0:00
We always knew the end of November was
0:01
going to be a busy time at Virgin
0:03
Voyages, not least because we know Black
0:05
Friday is just around the corner, but
0:07
especially now now all four ships are
0:09
back in the Caribbean. The Virgin
0:11
Voyages brand are making some changes
0:13
and updates to the fleet that you
0:15
definitely need to know about, as well
0:16
as some really extra special
0:17
announcements that actually don't have
0:19
anything to do with the ships at all,
0:21
but you'll want to hear about. I'm David
0:23
from VV Insider and in this Virgin
0:25
Voyages insider update, we're taking a
0:28
look at some really exciting changes
0:29
that have happened quietly on Resilient
0:32
Lady and what that means for the rest of
0:33
the fleet. We're going to take a look at
0:35
how to get on board for less in the
0:37
Black Friday sale that Virgin Voyages
0:39
are running. We finally have some news
0:41
about the loyalty scheme, the sailing
0:43
club, and what those changes mean for
0:44
you. Then we're going to look at some
0:46
really exciting announcements that have
0:48
happened over the past week around
0:50
entertainment and what that means not
0:52
only on the ship but on land as well.
0:55
And if you stick around to the end,
0:56
there's a special Virgin related
0:58
giveaway that I want to tell you about
1:00
that's coming up over the next week. So,
1:02
especially in this edition, there's
1:03
plenty to cover. So, let's jump right
1:06
in. Vins Insider is the number one
1:08
resource for the latest Virgin Voyages
1:10
info, guides, and news. From picking the
1:13
perfect cabin to booking dining or
1:14
simply just making the most of your
1:16
voyage and saving money while you do it,
1:18
vinsider.com has helped thousands of
1:20
sailors around the world sail smarter.
1:23
Support our work by hitting subscribe
1:25
and stick around to hear how you can get
1:27
exclusive perks by booking directly with
1:31
So, to kick things off, let's talk about
1:33
what most of us are interested in this
1:35
week, which is the big Black Friday sale
1:38
that Virgin Voyages are running. So, if
1:40
you've had a voyage in mind for a while
1:42
or if you're making plans for the
1:44
future, there's no better time than
1:46
Black Friday to jump in and make that
1:48
booking. And Virgin Voyages Black Friday
1:50
offer this year is absolutely stellar.
1:53
So, they're giving away up to $500 of
1:56
bonus bar tab as well as highlighting
1:58
some Voyages that start from just $99
2:01
per night. We put together a guide on
2:03
everything you need to know about this
2:05
particular offer and how to make your
2:07
money go as far as possible. So, if you
2:10
want to learn more about the Black
2:11
Friday offer and how to make the most of
2:12
it, head over to vvincider.com and read
2:15
through our article where we highlight
2:17
those itineraries where you can get that
2:19
$99 per night per sailor rate. These are
2:22
lockitin in insider room rates. But
2:25
remember, with all the lockitin deals,
2:27
that means depending on the inventory,
2:28
you could actually get a better cabin
2:31
assigned to you when it comes to the
2:32
sailing. There are absolutely tons of
2:34
itineraries highlighted here and they
2:36
run all the way up until March 26th. We
2:39
also tell you how to get the most bar
2:42
tab possible with this free bar tab
2:44
offer. And the bar tab amount that
2:46
you'll get for your sailing will depend
2:48
on how long the sailing is and where it
2:50
sales from. So do have a look at that
2:52
page to see how much you're entitled to.
2:54
In addition to all of that, they're
2:55
running an offer for 80% off a second
2:58
sailor, which brings the cost of a
3:00
twoperson voyage down significantly.
