Dining Times

[scottie99]

Our restaurants are available to book from tomorrow for our Valiant Lady cruise on 24 September.

 

We are seniors but enjoy a bit of entertainment.  Is there a time that would be best recommended for booking restaurants that would allow us to experience a reasonable amount of entertainment?

 

Experienced cruisers, first time VV.   Any restaurant recommendations very appreciated. ( or any tips)

 

 

 

thanks

 

Matt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jon81uk]

There is a show at 7 or 8pm and 10pm most nights. So either see the show at 7 and eat at 8.30 or see the show at 10pm and eat at 7pm. Or thereabouts. 

[cantgetin]

Dining starts at 6, so you can eat at 6 and potentially catch an 8:00 show, but if the shows are at 7th  that night, you won't be thru eating.  Our experience was that most shows were 8 and 10/10:30.  There were sometimes comedians, etc. at 9.   We found 6 too early to eat, and ended up going with a 7-8 dining time and catch the later shows.

[CruisingWalter]

Except for Pink Agave and Razzle Dazzle, the restaurants can be a much more relaxed pace than you're used to on other ships. They emphasize the experience of dining over the speed of turning over tables. The Test Kitchen in particular is a longer dinner. If your dining time is within 90 minutes of a show, simply let the server know as soon as you sit down and they should be able to move you along a little faster to make the show.

 

For example the standard four course meal in Extra Virgin was changed to a three course meal for us so we could make the Duel Reality show starting in 70 minutes. We were late to dinner due to a Secret Show, but she managed to get us through our meal even with dessert and we walked into the theater 2 minutes before the show. 

 

You could potentially move your dining schedule around once you see the entertainment slate onboard. Depending on how full your ship is, the availability of other dining times may be earlier or much later than what you selected. If it's going to be a later dinner, grab some light bites in The Galley to hold you over or share a pizza. 

 

Since you're first time VV some of my recommendations:

• When you board the ship, drop your bags in your stateroom and head straight to The Dock on the back of deck 7. Excellent tapas on the back of the ship, it's a great way to start your VV vacation.
• Also notice the Grab N Go station on your left just before you walk outside to The Dock. I usually grab the meat and cheese box as well when I head out there.
• Sun Cafe up on Deck 16 is a fabulous Poke and Bao Bun spot that has irregular hours, but tasty when it's open.
• Pizza is truly awesome and they have outdoor seating. 
• Social Club Diner has hot dogs and more along with really fun sweet snacks. 
• Razzle Dazzle has become our favorite restaurant of late, if they have the butter chicken, that has been one of my favorite things on the ship.
• The Test Kitchen is a really fun experience, but it is a very light meal. We now book this meal earlier because we know we'll be hungry again about 2 hours later. We'll either grab a pizza or head up to The Galley for munchies later.
• Pink Agave has over 125 Tequila and Mezcal so if you're a fan of either it's the place to visit, they also have a stand alone bar. On our second sailing they had a mezcal and tequila tasting that was outstanding.
• My big guilty pleasure is the French Toast Burger from the Burger Bar in The Galley for breakfast. So filling but just so dang good. 🙂 
• Ramen has been hit or miss in The Galley but the Bento Boxes are great. 
• With The Galley, make a lap around the space to see what the specials are before you sit down. If a server is not with you almost immediately after you sit down, raise the red flag on the table card and someone will be over shortly to take your order.
• There is a second Grab N Go station in the back of The Galley to take items out to the pool or sun deck areas. 
• My favorite music venue is On The Rocks, usually a quartet or trio. 
• If you want to laugh like you haven't laughed in a while, grab a private Karaoke booth in The Groupie up near the Red Room. SO MUCH FUN even if you don't sing karaoke in public, which I don't. 🙂 
• An excellent place to relax on the ship are the two decks on either side of the Roundabout on Deck 7, midship. Lots of comfortable outdoor seating near the waterline. the ship should provide a lot of shade on one side of the ship as well. 
• If you'd like to see the food, this is our food tour from our first Scarlet Lady sailing. 
• https://youtu.be/pBolzKvXjMU

 

Most of all, keep an open mind because VV is similar to other cruise lines, but it is its own thing. You are going to LOVE aspects of this cruise line and you're going to be annoyed by other things. Just like any other cruise line. We've sailed twice and will be on an 8 night with Valiant Lady in November. It's a really fun cruise line, have an amazing time!

 

[cantgetin]

The Galley has some stations open till 10:30pm --sweets, salads, etc.  It is a good place to grab some late night munchies to eat then or take back to the cabin for later!   This in addition to all of Walter's tips!

[CruisingWalter]

11 hours ago, cantgetin said:

The Galley has some stations open till 10:30pm --sweets, salads, etc.  It is a good place to grab some late night munchies to eat then or take back to the cabin for later!   This in addition to all of Walter's tips!

 

And of course Diner and Dash will be your 24 hour munchie spot in the Galley. 🙂

[Travel-and-See]

When there are 2 shows, I've noticed the later shows are usually much more full. So you might want to plan on going to the early show and then having dinner later.  Then if you still want more entertainment there is usually live music at "On the Rocks" or a dance party at "The Manor." 

