0:00
so today I want to talk to you about
0:02
something that we at VV Insider think is
0:04
super important when it comes to your
0:06
Virgin Voyages vacation and that's how
0:08
you spend your very first night on board
0:11
The reason why we think this is so
0:13
important is because what you do on your
0:15
very first night of your voyage can have
0:17
a huge impact on the rest of your
0:19
vacation I want to talk through why that
0:21
is and how you can make the most of your
0:23
very first night to have the best
0:24
vacation possible V Insider is the
0:27
number one resource for the latest
0:29
Virgin Voyages info guides and news From
0:31
picking the perfect cabin to booking
0:33
dining or simply just making the most of
0:35
your voyage and saving money while you
0:37
do it vinsider.com has helped thousands
0:39
of sailors around the world sail smarter
0:42
Support our work by hitting subscribe
0:44
and stick around to hear how you can get
0:46
exclusive perks by booking directly with
0:50
us So you've done it You've checked in
0:52
You've got your sailor wristband on and
0:54
you're ready to have a really fantastic
0:56
vacation on your Virgin Voyage Now as
0:58
you walk down the gang way and onto the
1:00
ship the very first thing you'll notice
1:03
is there is going to be a fantastic
1:05
lively atmosphere on board So when
1:08
you're actually embarking on your Virgin
1:09
Voyage as soon as you step in there's a
1:12
live DJ playing music and there's also
1:14
members of the entertainment team ready
1:16
to welcome you on board as well The
1:18
members of the entertainment team will
1:20
be dressed in red jumpsuits And the
1:22
entertainment team on board Virgin
1:24
Voyages are called the Happenings cast
1:26
And there's lots to say about the
1:28
Happenings cast And we'll be making a
1:30
video about that in the future But for
1:31
now we have a fantastic guide which
1:33
explains exactly who the Happenings cast
1:35
are and what they're responsible for on
1:38
board You may have already heard of some
1:40
of the roles like the hostess or the
1:42
diva But actually there's a list of 12
1:44
different roles in the happenings cast
1:46
and many of them are responsible for
1:48
different types of activity on board So
1:50
I'm going to put a link to that guide
1:51
down in the notes so you can have a read
1:54
But for now they're simply there to
1:55
welcome you on board and welcome you to
1:57
the Virgin Voyages experience We'll talk
1:59
more about them in just a moment So now
2:01
that you're on you'll be wanting to know
2:03
what to do next So here's my first bit
2:05
of advice Do not use this time just to
2:07
wander around the ship aimlessly What
2:09
you want to do is get connected to the
2:12
Wi-Fi and make sure you're doing
2:13
everything in the Virgin Voyages app
2:15
that you need to do as everyone else is
2:17
wandering around and trying to get their
2:19
bearings on board You've got plenty time
2:21
to do that later on today Right now you
2:23
want to make sure that you're booking
2:25
any experiences or any dining that you
2:27
didn't manage to book before you boarded
2:30
So if you read our Vegan Insider guide
2:31
on booking dining you'll know that quite
2:34
a lot of the dining actually opens up
2:36
the day of the sailing So if you haven't
2:38
managed to get that perfect booking for
2:40
the restaurant that you wanted now is a
2:42
great time to check Now you're on board
2:44
open up the app and take a look at those
2:46
allimportant dining times and try and
2:48
snag the slot that you want Take
2:50
advantage of the fact that everyone else
2:52
who's just got on board is simply
2:54
wandering around aimlessly Now is your
2:56
chance to get on the app and snipe the
2:58
perfect dining times And that goes for
3:01
the onboard events as well So some of
3:03
the happenings events like the food and
3:04
drink events for example do tend to sell
3:07
out quite early on in the voyage So now
3:09
is the perfect time again as everyone
3:11
else is wandering around the ship to get
3:13
on the app and book those allimportant
3:16
experiences in there If you miss out you
3:18
can add yourself to a waiting list but
3:20
it is best to make sure that you get
3:21
this done early so you can just enjoy
3:23
and relax the rest of your voyage
3:25
knowing that you have all of your
3:26
bookings in place as they should be If
3:29
you're not sure about what dining and
3:30
what entertainment options you want to
3:32
book again make sure that you visit
3:34
vvincider.com We have a list of all the
