
3:07
and five night voyages. These shorter
3:09
sailings out of Miami tend to be a lot
3:11
of fun indeed. And there's a really good
3:13
variety of ports and sea days available
3:16
in those different itineraries. As
3:18
always, if you head over to our article
3:21
we break down all of these itineraries
3:23
and tell you what the availability and
3:25
pricing is like. But there is a
3:27
particular voyage that I want to call
3:29
out and that is the Grand Turk and
3:30
Biminy beach sailing on the 28th of
3:33
October because that is the very special
3:36
Halloween voyage. And I have it on very
3:38
good authority that the Halloween and
3:40
Christmas sailings are getting better
3:42
and better this year and onwards with
3:45
even more specialized programming and
3:47
overlays being applied to these special
3:49
sailings. So if you want to make sure
3:51
you don't miss out, take a look and get
3:53
booked now. Moving on to something a
3:55
little bit more current. It is June,
3:57
which means that it is Pride Month, and
3:59
that means that anyone who's on board
4:01
right now is able to enjoy the
4:03
specialtity food and beverages on offer
4:05
across Pride Month. We did, of course,
4:07
cover what was promised for Pride Month
4:10
back in May, but because we've just been
4:11
on board, I thought I'd give you a
4:13
little insider peak of what it's really
4:15
like. Certainly, the most prominent
4:17
thing that you'll recognize on board is
4:19
the return of this curated list of
4:21
cocktails by Absolute Vodka. You'll
4:23
notice on the bar menus in six different
4:25
venues across all the ships that there's
4:28
a brand new pride option on those menus.
4:31
Well, don't worry. This isn't a
4:32
scavenger hunt. You don't need to find
4:34
these yourself. You can actually go
4:35
ahead and collect one of these
4:37
passports. This will be left in your
4:39
room at the start of the voyage, and it
4:41
will show you exactly where you need to
4:43
go. So, you'll start off with a card
4:46
which will list all of the different
4:48
cocktails that you'll be able to get at
4:49
each of the venues. The idea here is
4:52
that for each of these special cocktails
4:54
that you order, you'll also be given a
4:56
card which corresponds to that cocktail.
4:59
So, you'll be able to collect six of
5:00
these cards. And finally, when you've
5:02
collected all six of these cards, you
5:05
then take them to a very special event
5:07
on the very last night of the voyage to
5:09
claim your gift. The gift was a very
5:12
special cocktail party hosted by two of
5:14
the Happenings cast. There was also one
5:16
of the iconic Virgin Voyages photo booth
5:19
set up so you can take a picture of your
5:21
group as well. I did also see a picture
5:23
on social media where somebody got a
5:25
bandana as well as a gift, but I didn't
5:27
get that. I'm not sure if maybe they
5:29
didn't make it to Valiant Lady or
5:31
somebody forgot to give me. I'm not
5:32
sure. But even if you're not collecting
5:34
all the cards, there are a few standout
5:36
cocktails. Maybe for the wrong reasons.
5:39
The first one I'll mention though was
5:40
delicious and it was definitely my
5:42
favorite. This one was from the draft
5:44
house and it's called beach balls. This
5:46
had absolute vodka, vanilla, Malibu,
5:49
coconut rum, shambbo, cranberry juice as
5:52
well as peach and coconut syrup. It was
5:54
then garnished with two marishino
5:56
cherries. This drink was really
5:58
delicious. And also to say there are
6:00
non-alcoholic versions of every single
6:02
one of these beverages, but they are
6:04
priced at the same amount which I feel
6:06
is a little bit expensive. But the one
6:08
that really missed for me unfortunately
6:10
was something called the Moonlight
6:12
Colada which as you guessed it was based
6:14
on a penina colada. This was up in the
6:16
athletic club. The weird thing about it
6:18
though is that they added coffee lure to
6:21
it and it just didn't work for me at
6:23
all. Maybe it's for somebody. It wasn't
6:25
for me. Other than that, we also saw a
6:27
few pride themed food options around the
6:30
ship. These were generally just
6:31
preserved for pick upand go items. So
6:34
normally where you see in the grounds
6:35
club where you can pick up a quason or a
6:38
cake there was some cakes available
6:39
there and some biscotties all of them
6:42
brightly colored with colors taken from
6:44
the progress flag. There was also an
6:46
additional DJ on board our voyage who
6:49
was brought on specifically for Pride.
