Valiant Lady - French Daze & Ibiza Nights / Oct 9-16, 2022 / LIVE

[scubagal44]

Ahoy, sailors! 

 

As I’m in the throes of preparing to depart for Barcelona and the Valiant Lady for the upcoming French Daze & Ibiza nights sailing, for some reason I got it into my head that I’d attempt a live review for all of you!  In my research for this sailing I found very little info here on CC for this particular ship (I know it’s the twin of Scarlet Lady, but still) and itinerary and not much happening in the roll call section, so if this can help out someone in the future then I’m all for it!

 

A bit about me – 37 years young, married, professional, no kids (unless you count my four cats, which you should because they’re pretty high maintenance) from the SF Bay Area.  In other words, VV’s exact target demographic.  I’ve been on a small handful of cruises on RCI, Princess, Celebrity, and this will be my first time on VV.  I’m not your typical CC cruiser in the sense that cruising is *not* my first vacation method of choice, I generally prefer land based trips, but I was one of the lucky J. Lo giveaway winners so here I am.  That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the cruises I’ve been on previously, on the contrary, I enjoyed them immensely.  I’ve been fortunate to travel to 36 countries thus far in my quest to visit “40 before 40,” with number 37 happening on this trip (Monaco during our stopover in Cannes).  So, I’d say I’m pretty well traveled and adore nothing more than exploring a new place.

 

My sailing companion – To my husband’s dismay, it is not him.  😂  His own fault, he booked himself pretty thin in October.  I am sailing with my 62yo mother; we have traveled together extensively in the past and were booked on a Viking River cruise on the Danube in April 2020….well, we all know what happened with that.  So in a sense this is the replacement cruise for that trip.

 

The itinerary – Seven nights departing Barcelona on Sunday, with ports of call at Marseille, Cannes (overnight), Olbia, and Ibiza (overnight) before returning to Barcelona.  We’re arriving in Barcelona on Friday and will have that evening, a full day Saturday, and Sunday morning to explore the city before our scheduled check in time at the port of 1:30pm.  We’re booked in a central sea terrace on deck 11.  I was less than enthused about the Caribbean itineraries offered by VV (too short, and uninteresting ports IMO), hence why hubby got replaced by my mom as the Med itineraries run only through October, and I was otherwise occupied in Aug/Sept.

 

Expectations – Well, I don’t really know!  I know that even though I am VV’s target demographic, I do have some concerns.  I’m not the party-all-night-and-into-the-morning type of gal, nor am I ever going to jump into the pool fully clothed.  Crowds of people pulsing and gyrating to excessively loud music makes me cringe.  That said, I’ve learned that VV is a foodie’s haven and I’d be lying if I said my mouth isn’t already watering from the delectable plates I’ve seen and read about online.  We’re fortunate in the Bay Area to have a huge assortment of amazing food, Michelin-starred restaurants, world class wineries, and the like to cater to our almost-pretentious love of food and fine dining, so it is from this perspective that I will be evaluating the food onboard.  So I’m excited for the food, the lack of a buffet, and really just the whole adventure of it all!  I love trying new things and will be embarking with an open mind.

 

To wrap up this rather verbose opening post, I’ll do my best to cover what I can in the lead up to our departure on Thursday and throughout the trip!  I’ve read nothing but bad things about the WiFi onboard Valiant Lady so let’s all keep our fingers crossed that it’s good enough for me continue with this review once we board.  Let me know if you have any questions! 👋

[cantgetin]

Have a wonderful time.  Do let us know about the wifi as I'll be boarding the following week.  You're sort of our perfect demographic.  I'm 68 traveling with my 31 year old daughter.

 

[neverendingcruising]

The WiFi improved dramatically about halfway through our first week of a back to back 3 weeks ago. It's still not great but noticably better. A quick speed test showed the ISP as Starlink so hopefully that will keep you moving. 

[Hobie]

Thank you in advance for your "live" reports.  I hope that your internet is decent.

I look forward to your reports because we will be boarding the Valiant Lady on Oct. 16 (as you are disembarking) for the transatlantic cruise.

Thanks again and have a great cruise!

Glenn

[Happeee]

Hi Scubagal

 

My partner and I will be on the ship with you and we are  WAY off the target demographic as we’re 67 and 70! Neither are we avid cruisers but we are looking forward to an adventure aboard Valiant Lady. So much so that we’ve been to buy pyjamas today so that we can get the party started asap. Although we may be the first to retire to our cabin 😂😂.  
 

