0:00
as we head into July the final
0:01
preparations are being put in place for
0:03
Brilliant Lady as she launches later
0:05
this year but there's been even more big
0:07
news across the Virgin Voyages fleet i'm
0:09
David from VV Insider and I'm going to
0:11
give you a roundup of all the latest
0:13
news that's happened over the past
0:14
couple of weeks in our exclusive Virgin
0:16
Voyages insider update so come along as
0:19
I tell you about some fantastic bargains
0:21
that are coming up including new ways to
0:23
spend your placeholder bookings some big
0:25
itinerary changes that you'll need to
0:27
know about an exclusive look at the new
0:29
happenings cast for Resilient Lady and
0:32
thanks to a very exclusive event that
0:34
happened in New York where Sir Richard
0:35
Branson himself made an appearance we
0:37
have our very own Abby the Hostess to
0:39
play you out with a very special
0:41
serenade for this insider update v
0:44
Insider is the number one resource for
0:46
the latest Virgin Voyages info guides
0:48
and news from picking the perfect cabin
0:50
to booking dining or simply just making
0:52
the most of your voyage and saving money
0:54
while you do it vinsider.com has helped
0:57
thousands of sailors around the world
0:58
sail smarter support our work by hitting
1:01
subscribe and stick around to hear how
1:03
you can get exclusive perks by booking
1:08
so let's get into it one of the first
1:10
things to update you on is that travel
1:12
industry veteran John Levelvel has
1:14
joined the Virgin Voyages board this
1:16
comes off the back of other leadership
1:18
changes at Virgin Voyages what this
1:20
means practically for sailors and for
1:22
itineraries going forward we are yet to
1:24
know but stay tuned to vinsider.com for
1:27
all the latest news that comes out of
1:28
this shakeup we've heard a little bit
1:30
more about the changes to the
1:31
itineraries that are going ahead for
1:33
Valiant Lady some valiant lady sailings
1:36
have had to be changed around a little
1:37
bit to accommodate an ongoing engine
1:39
issue practically what this means is
1:41
that any stops at Porter Plattera in the
1:44
Dominican Republic are being affected
1:46
don't worry of course a Valiant Lady is
1:47
of course safe they're just unable to
1:49
make this stop at the moment until the
1:51
maintenance issue is solved and that
1:53
means some itineraries continue to be
1:55
affected if you're booked onto a Valiant
1:57
Lady sailing you'll get an email to tell
1:59
you if there's any changes that affect
2:00
your voyage sailor get an extra hour at
2:02
the Beach Club in Biminy valiant Lady is
2:04
arriving ahead of schedule we put
2:06
together a huge biminy guide which
2:08
includes one of our top tips which is to
2:10
arrive at Biminy early and this helps
2:12
you do that by getting the ship in early
2:14
and getting out there and enjoying the
2:15
fantastic beach club do watch our video
2:18
guide on Biminy Beach Club if you want
2:19
to get planning and make the most of
2:21
your day at Biminy a new sailing this
2:23
October has been announced on Valiant
2:25
Lady this is a Dominican day sailing
2:28
that spans five nights what's fantastic
2:30
about this newlyannounced sailing is
2:32
that it's one of the most affordable
2:33
five night sailings we've seen on Virgin
2:35
Voyages lately and to help you get
2:37
booked on this and to make the most of
2:39
it we're offering a $25 incentive to
2:42
book this particular sailing so if you
2:44
book with ebinsider.com you get access
2:46
to the Red Diamond Club which gives you
2:48
adree access to our website but also
2:50
we'll help you out with some
2:51
personalized planning tools as well it's
2:53
always well worth making sure you book
2:55
your next Virgin Voyage with VV Insider
2:57
speaking of those exclusive planning
2:59
tools that we give you here at VB
3:01
Insider we have released a new guide on
3:03
sailing from Barcelona on Virgin Voyages
3:05
so if you booked one of those fantastic
3:07
Mediterranean sailings going out of
3:09
Barcelona check our guide we've got some
3:12
really useful information including
3:13
where the ship docks in Barcelona which
3:16
hotels to stay at how to get to the port
3:18
in the morning and crucially making the
3:20
most of your time in Barcelona barcelona
3:22
is one of our favorite ports to sail
3:24
from making sure you get your
3:25
imbarcation day right is crucial this
3:27
joins another one of our sailing guides
3:29
which is from Portsmouth each port has
3:32
its own quirk portsouth will see a lot
3:34
of Virgin Voyages activities over the
3:36
next few months so we have a guide there
3:38
if you're sailing from Portsmouth take a
3:39
look at that again tells you about all
3:41
the local transport information the
3:43
hotels everything that you'll need to
3:45
know to make the most of imbarcation
3:47
some more brand new content and this is
3:49
for those that are sailing on Brilliant
3:51
Lady when she launches later this year
3:53
