Early Thoughts

[scottie99]

We boarded Valiant Lady yesterday in Barcelona.

 

Being Deep Blue from RCCL diamond plus meant from getting out of taxi took less than 20mins.

Our upgrade bids had not been accepted so we are in XL Sea Terrace on deck 14. Cabin is very quiet. Room Steward is extremely pleasant and helpful.

 

One of our cases did not arrive, so I messaged through the App and was asked to attend Guest Services. I was asked about alcohol in my bag. I explained I had only one bottle of wine.  The attendant asked me to open my case to show him which I did.  He apologised and all was good.

 

As I discussed before, we were concerned about the firmness of the bed. Through the App, again I requested mattress topper. The cabin steward attended in minutes, explained he did not have any but put 2 quilts under the bed sheet which helped slightly.

 

We had lunch in the Dock and then dinner in Extra Virgin. My wife’s sea bass was excellent, my medium steak was ok but not warm enough. We asked for salt in the Wake only to be told none was available. The server did offer to go to the kitchen to get some but we declined.   Again in Extra Virgin there was no salt or pepper on the table and we had to request them.  We must be Philistines asking for a little salt on our food these days!

 

We enjoyed the Misbehave Show.  It is certainly different to any previous cruise show!

[cantgetin]

VV states that any the two bottles of wine you are permitted must be in your carry on.  That explains why your bag was held for inspection.

 

Salt is a problem--some restaurants have it, others do not.  After our first cruise, we started bringing along a resealable salt shaker which I could toss in my bag easily.  Yes, it sounds dumb, but it works.  We, too, got tired of "no salt available."  We also discovered that some restaurants claim to not serve iced tea, so I carry my insulated cup everywhere.

Enjoy the trip!

[basenji56]

This "no salt" issue is a game changer.  I guess I need to bring salt packets on the ship??

 

[CineGraphic]

Someone who will remain nameless once posted on here a tale of pinching a set of salt & pepper shakers from one of the dining rooms, and bringing them home as a souvenir. I'm wondering if that became a trend and they've had them removed, or if they are just waiting for them to be replaced.

[AlyssaJames]

The Wake on Scarlet has (in my experience/memory) usually had a little salt cellar in the shape of an oyster. It might be easy to miss or assume it's just some kind of table deco, I don't know. It's to the far right in this picture:



Bigger picture, I've only sailed once on Valiant (about ten months ago) and I do remember feeling like everything was underseasoned compared to the same dishes on Scarlet. And as an auto-salter, I'm in favor of this 'bring your own' idea. 

Edited to add: and now I'm wondering if there's a specific issue with an (executive chef? I don't know the hierarchy off the top of my head) on Valiant who 1) under-seasons and 2) got tired of people asking for salt and insisted it be removed from the fine dining places? Hah. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by AlyssaJames

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

Someone who will remain nameless once posted on here a tale of pinching a set of salt & pepper shakers from one of the dining rooms, and bringing them home as a souvenir. I'm wondering if that became a trend and they've had them removed, or if they are just waiting for them to be replaced.

We borrowed a salt from The Galley  when we couldn't get salt in several of the restaurants.....no, it didn't go home as a souvenir and now we know to bring a plastic one from home.  While I don't doubt that some do disappear, some restaurants  seem to never have any.

[greenenvy]

Room service used to have to cutest magnetic salt and pepper shaker that connected together. Those disappeared and they no longer come with room service. 

[sid_9169]

4 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

Someone who will remain nameless once posted on here a tale of pinching a set of salt & pepper shakers from one of the dining rooms, and bringing them home as a souvenir. I'm wondering if that became a trend and they've had them removed, or if they are just waiting for them to be replaced.

I'm guessing that I'm the guilty one... Honestly, I saw someone else doing it the day before, and also learned that this was a "thing" going all the way back to Virgin Airlines...

