Engine Issues Cause Third Valiant Lady Itinerary Change in a Month
For the third time this month, Virgin Voyages has had to notify booked guests just days ahead of their upcoming voyage on Valiant Lady of some important itinerary changes due to ongoing engine maintenance.
In an email sent to passengers, the cruise line informed them that the upcoming June 20 voyage would no longer be visiting the Dominican Republic and instead would be stopping in Turks and Caicos.
Beyond that, the arrival time at the only other stop in Bimini was also changed slightly.
“We have made an itinerary update to your Sailor(s) upcoming Dominican Daze voyage, sailing on June 20, 2025,” the email notification read. “Due to engine maintenance, they will now visit Grand Turk, instead of Puerto Plata on Day 3.”
“Your Sailor’s visit to The Beach Club at Bimini, Bahamas will also now arrive at 8 AM (instead of 9 AM),” the email continued.
The communication also included a copy of the original and new itinerary for passengers to review, with the updates being highlighted clearly in red.
Initially, the itinerary included a stop in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 22, 2025.
Instead, 110,000 gross-ton Valiant Lady will call on Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos the same day from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m., arriving and departing two hours earlier than the original stop in Puerto Plata.
Also changed was the arrival time in Bimini, which was moved up just an hour, but the departure time remains the same, being 7 p.m..
While this will give passengers an extra hour to explore the destination, it also will allow for extra time for the vessel to be worked on.
The cruise line also let guests know that if they had already booked excursions in Puerto Plata through Virgin Voyages, they would be automatically refunded.
Additionally, new excursions for the stop in Grand Turk would be available to book starting on June 18, 2025.
While the change is rather last minute, being made just three days prior to embarkation, most booked guests so far are seem to not be bothered by the situation.
“I figured this was coming. They’ve been having problems all month, definitely works for me though,” one passenger commented.
“Just got this email. Works for me too!” another added.
Others questioned what engine maintenance had to do with the itinerary, which is entirely reasonable to ask given the short notice of the schedule update.
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While it is true that itinerary changes are not uncommon, they are usually a result of factors like bad weather or berthing issues — not engine issues.
Unfortunately, this is becoming a common occurance for Valiant Lady, which has already had to change two other sailings this month because of its engine not working properly.
Valiant Lady’s Neverending Engine Issues
As one booked guest pointed out already, Valiant Lady has become no stranger to itinerary changes happening as a result of engine issues.
Just last week, passengers were notified just three days ahead of their June 15 sailing aboard Valiant Lady of — you guessed it — itinerary changes due to engine maintenance!
The 5-night Mayan Sol voyage was originally set to visit Costa Maya in Mexico on day 3, but instead called on Cozumel.
Beyond just a location change, this stop was also lengthened by three hours, likely to allow the crew extra time to work on the engine.
Also impacted by engine issues was the June 6 Dominican Daze voyage, which had the exact same itinerary change as the June 20 sailing, including the switch from Puerto Plata to Grand Turk and the moved-up arrival time in Bimini.
Two other Valiant Lady sailings also had itinerary shifts due to maintenance back in January of 2025 — but so far, June has beat this record, seeing three itineraries change due to engine maintenance, which is practically unheard of.
With most of these changes being announced just two or three days ahead of embarkation, there have not been any other announcements about other upcoming sailings being affected.
That being said, if you are booked on any of Valiant Lady’s upcoming voyages, definitely keep an eye on your email for any potential updates.
Engine Issues Cause Third Valiant Lady Itinerary Change in a Month