we put together a definitive guide of
3:55
everything that's going to be different
3:57
on Brilliant Lady than it is on the
3:59
other three ships this includes
4:01
information about the new entertainment
4:03
on board Brilliant Lady we have pages of
4:05
information on what to expect including
4:07
Red Hot which is a new stage show
4:09
developed to showcase the five decades
4:12
of Virgin Records and the music that's
4:14
really pulled the Virgin brand together
4:16
over the last half century there's going
4:18
to be fantastic costumes a live band
4:20
choreography and there's a couple of new
4:21
mana shows and club entertainment as
4:24
well make sure you visit that guide and
4:25
we'll tell you all about it also we're
4:27
going to give you a sneak peek at
4:29
everything to expect from Brilliant Lady
4:31
later this year when she starts to
4:33
launch make sure that you subscribe to
4:35
this channel because we're going to be
4:36
bringing you all the latest information
4:38
from Brilliant Lady as soon as we have
4:39
it and some exclusive footage from those
4:42
new shows speaking of entertainment one
4:44
of the things that people keep coming
4:46
back to Virgin Voyages for are the
4:48
fantastic Happenings cast if you don't
4:50
know already the Happenings cast are the
4:52
12 individuals who really bring the
4:54
entertainment and the vibes on board
4:56
this of course includes the hostess the
4:58
diva the foodie the gamer and the
5:00
balancer but also there are the dancers
5:03
and influencers like the spark the glow
5:06
that help bring those party vibes run
5:08
those trivia run those karaoke sessions
5:10
and really just make sure you have a
5:13
great time if you sailed with Virgin
5:14
Voyages in the past you might see some
5:16
familiar faces as most of the happenings
5:19
cast have returning members these
5:20
individuals help make your voyage so
5:22
special it's really fun to get a sense
5:24
of who the happenings cast are before
5:26
you join your voyage to know maybe who
5:28
to follow on Instagram or those familiar
5:30
faces to look out for on board this is
5:32
something that VV Insider has become
5:34
known for is having the privilege to let
5:36
everyone know the new happenings cast
5:38
members on board your voyage before you
5:39
sail and happenings cast number six on
5:42
Resilient Lady have just been announced
5:44
over this past week so just a few
5:46
notable mentions patsy the hostess is
5:48
back we loved sailing with Paty earlier
5:50
this year she made her debut on Scarlet
5:52
Lady last year just after the dry dock
5:55
and she's returning but this time to
5:57
Resilient Lady i'm sure she's going to
5:58
have a fantastic time in Greece we love
6:00
Greece ourself the brand new diva on
6:02
Resilient Lady is brand new herself to
6:04
Virgin Voyages so a warm welcome to Arya
6:07
B cassadine who's already made a huge
6:09
name for herself in the world of drag
6:11
including placing third on World of
6:14
Wonders Queen of the Universe she was
6:16
also named Miss Gay Black America in
6:18
2018 a huge warm welcome to Virgin
6:21
Voyages Arya we can't wait to see you on
6:22
Resilient Lady you can of course get the
6:24
full cast lineup on vvincider.com but
6:27
another couple of notable mentions is
6:29
Ryan the Foodie who has been a member of
6:31
the Happenings cast many times
6:33
throughout the years and of course fan
6:35
favorite Katrina the Balancer if you
6:37
haven't been along to one of the
6:38
Balancer activities yet Katrina is so
6:40
warm and welcoming as she makes everyone
6:42
feel included there's no better time to
6:45
start if you want to try one of those
6:46
more active happenings events now is the
6:48
time on Resilient Lady do with Katrina
6:50
she'll make you feel right at home if
6:52
you are a returning Virgin Voyager you
6:54
might have already booked a placeholder
6:56
called My Next Virgin Voyage or MNVV for
6:59
short historically you've only been able
7:01
to use your MNVV on voyages where you've
7:04
chosen a sea terrace or above which has
7:07
always meant that you'd have to spend a
7:08
decent amount of money to use your
7:10
placeholder and get offers and discounts
7:12
but for a limited time this year you're
7:14
able to actually book the limited sea
7:16
terrace category with your MMVV so this
7:19
means you can actually get one of those
7:20
cheaper cabins and still apply your
7:22
placeholder your MMVV discounts to that
7:25
the limited view sea terraces are
7:27
exactly the same as a normal sea terrace
7:29
it's just on a lower deck you might have
7:31
something in the way of your view like a
7:33
lifeboat or a piece of engineering but
7:35
you still have access to the balcony
7:36
you'll still have one of those iconic
7:38
hammocks so they are still fantastic
7:40
cabins but they are priced a little bit
7:42
lower than the normal sea terrace
7:43
category just make sure you place your
7:45
booking before the 28th of August so
7:48
head to vbvinsider.com choose the booked
7:50
link and we can help you with that if
