Live Trip Report - Celebration Cruise 8/30-9/5 out of Miami on Valiant Lady

TripsYouMustDo · August 31

Day 1 - Embarkation

Today started pretty badly for us thanks to horrible customer service at the Terminal V in Miami, but fortunately improved quite a bit by the end of the day.

If you are able-bodied and don't have disabled relatives, this might sound like a bunch of whining to you, so maybe just skip today's report, or at least the first paragraph 🙂 If you want to know how bad VV embarkation is for disabled people, read the whole thing of course.

VV rewarded our loyalty with zero points after 4 cruises because they were booked on points, so we got zero loyalty status even though this is our 5th cruise with VV. Thanks VV, way to get loyal customers. Anyway, they also rewarded our loyalty with 4:15pm embarkation time for 5:30pm sailaway - any later and we'd be missing the cruise I guess. Our hotel check out time was 1pm, so we figured we'd head to the port and see if there is a chance to get on earlier. My wife is disabled and travels in her own wheelchair, but VV has been very mixed in special assistance we've been getting. It ranged from wonderful in Athens where they got her into the air-conditioned VIP rockstar tent pre-cruise, to absolutely horrible, like today. We pulled in to the port at 1:30pm in our rental vehicle and the manager of the embarkation told us they'd let my wife board at 2pm instead of 4:15pm since she's disabled. We dropped off the luggage (they still don't let you pre-print your luggage tags, why??? the porter has to write your room number on a generic luggage tag with a marker! still!), got her wheelchair setup, and she waited for me at the port while I went to return the rental to Avis. Missed the Avis shuttle back to the port so called the Uber and was back by 2pm. We try to board, and the same exact person, "Daisy" (not her real name, but what her VV name tag said, real name was on the picture ID/badge on her neck and completely different), tells us "your embarkation time is at 4:15pm, you have to wait until then".... We are flabbergasted since she told my wife she'd let her board at 2pm and now it's another 2 hours of sitting in the heat for her. Had I known I would've just kept the rental and we'd at least sit in air conditioned vehicle until then. No, they did not let my wife go inside of the air-conditioned terminal V to wait either. They told her to just sit in her wheelchair, outside, in Miami heat, for 2 hours, after promising her to get her on at 2pm. And it's the same person that told us both things! I start getting really frustrated and ask to speak to Daisy's supervisor. She tries to stall me, but finally after I ask her "Are you refusing to let me to speak to your supervisor, Daisy?", she tells me she's calling her supervisor for me. 5 minutes later one of her underlings comes over and tells us we can board (*as she promised us* before I dropped off the rental car!). Now, I don't expect VV to accommodate my disabled wife in the Rockstar line, but come on, after you promise a disabled person to board them at 2pm, you don't tell them "oh, sorry, just kidding, sit in the heat for 2 hours, sucks to be you". Lovely. Anyway, we get through the terminal and get our wrist band. They no longer ask you which of their cutesy sayings you want on the bracelet (like "Make a splash" or "Seas the day"), and they don't adjust the bracelets for you, so my wife promptly loses her bracelet shortly after we board and has to go back to the guest services. The vibe of the excited and helpful customer service is definitely not in the Miami terminal anymore (like it was in 2023, or even this year in Athens). There was little special assistance available to get onto the ship, and several people in wheelchairs were sitting by the gangway, waiting for someone to help them. Technically, VV actually refuses to provide disabled assistance on the ship (per their FAQ), only from terminal to ship's gangway! Though in practice the crew will normally help you.

Anyway, fortunately I'm able-bodied and pushed my wife onto the ship and to the cabin myself. One big annoyance is VV puts luggage in the hallways perpendicular to the wall instead of parallel, so it sticks out into the hallway *a lot*. It's impossible to pass through with a wheelchair without turning most larger bags to be parallel to the wall. A person in the wheelchair by himself/herself wouldn't be able to get through. It shouldn't bother able-bodied people too much, but if you are using a walker or a wheelchair, it's a huge pain. I guess I'm starting to realize more and more (from immersive shows to lack of special assistance) that VV doesn't really care about disabled passengers at all. Oh well, not my favorite cruise line anyway. I thought I was becoming a reluctant fan, but now I'm back to the "undecided" and "probably not for us" camp.

