xerenthar

first night of the first cruise was The Test Kitchen -- the menu was listed as follows:

Mushroom

Egg

Scallops

choice of Venison / Beef / Duck (this was a Christmas cruise special)

Blue Cheese

Chocolate

pairings were offered with beer, wine, or cocktails at a reasonable price for what you get (45? 35?)

Mushroom course - different types of mushrooms processed in different ways and arranged to form a big mushroom! pretty delightful if you like mushrooms, which i do. concept was pretty wonderful.

Egg course - okay egg yolk and caviar is cheating i don't make the rules

Scallops course - i mean basically same. the scallop was perfectly cooked, which should be expected but also does not always happen.

Venison course - it's a murder on the plate! also it's wonderfully cooked. i'm a sucker for venison tho.

Duck course - my wife's main was better. this was an absolute all star. reminds me i need to make duck more.

v lovely potato side

Blue Cheese course - oh boy let's get polarizing. a blue cheese semifreddo, which i have honestly never seen before. some in our group thought it was a wonderful and fun take on the cheese course and pretty mild. if it was "mystery course" i'd have gotten salty/savory/a bit funky, but i thought blue cheese was super mild. others thought it was intense af. all agreed this was the most inventive course.

Chocolate course - a take on the melting cake. chocolate isn't super my thing but it was great.

this seasonal dessert - gingerbread? pumpkin? i'm honestly not sure. i remember liking it...

so i am VERY impressed. is it a Michelin three star restaurant? no, but it's also included in the price of a cruise and is on a ship. definitely some of the most top tier food and most inventive food i have had. it's an approachable/soft intro to New American type fine dining. i didn't have a desire to go back given the very specific nature of its menu, but if the menu changes seasonally, i definitely would.

i am home with no Covid symptoms. longer review posts and more photos to follow. 

much vaunted fried chicken sandwich at razzle dazzle. pretty good. 

3 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

Anyone onboard have an update on mask requirements?  (Hopefully back to recommended).

a crew member said this was the result of the CDC investigation. we get daily reminders they’re required. compliance is iffy at best in common areas. people are reminded at casino tables and at shows (marked masks required on the schedule). given Omicron’s prevalence and the CDC guidance to avoid cruising indefinitely, think they’re here to stay in the short term. 

5 hours ago, pa-annie said:

Appreciate your review, nicely done.  DYK if they were serving free champagne for sale away?  Someone posted here that they did not get on the ship until 5:00, what was your experience? Any Covid issues?   I was told yesterday by Sailor Services they are still sailing at only 60% capacity, and have an entire deck isolated for quarantine, thoughts?

 

Thanks much - BZ

you can drink your weight in free champagne. 
 

deck 9 is quarantine- I’ll post more about it in my thread later

i have been slacking on my free form thoughts. 
 

the NYE cruise is 65% capacity and the Xmas was 50%. this is definitely a much more partying cruise and i love it. there was definitely a lack of a critical mass in one spot to kick off a good scene a few times. 

the pizza place shouldn’t close at 1:30. 
 

there should be a solid late night bar option — this is VV and yet the club closes at 2 as do most if not all bars?!

if anyone sees a dude in a Michigan hat today come say hi (no Georgia fans)

i will post a comprehensive highs/lows thing and more pics/food reviews after it all ends for sure. 

6 hours ago, The_Force said:

My wife and I are currently on board Scarlet Lady and we couldn't be more impressed with VV! Other than a strange boarding experience... it was 2pm, and we collectively decided as a crowd that we were all going to stand up, get in line and board the ship in an orderly fashion without any VV representatives telling us it was time to board. That behind us, we love the dining options and the food is unlike anything we've experienced on any other cruise. The crew couldnt be more friendly and helpful. We are seasoned cruisers with Elite status on Princess. Up until now, we have cruised Princess exclusively. After only being on board Scarlet Lady for a little less than 24hrs, we're already considering booking another vacation on VV for our 30th wedding anniversary.

 

Remember, you're on vacation. Be happy and have a positive outlook and I'm sure your experience will turn around.

want to get a drink?

On 12/27/2021 at 6:03 PM, Colorado Beach Bum said:

We are scheduled to depart January 7th. I’m curious is it operating normal? Are activities being canceled? What about masks? How’s that going? 

feel free to join my free form thread, I’m back onboard for NYE. masks are now required (technically). i wore one indoors when it made sense last cruise and will continue to do so, so whatever for me. 
 

nothing was cancelled. 

