Live - Valiant Lady Dec 2-10

[ceilidh1]

The Booking/Events: It frustrates me that you can book dining but there is no information about shows, etc when that opens. My first dining reservation I made was The Wake and it turned out that by the time I got on the ship I ended up not being able to do it as it clashed with a paid event I had. I wasn’t able to book another day/time and couldn’t get a walk in so ended up missing The Wake. All things considered, I’m glad that I booked all the things I 100% wanted to do the second I boarded as they filled FAST! 

[ceilidh1]

Staff/Happenings Cast: I can’t say enough about the team on the ship. Outstanding. Sure, there were a few times when service was slow or orders got mixed up but overall everyone was fantastic. They all seem so happy in their jobs and really stood out as a team that gelled! The cast and dancers from the shows? Wow! Loved them all. I realized too late that I never managed to make it to comedy or the bands around the ship. No idea what I was doing during those times!

[ceilidh1]

The Food: Pretty much everything I ate was awesome. Even the Galley was decent - I’m not a fan of buffets, but I liked the bento box sushi and the pastries there. I will say that it wasn’t quite as blown away impressive as on Scarlet but I suspect that had more to with that being the first time experiencing it. Definitely no complaints. Except missing butter chicken. Oh and the weird times when they stop serving! Lol

[ceilidh1]

First Solo Sailing: let’s just say I may be hooked on sailing solo now. I had a blast! I met so many people on the ship that I never actually felt alone. There was a great group from our other group who weren’t necessarily sailing solo that were also fun and welcoming. VV were great at organizing two solo meet ups and a solo dinner and from there we got to know one another VERY well! 🤣

Edited December 10, 2023 by ceilidh1
Typo

[ceilidh1]

Excursions: I didn’t take any VV excursions as nothing jumped out at me and they were all pretty pricey! They seemed to book up very quickly so not sure if there was even anything available once on the ship. I was shocked that the cabanas in Bimini had doubled in price. I also booked an identical independent excursion in puerto plata (only 4 in our group) for half the price VV were charging. 

[AmyJA]

51 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

The Food: Pretty much everything I ate was awesome. Even the Galley was decent - I’m not a fan of buffets, but I liked the bento box sushi and the pastries there. I will say that it wasn’t quite as blown away impressive as on Scarlet but I suspect that had more to with that being the first time experiencing it. Definitely no complaints. Except missing butter chicken. Oh and the weird times when they stop serving! Lol

I think you may have it right on the food thing. I sailed Valiant first and Scarlett second. And liked Vaillant’s food better. Especially the butter chicken.😆

[ceilidh1]

Happy I chose the earlier shuttle to the airport. It’s nuts here. Over an hour wait for security. I still might not manage to get food at this rate! 😭

[Fogcityca13]

 

12 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Happy I chose the earlier shuttle to the airport. It’s nuts here. Over an hour wait for security. I still might not manage to get food at this rate! 😭

That sucks, check point 5 they were mixing Precheck and regular. Check point 4 looked nuts. Hope you get some food, safe travels.

[ceilidh1]

Well that was nuts. I got in line for security at 2:55 and just made it through. Even TSA had to stand in the long line until it got the actual start of the security stanchions. The line snaked all the down past the check in counters, so it was half hour before even reaching security. Ugh. Now at Earl of Sandwich as it was the first place I saw that didn’t have a line…

[jon81uk]

3 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Zero info about disembarkation and luggage

We had a large article on the front page of the app showing the details on disembarkation slots and about leaving luggage out by 10pm if you don’t want to take it yourself. 

[ceilidh1]

6 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

We had a large article on the front page of the app showing the details on disembarkation slots and about leaving luggage out by 10pm if you don’t want to take it yourself. 

The app said that guests wanting assistance with luggage could put it outside their room and disembark after 8:30am. But no mention of going to sailor services to get tags so that the terminal could sort them (bags were arranged by deck). Did your notification mention that? I only found out as I saw my neighbour putting tags on as he had been confused and asked about it. 