3:03
Again, you'll want to check the cabins
3:04
that are eligible for that particular
3:06
offer. But also, if you're looking to
3:08
combine particular offers or find out
3:10
what other offers are available to you,
3:12
including things like resident rate
3:14
discounts, first responder discounts,
3:16
then sometimes that can get a little
3:18
tricky. So, if you need any help at all,
3:20
head over to vvincider.com/book
3:24
and fill out an inquiry form and we'll
3:26
be in touch to make sure that your money
3:27
goes as far as possible. Another thing
3:30
to mention, if you're looking at any of
3:31
those sailings with those discounts and
3:33
offers, you'll always get rewarded with
3:36
diamonds if you book through VV Insider
3:38
as part of our Red Diamond Club. This
3:40
means every time you sail with us,
3:42
you're earning diamond that you can
3:44
spend on onboard credit on future
3:46
voyages. So, don't miss out by booking
3:49
anywhere else. Head to VV Insider to
3:51
make those bookings. Moving on to some
3:53
Resilient Lady changes, which happened
3:55
quietly under our nose. And I don't
3:57
think we would even know about this if
3:59
we weren't on board at the time when
4:00
this construction was happening. So, the
4:02
roundabout on Resilient Lady has had a
4:04
little refresh over the past month or
4:06
so. Namely, this means that Voyage Vinyl
4:09
has been taken out of the roundabout and
4:11
being replaced by a new area that is
4:14
dedicated to Shaw Things. Shaw Things is
4:17
the port excursion desk, which
4:19
traditionally on the ship, so it's
4:21
always set around the big red chart
4:23
table. Well, now Shaw Things has its own
4:25
dedicated space, but that does mean that
4:27
we're losing voyage vinyl in the
4:29
process. This has opened up the
4:31
roundabout a little bit, though, because
4:33
they've taken some of those dividers
4:34
down. So, this space feels a little bit
4:36
more light and airy now, which is nice.
4:38
And the eradication of those dividers
4:41
comes off the back of Brilliant Lady, of
4:43
course, getting rid of them completely.
4:45
It's worth noting Resilient Lady is not
4:47
getting the full roundabout overhaul
4:49
that Brilliant Lady did, but this
4:51
refurbishment was actually happening
4:53
while guests were on board, so they
4:54
could only do so much. One other change,
4:56
particularly for those that enjoy
4:58
gambling, is that the den has been
5:00
transformed into a higher limits games
5:03
room, which acts as an extension to the
5:05
casino. This is something that's already
5:07
happened on Valiant Lady. So, Resilient
5:09
Lady now joins Valiant Lady as the two
5:12
ships with the High Limits Casino Room.
5:14
Another small mention of things that we
5:16
noticed when we were on board Resilient
5:18
Lady are a new shot glasses collection
5:20
that has been made available at two of
5:22
the bars on board. These souvenir shot
5:25
glasses are available currently at the
5:27
athletic club bar and the Loose Cannon.
5:30
There is both an alcoholic version which
5:32
is priced at $15 or a non-alcoholic
5:34
version which is priced at $11. That is
5:37
the price of the drink only. If you want
5:39
the souvenir shot glass with it, that
5:42
will be $25 or $21 for the zero proof
5:46
option. In the athletics club, this shot
5:48
is called the Southpaw. And this is the
5:51
shot glass itself. This is a boxing
5:53
glove with a Virgin Voyagers logo up
5:55
here and the Athletic Club bar logo on
5:57
the back. The cocktail that comes with
5:59
this is tequila based with passion fruit
6:02
and lavender flavors. And then heading
6:04
over to the loose cannon, this shot is
6:06
of course rum based with honey, ginger,
6:08
and lemon flavors. And in the loose
6:10
cannon, of course, you get this
6:12
wonderful ceramic cannon style shot
6:14
glass. I do think these are less like
6:16
shot glasses and more things that you
6:17
would just put on a shelf somewhere, but
6:19
they are very nice. These are noted as
6:21
limited edition, but we don't know any
6:23
details about when we'll see the end of
6:25
them. And it would be nice to know if
6:27
these are going to extend to other
6:28
venues on board the ship because there
6:30
are many more bars than just the two
6:32
featured at the moment. So, if you'd
6:34
like to learn more about what's coming
6:35
up with those future plans, stay
6:37
subscribed to our channel and go over to
6:40
our website and subscribe to the
6:41
newsletter as well. Speaking of fun
6:43
collectible things, we have a little bit
6:46
of a giveaway coming up at VB Insider.
6:48
We're currently ironing out the details
6:50
for this one, but I just want to let our
6:51
YouTube viewers know before anyone else.
