Back to the Magic

My day began dark and early at 3am. I took the Frontier Airlines Flight from Cleveland to Orlando for a whopping $24.99 roundtrip and $96 in baggage fees. The airline is no frills so bags, seats, and drinks are extra and you won’t find chargers in the seats or entertainment. The baggage fee is excessive, but overall I appreciate not paying for the other amenities that I don’t need. One thing I love about budget airlines is that they seem to board and de-plane a lot quicker. No waiting for platinum, double platinum, triple platinum, etc. Overall boarding is done based on efficiency and not based on your status which I appreciate. The flight was on-time and soon enough I was landing in Orlando.

Orlando feels like a second home to me after spending a semester of college working at Disney World. I loved working at Disney because I met so many amazing friends. After my Disney College Program, I became a Disney College Program Campus Rep at Penn State. This is how I met Hilary! Hilary’s flight arrived shortly after mine so we met at baggage claim and took an Uber to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is located near Magic Kingdom and is themed after Yellowstone National Park. It’s one of my favorite hotels at Disney, but it’s the first time I’ve stayed here. This is actually the first time I’ve stayed at a Deluxe level resort and now I’m spoiled! Check-in was super easy and was done on the app yesterday. It asked for our arrival time and alerted us that we would receive a text when the room was ready. We arrived at the hotel at 10am and as soon as we stepped out of the Uber, the text came through! Disney Magic! We stopped by the front desk for directions since three cast members were there without other guests and it was the faster option than looking it up on the map. Once we received the directions, we headed to our first-level room. My last trip to Disney, we stayed at a Value resort which was nice and completely worked for our trip, but this was way nicer. The walk to our room was a lot shorter, the staff to guest ratio seems better, the coffee maker is bigger, the room is recently renovated, the pools have slides, there are more options for food, we have a balcony…well porch since we’re on the first floor, pretty much everything is an upgrade compared to the value resort.

We both hadn’t eaten much for breakfast so we stopped by the Roaring Fork for a quick bite to eat. I had a chocolate croissant and Hilary opted for a magic cookie bar. Next stop, Magic Kingdom!

Magic Kingdom is accessible by boat from our hotel. It was my first time taking this route at Disney, and I was pleasantly surprised by the ease and quickness of it all. We walked to the dock and a boat was already there so we walked right on and shortly after boarding, we headed to Magic Kingdom. It was a short seven minute ride over and the boat dropped us right in front of the gates. We headed through security which was also quick and then into the gates of Magic Kingdom.

Genie Plus was the first order of business, and now as I type this I wonder, why did we wait to get into the park before choosing our ride? You can start selecting Lightning Lanes at 7am, but we didn’t make our first Lightning Lane until around 11am when we entered the park. This was definitely a mistake which I blame on my sleepy brain. Genie Plus is the new system that has replaced FastPass+. It’s a paid service that costs $15 per person and it allows you to book lightning lanes which allow you to skip the line. You can book one regular lightning lane at a time and you have to wait until you’ve used the lightning lane or two hours after booking to make another selection. At 11am quite a few rides lacked availability for lightning lane and GeniePlus was starting to feel like it was a waste. We were able to snag one for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad , but it wasn’t until 5pm. Yikes!

We strolled up Main Street and headed to Adventureland since we had a lunch reservation at 1pm we thought it would work best to start over there. We were going to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, but by the time we got there it was nearing noon and the line was 70 minutes long. Not enough time to ride before our 1pm lunch reservations. We decided to check-in to our lunch reservation early since we didn’t have enough time for the ride. Luckily, they sat us shortly after checking in so little time wasted.

Lunch was at Skipper Canteen which is a restaurant that I’ve never tried. It reminds me of the old Adventureland lounge that used to be in Pleasure Island. I loved the vibe. I order an Adventureland Colada which is basically the drinkable version of a dole whip. It was delicious. We ordered the secret menu cheese bread as an appetizer and I had the steak for my entree. I have an allergy to peppers which is pretty much in every dish on the menu. Luckily, Disney is very accommodating and the chef came out to discuss which dishes can be modified to exclude peppers. I originally wanted the short ribs, but they are marinated over.a long time in peppers and wasn’t an option to make pepper-free. Instead, I ordered the steak without the seasoning and had It served with the sweet potato silk and a green bean/carrot mixture. It was a really delicious combo although a lot of food for lunch! I really enjoyed this meal.