 

And of course "The Ship Show" is a dinner show - and lots of fun, you should definitely go. 

 

If for any reason you want to skip a full dinner at a restaurant, the Galley usually has a dinner special. 

 

I agree with Walter 100% that Razzle Dazzle has the best food on Virgin. The Pasta at Razzle Dazzle is better than the Pasta at Extra Virgin in my opinion! 

 

 

[jon81uk]

2 hours ago, Travel-and-See said:

The Pasta at Razzle Dazzle is better than the Pasta at Extra Virgin in my opinion! 

Assuming you mean the black and white bow tie pasta, it’s gone. There is a totally new dinner menu for Razzle Dazzle that is delicious but not as flashy to look at.

[Lustate]

4 hours ago, Travel-and-See said:

The Pasta at Razzle Dazzle is better than the Pasta at Extra Virgin in my opinion! 

 

I would say this style of pasta is not really Italian by any stretch of the imagination, it is more of a local family joint which cooks it's to over soft with very little "bite". Think of it was doing to Italian pasta what Taco Bell does to Mexican food. 

[1025cruise]

8 hours ago, Travel-and-See said:

When there are 2 shows, I've noticed the later shows are usually much more full. So you might want to plan on going to the early show and then having dinner later.  Then if you still want more entertainment there is usually live music at "On the Rocks" or a dance party at "The Manor." 

 

And of course "The Ship Show" is a dinner show - and lots of fun, you should definitely go. 

 

If for any reason you want to skip a full dinner at a restaurant, the Galley usually has a dinner special. 

 

I agree with Walter 100% that Razzle Dazzle has the best food on Virgin. The Pasta at Razzle Dazzle is better than the Pasta at Extra Virgin in my opinion! 

 

 

Razzle Dazzle has a new menu. I was on the Scarlet Lady on the first cruise it was introduced. I don't recall there being a pasta dish.

[Travel-and-See]

Well… I’ll have to check out the new razzle dazzle menu on my next cruise! Anyone have photos of the new menu?

[Travel-and-See]

11 hours ago, jon81uk said:

Assuming you mean the black and white bow tie pasta, it’s gone. There is a totally new dinner menu for Razzle Dazzle that is delicious but not as flashy to look at.

It was the ravioli that I loved. Will be sad if it’s gone.  They better still have the Green Tea Cheesecake!!!!! 

[aviators99]

1 hour ago, Travel-and-See said:

Well… I’ll have to check out the new razzle dazzle menu on my next cruise! Anyone have photos of the new menu?

[scottie99]

On 8/9/2023 at 1:41 PM, CruisingWalter said:

Except for Pink Agave and Razzle Dazzle, the restaurants can be a much more relaxed pace than you're used to on other ships. They emphasize the experience of dining over the speed of turning over tables. The Test Kitchen in particular is a longer dinner. If your dining time is within 90 minutes of a show, simply let the server know as soon as you sit down and they should be able to move you along a little faster to make the show.

 

For example the standard four course meal in Extra Virgin was changed to a three course meal for us so we could make the Duel Reality show starting in 70 minutes. We were late to dinner due to a Secret Show, but she managed to get us through our meal even with dessert and we walked into the theater 2 minutes before the show. 

 

You could potentially move your dining schedule around once you see the entertainment slate onboard. Depending on how full your ship is, the availability of other dining times may be earlier or much later than what you selected. If it's going to be a later dinner, grab some light bites in The Galley to hold you over or share a pizza. 

 

Since you're first time VV some of my recommendations:

• When you board the ship, drop your bags in your stateroom and head straight to The Dock on the back of deck 7. Excellent tapas on the back of the ship, it's a great way to start your VV vacation.
• Also notice the Grab N Go station on your left just before you walk outside to The Dock. I usually grab the meat and cheese box as well when I head out there.
• Sun Cafe up on Deck 16 is a fabulous Poke and Bao Bun spot that has irregular hours, but tasty when it's open.
• Pizza is truly awesome and they have outdoor seating. 
• Social Club Diner has hot dogs and more along with really fun sweet snacks. 
• Razzle Dazzle has become our favorite restaurant of late, if they have the butter chicken, that has been one of my favorite things on the ship.
• The Test Kitchen is a really fun experience, but it is a very light meal. We now book this meal earlier because we know we'll be hungry again about 2 hours later. We'll either grab a pizza or head up to The Galley for munchies later.
• Pink Agave has over 125 Tequila and Mezcal so if you're a fan of either it's the place to visit, they also have a stand alone bar. On our second sailing they had a mezcal and tequila tasting that was outstanding.
• My big guilty pleasure is the French Toast Burger from the Burger Bar in The Galley for breakfast. So filling but just so dang good. 🙂 
• Ramen has been hit or miss in The Galley but the Bento Boxes are great. 
• With The Galley, make a lap around the space to see what the specials are before you sit down. If a server is not with you almost immediately after you sit down, raise the red flag on the table card and someone will be over shortly to take your order.
• There is a second Grab N Go station in the back of The Galley to take items out to the pool or sun deck areas. 
• My favorite music venue is On The Rocks, usually a quartet or trio. 
• If you want to laugh like you haven't laughed in a while, grab a private Karaoke booth in The Groupie up near the Red Room. SO MUCH FUN even if you don't sing karaoke in public, which I don't. 🙂 
• An excellent place to relax on the ship are the two decks on either side of the Roundabout on Deck 7, midship. Lots of comfortable outdoor seating near the waterline. the ship should provide a lot of shade on one side of the ship as well. 
• If you'd like to see the food, this is our food tour from our first Scarlet Lady sailing. 
• https://youtu.be/pBolzKvXjMU

