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There has been some huge reveals about
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what to expect on board Virgin Voyagers
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brand new ship. I'm David from VV
0:06
Insider and I'm here with our Virgin
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Voyages insider update telling you all
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the latest news and what you'll need to
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know on Virgin Voyages in August 2025,
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including details about Virgin Voyages
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very first trip to Iceland on Scarlet
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Lady, an unexpected change to the
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wearable technology on board Virgin
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Voyages, full details about the new
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Brilliant Lady happenings cast, as well
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as tons of more information from
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Brilliant Lady as she gears up for her
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launch in the next few weeks, including
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A sneak peek at the brand new menu for
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Rojo by Razledazzle, the brand new
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restaurant on board Brilliant Lady. VD
0:42
Insider is the number one resource for
0:44
the latest Virgin Voyages info, guides,
0:46
and news. From picking the perfect cabin
0:48
to booking, dining or simply just making
0:50
the most of your voyage and saving money
0:52
while you do it. Vincider.com has helped
0:55
thousands of sailor around the world
0:56
sail smarter. Support our work by
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hitting subscribe and stick around to
1:01
hear how you can get exclusive perks by
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booking directly with us.
1:06
So, the first story that we're going to
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talk about is Virgin Voyager's first
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trip to Iceland. And it's actually this
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story that explains my croaky voice
1:14
today. We were fortunate enough to be on
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board Scarlet Lady as she made her way
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to Iceland. Unfortunately, I did not
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pack enough warm clothes and I caught a
1:22
cold, but the show must go on. This
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voyage marks Virgin Voyage's first
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venture to Iceland. Having set off on
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August 3rd from Portsmouth, she made her
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way to Amsterdam for an overnight and
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then across to Bergen in Norway before
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calling at Lurwick in the Shetlands in
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Scotland and then a little bit of a
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bumpy crossing over to Iceland where she
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visited two ports in Iceland offering
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incredible scenery and amazing
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excursions to some natural wonders
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before heading to Recuik for one
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overnight. And that is where the journey
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ended. This was a hugely popular sailing
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and the sentiment on board was that
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Virgin Voyages is one of the best ways
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to explore Iceland. Having the amazing
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scenery on the daytime and then having
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those great dining and beverage options
2:06
on board through the night times, an
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incredible experience. A quick shout out
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for anyone who said hello to us on that
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voyage. It was so lovely meeting so many
2:13
of you and to hear your kind feedback
2:15
about the work that we do here at VV
2:17
Insider face to face is absolutely
2:19
phenomenal. So, thank you so much for
2:21
saying hello. As we reported in our last
2:24
insider update, the Halloween voyage
2:26
dates have been announced. There was at
2:28
the time a mysterious gap around when
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Brilliant Ladies Halloween sailings will
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be. Well, now we know Virgin's newest
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ship will offer a five-night sailing on
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the 24th of October, 2026. This sailing
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is out of Los Angeles and will be
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calling at Catalina Island and San Diego
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before reaching Ensenada in Mexico and
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then finishing back in Los Angeles.
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Here's what to expect on board a
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Halloween voyage on Virgin Voyages.
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There'll be exclusive dining and
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beverage options as well. We ourselves
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have done a Halloween voyage before and
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it is really fantastic. It's certainly a
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great way to experience Virgin Voyages
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if you've done it before. It's
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definitely a different take on a normal
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voyage. And don't forget, head over to
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vbinsider.com to find the best price and
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get exclusive perks by booking directly
3:12
with us. Now, this new story is a big
3:14
deal from us at VV Insider because over
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the last few months, we've been working
3:18
really hard to put together a loyalty
3:21
program for all of those sailors that
3:23
are kind enough to book their next
3:24
voyage with us at VB Insider. We call
3:27
this our diamonds loyalty program. And
3:29
the way that it works is that for every
3:31
$500 you spend on a voyage, we add a
3:34
diamond to your Red Diamond Club
3:36
account. And you can collect those
3:38
diamonds to spend them on gifts like
3:40
onboard credit on your next voyage. This
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is really a way from us at VV Insider to
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thank you personally for supporting us
3:47
by booking your voyage through us. Of
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course, your voyage never costs any more
3:51
than it would on virginoyagers.com.