It was one and we still hadn’t ridden a ride! This time of year the parks are usually empty. Kids are in school and usually it’s an ideal time to visit the parks. It was packed today and felt more crowded than when we visited on the 50th Anniversary on October 1. The ride lines were tough. We headed to Pirates of the Caribbean first and waited a whopping 55 minutes to ride. Disney rides have so many little details to them which I love. Even though I’ve been on this ride numerous times, I still found some new things that I hadn’t noticed before. While in lane, we booked our next lightning lane for Buzz Lightyear.

Shortly after pirates, we met up with our friend Jacki and her two kids. Her kids wanted to ride the PeopleMover so that’s where we went next. I love this ride. It had a long wait of about 30 minutes. After this, we headed to Buzz Lightyear and waited 60 minutes to ride it all together. While we waited in line, we were able to book another lightning lane and this time we chose Haunted Mansion.

It was time to say see you later to the kids and Jacki. Hilary and I could finally start using our Lightning Lanes! Our first lightning lane for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was a bit of a dud because the ride had broken down so we couldn’t use our Lightning Lane to ride it at 5pm as planned. We were given the option to use it on other rides, but the other options were a downgrade in my opinion. I noticed that there was no end time on this new lightning lane which was nice. We decided to hold off on using it and instead went to our next booked lightning lane for Buzz Lightyear. We literally rode it back to back and our lightning lane was indeed lightning fast. I love this ride and it’s one of my favorites.

Next was Haunted Mansion. There is a documentary series on DisneyPlus about Imagineering and the thoughts and details that go into some of the rides. If you’re going to visit Disney World, I highly recommend watching this series. It makes the rides a lot more enjoyable when you hear the stories of how the ride came to be. Haunted Mansion had always been a meh ride for me, but after watching the documentary, it has grown on me. Amazing what stories can do to elevate the experience!

Our lunch was huge and I wasn’t that hungry, but it was nearing 7pm and some of the quick-service restaurants were nearing closing time. We decided to place a mobile order for Harbor House since it was close. I ordered the chicken fingers with green beans and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. The restaurant is more known for their fish n chips and in some ways reminded me of Long John Silvers. As we finished our meal, we checked the app to find that Big Thunder Mountain was up and running again!

We used our Lightning Lane to enter the line and it was a bit crowded. We weren’t the only ones redeeming our lightning lanes from earlier in the day! As we waited, numerous people from the standby line were bailing. One said they had already waited 2.5 hours which was well beyond the time posted. I wasn’t sure about GeniePlus earlier in the day, but being able to use it here saved us at least 3 hours of waiting. 3 hours of time is worth more than $15 in my opinion. It was dark and wow is this ride 1000% better at night. Hilary and I laughed uncontrollably the whole time. This is my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom!

It was nearing eight o’clock which meant fireworks were starting soon. The normal place to watch fireworks is in front of the castle because you can see the projections on the castle and down Main Street, the music is dominant there, and the show is really designed to be seen from there. We didn’t want to deal with the crowds so we watched the show from the bridge by Splash Mountain. We could see the castle, see the fireworks, and hear the music from here. It was nice spot for viewing the fireworks, but overall in front of the castle is better for the full experience.

After the fireworks our fourth lightning lane of the day was available! We had booked Mad Tea Party earlier in the day. By round three of lightning lanes it was slim pickings. We did not need the lightning lane and the wait time would have been the same without it at this time of day. This was only my second time riding it after discovering that motion-sickness medicine works! We went full out this time spinning the cups at full speed! The world was a blur as we spun and spun, giggling like school children the entire time. I’m dizzy writing about it, but I was surprisingly fine on the ride!

