We took an Uber from the hotel around 11:00 am. We arrived at the port at 11:45 am. We used the Rockstar line and got checked in so quickly. The testing was right behind the test registration desk. We headed up stairs to do the cruise check in. As we completed our cruise check in, a staff person handed us little cards with our names indicating we had tested negative. Boarding didn’t start until 2 pm. We knew that when we left the hotel early. I was anxious about the test and just wanted to get it over with. It worked out well because we were able to get the on ship WiFi and reserve all our shows.
We boarded. Our Seriously Suite is great.
The bathroom is gorgeous. We headed to our favorite spot: The Dock for lunch of grilled octopus, chicken, steak, and various Mediterranean dips. We headed back to check in with the “Rockstar agents” – concierges. We had a couple dinner reservations to change. Super easy. We unpacked. Glenn played some records on the in room record player. We headed up to Richard’s Rooftop for happy hour. You get a free glass of champagne every day.
Dinner was Gunbae Korean. We sat with a nice couple from Phoenix. Food was great. Florida, our chef/server, was so fun.
We went to the Best Life show with Tamra. She was hysterical. Then, we went to Untitled Dance Show Thing. We enjoyed a lot more the second time since we didn’t have the initial what the heck is going on?
January 22, 2022 - Sea Day
We had a great Sea Day. We had coffee on the balcony. I went and got a pedicure. We met up for brunch at the Wake (steakhouse). It was so good. I had the avocado Benedict and both salads. The wedge salad was full of hard boiled egg. It was like eating a deviled egg on lettuce. Delicious.
After brunch, we headed to Richard's Rooftop terrace and enjoyed some hot tub time and relaxing. We had some balcony time and then back up for sunset happy hour.
Dinner was Extra Virgin. The appetizers were great: crispy artichoke, meatballs, and capaccio. The pasta ragu was tasty and we had afrogatto for dessert. They take a scoop of gelato, pour over espresso, add Sambucca whipped cream. Yum.
The show was Ships in the Night. It was a more traditional caberet show. Lots of singing and dancing. The stage had really cool digital screens so parts felt like we were watching an art installation.
We headed back to the cabin after the show to watch the end of the SF / Packers game. The TV in the cabin is huge.
January 23, 2022 - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
We had terrific weather for Puerto Plata. We had a late breakfast in the Galley. I had Ramen and Glenn loved the vegetable panini. We headed over the Puerto Plata port area and enjoyed some time in the pool. We came back and tried the pizza. It was really good. Princess better watch out. We also had to stop and get gelato.
I had enough sun so we decided to enjoy our suite and watch the Bucs game.
We missed the last minute because we were sure it was headed to overtime and we needed to get to dinner. We had a really nice dinner at Wake. II really liked the salmon.
We went to see Never See Alone. It's show about sex with audience participation. Definitely for adults. It was really fun.
After dinner, it was karaoke time. Glenn got to see 3 songs. The crowd was great. The host rubbed us the wrong way. He kept commenting on whether or not the singers were on key since he had years of musical theater experience. Yes. He mentioned that several times. Overall, it was still very fun.
January 24, 2022 - Sea Day
We spent the morning enjoying the balcony. We headed up to Richard’s Rooftop for a bloody Mary and some poke bowls. Glenn got the tuna. I got the chicken. Both were very good. We headed down to the Dock to listen to the one man band. He was really good. He played the guitar in a totally different way.
We enjoyed Afternoon Tea.
Before dinner, we went to Dual Reality – my favorite show on board.
Dinner was Razzle Dazzle. I love the Mushroom Tartare there. I also had a good Impossible Burger.
Then it was Scarlet Night. We hung out at On the rocks for most of the night so we got to see a lot of the pop up acts. We also got invited to the secret concert. Shhhhhh…… The deck party was really fun, but it was COLD. The wind was really strong.
January 25, 2022 - Bimini Beach Club
Our last day of the cruise was Bimini Beach Club. We got up, had coffee on the balcony, and then headed ashore. Rockstars get private golf cart transfers.
So fancy. We found a nice beach bed in the Rockstar section and relaxed listening to the waves. Glenn delivered some barbeque bites. The watermelon salad and ribs were very good. We headed back onboard and stopped at The Dock for one last round of grilled octopus.
We watched sunset from Richard's Rooftop with our glass our champagne.
Dinner was Pink Agave. We both agree it's our favorite restaurant onboard. The esquites appetizer is delicious - the right combo of salty, spicy, and sweet. The rib eye and pork are also delicious. We tried a delicious tequila cocktail that used carrot juice for sweetness instead of simple syrup. It was well balanced.
After dinner, we wandered around listening to live music: Morph - the One Man Band and the Slam Allen Blues Band. A good end to the cruise.
January 26, 2022 - Disembarkation
Disembarkation is very relaxed on Virgin. You can stay as late as 10:30 am. Both a la carte restaurants and the Galley are open for breakfast. We went to Razzle Dazzle because I love the probiotic hash there with kimchi and root vegetables.
We got a taxi to the hotel - The Palms Hotel and Spa. Our room wasn't ready. I worked in the Business Center for an hour and a half. Then, we decided to walk the 1.7 miles down to the travel clinic for our PCR test. We walked along the beach boardwalk. The weather was great - slightly cloudy. We had our PCR tests at Evivia Health Clinic. It as a suite in an office building. Super easy. We walked back up the beach and stopped at Kimpton Surfrider for a shrimp salad. We got back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby until our room was ready. We went to the hotel bar's happy hour for dinner. We then watched TV and went to bed. We got our negative test results back around 4:00 pm - exactly 4 hours after the test as they promised.
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