Valiant Lady, Virgin Voyages

Valiant Lady, Virgin Voyages my personal experience 17-24 Sept 2023.

I travelled to London Luton Airport with my travel buddy to catch a 7am flight, there was a small queue at the Easyjet check-in desk, it did not take us long to drop the cases of and pass through security. We started our day with Champagne, bacon rolls and coffee. Our flight was delayed by approximately 10 minutes. The flight overall was excellent apart from some turbulence. The cabin crew were outstanding and ensured passengers were safe and reassured at all times. We arrived at Barcelona International Airport around 10.30am, sailed through customs and through to baggage collection, where we bumped into a lovely couple. We were all going on the same voyage. We opted to share a cab to the port and off load our cases, the cost of the cab was €39. It took approximately 15 minutes to get to the port from the airport. You can transfer your luggage from the Airport or using a local bag storage company, at a cost of €20 1st case €16 per additional case Once all four of us had handed over our luggage for free, we opted to walk together to the nearest coffee shop/bar. We found the most amazing roof top terrace Catra de Terrassa, overlooking the harbour and settled down for drinks and nibbles. Note you can take 2 bottles of wine on board when you first embark the ship, these must be carried in your hand luggage and not your cases, you cannot take any additional bottles on board, if you do, they will be stored until you depart at the end of the voyage. There is a shop across from the rooftop bar which had a good selection. Our boarding time for the ship was 3pm, we took a leisurely stroll back to the ship and joined the queue with the other sailors. Check in was busy, however we were soon at the front of the line receiving our Sailor Bracelets. The bracelets act as your credit card. Any drinks you buy, any purchases made are all connected to your cabin. Your ID is also stored for when you leave the ship and re-board, they do advise you to take a photo of your passport and keep it on your phone, that way you can leave the passport locked in the safe. We were allocated cabin 12186A, 12th floor, A (side of ship), our room was a Sea Terrace, complete with safe, tv, hairdryer, bathroom with shower and a terrace with table, chairs and a hammock. Before setting Sail from Barcelona we had an emergency drill to ensure all sailors were familiar with the procedures on board. This was compulsory for all sailors. Once we were ready to set sail, many sailors proceeded to the upper deck to drink champagne and toast the voyage ahead of us. The ship has 17 decks and is easy to navigate once you get your bearings. Everywhere you look on the ship you find quirky rooms. There is literally an area suitable for everyone. If you want to play board games, sit in a chilled area, use your laptop, read a book, you will be sure to find an area you like. The décor on board is beautiful. Lots of bright colours and unusual ornaments scatter the rooms. Our itinerary was: Barcelona, Marseilles, Cannes, Palma, Ibiza and back to Barcelona. We had overnight stays on board in Majorca and Ibiza, allowing sailors time to leave the ship and join the party atmospheres on land. To disembark the ship you travel to the correct floor, scan your bracelet and walk off the ship. You can take a towel from the ship, there is no need to take your own. It is not permitted to take food on or off the ship. When you return to the ship, you scan your bracelet (ensuring your sunglasses are removed), and head to the security scanner where your bags are checked. In Marseilles, Cannes, Palma, we opted to use the open top bus at a cost of €22 per person, this allowed us to see all the sights and hop on and off as we pleased. The bus is a great way to see the towns. In Ibiza we left the ship on the evening of the stop over and walked round Ibiza town, the following day we found a small beach to relax on before re-boarding the ship. Each day we were able to pick up a full itinerary which included, gym sessions, wellness classes, parties and shows, bar opening times, eateries, live music options, medical centre opening hours and the opening hours of the casino. (tip before you spend money in the casino, check currency rates. You can cash in with Sterling, Euros or US Dollars, payouts are always in US Dollars). During our sailing, there was an emergency on board, a tanoy announcement went over the ship to advise staff of the incident and the location, literally within minutes, the area was cordoned off and the staff had redirection signs out, to enable privacy, All sailors had to take alternative lifts and stairs until the incident was cleared. All handled very professionally and with great efficiency. The sailings from port to port were generally calm and we only used a couple of our travel sickness tablets. All the crew onboard the ship were polite and could not do enough to help the sailors. The ship was always clean and tidy. The evening before we were due back to Barcelona, we had the option to leave our bags outside the cabin by 1030pm, the crew would then take the bags and you would see them again on arrival at the port. We kept our bags with us when we disembarked at our designated time. We travelled back to the airport with our colleagues (cruise buddies) again €39 euros to the airport, just make sure you check which terminal you are flying from as the airport is huge. Check in was very smooth, we literally went straight to the desk. Top tip – always factor in for plane delays if making your own flights, Virgin also recommend this too. Our flight back to the UK was delayed by a few minutes, it was a great flight with no turbulence, upon arrival at Luton, we breezed through passport control and had our bags back within 15 minutes. I would highly recommend Virgin Voyages and Easyjet.