Solo Sailing on Virgin - Brilliantseas LIVE! from Valiant Lady "Fire & Sunset Soirees" Cruise - January 4-8, 2023

[brilliantseas]

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[_tacocat_]

45 minutes ago, brilliantseas said:

There is only one showing of Never Sleep Alone on each cruise

this depends on the sailing (and i think the pax load) - on 4 night cruises it'll be 1 or 2, 5 nights will have at least 2, and 8 nights it was at least 4.

[conandrob240]

We just left! 😢 Can you tell me if Slam Allen was another house band or was he/his band special for New Years? Thanks!

[_tacocat_]

20 minutes ago, conandrob240 said:

We just left! 😢 Can you tell me if Slam Allen was another house band or was he/his band special for New Years? Thanks!

he's been on VV quite a bit!  he's a blues guitarist and has been one of the rotating non-house-band musicians since 2021.  other guest artists have been free label band (a funk band that basically functioned as the house band in Dec 2021 but is now on pretty regularly as guests) and ries brothers (a jam band-ish duo/sometimes trio).  these artists mostly play evenings at on the rocks but sometimes play at the manor one night.

[jon81uk]

On the Valiant transatlantic we had Slam Allen, Madison Grace, Daniel Park and Selki as musicians. I think Slam Alllen and Madison Grace have done several bookings with Virgin. 
 

[brilliantseas]

7 hours ago, conandrob240 said:

We just left! 😢 Can you tell me if Slam Allen was another house band or was he/his band special for New Years? Thanks!

 

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. 

 

 

 

[cantgetin]

Definitely keep checking back for any activities that you weren't able to book upon boarding.  While I can't prove it, I believe that the rockstar hosts hold some back for those guests because things that were "full" at 2pm suddenly had spaces about 6!  Also, on our cruise I learned that most shows had a standby line--if people with reservations had not checked in by 5 minutes before show time, they would take people from the standby line. NSA was notorious for no shows!  Same for early morning exercise classes.  Remember that there is a $10 fee if you sign up for a class and then are a no show.  THe fee is donated to a charity, but the idea is to not take a spot and then not show. You can cancel the day before (they say 24 hours ahead, but I really think they honored anything the day before) and are not charged.

Edited January 6, 2023 by cantgetin

[brilliantseas]

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.

[brilliantseas]

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. 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

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. 

 

[brilliantseas]

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. 

 

[_tacocat_]

36 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

While I can't prove it, I believe that the rockstar hosts hold some back for those guests because things that were "full" at 2pm suddenly had spaces about 6! 

Nope, I’ve been a rockstar a bunch, and if you can’t book something, they won’t make room for you.  It could be that they either added space or a group decided to cancel. Same with dinner reservations- even as mega rockstar couldn’t get a prime reservation when we wanted to change some things around.

[brilliantseas]

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. 

 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

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. 

[brilliantseas]

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. 

[brilliantseas]

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

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

 

 

[jon81uk]

I still find steak tartare an odd choice of appetiser for a set menu.

[lazydayz]

Thanks for the review.  The ship sounds amazing.  

[_tacocat_]

8 hours ago, jon81uk said:

I still find steak tartare an odd choice of appetiser for a set menu.

Agree- we had already eaten so just split one main and got 2 desserts, but talk about starters that do not cater to the masses!!!

[cantgetin]

9 hours ago, jon81uk said:

I still find steak tartare an odd choice of appetiser for a set menu.

It smelled like dog food.  We didn't eat it.  I'm glad they are now allowing people to choose to no be served the dinner--we asked and were told that they had to bring it to us!

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, _tacocat_ said:

Agree- we had already eaten so just split one main and got 2 desserts, but talk about starters that do not cater to the masses!!!

 

3 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

It smelled like dog food.  We didn't eat it.  I'm glad they are now allowing people to choose to no be served the dinner--we asked and were told that they had to bring it to us!

Also it would be so easy just to serve cheaper starters do vegetarian salad and breads or similar. There is no need to serve a meat starter at all. The chicken main was fine for mass produced food, but it needed potatoes or vegetables on the side. 

[shark Fan]

On 1/5/2023 at 10:31 PM, _tacocat_ said:

Nope, I’ve been a rockstar a bunch, and if you can’t book something, they won’t make room for you.  It could be that they either added space or a group decided to cancel. Same with dinner reservations- even as mega rockstar couldn’t get a prime reservation when we wanted to change some things around.

In July our Rockstar agent had shows pre booked for us when we met him at our cabin.  Not sure if this is the norm but we did decline the NSA show.

[_tacocat_]

3 hours ago, shark Fan said:

In July our Rockstar agent had shows pre booked for us when we met him at our cabin.  Not sure if this is the norm but we did decline the NSA show.

Def not the norm. Did you happen to have Lazar by any chance? We had him once, and he was kind of disappointed that we had already made all our reservations before meeting him haha