3 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

Understand that...but if it's helping to keep it mask-free onboard, we're all for it.  We just moved from RC to VV; it'll be our first VV cruise.  After cruising X mask-free, we realized how important that 'perk' is for us.

masks now required on NYE sailing 

masks now required

never mind about smooth, total tech meltdown at the reboarding. oops! 2h all in but also my band doesn’t open my door. 

back to back procedure has been smooth. currently waiting by the big jetbridge waiting for CBP okay to embark, we will be first back on. we got to keep our bands (originally i think people didn’t get to?)

never done a b2b otherwise - do people get to stay on the ship normally on other lines?

i have so many thoughts i haven’t posted aaaaa

10 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

it's best to make reservations as SOON as you get on the boat (like as you're making your way to your room, seriously!).  People do cancel, and VV does seem to rejigger the schedule/add shows if needed.

 

We went to 3 shows that needed reservations (Never Sleep Alone, The Nerd, and Duel Reality), and they all had standby lines that seemed to let in a ton of folks, and it looked like everyone in the "standby" line got seating/standing room in the mezz level of the Red Room or Manor.  If you're trying to stand by, I'd recommend lining up a bit early for whatever show you're trying to get into.

yah. we are going to make those reservations as we get on for next leg. we wanted to Never Sleep Alone but they had a 1045 and an 830ish that were sold out and like a 645pm? who wants to do the sex cabaret show at 645pm?!

scarlet night was SO cool y’all. 

10 hours ago, drewdawg199 said:

Which port was this at? Thanks 

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. it was called “Island Rum Tasting Tour”

Ganbae was shockingly good! i am super fanatical about KBBQ so i came in with tempered expectations. the meats, kimchi-jjigae, banchan, pajeon, everything was super solid. i would return!

the rum tasting shore excursion is absurdly underpriced for value. $35?!

the food is so superior to other cruises it’s not even funny. here’s a qt patisserie piece. i will post a good review of test kitchen. 

also a pic of the spinning studio view. 

currently having aperitivo at Extra Virgin bar. bars are on point. 

the people who say these cabin bathrooms are small have never lived in a nyc apartment and it shows. 

main pool has a few people, back pool is entirely empty. 
 

book yr fitness classes early - we did spinning today and it was booked by early evening yesterday. 

3 hours ago, Lurdes777 said:

How is capacity? 
 

any events planned for NYE?

will there be a scarlett night?

 

did your dinner reservations dissappear when you got on board?

day 1 it seemed really empty. restaurants seemed to take walk ins (we had test kitchen reservation). saw maybe ten people in a pool or hot tub. bars were busy but no lines or anything. karaoke signups were plentiful. today is the first sea day so i expect that to change maybe. 
 

NYE is next cruise so no idea. there were Christmas lights on each floor so from the outside you saw decks red or green. 
 

yes to scarlet night. 
 

nope my reservations are here and sailor loot. it took a bit for sailor loot to appear but i DMed sailor services from the app, and they said it’ll appear once we sail away. it did!

hey CC. reporting to you live from the Pink Agave bar. here for a b2b with my wife, brother-in-law, and his girlfriend. we are the target audience - millennial DINK couples. someone may get a tattoo. 
 

feel free to drop any questions and i will answer if i have one. 
 

there are some “mask required” events now. 
 

the Covid results wait was 35 agonizing minutes even though none of us are symptomatic and we even did rapid tests before flying here. 

test kitchen tonight. 
 

you can have basically unlimited free champagne at the sailaway party. 
 

aviation gin is good, kinda forgot. 
 

the little snacks at the sweet shop/bread area of the galley are great. 
 

it’s so cute and picturesque.

they have oatly oat milk!

the ice cream we have sampled is good. the red velvet cone is better than the creamsicle. 
 

no children screaming is so wonderful that i can’t even describe it

this COVID testing wait is agonizing. 

anyone know (or is able to check) what the spin bike shoe clip situation is? the usual is one side has cages for non-cycling shoes and the other side has clips for (usually two-hole) cleats, but it'd be good to know if this is the case before i pack my spinning shoes...

xmas and nye back-to-back let's goooo

Hi there! Thanks so much for "calling" finally! LOL Actually I haven't been to DC in at least a year. It's been a while, but perhaps one day! That would be fun! :)

i thought you said something about being in DC when you cruise out of the port of baltimore. but now i can't find it soooo :confused::confused::confused::confused: