Live From Valiant Lady 2/10-2/17

[scubagal44]

Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed your review!

 

Re: not getting an MNVV, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some TAs have them readily available for their clients, you just have to find one that does (and it isn't too difficult to do so). The sailing I just went on earlier this month was booked via an MNVV that I had purchased onboard back in 2022, but hubby and I also recently went on an unplanned, last minute sailing (as in, booked within a week of sailing). I had reached out to my TA asking about my booking options, and she had a bunch of MVVV's available so she booked me with one of those and voila, magic. All the same loot perks and everything. 

 

We didn't purchase an MNVV on the sailing we disembarked from last week because like you, we're pretty booked through 2026. But I know that if/when I'm able to book VV again, my TA can easily get one for me. Takes a lot of the pressure off. 

Edited February 17 by scubagal44

[Sherry84]

@Steelers0854 Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us, I really enjoyed reading your review. Safe travels home!

[CineGraphic]

35 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

The only reason we didn’t get the future cruise bonus was that we already have trips planned through 2026 and their program is very restrictive IMO.

 

Our sister-in-law wanted to book something which would have sailed 2 months after the expiration date. I hooked her up with our TA, who is one of the top 100 for VV, and they were able to get everything booked, despite the expiration date.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise!

[Steelers0854]

1 hour ago, scubagal44 said:

Re: not getting an MNVV, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some TAs have them readily available for their clients, you just have to find one that does (and it isn't too difficult to do so).

this is awesome. Thank you!

 

44 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Our sister-in-law wanted to book something which would have sailed 2 months after the expiration date. I hooked her up with our TA, who is one of the top 100 for VV, and they were able to get everything booked, despite the expiration date.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise!

thank you for your wonderful comments and help throughout!  🍻

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Thank you for taking us along with you virtually.  Enjoyed following.  Cheers!🍻 

[the_fh_mets]

On 2/12/2024 at 7:39 PM, Steelers0854 said:

Also, it appears the coffee shop on 7 may have cold brew, the one on 15 doesn’t for sure. I’ll confirm tomorrow for my fellow cold brew fans.

Did you manage to find any cold brew?

[cspnvdl]

As on the other live blog really enjoyed following along. Thanks a lot for doing it.

[mthomp5]

Followed you over from the Princess board! Thanks for sharing the highlights over there. Virgin sounds terrific to us and they’re all inclusive is everything we need.  
 

I’m curious how they handle various dietary restrictions,  My DH has to be on a very low sodium diet and Princess accommodates by taking his order the night before and they prepare it with no salt or as low salt as possible. Do you think VIrgin would be able to accommodate?

[ReneeFLL]

On 2/8/2024 at 10:01 PM, herdfans4 said:

Looking forward to hearing about your travels and interested to see how you spend all the loot. We sail in March and are in the same boat 😉 with the large amount of loot/bar tab. Last count is about $2400 between dbe/regular credit give and make up credit (from canceled valiant lady cruise) and some extra from TA and taking a survey. Wondering if we should be planning daily massage or if we can drink our way through all that loot. Either way at looking forward to see how you spend it all. Have fun!!

What/where is this survey for extra loot?

[Steelers0854]

7 hours ago, the_fh_mets said:

Did you manage to find any cold brew?

Nope. Apparently they had it and then got rid of it and now the taps serve some kind of boozy espresso. Too bad. 

[Steelers0854]

2 hours ago, mthomp5 said:

I’m curious how they handle various dietary restrictions,  My DH has to be on a very low sodium diet and Princess accommodates by taking his order the night before and they prepare it with no salt or as low salt as possible. Do you think VIrgin would be able to accommodate?

DW never placed a single order in advance like she normally had to and everything she got was leaps and bounds better than any other cruise where she ordered in advance. I’m fairly sure he would be just fine but always worth asking a head of time just to ensure. 

[ReneeFLL]

@Steelers0854

Does Gunbae usually take 2 hours and do they always do the drinking game? We wouldn’t like either and we have a reservation on the first night.

