What Virgin Voyages is Really Like - Valiant Lady Cruise Review + Tour - Is it worth it?

[Music] foreign [Music] that didn't follow tradition despite being in an industry full of it when one says the word Cruise you often know what to expect what if I told you that there was a voyage that would challenge every single element of the word Cruise would it be good or would it be bad and is there something to be said for following tradition after all it's gotten the cruise industry this far in my eyes there's only one company that's managed to get away from the traditional sense of cruising a cruise line that's not even called a cruise line and that is Virgin voyages I spent eight nights on board Valiant lady and you're about to come along with me welcome aboard Valiant lady [Music] my trip started off in a snowy Toronto the day before the voyage and I flew down to Miami on Air Canada's premium economy which by the way was amazing it's rare to get a 787 on this route they actually fed us so much the entire flight I was stuffed by the time that I landed which I would need for an embarkation day [Music] so I had a great night here at the Fortune House Hotel in Miami it was a really tiring overnight kind of Journey but it's embarkation day finally to join virgin's Valiant lady now in many ways this is the UN Cruise so I'm really excited as somebody that's been on so many traditional cruise ships that's worked on traditional cruise ships to go on a ship that really wasn't designed to be a cruise ship it's a resort ship so let's go ahead and check out what Valiant lady has to offer we made our way down to virgin's very own terminal which was as on brand and quirky as you might think now since we had Rockstar status we actually entered through a different way now this band was now our key charge card and each and every one of them had a nice saying on it now it turned out this sailing wasn't actually full with just over 800 or so people aboard therefore we didn't have to use any of the lounges as there was no wait to head aboard first off I love how immersed we were in the the Virgin brand from the get-go from the decor to the colors and of course the crew [Music] we walked right into the roundabout and the DJ playing I loved the atmosphere and for the first time I really felt like the party had started our first stop was our cabin which was on Deck 14 aft and it was quite the walk a room number was one four zero one four Zed which was a sea Terrace but this wouldn't be our cabin for the entire Voyage I'll tell you more about that in a bit virgin uses a and Zed to determine which side of the ship that you're on Zed is the right or the starboard side while a is on the port side the cabin was really nice it was well appointed but it did feel quite a bit tighter than other balcony cabins that I've stayed in on other cruise lines now one big benefit though was the rainfall shower which every single cabin type has as well as the same bathroom layout which is tight to say the least now I'm going to be showing you a few different types of cabins so make sure to stay tuned by this point we were starving so we headed up to the galley which had a great view of this British Airways A380 on approach to Mia now the galley is what many would refer to as the quote-unquote buffet restaurant but this wasn't a buffet the wait staff come to you and you do order off of a menu but there are still select items you can go ahead and grab including these quick to go snack boxes as well as popsicles which I highly recommend I just had a quick PB j sandwich and it was really interesting seeing how the galley worked for the first time because it did take some getting used to as this was a really new unique approach to what is usually the Quick Service buffet style restaurant at that point we headed to our muster drill which involved going to the muster station getting a life jacket demonstration and then heading to the dock house to grab a drink now I love where virgin's terminal is placed because you have a great view of the Turning Basin celebrity Summit did its dance and just before we set sail we headed over to Richard's rooftop which you needed this key card in order to access and is only for people with Rockstar status every day from five to six there was a champagne hour and at Richard's rooftop that was Moe and it was a lovely way to get the voyage started [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] actually displays text on its exterior as it sails away from various places and on departure this evening from Miami it said I heart 305 which is Miami's area code I just thought it was so cute but what do you think of the ship displaying text on its side let me know in the comments below after departure we headed to Extra Virgin which is the ship's Italian restaurant also which happens to be my favorite Cuisine now something to point out is that all dining is included at virgin voyages there are no upcharge restaurants the decor was gorgeous you could actually see the chef preparing some of those cheese platters now I started off with the artichokes then I had the cod as well as an old fashioned and by the end they actually surprised us with a complimentary shot of Frangelico which was a really nice touch while I was at the table I actually booked our group tickets to the first night show