u/Von_Satan

I installed the Perrin pitch stop mount, Perrin top mount intercooler, Perrin charge pipe, Perrin strut bar brace, and I installed the Grimmspeed panel filter last week (Pictured) plus I deleted the charcoal filter. The orange dots on the pipes are in inches and just lets me center the silicone coupling best.

I went with the Grimmspeed panel filter because they tested the filter at 99.1% efficiency with 62% better air flow. and it is a dry filter, no oil. That is fantastic. Perrin doesn't publish efficiency (Cleanliness) and I don't want to add a filter that allows more dirt in than OEM.

The Perrin TMIC required me to trim some plastic from the driver side TMIC bracket mount (I didn't trim enough, so it is ever so tilted, Perrin says this is 100% ok). I also had to open up the passenger side bolt hole on the throttle body, it was off by a few mm.

The strut bar made a very noticeable change to the steering, it is firmer and has better feel. I'm kind of surprised it made that bit of a difference.

Why did I do all of this? Because I can. I'm in a hot climate and the TMIC helps keep IATs lower, which is important on a turbo, especially running 87 octane. It also, combined with the charge pipes and air filter should add 15ish hp or so, stock tune can only compensate so far. All of these parts are 100% tune-free safe, since it is all post-MAF and the general air flow and path is the same.

https://preview.redd.it/8w0qj8go98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f0b095f20b4e96a851268bbfc8b5e4d55a0b3f4

https://preview.redd.it/r7igx8go98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c91ddf10c339b847f32577d804a42259ceacd0de

https://preview.redd.it/lhmu29go98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f9e4671c53723c9743b81aa4c865df4210a21e8

https://preview.redd.it/97ib19go98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=993fef6ca336521233228229e397884f03a292f0

I installed the Perrin pitch stop mount, Perrin top mount intercooler, Perrin charge pipe, Perrin strut bar brace, and I installed the Grimmspeed panel filter last week (Pictured) plus I deleted the charcoal filter. The orange dots on the pipes are in inches and just lets me center the silicone coupling best.

I went with the Grimmspeed panel filter because they tested the filter at 99.1% efficiency with 62% better air flow. and it is a dry filter, no oil. That is fantastic. Perrin doesn't publish efficiency (Cleanliness) and I don't want to add a filter that allows more dirt in than OEM.

The Perrin TMIC required me to trim some plastic from the driver side TMIC bracket mount (I didn't trim enough, so it is ever so tilted, Perrin says this is 100% ok). I also had to open up the passenger side bolt hole on the throttle body, it was off by a few mm.

The strut bar made a very noticeable change to the steering, it is firmer and has better feel. I'm kind of surprised it made that bit of a difference.

Why did I do all of this? Because I can. I'm in a hot climate and the TMIC helps keep IATs lower, which is important on a turbo, especially running 87 octane. It also, combined with the charge pipes and air filter should add 15ish hp or so, stock tune can only compensate so far. All of these parts are 100% tune-free safe, since it is all post-MAF and the general air flow and path is the same.

https://preview.redd.it/2znajd5f98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c2842c170fee4555827c0fc47c0a78e28a2dbfe

https://preview.redd.it/rg4gcd5f98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e3aec242f34087a252271f2e6ab3badfdb0d1d53

https://preview.redd.it/90sa7e5f98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=83423955ee8fd0ba65608c131d35726d25678d77

https://preview.redd.it/j3qsed5f98gh1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3bb63e0ccaa93ac6d1c03f1a782d1fd25c39d2f

Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady Cruise Review 9 Nights NYC Round Trip

We recently cruised on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady for the first time, and overall it was a mixed experience with some clear highs but also a lot of frustrations. Background, we take around 3 cruises a year, shooting for a minimum of 7 nights, with that we have a decent amount of experience cruising on other lines.

The itinerary was 9 nights from NYC to Bermuda, Nassau, Charleston, and back to NYC. I will only be reviewing the ship and the experience on-board, not the ports.