 

Most of all, keep an open mind because VV is similar to other cruise lines, but it is its own thing. You are going to LOVE aspects of this cruise line and you're going to be annoyed by other things. Just like any other cruise line. We've sailed twice and will be on an 8 night with Valiant Lady in November. It's a really fun cruise line, have an amazing time!

 

Walter, 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed reply.  Such great advice which I will certainly follow.

 

I have booked a different restaurant for 6 nights with a repeat at Extra Virgin. ( maybe change that to Razzle Dazzle!

 

So many booking slots were full ,the choice was mostly 18.30 or 20.30. I have opted for earlier slot in most instances.

 

As an aside, we came off a Rhine river cruise on Sunday last,- never been so bored in my life, so looking forward to some fun on VV.

[jon81uk]

14 minutes ago, scottie99 said:

So many booking slots were full ,the choice was mostly 18.30 or 20.30. I have opted for earlier slot in most instances.

More reservations come available onboard so you may be able to move things round. 
 

It’s a Ship Show is a dinner show and although the food is fine you might find you don’t need a repeat reservation for a main restaurant due to the dinner show. If you aren’t full after the show though you might go find something else though!

[Travel-and-See]

@aviators99 thanks for that but oh no!!!! No more ravioli and no more green tea cheesecake! 😢😢😢

[aviators99]

Just now, Travel-and-See said:

@aviators99 thanks for that but oh no!!!! No more ravioli and no more green tea cheesecake! 😢😢😢

Yeah, I'm not thrilled with the changes, either.  Someone mentioned that they were trying to get away from the "vegetarian forward" label.  It's tough, because on the one hand, I find myself wishing the menus would change occasionally since I travel on them so often, but on the other, I love the menus and am worried that I'll lose my favorite dishes and they won't be replaced with something else I will love.  I am a very picky eater, so that makes me a bit difficult... 🙂

 

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, aviators99 said:

Yeah, I'm not thrilled with the changes, either.  Someone mentioned that they were trying to get away from the "vegetarian forward" label.  It's tough, because on the one hand, I find myself wishing the menus would change occasionally since I travel on them so often, but on the other, I love the menus and am worried that I'll lose my favorite dishes and they won't be replaced with something else I will love.  I am a very picky eater, so that makes me a bit difficult... 🙂

 

Although I think the new menu actually has more vegetarian/vegan dishes than the old one. But there is more focus on good taste rather than it looking good. A number of the old dishes seemed to be made to be photographed and many of the brunch dishes such as the fairy roast and rainbow churros still are.

[Travel-and-See]

8 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

But there is more focus on good taste rather than it looking good. A number of the old dishes seemed to be made to be photographed

i can’t speak for all of the dishes, but the ravioli (as an appetizer) the salmon, and the green tea cheesecake was the best tasting meal I’ve had on any cruise ship ever.   And once when I tried the butter chicken instead of the salmon I was also quite happy.  
 

I’ll give the new dishes a try though! But that green tea cheesecake didn’t deserve to be thrown overboard 😢 haha 

[1025cruise]

The short rib pastrami was tasty. I'd say our major complaint was that the menu in the app hadn't been updated, so we (and everyone else) got surprised. A lot of apologizing by the staff. 

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, jon81uk said:

. A number of the old dishes seemed to be made to be photographed and many of the brunch dishes such as the fairy roast and rainbow churros still are.

Fairy Toast is actually a common dish in Australia (I thought it was something VV invented!)

But I'm with you that some items were more to be photographed than eaten...like the watermelon berry thing.  So sorry to lose the green tea cheesecake.

[jon81uk]

9 hours ago, Travel-and-See said:

i can’t speak for all of the dishes, but the ravioli (as an appetizer) the salmon, and the green tea cheesecake was the best tasting meal I’ve had on any cruise ship ever.   And once when I tried the butter chicken instead of the salmon I was also quite happy.  
 

I’ll give the new dishes a try though! But that green tea cheesecake didn’t deserve to be thrown overboard 😢 haha 

The butter chicken was good, I think that is actually Indian food and curry is biggest thing missing on the whole ship now. On the new menu I liked the pork belly starter and the smoked beef main. The pear and filo dessert was fantastic,  but the s’mores is just chocolate pudding. 
 

I’m pretty sure the green tea cheesecake is on the brunch menu. The milk and cookies have gone but the cheesecake, Razzle cake and churros remain as brunch desserts.