It will be great to find out how your experience compares to ours and I’m looking forward to reading more from you, WiFi permitting.

 

Happy travels.

[scubagal44]

18 hours ago, cantgetin said:

Have a wonderful time.  Do let us know about the wifi as I'll be boarding the following week.  You're sort of our perfect demographic.  I'm 68 traveling with my 31 year old daughter.

 

 

Will do!!  If you don't hear from me after Sunday, you can probably just assume the wifi wasn't working well enough. 😆  Hope you have a fab trip!

[scubagal44]

9 hours ago, neverendingcruising said:

The WiFi improved dramatically about halfway through our first week of a back to back 3 weeks ago. It's still not great but noticably better. A quick speed test showed the ISP as Starlink so hopefully that will keep you moving. 

Good to know, thank you!  Fingers crossed.

[scubagal44]

1 hour ago, Hobie said:

Thank you in advance for your "live" reports.  I hope that your internet is decent.

I look forward to your reports because we will be boarding the Valiant Lady on Oct. 16 (as you are disembarking) for the transatlantic cruise.

Thanks again and have a great cruise!

Glenn

 

Oooh how fun, hope you have the best time on the transatlantic!

[scubagal44]

47 minutes ago, Happeee said:

Hi Scubagal

 

My partner and I will be on the ship with you and we are  WAY off the target demographic as we’re 67 and 70! Neither are we avid cruisers but we are looking forward to an adventure aboard Valiant Lady. So much so that we’ve been to buy pyjamas today so that we can get the party started asap. Although we may be the first to retire to our cabin 😂😂.  
 

It will be great to find out how your experience compares to ours and I’m looking forward to reading more from you, WiFi permitting.

 

Happy travels.

 

Yes, it's going to be QUITE the adventure!  We've also been figuring out PJs and Scarlet Night outfits and all the things.  Can't wait to get onboard!

[scubagal44]

The 24 hour countdown to departure for the airport has commenced!  I still feel like my to-do list is a mile long, but I'm slowly whittling it down.  A few odds and ends left to pack, a few tasks to take care of around the house, and I know I'll definitely not be getting any sleep tonight out of sheer excitement!

[ociana]

Hi @scubagal44 My hubby and I will be on board as well! Look for my bright purple hair and say hello. We can chat about cats, life on the west coast and the joy of delicious food-related travel. 🙂 We leave in a few hours to fly to London for a few days before we head to Barcelona...chancing it with a same day flight that departs extremely early in the morning.  

[scubagal44]

1 hour ago, ociana said:

Hi @scubagal44 My hubby and I will be on board as well! Look for my bright purple hair and say hello. We can chat about cats, life on the west coast and the joy of delicious food-related travel. 🙂 We leave in a few hours to fly to London for a few days before we head to Barcelona...chancing it with a same day flight that departs extremely early in the morning.  

 

Great, hope to bump into you on board!  We leave in a few hours as well, with a connection through Zurich.  Fingers crossed we all have uneventful travel days ahead.  Enjoy London!

[scubagal44]

We made it to Barcelona! We have a hotel right on La Rambla, which is great. Tomorrow we have a schedule tour at the Sagrada Familia in the morning and a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter in the afternoon. Also hoping to check out some food markets, and find a decent spot for paella. 

[scubagal44]

Had a great, full day in Barcelona! Sagrada Familia, Boqueria, La Rambla, Gothic Quarter... exhausted, but in a good way. We're doing the Picasso Museum in the morning, then heading to the port for our 1:30pm check in time! 

[scubagal44]

We're on board! 

 

We waited 45 minutes in line to drop off our luggage, which was unexpected. We'd been told repeatedly to not show up much earlier than our check in time as there was no benefit, so we heeded that guidance and got to the port around 1:10 for 1:30 check in. So with the line for dropping off luggage, we didn't end up getting on board until just after 2pm. 

 

No worries, we got on and grabbed lunch! The Pizza Place for me, Sun Club for my mom, and we ate outside on deck 16. It's a beautiful day in Barcelona so it was quite lovely. 

 

Afterwards we returned to our cabin to unpack, and now we're getting ready for sail away and dinner. We have 6:45pm reservations at The Wake, looking forward to it!

[scubagal44]

Last night's dinner was The Wake, which I would say was good. I had the corn and black bean custard to start, and I also had a couple bites of the wedge salad. I had the filet (medium rare) as a main, and we got the twice baked potatoes and asparagus as sides. Dessert was the lemon cheesecake for me, and the coconut panna cotta for my mom. 

The standouts for me were the sides and desserts, I would return for those. I would call the steak decent, it didn't blow my mind but I am admittedly pretty spoiled in the steak department back home so I probably have a pickier steak palate than most. 😆

 

Today's port stop was Marseille. We're DIYing all the stops and we had originally planned on taking the train to Aix en Provence from Marseille, but we called an audible when we woke up and decided to just stay in Marseille. We took the shuttle from the port area to town and walked to the Old Port. From there we took the Petite Train which wound along the southern edge of the city and up to the Notre Dame de la Garde basilica. Stunning views from there! 

 

The Petite Train took us back to the old port, and from there we explored Le Panier. It a beautiful maze of alleys, shops, restaurants, and the like. 

 

After that we made our way back to the ship, and we're relaxing now until dinner! Tonight is Test Kitchen. 

[jimbri]

Have a great time!

 

[scubagal44]

Test Kitchen was outstanding! Every single bite was a delight. If this restaurant were on land I'd definitely go there, so the fact that it's on a ship is really great! My mom is basically lactose intolerant and they did a good job of offering her substitute items for the courses containing dairy, which ended up being 3 out of the 6. 

 

As predicted the wifi has gotten pretty terrible so I can't upload any photos right now. 

 

We've called it an early night as we have a big day ahead tomorrow. We'll be docked in Cannes overnight, so we have plans to visit both Nice and Monaco tomorrow. We're taking the train from Cannes to Nice where we'll make our way to the main area and Flower Market, explore that area, then find the bus from Nice to Monaco where we'll end the night in Monte Carlo before taking the train back to Cannes. Very excited for this!

 

We have no meals planned on board tomorrow as we'll be out all day and definitely will be grabbing dinner in Monaco. 

Edited October 10, 2022 by scubagal44

[cantgetin]

I Love Nice.

Question about the delay in luggage drop off (mostly because I'm boarding Valiant next week.)  Do you have any idea how full the ship is?  Were they taking people based on their assigned time (as they do in Miami) or based on when they show up?  In Miami, if you show up prior to your assigned time, you are directed to a holding area and won't be checked in until those who arrive on time are processed.  However, luggage is checked in as you arrive.

 

Our hotel check out time is noon, so our logic was to order transportation after we check out...which should get us to the terminal about 1:00.  Now I'm rethinking that, even if only by 10-15 minutes.  Any thoughts?

[scubagal44]

14 hours ago, cantgetin said:

I Love Nice.

Question about the delay in luggage drop off (mostly because I'm boarding Valiant next week.)  Do you have any idea how full the ship is?  Were they taking people based on their assigned time (as they do in Miami) or based on when they show up?  In Miami, if you show up prior to your assigned time, you are directed to a holding area and won't be checked in until those who arrive on time are processed.  However, luggage is checked in as you arrive.

 

Our hotel check out time is noon, so our logic was to order transportation after we check out...which should get us to the terminal about 1:00.  Now I'm rethinking that, even if only by 10-15 minutes.  Any thoughts?

 

What is your check in time? They were boarding people based on their assigned time, but there were so many of us with earlier times who ended up stuck in the luggage line so were "late" boarding. 

 

We also did the same as you were thinking, killed time at the hotel so as not to show up too early. If I were to do it again I'd have shown up at the port 30 minutes before we did, which would have been a little more than 45 minutes before our scheduled boarding time. 

 

The luggage line was even longer when we finally got through it, so if your check in time is after 1:30 I might show up closer to an hour beforehand. 

 

There are around 2200 passengers this week. 

[desi112]

Hi Folks,

 

I am also on this cruise and just wanted to share my thoughts so far. I've been on around 10 other cruises included the first UK Virgin Voyages cruise in 2021.

 

The bad 

 

1) Check in process was quite long , approx 1 HR 45 mins from dropping luggage to getting on the ship.

 

2) Our room stunk of cigarettes, house keeping were good at trying to get rid of this .

 

 

3) Dinner in the galley was poor, my wife's order came out very fast but mine took around 25 minutes , when it finally arrived it was wrong. I had to re order and again it came out wrong. 

 

4) Only option of Coca Cola full sugar or Fanta full sugar from the drinks dispensers. No sugar free for the first 2 days. 

 

5) No acknowledge of deep blue membership status.

 

6) breakfast on day 1 in the galley was a disaster, we were told half the options we had to get the other we could order at the table. We were then told breakfast stops at 10:30 , when someone else told us most options stop at 11

 

7) staff seem very miserable compared to other cruise lines....

 

😎Ship is very very busy, difficult to get into the elevators due to over crowding.

 

9) Quite a few food options not available including vegan sausages and hash browns...

 

 

The good 

 

1) House keeping staff good.

 

2) Secret menu at Razzle Dazzle is good.

 

3) Casino / Slots have good odds.

 

 

Just my thoughts ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pan widget

Edited October 11, 2022 by desi112

[cantgetin]

Wow!  2200 is quite a full load compared to other recent cruises....and also compared to what we are expecting based on recent comments from shoreside.  Thank you for the info on check in.  We have a 1:30 time, so I'm thinking we should show up about 12:45.  It can't hurt.

 

No special Sea Rover line as promised in the Deep Blue Extras really stinks--that was one of the specifically mentioned items.  It wouldn't be a new concept to them as they have had the special Sea Ranger check in  at BCN.

 

As to the rest...I'm sorry and hope they work out their issues quickly....as in before Sunday!

 

[scubagal44]

We've just set sail from Cannes!

 

Yesterday was fantastic, I adored Nice and Monaco was a fun adventure! I don't go into details since it seems that I'm mostly talking to myself here 😆 but if anyone has specific questions feel free to ask. The tender process was straightforward, if not a little slow. But it was overall fine. 

 

We got back on board last night around 9pm and grabbed some ice cream on the way back to the cabin. I had the butterscotch and it was yum. 

 

This morning we spent in Cannes, walking through the alleys and checking out the market. We returned to the ship around 12:30 (all aboard was 1:30) and grabbed lunch at the Dock House. 

 

I'm now cozy in the hammock on the balcony, resting up a bit before this evening! We have Extra Virgin for dinner, then the Ship Show. I know Ship Show includes dinner, but I don't plan on eating there. 

 

Some general commentary - I find that the ship feels crowded all the time around the elevators and all of the nicer outdoor seating areas. Signage around the ship isn't the best, and it's not always easy finding where I'm trying to go. Staff is generally super helpful, and our cabin steward has been great. Grab and Go boxes are usually not available, which is annoying. The ship spaces are beautiful and are being kept immaculate. 

[scubagal44]

On 10/11/2022 at 1:38 AM, desi112 said:

Hi Folks,

 

I am also on this cruise and just wanted to share my thoughts so far. I've been on around 10 other cruises included the first UK Virgin Voyages cruise in 2021.

 

The bad 

 

1) Check in process was quite long , approx 1 HR 45 mins from dropping luggage to getting on the ship.

 

2) Our room stunk of cigarettes, house keeping were good at trying to get rid of this .

 

 

3) Dinner in the galley was poor, my wife's order came out very fast but mine took around 25 minutes , when it finally arrived it was wrong. I had to re order and again it came out wrong. 

 

4) Only option of Coca Cola full sugar or Fanta full sugar from the drinks dispensers. No sugar free for the first 2 days. 

 

5) No acknowledge of deep blue membership status.

 

6) breakfast on day 1 in the galley was a disaster, we were told half the options we had to get the other we could order at the table. We were then told breakfast stops at 10:30 , when someone else told us most options stop at 11

 

7) staff seem very miserable compared to other cruise lines....

 

😎Ship is very very busy, difficult to get into the elevators due to over crowding.

 

9) Quite a few food options not available including vegan sausages and hash browns...

 

 

The good 

 

1) House keeping staff good.

 

2) Secret menu at Razzle Dazzle is good.

 

3) Casino / Slots have good odds.

 

 

Thanks for chiming in! I agree with many of these. The options of only regular Coke and Fanta for the first couple of days was definitely problematic for my mom (I don't drink soda so irrelevant to me), and she was glad when Coke Zero and Diet Coke suddenly appeared yesterday. 

 

The elevator situation is terrible. I've just been taking the stairs when I'm out and about on my own, but when I'm with my mom I take the elevator with her since she can't do stairs as well. 

 

Going to Razzle Dazzle tomorrow, will ask about the secret menu!

[scubagal44]

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!