0:00
As 2026 gets underway, Virgin Voyages
0:03
have promised that this is a year for
0:05
big change across the brand. And we've
0:07
had our first glimpse of the news that's
0:09
come out of Virgin Voyages in the new
0:10
year. We're going to sit down and tell
0:12
you about everything that's changed in
0:14
Virgin Voyages over the past few weeks.
0:16
If we haven't met before, I'm David from
0:18
VV Insider, which is a website that's
0:20
dedicated to telling sailor all around
0:22
the world what they need to know about
0:24
Virgin Voyages, the information, the
0:26
guide, the news, how to save the most
0:28
money with Barab, and of course,
0:30
crucially, the best way to book a Virgin
0:33
Voyage. But for right now, this is the
0:34
Virgin Voyages insider update. And we
0:37
produce these every two weeks to keep
0:39
sailor in the know about what's going on
0:42
across the Virgin Voyages brand as you
0:44
plan and prepare for your perfect Virgin
0:46
Voyage. And the way that we do this is
0:48
we go through the articles that we
0:50
publish. And as always, as we go through
0:52
all the news, if you ever want to learn
0:54
more about each of the stories that we
0:56
cover, just head over to the website at
0:59
and it'll be there in our news archive.
1:01
So, in this week's insider update, we're
1:03
going to take a look at sports at sea
1:05
and how Virgin Voyages intend to bring
1:07
the Super Bowl and the World Cup to the
1:10
high seas. So, if you're a sports fan,
1:12
you best listen up for that update.
1:14
We're also going to take a look at the
1:16
Alaska Kicker offer, which is a very
1:18
special offer all designed around making
1:21
sure as many sailor as possible can
1:23
enjoy the brand new Alaska season on
1:25
Brilliant Lady as those Alaska
1:27
itineraries launch later this year. Then
1:29
we have some really welcome news for
1:31
those that want to travel solo and how
1:33
to get the best deals with the new solo
1:36
supplement offer. We're also going to
1:38
touch on some really important travel
1:40
updates and information around the San
1:42
Juan situation, but also we'll be taking
1:44
a little detour into how Virgin Voyages
1:47
are managing travel disruption
1:48
situations. This will be particularly
1:51
important if you're traveling on Virgin
1:52
Voyages in the Caribbean over the coming
1:55
month. Then we're going to take a
1:56
forward look into the next couple of
1:58
months with those very special
1:59
well-being and Valentine sailings and
2:02
crucially what you can expect on board
2:04
if you planned one of those voyages. So
2:06
I'm so glad to have you all back this
2:08
year at VV Insider. Let's jump in with
2:11
the very first Virgin Voyages insider
2:16
VV Insider is the number one resource
2:18
for the latest Virgin Voyages info
2:20
guides and news. From picking the
2:22
perfect cabin to booking dining or
2:23
simply just making the most of your
2:25
voyage and saving money while you do it,
2:27
vincider.com has helped thousands of
2:29
sailors around the world sail smarter.
2:32
Support our work by hitting subscribe
2:34
and stick around to hear how you can get
2:36
exclusive perks by booking directly with
2:40
So, first of all, let's talk sport. So,
2:42
Virgin Voyagers have announced that this
2:45
year they're going to make a very
2:46
special push into making sure sports
2:49
fans get a really good experience when
2:50
they want to watch these internationally
2:52
renowned sports competitions when
2:55
they're at sea. If you're a sports fan,
2:57
it's often really tricky to decide to
2:59
book a cruise during the times that you
3:01
know these broadcasts are going to be
3:03
on. Yes, of course, you can catch up on
3:05
the news when you get back, but you
3:06
don't want the game spoiled for you.
3:08
Well, Virgin Voyagers have listened and
3:10
they've decided to do something about
3:12
it. So, they've been happy to announce
3:14
that sailings that take place during
3:16
both the Super Bowl and the World Cup
3:18
will have special viewing opportunities
3:21
for fans of the sport. These sailings
3:23
kick off, if you pardon the pun, with
3:25
the Super Bowl on the 8th of February.
3:28
With this being a Sunday, it does mean
3:30
Terminal V is a little busy getting
3:32
Scarlet Lady ready to sail. So, of
3:35
course, with Scarlet Lady doing the
3:36
disembarkation and the embarcation of a
3:39
brand new cruise, they are not able to
3:41
offer a broadcast of the Super Bowl. But
3:43
for each of the other three lady ships,
3:45
there is a special viewing organized.
