“For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.” ― Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Michael and I decided to take advantage of the holiday last Friday and go on a quick getaway.  We chose a 4-night cruise from Miami to Key West, then Bimini, Bahamas, then back to Miami on the Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady ship.

I think I had too many expectations, and a lot in life is about expectations.  This was my third cruise, and the most expensive.  The first one was with MSC.  On that one I loved the food, the service and the shows.  The second was a Royal Caribbean.  It was also enjoyable, great service, but the food was lackluster.

Virgin Voyages is an adults-only cruise, with balconies in every room.  The food is not buffet style, it is more like a food court. You have to go to each stand and order what you want.  That sounds great, but in reality, it was bad.  I thought that it would equate with fresh prepared and tasty food, instead it is reheated food.  We got burgers that were sitting there getting cold and paninis that were hot on the outside and ice cold inside.

There are other foods around the ship, like pizza and ice cream, but I didn’t think it was anything special. 

They do have specialty restaurants that are supposed to be great, but unfortunately since this was a last-minute trip we couldn’t get reservations to the best ones.  We were able to get to 2, not the best ones, and they were good, and definitely is the way to go.

This is a picture of some of the desserts, which looked amazing, but only 2 passed my taste test: the Pavlova and macaron(not pictured).

 The service was spotty at best.  Sometimes the servers were too busy talking to each other to help. And when they helped there were no smiles, it was a chore.  I was spoiled with the treatment of the prior 2 cruises.  The attendant for our room was very nice and a couple of the waiters in the restaurant were good.  But as a whole the service was disappointing.

The pools were tiny and super crowded.  Not that I ever go in those pools, but this is the worst I have seen: too small and too many people.  The DJ was too loud, but everyone seemed to be enjoying it, so I guess I grew out of my partying days.  I didn’t expect a party cruise and that is what I got.  This is what I think Carnival would be like.  Again… expectations.

The positive in this cruise is that every room has a balcony.  From now on it will be only rooms with a balcony for me.

We enjoyed walking around Key West and wouldn’t mind going back there to spend more time.   I will have those pictures in a next post.

The safety drill was interesting to watch.  I didn’t think they would put all lifeboats in the water, but they did and cruised around for some time before returning and loading them up again. 

The stop in Bimini was okay.  Beautiful place, beautiful waters, but the beach club was crowded with no available chairs in the shade.  The food served there was the highlight of the day.

It was awful? No!  Would I do a Virgin Cruise again? Probably not, but who knows.

I need to try some of the others, such as Norwegian, Celebrity and Viking. And perhaps I need to lower my expectations.

We arrived back in Miami at night instead of the morning due to someone having a medical emergency.  The view of Miami at night was gorgeous:

“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.” ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

“My soul is full of longing
for the secret of the sea,
and the heart of the great ocean
sends a thrilling pulse through me.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow