Engine Issues Cause Yet Another Valiant Lady Itinerary Change
For the second time this month, Virgin Voyages has had to notify booked guests just days before their June 15 Valiant Lady cruise out of Miami, Florida, of some important itinerary changes.
“We have made an itinerary update to your upcoming Mayan Sol voyage, sailing on June 15, 2025,” read the email notification. “Due to engine maintenance, you will now visit Cozumel, Mexico, instead of Costa Maya, Mexico, on Day 3.”
Also included in the communication was the full schedule, including the original and updated one, with all changes being highlighted in red.
Initially, the 110,000 gross-ton Valiant Lady was set to call on Costa Maya from 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. on June 17, 2025.
Instead, it will be docked in Cozumel on June 17 from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m., giving guests three additional hours to explore the tropical destination.
The rest of the itinerary will go on as scheduled, with one stop in Bimini on June 19 before disembarking passengers in Miami on June 20.
Unfortunately, Virgin Voyages is notifying passengers of the change just four days ahead of the Mayan Sol cruise, so understandably, booked guests are having mixed reactions.
“Has this happened to past cruisers? Do you think it is related to maintenance?” commented one passenger.
“VV may have maintenance done in Cozumel- it’s a great port!” one cruiser responded.
“Costa Maya is just a strip mall of tourist shops, you’re not missing anything. Cozumel will be way more fun,” added another.
While the timing is not ideal, many seasoned cruisers have voiced their preference for Cozumel over Costa Maya, citing that there are more things to do and it is overall less crowded.
Prior to the June 15 voyage, Valiant Lady is sailing a quick 4-night Fire Sunset Soiree cruise departing June 11 — this itinerary remains unchanged, calling on Key West and Bimini.
That being said, the change to the June 15 sailing is not the most recent time Valiant Lady has had to alter its schedule due to engine issues.
Not the First Impact Due to the Engine Issue
Just a handful of years after launching, Valiant Lady is already experiencing its fair share of issues.
On June 3, 2025, Virgin Voyages announced that the June 6 sailing, literally called the Dominican Daze voyage, was no longer visiting the Dominican Republic.
Instead of visiting Puerto Plata on day 3 of the sailing, the vessel called on Grand Turk, arriving on June 9, 2025.
Beyond that, the arrival time in Bimini was also moved up an hour from 9 a.m. to 8 a.m., giving passengers an extra hour to enjoy the island.
An email sent out to booked guests by Virgin Voyages shared that the change to the June 6 itinerary was due to engine maintenance.
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However, this was not the start of the issues the ship has been having, as it goes all the way back to January of 2025.
First, the January 17 voyage had to swap the visit from Puerto Plata to Grand Turk — the same as the June 6 voyage — and while the reason was not confirmed, guests speculated it was due to engine maintenance.
Then, the January 31 sailing also had the same itinerary change, with the cruise line citing that the schedule was adjusted due to Valiant Lady needing extra maintenance.
To top it all off, there was a shipwide power outage on May 30, 2025, which happened while departing from Bimini.
Whether or not any other upcoming voyages will be affected is yet to be seen — but hopefully, the June 15 sailing will be the last one affected by the engine issues.
Engine Issues Cause Yet Another Valiant Lady Itinerary Change