3:48
So, that includes the sailing on
3:49
Brilliant Lady from Miami on the 1st of
3:51
February, Valiant Lady Sailing from San
3:54
Juan on the 7th of February, and
3:55
Resilient Lady Sailing on the 7th of
3:58
February as well from Miami. Sailors on
4:00
these particular voyages will be able to
4:02
watch the Super Bowl in the red room on
4:05
board each of the sailings. It's
4:07
understood that this will be offered
4:08
free of charge, but there will be
4:10
limited capacity in the red room. So, if
4:12
you're wanting to watch the Super Bowl
4:14
on board, you might need to get there
4:16
early. It will become much clearer on
4:18
how this will all work when those
4:20
sailings take place. So, keep an eye on
4:22
the Virgin Voyages app when you board
4:24
the ship, but also we'll try and keep
4:26
you up to date here. The article on
4:30
includes this image from the Super Bowl
4:32
in 2025. So, here you can get an idea of
4:35
the layout and the structure of how this
4:37
will all work, but you'll be able to
4:39
tell as well just from that picture that
4:41
things do get a little busy. One thing
4:43
we did notice when we were on board is
4:45
that there is more visibility around
4:48
live sports availability when you're on
4:50
board the ships. So, for example, we saw
4:52
this sign when we were at the social
4:53
club on Resilient Lady, which indicated
4:56
which sports were being shown in the
4:58
Social Club that day. And as ever, if
5:00
there's ever a broadcast that you really
5:02
want to see, it might be worth asking at
5:05
the Social Club to see if they're able
5:07
to air that on the screens there. It
5:10
might not always be possible, but it's
5:11
always worth an ask. Then, looking
5:13
forward to summer 2026, where the World
5:16
Cup will be based in the USA and Mexico.
5:19
It's understood that all Virgin Voyages
5:21
sailings that run from the 11th of June
5:23
to the 19th of July will be making an
5:25
attempt to show as much of the World Cup
5:28
as possible. Now, the World Cup is a
5:30
soccer tournament style competition that
5:32
takes place in multiple venues and
5:34
stadiums at a time. So, it might be that
5:37
availability of particular games is
5:39
restricted, but they're going to try and
5:41
do their best. So, do keep an eye out on
5:42
the Virgin Voyages sailor app if you're
5:44
on those sailings to see how that's
5:46
going to be organized. Now, of course,
5:48
the World Cup is still a few months
5:49
away, so it's a bit unclear now of when
5:52
those matches will be scheduled. So, do
5:54
make sure that you keep an eye on the
5:56
situation closer to the time, but all
5:58
you need to know right now is that
6:00
Virgin Voyages are committing to showing
6:02
the World Cup on board the sailings as
6:04
best they can. Now, looking a little bit
6:06
further into the air, we're talking
6:07
Alaska. Now, Alaska is a brand new
6:10
frontier for Virgin Voyages, and
6:12
Brilliant Lady Virgin Voyages brand new
6:14
ship will be heading to Alaska in summer
6:17
this year. The first Alaska sailing will
6:19
take place on the 11th of May, so not
6:22
too long to go. I run VV Insider along
6:24
with my husband Rob, and we're really
6:26
looking forward to our Alaska sailing
6:28
later on this year. And if you're
6:30
looking yourself to go along on one of
6:32
those Alaska sailings, now is a really
6:35
good time to book because there is a new
6:37
offer called the Alaska Kicker Offer
6:40
where Virgin Voyagers are giving you up
6:42
to $300 sailor loot by booking one of
6:45
these 2026 sailings. This bonus onboard
6:49
credit offer depends on which type of
6:51
cabin that you choose. So do have a look
6:53
on our article at vbinsider.com for more
6:56
information on that. But we've seen a
6:58
huge amount of interest in these Alaska
7:00
sailings. So if you are on the fence and
7:02
you really want to try one of these
7:03
Alaska sailings, maybe this extra
7:05
onboard credit might give you that extra
7:08
incentive to get booked. And what's
7:10
really good about this particular offer
7:12
is that it's actually stackable on top
7:14
of the bar tab offers that are already
7:17
on at the moment. And if you have a My
7:19
Next Virgin Voyage placeholder, you can
7:22
use that and stack that as well. We also
7:24
understand that it's stackable with a
7:26
few other offers as well. So, if you do
7:28
want to explore what's possible with
7:29
different offers and discounts, then do
7:32
of course let us know. Head over to
7:36
and we'll take a look to make sure we
7:38
can save you as much money as possible
7:40
if you're planning to go to Alaska or
7:42
any other itinerary that you can think
7:44
of as well. You'll also be helping
7:46
support the work that we do here at VV
7:48
Insider by getting all of this
7:50
information and all of this news out to
7:52
as many people as possible. So, we do
7:55
really appreciate your support if you'd
7:57
like to make your next booking with us.