7:52
you already have a placeholder and you'd
7:54
like VVI Insider to help you out with
7:55
your next booking we have information on
7:57
our website on how you can transfer that
8:00
placeholder to our name to make sure
8:02
that when you make that next booking
8:04
we'll be connected with it and we can
8:05
help you out and also make sure you get
8:07
those exclusive perks that you only get
8:11
speaking of saving money if you want to
8:14
get some free bar tabs some free drinks
8:16
when you go on your next sailing now is
8:18
the time to book virgin Voyagers have a
8:20
limited time Fourth of July offer where
8:23
you can get up to $300 in free bar tab
8:26
if you don't know what Barab is it's the
8:28
allowance that you get on board to spend
8:30
on drinks unlike onboard credit where
8:33
you can spend it on anything like
8:34
souvenirs Barab is restricted to drinks
8:37
only if you book your next voyage before
8:39
the 7th of July you can get up to $300
8:42
of free credit depending on the category
8:44
of cabin and the length of your voyage
8:47
take a look on vbvinsider.com for more
8:49
information about how to get the most
8:50
bar tab another itinerary update that's
8:53
quite significant this time is a change
8:55
to the August 12th 2026 eclipse voyage
8:58
this is one of those marvelous voyages
9:00
that Virgin Voyagers have been touting
9:03
this one is very special indeed because
9:04
it will take you to see the total solar
9:07
eclipse happening in August 2026 virgin
9:10
Voyagers received feedback earlier this
9:12
year to say actually where the ship is
9:13
going to be positioned during the
9:15
eclipse was not actually going to be
9:17
100% totality for the solar eclipse it
9:20
was going to be very close but it wasn't
9:22
going to be 100% so Virgin Voyages have
9:24
moved some things around to make sure
9:26
that people who have booked on this
9:27
voyage to see the eclipse are not
9:29
missing out so there's been some
9:31
significant changes two ports have now
9:34
been changed instead of Iceland and
9:36
Scotland the ports will now be Liverpool
9:39
in England and Belfast in Northern
9:41
Ireland they're also departing from
9:43
Iceland slightly earlier than planned as
9:45
well in order to make sure they get
9:46
across to the right position to make
9:48
sure they get the 100% totality of the
9:50
solar eclipse if your booking's affected
9:52
by this change you probably will have
9:54
already received an email but if this
9:55
sounds fantastic and you yourself want
9:57
to see a 100% solar eclipse from a
9:59
Virgin Voyage head to vbvinsider.com and
10:01
we'll make sure we get you the best
10:02
price of that voyage including any
10:04
special perks that we can give you as
10:06
well and finally one super cool thing
10:08
that happened over the past couple of
10:09
weeks was the final brilliant lady first
10:12
mate road show in the USA with an
10:14
evening hosted by Virgin Voyages in Los
10:16
Angeles with two very special guests one
10:19
of which was Sir Richard Branson himself
10:21
making an appearance with Virgin Voyages
10:24
CEO Nurmo and chief marketing officer
10:26
Nathan Rosenberg the evening was a
10:28
celebration of the new brilliant lady
10:30
launch which is happening later this
10:32
year her Mermaid Maiden voyage is
10:34
scheduled for the 5th of September in
10:36
New York City but the other special
10:38
guest was none other than the lady that
10:40
started it all abby the Hostess made her
10:42
special appearance as the octopus
10:44
goddess singing the iconic Scarlet Night
10:47
anthem to some very lucky West Coast
10:49
first mates in the audience abby the
10:51
hostess of course will be the hostess
10:53
for Brilliant Lady as she launches later
10:55
this year which is a perfect fit as Abby
10:57
has been the hostess for each of the
10:59
inaugural seasons for every single one
11:02
of the Virgin Voyages fleet and that is
11:04
everything from this exclusive insider
11:06
update as you can see there's so much
11:09
buzz and so much news happening around
11:10
the launch of Brilliant Lady and the
11:12
Virgin Voyages fleet at large we're
11:15
hugely excited for all the things that
11:17
are happening later this year so
11:18
subscribe and follow along as we bring
11:20
you all the exclusive content from
11:22
Virgin Voyages and let you know the news
11:25
first on vinsider.com
11:27
so what fitting way then to wrap this
11:28
video up is to give you a little
11:30
serenade from Abby the hostess herself
11:32
so here's some footage that's been
11:34
shared by Virgin Voyagers at the end of
11:36
that brilliant lady road show but for
11:37
now from us at VV Insider happy sailing
11:44
the ocean and I'll be the moon
11:47
love making waves with you
11:51
i am caught in the deep can I swim to
11:54
your light this is our scarlet night
12:03
this is our scarlet night
12:11
this is our scarlet night why are you
12:14
trying to run away take me out take me
12:29
don't be jealous darling lots of love
