Virgin / Valiant Lady review July 23 2023 sailing

[travellingguy]

Writing here a review as a new Virgin sailor and who uses these boards for lots of research and answers and hope to help others if possible.

 

I'm a long time NCL cruiser who this year decided to take a break from the megaship model of NCL after an unsatisfactory cruise on NCL and looked to the adults only model of Virgin.  

 

There were so many things I liked about the Virgin model after almost the 1st day of stepping onboard.  There were a few things I missed from NCL but for the most part I can say that I am a Virgin convert and have already booked my next one and also bought a cruise credit for one to follow.

 

The ship was streamlined and smartly designed - the common rooms were a-plenty for drinking and congregating on decks 6, 7, and 15.  They were luxurious without being over the top.  Favourite places were the Dock, Sip, Grounds, Ice Cream, and the smaller pool, but liked most areas for their space and design.  We had an X large sea terrace and the room was cleverly designed with lots of space - the bathroom was bigger than all the NCL ones we've had with tons of storage space for belongings.  Our stewards could not have been more friendly and efficient.  It was my birthday and they decorated my door with balloons and a sign.  At first I thought that the hammock was a silly add-on but LOVED it by middle of cruise and one of us was always using it when in the cabin.  

 

A few things I noticed right away that I loved about the Virgin Valiant Lady:

a) No constant PA announcements about unimportant and repetitive information - in fact we were able to count in 7 days only 3 announcements - muster reminder to attend by 5; a port change due to rough seas by the captain; and on the last day when the time was close for all to be off ship.  This was incredible after being so irritated on NCL with the constant cruise director announcements throughout the day about port times, bingo, auctions, etc. etc. - they were endless.

 

b) No constant use of paper - we had a few pieces of paper in the cabin on the 1st day and never received another notice/letter/reminder/bulletin again.  If you wanted the daily news you could pick it up in some central places.  Almost all information is accessible on app and we used it for everything.  On our last cruise we collected all the paper given in the room throughout the cruise and took it to the front desk on the last night to demonstrate the high use of paper waste for 4000 passengers with the constant reminders about auctions, activities, time changes, etc.  I know it seems trivial but it drives me crazy with the waste.

 

c) The crew were incredibly polite, cheerful, helpful, efficient - and without being pushy or overly rah rah to get you involved.  They were always welcoming and smiling - I couldn't stop noticing it.  I've heard they are higher paid and I love that they can eat in the common areas with us - Virgin definitely shows as a more respectful employer.

  

d) The service - we never, not once, waited in lines, waited to get into a restaurant, looked for a spot to sit.  Granted the ship was not full.  But it seemed obvious that there is enough space allocated for the passenger load at least it appears to be.  I'll be able to confirm this on our next one as we couldn't get over this fact.  

 

e) The Virgin app - kept us on track with bar tab and loot tab and our restaurant reservations and shore plans.  At first I wasn't keen on it and had read on the boards where people were having issues - I had none and found that I used it far more often than I expected.  Very handy to keep my drinking in control (not that I was trying to reduce but helped me to not totally over indulge as it tracked my drinks).  I was resisting going on Virgin and not having an all pass for alcohol - but this was fine and I didn't have too much over the tab at the end.  In fact on last day spent more expensive drinks to use up the tab.

 

f) The restaurants not being "dining rooms" - lots of choice and we tried almost all of them.  Extra Virgin was our favourite.  We loved the Dock for afternoon snacks. But we liked all the restaurants we attended. The Galley (a version of buffet without being a buffet) was great - we loved that you could order from a waiter or get it yourself without actually getting it from trays and bins but staff putting it together for you - the salad bar, etc.  So efficient and I loved the not pig trough version of this "buffet".  The burgers are great!  And we had the very fresh and plentiful salad bar every day.

 

g) The sailing schedule - we loved the not rushing back early for a 4:00 sailing etc.  The overnight ports were amazing for 2 nights in port opportunities.  This was a very pleasant experience to go to bed in the same city and wake up and spend the day there.

 

h) Both embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze!  Best of both - we got to port at 1:30 for our 1:45 slot and were in our cabin at 1:55 p.m.!  On disembarkation we picked 10:15 a.m. and were in the taxi at 10:35 a.m.  This was incredible

 

It is hard for me to come up with too many negatives that aren't more personal to us:

a)I did miss the art auctions - I know that many may not agree but I do enjoy attending them on other lines and have made purchases

 

b) Wasn't a fan of the onboard stores - didn't actually buy anything - some were just too chic and expensive for my taste - hardly saw anyone buying anything

 

c)Some meals we felt were rushed - I know that some may like that - and I understand why - but a few times we had to say we need to space out some of the courses and not have them at the same time

 

d) Entertainers were not always placed in places where passengers were and sometimes hard to find them - this schedule needs to be more fine-tuned and thought out. 

