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Brilliant Lady from Puerto Rico in March 2024

tbmrt

By tbmrt,
in Virgin Voyages

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tbmrt

tbmrt

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The search for our next VV cruise begins...I am considering Brilliant Lady in 3/24,  but want to be sure I am not missing something about this ship/itinerary/date before I book.

 

Input appreciated.

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aqlollipop

aqlollipop

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Not sure what you're looking for but the ship doesn't launch until the end of December. Her itineraries launch with her so no one has any experience of either. The ship will be the same as the others with likely minimal cosmetic differences and probably some "unique to Brilliant Lady" shows like they did with Resilient. 

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cantgetin Great Review Rare

cantgetin

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We found the return to port in Puerto Rico to be quite awful....but that was pre-covid.  The cruise line was very upset with the Customs service (or lack thereof) and made many promises about improvements.  We put this cruise port in the same category as flying thru JFK--if there is no alternative, think about it; if there is an alternative, avoid it.  It is totally possible that this view is no longer applicable given the length of time it has been since our very negative experience.  Hope your situation is better!

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Fogcityca13

Fogcityca13

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We are booked March 30th on Brilliant. I have zero reservations that the ship will be delayed. We’ll be flying to PR at least 2 days ahead, mostly because flights from the west coast require a transfer. We are also leaving an extra day or two to travel home. As cantgetin mentioned, disembarking can be an issue and I’m not willing to stress on vacation. The really nice thing about the itinerary is the Saturday to Saturday days.

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CruisingWalter Great Review Rare

CruisingWalter

Posted
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23 hours ago, tbmrt said:

The search for our next VV cruise begins...I am considering Brilliant Lady in 3/24,  but want to be sure I am not missing something about this ship/itinerary/date before I book.

 

Input appreciated.

 

The ship is slightly modified so she can fit through the Panama Canal, but otherwise you should expect more of the same from VV. They have purposely made all four of their ships more or less identical so you don't waste time trying to 'figure out the new ship.'

 

San Juan has the best Caribbean itineraries for VV other than the 8 Night Eastern Antilles when there are two ships in Miami. With the ship already starting that deep in the Caribbean she has so many more interesting ports than the 5/4 loops out of Miami, which honestly get boring after a while.

 

VV, NCL VIVA and Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas will all be home ported in San Juan starting in January thanks to the $400+M in new improvements happening down there. When the new terminals & piers are finished and the original pier and terminal are renovated, they will be able to house at least 8 ships per day. The new terminal/pier are being built specifically for home porting new ships. I'm not sure if that will all be done by January, but that's the plan announced back in 2022. 

 

I'm excited for Brilliant Lady sailing out of San Juan, we have a bunch of friends already booked including the Miami to San Juan holiday sailing. I'm not sure if we'll make it for the first season, but definitely plan to sail from San Juan sooner than later. Here's one of the articles from last year about the $400M+ investment. https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/puerto-rico-to-launch-425-million-san-juan-cruise-port-upgrade

 

And here's a guide from the San Juan tourism site: https://sanjuanpuertorico.com/cruises/

 

 

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Swells1

Swells1

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We're booked on her third sailing. LOL. I didn't even realize she was a new build until after I booked and was looking for some good ship porn! If it helps, I plan on taking copious photos and posting.

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chillyw

chillyw

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I just booked the last one they have up for April Sunsets Antillies!

 

Sounds like I should book an extra day on the way back, that works, gives us time to see Puerto Rico.

 

I'm also pumped cause I snagged the very last MGR suite.

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cantgetin Great Review Rare

cantgetin

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1 hour ago, chillyw said:

 

 

I'm also pumped cause I snagged the very last MGR suite.

Last one you know about.  TAs can hold a cabin for 30 days without a name....then release it and another TA can grab it.

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chillyw

chillyw

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27 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Last one you know about.  TAs can hold a cabin for 30 days without a name....then release it and another TA can grab it.

 

Yeah for sure 🙂 Definitely could be some with a TA. Probably better wording is last one on the public facing website for now!