We finally make our way to our Central Balcony cabin, which is ready, but unfortunately it's not really *central*. It's all the way by the forward elevators. That's bad on me, I should've double-checked the location of course. I just assumed that "central" balcony means... well, central. It was actually very forward instead. I ran to the guest services, which had a long-ish line, but guest services staff were totally on the ball! They had probably a dozen guest services crew both at their tiny desks and roaming the line, all helping the guests. The line *looked* long, but moved fast. Well done Virgin. As always, the further away you get from cruise port, the better the service gets. Sadly VV terminal/on-land support is as awful as most other cruise lines. Anyway, I get to talk to a helpful gentleman (thank you Gavrilo!) that promises to try to get us moved closer to the middle elevators, but that could be done only after we depart, so around 6pm or so. No worries, we could wait a bit.

We go The Galley to grab something to eat. The Galley transformed from being table-service only to being mostly self-serve, "line to each counter" place. In 2023 you couldn't come up to most counters (Mexican, Asian, etc.) and order - you had to sit at your table, raise the flag, and order. Now most people just go and get their food themselves. I raised our flag and waited good 15 minutes for someone to take our order. I guess if you are in a hurry, just go to whichever food station you want yourself now. Anyway, I got some tacos (fish and el pastor), my wife got burger and fries, and we also grabbed some sushi. Food quality is great as always, glad to see it's consistent across the fleet (it's our first time on Valiant, sailed on both Scarlet and Resilient before).

On the way back we grabbed some ice cream from Lick Me Till I Scream, which was also great as always.

Back to the cabin for a bit, getting ready for dinner and sail away at 5:30pm. I managed to book The Ship Show, which still needs to be booked through the app. I probably should've done that as soon as I got on the ship, but the embarkation process got a bit hectic after the confrontation with the unhelpful terminal staff. Also booked a couple of fitness classes - spinning and HIIT bootcamp. Bungie/suspension workout classes were all booked up already. I guess you have to be a rockstar to get into one of those.

Up to deck 15 by the pool at 5:30pm for the sail away champaign toast. I believe CEO Nirmal was supposed to say a few words but we didn't get to see him. It's difficult for my wife to navigate crowds, and we had dinner at the Wake at 6pm. We stayed by the pool from 5:30pm to 5:55pm. The Diva (or the Hostess? I always confuse them) came out and said a few words. Nirmal didn't show up by 5:55pm, so we had to leave and go to the Wake for dinner. They did serve the champaign at 5:45pm, and there was plenty of it. Most people were grabbing two-three glasses, and there were still plenty left when we headed to dinner.

Got a nice table at the Wake. Unfortunately my wife wasn't quite hungry yet so she went with just a side of baked potato and Baked Alaska for dessert. My stomach was cruise-ready, so I went for clam chowder, bone marrow, lamb chops, and Baked Alaska for dessert. Service was good, but food was amazing as always. VV has the best food by far IMHO. One of the things that keeps us coming back. One thing I'll mention is not all restaurants on VV ships will give you just coffee with cream because not all have just regular drip coffee. All have pay-for espresso, and will try to sell you Americano (that you have to pay for) instead. If you are ordering coffee, be clear that you want "free" coffee unless you want one of the extra-pay fancy ones (latte, cappuccino, etc., but even Americano is chargeable!) Anyway, because the Wake is open for brunch, they do have a drip coffee machine and you can order normal, free coffee. Who would've thought that ordering coffee on a cruise can be problematic. Way to screw that up VV. (But not at the Wake, there it's easy!)

After dinner we got notified by guest services that they got us a room on the same deck (13) by the middle elevators. The location was amazing, right by the elevators, and we happily moved. Well done VV - shout out to Gavrilo, Gabriela, and Selma in Guest Services!

After that it was time for the show we wanted to see - stand-up comedian Zed Lacher. It was in the Red Room which was setup as "classic showroom" tonight - normal front to back, top to bottom tiered sitting (it's re-configurable for other shows). We got there 15 minutes before the show and theater was pretty full. Fortunately ushers were on top of it and seeing that my wife was disabled, happily gave us two reserved seats at the bottom row. Nicely done VV. That's what I mean when I say that VV disabled/special assistance varies from amazing to horrible, on the regular basis... Anyway, the show was a blast. Zed is *not* one of the aggressive/offensive comedians that my wife and I hate, but instead a very good-natured one with great material and delivery. It's really not hard to make people laugh without offending or humiliating someone, so I don't know what some comedians still do it this day and age. Anyway, Zed's show was excellent!