3:53
You're simply booking on vbvinsider.com,
3:56
but we can give you these perks. And now
3:58
we can give you those diamonds that you
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can spend on onboard credit as well. I
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think we're at that point where we can
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confidently say the best way to book a
4:05
Virgin Voyage is vincider.com.
4:08
And you get the extra benefit of
4:09
supporting the work that we do here at
4:12
VV Insider, which is to get all of this
4:14
great information and all the Virgin
4:16
Voyages news out to everyone for no
4:18
additional cost. It's a win-win. Now,
4:20
this is a piece of news that came
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directly out of the Celebration Voyage
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that left in Lisbon a couple of weeks
4:25
ago. And this is where the executives
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revealed that you don't need to use the
4:30
app to order your ship eatats anymore to
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your room. Ship Eats, if you're not
4:34
familiar, this is what the room service
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is called on board Virgin Voyages. And
4:38
this is where food and beverages can be
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delivered directly to your cabin. Now,
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historically, you had to do this by
4:44
using the phone app. But now, you can
4:46
stay in the comfort of your cabin and
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simply use the cabin tablet that you
4:50
would traditionally use for controlling
4:52
the lights, the TV, and the shades. But
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now there's a new option where you can
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now order your ship eats directly
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through the tablet itself as well. We've
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gone to the effort of documenting this
5:02
process to show you how to do it on the
5:04
tablet. So if you do want to order ship
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eatats from the tablet in your cabin, go
5:08
to vbvinsider.com. This article explains
5:11
the entire process with pictures to
5:13
guide you as well. There are a few room
5:15
service and ship eatats caveats and
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rules that do apply and how much it
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costs, including what the minimum spend
5:20
is. So do head over to binsider.com
5:23
where we explain the whole process in
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detail and how to make the most out of
5:27
that service. There are a few tips and
5:29
tricks that you can use to get the most
5:30
from it. Now this one is quite a subtle
5:32
but quite a big change and that is to do
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with the iconic bands that you get when
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you sail on board Virgin Voyages. These
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iconic bands are the wearables that
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you'll use with embedded technology that
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allows you to not open your cabin door
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but also make purchases as you go around
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the ship as well. This is a real perk of
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Virgin Voyages because normally on a
5:54
cruise line you'll be given a key card
5:55
or a medallion that you have to keep on
5:57
your person at all times. So often
5:59
you'll have to wear a nerdy looking
6:00
lanyard to carry your key card on. But
6:03
instead on Virgin you get this quite
6:04
stylish wearable that you wear around
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the ship. It's waterproof. You can use
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it in the pool. It's great. But there is
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a slight difference that's been made
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over the past few weeks. And this is
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something that we noticed when we sailed
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on Scarlet Lady just a couple of weeks
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ago. And this is for now specifically
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the red sailor bands. The red is for
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everyone except rock stars and mega
6:23
rockstars. And it's all to do with the
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size of the chip. So this is the small
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piece of plastic that you use to touch
6:29
against the pad on your cabin to get
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into the door. And you would also hold
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it against a reader if you're paying for
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something on board as well. It's never
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been too chunky, but Virgin Voyagers are
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always about sustainability. So bringing
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down the amount of plastic that they're
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using on board is probably the key
6:45
driver in all of this. So, the band
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itself mainly remains the same. It's the
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plastic chip that's getting reduced
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down. Now, as I say, we noticed this was
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limited to the red bands only. It's
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probably going to roll across the black
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bands as well, and we'll keep you
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updated when that happens. Another piece
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of news for those that like those
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special voyages, and that's the Eat and
7:05
Drink Festival for 2026, dates have been
7:08
announced. If you're not familiar with
7:10
the Eat and Drink Festival, this is
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Virgin Voyagers chance to really go all
7:13
out and really explore some culinary and
7:16
some beverage options that they don't
7:18
have the freedom to do the rest of the
7:19
year. We have a full write up of what
7:21
the Eat and Drink Festival in 2025
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looked like. And this was all around a
7:26
taste of Brilliant. So, this was showing
7:28
off cuisines and cocktails inspired by
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those new itineraries and those new
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locations that Brilliant Lady will be
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visiting when she launches later this
7:36
year. We of course do not know what to
7:38
expect with the 2026 Eat and Drink
7:41
Festival, but do stay subscribed to our
7:44
channel or subscribe to our newsletter
7:46
on our website and we'll let you know as
7:48
soon as that information becomes
7:50
available. As always, we have updated
7:52
our sale and save offer list if you're
7:54
not familiar with the sale and save
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offers on Virgin Voyages. These are a
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collection of the most cost effective
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voyages. So, if you're just looking to
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get away on Virgin Voyages for the least
8:04
price possible, here's where to look. We
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update our sale and save offers every
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single week, where we give you a quick
8:11
glimpse at the itineraries and also tell
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you how much it is per night, so you can
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get the best bang for your buck with
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some sailings on the latest update from
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as little as $90 per person per night.
