Vailiant Lady first day experience.

[davidja01]

I'm not one for posting but thought I'd get some early impressions down on a trip on Virgins latest, The Vailiant Lady. My comparison is only based on a couple of Princess ships I've sailed on the last being the Diamond Princess.
Check in was confused and slow and had the signs of a new company who hadn't quite got their head around the process, its wasn't a disaster though and in all was probably an hour. Definitely not slick though. We arrived at our cabin and ONE  of our two cases  outside with assurances the other would follow shortly,  it didn't....
On entering the room I was shocked at how small it was, we opted for mid ships with balcony so apart from The Rockstar Suite couldn't have done much better. The bathroom is NOT big enough to swing a cat. No hot beverage making facilities but all other basics. The  convertible bed to sofa is a gimmick because in reality who would bother.
This cruise was promoted by Imagine who had branded it an 80s cruise with three acts. These shows  were ticketed,  despite having pre booked on the app was untimely only available on  your luck of the draw show timings. No negotiation.  Still we managed to easily put our dinner reservation further back. The 45 minute show was good in a rather small auditorium with a good few free seats.
We had dinner on the first evening in the Italian restaurant, Extra Virgin, this was simply outstanding, a real high point.
The following morning and with  breakfast arrangements very unclear we were eventually sent to the top deck where we found the food court, this was a jumble of confusion there were no tables available so we retreated to the room!
I read on cruise critic about the pre-purchase drink tab, having had no advice of this pre cruise  as requested I asked the question on the messenger section within the app, four hours later I got the answer that these need to be pre-purchased before you sail and not available onboard!
So far and in summary the staff are on the whole clueless with process but happy to give you the wrong advice, the app is awful and poorly reflects what you'd assume is a technologically literate and forward 
thinking company, things get cancelled (my partners dance classes, shows, etc) with a "we're sorry there was a glitch". Staff are like I've experienced on other cruises, doing their very best in difficult circumstances.  Anyone thinking of booking should hold off and see if reviews start improving,  but after less than 24 hours I wouldn't recommend Virgin, stick with the mainstream. 

[gumshoe958]

That’s disappointing to hear. Having just come off the Valiant Mer-Maiden, everything seemed to go very smoothly. From arriving at the port to boarding took no more than 20 minutes. And on board we found the crew were great. 
 

For breakfast, you can book The Wake or Razzle Dazzle via the app. 
 

I assume the 80s acts you mention are put on by the charter company, not VV, so any issues with those should be directed at the charter company.

 

I hope things improve for you. The restaurants, in particular, are awesome as you discovered last night at Extra Virgin.

[jon81uk]

I've also just come off the mermaiden and didn't have many issues at all. Enough tables at the Galley each time we went there for breakfast, room service breakfast also good and we also did a late brunch in Razzle Dazzle booked same day on the app.

No issues booking shows for me, Dual Reality actually had plenty of empty seats.

 

Only problem was our first night meal at the Wake took two hours, with a one hour wait for mains. I think the order software wasn't working so they were handwriting orders which went wrong.

[davidja01]

Now that I've spent five nights on-board I thought I'd update on my general impressions. Whats important to consider is this cruise is 900 below capacity.

So to start with positives, the big hit is the food, excellent experiences on the whole throughout, wait times can be an issue, Razzle Dazzle (popular breakfast restaurant as its the only real sit down indulgent experience) waited an hour for a cold (like iced) poached egg and dry smoked salmon. Otherwise my experiences whilst often slow have been positive.

Staff are most helpful and a credit to the brand.

Now negatives:

Sunbed space very limited, yesterday was sunny, we got lucky and found a couple of beds but heard a number of people say they couldn't get a bed. 

Bars constantly running out of alcohol. We drink White wine and fortunately enjoy the cheapest one available the Pinot Grigio, at a realistic $29 (yes everything in dollars) but the next is a very smoaked American Chardonnay at $48, I can't comment on Reds. They also ran out of lager style beers on the Wednesday night. Apparently it was down to the restocking process, which seems likely as the following evening stock was fine. 