After the show we went to check out the Pajama Party for a few minutes. A lot of people were sporting their finest pajamas at the comedy show, lol, so we had to at least stop by. Turned out they moved the party from deck 15 to the Manor because of the rain. We headed to the upper level of the Manor (entrance from Sips champaign lounge if you can't climb stairs like my wife) to look the party below (Deck 6, entrance from the Casino). Quite a few people showed up, and many were wearing various pajamas (but not all, don't feel you need to bring pajamas just for that). The Dive (or The Hostess?) came out and sang a song, and we left shortly after. Tomorrow is a sea day!

Random notes - they cancelled The Miss Behave Show tonight due to an injury/sickness. The comedian was supposed to be in the Manor but got moved to the Red Room! The theater was full, so it was a great move. FWIW, I absolutely can't stand Miss Behave. We tried seeing it once on Reslient, and walked out after 15 minutes. It's the most meaningless collection of gibberish that I will never be able to understand or appreciate. My wife was of the same opinion. So no big loss for us that show getting cancelled, other than I still hope performers are well or will recover quickly.

Edited August 31 by TripsYouMustDo

TripsYouMustDo · August 31

Printed materials in the room:

Glance Day 1, and various cards left in the room.

TripsYouMustDo · August 31

Food porn from Day 1

bearsbacker · August 31

Thanks for the review!! Sailing on the celebration voyage out of Portsmouth!!

TripsYouMustDo · August 31

Beautiful sunset and excellent comedy show

TripsYouMustDo · August 31

Free (included) WiFi has been good, but they are certainly blocking streaming - e.g. even YouTube isn't available.

Upgraded WiFi is $30 per day (ouch) or $120 for the 5-day sailing. I would've hoped upgrade would've been cheaper considering basic is included for free, but no, not so much.

kaysha2004 · September 1

Yikes! That's pricey wi-fi! That's up from $50 for the entire 5-day voyage in the past.☹️

TripsYouMustDo · September 1

Day 2 - Sea Day

Woke up at 7am and tried making a reservation for brunch. Normally brunch is pretty available, but both restaurants open for brunch (The Wake and Razzle Dazzle) were booked up. Since Razzle Dazzle opens at 7am on port days, while The Wake always opens at 8am, we decided to go to The Wake today and try to get in standby. Got there around 8:30am and didn't have a problem getting a table. Absolutely lovely service from Honey (fitting to her name), and great food again. I had clam chowder (amazing), poached shrimp (excellent), soft-shell crab eggs benedict (great), and crepe cake for desert (to die for). My wife had steak-no-eggs (she can't have eggs) and panna cotta for desert. Pan au cholocat and a donut for pastries. Free coffee & cream, free OJ (as opposed to freshly-squeezed one that would set you back $7), and diet coke for my wife.

Afterwards went back to our cabin for a sec, and I ran to the 90s Boy Band Dance lesson. Amanda (The Flare) was teaching it. The class/session was actually excellent. I did a similar dance class on our last Resilient cruise out of Athens, and that one was absolutely horrible. So well done VV on Valiant. Amanda did a great job breaking down dance moves and working with us. Once we learned the routine (more or less) we were divided into three "boy band" teams, and had to choreograph the intro before the dance, after which each team performed individually. It wasn't my favorite part of the activity, but at least the people on my team were lovely and welcoming. Overall it was great fun and great way to burn a few calories as well.

After the dance class I went to the magician/Charmer show. It was an actual magic show in the On The Rocks part of Deck 6 (by roundabout and elevators, it's obvious enough where it is). The Charmer put on a good show that I found quite enjoyable. It was a combination of card tricks, mind reading, and a few other magic tricks.

After the magic show I took a break from activities till 3:30pm when I had a spin class. The class was excellent, with instructor actually making sure everyone's bike was properly setup to begin with. He also gave us all better instructions and explanation of the bike functions and display than any other spin class on VV. The class itself was pretty good, with a good combination of high and low intensity moves, push-ups on the bike, clapping push-ups on the bike, etc. I was impressed. The last spin class I took on Resilient was pretty bad, so this one was a nice surprise.