[ReneeFLL]

On 2/15/2024 at 6:46 AM, Steelers0854 said:

The ship show doors opened at 8:30, it’s not what time the show started. People started lining up around 8:15 or so. This was a really fun variety show with some incredibly talented acts. The food was good, not great. It was smaller portions, but still a good amount. It’s a fixed menu except the entree, you choose between fish or chicken. DW asked for chicken and I got the fish. The fish was overcooked but good with the sauce that came with it. DW said hers was ok, they made modifications throughout for her and she she the best course was the second one with a salad instead of the cheese course. The dessert was the coconut panna cotta  from the other night which she was pleased with. I would highly recommend this show!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 2/15/2024 at 6:46 AM, Steelers0854 said:

After the show we headed to the pool deck. We got there about 10:20 and got a great spot but it definitely started to quickly fill up, especially on the actual pool deck. What a fun party!  While we weren’t in the thick of it we had a blast!

 

How soon can you book the Ship Show? We sail on March 1st.

[rebeccac]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

@Steelers0854

Does Gunbae usually take 2 hours and do they always do the drinking game? We wouldn’t like either and we have a reservation on the first night.

Gunbae probably does take 2 hours most of the time, but there are many of the meals at the sit down restaurants that take that amount of time or even longer.  As far as the drinking game goes, you are not required to actually drink.  I get them to fill my shot glass with water.  I have also been known to "fail" at the game rather early on, so that I am out quickly.  Most of the time the game does not take more than 10 minutes or so.  

Edited February 18 by rebeccac

[charliedalrymple]

Thank you so much for this enjoyable and informative trip report!  You have a very breezy, conversational style that makes it fun to read.  It almost feels like we're having a drink with you while you regale us with the highlights of your cruise.  I'm celiac, so I particularly appreciated the details about DW's efforts to find food she could eat.

 

After our Christmas 2023 cruise on Majestic, we decided that we are done with Princess due to the noise levels and the children (which are often one and the same).  Virgin was a top contender for our future cruises, and you've made me want to book with them more than before.  

 

We appreciate your service to the cruise community!

 

 

Edited February 18 by charliedalrymple

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

5 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

@Steelers0854

Does Gunbae usually take 2 hours and do they always do the drinking game? We wouldn’t like either and we have a reservation on the first night.

The drinking game was really annoying to me, it took too long to get to the eating part. It was also very loud in there. Personally, I would not go back because I felt the food was just ok, nothing special.   The drinking game, sitting with a couple who were reallllllly into it, and the crew member sitting at our table being a cheerleader/gameshow host was just weird to me. I’m not a dud but I’m just not into that kind of fun. Maybe watch some videos of it on YouTube. Also, there was never a night on our sailing that Gunbae didn’t have reservations for almost every time slot available. 

Edited February 19 by WatermelonSugarHigh

[ReneeFLL]

3 hours ago, rebeccac said:

Gunbae probably does take 2 hours most of the time, but there are many of the meals at the sit down restaurants that take that amount of time or even longer.  As far as the drinking game goes, you are not required to actually drink.  I get them to fill my shot glass with water.  I have also been known to "fail" at the game rather early on, so that I am out quickly.  Most of the time the game does not take more than 10 minutes or so.  

Thanks for the info. I was concerned about the noise. I prefer my dinners to be more calming. Which restaurants would be better if I’m not interested in it taking 2 hours?

[Steelers0854]

5 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

@Steelers0854

Does Gunbae usually take 2 hours and do they always do the drinking game? We wouldn’t like either and we have a reservation on the first night.

I’m glad others chimed in since we had just the one experience. But based on how dinner went I imagine 2 hours is standard. It was just DW and I for all our other meals and we were done with them all in about an hour. 

 

4 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

 

How soon can you book the Ship Show? We sail on March 1st.

you can book it as soon as you connect to the ship WiFi. 