3:36
dining options and all of those fun
3:38
events that you can book with the
3:40
Happenings Cast So make sure before you
3:42
get on board you know exactly what you
3:43
want to book and do that as soon as you
3:45
board to avoid any disappointment Some
3:48
of the things to look out for that book
3:49
up very very quickly are things like the
3:51
bungee classes and also some dining and
3:54
restaurants that are a bit smaller So
3:55
for example Pink Agave is quite a small
3:58
restaurant So make sure that you book
4:00
those and make those a priority when
4:01
you're booking those slots So once
4:03
you've done all of your admin and you've
4:05
done all of your bookings yes it sounds
4:06
pretty boring but you'll not regret it
4:08
Now would be a great time to do exactly
4:10
what you wanted to do in the first place
4:12
which is just roam around and get a feel
4:14
for the vibe of the ship Maybe grab
4:16
yourself a drink from one of the bars
4:18
and really enjoy the atmosphere of the
4:20
ship and use this time to get your
4:22
bearings So later in the voyage when you
4:24
see things in the lineup on the app
4:26
you'll know where to head So for example
4:28
if you see something like the speed
4:29
puzzle challenge is going to be in the
4:31
social club you'll know where to head
4:32
for that event when it comes along Also
4:35
now is a great time to visit some of
4:37
those venues that you wouldn't normally
4:38
be able to access when we're sailing So
4:41
what I mean by that is now is a great
4:42
time to go to those venues that you
4:44
would normally need to book So for
4:45
example you can head down to the
4:47
redemption spa and take a look at the
4:49
facilities The staff there will be more
4:51
than happy to give you a little tour of
4:53
the facilities so that you'll know where
4:55
to come if you decide to book one of
4:57
those experiences or one of the thermal
4:58
passes later on in your voyage It's also
5:01
a great time to pop your head into the
5:02
groupy private karaoke rooms They will
5:05
be available to book but it's unlikely
5:07
somebody would have booked a room for
5:08
the very first day So now is a great
5:10
time just to pop your head in try out
5:12
some of the equipment and see whether
5:14
it's something you want to book for
5:15
later on in your voyage And it's free so
5:17
you may as well pop your name down later
5:18
on in the voyage and give it a go You
5:20
can also go up to deck 15 and have a
5:22
look at the tuneup as well which is a
5:24
location on board where you can get
5:26
things like Manny Petties with a
5:27
fantastic view of the ocean Again all of
5:30
the venues that I've just mentioned
5:31
there I'll pop a link down below in the
5:33
description So you can have a look at RV
5:35
Insider description of those places
5:37
before you head on board Because the
5:39
boarding groups are staggered it's
5:40
likely that when you get on board
5:42
there's still quite a few hundred people
5:43
behind you ready to get on as well So
5:46
take advantage of that time where things
5:47
are a little bit more quiet If you want
5:49
to do a salon experience or something in
5:52
the redemption spa now is a great time
5:54
to do that cuz you're not going to be
5:56
competing with other people And
5:57
sometimes they do special offers where
6:00
you can get money off or a discount on
6:02
some of the treatments on the very first
6:04
day of the voyage So I encourage you to
6:06
go down and have a look and ask the
6:07
staff to see if there are any offers
6:08
available One of the fantastic things
6:11
with Virgin Voyages is that you don't
6:13
need to wait around for your cabin to
6:15
become available So as soon as you're on
6:17
board you can use your wristband to
6:19
unlock your room door Your luggage might
6:22
not have arrived in that time but you
6:24
can pop in there and drop your hand
6:26
luggage down You can drop your backpack
6:28
off You can maybe even freshen up a
6:29
little bit So you'll have full access to
6:31
the room And it's also a great time to
6:33
meet your cabin host Your cabin host
6:35
will likely be operating in the corridor
6:38
and they'll check to see if you've
6:39
entered the room and they'll introduce
6:41
themsel and ask if you need any
6:42
configuration done in your cabin This is
6:45
the exact time that you want to tell
6:47
them about any preferences So if you
6:48
want to ask for a mattress topper or a
6:51
steamer for your clothes or extra
6:53
pillows or any changes in the bed
6:55
