LIVE! - Valiant Lady Dec 16, 2023

[Rewind]

Hi all!

 

We have just boarded Valiant Lady and are wandering around exploring this great ship.  This is our first Virgin cruise so there will probably be quite a bit of comparison to RCL.

 

The ship is decorated for Christmas and I will try to get more pics, but for now we must muster.

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

Dinner tonight was at Razzle Dazzle.  We ordered and split the Fried Chicken, Short Rib Pastrami, and the Carrots.  All of which were excellent.

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

The Miss Behave show was great fun.  Make sure you make show reservations as soon as you get on board.

Miss Behave will open doors 15 minutes before showtime.

 

[Rewind]

We were going to try to make it to the PJ party tonight but we are about to pass out - ok we might have already passed out once or twice.

 

We are sailing out under windy conditions.  It is supposed to be rocky over night through tomorrow morning but the weather should clear up after that.

 

I did a speed test for the Internet and it is slow at the moment ( I think that is based on the weather).

 

[Rewind]

Woke up a bit early and the ship isn't rocking as much.  Figured I would give the network speed test another try.

 

[Rewind]

Had breakfast / brunch in the Wake this morning.  We had Steak & Eggs and the French Toast.  Both were tasty but nothing over-the-moon.

 

 

[soccersharon]

Great start!  Sailing a B2B (Virgin virgins) in a few weeks!

[Rewind]

Couple cabin observations:

The rooms have a slight angle to them.  This is to give a bit extra room for the bed at one end in one room and opposite in the room next door.  You don't notice it right away but you can tell there is more space between one corner of the bed and the wall than the other corner.

The lighting is interesting - there is a slight wow factor when you first enter the room (curtains open, music plays, etc).  There are plenty of light switches but they only turn lights on at 100% or off.  The only way to dim lights is to use the tablet and even then only the main overhead lights can be dimmed.  The ambient LED strip lights can be set to a "mood" but only preset moods and there is no customization.  I wish you could control any light brightness from the tablet, but that is not the case.

Cabin seating - lacking.  There is one chair, one footstool, and the bed.  I know original designs had the bed flip back and forth from a couch during the day, but they aren't doing that anymore and now there isn't any good place to sit more than one person.

I think the best way to describe the standard stateroom is "Ikea Dorm Room" - it is decently modern with more storage than you think but looks kind of sparse.

 

The bathroom:

Overall the bathroom is small.  You don't need to open the shower door to sit on the toilet, but just barely.  The counter space is limited and there is next to no storage.  There are a couple hooks on the inside of the door for hanging toiletry kits or if you don't need your stuff to be kept in the bathroom, there are shallow drawers inside the closet just outside the bathroom door.

The shower itself is a bit larger than other ships I have been in on.  Not much larger, but you can turn around and at least lift your arms a bit without hitting a wall every 5 seconds.  

WARNING FOR TALL PEOPLE - you can hit your head on the rainfall shower head.  I would say if you are 6'3 or under that you are probably safe.

 

I'll say something about the balcony once we can use it (rain all day yesterday, most of today, and they are cleaning it tomorrow).

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Rewind

[Rewind]

ANOTHER WARNING FOR TALL PEOPLE:

It is possible to hit your head on doorways around the ship.  And not just cabin doorways, I'm talking about major throughways.  Specifically on deck 7 between the Roundabout and the Sip champaign lounge.

Edited December 17, 2023 by Rewind

[CineGraphic]

4 hours ago, Rewind said:

The only way to dim lights is to use the tablet and even then only the main overhead lights can be dimmed.

 

There is an option, although not obvious, where you can use the dimmer to dim main lights, ambient lights. or all lights. I wish I had a screen shot to show you.

[Rewind]

11 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

There is an option, although not obvious, where you can use the dimmer to dim main lights, ambient lights. or all lights. I wish I had a screen shot to show you.

 

This is the "Lights" screen I have - I've been trying to change "Ceiling" to something else.

 

[neverendingcruising]

5 hours ago, Rewind said:

Cabin seating - lacking.  There is one chair, one footstool, and the bed.  I know original designs had the bed flip back and forth from a couch during the day, but they aren't doing that anymore and now there isn't any good place to sit more than one person.

I think the best way to describe the standard stateroom is "Ikea Dorm Room" - it is decently modern with more storage than you think but looks kind of sparse.

To have your bed switched to a couch (or back) just press the button on the tablet and housekeeping will come move it for you. There’s also a video with instructions if you want to try it yourself. 

[CineGraphic]

19 minutes ago, Rewind said:

I've been trying to change "Ceiling" to something else.

