We were thrilled to cruise with Virgin Voyages on the 5-night Riviera Maya sailing to Cozumel and Bimini. This was our first cruise without kids in almost 15 years, so we were ready to get away on a couples vacation. Virgin Voyages is such a unique cruise line. Not just for catering only to adults, but for the incredible value you receive by having all dining, wifi, gratuities and more included in the rate. Our cruise with the Virgin Voyages Miami embarkation started the moment we entered V Terminal and the good vibes kept on going throughout the entire cruise.
We arrived the night prior to our cruise and stayed at the Gabriel South Beach. Located just across the street from the ocean and right in the heart of what’s happening in Miami, it was a great spot to start our vacation. We ate a light dinner at the hotel restaurant choosing to sit outside to people watch and enjoy the music before calling it a night.
If you’re interested, we stayed at the Gabriel for FREE using points earned from our Hilton credit cards. We were also upgraded to an ocean balcony room thanks to Derrick’s Hilton Aspire card. Our flight only cost us $24 total in taxes as we used points earned on my CitiAdvantage card. I highly recommend taking advantage of credit card bonus offers to earn points to travel for FREE or cheap.
Virgin Voyages Day 1: Virgin Voyages Miami Departure
Our boarding time wasn’t until 3pm. We had time to relax and enjoy the beach before heading to the cruise terminal. Virgin Voyages is strict about their boarding times, so don’t bother arriving at the port early. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked the beach and hung around at the hotel pool until it was time to request an Uber.
Our 3pm boarding was quick and painless. We walked right into V Terminal after leaving our bags with the porter and only waited in a short line to check-in. We were on the Valiant Lady within about 10 minutes of arriving! Typically we will go exploring once we board a cruise, but I was starving since we had skipped lunch. I only wanted a snack as we had 5:30pm dinner reservations, so we headed to the Dock, where we ordered the grilled shrimp, Spanish octopus, and hanger steak. It was all tasty, but I preferred the shrimp. It all paired nicely with my first glass of sparking rosé!
After snack time, we decided to go to our stateroom and watch the mandatory safety video. Our luggage was already being delivered which meant I had to take a few minutes to unpack. I also took time to jump on the app and see if I could book a dinner reservation for 2 of the nights we were missing. Space had become available, so I was able to get reservations at Gunbae and The Wake. Since all guests must watch the safety video and check-in at their muster stations before the ship can leave the dock, we got our muster drill visit checked off our to-do list.
Then it was time to get ready for the Sail Away Party. Free champagne was available on the 15th and 16th deck by the pool during the party. The sparking rosé at sail away was definitely a lower quality than what you pay for, but, it’s free! We decided to hang around on the 16th deck as it was a fun place to watch the happenings at the pool plus get a couple free glasses of booze.
Dinner was at Extra Virgin, the Italian restaurant. I felt the server was a bit rude as he walked up to introduce himself and stated he wanted to take our entire order all at once. He promptly left and returned sometime later to take our drink order (excluding water) along with our dinner order. Once we ordered, it was quite a while before our bar drinks arrived. I was put off by this first encounter and a bit concerned for the rest of our cruise. Not to worry, all other staff on the ship were excellent.
We enjoyed the charcuterie, it was a great dish to share. The calamari wasn’t our favorite, but the popular meatballs were delicious. Try eating a meatball together with the bread – yum! The soup was right up my alley and truly delicious. Derrick through the New York strip was the best steak he’d had on a cruise ship and I loved my Ragu.
For dessert we both ordered the Affogato. It’s ice cream and espresso prepared tableside. I ordered the chocolate and Derrick had the vanilla ice cream. We both had it with the espresso. It was delicious and drinking the rest of the espresso at the end was a good pick me up at the end of the meal.
The PJ Party was that first evening, but we couldn’t stay awake that late. Lots of other cruises said they had a blast. I may give it a try on my next cruise.
There were only 1,900 sailors on board our cruise while the max is just over 2,700. That’s huge when thinking about capacity at the restaurants, common spaces and Bimini. We were rather spoiled.
Our stateroom was the Valiant Lady Central Sea Terrace (12 174 A). I loved the simple, modern design. The room is small but it has a larger feel due to the open spaces and clean lines. The balcony had the iconic red hammock. It was lovely to relax in the hammock with my book and gaze at the water while we sailed. I do think I’d upgrade to the XL terrace for our next cruise if it’s in the budget. I’d love to have the larger bathroom. The smaller was fine for a 5 night cruise, but the storage options were seriously lacking. It’s great that we have a hanging toiletries bag to hang on one of the towel hooks on the back of the door. My makeup bag and meds were on the shelf under the sink in between the trash can and extra toilet paper.