Our Genie Plus summary of the day. We started booking at 11am and we were able to book and use four lightning lanes. Compared to current wait times when we rode, Genie Plus saved us about 5 hours of waiting. It was worth it, in my opinion. The included rides that booked the fastest were Big Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Jungle Cruise. (Splash Mountain was closed today.) On a crowded day like today, you can only get one of these three rides with Genie Plus. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Space Mountain aren’t included in the options for the $15 Genie Plus system, but you can buy an individual lightning lane pass for them. These also booked quickly.

Select days of the week, Disney allows Deluxe resorts to play longer in the parks. Today was one of those days! We enjoyed 2 extra hours in the park, and it was so worth it! On our way to Mad Tea Party, we passed Mickey’s Philharmonic and I remembered that a new Coco scene was recently added to the show. My son would have loved it. The added scene was Un Poco Loco which is his favorite song!

The plan was to ride Seven Dwarfs and Space Mountain during this amazing time with hardly any lines. We started with Seven Dwarfs. The posted wait time was 50 minutes, but we got on in 15 minutes. Yay! We then thought about heading to Space Mountain, but we remembered how rough that ride seems now and decided to ride Seven Dwarfs a second time! This time it was only 10 minutes. Much better than the 2 hour wait during the day!

We finished off the evening with a little shopping and then headed back to our hotel via boat. We had to wait what seemed like awhile for the boat, but we were really tired by then so it probably wasn’t really that long.

Miami & Travel Home {Day 9}

We fly direct whenever you can. Partly because we don’t like wasting our time connecting if we can avoid it and also because a direct flight minimizes the number of people around you who could be sick. There aren’t a lot of direct flight from Miami to Cleveland so our direct flight wasn’t until after 9pm. It meant we had pretty much the whole day in Miami before we headed home.

We had a lazy morning well I had a lazy morning. I slept in while Brian went for a run. We then prepared our bags for flying home by packing them up and weighing them to make sure they were both under 50 lb. We then wheeled our bags downstairs and checked them with the bell hop.

Seeing Little Havana was on today’s agenda. We had a food walking tour at 12:30pm, but arrived to Little Havana around 11:30pm. We spent the hour walking around and exploring. I was having second thoughts about our trip to Little Havana. The area had a strange vibe to it and overall looked like we might not be in the best neighborhood. There was a decent amount of graffiti and we saw a lot of old things. At the same time, there were other people walking around and it felt pretty safe. I couldn’t quote put my finger on what was different about the area.

We eventually found a little coffee shop and went inside. One of the employees approached us with details about the coffee and told us he was there if we needed help. There wasn’t really a menu or signs saying what they sold exactly which now I realized was why the guy had approached us. We each ordered some coffee and I also had some sort of pastry. The coffee was amazing and I was warming up to Little Havana. The coffee was gorgeous with a layer of cream at the bottom, a warm brown coffee in the middle, and whipped cream with decorative accent on top. The lady who brought the coffee to us said to stir it well before drinking it. It was so good.

Our food tour began in front of an old theatre. Dree, our guide, greeted us all individually and then introduced everyone to each other. She said that we weren’t just others taking a tour, but we were all now “familia.” Dree grew up in the area and is American, but her parents and grandparents were born and raised Cubans. Over the next couple hours we learned about the Cuban culture, Cuban history, and of course Cuban food. It felt like we were Dree’s good friends and she was showing us where she grew up and the people and places she found dear. We went to a restaurant where we had empanadas then to another restaurant where we had Mojitos and Cuban sandwiches. By this time, I was already filling pretty full from all the food! We learned the history behind the Mojito and how it originally had a medicinal value and the lime was for scurvy, We then learned about the sugar cane in our Mojito and how Cubans love to suck and eat the cane. It was delicious. We further learned about sugar at the Fruiteria. Here a man used a 50-year old sugar cane press to extract the juice from the sugar cane and we each received a cup to drink. It was so good! We also learned how Cubans are all about fixing what they have. There were so many functional antiques around time! We learned about dominoes, churros, Cuban cigars, and ice cream throughout the rest of the tour. I was so glad we not only decided to come to Little Havana, but also decided to do a tour. My impression of the area would have been a lot different had we not done the tour. The area is rich in history and culture and filled with great little shops and restaurants.