 

1 hour ago, charliedalrymple said:

Thank you so much for this enjoyable and informative trip report!  You have a very breezy, conversational style that makes it fun to read.  It almost feels like we're having a drink with you while you regale us with the highlights of your cruise.  I'm celiac, so I particularly appreciated the details about DW's efforts to find food she could eat.

 

After our Christmas 2023 cruise on Majestic, we decided that we are done with Princess due to the noise levels and the children (which are often one and the same).  Virgin was a top contender for our future cruises, and you've made me want to book with them more than before.  

 

We appreciate your service to the cruise community!

 

 

Thank you so much for the kind words. That’s the feeling I was going for and I’m glad we can help out here. Keep in mind my wife can do cross contamination as she isn’t celiac so I’m hoping your experience won’t be too much different. But they do a wonderful job with food allergies IMO. 

[Steelers0854]

1 minute ago, ReneeFLL said:

Thanks for the info. I was concerned about the noise. I prefer my dinners to be more calming. Which restaurants would be better if I’m not interested in it taking 2 hours?

anything but Gunbae and Test kitchen and you will be fine. We did all the other restaurants and we averaged around an hour each. 

[ReneeFLL]

23 minutes ago, WatermelonSugarHigh said:

The drinking game was really annoying to me, it took too long to get to the eating part. It was also very loud in there. Personally, I would not go back because I felt the food was just ok, nothing special.   The drinking game, sitting with a couple who were reallllllly into it, and the crew member sitting at our table being a cheerleader/gameshow host was just weird to me. I’m not a dud but I’m just not into that kind of fun. Maybe watch some videos of it on YouTube. Also, there was never a night on our sailing that Gunbae didn’t have reservations for almost every time slot available. 

Thanks for the info. I think I’ll cancel our Gunbae reservations for the first night and find something else. I’m like you, I prefer to have a nice dinner and not be playing drinking games. I did that in college and don’t need to now.

[ReneeFLL]

4 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

I’m glad others chimed in since we had just the one experience. But based on how dinner went I imagine 2 hours is standard. It was just DW and I for all our other meals and we were done with them all in about an hour. 

 

you can book it as soon as you connect to the ship WiFi. 

 

 

Thanks for the info. Our boarding isn’t until I think 2:15. Will there still be time slots for the shows?

 

3 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

anything but Gunbae and Test kitchen and you will be fine. We did all the other restaurants and we averaged around an hour each. 

Thanks, an hour sounds more reasonable to me since it’s also just the two of us.

[Steelers0854]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

Thanks for the info. Our boarding isn’t until I think 2:15. Will there still be time slots for the shows?

yes, we actually forgot about it and booked them around dinner time and didn’t really have any issues booking shows. But always good just to do it first thing. 

[WatermelonSugarHigh]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Thanks for the info. I think I’ll cancel our Gunbae reservations for the first night and find something else. I’m like you, I prefer to have a nice dinner and not be playing drinking games. I did that in college and don’t need to now.

The Galley (food court area on Deck 15) has daily dinner specials. They’re listed on a daily goings on paper you can get in the coffee shop on Deck 7. We didn’t know about the paper or the specials until day four. One night they had really good grilled Greek chicken, yellow rice, tzatziki, feta. We got salads made too, and honestly that was our best meal on the cruise, it was really really good. We took it to the Dockouse outside seating area and got a bottle of rosé. Nice evening.  The specials will be at the Dine and Dash counter. 

Edited February 19 by WatermelonSugarHigh

[jon81uk]

7 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Our boarding isn’t until I think 2:15. Will there still be time slots for the shows?

 

2.15 is only the second regular boarding slot. For shows you’ll be fine to book them anytime. It’s the lower capacity activities like Grog Walk and fitness classes that fill quicker and you’ll need to book first.

[herdfans4]

On 2/18/2024 at 1:17 AM, ReneeFLL said:

What/where is this survey for extra loot?

it was sent out to certain people who had cruised before last fall