7:59
Moving on to some really important news
8:01
that happened about a week ago, and this
8:03
was to do with the travel disruption out
8:05
of San Juan. So for some time around the
8:08
3rd of January, there was some travel
8:10
disruption to do with the airspace in
8:12
San Juan, which made air travel
8:14
impossible for those wanting to get in
8:17
and out of San Juan. When this happened,
8:19
Virgin Voyagers were very quick in
8:21
getting in touch with those sailors that
8:23
were affected and ended up rrooting the
8:26
itinerary that Valiant Lady was on.
8:28
Virgin Voyages were quick to reassure
8:29
passengers who were unable to embark on
8:32
their cruise that they would receive a
8:34
full future voyage refund, which means
8:36
that the full cost of the voyage was put
8:38
onto their account so they can choose a
8:40
different sailing in the future. Now,
8:42
this isn't the first time that we've
8:43
seen Virgin Voyages go above and beyond
8:45
when it comes to providing peace of mind
8:47
to sailor that face travel disruption.
8:50
Back when there was news of the
8:51
hurricane in Jamaica last year, there
8:54
was a full statement given out by Virgin
8:56
Voyages as we see consistency with
8:58
Virgin Voyages response to these travel
9:00
disruption situations. It's becoming
9:03
clear that they do really care about the
9:05
sailor experience here. So, it's nice to
9:07
see that Virgin Voyagers are continuing
9:09
that action to make sure that sailors
9:11
have that peace of mind. As ever, if
9:13
you're on one of these sailings that is
9:15
affected by these travel disruptions, do
9:18
check your emails when you see the news
9:20
because it's likely Virgin Voyages have
9:22
already stepped in and made a
9:24
communication around it. So, do always
9:26
make sure to check, but we do of course
9:28
over on vbinsider.com try and bring that
9:30
news to you as quickly as possible as
9:33
soon as we hear it too. So, it's always
9:34
worth checking the news feed over there.
9:36
Now, some really good news for those
9:38
that are looking for some solo offers.
9:41
If you enjoy cruises and you find
9:43
yourself traveling solo, sometimes it
9:45
can be really costly because unless you
9:48
can find a solo cabin, and solo cabins
9:50
do tend to sell out very quickly. And
9:53
what this also means as well is that
9:55
you're often confined to one of those
9:56
smaller rooms or a room that doesn't
9:59
have a balcony, for example. Well, every
10:02
now and again there is a solo supplement
10:04
offer, and Virgin Voyages have released
10:07
one for January. And what this means is
10:09
you can book a sea terrace cabin, that's
10:11
a cabin with a balcony, without having
10:14
to pay the full amount for that second
10:16
guest that isn't even there. It's worth
10:18
mentioning that this doesn't necessarily
10:20
mean that it's half price compared to
10:22
what it would be if you were sailing for
10:24
two sailors, but it does bring the cost
10:26
down significantly compared to what it
10:28
would be. If you haven't sailed with
10:30
Virgin Voyages as a solo sailor before,
10:32
you might be pleasantly surprised.
10:34
Virgin Voyagers do a lot to try and
10:37
encourage those that are traveling solo
10:39
to meet other solo guests. I myself did
10:42
a video guide on sailing solo last year.
10:45
So, I'm going to link that video in the
10:47
description below. But what you really
10:48
need to know is that there are specific
10:50
activities set up for solo sailor that
10:53
make meeting other people a breeze.
10:55
That's on top of all the other social
10:57
activities that go on like the PJ party
11:00
and Scarlet night. It really is a fab
11:03
time. So, if you're considering sailing
11:05
solo, I would give Virgin Voyages a go.