During the tour, Dree mentioned an area in Miami known for their street art and graffiti. We still had some time before our flight so we decided to check-out Wynwood. We went to a small craft brewery called J Wakefield Brewing for drinks and then we walked to explore the graffiti. Another town that seems kind of sketchy until you’re walking around and experiencing what is there. It started to rain so we decided to head back to the hotel. We collected our bags and then took an Uber to the Airport to head home.

Thank for reading about our adventures! Until next time!

Disembarkation Day {Day 8}

It has been an incredible journey, but our trip is coming to a close. Today is disembarkation day and we have until 10:30am before we are required to leave the ship.

The morning started as most mornings start on this trip…with a workout. Brian headed to the top deck for his morning run while I headed to Complex-B for a Slow Flow yoga class. I think Brian partially ran everyday because he liked looking at his run summary on his Garmin app and seeing his run in the ocean. The yoga class was nice and small with only six yogis. 

We didn’t have much time after our workouts. I still had a little packing to do and we also needed to eat breakfast. I also wanted to roam the ship and grab some last-minute videos and photos. The time flew and after breakfast I had little time to roam the ship. I love walking around on disembarkation day. So many passengers leave first thing in the morning so the ship is especially empty. It’s also bittersweet to know that our vacation is winding down.

We said goodbye to our cabin and ship and we were off on another adventure. We left the ship and walked the terminal to customs and immigration. There was hardly a wait. We handed our passports over to the agent and were asked what we had brought back with us. Soon enough we were cleared and back into the real world. We had considered requesting an Uber, but there were taxis right out front ready to go so we opted for a taxi. We took a taxi ride over to our next hotel. We paid our taxi by credit card and the driver was visibly annoyed that we weren’t paying him cash. A reminder for why we usually Uber. We stayed at Marriott Biscayne Bay which is a short taxi ride from the port. Our room faced the bay and we could see Lady Scarlet and a few other ships from our hotel room. 

The hotel was nice enough, but definitely a downgrade from Stanton Marriott South Beach where we had started our trip. They were doing work on the balconies and we were told that while we had a balcony room, the balconies were locked due to construction. The first thing Brian did when we got to the room was open the balcony door. It was not locked, but I didn’t want to take any chances hanging out on it. When we arrived to our room, it was noisy and we could hear the construction noises.

The next couple days felt like the vacation after the vacation. Time to transition our minds from vacation mode to back-at-home mode. I had some work to do so I spent a few hours catching up on things before our stomaches urged us to go out and explore. We headed out to a little pizza place called Pinocchio on the Bay that was within walking distance from the hotel. It was a mix between a bakery, coffee shop, juice place, and pizza place. It was sort of a weird combination of things, but everything we had was very good. I had a smoothie and pizza and Brian had the pasta with a coke.

After lunch we went for a long walk. We crossed the street from Pinocchio’s and found a park. The park had a trail so we began walking on it. The trail went towards the bay and eventually ran parallel to the water. We walked passed our hotel and eventually the trail ended at a street with sidewalks. We turned onto the street and walked on the sidewalk towards a drawbridge. We walked halfway down the very long bridge positioning ourselves on the bridge surrounded by water. We could see the cruise ships on one side and the bay on the other side.

It was a pretty easy-going day. Tomorrow we head home. I made the mistake at looking at the weather forecast for back home. When we left for our trip it was unseasonably warm an in the 60’s. When I was packing for the trip, I had a decision to make. Pack my heavy winter coat that would old potentially be needed for the walk from the airport to our car back in Cleveland, but take up a significant amount of space in my suitcase or take the gamble it wouldn’t be too cold and leave my coat at home. You win some. You lose some. I did not pack my coat. It’s going to be a chilly walk tomorrow!

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Bimini, Bahamas {Day 7}

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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Wellness Day at Sea {Day 6}

One of the aspects I love about Virgin Voyages is their balance of wellness into the cruise. There are several workouts throughout the day and also plenty of healthy options for food and drinks. 