 

You should be able to tap on ambient, and desk to the right of the dimmer

[Rewind]

Just now, CineGraphic said:

 

You should be able to tap on ambient, and desk to the right of the dimmer

 

When I do that, it just turns them on to 100% or off.  No option to dim them.

The Ceiling light always remains inside the dimming wheel.

[CineGraphic]

9 minutes ago, Rewind said:

 

When I do that, it just turns them on to 100% or off.  No option to dim them.

The Ceiling light always remains inside the dimming wheel.

 

That's because the dimmer dial is set to "off"

[Rewind]

3 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

That's because the dimmer dial is set to "off"

 

Turning the dimmer on turns on the ceiling lights to that %.  Clicking ambient after that turns ambient to 100%.

 

I'll keep trying but if it is this hard to do, it might not be worth it.

 

[RonDuCanada]

Also on the Valiant Lady. Was told there are 2000 passengers on board and they plan to have 2600 on the following cruise.

[-The-True-North-]

We just got off Valiant Lady yesterday (Dec 10-16)

 

We were 2273 sailors. So looks like VV is constantly sailing at 80-85% for these Caribbean itineraries.

 

2770 pax is 100% and the legal maximum.

 

Hope you enjoy and get better weather than we did. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by -The-True-North-

[Rewind]

We sailed out of Miami yesterday before the worst of it hit.  By noon today the seas were pretty calm but we still had rain most of today.  We should be in better weather the rest of the week.

 

Went to Pink Agave for dinner tonight (and forgot to take pics (don't worry, we have a second reservation in a few days)).  The guacamole needs a couple extra chips (which they will happily provide), the enchilada was super fresh, and then had the Steak and the Pibil as our mains and both were great (although I think the steak takes the win).  Bread pudding and chocolate tacos for dessert.

 

Then we went to "Around the World with the Diva" show.  Great performance and comedy timing, although we wish the mic was a bit better adjusted as Carlos seems to have an amazing voice and the mic was just a bit to low at times.

 

Also got to see a hint of what the Red Room can do (will see more later at Duel Reality).  I will say I was really impressed with the audio system; one song you could feel the bass but it wasn't loud, the perfect balance.

 

Puerto Plata tomorrow!

 

[tbmrt]

Enjoying your review

[Rewind]

Good morning!  We have arrived in Puerto Plata.

 

This morning we had breakfast at Razzle Dazzle and had way too much food.  Started with a Apple Cruffin, fruit plates, and then a Malted Waffle and the Fried Chicken Sandwich with eggs and bacon on the side.  No dessert today but we will go back tomorrow and order less so we can fit dessert in.

 

While we were eating, we pulled upto the pier.  After breakfast, we were finally able to walk around the top decks to find it is quite toasty this morning (at least compared to what we are used to from Ohio at the moment).

 

We have booked a Shore Thing today - Cultural Getaway and will be heading out in about a half hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

Back from our excursion - all aboard is in another hour and fifteen minutes.

 

The Cultural Getaway was a great excursion.  It was about a 30 minute drive with narration out to our first stop at a cheese making facility.  We got to glance at a few of the steps on how it is done and got a quick taste.  From there we moved on to see how the people in the country live and how they grow a lot of their own fruits.  We stopped by a house to see what living conditions are like and to get a taste of Dominican coffee.  From there we went traveled to another community to get a taste of sugar cane juice and a sample of a sugar cane cake (small cookie).  Then on to a place where they roll cigars from their tabaco crop.  Finally back to the port - it took us close to 4 hours for the entire tour.

The tour was on an open air type bus/van thing so if you want to hear the guide, don't sit in the back.

 

We did a bit of quick shopping in the port, got back on board to get some pizza for lunch at the Pizza Place, up to the valley for a quick sweet treat of popsicles and a "Valiant Lady", and then back to the room to freshen up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

Dinner at the Wake tonight.  We are not seafood people but the steaks are amazing.  They come with a roasted head of garlic which is appreciated.

 

Bread to start, wedge salad, filet with twice baked potatoes, and then we diverged on dessert with a baked Alaska and a chocolate hazelnut "The Wake".

 

I got a bite in before remembering to get pics of the main course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rewind]

Went and saw the holiday version of the cabaret show in the Manor this evening.  It is a non-ticketed event but you need to get there early and wait in line in the casino.

 

Decently funny show with some fun holiday songs and great performances from both the Diva and the Hostess.

 

[Rewind]

Good Morning.  We are sailing into San Juan today around 11:00am ship time (noon local).

 

Went to Razzle Dazzle again for breakfast and got the Watermelon starter with the Razzle Dazzle breakfast.  The main is just eggs, potatoes, an impossible patty, and some mushrooms.  Everything was very tasty.