brilliantseas

Thursday, January 6 has us waking up to a beautiful, sunny morning in the port of Key West, Florida. Having visited Key West multiple times in the past and knowing what the city has to offer, we opted not to book a shore excursion, and instead planned a casual afternoon of browsing the shops and galleries of Duval Street, and visiting Southernmost Point. Knowing that we only needed a few hours ashore, we slept in and headed to brunch at Razzle Dazzle before disembarking the ship.

It was an inexpensive brut; I don't recall the brand name? It was the same champagne that was served at the sail-away party.

We took advantage of this onboard, although we learned that they email a 14-day extended offer to take advantage of this future booking deposit after you return home while still getting the $600 OBC and $300 off. The best part of both offers... they're combinable with the current Most Incredible Offer Ever deal, which adds $300 or $600 in free bar tab if you convert your deposit to a confirmed booking by January 31. So $600 OBC plus $600 in free bar tab if you convert your $300 deposit to a confirmed booking of 7 days or longer by January 31. What a deal!

Duel Reality is unlike any show you're likely to see on any other cruise line at sea. While certain elements may have dragged out a little too long, we found the overall show to be very enjoyable and would watch it again on another Virgin Voyages sailing.

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I apologize for the absence during the second half of the "live" review. GF thought I was spending a little too much time on CC and not enough time on vacation, so I agreed to come back to it after we got home from our back-to-back (2nd cruise was on Carnival Celebration; more on that later...). Of course, I caught the scary virus that shall not be named at the end of our 2nd cruise, so now I have plenty of time at home to finish up this delayed "live" report from Valiant Lady. Picking up after Ship Show, we had a reservation to see Duel Reality in the Red Room; a kind of musical circus act loosely centered around a Romeo and Juliet type forbidden love story that crosses the lines between two feuding families. Think acrobatics, rope work, trapeze, etc. For this show, the Red Room is set up with partially extended bleachers on both sides of the room, with the performance taking place in the center. The downside to only partially extending the bleachers is that it eliminates access from the top entrance on deck 7, and the performance on the floor level means that all sailors are asked to remain in their seats for the full 60-minute performance. The only seats that have access to arrive late or leave early for a restroom break are the few rows that are permanently affixed on deck 7 (with poor views), or the secret benches on what I'll refer to as the end balconies. We were lucky enough to score one of these benches, and had a view of around 80% of the activity on the floor, except that which was taking place directly below.

They were satisfied with our request for dessert only, although they had a momentary hiccup when it came time to actually serve that course. The server had initially forgotten but as they were serving each table and got to us, he remembered. They came back with ours near the end of service. The dessert was quite satisfying, but we are glad that we didn't skip a full three-course meal in one of the specialty restaurants for the food in The Manor.

It's A Ship Show dinner menu and a photo of the dessert.

In my rush to clear camera space for other events, I lost some of the photos and clips from the middle of Ship Show, however this is a good sampling of what you might expect. The performers will vary for each ship and season, but I think it is safe to say Virgin is recruiting some top quality talent for their entertainment team. Snapchat-2081984778.mp4 Snapchat-1667265179.mp4 Snapchat-955579657.mp4 20230105_205917.mp4 Snapchat-604088886.mp4

We would highly recommend It's A Ship Show as a fun variety act that fills round 90 minutes of your evening. Whether you choose to have a full three course meal (entree options are chicken or sea bass), just dessert, or no food at all, you'll still have a great time at this show, which is full of singing, dancing, games, and audience participation. Snapchat-534977476.mp4 Snapchat-530821557.mp4 Snapchat-766438960.mp4 Snapchat-754313855.mp4

Speaking of dessert, after our dinner at Razzle Dazzle, we had reservations for It's A Ship Show!, a variety act dinner theater that takes place in The Manor. A three course meal is offered, however you can opt to have fewer courses or none at all if you wish. We planned ahead knowing that we wanted to try all of the specialty restaurants; enjoying dinner at Razzle Dazzle followed by dessert at It's A Ship Show! More photos and a review of the show later, but for now, here is a photo of the chocolate cherry crumble dessert. The Manor, while limited in capacity, serves as an excellent venue for an intimate show experience. I'll be back after our day in Key West with more photos and a review of the show.

We were on a tight time schedule as we wanted to go to an early show (actually a dinner show, but we REALLY wanted to try Razzle Dazzle), so we grouped together our appetizer and entree courses and split everything. We had the Mushroom Tartare appetizer, the Heirloom Squash Ravioli, and a half portion of the "secret menu" Butter Chicken with Naan; sharing all three. Every one of them was incredible! I apologize for the poor quality photos. The lighting in this restaurant after sunset does not favor food photography. For dessert, we had Rainbow Churros, which are served with ube ice cream and a strawberry caramel sauce, and the Razzle Cake. The desserts were honestly the first thing we've eaten on the ship that were a bit of a let-down. They seem to be designed more for Instagram than for flavor. The churros were a bit overcooked and the cake was dry. Overall, we had a great meal and I would highly recommend Razzle Dazzle for an early evening meal, but maybe skip the desserts and have a chocolate cherry crumble at The Ship Show instead? That is exactly what we ended up doing! With only 800 passengers onboard, the restaurants didn't fill up, even at prime dining time. This was 7:15 on our sea day.

Dinner tonight was at Razzle Dazzle, Virgin Voyages' signature vegetarian-forward restaurant. We started with a Popcorn Old Fashioned and a donut-themed cocktail with gin, raspberry, lemon, sweet vermouth, and whipped cream.