called Untitled dance show party thing in the Red Room a venue that we would come to know very well throughout the crew and served a multitude of purposes but nothing could prepare me for what this show actually had in store [Music] this show was incredible it was completely different from any other show I had ever seen in my life it was completely immersive in fact they actually moved the stage around the audience multiple times throughout the show be sure to go to it when you get on board Valiant lady after the show it was a cheeky drink from the Sip lounge and then over to the manor which is the ship's nightclub it's actually named after the recording studio that Richard Branson met his wife at this is arguably my favorite spot on the entire ship it was so well designed it felt like an actual nightclub eventually though it was time to head to bed because the following morning was the first day that I got to put the ship through its paces thank you [Music] my first sea day began with some poolside chill which by the way was awesome they were playing the perfect music then I headed up to the training camp and did a high intensity interval training workout fun fact all of the classes are free on Virgin that was followed by a much needed lunch at the dock house on Deck 7 aft now the menu itself wasn't that extensive however they do have quite a few options that aren't listed so be sure to speak with your server now they were perfect for a snack or lunch that was kind of healthy there were hummus and veggies shrimp and this amazing graham cracker dessert you can't beat the view either arguably this was one of the best places to chill Outdoors [Music] that was followed by an extremely competitive game of air hockey which I lost by the way and then I actually headed into the arcade which is all included a nice touch now this is all in the social club which is on Deck 7 midship and you can easily forget about it so if you're walking past that part of the ship go ahead and check it out forward on Deck 7 is the grounds club which is where I got a macchiato I really needed it because I was going to a workout class but a nice thing about the coffee approach on Virgin voyages is that they actually just use a regular plastic cup and they just pop a paper lid onto the top and that's really Forward Thinking it makes sense but I know that not everyone is going to like this so what do you think do you prefer paper cups or do you commend the reusable cups make sure you comment below and let me know now again I needed that coffee because I was actually heading to a bungee class which was really fun a little bit nauseating though an Insider tip don't drink a full coffee right before the class my stomach really hurt from pressure but otherwise it was great after a brief trip up to the net we headed to our cabin to change up for dinner we also caught some of these gorgeous ocean sunset views tonight's dinner was at the wake a restaurant that I was really excited for now visually this restaurant is stunning and the service was great however I didn't necessarily enjoy my food here at all and really the biggest thing that I found was that the tables were so close together so much so that I felt that I was in everyone else's conversations one of the restaurant managers was actually great about reseeding us he receded us about three times but every single seat that we were at was so tight at the end of the dinner he asked for feedback and we were pretty honest about the food and he insisted for us to return so that they could make it right which I really appreciated after what I would say was a pretty disappointing dinner we turned to the entertainment to save the day and as always at virgin it did I booked the misbehave game show through the Virgin app now this is a game show that was actually developed in Vegas the host and the assistant were hilarious in the audience went insane there were all sorts of naughty references throughout the entire show and it was hilarious the assistant actually turned out to be an aerialist which was an amazing touch if you get on board Valiant lady do not miss the misbehave show this was a really drag Centric evening on board and I loved it because it's different it made this Cruise seem so normal not stuffy so real the ship's Diva had her show it's called around the world with the diva and it was a great time there were dance performances singing and of course a bit of a game show as well it's kind of like being in a gay bar but times 10 in the sense that it was an actual show we were exhausted though so after grabbing a quick pizza from the pizza place which by the way is some of the best pizza that I've ever had at Sea we headed to bed because the next day was our very first Port of call [Music] as soon as we woke up we headed ashore to catch our shore Excursion which was an all-inclusive Beach day now it involved taking a safari bus about 45 minutes west of Puerto Plata on our way we drove past Amber Cove which by the way is a private area built for and used by Carnival Cruise Line foreign the beach club itself was nice and the drinks were good we did end up going snorkeling which was an adventure as you can see and it was nice to just chill by the beach on the way back it was kind of funny because a few people needed to pee so 15 minutes into the ride we