I left the spin class early to take a quick shower and join my wife at the CEO Nirmal's cocktail hour at 4pm. It was about the same as the last celebration voyage, with cocktails flowing non-stop. They had three choices, but the waiters had hard time telling me what's in them. I managed to find cards with names and ingredients for two out of three. One was tequila-based, one was rum based, and the third one I have no clue. They tasted OK, though my wife hated all three. They also had champaign and made that flow as well. So you had a choice of three cocktails or champaign, and it was basically open bar for an hour. I had a couple and stopped as they were pretty potent. You certainly could get wasted very easily if you wanted to. To my surprise I didn't see the CEO himself, and he didn't do any sort of a speech.

After the cocktail hour we headed down to the Ship Show at the Manor for the 5:15pm show. We saw it on Scarlet last year (March 2023), but unfortunately it was much worse this year. It was about 2 hours, and they had only 3 acts. One "bone breaker"/contortionist, one aerialist (rope), and one sword swallower. None of them amazed my wife or I. They also had a singer, MC, and four dancers that filled the rest of the 2 hours. Food was included, but unfortunately it wasn't very impressive. We ended up having another dinner later at Razzle Dazzle. To make it worse, they didn't let us into the theater till 5:15pm. So I stood in line for good half hour for no reason other than as always, VV doesn't have their act together. Pretty much every single other cruise line will let you into the theater 30 minutes to 45 minutes before the show. VV, as a rule, doesn't let you into the Manor right till the show start time, so everyone is forced to stand in line for 30-45 minutes if they want to get good seats. Great way to spend your vacation. Thank you VV. One of the many stupid things this cruise line does that annoy me to no end. To make it worse, at 5pm they opened one set of the doors and let us in half way to where we were standing in the "mirror hallway" in front of another set of the doors for 15 minutes. At least when we were completely outside of the showroom, in the casino, my disabled wife could sit at one of the slot machines. When they let us in half-way, she ended up having to stand for 15 minutes, which is extremely painful for her. In retrospect we should've had her wheelchair with us, but unfortunately I forgot what rude unhelpful idiots VV crew can be. They were so great yesterday in the theater that I didn't expect them to just not care at all today. I tried talking to the show ushers, but this set was absolutely unsympathetic and unhelpful. I guess once again VV fails to provide disabled folks consideration or assistance. If you are disabled, do yourself a favor and find another cruise line. We have, and this will likely be our last VV cruise.

After the Ship Show we headed to the Red Room to see Duel Reality at 7:30pm, which is by far the best show on VV IMHO. It's only on Scarlet and Valiant. On Resilient it was replaced by extra-pay Another Rose. It's basically an excellent circus show, with a vague theme of Romeo and Juliet. The teeterboard, pole, doubles trapeze, standing acro and other acts in the show are absolutely top notch. They actually took the show off of the ships and it's now doing a land tour as well. I think it's a first - a show produced for the ship ended up on land. Normally they move in the opposite direction. Anyway, the show on Valiant was just as good as Scarlet. The theater is configured with a small stage in the middle and two banks of seats on each side of the theater. We sat in the front row, basically in the middle of the show with performers all around us. That's a much better way to do an immersive show than the new standing variety that VV is so enamored with.

After the Duel Reality we decided to get better food. We tried going stand by to Pink Agave, but it was totally packed, with a long line. So we went to the other side of the Deck 5 to Razzle Dazzle, which had plenty of availability. I think Razzle Dazzle is one of the most underappreciated restaurants on the ship. They have pretty extensive brunch and dinner menus, and food quality is typically excellent. This time I got avocado salad, and "secret" double cheeseburger with blue cheese. It's not so much a secret as they tell you about it, it's just not on the menu. They also had a "crusted everything salmon" not on the menu as well, which I might try some other night. My wife wasn't too hungry so she got just the pork belly appetizer. I wasn't too crazy about the avocado salad, but my burger was great. My wife's pork belly was excellent as well. I wanted to see the second Duel Reality show at 10pm so I skipped the desert. I figured I'd grab something sweet later at the Galley (sweets are open till midnight).

I sat on the other side of the stage for the 10pm show of Duel Reality, and enjoyed it equally. It's unfortunate that VV no longer allows you to video the shows. I do have a couple of videos from Scarlet from back when they didn't care (March of 2023), but now video is no longer allowed.

Afterwards I stopped by the room to meet my wife (she skipped the second Duel Reality show) and we went up to the Galley to grab some deserts. I had a macaroon, which was excellent, and a cup of coffee. My wife had two Pavlovas.

