Virgin Cruise: Part 1

Here is part one of three recaps of our Virgin Cruise!

I’m so excited to share all the photos from our trip to Miami, Cozumel, Bimini and the Gulf of Mexico! This trip was a dream come true! I’ve wanted to travel with a group of friends for years. While I’ve done some weekends away, this was a real VACATION. Thirteen of us boarded our first Virgin cruise (yes, we were all Virgin virgins from Virginia and many jokes were made!)

How did this trip come to be? Well you know I love cruises and I casually asked my friend group at happy hour one night if anyone would want to go on a cruise with me. The response was positive, and I asked my sister, Laura, who is a travel advisor, if she could recommend one. She immediately said that Virgin would be perfect for a friend group, and so the planning began. Somehow I got 13 people to commit, 5 singles and 4 couples, and we were so excited to escape the snow of Virginia.

Virgin Cruise Recap!

Our trip began with a group flight. All but one of us took a mid-day direct flight from Dulles to Miami the day before the cruise. Remember how it felt to see your classmates in the wild while on a field trip? That’s what it felt like when we all gathered at the airport!

Our flight was on time, and we took a Lyft to downtown Miami. We stayed at the Aloft, which was nice but not amazing, because some of us used Marriott points. Three of the couples stayed at different hotels, and we merged half the group for a Cuban dinner by the bay. Dinner was just Ok. I think we accidentally hit up a pretty touristy area. The fish was great though!

Red snapper + plantains

Breakfast + Morning Power Walk

The next morning we went to Pura Vida for coffee and smoothie bowls.

And then powerwalked around in the sunshine! It was a little chilly so I had on Jonathon’s winter coat for a bit.

And then it was time for showers and to head to the cruise port! We were SO EXCITED!

Thanks to my sister, we had priority boarding which meant we skipped a huge line and got on board right at 1:45pm.

My Room

I had a Sea Terrace room to myself, which was lovely!

The balconies all have red hammocks that I lounged in a few times. And this was seriously the most comfortable jumpsuit of all time!

Even my rainshower impressed me!

After dropping our bags, we went to The Galley for a late lunch! Most ships these days don’t have buffets, and food is served touch-free by category at stations. The Disney cruise and Explora cruise I did both had a similar setup. While I’m talking food, the food on Virgin was OUTSTANDING! Generally my expectations for all-inclusive food are low-to-medium, and this was the best food of the three cruises I have done in recent years.

I was craving a salad, so I built one at the big salad bar. (It’s kind of like Chopt where you tell the person what you want and they add it). Loved that kalamata olive dressing!

Afterwards we went to the ice cream shop, Lick Me Till Ice Cream!!

Around 4:30 there was a sail-off party on the main pool deck, so we headed up for champs and sun!

Our resident model, Seanny Boy:

They had a DJ going (pretty much the whole cruise) and the music was great!!

Once out at sea, we explored the ship a bit more – check out this net you could climb onto!

Down below was The Dock, which was my favorite hangout spot. It was designed to feel like the Amalfi Coast and was quieter than the main pool. They also served Mediterranean apps and had a special menu of spritzs!

I went back to my room to get dressed for dinner and my cabin steward had changed the lighting in my room!

Dinner at Test Kitchen

Look for the birch for Birch!

Test Kitchen was one of the more unique restaurants with a creative menu of small plates. You could choose one side or the other (or request extras) and got a 5 course experience.

My favorite drink came from Test Kitchen. This was a Mezcal Negroni with coconut foam on top!!!!! I loved it!

The food was all creative and delicious.

I loved that cheese tart on the bottom right. But the highlight of the meal was definitely the dessert: Yuzu Meringue Tarts! They were being made right in front of me!

SO GOOD! I love all things foam/whipped cream/meringue and the combo with the tart yuzo and crunchy cookie layers was perfection.

We called it a night after dinner and some Rummikub gaming in the lounge!

Day At Sea

Our next morning was a day at sea. I love the sea days because you are “trapped” in the middle of the ocean and I find that to be so fun and cozy. You don’t have to rush anywhere, and there are so many things to do.

First things first: breakfast!

I LOVE chia pudding and had one everyday! They also had really good overnight oats.

We started the trip off with a nice HIIT workout that was harder than it should have been, haha. And lots of track walking! The view is always so beautiful up on the track.

10 stations x 2!

Same crew, different gym.

The Dock

After rinse-off showers, we went to The Dock to relax for the day.

Of course we play The Game everywhere!

Small plates lunch:

I went to find more whipped cream and meringue and found marshmallow too! The best desserts.

We spent the afternoon by the main pool with the DJ, reading and talking.

Dinner at Extra Virgin

Our favorite lounge was On The Rocks, and we met there before dinner most evenings.

While you can eat at The Galley or the Dockhouse any night, the main restaurants do require reservations. Extra Virgin seemed to be the group favorite. I think we had 8 of us for this dinner. The menu was Italian-focused, and we ordered so many dishes to share, from a cheeseboard to pasta to fish.

Everything was fantastic!

More lick me till ice cream!

We ended the night with a comedy show in The Manor. Fun times!