We booked a standard balcony cabin (Deck 9 mid-ship) and had some positives and negatives. The mattress was uncomfortable, and while we asked for a topper, it was just a thin piece of foam and didn’t help much. Storage was very limited, with not many drawers or places to put things. There were also no power outlets in the bathroom, which was annoying. On the plus side, the lighting and tablet system worked really well and was easy to use. The balcony dividers are solid, which gave us good privacy, but the patio furniture itself (metal chairs) was uncomfortable.

The bathroom setup was odd. The shower had good space, but the rest of the bathroom felt extremely tight because of it.

Dining was by far the biggest disappointment of the entire cruise. The Galley buffet setup just doesn’t work well. Options felt limited, everything is broken up into mini stations, and many of them close early — sometimes as early as 3 pm. The food options leaned heavily toward Asian options like sushi and ramen, and there were lines for almost everything. It got exhausting pretty quickly. It just wasn't good at all compared to every other cruise line that we've done.

The sit‑down restaurants all keep the same limited menu for the entire sailing, which gets repetitive (Minus Test Kitchen which has 3). There’s Italian, Korean BBQ, Test Kitchen, Mexican, American, and a steakhouse. Reservations are required, and waitlists can be two hours or just unavailable altogether. There are also limits on how often you can eat at the same restaurant. You can’t reserve both breakfast and lunch either; it’s one or the other, which felt unnecessarily restrictive. Reservations open 45 days in advance, but even then, a lot of options still disappeared quickly. Even when we had a reservation, we sometimes stood in line for 30 minutes just to get inside. The whole dining system felt very inefficient and needs a complete rework. Afternoon tea was a paid affair too, versus free on other cruise lines. This was the only weird upcharge that I noticed onboard.

If you couldn't eat at one of the restaurants you'd have to go to the Galley and be absolutely disappointed. Other Cruise Lines like Princess, Royal, NCL, have exceptionally good Buffets, even at dinner. Virgin seemingly punishes you for not going to a sit-down restaurant.

Entertainment was just okay. Nothing terrible, but nothing impressive either. The Red Room looked pretty worn, and overall the entertainment didn’t compare well to other lines like Royal Caribbean. The live music around the ship mostly wasn’t great, with the big exception being The Magnets, the beatboxing/acapella group, they were fantastic.

The ship feels crowded in certain areas. The main pool is extremely small, and there are only four hot tubs for the entire ship, plus maybe one or two for suites only. The wellness pool is also small, and the jets weren’t even working. The ship layout can be awkward, too. For example, there’s a large circular table near the ice cream shop that creates a huge bottleneck, and it was a traffic jam every single time. Music is constantly playing everywhere, and it’s loud pretty much all the time, it is hard to find a nice quiet place anywhere on-board.

The gym itself is very nice, and a lot of things are included, which we appreciated. Fitness classes are included as well, but you absolutely have to book them early. We did like that there was no nickel‑and‑diming or constant upselling. Free water is available everywhere, the ice cream is genuinely good, and the free internet was perfectly usable for staying in touch with people at home. Don't expect to be able to work from the ship, stream video, or anything like that on the free wifi, but apps like WhatsApp worked perfectly.

The lack of nickel and diming, photographers hawking at you, thinly veiled events that are actually sales pitches, was a very welcome change.

Port days were rough. Disembarkation was chaotic every time, completely disorganized, with crowds everywhere and slow security lines. Our itinerary also had odd port hours, like arriving at noon, which didn’t help. Compared to other cruise lines, Virgin was a hot mess on port days.

One thing that stood out was crew presence and behavior. Some crew members were great, but others were outright rude, possibly because they were near the end of their contracts. We frequently saw crew pushing large carts right through main guest walkways, which we don’t remember seeing so much on other cruise lines. Maintenance crew also moved through guest areas and even sat or rested on couches meant for guests, which felt strange. I know that sounds elitist, but we just found it interesting that Virgin didn't put more rules in place about non-traditional crew/ guest interactions. Virgin also doesn’t seem to care much about officers being visible or interacting with guests, we never saw any and didn’t even know the captain’s name. Again, just very different from other cruise lines, but neither a negative or positive.

