Our First Virgin Voyage Onboard Valiant La

We spent 15 days onboard Valiant Lady, exploring the British Isles and Iceland, making this our first experience with a Virgin Voyages Lady ship. Six days into the voyage, we were still trying to decide whether Virgin Voyages had won us over enough for us to willingly return.

Our first impression was a little confusing.

Our travel agent had booked us into what we were told was a Sea Terrace XL and had hyped the benefits of the larger, more luxurious cabin. When we opened the door, we were surprised by how tight the room felt.

After talking with other sailors who know Valiant Lady well, we eventually learned that cabin 12354Z isn’t actually a standard XL cabin. It’s an irregular Sea Terrace (not XL) with an obstructed view. The balcony is longer than a typical Sea Terrace, but because of its location near the bow, the balcony has a solid steel railing rather than the usual glass. The longer balcony also comes with a suspended egg chair instead of the hammock found on most Sea Terraces.

None of those differences bothered us. In fact, we liked the extended balcony and the egg chair.

The real surprise was the reduced footprint inside the cabin.

The bathroom, closet, wardrobe and vanity all feel compressed into one side of the room. There is plenty of room to wiggle around the opposite side of the bed, but two people trying to get ready at the same time quickly discover the limitations. One person can’t comfortably sit at the vanity while the other gets dressed.

Storage is minimal in both the cabin and bathroom. For a short weekend sailing, we might have found the setup perfectly manageable. For a 15-day voyage crossing several climates, it became much more noticeable. Northern Ireland and the Arctic Circle still require sweaters, jackets and other cold-weather gear even during summer, and all of those layers need somewhere to go.

If I were describing this particular cabin to another sailor, I’d probably recommend it for a solo traveler or a shorter sailing.

There are some things we absolutely love about the room.

The bed is amazingly comfortable. We requested a mattress topper before the cruise, and we’re so happy we did. We’ve reached the point where getting out of bed in the morning feels like an unreasonable request. After dinner, we’re often eager to get back into bed.

The daily supply of water and ice is another nice touch. The refrigerator has also been sufficient for keeping my insulin cool, although we needed to keep some ice inside the fridge to bring the temperature down a little further. But by far better than the fridge we’re used to on RC. Carnival still has the best mini fridges thus far.

The number of 110V outlets near the bed and desk were excellent. No fighting over outlets.

The cabin also has smart controls for lighting, curtains and the television through the provided tablet. Lighting and curtain automations were also pre-programmed which made a nice touch coming home. A selection of movies is available at no additional charge, although don’t expect the latest releases.

The decor throughout the room has a distinctly IKEA-esque feel. The style works, but the storage solutions don’t seem to have received the same attention, at least in the case of our odd room.

Moving beyond the cabin, some of Valiant Lady’s hallways and stairways give off more of a passenger-ferry vibe than the luxury cruise experience we expected. It’s not terrible, but it was another unexpected first impression.

The common areas on decks 5, 6 and 7 are a different story. They’re spacious, open and filled with places to sit, relax, people-watch and strike up conversations with other sailors.

The Social Club and The Dock have been especially popular during this extended sailing.

The Social Club offers snacks, arcade games, craft activities, trivia and board games. The Dock overlooks the aft of the ship and has comfortable lounge seating, wake views, Mediterranean snacks and a juice bar. Both spaces have become popular gathering spots, especially on sea days.

The casino, unfortunately, has been a disappointment for us. It’s small, with a limited selection of slot machines and only a handful of table games. I’ll post a quick tour of the casino separately. We also struggled to figure out the hours of the casino as it wasn’t open all day/night minus in port times like we’re used to on other lines. Casino wait staff had to be flagged down after orders on multiple occasions or we had to leave our machines to retrieved our drinks at the bar ourselves since the waiter never returned for delivery but remained in his corner playing on his phone.

The entertainment venues have worked well. The acoustics in both The Manor and The Red Room have been decent, and their smaller size creates a more intimate setting for shows.

The special presentations during our eclipse voyage exposed one area where Virgin has room to improve. The first presentations took place on a large television in On the Rocks, a midship lounge. The screen and space simply weren’t sufficient for the number of sailors interested in the topics.

The presentations later moved to The Red Room, which accommodated more people but still reached standing-room-only capacity.