[AKR2011]

Thank you for taking us along! Looks like you had an awesome time, and I continue to be intrigued about VV. I may just give them a try. Thank you so much again ❤️⚓️

[Watchmen]

19 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

The app said that guests wanting assistance with luggage could put it outside their room and disembark after 8:30am. But no mention of going to sailor services to get tags so that the terminal could sort them (bags were arranged by deck). Did your notification mention that? I only found out as I saw my neighbour putting tags on as he had been confused and asked about it. 

My understanding is that your room attendant tags your bags. Going to sailor service to get some is just an unnecessary extra. 

[dmet0225]

I have to say, this was one of the most entertaining reviews between here and that other place.

[Shaded Lady]

57 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

My understanding is that your room attendant tags your bags. Going to sailor service to get some is just an unnecessary extra. 

Then consistency, as well as communication is a problem with Virgin, since our attendant told us we should go down to Sailor Services to get luggage tags.

[Cscomedygrl]

Thanks for doing the review! I have an upcoming cruise that takes off from Miami. I liked the idea of that hotel to hang out before a late flight. I am going to look at a different one though now based on your info on no lunch there. Safe travels home! 

[neverendingcruising]

Regarding the luggage tags, you leave the ones on that you get when first boarding the ship for the whole voyage. No need to go to sailor services and pick up tags unless you take off the initial set. 

[jon81uk]

13 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

The app said that guests wanting assistance with luggage could put it outside their room and disembark after 8:30am. But no mention of going to sailor services to get tags so that the terminal could sort them (bags were arranged by deck). Did your notification mention that? I only found out as I saw my neighbour putting tags on as he had been confused and asked about it. 

You leave the tags on from embarkation. It’s printed on the tags “leave on throughout the voyage”. No need for extra paper to be used when the tags are the same as embarkation!

[MeganGC1983]

On 12/10/2023 at 4:05 AM, tbmrt said:

You must have been reading my mind...I was wondering if the OPA hour would take place on our upcoming cruise from San Juan on VL.  Is it daily 4:30 - 6:30?

No, I believe on sailing outside of Greek Island glow, it’s only one day from 4-7ish. I want to say Thursdays, but I’m sure it will be on the app and on the paper in your cabin. 
Edit to say: they change things a lot so I’ll defer to @ceilidh1 and her answer. LOL

Edited December 11, 2023 by MeganGC1983

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

No, I believe on sailing outside of Greek Island glow, it’s only one day from 4-7ish. I want to say Thursdays, but I’m sure it will be on the app and on the paper in your cabin. 
Edit to say: they change things a lot so I’ll defer to @ceilidh1 and her answer. LOL

I think both on our Athens and Barcelona trips they offered Opa Hour every day except embarkation.

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

No, I believe on sailing outside of Greek Island glow, it’s only one day from 4-7ish. I want to say Thursdays, but I’m sure it will be on the app and on the paper in your cabin. 
Edit to say: they change things a lot so I’ll defer to @ceilidh1 and her answer. LOL

I only saw it the one time on mine between 4;30 and 5:30 but I hadn’t been at The Dock at that time on other days so it’s possible it was every day 

[ceilidh1]

Just like that it was all over. Got into my house at midnight Vancouver time, which was 3am Miami time. Thankfully no delays so all smooth and the train was right at the airport when I arrived. I’m now on my way to work as well as a full detox!

 

Thanks for following along everyone. It was a blast. Already filled out the post cruise survey and waiting on new itineraries being released December 14. Praying for west coast sailings!

[atanac]

23 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

...waiting on new itineraries being released December 14. Praying for west coast sailings!

Do you believe the Lady ships are suitable for Alaska cruises?

[ceilidh1]

2 minutes ago, atanac said:

Do you believe the Lady ships are suitable for Alaska cruises?

No, I don't think that would be the right itinerary for them. I think Hawaii, Mexico, maybe Coastals...

[AmyJA]

32 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Praying for west coast sailings!

Now I would be all over that!