6:51
His name was Billy Andrew and he's quite
6:53
notable in the gay scene in the United
6:56
Kingdom. We thought in particular this
6:57
was a really nice touch and the music
6:59
was really incredible. I think it's just
7:02
a shame that Virgin Voyages didn't
7:03
really talk about this until we got on
7:05
board, so we weren't able to tell anyone
7:07
about it. But rest assured, there is
7:10
that special resident DJ on board for
7:12
Pride, and you're going to love it. Now,
7:14
a change for those that like to travel
7:16
as part of a larger group. Virgin
7:18
Voyages have always offered a group
7:20
program, but it has been shaken up
7:23
lately. So, I'm going to go through what
7:24
you'll need to know about the new group
7:26
program if you're looking to bring on a
7:29
few people at a time. So the first thing
7:30
to mention is that Virgin Voyagers have
7:33
split the group program into three. The
7:35
first one being small groups which is
7:37
anything from 8 to 16 cabins. The next
7:40
one is large groups and that's from 17
7:43
cabins up to 75. And then finally if you
7:46
need more than 75 cabins then you'll be
7:49
specially contracted through Virgin
7:51
Voyages who will take care of you. I'm
7:53
not going to cover all of the details of
7:55
the group program on this video because
7:57
this video is mainly meant for sailor.
8:00
First mates will generally have a great
8:02
understanding of what's available for a
8:04
group, including ourself. So, if you are
8:06
managing a larger group that's coming on
8:08
board, we'd love to help you out. And
8:10
there are certainly benefits included
8:12
with booking as a group rather than
8:14
individual cabin, including some
8:16
additional bar tab and help with dinner
8:18
reservations to make sure you can all
8:20
dine together. Depending on how many
8:22
cabins you have, there could also be
8:24
additional discounts available. We've
8:27
had some great success helping groups
8:29
get booked on board and making things
8:31
super simple for them. So, if you'd like
8:33
to take the stress out of booking a
8:35
group, head over to bbinsider.com/book
8:38
and use our inquiry form to get in touch
8:41
with us and we'll be in touch to
8:42
understand exactly what your group
8:44
needs. So, looking forward to helping
8:46
you take the stress out of it. Speaking
8:48
of getting a good deal, Virgin Voyages
8:50
have announced the June July promotion
8:53
which includes a way of how to snag a
8:55
free balcony upgrade. But the reason I
8:57
say that in quotation marks is it's not
9:00
exactly what it sounds like and I'm
9:01
going to tell you all about it. So quite
9:03
often when it comes to these Virgin
9:04
Voyages offers, they will discount a
9:07
second sailor and the percentage of that
9:09
saving varies, but this time it stays at
9:12
70%. So 70% off a second sailor is not
9:16
too bad and it certainly brings the cost
9:17
of your voyage down if you're traveling
9:20
with more than one person. That being
9:22
said, if you are traveling solo, there
9:24
is a new solo offer out just now. So go
9:26
to vbvinsider.com, scroll through the
9:28
articles, and you can find out all about
9:30
that as well. But sticking with this
9:32
offer, let's delve a little bit further
9:34
into that free balcony upgrade. So, a
9:37
lot of sailors do get caught out by this
9:39
and end up going through the booking
9:40
process and choosing a sea view room
9:43
hoping that their booking will magically
9:45
turn into a sea terrace booking.
9:48
Unfortunately, that's not how it works,
9:50
but I can totally see how you'd think it
9:52
would. What it actually means in effect
9:54
is that some sea terrace rooms are
9:56
simply priced at the same price as a sea
9:58
view room. So, you still need to make
10:00
sure that you're choosing the sea
10:02
terrace when you book your voyage.
10:04
Specifically, this will be the lowest
10:06
level option, which is the limited view
10:09
sea terrace. If you're on brilliant
10:11
lady, this is called the sea terrace
10:13
with a slightly smaller balcony.
10:15
Regardless of what it's called, those
10:16
are the ones that you can get for the
10:18
same price as your sea view. So, that's
10:20
what they mean when they say free
10:22
balcony upgrade. So, make sure you don't
10:24
get caught out by that. But the good
10:26
news is, like most of these big
10:28
promotions, is that they are combinable
10:30
with other offers. So, if you're looking
10:32
at doing a painful discount or you've
10:34
got an MNVV placeholder discount, you
10:37
can apply it to this promotion as well.