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jcarter4551

jcarter4551

Posted
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We have sailed Scarlet 2x out of Miami and on Valiant Lady out of Barcelona. 

 

We are looking to book 2/24 or 3/2. As Walter stated, the Miami loops get boring and the stops on the San Juan itineraries look amazing. I am just trying to wait on the casino department to approve those sailings for comps as they don't have authority yet (only Australia, Barcelona and Miami departures).

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cantgetin Great Review Rare

cantgetin

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57 minutes ago, StillLooking4Adventure said:

I'm considering switching to this cruise from the Oasis cruise but I wonder if there will be good ways to see the Super Bowl, like there will be on the Oasis. 

THey have decent sized TVs in The Social Club, but no mega screen on the pool deck like you'll fin on some other lines.

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StillLooking4Adventure

StillLooking4Adventure

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1 minute ago, cantgetin said:

THey have decent sized TVs in The Social Club, but no mega screen on the pool deck like you'll fin on some other lines.

Thanks. I guess my major concern would be about the number of people who would want to watch the game. Of course I have some of the same concern on the Oasis, but at least they have the large screens at the Aqua show area, assuming they have a Superbowl party which I would expect they would.

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cantgetin Great Review Rare

cantgetin

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1 minute ago, StillLooking4Adventure said:

Thanks. I guess my major concern would be about the number of people who would want to watch the game. Of course I have some of the same concern on the Oasis, but at least they have the large screens at the Aqua show area, assuming they have a Superbowl party which I would expect they would.

I can't address that issue, but I wouldn't believe anything that shoreside sailor services tells you unless it is "We don't know."  If you want a Superbowl party and a huge screen and know you can get this on Royal, I'd stay there.  They are receptive to showing what is requested on board provided they have the license to show that station.

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aqlollipop

aqlollipop

Posted
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Ok so I'm not really a sports person, but I was on Scarlet the end of May when I guess there were some important Basketball games happening. We saw signs posted about a watch party in the Athletic Club on Scarlet Night and lots of people were heading in that direction. We didn't go so I can't say what they had set up there for viewing as the athletic club doesn't usually have screens as far as I recall. Sorry I can't give you more than that, but I figure with the Super Bowl they're going to do something for sure if they managed something on Scarlet Night for some basketball playoffs I think?

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Janthere

Janthere

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3 hours ago, StillLooking4Adventure said:

I'm considering switching to this cruise from the Oasis cruise but I wonder if there will be good ways to see the Super Bowl, like there will be on the Oasis. 

We were on Scarlet in February for Superbowl this year. It was actually a great experience and I would totally do it again. They showed the game in the Social Club, on the screen (which has excellent resolution by the way) in the casino but best of all they showed it on a huge screen in the Red Room. My husband and I lucked out and got a couch on the second floor of the Red Room overlooking the room/display. Go early and get that spot! They were handing out popcorn and snacks etc. The atmosphere on the ship was really fun as everyone seemed to get into the game being on. 

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StillLooking4Adventure

StillLooking4Adventure

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14 minutes ago, Janthere said:

We were on Scarlet in February for Superbowl this year. It was actually a great experience and I would totally do it again. They showed the game in the Social Club, on the screen (which has excellent resolution by the way) in the casino but best of all they showed it on a huge screen in the Red Room. My husband and I lucked out and got a couch on the second floor of the Red Room overlooking the room/display. Go early and get that spot! They were handing out popcorn and snacks etc. The atmosphere on the ship was really fun as everyone seemed to get into the game being on. 

😊 Thanks for the excellent information 👍 

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MeganGC1983 "Live from...." Rare

MeganGC1983

Posted
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5 hours ago, StillLooking4Adventure said:

I'm considering switching to this cruise from the Oasis cruise but I wonder if there will be good ways to see the Super Bowl, like there will be on the Oasis. 

I watched the NFL playoffs on the Valiant Lady at the Social Club with no issues… minus that we lost. 😞😆

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