Virgin should consider recording these presentations and streaming them to televisions throughout the ship or directly to cabins. That would give more sailors access without requiring everyone to squeeze into one venue.

Then came Dublin.

Tendering in Dublin was an absolute nightmare. It took us close to three hours to get off the ship for shore excursions, and we ended up partially missing one excursion because of the delay.

We had two more tender ports ahead of us, so we were already bracing ourselves.

Update: Those were painful too.

Even at docked ports, disembarkation has felt surprisingly disorganized. Virgin doesn’t make overhead announcements when guests are cleared to leave the ship, so passengers often gather in the hallways trying to figure out what’s happening.

Most general announcements arrive through push notifications from the Virgin Voyages app. Once you know this, you learn to keep an eye on your phone, but first-time sailors might find the system confusing.

Getting back aboard has also involved long lines. Virgin often opens only one gangway even when a large crowd is waiting, and some of the gangways have been surprisingly steep. Accessibility needs add another layer to the situation.

Food has been one of the more interesting parts of the Virgin experience.

The presentation is excellent and sometimes looks like something you’d expect to see in Las Vegas.

The Galley, Virgin’s version of a food court, has been more hit and miss. Some offerings feel like they’re trying hard to be different, while others have been quite good.

The specialty restaurants have generally impressed us. Ariya’s Indian dishes, Wake’s steakhouse offerings, Extra Virgin’s Italian food and Pink Agave’s Mexican-inspired cuisine have all been tasty.

The biggest drawback during a 15-day voyage is repetition. The menus didn’t change during our sailing, so the longer we stayed aboard, the more noticeable the limited rotation became.

The Galley does have some reliable standouts. The fruit and bakery selections have been consistently fresh. The Grounds Coffee shop almost always has a line, which tells you something about its popularity.

I tried a flat white once and thought it was good, but I didn’t find it worth paying extra when free coffee was available a few feet away.

The ice cream shop has become Justin’s favorite place on the ship.

We’ve also tried the Pizza Place several times. We’d rate the pizza as fair. One unexpected positive: Justin hasn’t experienced heartburn after eating it, which is a win in our book.

For the most part, the crew has been friendly and helpful.

Sailor Services has been especially good. The few times I’ve called, the staff have been friendly, accommodating and prompt.

The casino waitstaff have been the exception. We’ve had repeated problems with two servers who either take an extremely long time to return with orders or don’t return with them at all. By Day 9, we’d figured out it was easier to walk to the bar ourselves.

Honestly, the break from the casino probably isn’t a bad thing.

The slot selection is limited, and the return experience hasn’t been enjoyable for us so far. We’ve sailed with several cruise lines and visit casinos regularly, so the Virgin casino has been a particular disappointment.

We also haven’t experienced the workout classes yet. The popular classes fill quickly on Day 1, with priority sailors getting first access. If you’re interested, keep checking the app. We’ve noticed cancellations occasionally open spots in early classes.

The pool hasn’t been particularly busy during our cooler Northern European sailing, although the hot tubs get regular use. Early mornings and port days seem to offer the best chance of finding a hot tub with some peace and quiet.

One thing we’ve noticed repeatedly is how much other sailors enjoy the Virgin experience.

Several people we’ve talked with love Virgin Voyages because of the unique activities, dining options and friendly crew. We’ve heard plenty of positive opinions from people who sail Virgin regularly, and many of them seem genuinely enthusiastic about returning.

Update:

After 15 days aboard Valiant Lady, we understand the appeal much better than we did during our first few days. There are plenty of things Virgin does well, especially the dining presentation, open common spaces, unique activities and approachable crew.

At the same time, some of the things we’ve experienced have made us question whether Virgin fits the way we like to cruise.

The cabin situation was a bigger issue than expected, especially for a 15-day itinerary. The tendering and disembarkation process needs improvement. The casino hasn’t met our expectations. And some of the ship’s design choices feel more practical than luxurious.

Still, our first Virgin Voyage has given us plenty to talk about, compare and evaluate. The general vibe is easy going, the kid free zone is heavenly. Not sure if this cruise was a calmer version of VV due to the northern route and eclipse themed itinerary (which costs more) and a longer sailing duration, but we’re going to try another one.

Next VV cruise is scheduled for… wait for it… late December for a New Years celebratory cruise. Idk whether to ask for prayers or a Xanax.Read more