Valiant Lady's Coded Messages Among Unique Decor
Virgin Voyages strives to provide an alternative spin on cruising and that approach has filtered all the way down to their interior design (watch our full ship tour). With modern interiors that verge on Ikea-esque in form, Virgin’s ships offer a sleeker, more minimalist take on design when compared to the opulence other line’s ships offer (though if opulence is your preference, join CruiseHabit on the group cruise aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2).
Despite this, Virgin still manages to give a nod toward maritime tradition. One unique way that they have accomplished this is through their elevator lobbies on Valiant Lady where, for sailors ready to spend a little time decoding, this ship offers 16 “hidden” messages by way of maritime signal flags.
Learning the Alphabet - Letter Flags
While the use of flags in maritime communication dates back to the 1600s, the International Code of Signals, of which the nautical alphabet flags are a part, was first drafted in 1855 by the British Board of Trade. It was developed in an effort to standardize the flags used on an international level. The use of flags allows for messages to be conveyed quickly, universally, and at a distance. The Code uses an array of signal flags, alphabet flags, and numeral pennants strung together to form messages. The chosen flags would be clipped to a flag hoist before being raised to the ship’s yardarm (horizontal spar at the top of a ship’s mast). The most recent edition of the International Code of Signals was published in 2005, though those who are rusty on their flag recall are spared on the Valiant Lady as each message comes with a symbol key.
The Flags in Valiant Lady’s Elevator Lobbies Decoded
If you want to take a crack at being your own Nancy Drew and decoding these messages while aboard, read no further (though I highly recommend you read on). You can find these messages in the forward elevator lobbies on decks six through 14 and the midship elevator lobbies on decks eight through 14. However, if you’d rather spend your time enjoying the fantastic entertainment options Valiant Lady has to offer, read on for each of these messages and their decoded phrases.
Deck 8 Midship
"I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list - Susan Sontag"
Deck 9 Midship
"I must go down to the seas - John Masefield:
Deck 10 Midship
"What shall we do with the drunken sailor"
Deck 11 Midship
"Row row row your boat Eliphalet Oram Lyte"
Deck 12 Midship
"Be afraid and do it anyway"
Deck 13 Midship
"Stay wild ocean child"
Deck 14 Midship
"The sigh of all the seas breaking Virginia Woolf"
Deck 6 Forward
"I’m going to change the world but today I’ll just be a mermaid"
Deck 7 Forward
"He knew no man was ever alone on the sea Ernest Hemingway"
Deck 8 Forward
"I have never seen or heard of such fish Ernest Hemingway"
Deck 9 Forward
"He always thought of the sea as la mar Ernest Hemingway"
Deck 10 Forward
"Doth suffer a sea change William Shakespeare"
Deck 11 Forward
"El mar sonrie a lo lejos Federico Garcia Lorca"
Deck 12 Forward
"I need some sea habilitation"
Deck 13 Forward
"O ocean vast we heard thy song with wonder Victor Hugo"
Deck 14 Forward
"My best friend has big sails"
