scubagal44

Haha don't lump all of California wines in with Napa/Sonoma prices. I've been a wine club member at various wineries in the Napa Valley for 10+ years and I do love them. Recently though (past 4ish years) we've been spending more of our time in Paso Robles wine country and picked up three wine club memberships there. Honestly I can't tell you the last time we visited the Napa Valley to go wine tasting, we opt to head to Paso instead (and they're both the same distance away from us). The wines are more affordable, the vibe is more chill, and overall it's just more fun. The wine is on par quality wise with Napa/Sonoma wines, but without the marked up price tag.

Hope you'll keep us posted on how you like it! My last cruise before my first VV sailing was on Celebrity (also my first time on X). We really enjoyed it! Celebrity has a great product also, but as mentioned previously the food doesn't come close to VV's offerings. AND we had a specialty dining package on our 10 night Celebrity sailing and only ate in the MDR once. As foodies we do value superior food quality, so that is the main reason why we'll be returning to VV for our next cruise. If you can get past the "stress" of the pre-sailing dining reservation experience, I think you'll enjoy yourself.

Blasphemy!! I guess we can't be friends. 🤣🤣 In my world, the more champagne the better. 😁🥂 On the topic of Moet, yes, it is considered a very good champagne. Whether it's to everyone's particular taste is a separate topic, as wine preferences are extremely subjective. Personally, I prefer bone dry champagne/sparkling/prosecco/cava, the drier the better, so I do enjoy Moet.

Haha, yes, agreed that I need way more than 2 drinks per day. The good thing right now is that there are some really great booking deals, for example I booked my next VV sailing onboard my last (first) one, and I got $600 OBC and then another $200 OBC for booking through a TA. My hubby and I weren't quite sure if $800 was going to be enough for drinks for the week (LOL) so we purchased a Bar Tab during a promo of "buy a Bar Tab for $300, get an extra $100 free" thing. So at the end of the day, we'll have $1200 of OBC that will be used towards drinks (because we don't do ship excursions, and there's no upcharge for specialty dining, so drinks are really all we'll need to pay for) and only $300 came out of my pocket. I like that math. Specialty coffees are an extra charge, and there is no bottled water but rather filtered water dispensers throughout the ship and water is provided in your room (still and sparkling) whenever you want it. VV doesn't do single use plastics at all, so you're encouraged to bring your own reusable bottle. Drip coffee, tea, sodas, iced tea, and non-fresh squeezed juices are included for everyone.

And here's the Extra Virgin steak. 😋

Steak and butter chicken are both available on the secret menu. Here's the steak. Sorry for the bad angle, it was ordered by my travel companion and not me.

Agree, the steak at Extra Virgin was sooo much better than the filet I had at The Wake. Even the steak at Razzle Dazzle was better.

I do prefer it this way, as I'd rather go to dinner at a time of my own choosing than a time I've been told to show up. I was on a pretty full sailing back in October on Valiant (2200 sailors) and the restaurant process was NOT flawless, however, we were able to move around times/restaurants fairly easily with a day's advance notice. There were a few times we wanted to change restaurant or time for the following day, and when the app showed no availability we just went to the restaurant in question to speak kindly with the host and they were always able to accommodate us with a res at or around the time we wanted. That said, on our sailing from what I observed when I was checking in for our reservation and others were in line hoping to get in without a res, walk ups were NOT accommodated and diners were turned away at the Wake, Extra Virgin, Pink Agave, and Razzle Dazzle. TL;DR - as long as you know by the day before you want to dine and go see the host with a smile and ask for a spot, they can make it happen. Also, don't waste your time with the red desk that says they can help you with reservations - they always told me no can do, nothing available, blah blah blah, and I'd go straight from there to the host stand and they'd get us a reservation. I can't tell you why it was that way, just that it was.

Magnets, yes. The walls in my Sea Terrace on Valiant were not magnetic, but the ceiling was so I just placed my magnets on the ceiling in the corner as close to the wall as possible to hang my shoe holders and it functioned the same.

I don't know the reasoning, but it really isn't too much of a hassle. When I booked my upcoming VV sailing I just said "hey, TA, I want to book this sailing and I'd like this cabin, please." And boom, it was done. Easy. Of course it would be nice to b able to do that oneself, but it's not anything I'd use as a determining factor. If you don't use a TA, it's not much more difficult. Just pick up the phone and make a call to VV, or they even have an email and chat feature you can use instead.

You can't pick your cabin at the time of booking if you book on your own, but your TA can get you a specific cabin if you use one or you can call VV after booking to make a selection.

I've been on both X and VV. VV food is far superior, and I'm saying that as someone who only ate in the MDR once on my last 10-night X cruise on Reflection (we purchased a dining package and only did specialty dining). No hidden costs on VV, the rate includes all dining, grats, wifi, and non-alcoholic drinks incl juice and soda. No unlimited bev package on VV, but can pre-purchase a bar tab with some free money thrown in. X is obviously a much more traditional cruising experience so if that's what you like, stick with it. Crew was super friendly in my experiences on both lines, I didn't notice much of a difference there. I'm eager to sail on X again, and I also have a future VV sailing booked. The two are not mutually exclusive, IMO, you don't have to be die-hard one or the other unless you're just firmly stuck/rigid with what you deem is the "best." Me, I like experiencing different things. Vacation would be boring if it were the same every time.

