Group live: Valiant Lady Barcelona to Miami 10/29-11/12, Everyone Welcome

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

Just curious, did you book a guarantee? I would hate to be moved from a cabin I've chosen, I hope it gets straightened out and you have a fantastic time!

We requested a specific cabin. Just like real estate, location is everything. My TA just informed me that we now have our original cabin back. Let’s see if that hold true. We’ll know for sure at check-in.

[CineGraphic]

Barcelona has filled up today thanks to the big soccer match later today. I’m glad we came a few days early to avoid most of the crowds.

Pam and I are just strolling around, soaking it all in.

 

Looking forward to boarding the ship tomorrow. She will not be in her usual spot near the World Trade Center, instead she’ll be at Terminal A.

 

 

 

[AussieOmni]

Enjoyed our couple of days in Paris and last night in Barcelona. Ready to get on board. Finally figured out Funchal, still no idea on why we’re doing for Malaga.

 

It’s our second anniversary today.

[Onasunnyafternoon]

Happy anniversary! @AussieOmni

Our boarding time is not until 3pm (we booked only a few weeks ago) so we are still sitting tight. 
 

Note to self: book earlier next time 😂

[jon81uk]

4 hours ago, AussieOmni said:

Enjoyed our couple of days in Paris and last night in Barcelona. Ready to get on board. Finally figured out Funchal, still no idea on why we’re doing for Malaga.

 

It’s our second anniversary today.

In Malaga you can walk to the castle (although it’s very up hill) and the Alhambra. There is also a Picasso museum and other places to see.

[CineGraphic]

It’s great to be on-board the VL again. So far we’ve bumped into 5 crew members who were on our last cruise this past February. Tonight we’re chowing down at Pink Agave….corn, papas, and of course the fabulous ribeye.

Edited October 29, 2023 by CineGraphic

[CineGraphic]

Day one is in the bag and there were only 2 problems we had to deal with….first, our sliding door to the balcony wouldn’t lock. A quick look showed that both latches had been snapped off. They were quickly replaced by a crew member. Our other problem hasn’t been corrected yet, and they’re waiting to hear back from Miami. It seems that in some parts of the system it shows we get deep blue extras, while in other parts it doesn’t. They are unable to remove the premium internet charges ($650 for the two of us) until they get it approved from Miami. 
 

Currently docked in Ibiza, time to grab some breakfast.

[cantgetin]

Passenger count reported by various crew members is between 1600 and 1650.  There has been no problem with getting reservations anywhere other than the app being a total mess.  Many of us have received messages stating that our cruise has been canceled....after we boarded!  We booked one event for 2 and the app confirmed 4 (yes, I'd already deleted extraneous "friends" linked to my account.). We made reservations for other things and 30 minutes later they disappeared; some time after that, they showed up again.  We ultimately gave up on reservations and figured that if things fill up, we'll do walk ins.  NOTE--these are not our pre-booked dinners; these problems are with on board activities.

Dinner at Pink Agave was good.  We did learn that some of the recipes have changed while the menu items remained the same.  Specifically, the filling for the chocolate tacos was different; the server told us that they had changed when I ordered.  I liked them better the new way.  There was a very rich topping on the bread pudding--not bad, but "too much" stuff per my cabin mate; the more plain, previous version was better.

Many crew members we knew from previous cruises are back on board after their vacations; some having just boarded yesterday.  Most are in different but similar assignments.  2 servers from RD have been moved to Test Kitchen at night, The Galley during the day.

Boarding at Terminal A was similar to previous boardings.  We arrived at about 1:30, had priority boarding, and were in our cabin by about 2.  Some of the steps had been simplified, which was nice.  We groaned when we saw the line for luggage drop off but were given a short cut; from there things went quickly.  As usual, there were people standing in the 3:15 time slot at 1:30.  We've heard that they were actually able to check in and board about 2:30 and from there it was open boarding as people arrived.  Boarding was totally efficient for us and the terminal crew was lovely...knew their jobs well after the summer season, and the move to Terminal A didn't change that.

We got on the premium internet with no problem and no charges showing--they MIGHT have resolved the issue of having to show charged for DBE items and then remove them as was previously the case.  However, on past cruises we were able to have our phones on "regular" internet and our computers on "premium."  Now, it seems that it is strictly premium or nothing  for some reason.  Per sailor services, we must log off from the computer in order to log on to have any internet on the phone....a bit of a pain. We do have the "mermaid" service to get the app, but otherwise no internet on the phones unless we switch over OR opt to pay for additional devices (no thanks).  Definitely a first world problem, but still a little odd.

Edited October 30, 2023 by cantgetin

[TheDarkestBlue]

5 hours ago, cantgetin said:

We do have the "mermaid" service to get the app, but otherwise no internet  

 

Oh No! Can't get in!  😅 lol 

 

Following! 

 

Have a great trip you guys 🙂 always wanted to do a ta so very curious 🌎

[neverendingcruising]

How many devices do you have? Each person gets 2 so I’ve had no problem connecting my laptop and phone at the same time. 

[cantgetin]

7 hours ago, neverendingcruising said:

How many devices do you have? Each person gets 2 so I’ve had no problem connecting my laptop and phone at the same time. 

We were told that each CABIN gets 2 logged in devices at any given time.  Previously on VV we could have 2 on premium and 2 on standard, but not this time.

[cantgetin]

Dinner tonight....Creme brulee in RD was great.  No more secret steak (sad).  Secret burger does not compare.  I really didn't care for the new menu....several of our favorites were gone.

[neverendingcruising]

9 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

We were told that each CABIN gets 2 logged in devices at any given time.  Previously on VV we could have 2 on premium and 2 on standard, but not this time.

That’s definitely incorrect. DBE applies to the cabin and each of you in the cabin can login separately (use your own birthday) for a total of 4 devices on premium. We’ve done that on multiple sailings on all 3 ships. Phone and laptop for me, phone and kindle for my spouse. 

[cantgetin]

3 minutes ago, neverendingcruising said:

That’s definitely incorrect. DBE applies to the cabin and each of you in the cabin can login separately (use your own birthday) for a total of 4 devices on premium. We’ve done that on multiple sailings on all 3 ships. Phone and laptop for me, phone and kindle for my spouse. 

Makes sense and is more consistent with previous cruises.  I won't claim that the guy at sailor services was the smartest tool in the shed.

[scubagal44]

15 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Dinner tonight....Creme brulee in RD was great.  No more secret steak (sad).  Secret burger does not compare.  I really didn't care for the new menu....several of our favorites were gone.

 

Yeah, not a fan of the new menu.  RD was one of my fav dinners on Valiant last year, and last week on Scarlet we didn't even go there for dinner because nothing on the menu was appealing and I didn't want a burger.  Sad.

[cantgetin]

1 minute ago, scubagal44 said:

 

Yeah, not a fan of the new menu.  RD was one of my fav dinners on Valiant last year, and last week on Scarlet we didn't even go there for dinner because nothing on the menu was appealing and I didn't want a burger.  Sad.

It was absolutely your favorite restaurant previously...tonight it was more like trying to find something that looked good.  The server tried to tell me that the fried chicken was the same as the previous "beer chicken."  I did the salmon, sailing partner did the burger and said terribly over cooked.  Salmon has way more topping than previously, so I scraped off most of it.  Will try brunch, but losing my fav made me want to cry.  Oh well....live goes on....

[TheDarkestBlue]

6 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

It was absolutely your favorite restaurant previously...tonight it was more like trying to find something that looked good.  The server tried to tell me that the fried chicken was the same as the previous "beer chicken."  I did the salmon, sailing partner did the burger and said terribly over cooked.  Salmon has way more topping than previously, so I scraped off most of it.  Will try brunch, but losing my fav made me want to cry.  Oh well....live goes on....