configuration now is a great time to do
6:57
that Now you can do this at any point in
6:59
your voyage by using the controls on the
7:01
tablet or asking sailor services in the
7:04
app but your cabin host will want to
7:05
make sure that they get your preferences
7:07
right from the outset So that's a great
7:09
time to do it Now when you're in your
7:11
room you'll want to make sure that you
7:13
finish your part of the safety muster So
7:16
there is a video that you need to watch
7:17
You can either do this on your app or
7:19
you can watch it on the TV screen in
7:21
your cabin It's a fun animated video and
7:24
it will tell you about the safety
7:25
information that you need to know
7:27
because you're of course on a sailing
7:29
vessel So you'll need to know about life
7:31
jackets where to go when you hear
7:33
particular alarms for example All of the
7:35
information that you'll need is in the
7:37
video So make sure you pay attention to
7:39
that Later on in the afternoon there
7:41
will be a shipwide announcement to say
7:43
that the muster stations have opened
7:46
Make sure you have watched the safety
7:47
video because you will be asked about it
7:49
at your muster station If you're having
7:51
any problems at all finding your muster
7:53
station it will be on your app You'll
7:55
have a letter which will correspond to
7:57
the location that you'll need to go to
7:59
And if you have any problems finding it
8:00
at all simply ask any member of staff
8:02
and they will point you in the right
8:04
direction Once you're at the muster
8:06
station make sure that you have everyone
8:07
in your cabin there because what you'll
8:09
do is you'll check in to that must
8:11
station So they will scan your band and
8:13
check you in on their device Once you've
8:15
done that that's your responsibility for
8:17
the mustard drill done and you can get
8:19
on and enjoy the rest of your voyage So
8:22
now all of the formalities are done with
8:24
Now we can get on with really enjoying
8:25
the voyage In our opinion at VV Insider
8:28
one of the best things about any Virgin
8:30
Voyages are the other sailors that you
8:33
meet while you're on board We have a few
8:35
tips in this regard to try and meet new
8:37
people and have the best time possible
8:38
Now of course you don't have to pay any
8:40
attention to these tips if you prefer to
8:42
keep yourself to yourself but I do
8:44
encourage trying to meet new people when
8:45
you're voyaging It just makes the whole
8:47
experience so much more enjoyable in our
8:49
opinion So with that being said Virgin
8:51
Voyages actually run a fantastic event
8:53
for solo sailor So if you're sailing
8:55
solo you can go along to the solo sailor
8:58
meetup This meetup is specifically for
9:01
other solo sailors When you join this
9:03
meetup it will be hosted by a member of
9:05
the Happenings Cast which I mentioned
9:07
earlier The Happlings cast will guide
9:08
the event and lead some activities to
9:10
help solo sailors get to know one
9:12
another You can form a little bit of a
9:14
group that you can stick with for the
9:16
rest of the voyage which is lovely
9:18
Towards the end of this meetup the
9:19
happenings cast will then lead you
9:21
upstairs to the sail away party This is
9:24
where the fun really begins This is the
9:27
let's set sail sail away party and this
9:30
is the first opportunity that you'll get
9:32
to really experience that Virgin Voyages
9:34
vibe So late afternoon the let's set
9:37
sail saila away party normally happens
9:39
at the aquatic club which is around the
9:41
pool Now of course weather dependent if
9:44
the weather isn't looking so great they
9:46
might have moved the party into the
9:48
roundabout which is the atrium style
9:50
area but that is rare and generally the
9:53
entertainment's manager will try and
9:54
make sure that the party does happen on
9:56
the pool because it is much more fun up
9:58
there to be honest So grab a place by at
10:01
the pool because the DJ is about to get
10:03
the party started So the volume of the
10:05
music will be turned up This is where
10:07
they transition from the mustard drills
10:10
the safety the administration of getting
10:12
on board and moving over to the full
10:15
party mode of Virgin Voyagers Now of
10:17
course this full party mode that I talk
10:19
about is completely optional If you
10:21
prefer to stand on deck 16 and simply
10:24
watch everything happen that's entirely
10:26
up to you Me personally I like to be
10:28
downstairs on deck 15 and dancing around
10:30