10:39
You just need to, of course, think about
10:41
the terms and conditions of your
10:42
particular discounts that you're looking
10:44
at using. It's also combinable with VV
10:46
Insiders sale forward loot offer, which
10:49
gives you an extra $200 of loot
10:52
depending on which sailing that you
10:54
choose. If you're ever hunting for those
10:56
particular voyages, just head over to
10:58
book voyage on the VV Insider website
11:01
and then scroll down to where we start
11:03
listing all the voyages off. And what
11:05
you're looking for are these yellow
11:07
symbols telling you how much bonus loot
11:09
you can get. That's the bonus loot that
11:11
you can get with VV Insider and not
11:13
through Virgin Voyages Direct. So, make
11:15
sure you take a look at
11:19
before you make your next booking. Not
11:21
only that, but you'll be getting the
11:22
expert service and expertise that we're
11:25
known for here at vvincider.com. So, we
11:28
can't wait to help you book your perfect
11:30
voyage exclusively with the experts here
11:32
at VV Insider. Now, something that many
11:34
people have been waiting for is the
11:36
announcement of the UK Comedy Festival
11:39
lineup. This one for me is very exciting
11:42
indeed because often what you'll see in
11:44
these comedy fest lineups is that
11:45
they'll choose one big standout
11:47
performer and then find some smaller
11:50
comedians to fill out the rest of the
11:52
roster. Well, I think they've played
11:53
this very smartly this time and instead
11:56
of going for one big headliner, they
11:58
managed to get a really good group of
12:00
very notable comedians in the UK. Often
12:03
those that you would see on things like
12:05
panel shows like Have I Got News for You
12:07
or Eight Out of 10 Cats. I certainly
12:09
recognized a lot of these faces and I
12:11
don't think I'm necessarily that into
12:13
comedy so they must have done pretty
12:15
well. First of all and definitely
12:17
recognizable for me is Milton Jones. He
12:20
has made a great career for himself by
12:21
delivering rapid oneliners on many of
12:24
the shows that he's been part of
12:26
including Mock the Week, Live at the
12:28
Apollo, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Road
12:30
Show and many many more. Then we have
12:33
Lucy Bowmont, who you'll recognize off
12:35
Taskmaster, Qi, and one of my absolute
12:38
favorites, eight out of 10 Cats does
12:40
Countdown. Then you have Babatunde
12:42
Alles, who undoubtedly you recognize off
12:44
Live at the Apollo, and I'm a Celebrity.
12:46
Get me out of here. But like I say, this
12:48
isn't all about the headliners. This is
12:50
a massive list of very, very funny
12:53
people. And we've put the list all
12:54
together on vivvinsider.com.
12:57
So, make sure you head over to that
12:59
article if you're on that sailing or if
13:01
you're considering that sailing because
13:03
this is an incredible lineup. I was
13:05
quite surprised when we got this list.
13:07
If you're interested in doing that
13:08
comedy festival alongside all the great
13:11
Virgin Voyages facilities, events, and
13:13
food, then you can book that voyage on
13:15
the 20th of August. It's a seven night
13:18
voyage heading out from Portsouth, and
13:20
there's a couple of sea days to make
13:21
sure that you see everything on board as
13:23
well. For the latest pricing and
13:25
availability, head over to
13:29
Well, thank you for sticking around. I'm
13:30
sure I've lost all the Americans now who
13:32
have no idea what I'm talking about with
13:34
all these British TV shows, but never
13:36
mind. Like I say, we just got off
13:38
Baliant Lady a couple of days ago. We
13:41
were sailing in the mega rockstar suite
13:43
category, which isn't normal for us as
13:45
well. We quite often book a lock it in
13:48
insider. And actually on our next voyage
13:50
in a few weeks time we are going to be
13:52
in an insider right underneath the
13:54
manor. So how the mighty have fallen.
13:56
But I want to tell you all about the
13:58
mega rockstar experience. That's exactly
14:00
why we done it. I want to bring you what
14:02
it was really like. And I must say
14:04
things didn't quite go to plan. So you
14:07
obviously already know about the Wi-Fi
14:09
issues that we had. But there was a
14:10
couple of other things I want to mention
14:12
as well. Don't get me wrong, we had an
14:14
incredible experience and Mega Rockstar
14:16
is fantastic. But do make sure that
14:18
you've checked that you are subscribed
14:20
to make sure that video pops up when we
14:22
start talking about it. I just want to
14:24
say as well, we had an incredible time
14:26
on Valiant Lady thanks to two things.
14:28
One is the brand new happenings events
14:30
that were on board Valiant Lady. Those
14:33
are some of the best events I've been to
14:35
on board and I'm not being hyperbolic.
14:37
So I'm going to tell you about that when
14:39
the time is right. And the other thing
14:40
is down to once again the people that we
14:43
met. We met some incredible people on
14:45
this voyage. And that's mostly down to
14:47
doing the events and joining in. So
14:49
that's my biggest advice. Just make sure
14:51
you go along to those events. You're
14:53
going to meet the most incredible people
14:55
who are up for a good time. I think
14:57
that's sometimes easy to lose sight of
14:58
when you're looking at the new venues
15:00
and the menus and all these type of
15:02
things. Actually, it's about the people
15:04
in the end. So go out and enjoy. Well,
15:06
that's all from me today. I need to
15:08
crack on and get that Valiant Lady video
15:10
sorted out for you all. But until next
15:12
time, happy sailing.
