LIVE- Valiant Lady- 1/14/23-1/22/23

[MeganGC1983]

18 minutes ago, AKR2011 said:

I'm always excited to follow you along! I hope this week goes quickly and smoothly for you and Friday comes before you know it.

Thanks! I just reminded myself… it’s cruise week🎉 Got a lot to do, but these next 115 hours are gonna fly by. 

[surfone]

3 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Someone just posted that the current Valiant sailing only has 780 cruisers. I think our’s will be busier, but if definitely won’t be full. Lots of available cabins in all categories. 

I am hoping it will not be at full capacity.  I'm so glad you did your live review before and now we feel we ae much better prepared for this cruise (being our first on Virgin)  we fly in to FLL Friday night.  We will look for you, too!   

[MeganGC1983]

4 minutes ago, surfone said:

I am hoping it will not be at full capacity.  I'm so glad you did your live review before and now we feel we ae much better prepared for this cruise (being our first on Virgin)  we fly in to FLL Friday night.  We will look for you, too!   

Yes!! Please do! 

[_tacocat_]

5 hours ago, Shaded Lady said:

I watched the Virgin series after you mentioned it on the Tribe page and it was really helpful. But I'm a bit nervous though- another travel YouTuber was quite the Debbie Downer about the Virgin ships once they reach capacity- not enough room for diners, no room at the shows, too crowded for all the events- I'm really hoping that Megan will give me the real scoop, as I think this guy was kind of biased!

That guy is a clown.  I was on the same voyage and had a blast.  Sure we had a couple hiccups here and there, but nothing crazy.

 

Re: his complaint about venue sizes, what ship has room in one venue for every passenger on board?  None!  
 

His logic is regularly flawed, and it seemed like if things weren’t going exactly the way HE wanted them to, then obviously they were wrong.  He clearly feels the need to sensationalize everything for clicks/ad dollars…

[dancindr]

We are going on this itinerary in March, our first with Virgin and our first cruise in a few years! Also our first time cruising with friends and they are new to cruising so lots of firsts! Really excited for and appreciative of your review to get a better idea of what the 8 night itinerary will be like. I read your Scarlet Lady review and it was so entertaining!

[Shaded Lady]

2 hours ago, _tacocat_ said:

That guy is a clown.  I was on the same voyage and had a blast.  Sure we had a couple hiccups here and there, but nothing crazy.

 

Re: his complaint about venue sizes, what ship has room in one venue for every passenger on board?  None!  
 

His logic is regularly flawed, and it seemed like if things weren’t going exactly the way HE wanted them to, then obviously they were wrong.  He clearly feels the need to sensationalize everything for clicks/ad dollars…

Even if this weren't true, THANK YOU! I needed to hear this, since this guy had me absolutely terrified that everywhere would be jammed and we'd never get to eat or watch what we wanted!

[MeganGC1983]

Happy Monday! Only 4 more sleeps til departure. Next Monday we will be in Puerto Plata. Tried to work our dinner reservation around Monday Night football last night. We have The Wake at 8pm. Not gonna work. Only available reservation is at 8:45, so we will either scrap it or try to just go early. 

[BigNance]

Looking forward to another virtual vacation with Megan!!

[BarbieGee]

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Happy Monday! Only 4 more sleeps til departure. Next Monday we will be in Puerto Plata. Tried to work our dinner reservation around Monday Night football last night. We have The Wake at 8pm. Not gonna work. Only available reservation is at 8:45, so we will either scrap it or try to just go early. 

You, being an experienced cruiser, know what preparations to do and how far in advance to do them, but do you feel the stress and joy of the up and coming departure?
 

I have not cruised in over 7 years and the date is now 28 days and counting. I am already getting the pre-cruise jitters. I want to drag out the suit case and start packing! What do YOU do for pre-prep with 4 days away from the beginnings of your new adventure?

 

 

[MeganGC1983]

33 minutes ago, BarbieGee said:

You, being an experienced cruiser, know what preparations to do and how far in advance to do them, but do you feel the stress and joy of the up and coming departure?
 