6:53
And this comes off the back of a really
6:55
lovely event that we attended down in
6:57
the Virgin Hotel in London Shortitch
6:59
this week, which was a Friends with
7:02
Virgin event where the Virgin group were
7:04
nice enough to invite us along to toast
7:06
to the year that's been and look forward
7:08
to some plans ahead. And at this event,
7:10
we were lucky enough to be given some
7:12
lovely, lovely gifts from across the
7:14
Virgin Group, including Virgin Limited
7:16
Edition, Virgin Hotels, Virgin Voyages,
7:19
Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Experience Days,
7:21
and many others. But they were nice
7:23
enough to give us this. But they were
7:24
nice enough to give us this tote bag
7:26
full of wonderful collectible items and
7:29
swag from across the brands. And
7:31
thankfully there are two of us. So we
7:33
now have more than we need. So we're
7:34
going to be picking one lucky reader to
7:36
be given all of that stuff. We'll be
7:38
putting the details out on our Facebook
7:40
page. So make sure to head over to our
7:42
Facebook page and give it a like for
7:44
more information about that this coming
7:47
week. One thing we're well known for
7:49
here at VB Insider is giving everyone
7:51
the scoop on the latest happenings cast
7:53
to reach every ship. And this time it's
7:56
Resilient Lady's turn with the seventh
7:58
cast. So we're saying goodbye to the
8:01
sixth cast which include Paty the
8:03
Hostess, Katrina the Balancer, Ryan the
8:05
Foodie, and many, many other fan
8:07
favorites. But we say hello to a new
8:10
host of Fantastic Happenings cast
8:12
members on Resilient Lady this week.
8:14
They start on November the 22nd, which
8:16
is today. The cast include Te the
8:18
Hostess making her Virgin Voyages debut
8:21
from being a vocalist on Royal
8:22
Caribbean. We see the return of Wesley
8:25
the Diva and another couple of notable
8:27
fan favorites include Verena the artist,
8:30
Steven the Balancer, and Jake the
8:32
Foodie. As always, if you want to get to
8:34
know this new happenings cast, head over
8:36
to our article on vbvinsider.com
8:38
where we've got links to all of their
8:40
public Instagram accounts if you'd like
8:42
to go ahead and follow them. They'll be
8:43
on board Resilient Lady Sailings until
8:45
April the 25th next year. We of course
8:48
wish them all the best of luck and we
8:50
can't wait to see them on board when we
8:52
sail next year. Some long awaited news
8:54
for the sailing club. So, anyone who
8:57
sailed with Virgin Voyages a few times
8:58
in the past will be very familiar with
9:00
the sailings club and the perks that the
9:03
blue extras program give you. Virgin
9:05
Voyages have suggested that there are
9:07
some changes coming to the sailing club,
9:09
but we don't have any firm details yet
9:11
of what those changes look like. But in
9:13
the meantime, they're extending the
9:15
current program out until the end of
9:18
2026. So that means that the current
9:20
loyalty tiers do continue. So we'll
9:23
still have blue extras and deep blue
9:26
extras for those that sail even more.
9:28
And the tiers still remain the same. So
9:30
you'll join the sailing club from your
9:32
very first sailing. You'll then move up
9:34
to blue extras on your third sailing.
9:37
And then after five sailings, so on your
9:39
sixth sailing, you'll have deep blue
9:41
extras. If you're interested in learning
9:43
more about the list of perks that you
9:45
get at each of these tiers, then of
9:47
course head over to vbvinsider.com to
9:49
read more about that. But one thing we
9:51
know that the Virgin Voyages community
9:53
are looking out for is any news on any
9:55
changes to this program. We know many,
9:57
many sailors, including ourselves, who
10:00
sailed a lot more than five sailings and
10:02
would like to see maybe a higher loyalty
10:04
tier added. But we've yet to receive any
10:06
details about when to expect that. But
10:09
we'll be keeping an eye on the horizon
10:11
for any changes. So, if you want to
10:12
learn with us, then head over to our
10:14
website. Make sure you stay subscribed
10:16
to this YouTube channel as well, and
10:18
we'll bring you any updates when we get
10:20
them. And remember, if you have loyalty
10:22
and status with any other cruise line
10:23
and you're busy learning about Virgin
10:25
Voyages, then we can help you match your
10:27
status as well. So, make sure you get in
10:30
touch with us and we'll see what we can
10:32
do to see if you're eligible to match
10:34
statuses with Virgin Voyages. Now,
10:36
yesterday there was a really exciting
10:37
event held at Terminal V in Miami where
10:41
some invited guests were given a preview
10:43
of the brand new show on Scarlet Lady
10:45
called Boot, Alola's Library Story. If
10:48
you've been following along with us at
10:49
VV Insider, you will know that this is
10:52
the prequel show to Lola's Library,
10:55
which previewed on Resilient Lady in
10:57
2023. This new show actually explores
11:00
Lola's origin story before she headed on
11:03
to Resilient Lady to become a librarian.
