Solo Sailing on Virgin - Brilliantseas LIVE! from Valiant Lady "Fire & Sunset Soirees" Cruise - January 4-8, 2023

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On 1/8/2023 at 2:26 PM, cantgetin said:

It smelled like dog food.  We didn't eat it.  I'm glad they are now allowing people to choose to no be served the dinner--we asked and were told that they had to bring it to us!

 

They were satisfied with our request for dessert only, although they had a momentary hiccup when it came time to actually serve that course. The server had initially forgotten but as they were serving each table and got to us, he remembered. They came back with ours near the end of service. The dessert was quite satisfying, but we are glad that we didn't skip a full three-course meal in one of the specialty restaurants for the food in The Manor. 

[brilliantseas]

I apologize for the absence during the second half of the "live" review. GF thought I was spending a little too much time on CC and not enough time on vacation, so I agreed to come back to it after we got home from our back-to-back (2nd cruise was on Carnival Celebration; more on that later...). Of course, I caught the scary virus that shall not be named at the end of our 2nd cruise, so now I have plenty of time at home to finish up this delayed "live" report from Valiant Lady. 

 

Picking up after Ship Show, we had a reservation to see Duel Reality in the Red Room; a kind of musical circus act loosely centered around a Romeo and Juliet type forbidden love story that crosses the lines between two feuding families. Think acrobatics, rope work, trapeze, etc. For this show, the Red Room is set up with partially extended bleachers on both sides of the room, with the performance taking place in the center. The downside to only partially extending the bleachers is that it eliminates access from the top entrance on deck 7, and the performance on the floor level means that all sailors are asked to remain in their seats for the full 60-minute performance. The only seats that have access to arrive late or leave early for a restroom break are the few rows that are permanently affixed on deck 7 (with poor views), or the secret benches on what I'll refer to as the end balconies. We were lucky enough to score one of these benches, and had a view of around 80% of the activity on the floor, except that which was taking place directly below. 

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Duel Reality is unlike any show you're likely to see on any other cruise line at sea. While certain elements may have dragged out a little too long, we found the overall show to be very enjoyable and would watch it again on another Virgin Voyages sailing. 

[pcrum]

On 1/5/2023 at 1:18 PM, brilliantseas said:

F Also included is unlimited champagne and a cocktail made from cherry cocktail base and champagne.

 

 

They always make sure you have a full glass; I think I had five during the session, plus a bonus glass of champagne which we were encouraged to take with us at the end of the nearly two hour class. 

 

The cost of this workshop is $35, but it was well worth it! Ryan and Joel were both amazing, as was the interaction with the rest of the group. Pictured below are a few of my very poor creations. 

 

 

 

 

Do you know the brand of champagne they served?  Was it brut (i.e., not sweet)?

 

Thank you.

[_tacocat_]

43 minutes ago, pcrum said:

Do you know the brand of champagne they served?  Was it brut (i.e., not sweet)?

 

Thank you.

seems to depend on the actual sailing.  we've had st louis brut, st louis rose and a prosecco (forget the brand) as the house sparkling wine.  they only had the rose at most bars last week, which made for a kind of weird aperol spritz haha.  they have moet at the rockstar rooftop champagne hour.

[pcrum]

2 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

seems to depend on the actual sailing.  we've had st louis brut, st louis rose and a prosecco (forget the brand) as the house sparkling wine.  they only had the rose at most bars last week, which made for a kind of weird aperol spritz haha.  they have moet at the rockstar rooftop champagne hour.

Thank you. 

[brilliantseas]

21 hours ago, pcrum said:

Do you know the brand of champagne they served?  Was it brut (i.e., not sweet)?

 

Thank you.

 

It was an inexpensive brut; I don't recall the brand name? It was the same champagne that was served at the sail-away party. 

[_tacocat_]

1 hour ago, brilliantseas said:

 

It was an inexpensive brut; I don't recall the brand name? It was the same champagne that was served at the sail-away party. 

st louis

[brilliantseas]

Thursday, January 6 has us waking up to a beautiful, sunny morning in the port of Key West, Florida. Having visited Key West multiple times in the past and knowing what the city has to offer, we opted not to book a shore excursion, and instead planned a casual afternoon of browsing the shops and galleries of Duval Street, and visiting Southernmost Point. Knowing that we only needed a few hours ashore, we slept in and headed to brunch at Razzle Dazzle before disembarking the ship. 

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Brunch at Razzle Dazzle was busier than dinner, but with only 800 sailors onboard and many already ashore, we still had no problems getting in immediately. 

 

 

 

 

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We started our meal with a shared Watermelon and Sesame "Cream" appetizer, which is essentially a fruit and granola "pizza". The description wasn't overly appetizing, but seeing them on other tables led us to order it. Sadly, this was a rare miss on Virgin Voyages. The sesame cream needs to be replaced with a more flavorful sweet cream base, and their granola recipe needs some work. The blackberries were also a bit too frozen, and were difficult to chew. 

 

 

For our meals, GF opted for the Razzle Dazzle Breakfast, while I had the chicken cobb salad with a side of their signature smoked bacon. Don't skip on the bacon! 

 

 

 

 

GF also wanted another side of the tater tots with cheese, which are nearly as amazing as the bacon. Don't miss out! 

 

 

We were quite full after our brunch entrees, but GF still wanted to try the Cookies and Milk, sans the milk. The three cookies are a matcha-based green cookie, a stuffed red velvet, and a Rocky Road. Of the three, I liked the Rocky Road the best, while GF seemed to enjoy the red velvet. 

 

 

 

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After brunch, we were off to explore Key West. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We witnessed something that I've never encountered before anywhere in Florida, but it was certainly intentional on Duval street. City crews are "washing" the trees. Can anyone explain this?

 

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At one point, we got sucked into Fat Tuesday by a sidewalk sign advertising a Key Lime Colada, which is a regular frozen pina colada from the batch cocktail machine, mixed with key lime liquor and topped with whipped cream and Graham cracker topping. It was a sweet, Instagram-worthy cocktail, but not as good as the key lime margarita made with the same liquor found at your local Texas Roadhouse. 

 

 

 

Was it worth $12.75 + tip, probably not? But we're on vacation!

 

After our cocktail, we headed back to Mallory Square. 

 

 

 

 

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After returning to the ship, I grabbed a cold noodle bowl and some sushi from The Galley and a couple of pizzas to bring back to the room to enjoy during sail-away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The ship was already preparing for Scarlet Night. Aquatic creatures are taking over!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mallory Square was full of vacationers watching us sail into the sunset. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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After sailing away from Key West, our early evening entertainment was the Miss Behave Show, which is currently exclusive to Valiant Lady.

 

The description of the show within the app gives absolutely nothing away, but you're in for a great time. Think of it as a cheap and cheesy drag queen variety game show with audience participation and a high seas musical number.