Here are a few of the photos I took using my cell phone camera after they turned us loose in the Test Kitchen with cameras and cocktails in hand. They'll let you take pictures anywhere and with anything you find within the Test Kitchen area. First up, the soju-based raspberry ginger mule with candied ginger. Second was the mocktail made with non-alcoholic "gin" and a passion fruit whipped foam. Third was a color-changing margarita, made with butterfly pea extract. And finally, the rum-based old fashioned with a special gift flask to take home.

After lunch, we headed back to the Test Kitchen for the Shots on Shots Mixology and Photography Workshop. The staff told us it is one of the fastest events to sell out onboard, typically filling up during the first boarding window on embarkation day. We feel lucky to have been able to secure one of the 20 spots on the sailing, although they did say longer sailings will repeat it two to three times, but will still sell out early. It was $35 and includes a shot, three alcoholic cocktails, and one non-alcoholic mocktail. We really enjoyed spending time with Ryan "The Foodie" and Joel "The Hype" Santiago at both of the workshops today. Joining them for the mixology session was Danny the Master Mixologist, who did most of the mixology instruction, while Ryan and Joel focused on the photography tips. Below are some photos from the class. I'll follow up with my cocktail photos. If you like to learn about a variety of different cocktails, I highly recommend this class. Included were a shot of soju, a soju-based raspberry ginger mule, a non-alcoholic gin-inspired berry "sour" with whipped passionfruit foam, a color-changing margarita made with butterfly pea extract, and a rum-based old fashioned. For $35, it was a lot of fun and felt like a good value for the number of drinks included.

We had a quick lunch in The Galley while watching the "rescue" take place. GF ordered a cucumber roll and a shrimp tempura roll from Bento Baby, while I had an omelet from Diner & Dash and fish tacos from Let's Taco Bout It. Hot and cold beverages are self-service, while the dessert stations are walk-up service. All of the entree locations have a double sided menu featuring all of the items available in The Galley. When you've browsed and are ready to order, simply grab a seat with the menu and someone will come to you to take your order. We opted to sit outdoors, one deck above "The Dock". The service was quick and all of the food was freshly prepared and served at the appropriate temperature. While this would not work if you were in a hurry, we greatly appreciated the improved quality of the prepared-to-order food. We also grabbed a few desserts, including the "Valiant Lady" purple dessert, a coffee and banana creme pie in a jar, an acai panna cotta in a jar, and a cherry chocolate cake. The "Valiant Lady" was the best of the four, and the acai panna cotta was the only one we really didn't care for.

Around 1:00 pm, the Captain announced that we would be slowing to assist a small craft in distress, reported to be taking on water four miles ahead of us. As we approached, it was discovered to be a makeshift craft of migrants attempting to make the crossing to Florida. The ship reversed the engines to bring the ship to a stop and launched a rescue craft. After investigating, the Captain reported that the small boat was not taking on water and the migrants refused assistance other than food and water and would not come aboard. They waved several times at those on the cruise ship. The rescue craft returned to Valiant Lady, and the ship remained nearby until the U.S. Coast Guard acknowledged they had a vessel en route to intercept the migrants and render further assistance.

Slam Allen is indeed still onboard Valiant Lady. He's the late night musician at On the Rocks at the bottom of the spiral staircase. We haven't seen him yet, but will make a point to see him tomorrow night based upon your recommendation.

Fast forward to this morning (day 2/sea day) and I had the opportunity to take part in the Plate, Snap, Eat: Foodie Photo Workshop at Test Kitchen at 10:00 am. Hosted by Ryan the Foodie and Joel the Hype, this event was a blast. It also sold out early on embarkation day, but we ended up with only 8 of us in the class, which takes place in the Test Kitchen on Deck 6. This event involves plating and photography tips for two brunch dishes: avocado toast and raspberry macaroons. It also includes two courses that you don't plate; esquites and tuna civiche from the Pink Agave menu. Also included is unlimited champagne and a cocktail made from cherry cocktail base and champagne. They always make sure you have a full glass; I think I had five during the session, plus a bonus glass of champagne which we were encouraged to take with us at the end of the nearly two hour class. The cost of this workshop is $35, but it was well worth it! Ryan and Joel were both amazing, as was the interaction with the rest of the group. Pictured below are a few of my very poor creations.

After spending some time watching SPF5 finish their set, we retreated to our Sea Terrace for a bit to relax. GF enjoyed some more time in the hammock. I think we're both ready to take one of these home, if only it came with an ocean view! At 10:45, it was time to head down to The Manor for Never Sleep Alone. We were fortunate enough to catch some cancellations and be able to book a reservation late in the evening. This allowed us to bypass the very long stand-by line and enter through the main entrance in the casino. The entrance is instagram-worthy. After just a few minutes, we were seated to the right of the stage at a table for two. This show is rated R and involves audience participation. The show is combination musical, sex seminar, and audience participation variety act. It is a little more "adult" than the Love and Marriage Show you might find on one of the mainstream cruise lines, but you'll probably still see less than you might during a game of "The Quest" on Carnival or Royal Caribbean, depending upon who is hosting. It should be noted that reservations for this show fill up fast; it was originally sold out within 45 min of embarkation, although cancellations do create opening later. There is only one showing of Never Sleep Alone on each cruise. If you want to participate on stage, tell the host seating you that you are adventurous and would like to sit close to the stage. It also helps if you "dress the part," which might include being pre-dressed for the PJ Party that follows. If you're fearful that you might get called on stage, rest assured thar Virgin Voyages doesn't pressure anyone to participate and telling the host that you are "less adventurous" when seated will all but guarantee that you won't be called upon during the show.

After dinner, we caught house band SPF5 playing at On the Rocks at the bottom of the spiral staircase.