The day began with wellness in mind. I headed up to the perch which is on Deck 17 at the back of the ship for Open-Heart Slow Flow Yoga. All of the yoga classes were booked at the beginning of the cruise, but people changed their minds and I was able to snag a spot here! The instructor was clearly yoga trained and not only knew about the physical poses of yoga, but also about the spiritual element of yoga. In this class, we worked on opening our chests and hearts and focused on one of the chakras. It was a gentle wake-up for the day and left me feeling revitalized.

The yoga class was amazing, but not that physically demanding. After yoga, I headed to the training center for a HITT class. The workout was divided into three blocks and each block had three exercises. We did each exercise for a certain amount of time and rotated between the three exercises three times before moving to the next block. In the first block there was rowing, a kettle bell exercise, and a medicine ball exercise. The second block utilized the floor and included push-ups, plank to toe taps, and inclined mountain climbers. The last block utilized the TRS straps and one floor exercise. Overall it felt similar to an Orangetheory class without the treadmill block. We each worked at our own pace and chose our own weights. I love the quality in equipment as well. 

Brian and I both own our own business so as much as we try and completely unplug when we are on vacation, deadlines approach. We both had some work to catch-up on. Brian mostly finished his work while I was working out, but I still had some things to take care of. Time to find a quiet place to work. When we saw our ship from the dock yesterday in Mexico, I noticed an area with blue umbrellas. At first I thought it was in the Rock Star area, but after closer examination we noticed it was in the back of the ship. We decided it was outside of The Galley, but when we arrived, no blue umbrellas. I walked over to the railing and looked down. Blue umbrellas! We headed down a couple decks. Still no sign of the area so I began opening unmarked doors. I opened the door to the left of The Wake and it went somewhere! We found The Dock: a hidden oasis. There were very few passengers here, but lots of crew. It was an excellent place to work. 

The Dock has a full alcoholic bar, a juice bar, and snacks. The juice bar featured fancy fresh juice similar to what you would find at Restore in Hudson. Over the next several hours, I tried several of the juices. Each was amazing. We were each sprawled out on a bed with umbrella and each bed had a tray for our drinks and a menu. The menu had a little red flag on it, and if you flipped it up, two crew members came by with a food cart. I have an allergy to peppers and up until this point the crew has been amazing with accommodating my allergy. As I looked at the food, they had a suspicious red tint to them that made me think that some form of pepper was used in them. The lady took my allergy inquiry seriously and messaged with someone on her device about if there were peppers in it. The person responded that it was pepper-free. I was still suspicious, but the dish also had pomegranates so it was conceivable that the red came from that. Still, I asked if she had an ingredient listing. She did and she showed it to me. Peppers were not listed in the ingredients so I took the box. I took one bite and 100% it had peppers in it. I gave the box to Brian. Luckily, a small dose of peppers doesn’t put me into anaphylactic shock so all was well minus a sore throat. Our whole time in this area, there was a DJ playing very mellow music. It all created a wonderful vibe. I found my favorite spot on the ship!

Virgin Voyages has a bungee class that many rave about. It was the first thing I tried to book when we boarded the ship. Unfortunately, all three classes were sold out by the time we boarded. Bummer. I asked the crew about it, and they said that it’s common for people to no-show. They said to come to the class early and then I’d be on the waitlist. I arrived 15 minutes before the class while the instructor was setting up. I was the first one there and I thought, good I have a shot. As he finished setting up, I noticed that there were only 6 spots. No wonder it was hard to book! There were only 18 spots total for the whole sailing. Even with our sailing of only about 600 passengers, 18 is not many! All 6 passengers showed up for the workout so I was out of luck. I headed to the Social Club instead where I found my brother and sister-in-law. We grabbed some pizzas and then proceeded to play shuffle board. It was fun!