the pool with a drink in my hand That's
10:32
just me After a while as the music's
10:34
been playing the crew will meander
10:36
around the pool with glasses of free
10:39
bubbles This is a free sparkling wine
10:41
that's provided to really toast to the
10:43
new sailing So do make sure you grab a
10:45
glass because now is the time that
10:47
you'll start to see the happenings cast
10:49
start to join the party So the
10:51
happenings cast will come out in their
10:53
iconic red jumpsuits and start dancing
10:56
around the pool and getting people in
10:57
that party spirit This will generally be
11:00
your first opportunity to have a little
11:01
conversation with the Happlings cast and
11:03
get to know them one- on- one So make
11:05
sure you take the opportunity because of
11:07
course these are the people that will be
11:09
leading the entertainment activities for
11:11
the rest of your voyage So getting to
11:13
know who they are earlier in the voyage
11:14
is a really great way to build that
11:16
rapport and have a really great time
11:17
with them And if you're having a great
11:19
time in these entertainment events and
11:21
become somewhat of a familiar face it
11:23
can lead to fun surprises and special
11:25
events later on So do try and make sure
11:27
that you attend these happenings events
11:29
During the let's set sale party the
11:31
hostess and the diva will make their
11:33
appearance on deck 16 The hostess will
11:36
command the crowd and raise a toast and
11:38
do individual introductions for members
11:40
of the happenings cast And once the
11:42
happenings cast introduced there is a
11:45
fantastic toast raised to the voyage
11:48
ahead So raise that glass of free
11:50
sparkling wine and toast to the voyage
11:52
ahead It's a really fantastic way to
11:54
start the Virgin Voyage experience and
11:56
that's generally where the ship will
11:58
actually be setting sail So leaving port
12:01
So you might see people disperse at that
12:02
point to get a view of the land as you
12:04
start leaving port Once the let's set
12:07
sail party is over and done with That's
12:09
when it's time to probably get ready for
12:11
dinner and start planning the night
12:12
ahead Because there is so much planned
12:15
on the very first night of a Virgin
12:16
Voyage This is a really good tip Try and
12:18
book your dinner reservation a little
12:20
earlier on in the evening So try for
12:22
around 6:30 to 7:00 just to leave you
12:25
enough time after dinner to do all of
12:27
those fun activities that come up later
12:29
on Or if you prefer to keep things
12:30
really really quick you can just go to
12:32
the galley or the pizza place for
12:33
example And of course don't forget there
12:35
is also the ship eat option as well
12:37
which is the room service that's
12:39
delivered to your cabin So after dinner
12:41
is generally when the evening's
12:42
entertainment will begin One piece of
12:44
entertainment which is always offered on
12:46
the first night and is always a
12:48
fantastic thing to do if you're
12:49
interested in meeting new friends and
12:51
meeting new sailor on board is the grog
12:53
walk And the grog walk is effectively a
12:57
bar crawl So it will start in a
12:59
particular location and the happenings
13:01
cast there will generally be two or
13:03
three of them guiding your group around
13:05
will lead you through some fun
13:07
activities to get to know new sailor Now
13:10
some of these activities are a little
13:11
bit tricky to get involved with at the
13:13
beginning cuz everyone's a little bit
13:14
nervous but you are provided with
13:16
included drinks as part of this
13:18
experience So the experience itself has
13:20
a cost attached to it but the drinks
13:22
that you receive on the experience are
13:24
included So once you've had a drink or
13:26
two it'll be a lot easier to do these
13:27
activities to get to know the rest of
13:29
the group Now I'm such an advocate for
13:31
the Grog Walk because doing the Grogwalk
13:33
I have met lifelong friends But that is
13:35
just testament to how fun of an
13:37
experience it is and how good it is at
13:39
getting people talking and getting
13:41
people to know one another which will
13:43
have such an impact on the rest of your
13:45
voyage If you can meet a like-minded
13:48
group of people before the rest of the
13:50
sailing that is half of the battle
13:52
You'll be able to go to events go to
13:54
club nights with this group of people
13:56
and have a fantastic time So it's really
13:58