Health‑wise, a lot of people onboard were clearly sick and coughing, but we didn’t notice any increased cleaning or sanitation efforts. Bathrooms in common areas were hard to find and limited, although when you did find one, they were very nice. We both got nasty coughs on day 3. During one of the shows, the host even made a joke about the public bathrooms on the ship, and how hard they were to find.

Gunbae (Korean BBQ) may not be for everyone, since you’re required to sit with others and take part in a drinking game. On our third time at Gunbae we asked the host if we could just get a small table by ourselves, and he obliged. We were tired and weren't up for a lot of social interaction.

Random note, Virgin doesn’t seem very invested in a loyalty program compared to other cruise lines. Again, neither a negative, nor a positive, just an observation. It felt like Virgin Voyages executives had never been on cruises before, and instead took more of a land-resort style approach to their operation.

My partner liked the adults only aspect more than me, but it was a nice change. We both agreed though, that longer sailings plus not cruising during school breaks, pretty eliminates all kids. We've done 20+ days before on Princess and we only saw one kid.

The average age on board was not as young as we'd have thought, it was older than a Royal or Carnival, but younger than a Holland. I'd say most people were in the 50s and 60s. Typically adults whose kids were grown and out of the house.

Overall, we’d consider cruising Virgin again at some point if it is a good deal and we like the itinerary, but probably not for a while. After this experience, we don’t see ourselves becoming loyal Virgin Voyages cruisers. The dining system, crowd management, and general inefficiencies really overshadowed what could have been a much better experience.

We recently cruised on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady for the first time, and overall it was a mixed experience with some clear highs but also a lot of frustrations. Background, we take around 3 cruises a year, shooting for a minimum of 7 night, with that we have a decent amount of experience cruising on other lines.

The itinerary was 9 nights from NYC to Bermuda, Nassau, Charleston, and back to NYC. I will only be reviewing the ship and the experience on-board, not the ports.

We booked a standard balcony cabin (Deck 9 mid-ship) and had some positives and negatives. The mattress was uncomfortable, and while we asked for a topper, it was just a thin piece of foam and didn’t help much. Storage was very limited, with not many drawers or places to put things. There were also no power outlets in the bathroom, which was annoying. On the plus side, the lighting and tablet system worked really well and was easy to use. The balcony dividers are solid, which gave us good privacy, but the patio furniture itself (metal chairs) was uncomfortable.

The bathroom setup was odd. The shower had good space, but the rest of the bathroom felt extremely tight because of it.

Dining was by far the biggest disappointment of the entire cruise. The Galley buffet setup just doesn’t work well. Options felt limited, everything is broken up into mini stations, and many of them close early — sometimes as early as 3 pm. The food options leaned heavily toward Asian options like sushi and ramen, and there were lines for almost everything. It got exhausting pretty quickly. It just wasn't good at all compared to every other cruise line that we've done.

The sit‑down restaurants all keep the same limited menu for the entire sailing, which gets repetitive (Minus Test Kitchen which has 3). There’s Italian, Korean BBQ, Test Kitchen, Mexican, American, and a steakhouse. Reservations are required, and waitlists can be two hours or just unavailable altogether. There are also limits on how often you can eat at the same restaurant. You can’t reserve both breakfast and lunch either; it’s one or the other, which felt unnecessarily restrictive. Reservations open 45 days in advance, but even then, a lot of options still disappeared quickly. Even when we had a reservation, we sometimes stood in line for 30 minutes just to get inside. The whole dining system felt very inefficient and needs a complete rework. Afternoon tea was a paid affair too, versus free on other cruise lines. This was the only weird upcharge that I noticed onboard.