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These really are the voyages that have
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the best prices at the moment. If you
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want to find these more quickly, when
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you head to our website, go to
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vbvinsider.com and in the menu, you'll
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see offers. If you head on to offers,
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you'll see the lowest prices and all the
8:34
deals that are available right now. Now,
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of course, it is not a VV Insider update
8:39
without us mentioning Brilliant Lady 100
8:41
times and that is because the excitement
8:44
is building. She is launching in just a
8:46
few short weeks time. And over the last
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couple of weeks, there's been a few
8:49
stories that really bring the launch to
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life. One of these stories was from
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Virgin Voyages themsself, celebrating
8:56
the crew that is making Brilliant Lady a
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reality. Virgin Voyages released a video
9:01
celebrating their crew who are doing an
9:03
absolutely incredible job putting the
9:05
ship together ready for her launch. And
9:08
if you're looking for some sneak peeks,
9:09
I would recommend heading over to our
9:11
article on vivvinsider.com and watching
9:14
the video because you might see some
9:16
sneak peeks of those spaces that have
9:18
been updated on the ship behind some of
9:20
the action happening in the video. So,
9:22
it's certainly worth it if you want some
9:23
spoilers about what to expect on
9:25
Brilliant Lady. Speaking of the cast and
9:27
crew on board Brilliant Lady, we have
9:30
had the privilege to announce the new
9:31
happenings cast for the launch of
9:33
Brilliant Lady. So, this is happening as
9:35
cast number one for Brilliant Lady. A
9:38
few mentions here that you'll already be
9:40
familiar with, and that is Abby the
9:41
Hosess returns to launch her fourth
9:44
Virgin Voyages ship, and that of course
9:46
means that she has the esteemed honor of
9:48
launching every single one of the Virgin
9:50
Voyages vessels. She is an iconic and an
9:53
incredible hostess. You can expect to
9:55
see her in some of the most iconic
9:57
moments on board, including the saila
9:59
away, the PJ party, the big Scarlet
10:02
Night celebrations, as well as the
10:04
hostess's own show, Love, Love, Love
10:06
with the Hostess. Abby has an incredible
10:08
hosting personality and an amazing
10:11
singing voice. So, do not miss her as
10:13
she becomes the octopus goddess on
10:15
Scarlet Night in the Octopus Garden.
10:17
We're also thrilled to see Dixie
10:19
Crystals, the Diva, return to Virgin
10:21
Voyages as well to launch Brilliant
10:23
Lady. The Diva is the resident drag
10:25
queen on board Virgin Voyages and you
10:27
can expect to see her in things like
10:29
Bingo with the Diva, the PJ Party, but
10:32
actually there's a brand new show on
10:33
Brilliant Lady. And we talk about this
10:35
more on vivvinsider.com, but it's called
10:38
The Diva Goes West and this is a
10:40
countrythemed diva show which will be
10:42
brand new to Brilliant Lady. So, we
10:44
can't wait to see what changes have been
10:46
made there. A few other mentions include
10:48
Big Lou, who returns as the gamer, Oscar
10:51
returning as the charmer, AA returning
10:53
as the artist, and Faith returning as
10:56
the foodie. Dwayne the Balancer also
10:58
returns. And for the complete
11:00
information and links to Instagram
11:01
accounts, head over to vbvinsider.com
11:04
where we have them all listed out for
11:06
you. It was also announced that when
11:08
Brilliant Lady reaches New York City on
11:10
the 3rd of September, she will be
11:12
hosting an exclusive launch party meant
11:15
specifically for sailing club members.
11:18
This sailing club is Virgin Voyagers
11:20
loyalty program, and invites to this
11:22
exclusive launch party have gone out to
11:24
those that are already members. The
11:26
tickets cost $150, but at the time of
11:28
recording this, it looks like they might
11:30
be sold out, but certainly have a look
11:32
on our article and check the link. You
11:34
never know if there's been more tickets
11:35
released. So, what does this party look
11:37
like? Well, the ship opens at 5:00 p.m.