 

Hard to think of other negatives.   We really liked the week.  We are in our 50s and felt that we were likely on the older side of most of the passengers who seemed to be in their 30s/40s but it wasn't an issue at all.   I can't wait to see a Caribbean cruise at full capacity and what the clientele will be.  But for now I'm a Virgin convert.

 

[cantgetin]

Do you know how many sailors were on your cruise?   We've cruised with 1300, 1400, and 1800. and I honestly couldn't tell a difference. They seemed to space us out really well.   Just for your info, the average of VV sailors in 2022 was 43 with a range of 18-90s 

[Roel94]

I was on this cruise. I think I heard about 1500.

only the red room shows were full. Saw four shows.

I did tea the day we were docking in Ibiza as I knew late dinner.

or late  for Americans around 9.

 

think music in the dock was quiet but the band at night was great and that bar gets busy when ship full as it was when one band wad on no seats near band.

[Fogcityca13]

b) stores. I completely agree, it feels like a real missed opportunity. Granted I’m not much of a shopper, but nothing came close to drawing me into one of their stores. They really need a better Virgin branded merch store. I wish cruise lines could find a way to support the ports they visit in their shops. 
 

Great review, I’m glad you enjoyed the difference in the way they do things.

[CineGraphic]

13 hours ago, Fogcityca13 said:

They really need a better Virgin branded merch store

 

Virgin has a program called "Innercircle" and they recently sent out a survey asking what type of branded merch  we were interested in, so they seem to be aware that many of us have been disappointed in the offerings so far. They've also seen quite a bit of homemade items on board, so they understand the need to step-up their game.

[1025cruise]

One thing I did notice when I was on the Scarlett Lady was that the stores were pretty much empty, of customers. I've never seen that before.

[jlovely]

Thanks for this! What was your favorite port and thing you did in port? We're heading on Valiant Lady in 3 weeks and getting excited! 

[Roel94]

2 hours ago, jlovely said:

Thanks for this! What was your favorite port and thing you did in port? We're heading on Valiant Lady in 3 weeks and getting excited! 

Ibiza at night. The people,the lights,shops and food open to midnight..maybe later we went bsvk to ship Abd I went to hear music there. Best beach  too.

[Tyler414]

I usually buy a T-shirt on board, but I actually saw a pair of shoes I wanted and after checking them online I realized they were a good buy.  When I asked for assistance, the employees seemed shocked I was interested in buying something...I told them my shoe size (12 US mens) and they all looked at each other...after a minute of what appeared to be confusion I just asked for them to bring me any size 12....A short time later the employee came back saying the largest mens size they had was an 8.  I understand I'm not at a specific shoe store, but they had at least 5 different styles of shoes on display, with very limited supply to actually sell.  

[_tacocat_]

On 8/8/2023 at 8:15 AM, Tyler414 said:

I understand I'm not at a specific shoe store, but they had at least 5 different styles of shoes on display, with very limited supply to actually sell.  

same issue in the women's store... SO many cool shoes, all sized for lilliputians!

[KarimaJ]

We also have sailed NCL several times and recently put in for a virgin cruise with the casino. We are waiting to hear back. What did you miss about NCL?

[cantgetin]

On 8/8/2023 at 8:15 AM, Tyler414 said:

I usually buy a T-shirt on board, but I actually saw a pair of shoes I wanted and after checking them online I realized they were a good buy.  When I asked for assistance, the employees seemed shocked I was interested in buying something...I told them my shoe size (12 US mens) and they all looked at each other...after a minute of what appeared to be confusion I just asked for them to bring me any size 12....A short time later the employee came back saying the largest mens size they had was an 8.  I understand I'm not at a specific shoe store, but they had at least 5 different styles of shoes on display, with very limited supply to actually sell.  

Similar issue--5 hammocks hanging on the wall, but none in stock to sell.  They did give us a business card with the info for Yellow Leaf, and we ordered one when we got home (also available thru Amazon).  But still, VV can't sell what they don't have in stock!

 

[1025cruise]

20 hours ago, KarimaJ said:

We also have sailed NCL several times and recently put in for a virgin cruise with the casino. We are waiting to hear back. What did you miss about NCL?