I stopped at Olbia as part of the French Daze & Ibiza Nights sailing in October, and I can say you won't be missing much. It was a quaint little main city center, but we saw the whole thing in less than 2 hours and just went back to the ship because there wasn't much to do. I'd have rather had it be a sea day, and if I were on an itinerary that stopped there again, I'd stay on the ship.

What was the excursion you did in Martinique? I have a port day there coming up in early 2024 and looking for ideas!

Thanks for your review! Much of it is reminiscent of what I experienced on Valiant in the Med in October. I do have a future VV sailing booked in 2024 because I was thinking maybe the Caribbean is a better destination for this line, and I was also wondering if many of the missteps were due to the high number of sailors on our trip and the staff had never had to deal with such a high passenger load thus far. Anyway, yeah, I like to keep an open mind with these kinds of things so will give VV one more go after a decent amount of time by which they should be used to fuller sailings.

I was on Valiant in early October, we inquired about ship tours and were told they don't do that.

Brilliant Lady Sunsets in the Lesser Antilles Feb 3 - 10, 2024 https://virg.in/JJwR

OK, back home and settled in! I'm still getting over jet lag, but am hopeful that I'll be able to conquer it this weekend! Our last night on board was dinner at Razzle Dazzle, and it was great! It was actually one of my favorite dinners we had all week, the food was fantastic. We got the two secret menu items, the butter chicken and the steak, as well as the cheesy tots and a small portion of the pork pasta on the side. All of it was delicious! The morning of disembarkation we returned to Razzle Dazzle for breakfast and it couldn't have been more of a different experience. The staff were so indifferent and seemed like they couldn't be bothered, and more like WE were bothering THEM by being there. We were told "no" to a couple of requests that we had made, but those same requests had been fulfilled with a smile a few days prior. When we pointed out that it wasn't a problem earlier in the week, our server huffed and reluctantly said she'd figure it out. Weird. Our reservation was at 8:30am so it wasn't even as if we were cutting it close to stop dead disembarkation time, but whatever I guess. There was a really long line for disembarkation at 10ish that snaked around the lounge areas, but it moved ok and took maybe about 15 minutes to get through. Afterwards we waited in the taxi queue for another 10 minutes. Overall impressions: It definitely wasn't the best cruise I've ever been on in terms of ship experience. The staff overall was helpful, but really, that's where it ended. I don't really NEED more than that, but it just was a different vibe than I'm used to. The previous couple of cruises I'd been on, the staff were exceptionally friendly, helpful, and truly seemed like they cared about making the experience the best ever. It seemed to me that the VV staff were just doing the bare minimum needed to be helpful without going above and beyond. Which, again, doesn't make it "bad," just different than I'm used to. The food was excellent and I loved the no MDR concept. It is mainly for this reason that I'm willing to give VV a second chance. I very rarely saw Grab and Go options available, so I'd call that a miss. The ship is beautiful, and I loved all of the outdoor spaces. The hammock is the most comfortable hammock I've ever had the pleasure of lounging in, and in fact I ordered one when I got home and it was just delivered yesterday so I'm hopeful that I'll be reliving my terrace hammock days in my own backyard this weekend. I think most of the not so great issues we experienced were due to VV not being prepared for such a large group of sailors, even though it still wasn't at capacity. It's disappointing that they didn't realize this in advance and have measures set up to deal with it, but it is what it is. I can see potential here if they're able to figure it out and work out the kinks, since this is the first time they're sailing with such large numbers. I'm hopeful that by my next sailing, which I'm still trying to figure out where/when that will be, all will be running smoothly and it'll be the experience as advertised. Thanks for reading! Until next time...

Yeah, I learned that lesson the hard way after I had a whole post disappear. I would write up my post in a notes app, then copy/paste here into CC so that if it disappeared, I just had to copy/paste again. Enjoy your cruise!!! I'm sitting at the airport now starting the long journey home. Will update this thread when I get back with our last night/morning and overall impressions.