11:39
and those that have purchased tickets
11:41
were able to choose dining in one of the
11:43
restaurants, including the new
11:45
restaurant Rojo by Razledazzle, which is
11:48
inspired by Spanish cuisine. They'll
11:50
also be hosting their signature
11:51
entertainment offering, including one of
11:54
the new headline shows on Brilliant Lady
11:56
called Red Hot, which is an exploration
11:58
of the history of Virgin Records. We
12:00
can't wait to see what happens on the
12:02
night and what special surprises Virgin
12:04
Voyages has in store for the big New
12:06
York City launch, but I'm sure this is a
12:08
party that nobody wants to miss. We have
12:10
a sneak peek at the full menu available
12:12
at Rojo by Razledazzle. As I mentioned a
12:15
little earlier, this is the brand new
12:17
restaurant that will be on board
12:18
Brilliant Lady. And this is really a
12:20
showcase of Spanish cuisine. We have the
12:23
full menu available on vegan.com. But a
12:26
few highlights include a shrimp dish
12:28
with fennel, red peppers, and almonds,
12:30
grilled octopus with a brown butter
12:32
fondue, a grilled ribeye with chorizo
12:34
and charred shallots, and something that
12:36
I'm particularly excited about, which
12:38
are the baby back ribs with harissa
12:40
honey. The full menu includes details
12:42
about the treat yourself option, which
12:44
is a lobster paella, and also has all
12:46
the information about the signature
12:48
cocktails and drinks available at the
12:50
restaurant as well. So, if you want to
12:51
see the full menu, head over to
12:53
vvanssider.com to see that. Now, as the
12:55
brilliant launch is fast approaching,
12:57
that means that we're going into
12:58
overdrive planning all the content for
13:00
the launch. And the great thing is we're
13:02
going to bring you along with us. So,
13:04
when you join us next Sunday, we're
13:06
going to have a video explaining how the
13:08
launch is going to progress and what
13:09
content to expect from us over those
13:12
three weeks. We're already putting some
13:14
really exciting plans together, but if
13:16
you followed along before, you know that
13:18
I had ambitions of doing a YouTube live
13:20
from Brilliant Lady. Now, I don't trust
13:22
the technology enough to do that, but
13:24
instead, we're going to go one better
13:26
and produce a full walkthrough of
13:29
Brilliant Lady as quickly as we possibly
13:31
can, which means if you stay subscribed
13:33
to vbvinsider.com, you'll be the first
13:36
to have a look on board the new ship.
13:38
The dates and times for that we're still
13:40
figuring out with Virgin Voyages, but
13:42
we're going to try and get that out as
13:43
quickly as we can because we know
13:44
everyone is desperate to see what the
13:46
new ship is all about. We're also going
13:49
to be taking a look at all of the new
13:50
entertainment on board. So, expect a
13:52
roundup of all the new entertainment and
13:54
our first taste at Rojo by Razled
13:57
Dazzle. So, we're going to see what all
13:58
that Spanish food is all about and bring
14:00
all the details and reviews to you as
14:02
quickly as we can as well. We certainly
14:04
have a busy few weeks ahead of us. And
14:06
again, if you want to support any of the
14:08
work that we do at vbvinsider.com,
14:10
it's certainly not easy pulling all of
14:12
this information together. So, we would
14:14
really appreciate if you're making your
14:16
next Virgin Voyages booking that you
14:18
take a look at vbvinsider.com/book
14:21
where you can browse all of the latest
14:23
offers as well as all the prices for
14:25
every voyage that's sailing on Virgin
14:27
Voyages. You can either use the links on
14:28
that page to book directly on virgino
14:30
voyagers.com and we'll be linked with
14:32
your booking. Or if you prefer us to
14:34
help you out personally, send us an
14:36
inquiry and we'll be in touch to make
14:38
sure we can book your next perfect
14:39
Virgin Voyages for the best price
14:41
possible, including any perks and extras
14:43
that we can give you as well. Thank you
14:45
so much for tuning in. I'm going to take
14:47
some rest for the cold that I have at
14:48
the minute, but I'm hoping to be
14:50
fighting fit, ready to bring you all the
14:52
latest information about the Brilliant
14:53
Lady launch. So until then, happy