had to stop and that gives you some insight into how the day had gone so far once we got back to the port area we actually saw that there was a beach club right there inside of the port area and it was gorgeous so if you're going to Puerto Plata take advantage of this area they even have their own performances it was awesome after meeting up with some friends at the Port we headed back on board now this evening we actually headed to bed quite a bit earlier than other nights we did head up to Champaign hour though and then decided to take a nap which lasted until the next morning which really wasn't a problem because it meant that we were well rested for one of my favorite ports San Juan Puerto Rico foreign [Music] set to arrive into San Juan until 11AM and that meant that I had some time to spare so I headed up to the galley for some breakfast now as I've mentioned before they do have a menu and they also have some great grab and go options this morning though I had my beloved egg white omelette as well as a vegan sausage soon I headed out to the open deck to see our arrival into San Juan and to see the historic Castillo San Felipe Del Morro which dates back to the 16th century and was built by the Spanish Carnival Magic and the brand new Carnival Mardi Gras were in court as well now I loved getting to see Carnival Mardi Gras up close and personal after hearing so much about her but as much as I could go on about ships all day long let's focus on San Juan we actually got a guided tour of the old city and checked out a number of the historic landmarks overall this is a really walkable Port so I would highly suggest just going for a walk in San Juan grabbing a map or even getting a guided walking tour one of the highlights was getting up close and personal with the fort that we saw as we sailed in so the fort that we saw as we were sailing in to San Juan is actually this one it's called Castillo San Felipe Del Moro and it's absolutely gorgeous we're here on the fifth level of the fort but it actually descends another four stories below what you see here in the 90s the fort was actually declared a world heritage site but no matter where we went in San Juan the ship was never that far away let's just take a minute here though to recognize how much I love ships I actually used to work for Carnival Cruise Line among others as well but what do you think should I go ahead and review Carnival Mardi Gras it looks beautiful comment below and let me know but the best thing about ship life is that sometimes you run into people that you know so amongst all of the cruise ships that are import I found a long lost friend that's in part two this is my friend Rachel we actually worked together at two other cruise lines and we've actually been all over the globe together in fact our friendship began in Australia and she happened to be on another ship that's in Port this is why I love ships friendships that truly take you around the world after a long day of touring around we headed back aboard to check out Razzle Dazzle now virgin says that this is the restaurant to indulge your naughty and nice and the theme actually dates back to the second world war specifically camouflage the idea here is that they're being transparent and in this case about being veggie friendly this is a very vegetarian friendly restaurant and was actually my favorite on board both in terms of design as well as the food itself this section here is called the Red Bar and it's said to be a favorite of the ship's Diva my husband's pasta was actually themed the same way as the restaurant now I had this tomato and veggie soup plus an impossible burger that hit the spot and for dessert we actually had churros as well as milk and cookies now the milk was actually flavored with cinnamon I love the food here I found it unpretentious and really good [Music] as we left San Juan behind we headed to the manor for a show called never sleep alone it was actually put on by none other than the ship's very own sex therapist now listen if you're down to let your hair down watch this show I'm not gonna spoil it for you but I will say that there is fruit involved that's all I'm gonna say now despite the manner transforming into a nightclub right after the show ended we actually headed to bed in order to prepare for a beach day in beautiful Saint Croix of the U.S Virgin Islands plus a visit to the spa [Music] foreign began in the galley with some fresh fruit shout out to these Bento boxes by the way that had berries and granola in the morning and then changed for lunch and dinner but after seeing some of those eggs florentine I decided to order some for myself today we were docked next to Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas in Saint Croix U.S Virgin Islands check out this cool sea turtle that was hanging out right next to the shed it was a bit of a windy day but we managed to head to the sand castle on the beach resort which by the way was gorgeous highly recommend the beach was a bit Rocky and the waves were a force to be reckoned with on this particular day but what I loved was that the ship was in sight we were starving by the time that we got back on board so naturally ice cream was the first stop from the aptly named lick me till ice cream that was followed by a cake pop from the dock area on Deck 7 where not only