Dinner tonight was at Extra Virgin which is the Italian restaurant onboard. The menu was a little confusing on courses so we ended up ordering a ton of food. For my “antipasto” I ordered braised mini meatballs, for the “pasta” I ordered pappardelle al ragu, and for the “secondo” I ordered the Spatchcocked grilled young chicken. There was also bread for the table and an “affettati Misti” which was basically a charcuterie board. Since all the food is included, we felt compelled to order from each section of the menu for each meal. Most of the time this has worked pretty well, but it was way too much this time. If I had known how much food it was, I would have ordered a pasta or a main course, but not both. The food here was very good. I loved all three of my selections. Dessert was a disappointment thought. Maybe it was because I was already full, but I only took about one bite of the chocolate cake. 

Each sailing on Virgin Voyages includes a Scarlet Night where all passengers and crew are encouraged to wear red. Tonight was Scarlet Night. What I LOVE about this cruise line is the complete lack of dress code. It rubs me the wrong way when a resort or cruise line REQUIRES you to dress-up. Maybe it’s because of years of catholic school and uniforms, or maybe it’s because I’m very picky about comfort, but being forced to dress-up isn’t my idea of a good time. Ironically, I did buy a red dress for tonight, but I didn’t HAVE to wear it. 

What is Scarlet Night? I don’t have a clear answer for you, but I’ll do my best. There was a lot of scarlet. It seemed like an all-hands-on-deck sort of situation. There were random pop-up choreographed dance routines and pop-up concerts. There was an octopus lounge and a giant blow-up octopus on the pool deck. People sang songs to move you around. There was dancing around the pool. There was dancing and splashing in the pool. There was a lot going on. 

Our Scarlet Night started after dinner. Brian and I were walking around and a crew member advised us to hang around the roundabout for the start of Scarlet Night. We found some seats and a server quickly approached us for our drink orders. While we waited, a crew member with a ukulele asked us if we wanted to see a private concert for a small group of people. We said, sure and followed him. About five couples followed him down the hallway to a nook. Here there was another crew member and the two of them began singing to us. At first I thought this was the concert, but this was the pre-concert. They basically sang about where we were going and how the door we were entering is normally locked. We followed them behind the door and into a hallway. I didn’t recognize the area and initially thought we were heading towards a crew-only area. I was videotaping the whole thing, but then the ukulele crew member nicely sang to me to stop because this was truly a private for-your-eyes-only type of thing. When we entered the room, I then realized why he asked me to stop. We were in the spa! A couple passengers were enjoying the hot tubs and saunas and a small area was roped off with “The Hostess” and a musician. We sat down along the tiled ledges and our concert began. The Hostess was very interactive with us. We were in the “Octopus Lounge.” When the concert was finished, we were basically asked to leave and back to the main area we went. We reclaimed our spots and the thought, “what just happened?” crossed my mind. 

Soon another concert began by a group called “Not Lovers.” The guitarist and singer duet sung love songs and were dressed in red spacesuit-type outfits. Brian was starting to nod-off so he retired to the cabin while I continued to try and figure out this whole scarlet night. I began wondered around the ship. There were small little happenings all-around. At some point, I realized all of these little happenings ended with the performers guiding everyone to a central area on the ship. This area was inside and I immediately turned around and went the other way. Lots of people in one area. No thanks. I knew that eventually there would be a party on the pool deck so I found a nice lounger in the corner and made myself comfortable. Not before long, the party moved to the pool. There was lots of singing and dancing and eventually this turned into a dance party. I do not like to dance so this is where my evening ended. Overall I enjoyed the evening and it was clearly the crew’s favorite night of the sailing.

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Cozumel and Playa del Carmen, Mexico {Day 5}

Since I went to bed so early, I was early to rise. I am not a morning person, but it was 6am and I was up. I take a look at “The Lineup” which is what Virgin Voyages calls their schedule of activities. To my surprise, there was an opening for “Sun Worshippers” which is a chakra-balancing yoga class located on The Perch. The Perch is an area at the back of the ship that offers about a 265 degree view of the sea. It’s where you can catch amazing views and the class was timed perfectly with the sunrise. The class started while it was still dark and Majik, our instructor, verbally guided us through gentle movements. The sun rose as we practiced sun salutations. It was an incredible start to the day and had me feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on today’s adventure.