Despite the apparent Rock Star experience of this boat we tried that out, everything was shut at just after 2am,  we found ourselves in the galley using a band operated beer dispenser. The wine ones didn't work!

Communication is non-existent, if classes/events are cancelled which is a fairly regular occurance it's posted on the app, which seldom has connectivity.

Despite my comments I'm fairly easy to please, many passengers though very angry and expecting refunds.

Glad I didnt opt for the rockstar experience....

[jon81uk]

Bar hours are on the printed entertainment schedule and on the page for each bar on the app. The Manor is definitely open late many nights, last weekend I was in there at 2am on two occasions. I think the casino bar was also busy one night too. But yes other spaces wound down at 1 or 2am. 
 

We completely lost WiFi connectivity while onboard last week, but the IT guy at the Chart Room desk put us on a different network and it worked perfectly for the rest of the trip with no further app issues either. 
 

if you want waited service breakfast the Wake also does brunch as well as Razzle Dazzle.

 

for sun beds there are spaces on deck 16 and 17 at the rear of the boat too, above the back of the Galley. Huge bar back there too. But yes space next to the pool is more limited. 

[davidja01]

Thanks for the wifi advice.

Granted most normal human beings should be in bed at 2am. However The Manor and casino were closing the night we went in there and i didnt check the times maybe Wednesdays are earlier. Running out of any alcohol though at 9pm is unacceptable, by midnight most was out. I suspect they're hitting more road blocks on the first multi-day cruise.

Thanks for other advice but we explored all these with no successes.

Fundamentally this is a very good value cruise, but there's definitely corner cutting. Not sure if their aiming to be a cheaper option or just an alternative.

[jon81uk]

I imagine the venues being closed by 2am is a multi-day thing too.

When I did the four night cruise on Scarlet last year it felt like things were winding down a lot more on one night than on Valiant when we did a three night cruise and each night was busier, Saturday night in particular went on very late. Realistically people aren’t going to party late every night for a longer trip, particularly if there is a port stop the next morning. 
The Manor is generally listed as being midnight to “late” so I guess it depends how many people want to stay up and party too? Was there many people being turfed out?

[Vaynrysgirl]

Totally agree with this Sailor.

 

I’d be very surprised if there isn’t a flurry of similar posts coming to this board

 

[davidja01]

1 hour ago, jon81uk said:

I imagine the venues being closed by 2am is a multi-day thing too.

When I did the four night cruise on Scarlet last year it felt like things were winding down a lot more on one night than on Valiant when we did a three night cruise and each night was busier, Saturday night in particular went on very late. Realistically people aren’t going to party late every night for a longer trip, particularly if there is a port stop the next morning. 
The Manor is generally listed as being midnight to “late” so I guess it depends how many people want to stay up and party too? Was there many people being turfed out?

No there were not many looking for an open bar, a few stragglers bearing in mind the average age of guests is at least 60 it's possibly a little unreasonable expecting all night parties.

And perhaps I'm losing sight of the fact we have paid what works out to £330 for two people in a balcony cabin. I'm not sure if that's a special deal while they test the boat but I'd happily pay half of that for the dining experience alone.

I'll keep this forum posted as I dont want to come across unreasonably negative. 

[jon81uk]

20 minutes ago, davidja01 said:

No there were not many looking for an open bar, a few stragglers bearing in mind the average age of guests is at least 60 it's possibly a little unreasonable expecting all night parties.

And perhaps I'm losing sight of the fact we have paid what works out to £330 for two people in a balcony cabin. I'm not sure if that's a special deal while they test the boat but I'd happily pay half of that for the dining experience alone.

I'll keep this forum posted as I dont want to come across unreasonably negative. 

oh wow, that is an older crowd! When we were on the ship for the MerMaiden voyage last weekend it felt like most sailors were 30-50 with a lot around 40 who were happy to be on the dancefloor. It definitely did not feel like average age of 60 on that cruise. Which probably makes all the difference really. 

[gumshoe958]

22 hours ago, jon81uk said:

oh wow, that is an older crowd! When we were on the ship for the MerMaiden voyage last weekend it felt like most sailors were 30-50 with a lot around 40 who were happy to be on the dancefloor. It definitely did not feel like average age of 60 on that cruise. Which probably makes all the difference really. 