do they have some sweet treats that are awesome but they also have vegan hot dogs as well as popcorn and incredible shakes which I'll tell you about later on but first let's head to the spa now these are all individual showers which are beautiful as was the rest of the spa and it had the usual Spa Fair however what I loved most was that all of the marble surfaces were heated they were cold plunge pools which I barely could do but there was also a hot tub sauna steam room and a salt room which is said to be great for the skin as well as the sinuses as Enchantment of the Seas sailed away we enjoyed our champagne on Richard's rooftop and then got ready for my most anticipated dinner of the cruise I was so excited for the test kitchen now this is an experimental restaurant and it consists of a series of smaller courses the theme of the restaurant was impressive kind of like a Chic laboratory and was easily my favorite of the entire ship I chose to do the beer pairing which was a lot of beer every course they bring you a new beer that's like six beers well worth the 25 for the pairing though so if you do get on board make sure you take advantage of that I loved this salmon Dish as well as this beet thing each and every dish was unique and different and it contributed to the Test Kitchen experience the dessert was an asparagus ice cream and it was interesting it was out there different we decided to go ahead and keep the party going considering we already had a buzz then we discovered the groupie which is just outside of the Red Room now you could easily miss this spot so I'm glad that we found it it's actually a series of karaoke rooms that are free to use and we had a blast here there was a larger purple room and a smaller Red Room which could accommodate your entire party in fact they'll even bring you drinks it was so much fun we sang here all night long the reservation slots are about one hour each but sometimes you get lucky and nobody's in the slot after you we had two sea days heading to Bimini Bahamas but I also still had to be up early for my workout most importantly the following night was Scarlet Knight and after this amazing Pizza it was lights out for me [Music] after a morning hit class I headed to an event that I was really looking forward to the Richard Simmons VHS workout complete with Shake Weights all of the music and outfits are 80s inspired now this isn't a class that's really going to Tire you out but it is a ton of fun I would say it's actually a must do so make sure you bring something vibrant to wear to the class now I would go ahead and say that this class was mostly ridiculous but again a ton of fun I was starving after the double workout so I headed up on deck in search of food I found a fruit box as well as an egg white omelet I also stopped by gun Bay which is actually where I'm gonna be eating later on tonight now I always feel like I'm doing too much when I'm on the ship so I forced myself to hang out by the pool where they play awesome music by the way it totally Feels Like a Beach Club lunch was had at the Sun Club Cafe and I was excited because I love a good salmon poke Bowl but the weight was about 45 minutes which was insane and after I got it I'll be 100 honest it was pretty tasteless still hungry I headed to the galley where I had a PB J toast with some banana on it as well as admiring some of the Desserts Plus I discovered that the outdoor seating area is actually right between the end area of the galley and this was rarely used and it had incredible views as the sun began to set the mood on the ship entirely changed the ship was in store for a party in fact they even had face decorating going on near the roundabout which I gladly had done of course this was all before dinner because you got to maximize that look for as long as possible gun Bay is a Korean barbecue restaurant it's super casual and the food is cooked right in front of you the menu itself was actually creative so basically we ended up ordering everything on the menu because we were all a group now keep in mind that you will be sitting here in groups of six so get ready to get Social now we had made a reservation as a group and we had a blast and we even played a drinking game that was facilitated by our waiter now the crew at virgin voyages are special they're real they're super relatable and arguably they were the best part of the entire Voyage now let's get back to the food because there was a lot of it and it was all prepared tableside it was fun to try a bit of everything because this wasn't Cuisine that I would usually have on my normal day today plus we would need all of the fuel that we could get for the party that was about to ensue first all of the ship's hallway lighting and exterior balcony lighting was set to red and then the performances started and it wasn't just in one spot these performances actually moved it first started out at the roundabout and then it progressed down the ship there's actually a special show in the Red Room that was explaining the story of scarlet Knight which by the way is totally made up of course but you buy into it the atmosphere was electric and I loved how this theme night spread through the entire ship it all culminated in an amazing spectacle on the pool deck complete with the ship strike Queen the diva and of course the octopus