After yoga, I popped into the Galley to grab some overnight oats for breakfast and also stopped at Coffee Grounds for a croissant. Our meeting time was 9am for our clear bottom kayaking excursion. We headed off the ship around 8:35am to find our way to pier side 6 which was the meetup for our excursion. To disembark the ship, we simply scanned our SeaBand and walked off. There was a Norwegian ship at the same dock as well as a smaller Nicko ship. We found clearly marked flags that were for Virgin Voyages and found flags 1-5. We asked the person at flag 5 where 6 was and he responded that the vendor wasn’t here yet. I thought that was strange, but we waited around. As the time neared 9am there was still no sign of our kayak rep and also no number 6 flag. I head off to find someone to ask. There was a man that was the Shore Things manager at the dock, but he was pretty busy. There was a second man next to him that wasn’t part of Virgin Voyages, but looked like he knew some things. I asked him about flag 6 and he said it was setup near the ship, but that the strong winds had taken into in the sea. He told us where to meet and I made my way to tell the others. During this time, we were also noticing the whitewater-like conditions and thinking I have no idea how we’re going to kayak here. When I met-up with the others, they notified me that the app had just cancelled our Shore Thing. We all headed back to the Virgin Voyages manager for options. All of the water activities had been cancelled so our options were a ferry over to Playa Del Carmen, A Crystal Museum and Cenotes Tour, or a Mayan Ruins tour. Both of the tours required a 45 minute ferry ride and at least a 45 minute drive each way. We opted for the ferry ride. By the time we decided, the ferry had already begun boarding so we were whisked away in our kayak gear to the ferry. A man was handing out motion-sickness medicine like candy and he recommended we take it. I had just taken some before leaving the ship, but everyone else took theirs. We found seats at the back of the ferry and we were off! The ferry-ride was very rough, but not as bad as the ship the night before. I definitely was glad I had medicine in me. 

We arrived at Playa del Carmen and disembarked the ferry and headed towards the mainland. We had no plans and no idea what we were going to do as this was very last-minute. We decided to walk around and eventually decided on lunch. We found a Mexican restaurant down the road from the ferry and had some authentic Mexican food. It was very good. Next, we decided some beach time was in order. We walked to the beach and then walked along the shore looking for a spot to relax. There were several vendors approaching us about paying for chairs and an umbrella, but we decided to place our towels straight onto the sand. In Mexico, all beaches are considered public property so you can enjoy it without having to pay for a spot. The sun was bright and the beach was perfect; hardly any seaweed and beautiful blue water. My brother has my dad’s English skin so he can only take a small dose of the Mexican sun at midday. My brother, his wife, and I left Brian at the beach in search of hammocks and a snack. As we left the beach, we found an area with local food vendors. The first cart was a fruit cart filled with freshly cut tropical fruit. I immediately spotted the yellow mangoes. I found my snack! My mom is from Mexico and we made frequent trips to visit my family when I was a kid. My grandmother always stocked up on mangoes for me. Mexican mangoes are very different than the ones typically sold in Ohio. They are yellow with a bright orange-juicy interior. They are the best. My brother wanted coffee so we ate our mangoes as we looked for coffee. Down the road, was a gelato and coffee cafe called Aldo’s. My brother ordered the banana split flavored gelato and a mocaccino. We sat at a table and waited. Soon enough, a three-scoop banana split arrived. It wasn’t what my brother had meant, but it worked too. We ended up all sharing it and it was AMAZING! Banana splits are not something I typically enjoy because I don’t like Hershey Syrup and most banana splits back home are topped with it. This had a true chocolate syrup that was more like melted chocolate versus syrup. The bananas were fresh and there was a scoop each of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate gelato and two of those long cylindrical stick cookie things. I’m also not typically a gelato fan because it’s usually icier than the thick creamy ice cream I prefer. This gelato was perfection. I’m so glad my brother ordered this and a miscommunication allowed us all to enjoy it. This was by far the best ice cream I’ve ever had in Mexico and I’ve been here a lot!