11:08
And if you're looking for the best deal
11:10
possible on that, again, head over to
11:14
and we can see if we can offer some
11:16
additional perks to make your solo
11:18
sailing even better. Now, as 2026 kicks
11:22
off, we start on new calendar of those
11:25
very special themed sailings. And the
11:27
first of these themed sailings is the
11:29
well-being sailings. Virgin Voyages
11:32
touts January as their well-being
11:34
season. This happens every year. And
11:36
what this means is that these sailings
11:38
in January have extra special
11:40
programming all around fitness and
11:42
well-being. What this means in practice
11:44
is there's a bumper lineup of well-being
11:47
events put on for you, including
11:49
expanded group fitness classes. This
11:51
includes yoga, spinning, posture
11:54
training, and mindfulness workshops as
11:57
well. The classes are designed for a
11:59
wide range of ability levels and the
12:01
classes are all led by very highly
12:03
trained instructors as well. If you've
12:05
ever been on a Virgin Voyages sailing
12:07
before, you'll know that these classes
12:09
are not new, but they do expand the
12:12
event calendar out during January
12:14
sailings to make sure that if you do
12:16
have some New Year's resolutions that
12:18
you want to take care of, you'll be able
12:19
to have a greater choice of those
12:21
wellness sessions if you like. Also,
12:23
make sure if you're on one of these
12:24
well-being sailings, take a look at the
12:26
menus and see how they've highlighted
12:28
those healthier and fresher menu options
12:31
as well. If you're trying to eat cleaner
12:33
in the new year, the Virgin Voyages
12:35
menus offer a huge amount of different
12:37
options for you. One really cool thing
12:39
that they do on these wellness sailings
12:40
are wellness socials. So, there's
12:42
actually new events that aren't just
12:44
around being fit and healthy, but also
12:46
encourage those that are on a wellness
12:48
journey to come together and socialize.
12:51
So, for example, from 7:00 a.m. till
12:53
9:00 a.m. on each of these voyages, if
12:55
you go to the gym and tonic bar, they
12:57
offer complimentary non-alcoholic and
12:59
botanical drinks. So, you can go along
13:02
there and meet other people that are
13:04
enjoying the wellness season. And the
13:05
idea is that this is a relaxed and
13:07
social setting. I'm afraid to say when
13:09
I'm on a Virgin Voyages cruise, wellness
13:11
is the absolutely last thing I'm
13:13
thinking about, but we do know that
13:15
sailors from around the world do have
13:17
very different preferences for how they
13:19
like to sail. So, if this is your thing,
13:21
let me know in the comments if you've
13:23
done any of the well-being activities
13:25
before and what you thought of them. And
13:27
you never know, you might convince me to
13:29
go along to one or two of them. And just
13:31
around the corner, just a few weeks
13:32
away, is Valentine's Day. And those
13:35
Valentine sailings will be kicking off
13:37
very shortly. So, Virgin Voyages are
13:39
offering special programs on each of the
13:41
sailings that have Valentine's Day in
13:44
them. So, what to expect during these
13:46
Valentine's sailings? Well, there are
13:47
going to be shipwide Valentine's events.
13:50
So, take a look at the lineup on the app
13:52
to see when they start filtering in.
13:54
Just as a quick aside, on the Sailor
13:56
app, sometimes the lineup will show some
13:58
events and they'll start coming in very
14:00
early on, but you'll often see that some
14:03
big things are missing in that schedule.
14:05
So, we often see on Facebook people
14:07
asking, "Oh, there's no Scarlet Night on
14:10
this sailing. Oh, there's no PJ party."
14:12
Don't worry, there will always be a PJ
14:14
party. There will definitely always be a
14:16
Scarlet Night. But sometimes it does
14:17
take a while for those things to show up
14:19
on the lineup. These are things that are
14:21
scheduled in by real people sitting at a
14:24
desk. So it does take some time for that
14:26
to all update. So don't panic if you
14:28
only have half of the story on the app.
14:31
Don't believe everything you read until
14:32
closer to the sailing. Then you can
14:35
start planning your events out. But in
14:37
the app, that is where you will see
14:38
closer to the day those Valentine's
14:41
events start popping in there. We'll be
14:43
keeping an extra eye on this because we
14:44
want to see what special events Virgin
14:47
Voyages have planned for Valentine's. It
14:48
sounds very exciting indeed. We do know
14:51
a few people that are booked on these
14:52
Valentine's voyages. So, we're going to
14:54
be asking them to check their apps to
14:56
see what we can expect. So, stay tuned
14:58
to vbvinsider.com and follow these
15:00
updates and we'll let you know what we
15:02
know as soon as we know it. But, there
15:04
is still good availability and pricing
15:06
available on those Valentine's Day
15:08
sailings. So, if you haven't t that
15:10
special person in your life yet, well,
15:12
why not treat them to one of these
15:14
Valentine's voyages? In Miami, we have
15:16
Brilliant leaving on the 12th. We then