 

Do you think that this is a permanent change to the menu ? Are the menus different because it's a transatlantic and the provisioning is different, or because it's leaving from Europe? I've got Razzle Dazzle set up for my first night, and it sounds disappointing. I hope things haven't changed too much and that you have a fantastic time.

[cantgetin]

2 minutes ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

Do you think that this is a permanent change to the menu ? Are the menus different because it's a transatlantic and the provisioning is different, or because it's leaving from Europe? I've got Razzle Dazzle set up for my first night, and it sounds disappointing. I hope things haven't changed too much and that you have a fantastic time.

The change was introduced a month or so ago.  I'd seen the menu before our cruise but continued to hope....reality, I knew my daughter would hate it and wanted to mentally deny it was happening,

[scubagal44]

12 minutes ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

Do you think that this is a permanent change to the menu ? Are the menus different because it's a transatlantic and the provisioning is different, or because it's leaving from Europe? I've got Razzle Dazzle set up for my first night, and it sounds disappointing. I hope things haven't changed too much and that you have a fantastic time.

 

The menu change is fleetwide and in all destinations.  I was on Scarlet last week in the Caribbean and it was the new menu.

[TheDarkestBlue]

27 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

The change was introduced a month or so ago.  I'd seen the menu before our cruise but continued to hope....reality, I knew my daughter would hate it and wanted to mentally deny it was happening,

 

17 minutes ago, scubagal44 said:

 

The menu change is fleetwide and in all destinations.  I was on Scarlet last week in the Caribbean and it was the new menu.

 

Is it just in Razzle Dazzle or have the menus been changed in the other restaurants as well? I've been drooling over this stuff for months, I hope things aren't too different...🤔

[cantgetin]

1 minute ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

 

Is it just in Razzle Dazzle or have the menus been changed in the other restaurants as well? I've been drooling over this stuff for months, I hope things aren't too different...🤔

From what I know so far, the RD menu is the only one that has changed.  However, some of the recipes for items on other menus have changed--for instance, the filling in the chocolate tacos in Pink Agave is different (better IMHO) than it was previously, but the change to the new topping on the bread pudding was "too much" for us.....next time, we'd order the bread pudding with no topping and hope it is as good as previously. Server confirmed the changes.

[TheDarkestBlue]

I was looking forward to RD fried chicken and that chocolate taco and steak at Pink Agave! Sometimes the pictures look better than the food, and I was really hopeful for that chocolate taco, LOL, glad to hear that you find it better 😊 

 

I've seen pictures of a slice of watermelon at razzle dazzle with lots of stuff on it that just looks beautiful, is that for real?

Edited October 31, 2023 by TheDarkestBlue

[scubagal44]

2 hours ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

 

 

Is it just in Razzle Dazzle or have the menus been changed in the other restaurants as well? I've been drooling over this stuff for months, I hope things aren't too different...🤔

 

Based on my sailing last week, it's just RD that has a new menu.  But don't worry too much, all the food is still amazing!!  I didn't have a bite of a single thing on Scarlet last week that wasn't perfection.  

[scubagal44]

1 hour ago, TheDarkestBlue said:

I was looking forward to RD fried chicken and that chocolate taco and steak at Pink Agave! Sometimes the pictures look better than the food, and I was really hopeful for that chocolate taco, LOL, glad to hear that you find it better 😊 

 

I've seen pictures of a slice of watermelon at razzle dazzle with lots of stuff on it that just looks beautiful, is that for real?

 

The fried chicken is currently on the RD menu, so you're in luck! I had the Pink Agave steak last week and it was perfection, and hubby also got the tacos and he loved them!

 

Hubby also got the aforementioned watermelon at RD during brunch, and yes, it's for real! His pictured below. 🥰 Don't miss the bacon at RD, either! It's to die for. 

[CineGraphic]

Dinner at the Wake last night was just “meh”. Filet was dry, fish over-seasoned, and you’d think it would be possible to get your coffee and dessert served at the same time in this sort of setting but we stared at our desserts for 10 minutes before our coffees arrived.