the performances to start off the party up on the pool deck were awesome foreign [Music] wasn't long before I was in the pool as well it was hard not to so if I were you get ready to get in the water on Scarlet night this was hands down an epic party let's be real everyone was hungover after Scarlet Knight the ship was pretty quiet the following morning somehow though I managed to down an espresso and to hit the gym as well as to resist the urge to have junk food in the morning and then I found a seat along the Promenade deck and watched a celebrity Summit passed us by by the afternoon I headed down to the Loose Cannon and I helped out with some puzzle activities that my friends were doing but mostly I just enjoyed these pretzels which were amazing when I got back to the cabin I found this note from the sure things team regarding an issue that we had on one of our tours mostly that the food had made us sick despite me giving them an account of what happened they refunded me twenty dollars because my husband had been charged for an activity that he shouldn't have been charged for otherwise no other refund or compensation was given which I found surprising that afternoon I got the chance to check out some other categories of cabins which were interesting to see now the ship's forward section is actually not comprised of balconies which is what you might think those cabins are just labeled as forward-facing ocean views they're not balcony cabins now in the case of the cabin that I'm currently looking at this is actually a single cabin with an interesting layout I actually really enjoyed it the view was gorgeous mind you I thought it was interesting how this isn't a balcony door I really felt as though it would be now another thing I wanted to point out is the bathrooms in these Caverns are pretty much identical unless you're in a rockstar Suite but they do all come with that rainfall shower which was really really nice to use otherwise the color of the mirror actually changes not this one but the one that's closer to the vanity depending on how you're looking at it so it goes from orange and red down to different Hues of purple and then eventually green everything in your cabin on Valiant lady is controlled through these tablets so if you swipe up there's actually different presets for example get it on mode that'll actually close the blinds change the lighting and even play a little bit of music for you [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is a single inside cabin and it's pretty much the same as any other room it's just a little bit tighter and meant for one person but it comes with the same bells and whistles including USB ports as plugs and that same gorgeous rainfall shower mind you the bathrooms on Virgin voyages are quite tight in general originally we started up on Deck 14 aft but we moved to this cabin on Deck 12 midship after there was a noise issue with our old cabin however I will say I loved that there was a tablet to control everything I thought it was super modern but it is relatively tight for two people there isn't enough storage in the closet there's only one closet so my husband lived out of his suitcase for the entire Voyage also the bed is meant to be set up as a sofa in the day and a bed in the evening a practice that I didn't actually see being done at any time while we were on board your cabin controls for makeup cabin and do not disturb where on the inside of your closet just by the door as the sun began to set I was excited for virgin's legendary nightlife this time it was actually a variety show called it's a ship show this was going to take place in the manor and it came complete with dinner now I'll be honest here folks the food was mediocre but dessert was the best course by far what saved the day though was the show itself the performers were incredible from acrobatics to juggler's hula hoop artists and so much more this show was really really cool but that actually wasn't the only show that was on the docket for the evening I was surprised at what I saw when I walked into the Red Room do something really cool and really unique behind me is actually what is usually the stage here in the Red Room but what they've managed to do is create Stadium style steaming because it's supposed to be dual reality tonight that's the show one side versus another so they've managed to move some of the seating actually onto stage this is such a cool multi-purpose venue and it's so transformative dual reality started off with the performers in the audience and then moving to the stage area it was immersive and basically it was telling the story of Romeo and Juliet in a different way you can see the acrobatics of course through this move here where they controlled how quickly that they actually touched the ground it was hair raising to say the least and then of course there were the flips and acrobatics including some aerial work here by this incredible couple after the performance we decided to head to the Social Club and play some board games in fact virgin actually stocks quite a few top-tier games on board for people to play I tried one of the shakes as well from the social club and it was so good it actually had limoncello in it which I adored so definitely go ahead and try it out when you get on board we were quite tired after that so I