Last night's dinner at Test Kitchen was ok, but not as good as the menu earlier in the week. If we had had this one first, I'm not sure we'd have been so excited to return. It was a bit surprising considering how good the first menu was! Based on conversations I've overhead, other sailors generally seem not to have enjoyed Test Kitchen and the common theme I've overheard is that it's coming across as pretentious. Maybe that means I myself am pretentious, because I don't get that vibe at all. But I also frequent fine dining restaurants on the regular at home, so maybe I'm just more used to this style of dining and presentation? Either way, even though the menu last night wasn't my favorite I still enjoyed the experience and creations. After dinner we had fun in the arcade and playing air hockey, as the rest of the ship mostly emptied with people going ashore for the Ibiza clubbing experience. We gave that a pass and enjoyed the games and grabbed some ice cream on the way back to the cabin. This morning we grabbed breakfast in the Galley, which was really full but our orders came promptly with no issues. Still nothing in the Grab and Go areas. After breakfast we went ashore and had a wonderful time exploring around the Old Town and walking up the hill to the cathedral. It was a beautiful day and I loved it here! Back to the ship in early afternoon, and now we're lounging at the back of deck 16 enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. On the way here, though, I did make a detour to deck 7 and placed a deposit for a future sailing. My husband has FOMO and the deal was too good to pass up, so I guess I'll be seeing VV again soon. 😆 Tonight's dinner is at Razzle Dazzle, as it's the only restaurant we have yet to try for dinner (if you recall we did have breakfast there a couple days ago). Then breakfast there again tomorrow before disembarking in Barcelona!

Yes, maybe this is why I feel meh about a lot that is going on around here. It feels to me like they're trying too hard to be different and edgy, and most of it falls flat IMO. Perhaps a buzz would change that perception. 🤣🤣🤣

Thanks for following along! Yes, the meatballs are great, I want more! 😆 I, too, hope that VV will be able to work through these issues. They're certainly NOT ready for this many sailors, but I'm pretty go with the flow and this sailing was free for me so I'm not too bothered by it. Had I actually paid a bunch of money for this cruise or had any expectations whatsoever coming into it, it may have been a different story.

Pink Agave... I wanted to love it, but I didn't. Overall the food was just ok, and I don't think I've ever had guacamole as flavorless as this one. The corn starter was the best thing of the night. I had the Cochinita Pibil main, and it was awkward to eat and the tortillas that came with it were so greasy. We tried three desserts, of them the chocolate tamale and chocolate tacos were really just blah. The bread pudding was the best of the bunch but I wouldn't say that it was amazing in and of it itself, it was just better than the other two. Service was also slooooow as molasses, our server kept apologizing for the delays which I know were not her fault, but it was just so slow. Scarlet Night was weird lol. It was super fun seeing everyone dressed in their red, and the decor all around the ship was neat. At around 8:30pm there was a notification that the pool party was being cancelled due to weather and festivities would be in the Red Room instead. We hung out near the Roundabout for awhile to people watch, saw the Happenings cast perform some little ditties, went and saw the little Myth of Scarlet Night show, and called it a night. We're sailing most of the day until we reach Ibiza at 7pm for an overnight stop, so we went for a morning walk on deck 17 before heading to breakfast at The Wake. Loved the breakfast! We shared the citrus and fennel salad, French toast, steak & eggs, and the Wake Benedict. It was all really great, so much so that we booked breakfast there again tomorrow. We're going to enjoy a leisurely day and likely check out the afternoon tea, and later we have dinner at Test Kitchen again for the second menu. We haven't decided yet if we'll get off tonight in Ibiza, or if we'll just go tomorrow. We shall see!

Last night's dinner at Extra Virgin was great! Between us we were able to sample quite a few things - braised mini meatballs, romaine & frisee salad, charcuterie board, sea bass, New York strip, bucatini carbonara, and spaghetti alle vongole. The hits were the meatballs, steak, and spaghetti alle vongole. I much preferred this steak over the filet I had at The Wake! My mom says the sea bass was also really good, I don't eat seafood so I don't know. The carbonara was a huge miss, the bucatini was way overcooked and the dish just tasted like mush. The spaghetti alle vongole was EXCELLENT, I'm still thinking about that dish. For dessert we had the chocolate olive oil cake and the chestnut castagnaccio. I had asked for the olive oil cake but our server was insistent that I try the chestnut option, and I'm so glad I listened to him. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's not something I'd have ever chosen for myself, so it was a total win. After dinner we went to the Ship Show, which we found to be pretty meh and we ended up leaving early. This morning we received a message in the app that "due to port traffic," our arrival in Olbia was going to be delayed by an hour. No worries for us as we had no set plans for the morning, other than breakfast at Razzle Dazzle. We had the avo toast, fruit plate, açai bowl, salmon bowl (hold the salmon, add an extra egg), and bacon. Also tried the jalapeno and cheddar croissant and the chocolate chip scone. The two bowls were lovely, the croissant was good, scone was super dry, bacon was fantastic. A pair of ladies sat at the table next to us and I'm not sure what they were trying to order, but there were three menu items they had wanted and were told that the ship was out of those items. Afterwards we disembarked and were amongst everyone else who was confused about what was going on and what the multiple bus rides were for to get to town, but it was fine. Spent a few hours there wandering and returned to the ship rather early. No need for lunch as we were still full from breakfast and gelato in town. Upon returning to the ship, there was another message in the app saying that our reservation for Duel Reality tonight was cancelled, as tonight's shows are canceled due to some staff issue. So that's a bummer. Pink Agave tonight for dinner, and it's Scarlet Night!

I would agree with this. On board right now and it seems they don't know how to handle this many people. Things are slow, Grab and Go options are rarely available, and it just feels crowded everywhere. And the lines trying to get into restaurants for dinner are LONG.