I stopped by the Manor before calling it a day to check out the 11pm "We Fancy" party. I went to the second level of the Manor (Deck 7 from Sips lounge) and it seemed to be more packed with people-watchers than the dance floor. It seemed like there was some sort of a brief performance going on on the dance floor, but I couldn't get to the railing of the second level to see - it was really packed. Finally the railing cleared up but by then it was just regular party with folks all dressed up into their finest with some crazy make-up on. I took a few pictures and left. Day over.

Overall a pretty great sea day. Great breakfast, great dance class, good magic show, excellent brief spin class (I hated to cut it short of the cocktail hour, but sacrifices had to be made, lol). The cocktail hour was good, with plenty of booze and lively conversations. The Ship Show was disappointed unfortunately, and the idiotic line till the show start was annoying and painful for my wife, but at least Duel Reality was great as always and the theater was actually open 30 minutes prior to the show this time. Three shows in one day, not too bad. Also two dinners, a sucky one and a great one, lol. Plenty packed in one day and most of it was excellent.

Tomorrow is Puerto Plata. Not sure if we will get off of the ship, maybe for a bit. Been there, done that, not impressed.

Edited September 1 by TripsYouMustDo

neverendingcruising · September 1

10 hours ago, TripsYouMustDo said:

After the Ship Show we headed to the Red Room to see Duel Reality at 7:30pm, which is by far the best show on VV IMHO. It's only on Scarlet and Valiant. On Resilient it was replaced by extra-pay Another Rose.

Duel Reality was replaced by Persephone on Resilient Lady in the red room, Another Rose replaced Ship Show the Manor. Another Rose is a significantly better show than Ship Show and the menu is also much, much better.

Travel-and-See · September 1

31 minutes ago, neverendingcruising said:

Duel Reality was replaced by Persephone on Resilient Lady in the red room, Another Rose replaced Ship Show the Manor.

are they both extra pay? Do they both have circus elements?

neverendingcruising · September 1

Only Another Rose is extra ($50/person when we last sailed). That price includes several cocktails and essentially bottomless sparkling wine. Both Another Rose and Persephone are incredible and both include circus style acts. The live singing at Another Rose was fantastic.

TripsYouMustDo · September 1

7 hours ago, neverendingcruising said:

Duel Reality was replaced by Persephone on Resilient Lady in the red room, Another Rose replaced Ship Show the Manor. Another Rose is a significantly better show than Ship Show and the menu is also much, much better.

You are right, I guess it makes sense to look at it that way.

TripsYouMustDo · September 2

Day 3 - Puerto Plata and Scarlet Night

We started the day with breakfast at the Wake at 8:30am. I went for poached shrimp, steak & eggs, and crepe cake (love that cake!). My wife got steak-no-eggs and crepe cake as well. Once again the service was great and the food was done perfectly. Eggs were over easy as ordered and steak was perfectly medium.

We docked at Puerto Plata at 10am just as we were finishing breakfast. We did decide to get off the ship for a bit and went ashore by 11am. The immediate area, Tanto Bay Cruise Port, is purpose-developed as the cruise ship shopping destination. That means of course nothing authentic and everything overpriced. On the positive side they have three restrooms, and they are clean and even airconditioned. Honestly, the restrooms were my favorite part about Tanto Bay area, which I guess is pretty sad. The island itself is beautiful of course and there are things to see, you just need to get out of the port area. Beer was more expensive in Tanto Bay than it was on the ship - $8 USD for a Corona! Free WiFi wasn't free, you had to buy an overpriced drink at the bar. So I'm coming back to the free, clean, and airconditioned restrooms as my favorite thing... Sad. My wife wasn't feeling great and spent maybe 20 minutes in port with me. Fortunately they had great free tuk-tuk service from ship to the shopping area. It's a 5-minute walk (if not less) for an able-bodied person, but since my wife is disabled, tuk-tuks helped her to move around a little without being in the wheelchair. We tipped them a couple of bucks of course, but they didn't seem to expect it too much.

Anyway, my wife tired quickly and went back to the ship in a tuk-tuk. I decided to stop by Fortaleza De San Filipe for a bit since we could see it right from the ship. I ignored/ran away from the taxis at the port exit and called Uber. It worked much better this year than last year. Last year 2 out of 3 Uber drivers would accept the ride but then would start re-negotiating the rate via chat in the Uber app. This year they just came, no problem. The ride from port to the fortress was 80 DOP, or about $1.30 USD (yes, that cheap). I tipped another 60 DOP ($1 USD), and it was still only $2.30 USD total each way. Maybe I just got lucky, but I'll take it.