15:18
have Scarlet leaving on the 13th. And
15:20
then on the big day, Valentine's Day
15:22
itself, on the 14th, we have Valiant
15:24
Lady leaving San Juan. And we also have
15:26
Resilient Lady leaving Miami. So, there
15:29
are plenty of choices, plenty of
15:31
itineraries as well. If you want to take
15:33
a look, head over to our article on
15:35
vbvinsider.com and we break them all
15:37
down for you. And remember, if you're
15:39
sailing with that special someone any
15:41
time of year, there is always the splash
15:43
of romance package. Personally, I think
15:45
this is a really, really good deal. What
15:48
you get with the Splash of Romance
15:49
package, it's just an add-on you can add
15:51
to any voyage, but for a couple, it
15:53
gives you both priority boarding access,
15:56
so you can actually board it just as
15:57
soon as the rock stars have all boarded,
15:59
so you'll be on the ship as quickly as
16:01
possible. You'll also get daily cold
16:04
pressed juices every single day. You'll
16:06
get 3 hours in the thermal suite as well
16:09
in the redemption spa, and again, that's
16:11
for both of you. There's also an
16:13
exclusive cocktail party where only
16:16
those that have booked the splash of
16:17
Romans package be able to go and have a
16:20
lovely sunlit suare. And as well, you're
16:23
able to shake for champagne. That's
16:25
where if you give your phone a shake
16:27
when you've got the Virgin Voyages app
16:28
open, you will get an alert and you'll
16:30
be able to order Moetta Shandon
16:32
champagne to wherever you are on the
16:35
ship. It really does work like magic and
16:37
you'll have one of those included with
16:39
your Splash of Romance package. It's a
16:41
really good package and it's a really
16:43
nice gift if you're thinking of making
16:45
your voyage extra special. The price of
16:47
it is $250 and I do think it's pretty
16:50
good value. As ever, we have a full
16:52
Splash of Romance guide over at
16:54
vavinsider.com if you want to read about
16:56
all the perks that you get with it, but
16:58
there is a limited amount of Splash of
17:00
Romance packages on each sailing. So, if
17:02
you do want to do it, make sure you book
17:04
it in as quickly as possible. And you
17:06
can do that by managing your booking
17:08
either on the website or on the app. So,
17:10
it's really, really cold here at the
17:11
minute in the UK. So, I'm glad to say
17:13
we're preparing to head away to Florida
17:16
next week where we will be actually
17:18
joining one of the ships at the end of
17:20
January. I can't wait. It's going to be
17:22
lovely to get out of this cold weather.
17:24
I'm really looking forward to capturing
17:26
some brand new content to bring you on
17:28
this channel. So, do make sure if you
17:30
haven't already that you're subscribed
17:32
to this channel and we'll bring you all
17:34
that we can from that very special
17:36
sailing. And if you didn't hear my plea
17:38
last week, what we do want to do this
17:39
year is share more of your memories on
17:42
board. So if you do have photos of
17:44
videos that you've taken while you're
17:46
away on the Virgin Voyages ships, make
17:48
sure you follow us on our social
17:50
channels. So Instagram, Facebook, and
17:53
here on YouTube as well. And if you've
17:55
got anything that you'd like to share
17:57
with the rest of the Sailor community,
17:59
maybe some special memories that you've
18:01
made on board, then do feel free to tag
18:03
us. We'd love to see all of the fun that
18:06
you have on board of the ships. As I
18:08
mentioned, we're from the UK, so unlike
18:10
a lot of people here on YouTube and a
18:12
lot of those big personalities in the
18:14
Virgin Voyager space, we're not on board
18:16
all of the time. So, we do rely on our
18:19
community of sailors around the world
18:22
letting us know what it's like on board
18:24
and spotting anything that you see
18:26
that's new that we haven't mentioned.
18:28
And remember, if you ever want to
18:29
support the work that we do here at VV
18:31
Insider, all that we ask is that when
18:33
you're booking your next Virgin Voyages
18:35
trip, that you just do it through our
18:36
website. It's really, really easy. I'll
18:38
show you in 15 seconds. You go to
18:42
You scroll down and you see a list of
18:45
all the different voyages. You find one
18:47
that you like the look of. You press
18:49
book now. You'll get a little screen
18:51
that will tell you that we're going to
18:52
be connected to your sailing, but that's
18:54
it. You press continue. You never give
18:56
your credit card information to us. You
18:58
just do it on the Virgin Voyagers
18:59
website. And as soon as your booking is
19:01
made, that's it. We're all connected.
19:03
You supported us and we can start giving
19:06
you those extra special perks. It really
19:08
could not be easier and it doesn't cost
19:09
you a penny extra. It really is a
19:11
win-win. But with that being said, I
19:13
hope you're having a great start to 2026
19:16
and I can't wait to see how this year
19:18
turns out across the whole Virgin
19:20
Voyages brand. So, thank you so much for
19:22
watching and happy sailing.