No surprise there - 3-night weekenders will always attract a younger crowd than 11-nighters, on any cruise line.

[davidja01]

Yeah that does explain it. However it's definitely later some nights. I'd say 2.30am looks about it. 

Generally and obviously as you become more familiar it becomes more appealing, they will definitely be learning.

There doesn't seem to be many senior staff around and the entertainment needs some tuning. I'm enjoying the boat much more since initial frustration and would certainly recommend it. The dining is it's jewel and outstanding throughout with something for everyone. 

[heatherb1958]

Tonight is the last night of the cruise which we should also have been on except Covid testing had other ideas . From reading OPs posts it seems other than the fab food we haven’t missed out on too much. One of the reasons we booked  Valiant lady was because it was advertised as a Back to the 80s cruise with Tony Hadley , Toyah , Tpau etc .but there hasn’t been much mention of any of this and having seen Tony being interviewed on Dancing on ice on Sunday he obviously wasn’t on the ship very long ! 
The weather at home as been fabulous all week until yesterday and our insurance has already paid out so I think in the grand scheme of things we were better off testing positive for Covid with no symptoms and staying home 😆.
 

[gumshoe958]

I’m due to sail on the 3-nighter to Zeebrugge tomorrow but just received an email saying it’s delayed until Saturday morning. Apparently Valiant Lady won’t return to Portsmouth until tomorrow evening, about 12 hours late, after she “responded to an emergency situation which resulted in a search & rescue mission”.

 

They're offering $200 OBC per person plus £300 off a future voyage as recompense.

[davidja01]

All the acts advertised were on and without exception were outstanding obviously Tony Hadley was the stand out superstar and didn't let us down.

I understand that Imagine cruises sold some of the cabins and organised the 80s acts but had little else to do with the trip so while many have been blaming them I think they delivered on their promises. 

There has clearly been a big miscommunication between Imagine in promoting and selling some of the cabins and Virgin, which both parties have recognised and as such have offered a free cruise later in the year. 

It is really unfortunate and sad that we were significantly delayed due to a medical emergency and missing a day in Lisbon as well as a man overboard incident losing a further  12 hours. I don't see these incidents as the fault of Virgin however. 

On the whole the Virgin team entertainment is a big let down,  the food is on a different level. Overall 6/10 and they will have learnt a lot of lessons. 

[gumshoe958]

Out of interest, what entertainment did VV lay on for an 11 day cruise? Surely more than just Duel Reality and Never Sleep Alone?

[heatherb1958]

Man feared overboard on £5,000 cruise ship with eighties pop stars https://mol.im/a/10675611 via https://dailym.ai/android

 

 

Very sad 😔 

Edited April 1, 2022 by heatherb1958

[JohnScot]

On 4/1/2022 at 11:28 AM, gumshoe958 said:

Out of interest, what entertainment did VV lay on for an 11 day cruise? Surely more than just Duel Reality and Never Sleep Alone?

There was also the Nerd, who displayed an amazing memory and was the best Virgin act on the ship. Apart from that it was just the house band, hostess and a blues singer.

Everyone was complaining about the entertainment and we had a right to complain. Duel Reality was cancelled so many times we never got to see it. Acrobats is not a great attraction to me so not too bothered.

The ship would be fine for a 3 day stag or hen night but very limited food selection and unusual entertainment makes it unsuitable for longer cruises.

[prothed]

I would go along with the above points.  We took the 11-night UK-Canaries cruise and the daytime entertainment was pretty woeful with several show cancellations.  Many out-of-stock items in the bars/restaurants.  And the wifi...  well, two tins and a bit of string would be faster...

After 30+ cruises with a wide range of lines I think I'll be staying with the traditional style - this was bit bit too much like a cheap booze cruise, but it wasn't cheap.

[debarkovit]

On 4/1/2022 at 11:28 AM, gumshoe958 said:

Out of interest, what entertainment did VV lay on for an 11 day cruise? Surely more than just Duel Reality and Never Sleep Alone?

Bugger all is what they laid on, it was a disaster!