11:05
This show has rave reviews and even the
11:08
CEO of Virgin Voyages, Nimal, says it's
11:11
his favorite show on board the entire
11:13
fleet of ships. High praise indeed. Now,
11:17
it was during this event that Nathan
11:18
Rosenberg made an announcement that came
11:21
as a little bit of a surprise for those
11:23
that want to experience some of that
11:25
Virgin Voyages flare on land. So, the
11:28
announcement kicks off with the
11:29
introduction of a brand new production
11:31
company called Screw It, Let's Do It
11:34
productions. This is a quote direct from
11:37
Richard Branson himself and it does a
11:39
really good job of explaining what the
11:41
idea behind this program of work is and
11:43
that is bringing some of the incredible
11:45
creative talent and entertainment
11:47
experiences that we enjoy on the Virgin
11:50
Voyages fleet and actually bringing it
11:52
to spaces on land as well. Now this
11:54
means that there are incredibly exciting
11:56
opportunities in the future. But what's
11:59
been announced already sounds incredibly
12:01
exciting too. The first thing to mention
12:03
here is that this is not unprecedented.
12:05
Dual reality, which was actually one of
12:07
the first headline shows on Virgin
12:09
Voyages, moved to land a fair while ago
12:12
and is now touring the world with shows
12:14
coming up in Atlanta, Georgia, France,
12:16
and Hong Kong of all places. But this is
12:19
the first time that the Virgin Voyages
12:21
company have really taken charge of this
12:24
movement. So, the first thing from this
12:25
announcement that we know is that
12:27
Booked, the show that was shown in this
12:29
preview event, is currently being
12:31
developed for an onland performance. We
12:34
don't currently know where or when this
12:35
will take place, but we know it is
12:37
headed landside. And although in this
12:40
announcement, this is the one show that
12:41
they're bringing on land, there is a
12:43
hint with this new production company
12:45
that they're looking at bringing more of
12:47
the Sea Bay shows onto land as well. So,
12:50
keep an eye on this space and stay
12:51
subscribed and we'll tell you about all
12:53
of the changes and all of the movements
12:55
here as soon as we know. And then the
12:57
next really incredibly exciting
12:59
announcement is that Scarlet Knight, the
13:02
iconic red theme party that happens on
13:04
board the Virgin Voyages ships on every
13:06
itinerary, is heading to land as well.
13:09
We're going to be expecting to see a
13:11
Scarlet Night next year in both Virgin
13:14
Hotels Las Vegas and Virgin Hotels
13:16
London Shortage. This signature
13:18
celebration is going to be adapted to
13:20
work in these online spaces and it will
13:23
be really interesting to see what they
13:25
do here in bringing that Scarlet Knight
13:27
essence into an online experience. There
13:30
are iconic moments of Scarlet Knight
13:32
that can't be replicated on land, but
13:35
it'll be really interesting to see how
13:37
Virgin Voyages bring that creative flare
13:39
from the ship and make Scarlet Knight
13:41
work on land as well. So, let me know
13:43
what you think about this idea of having
13:45
Scarlet Knight on land. Would you head
13:48
along to London or Las Vegas to try this
13:50
out yourself? Let me know in the
13:52
comments. As you can see, it's been an
13:54
incredibly busy couple of weeks, not
13:56
only for Virgin Voyages, but us here as
13:58
well at VV Insider. We've got some
14:01
incredibly exciting plans coming up over
14:03
the next few months. So many ideas on
14:06
how to improve your experience as a
14:08
Virgin Voyages sailor, and there's so
14:10
many ideas that we're wanting to bring
14:12
to life, and we can do that with your
14:14
help. So, if you'd like to follow along
14:16
and get the most out of your next Virgin
14:18
Voyage, make sure that you're not only
14:20
subscribed to this channel, but also
14:22
hunt us down on socials and online as
14:25
well. So, head over to our Facebook
14:26
page, head over to Instagram as well to
14:29
stay on top of all of our developments
14:31
and changes because there are things
14:33
coming up in the pipeline that you are
14:35
not going to want to miss. Trust me. So,
14:38
I'll be back next week with a new
14:39
version voyages guide and you're
14:41
definitely not going to want to miss
14:42
that one. Remember, if we can help you
14:45
plan your Virgin Voyage in any way, or
14:47
if you're just interested to see how you
14:49
can bundle offers to make sure you get
14:51
the best price possible, head over to
14:55
and I can't wait to get in touch and
14:56
help you out. But until next time, happy
