Day 7: Virgin Voyages | Scarlet Lady | Bimini
The morning began at The Perch for guided meditation. I practice yoga frequently, but a class 100% focused on meditation was new to me. The sun was rising as the class began and we were first instructed to find a comfortable position on our yoga mat. I opted for laying on my back. Then, the instructor guided us into our meditation state. I don’t really remember what he said, but soon enough we were all quietly meditating. It was peaceful and afterwards I felt refreshed.
Our first night on the ship, we ate dinner at The Wake, and we noticed they had brunch. The unlimited mimosas was what caught our eye so today we tried out The Wake for brunch. It was 8:30am so an early brunch. Mimosas brought us here, but in the end none of us felt up for mimosas so early. The restaurant gets its name for its location on the ship. It’s located on the back and when the ship is in motion, you can see the wake of the ship. It’s beautiful. It was a lovely place to watch the ship depart Miami on the first day. Today, the ship was already docked and our view was the concrete slab of the dock. Definitely not as picturesque as before, but we could also see Bimini which was nice.

Every time I get off a cruise ship in another country, I’m blown away by the simplicity. They scan you out and then back in and that’s it. No customs. No immigration. No long lines. It’s luxurious. We walk off and head towards the tram area. We wait about five minutes until the tram arrives and then we hop onboard. It was a short ride over to Virgin Voyage’s private beach club. The area is sprawling for our small sailing of only about 600 passengers. We had debated renting a cabana to ensure we had enough shade during the day. I am glad we didn’t splurge because there were plenty of loungers and umbrellas for everyone. We picked a spot near the beach and enjoyed the sunshine and blue waters.

While my family enjoyed the beach, I went off to workout. “The Balancer” was hosting a HITT workout in the sand. I am the only one who choses a workout over beach or pool time. Literally, the only one to show-up for the workout. In the end, I had a private workout session. One of my first questions to Jordan was what does, “The Balancer” mean. I was thinking maybe he’s a gymnast or performer who specializes in balancing. Then, I learned about the “The” positions on Virgin Voyagers. Virgin Voyages doesn’t have a cruise director like most cruise liners. Instead, they have a group of 14 crew members that collectively are in charge of The Happenings for the cruise. Jordan was the second “Happenings” person I encountered. The first one was the singer at the Octopus Lounge. She was “The Hostess.” It was an enjoyable workout in the sand and in the shade.

The Float Party was next on the agenda. Imagine this, you’re hanging out by the pool when all of a sudden the pool is filled with the most over-the-top pool floats. There was a ten-person duck float, mermaid tail floats, margarita glass floats, a giant peacock float, a cloud with rainbow float, and my personal favorite, an old-school cassette float. At the same time the floats arrived, the music changed from mellow relaxation music to party-time music. There were plenty of floats for everyone. It was a lot of fun, but the party-vibe isn’t really my scene. We moved to a quieter area afterwards.

Next we grabbed some lunch. The food was all Caribbean-themed options which made it tough for me because almost everything had peppers. My lunch consisted of plain white rice, a fruit bowl, and a coconut cake. I had looked at the menu ahead of time and thought the fruit would be the only thing I could eat. I was pleasantly surprised that there were a couple other items. It was enough to hold me over until dinner. Brian enjoyed the fish topped with a spicy sauce and a salad.

We Run This Beach was on The Lineup for the afternoon and we decided to check it out. Did you ever have field day in school? This was kind of like a condensed field day. The Balancer and The Hype organized us into four teams. A foot race decided the captains and teams were picked old-school style with captains on one side and the rest of us on the other side. Brian was one of the captains so I was his first pick and my brother was his second pick. We then competed against the other teams in a series of games. It was fun, but we did not win the grand prize which was a round of drinks for everyone on the team.

By this time, we were all tired and ready to get back on the ship, but we waited to watch the sunset and see the bonfire party kick-off. The sunset was one of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen with the entire skying looking like it was painted orange. The bonfires were set in these giant spherical fire rings. Each one was lit with a little ceremony/musical performance before it was actually lit.

It was an active day and we had a relatively small lunch so we were ready for dinner. We opted for eating at The Galley instead of a more formal dinner. I decided on a hamburger from The Diner. It was absolutely delicious and really hit the spot.

We ended the last night of the cruise by watching a show called, “Ships in the Night.” It was primarily an edgy dance show that explored our connections in the modern world. Overall I really liked the creativity of the show and the talent of all the dancers and singers.
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