The admission to the fortress was only 100 POD, and since I didn't have local cash they charged me $2 USD (cash only), so I overpaid by 30 cent 🙂, I can live with that. The admission even included an audio guide though it wasn't very lengthy. The small fortress itself is in good condition, well-restored and had a few things to see. Also there were beautiful views of the ship and the island from the top. My Uber driver told me that in front of the fortress is their Malecon, and I did see a few local families with beach loungers. There were also some vendors there selling trinkets, probably cheaper than the port area but I didn't inquire. After a couple of hours seeing the fortress and walking around a bit I caught Uber back to the ship for the same price. The driver was equally pleasant and friendly. BTW, taxi drivers by the port were very aggressive (not in a bad way, just wanted the fare really bad) and were offering to match Uber prices. I still prefer to use Uber though. No messing with cash payments and not much chance to get cheated.

Back in port it was much hotter than it was by the fortress. Shops and restaurants built in a circle (to trap us, poor cruise passengers) block any breeze and all the cement sidewalks radiate the heat, so the port felt absolutely horrible (both in the morning and I after I came back). I really wouldn't recommend spending much time in that *literal* tourist trap.

Back on the ship by 3:30pm, sail away was at 7pm, all aboard 6:30pm. We decided to stop by The Dock since Opa Hour just started - they have Greek appetizers (mezes) on our cruise there from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. We ordered one of each, and they were all excellent, especially fish (cod) souvlaki. The funny thing is they didn't have Opa Hour this year on Resilient during Greek Islands sailing, but they have it on Valiant during Caribbean sailing. Last year they had it on Resilient as well. We love Greek food so I'm not complaining 🙂

Anyway, after the appetizers we went back to the room for a bit, and it was dinner time at 6pm. We had reservations for Test Kitchen, but that takes so long, and it was Scarlet Night, so we decided to try to get in into Pink Agave instead. There was a longish line but the manager was able to get us a table after someone didn't show up. We had to wait for a few minutes, but they have a nice waiting area by the bar with comfy chairs. Once we got the table, the service was speedy and pleasant from Bianca (thank you!), and the food was great as well. I got Esquites, shrimp (Camaron Amarillo), pork (Cochinita Pibil), and Chocolate Tacos for desert. Everything was excellent, with pork being my favorite. It's so juicy and flavorful, definitely one of the best items they have. My wife filled up on Greek mezes a bit too much, so she ended up ordering just guacamole and double chips + salsa, and Milhojas for dessert. She enjoyed her food as well. The only bummer is there is no free coffee at Pink Agave (or Extra Virgin or Gunbae), only extra-charge specialty espresso varieties. It's funny that VV decided to include soda for free, but charge for coffee, lol. Anyway, I skipped the coffee and survived. 🙂

Oh yes, while we were waiting for our table, Richard came on the loudspeaker and thanked everyone for being loyal passengers/sailors and wished us all happy Scarlet Night. He was already on the ship. One of the crew said he's been on the ship since yesterday.

After dinner we were back to the cabin for a bit, and then I went to see the beginning of the Scarlett Night at the Roundabout for the fifth time. It was cute but the same exact script as always I know by heart. Dancing on the stairs was cute, the wedding thing is a bit tired for me now seeing it for the 5th time, I really should just start skipping it. I wasn't sure if any of the special guests were going to show up like Richard or Boy George who was supposed to be the DJ for the Scarlet Night pool party thing.