The Freestyle style. With Virgin, you really need reservations everywhere.

[cantgetin]

45 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

The Freestyle style. With Virgin, you really need reservations everywhere.

Yes and no.  We have rarely had problems with doing a walk up at either restaurants or shows.  You might wait a few minutes  at restaurants.  But we prefer longer cruises, so shows are often repeated.  There are people who make reservations and don't show up, so stand by lines as shows often get in.  My understanding is that the shorter the cruise, the less the flexibility....which makes sense as they have the same number of sailors trying to do things in fewer days.

Edited August 22, 2023 by cantgetin

[travellingguy]

While we had reservations for most of our meals to plan, for the days we didn't we walked up and were seated within minutes every time.  So many places to have a drink to wait in case there was a wait.

 

21 hours ago, KarimaJ said:

We also have sailed NCL several times and recently put in for a virgin cruise with the casino. We are waiting to hear back. What did you miss about NCL?

 

To be honest I don't miss much about NCL.  NCL is canvassing me daily with pleas and offers to cruise again and while I look through the same old itineraries and the same ships I've been on with the horrible embarkation and disembarkation routines, I find that there isn't much to pull me back.  We don't have children and most of the mega NCL ships are directed to them.  One thing I did like on the NCL Breakaway class ships is the Waterfront on deck 8 - restaurants and bars outside that could be social gatherings, sunset locations, and a place to meet for cocktails.  The Valiant didn't have that other than the Dock so I guess that would be the one thing I missed but there were so many other things I liked on Virgin that I'm looking forward to my next 2 Virgin sailings.

[Travel-and-See]

2 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

The Freestyle style. With Virgin, you really need reservations everywhere.

Agreed.  I haven’t sailed NCL but it’s the same for me with celebrity - it was so nice to have anytime dining and not worry about reservations for dinner and shows.  
 

I’ve always gotten into shows that I wanted to on Virgin (usually get a reservation but standby has always worked for me too). But it’s still an extra step compared to just showing up on other lines. 
 

I’ve been turned away at restaurants on virgin and I’ve seen others be turned away as well so it is common.  It’s annoying to wait for the host only to be turned away and have to try again at another restaurant. 
 

the reservations and the digital ordering are my 2 biggest complaints about virgin along with the inconsistent service. 

[1025cruise]

Somehow, my wife managed to get a second reservation to Extra Virgin for our last night. They had two lines, reservations and non-reservations. They ended up taking all of the walk ups and putting them at a community table.

 

[cantgetin]

33 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Somehow, my wife managed to get a second reservation to Extra Virgin for our last night. They had two lines, reservations and non-reservations. They ended up taking all of the walk ups and putting them at a community table.

 

On cruises of 6 nights or longer, sailors are permitted to make 3 advance dinner reservations per restaurant.  For cruises of 5 or fewer nights, it is one reservation per restaurant.  We have been able to make additional reservations by going to the restaurant the night before and asking if they could  get us in.  We couldn't do it on the app if that exceeded our allowable number, but the crew at the restaurant are not confined by the app limits.

[chillyw]

On 8/6/2023 at 10:23 PM, travellingguy said:

Writing here a review as a new Virgin sailor and who uses these boards for lots of research and answers and hope to help others if possible.

 

I'm a long time NCL cruiser who this year decided to take a break from the megaship model of NCL after an unsatisfactory cruise on NCL and looked to the adults only model of Virgin.

 

 

 

I just got off the Prima and cant wait for our Virgin Cruise.

 

Honestly, NCL is borrrrrring now, full of crowds, and you can notice the cuts everywhere.

[happy cruzer]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:05 AM, cantgetin said:

On cruises of 6 nights or longer, sailors are permitted to make 3 advance dinner reservations per restaurant.  For cruises of 5 or fewer nights, it is one reservation per restaurant.  We have been able to make additional reservations by going to the restaurant the night before and asking if they could  get us in.  We couldn't do it on the app if that exceeded our allowable number, but the crew at the restaurant are not confined by the app limits.

So 6 night cruises allow for 3 reservations per restaurant?  I have seen it reported that the 3 reservations start at 7 night.  I hope it is 6 nights.  Thanks.

[cantgetin]

19 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

So 6 night cruises allow for 3 reservations per restaurant?  I have seen it reported that the 3 reservations start at 7 night.  I hope it is 6 nights.  Thanks.

6 nights or more allowed 3 advance reservations at each restaurant.  5 nights or less are allowed one.  You can eat there more times--the limit is on advance reservations.