Virgin Voyages; Valiant Lady

Sail with Sarah on the Valiant Lady and discover the Med's hidden treasures and unforgettable adventures on board the luxurious Virgin Voyages

Journey there

Who did you fly with?
KLM

Did you get any connecting transport from the airport?
We flew from Inverness Airport via Amsterdam to Barcelona. From Barcelona airport, we got a taxi to the cruise port

How was the journey?
Good! All the flights were on time and our baggage made it all the way to Barcelona. We enjoyed a couple of complimentary wines and a sandwich on the flight.

Did anything memorable happen?
I flew home on my birthday and the KLM crew on board wrote a nice little happy birthday message for me on a card

Hotels

Where did you stay?
On the Valiant Lady

Were there any special features?
They had a spa, sauna, gym, running track and all fitness classes were included. Hairdressers, two pools, and several outdoor jacuzzis. For entertainment, there were various shows at night such as comedy, musical, drag, interactive game shows, live music every night, a casino, karaoke quizzes, a bar (ship crawls) and a nightclub.  They even had cooking and mixology classes. On every cruise, they host a Scarlet Night – the biggest night on the ship; everyone dresses in red and they surprise guests with acrobats, entertainment and a pool party!

What was your stay like? Did you enjoy it?
I stayed in a sea terrace cabin. The cabins were spacious, the bed was very comfy, and they even had a hammock on the balcony which was nice to chill in while at sea. Really good shower, a decent amount of space for things, quite minimalistic and open plan. lots of charging and plug points. The TV, curtains and lights were all controlled by an iPad.

Did you receive any special service/treatment?
I got a little Happy Birthday desert taco the day before my birthday.

Any recommendations?
I recommend ‘The Wake’ steak restaurant. The steak was amazing and cooked perfectly. Also highly recommend doing the ‘grog walk’ (bar crawl around the ship) on the first night. It’s a great way to get to know your fellow sailors on board.

Activities

Where did you go?
We sailed to and from Barcelona and visited, Toulon, La Spezia, Ajaccio and Ibiza

What did you see/do?
Toulon:-We had a walk around Toulon, had a coffee in a local café by the Marina and did some shopping.
La Spezia:- We took the train to the villages of Cinque Terre. We managed to visit 3 of the 5 villages. It was a public holiday so it was VERY busy. We had some drinks down by the beach and hiked up a hill to view the famous colourful buildings. We enjoyed a seafood lunch with wine at a local restaurant
Ajjacio:- We just spent the day at the local beach
Ibiza:- We had an overnight in Ibiza so we spent the evening watching Calvin Harris at Ushuaia

What was the weather like?
HOT! It was about 30 degrees in most places.

Food/Drinks

Did you go to any local restaurants/cafes?
We had most of our meals on the ship but we did go to a local restaurant in Vernazza and we had an iced frappe in Toulon.

What did you enjoy eating/drinking?
All the restaurants on board were unique and were included in the price of the cruise. My favourite restaurant was The Wake – steak restaurant. I also really enjoyed Gunbae Korean restaurant, they cooked the food in front of you in a skillet and served the meal family style in a group. They also encouraged you to play drinking games around the table and made it a fun experience. A thing to note is there are no buffet restaurants on board.

Did you try any new dishes? What did you think of it?
All of the Korean dishes were new to me and I really enjoyed them!

Did you go to any quirky places for food/drinks?
Test Kitchen was a Michelin-star experimental restaurant. It was a set 6-course menu. They put together some unique ingredients to make dishes. Some of them were good, some were very interesting!

Any recommendations?
The wake, Gunbae and Pink agave (Mexican) for dinner.
Razzle dazzle for breakfast
The galley served some lovely salads for lunch too

Conclusion

Would you recommend this holiday and who to?
I LOVED IT. 100% recommend. A great mix of party and chill depending on your mood. I would say 20s – 40s age range or anyone who likes to socialise, eat good food and have a good time! Couples, honeymoons, friends, stag and hen parties.
All the staff were great and seemed genuinely happy and everything was very smooth from check-in to check-out. When you check in you get a wristband as your room key which is also used to charge drinks and onboard purchases to your account.

If you are looking for more information or want to book your next Virgin Voyage. Please get in touch with Sarah:-
[email protected]
01667 360063