[raphael360]

I always carry my own salt for several reasons: Always have it, know what kind of salt I'm getting but mostly because I know who's hands have touched it.  🙂

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by raphael360

[c-boy]

3 hours ago, AlyssaJames said:

The Wake on Scarlet has (in my experience/memory) usually had a little salt cellar in the shape of an oyster. It might be easy to miss or assume it's just some kind of table deco, I don't know. It's to the far right in this picture:



Bigger picture, I've only sailed once on Valiant (about ten months ago) and I do remember feeling like everything was underseasoned compared to the same dishes on Scarlet. And as an auto-salter, I'm in favor of this 'bring your own' idea. 

Edited to add: and now I'm wondering if there's a specific issue with an (executive chef? I don't know the hierarchy off the top of my head) on Valiant who 1) under-seasons and 2) got tired of people asking for salt and insisted it be removed from the fine dining places? Hah. 

I agree on the under seasoning, now I carry   to spice things up. 

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

this was a "thing" going all the way back to Virgin Airlines...

Yes, the s&p shakers in Upper Class are so cute that there are currently 13 sets up for grabs on EBay.🤣

[warmwinds]

We use zero salt at home (plenty of herbs and spices) but for medical reasons we cut out salt years ago, so we truly appreciate that VV "underseasons" their food, but they should include salt and pepper on the table for those that want it.

 

You can always add it but you can't take it away if it's already on.

[CineGraphic]

Here's what's printed on the bottom of Virgin Atlantic's s&p shakers.

My father used to mark his record albums with "Stolen From".

 

[chefchick]

On Virgin America #RIP, they had the same S&P shakers, but they were red plastic….I might have a set in the kitchen somewhere.  God, I miss that airline.

[warmwinds]

I agree, we only got to fly on them once in F and the white leather seats, spotlights, mood lighting were all so unique.  Too bad Alaska didn't hang on to them.

[Travel-and-See]

8 hours ago, AlyssaJames said:

Bigger picture, I've only sailed once on Valiant (about ten months ago) and I do remember feeling like everything was underseasoned compared to the same dishes on Scarlet. And as an auto-salter, I'm in favor of this 'bring your own' idea. 

I agree with this.  Perhaps Valiant often being based in Europe uses less salt vs. Scarlet based in USA?  My dishes in Pink Agave on Valiant were SO underseasoned I'm still wondering if the server thought I wanted Vegan prep (I ordered all Vegetarian items but not because I'm vegetarian, just that's what I wanted to try). 

 

Either way there is simply no excuse to not have salt or ice tea available at all restaurants. 

[cantgetin]

The food on our October 2022 sailing on Valiant was definitely better seasoned than April 2023.  Scarlet is better than Valiant also,

[neverendingcruising]

7 hours ago, raphael360 said:

I always carry my own salt for several reasons: Always have it, know what kind of salt I'm getting but mostly because I know who's hands have touched it.  🙂

 

 

my wife never leaves home without salt for just that reason - never know who was licking the shaker prior to your meal!

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, neverendingcruising said:

never know who was licking the shaker prior to your meal!

 

I use to lick the silverware, not the s&p shakers. 🤣

[billco]

I hope the OP posts some more thoughts so the discussion can move on. We board the Valiant Lady next month.

[scottie99]

1 hour ago, billco said:

I hope the OP posts some more thoughts so the discussion can move on. We board the Valiant Lady next month.

As OP, to conclude “Saltgate”, we have found salt on the table on about 30% of venues, and the Dock the only place that couldn’t get it easily.

 

We had a lovely day in Toulon yesterday, just walking around and lunching in a waterside restaurant. Dinner was in Razzle Dazzle and we thought the lamb was very good.  We are currently in Marina de Carrara and decided to stay on the ship and chill.

 

We would have liked to visit Cinque Terra but it was an 8 hour trip involving buses and ferries. We thought that was too long.

 

The age demographic on the ship is not as young as we expected. The ship itself looks amazing, the staff outstanding. Every time you engage with them, they burst into a smile.

 

The jury is still out on the entertainment though. We kinda miss the production shows that other lines provide. Also I wonder why they pitch their shops so high end. It would be interesting to know when they last sold a $16.5K pre owned Rolex.

 

Happy to answer any questions.

[cantgetin]

Average age on VV was 43 in 2022.  I read a TA post that said it is now 48, but he didn't post a time frame, details on cruise lengths, or anything to make it more meaningful. m The range is 18-90s