If you couldn't eat at one of the restaurants you'd have to go to the Galley and be absolutely disappointed. Other Cruise Lines like Princess, Royal, NCL, have exceptionally good Buffets, even at dinner. Virgin seemingly punishes you for not going to a sit-down restaurant.

Entertainment was just okay. Nothing terrible, but nothing impressive either. The Red Room looked pretty worn, and overall the entertainment didn’t compare well to other lines like Royal Caribbean. The live music around the ship mostly wasn’t great, with the big exception being The Magnets, the beatboxing/acapella group, they were fantastic.

The ship feels crowded in certain areas. The main pool is extremely small, and there are only four hot tubs for the entire ship, plus maybe one or two for suites only. The wellness pool is also small, and the jets weren’t even working. The ship layout can be awkward, too. For example, there’s a large circular table near the ice cream shop that creates a huge bottleneck, and it was a traffic jam every single time. Music is constantly playing everywhere, and it’s loud pretty much all the time, it is hard to find a nice quiet place anywhere on-board.

The gym itself is very nice, and a lot of things are included, which we appreciated. Fitness classes are included as well, but you absolutely have to book them early. We did like that there was no nickel‑and‑diming or constant upselling. Free water is available everywhere, the ice cream is genuinely good, and the free internet was perfectly usable for staying in touch with people at home. Don't expect to be able to work from the ship, stream video, or anything like that on the free wifi, but apps like WhatsApp worked perfectly.

The lack of nickel and diming, photographers hawking at you, thinly veiled events that are actually sales pitches, was a very welcome change.

Port days were rough. Disembarkation was chaotic every time, completely disorganized, with crowds everywhere and slow security lines. Our itinerary also had odd port hours, like arriving at noon, which didn’t help. Compared to other cruise lines, Virgin was a hot mess on port days.

One thing that stood out was crew presence and behavior. Some crew members were great, but others were outright rude, possibly because they were near the end of their contracts. We frequently saw crew pushing large carts right through main guest walkways, which we don’t remember seeing so much on other cruise lines. Maintenance crew also moved through guest areas and even sat or rested on couches meant for guests, which felt strange. I know that sounds elitist, but we just found it interesting that Virgin didn't put more rules in place about non-traditional crew/ guest interactions. Virgin also doesn’t seem to care much about officers being visible or interacting with guests, we never saw any and didn’t even know the captain’s name. Again, just very different from other cruise lines, but neither a negative or positive.

Health‑wise, a lot of people onboard were clearly sick and coughing, but we didn’t notice any increased cleaning or sanitation efforts. Bathrooms in common areas were hard to find and limited, although when you did find one, they were very nice. We both got nasty coughs on day 3. During one of the shows, the host even made a joke about the public bathrooms on the ship, and how hard they were to find.

Gunbae (Korean BBQ) may not be for everyone, since you’re required to sit with others and take part in a drinking game. On our third time at Gunbae we asked the host if we could just get a small table by ourselves, and he obliged. We were tired and weren't up for a lot of social interaction.

Random note, Virgin doesn’t seem very invested in a loyalty program compared to other cruise lines. Again, neither a negative, nor a positive, just an observation. It felt like Virgin Voyages executives had never been on cruises before, and instead took more of a land-resort style approach to their operation.

My partner liked the adults only aspect more than me, but it was a nice change. We both agreed though, that longer sailings plus not cruising during school breaks, pretty eliminates all kids. We've done 20+ days before on Princess and we only saw one kid.

The average age on board was not as young as we'd have thought, it was older than a Royal or Carnival, but younger than a Holland. I'd say most people were in the 50s and 60s. Typically adults whose kids were grown and out of the house.

Overall, we’d consider cruising Virgin again at some point if it is a good deal and we like the itinerary, but probably not for a while. After this experience, we don’t see ourselves becoming loyal Virgin Voyages cruisers. The dining system, crowd management, and general inefficiencies really overshadowed what could have been a much better experience.