Virgin Voyages Five Night Caribbean Cruise

Pre-cruise stay in Miami

We flew into Miami the day before embarking on our cruise. This meant we didn’t need to worry about any delays, allowed us to enjoy Miami and visit some friends and adjust timezones. We chose the Esme Miami Beach for our pre-cruise stay and had a wonderful experience. This boutique hotel is just a few blocks away from the beach, offers great amenities and so much character. The rooms are small, but we were about to spend five nights in a cabin so we didn’t need much space. We were really impressed by the service and took advantage of the perk of hotel credit to enjoy breakfast at the onsite restaurant. If we were to stay longer, we’d definitely take advantage of their free rental bikes and beach chairs. The hotel was a 25-minute ride from the airport and 14-minute drive from the cruise terminal.

The lady ship

We boarded our cruise on the Valiant Lady on Friday afternoon. Right away, we were impressed by how modern and well-maintained the ship is. We had a sea terrace balcony cabin and all the in-room controls (lighting, curtains, temperature and tv) are controlled by a convenient handheld tablet. We were warmly greeted by our cabin attendant and set off to explore all the ship had to offer on night one. Most of the action is on decks six to seven and 15 to 16, so when choosing your stateroom, you’ll want to choose a floor close to those so that you can take the stairs when possible and avoid waiting for the elevator. Around meal times and on port days, the elevators get crowded. We stayed on deck 12 and next time I would aim for 13 or 14 for the view and proximity to the galley on deck 15 where there are wonderful food options.

Food

The main reason we wanted to give Virgin Voyages a try is because we heard they handle food allergies exceptionally well compared to other cruise lines. I have celiac, so the idea of being limited with onboard gluten-free food options or getting sick is not my idea of a great vacation. This was super important to me and I was not disappointed. We tried all six onboard specialty restaurants during our five-night cruise and ate many meals in the made-to-order food court called The Galley, and I was so impressed by the options I had and the knowledge and care of the service staff. We were asked about food allergies before every meal and the staff were quick to help me find safe options and suggest substitutions. They were careful about cross-contamination and wouldn’t hesitate to ask the kitchen if there were any doubts. All their menus are marked for food allergies, also. Our favorite restaurant was Test Kitchen, where they serve a six-course Chef’s tasting menu and optional beverage pairings. My menu varied slightly from my gluten-tolerant husbands but we both loved our meals and had a wonderful service experience there.

Theme parties

A few days before your trip with Virgin Voyages, passengers receive an email calling out some special items to pack for their trip. Luckily we did not ignore this email, as it turned out there were several themed events you could opt into while on board and people went all out! If you’re not into themes you will not be alone, but I definitely recommend at least packing something red for Scarlet Night. The crew and a large portion of guests get into the theme!

Ports of call

Our cruise stopped in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic and Bimini in the Bahamas. We love to scuba dive, so we did a diving excursion in Puerto Plata and had a great day with clear water and some giant fan coral. If you opt not to do an excursion in Puerto Plata, there is a whole beach club area in the port at Taino Bay that has pools, a lazy river, shops, restaurants and bars that you could spend the whole day in. At Bimini, Virgin Voyages has a private beach club, which we loved. Food was included at the beach club (again with good gluten-free options!) and we chose to sit in chairs on the beach and read and soak up the sun. The pool party sounded like a lot of fun for those who wanted a more energetic vibe!

Optional extras

One of the perks of cruising with Virgin over other cruise lines is that everything you need is included, all food, entertainment, gratuity, fitness classes, etc. That being said, if you want to partake in adult beverages, those do come at an additional cost. You can pre-purchase a bar tab or just pay as you go. There are also optional extras like shore excursions, optional entertainment options like Drag Bingo, where you can buy bingo cards, or you can enjoy their Thermal Spa, or upgraded food options like afternoon tea. We ended up spending about $400 additional on our cruise on drinks, bingo cards, and thermal spa passes for the two of us.

Virgin Voyages offers a unique cruise experience. Five nights was the perfect duration for our first cruise, with enough time to enjoy all the onboard specialty restaurants, a variety of the entertainment available, and two beautiful and relaxing beach destinations. Get in touch with me to book your next cruise with Virgin Voyages!

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on cruise travel. In need of further inspiration? Check out Heather Budd’s guide, A Caribbean Christmas in Grenada.