Virgin Voyages will welcome more than 1,000 UK agents onboard this summer in its “largest ever” ship visit programme

Following a dry dock stint, Valiant Lady will host day visits in six UK cities: Dublin on 7 August, Glasgow on 8 August, Liverpool on 9 August, Belfast on 10 August, Edinburgh on 18 August and Portsmouth on 20 and 27 August.

During each visit, agents – dubbed by Virgin Voyages as ‘First Mates’ – will see the updates made to the ship, including new dining and entertainment offerings, and be hosted for a meal.

Updates on how agents can apply for a spot on a visit will be shared in coming weeks and months on the line’s trade Facebook page, The Bridge UK.

Speaking to the travel trade on a media briefing, Virgin Voyages’s UK sales director SJ Walker said the adult-only line would host a mixture of existing top selling agents as well as agents new to the brand.

“We want to deepen our existing relationships with agents who confidently sell us and we want to reward them,” she said. “Valiant Lady will have had a glow up and have new elements to showcase so we want existing agent partners to come and see them and see how we’re evolving.”

“But, as we expand distribution and work closer with agents who have a higher average holiday booking value, it’s important to get new agents onboard to give them a firsthand Virgin Voyages experience.”

She added: “We’ve always believed the best way for our First Mates to sell Virgin Voyages is to experience it for themselves – to step onboard, feel the energy and see how our kid-free ships deliver something genuinely different.

“It’s a big thank you to our partners and a clear signal of how committed we are to growing together in the UK market.”