I have not cruised in over 7 years and the date is now 28 days and counting. I am already getting the pre-cruise jitters. I want to drag out the suit case and start packing! What do YOU do for pre-prep with 4 days away from the beginnings of your new adventure?

 

 

I get a little stressed still just because there is so much to do in the 4 days. Today, I’m working this morning, and then I’ll finish all my packing minus daily use stuff. Packing the 3 kids to take to my MIL’s is always the most daunting. Making sure they have enough clothes for school and activities. And SOCKS! I feel like I always end up just buying new packs of socks to get them through. After dance car pool tonight, I’ll start getting their stuff going. By Wednesday evening, it should all come together and BOOM, Friday is go time. 

[Sherry84]

Can't wait to follow along on this new adventure, yay!

[TravelGirlinDallas]

53 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

And SOCKS! I feel like I always end up just buying new packs of socks to get them through.

LOL!!! We usually are OK on socks, but we did have to buy Andrew extra underwear in one of the ports on our Alaskan cruise. 🙄

[RenoNanaOz]

On 1/8/2023 at 8:28 AM, MeganGC1983 said:

Ahoy cruisers! It’s almost time for my highly anticipated 8 night cruise on Valiant Lady. I hope you’ll join me as we fly to Miami (Friday) and set sail to Puerto Plata, San Juan, St. Croix and Bimini. I previously sailed on Scarlet Lady in November, but this is a group cruise with several brand new sailors and one “Carnival only” sailor. We are excited to visit a few new ports (St. Croix is new for me) and hopefully have several catch the “cruising bug”. 
The reservations have been made. Bags are almost packed. Mail hold submitted. The kids disgruntled, but tell that to Sir Richard Branson 😆. We can’t wait to eat all the food, drink all the cocktails and bring you along for every moment. 

YAY! I'm here for it.

[MeganGC1983]

The struggle today to get things done is apparent. I ran to town to run my errands and forgot DH’s dry cleaning. So back I go. 
Still waiting to see if my bid was accepted. Saw on the previous sailing, most people were contacted 4 days before the sailing. That’s tomorrow. 🤞🏻 There still seems to be some suites available on the website. 

[MeganGC1983]

Ran in to Target real fast to check out the new spring swimwear… grabbed a new top. And, I guess I’ll go back tomorrow. 

[canes20]

27 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Ran in to Target real fast to check out the new spring swimwear… grabbed a new top. And, I guess I’ll go back tomorrow. 

[MeganGC1983]

2 minutes ago, canes20 said:

Most definitely not. Still have the receipt. Since I have to go back may try on a different size just to make sure. 

[Funsince1983]

46 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Ran in to Target real fast to check out the new spring swimwear… grabbed a new top. And, I guess I’ll go back tomorrow. 

Omg is that just one of their $8 ribbed tanks? 
 

Also hi, here and accounted for. 

[MeganGC1983]

20 minutes ago, Funsince1983 said:

Omg is that just one of their $8 ribbed tanks? 
 

Also hi, here and accounted for. 

No it’s a $15 swimsuit top. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[AtSeaWithChris]

ok, let’s stay on topic here. Lol 😂  just kidding

[ceilidh1]

2 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Ran in to Target real fast to check out the new spring swimwear… grabbed a new top. And, I guess I’ll go back tomorrow. 

And you didn't set off the alarms? That system obviously works well...lol!

 

[MeganGC1983]

2 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

And you didn't set off the alarms? That system obviously works well...lol!

 

I know right! 

[blarko]

3 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Ran in to Target real fast to check out the new spring swimwear… grabbed a new top. And, I guess I’ll go back tomorrow. 

Since when does Target use those things?

[zencruisers]

Looking forward to following along.

 

[MeganGC1983]

Just now, blarko said:

Since when does Target use those things?

🤷🏼‍♀️ I don’t know. I just know it’s not the beach fashion trend that I want to start. Sigh