important to try and get out of your
13:59
shell a little bit on the very first
14:01
night to meet new people and have the
14:03
best time possible At the end of the
14:05
Grogwalk your very last drink is going
14:07
to be at another special event which is
14:09
available for everyone sailing not just
14:11
those in the Grogwalk This is something
14:13
that's fairly iconic on Virgin Voyages
14:16
and you've probably heard about it if
14:17
you've done any level of research at all
14:19
and that is the PJ party Now the PJ
14:23
party is essentially a '9s or naughties
14:25
sleepover where everyone arrives in
14:28
their PJs and there's fun music being
14:30
played which generally comprises of
14:32
cheesy pop that's from the '9s and
14:34
naughties So something that you can
14:36
always sing along to and have a dance to
14:38
It's a really fun atmosphere and
14:40
everyone has a smile on their face at
14:42
the PJ party The PJ party itself is
14:45
studded with little activations which
14:47
are done by the Happenings cast So the
14:49
happenings cast will come out and
14:50
perform silly dances or do a PJ
14:53
competition for example There's even a
14:55
live performance by the hostess The diva
14:58
will be out as well It's a really
14:59
brilliant event and again one of those
15:01
ways that Virgin Voyages sets the scene
15:03
for the rest of the voyage It's silly
15:05
It's interactive It doesn't take itself
15:07
too seriously And that is exactly what
15:09
the Virgin Voyages experience is for
15:12
those that want to go to these type of
15:14
events So you will see more of them
15:16
coming up on the schedule as you go
15:17
through your voyage There probably won't
15:19
be another PJ party but there will be
15:21
other events and that is generally
15:23
depending on which ship you're sailing
15:25
on To get a good sense of what events to
15:27
expect on the ship that you're sailing
15:29
on go to vbvinsider.com and find the
15:31
ship that you're sailing on There will
15:33
be a list of all the events that are
15:34
available on board And it's good to know
15:36
which events are coming up especially
15:38
when it comes to club nights because
15:39
some of them have a little theme that's
15:41
attached to it And although this is
15:43
totally optional you can dress to that
15:45
theme So for example we fancy is a
15:48
golden and glittering experience Club
15:50
Rubik's is an 80s inspired party and so
15:53
on and so forth And again we have all of
15:55
the information that you'll need for all
15:56
of those themed parties at
15:59
vbvinsider.com So that's it The PJ party
16:01
finishes in the early hours of the
16:03
morning and that is your very first
16:05
night on board You will probably be
16:06
exhausted and with any luck the next day
16:09
will be a C day If it's not and you're
16:11
actually in port or have an excursion
16:12
the next day just go steady at the PJ
16:15
party That's a top tip from me
16:16
personally and it comes with a little
16:17
experience let's say So if you found
16:19
this advice in any way useful we have a
16:22
number of videos that go through guides
16:24
just like this including how to save
16:25
money on drinks and also picking the
16:27
right cabin before you sail We're
16:29
building up this catalog of guided
16:31
videos to make sure that you have the
16:32
best time on board Virgin Voyages as
16:34
possible But for now if you want more
16:37
guides like this you can read through
16:39
our written articles which are on
16:41
vvincider.com If you click on the guides
16:43
tab you'll see everything that you'll
16:45
need to know about having the best
16:47
Virgin Voyage possible And if you want
16:49
to support the work that we do including
16:51
these videos the best way to support us
16:53
is to book your next Virgin Voyages
16:55
using our voyage booking tool So go to
16:58
vvincider.com hit book voyage and there
17:01
you can browse all of the prices for
17:03
every single itinerary that's coming up
17:05
There's also a really nifty feature
17:07
where you can see the pricing history
17:08
for the voyages as well so you can make
17:10
sure that you're getting in at just the
17:12
right time We also have an exclusive
17:14
offer at the moment for some free
17:16
onboard credits So take a look on the
17:17
website for more details about that
17:19
Thank you so much for watching I hope
17:20
this has been helpful Make sure that you
17:22
subscribe and also go to vbvins.com and
17:25
check out all the rest of our guides
17:27
information and news