Afterwards I got my wife who was still resting in the cabin, and we went to Deck 16 to try to grab coveted bar stools overlooking the pool. Unfortunately they were all already gone, at 9:15pm for the 10:45pm party! Oh well, we went to the side railing of deck 16 over the pool and noticed everybody grabbed red metal chairs from the Sun Cafe and were using them to sit by the railing before the show. I followed the suite, so this way we didn't have to bring my wife's wheelchair from the room. The Happenings Cast started a bit of a pre-show about 20 minutes before the official Scarlet Night start at the pool, and did a great job at it. They were doing cartwheel, handstands, dancing, etc. Well done. At 10:45pm the actual pool party started. More entertainers came out and did the dance thing. The cast of Duel Reality did some of they standing acro tricks, like two-highs, etc. Dancing in the pool ensued of course, and it was good fun as always. A bit gimmicky, and I remember being a bit disappointed the first time I saw it because my expectations were unrealistically high of what was going to happen. My fifth time I actually enjoyed it quite well. After the crew/cast dance in the pool things proceeded a bit differently from the traditional Scarlet Night pool party. Boy George was introduced, so instead of jumping in the pool most guests started watching him instead of course. I'm not the biggest Boy George fan, but my wife is and she loved having the opportunity to see him. It was basically a free concert for us. He did sing a bit, but mostly he was DJ-ing (or whatever the official term for that is, lol). He stayed out there for a long time, like over an hour. It was well after midnight by the time he finally got done. My wife couldn't handle it of course and reluctantly had to leave. Afterwards she said that some woman almost started a fight with her over the railing space to see the show. I didn't even realize that unfortunately (good husband I am...). Fortunately my wife can stand up for herself even being disabled. She told that woman off and that woman's saner friends dragged her off. It's a bit sad that there isn't enough space for everyone to see the show, and if people aren't there early enough, they miss out. Not a reason to start a fight of course, but I wish there was something VV could do about it. Our sailing is only 2,400 people, but both top and bottom around the pool was packed with people, and if you don't stand by the railing on Deck 16, you can't really see. Not a reason to start a fight of course, but I just hope there was some way to avoid all that frustration for folks somehow. I think if I kept cruising with VV I probably would just stop going to the Scarlet Night all together. It is good fun, but having seen it 5 times now maybe I should just donate my viewing space to other folks.

People did get in into the pool a bit towards the end of Boy Georges performance, but not as much as usual and it wasn't quite the center of attention it usually is since Boy George stole the show. Afterwards the Happenings Cast invited everyone to the Manor for the Hip-Hop themed afterparty. I ran to Deck 7 and got in into the upper level of the Manor through the Sips lounge again. This time I was able to get to the railing and people-watched for a bit, as well as grabbed some pics and videos. The music is good and the floor was packed. Virgin seems to have the best dance parties in the Manor. It's horrible for the shows because of sightlines, but great as a dance club. People seem to be more enthusiastic to dance on Virgin than any other cruise line IMHO.

After that I decided to grab some pizza, but the line was huge - I've never seen pizza line that long on VV. I guess everyone had the same idea. Oh well, I went upstairs and ran into my wife in the Galley who also came up for a snack. It was breakfast-only, so grabbed an omelet with some hashbrowns and bacon. My wife made a DIY BLT from bacon, toast, and some salad from the grab-n-go shelves.

That was the end of the day. Tomorrow is a sea day! I have some workout classed schedules (I think too many! hopefully I'll survive), and it will be a rest day for my wife.

jon81uk · September 2

Did you go to the talks or events by the VPs etc?

TripsYouMustDo · September 2

2 hours ago, jon81uk said:

Did you go to the talks or events by the VPs etc?

We did not this year, though we did last year on the Celebration out of Athens. Some of the talks sounded too similar to last year's (e.g. Virgin Galactic) to go again, while others didn't work out schedule-wise. I do wish they recoded them and then replayed them on TV like other cruise lines do.

TripsYouMustDo · September 2

Glance from Day 2

TripsYouMustDo · September 2

Glance from Day 3

TripsYouMustDo · September 2

3 hours ago, jon81uk said:

Did you go to the talks or events by the VPs etc?

I posted daily Glance for days 2 and 3. VP/CEO talks are listed under Parties & Shows. The only one I kind of wished I would've gone to would've been Nirmal's talk at 9:30am on Day 2. But it was either that or eat crepe cake at the Wake, and I chose crepe cake. Don't judge me. 🙂

Edited September 2 by TripsYouMustDo

TripsYouMustDo · September 2

Day 2 Bruch at the Wake Photos

Menu

Pan au Chocolat (I think?)

Clam Chowder

Poached Shrimp

Soft-Shell Crab Benedict

Steak-no-Eggs

Crepe Cake!!!

Drinks (fancy juice/soda glass, new to me) - free OJ and free coffee (as opposed to extra-pay freshly-squeezed OJ and espresso)

Panna Cotta - so pretty I had to post two pics

Edited September 2 by TripsYouMustDo

TripsYouMustDo · September 2

The Ship Show Menu and Food - looking at it, maybe I wasn't being fair calling it sucky... It looks really good. Maybe the cocktails killed some of my taste buds. Which is one of the reasons we don't normally drink at all (not out of principle)