headed up to the cabin and decided to try out room service now virgin actually calls them ship eats and you order through the app it was pretty cool it came pretty quickly however the quality of the food was atrocious I would actually go ahead to say it was borderline inedible what I did love though is how everything was packed very functional and different foreign [Music] Y is one of the most beautiful ports that I have ever been to and virgin has their very own private beach club here it's a short five minute tram ride from the ship and I was amazed at how clean and well-kept this beach club was this functions like any other Cruise Line owned space with food included and drinks that get charged to your onboard account now there were actually two pools as well as volleyball courts and plenty of beach loungers and Cabanas to rent out I actually found out that this beach club gets rented out as an Excursion for other Cruise Lines when they dock in Bimini in the middle of the day they have this amazing pool party as well and it was complete with floaties bubbles the DJ as well as dancers it was a perfect final port and in true virgin style it was a ton of fun the food was actually really nice here at Bimini as well but as quickly as the day had started it had also come to a close after a gorgeous day here at the beach club at Bimini I am really sad to be leaving and going back to the ship and also the final night heading back on board I felt the same feeling that I have on any final day of a cruise sadness mixed with a bit of relief that at least I had one more night I got some great shots of the ship but what do you think of her design as the sun began to set I got ready for dinner at pink Agave the final restaurant that I had to check out now this was actually the ship's Mexican restaurant but of course that would be after our final champagne hour on Richard's rooftop as well as a beautiful departure from Bimini interestingly those lights off in the distance are actually from Miami Skyline that's how close it is the entrance to Pink Agave was near sailor services and it is beautiful after walking down a hallway of Lights we were LED past all sorts of tequila to this massive table now don't get me wrong the table was gorgeous but I would have preferred one that was in a little bit more of an intimate section which was right next to it virgin does Aesthetics really well ordering was really straightforward because we wanted to try a little bit of everything but the one concern that we had about pink Agave was that the service here was really poor we felt that the waiter that we had had a bit of an attitude and that kind of hampered our experience the food looked beautiful and it tasted all right it wasn't anything out of this world but it wasn't terrible either the company that we had was awesome though so that made up for it also dessert was once again the best course and after a walk to burn off that dessert the final night's entertainment commenced and it was pretty low-key the 70s and 80s party in the manner [Music] the morning of turnaround day I woke up to see the bright lights of the ships that we were passing in the channel so I managed to get this incredible time lapse video of our arrival into Port Miami now most of our packing was done but we still needed to reorganize in the morning nonetheless as as you do virgins terminal actually has a really unique view as you're docking facing to the West so you can check out parts of downtown Miami after heading up to the galley one final time I caught a gorgeous view of all of the other ships that were in Port with us as well [Music] foreign my breakfast was this avocado toast while my husband decided on the breakfast Burger which by the way was monstrous soon enough though we headed down to the roundabout where the gangway took us back ashore and into Port Miami I couldn't believe that eight nights had already flown by there are so many things that virgin is doing right for example how they treat their crew their entertainment is excellent and the ship itself is gorgeous there still were a couple of things though for example I wish that I was able to see the front of the ship and there was more of an observation feel I felt really disconnected from the ocean on the ship also the food was hit and miss overall cruising with Virgin was refreshing and I cannot wait to seal with them again soon and just like that the cruise is over I can't believe it it was full of some incredible experiences and of course a completely different product I hope you enjoyed coming with me make sure to stay tuned for so much more content coming your way and of course I can't wait to see you again soon until then travel safe

Channel: Travel With Kabir

Views: 72,755

Keywords: cruise, cruise ship, virgin, virgin voyages, virgin cruise, valiant lady, scarlet lady, royal caribbean, cruise travel, cruise review, virgin cruise review, virgin voyages review, cruise ship tour, Norwegian cruise line, ncl, carnival cruise line, carnival mardi gras, carnival celebration, carnival, wonder of the seas, oasis of the seas, symphony of the seas, allure of the seas, harmony of the seas, ship, vacation, miami, Dominican Republic, san juan, bimini, bahamas

Id: eWrDJlu0ucM

Length: 36min 20sec (2180 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 08 2023