After our snacks, we went shopping for hammocks. I generally don’t like shopping and shopping in this market-like atmosphere is not a pleasurable activity for me. It’s the type of place where vendors stand outside calling to you to come inside to take a look. It’s also the type of place where the prices are negotiable. We bought the hammocks and high-tailed it out of the area and back to the beach.

We spent a little more time at the beach before deciding to make our way back. When we boarded the ferry, the tour operator told us that we could return on one of three ferries. My memory is crap these days so I snapped a picture of the times. The first ferry back was at 2:45pm. We had some time to kill so we made our way to Señor Frogs located next to the dock for some cocktails and fun. As we were talking to the hostess, two American women approached us. They recognized our sea bands and showed us theirs. They proceeded to tell us, “did you know you have to buy a return ferry ticket?” I told them I didn’t think that was correct and pulled out my picture and said we were told we could take any of these ferries back. They apparently didn’t hear this message and the people at the ticket counters didn’t know about our pre-booked excursion. My first instinct was that these two were tricked into paying double, but upon closer look at the situation I think it was a miscommunication. Here’s why I think this. The ticket counter is owned and operated by the ferry company called WinJet. Our ferry over was on a WinJet boat, but the tour operator through Virgin Voyage’s Shore Things was something along the lines of “Aventuras.” Aventura gave us a wristband for the ferry and they had three chartered ferries for our group. Only sailors from Virgin Voyages were on our boat. The ticket counter sells tickets to the public ferries that normally operate there. The ticket agents would not have a reason to know about our chartered boat. Long story short, pay attention to what the guides are telling you. 

We claimed our same spots for the ride over and closed our eyes in silence as we each prepared for the rough journey back to our ship. We were docked at Cozumel which is an island in itself to explore. If I had more time to think about the canceled kayak trip, I would have elected to rent a car to explore Cozumel. This wasn’t an option through ShoreThings but is something that can be arranged on the island. One thing that surprised me about arriving at Cozumel was that it looked very different from my last time here in September. It turns out there are two different docks and the last time I was at a different one. I preferred this dock because it was closer to town and there was more to see within walking distance of the pier. Brian and I explored the area. Brian seemed eager to walk around and about halfway through our walk he mentioned these delicious rum cakes he remembered from his last time here nearly 20 years ago. I said rum cakes doesn’t sound very Mexican and we thought maybe he had confused which port he had had them. Shortly after this conversation we found rum cakes! Cozumel makes these cakes on the island and they have a storefront on the main street. We walked in and were offered samples after we sanitized our hands. They were delicious! We bought some for later and some for gifts.

Dinner tonight was at Pink Agave. It seemed fitting to eat at the Mexican restaurant the day we were in Mexico. This restaurant is tapa-style for the first and second courses. We ordered an assortment of options that were all delivered at the same time. With a pepper allergy, this was the restaurant I was most concerned about finding something to eat. All dishes had peppers, but they modified my meals without them. I had the Esquites which is grilled corn with lime, enchilada de pollo, and bistec marinero en escabeche which is a ribeye with cheese. Looking at the menu, I did think I’d like this restaurant, but I loved it. Everything was delicious. Oh I had dessert too, Milhojas which was tamarind, passion fruit, pineapple, canela, and dulce de leche. The pastries onboard have all been exception and this puff pastry dessert was no exception. 

We haven’t experienced much nightlife because we were tired by the evening. Tonight we got ourselves to the show called Duel Reality. It’s described as a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. I didn’t really know what to expect. Mask are required for the shows. We arrived at The Red Room, the venue for the show. Our bands were scanned in and, by the way, we had to reserve our spots ahead of time. We were then given a a red wristband and told that we were team red and to sit on the left. Others were given blue bands and told to sit in the right. It was stadium seating similar to a high school gymnasium, but much smaller. Right before the show was to begin, the announcer told everyone the show was about 55 minutes and access to the doors to leave would not be accessible. I thought, what a poor decision not to use the restroom ahead of time. Immediately after the announcement, the show began. The performers were dressed in street clothes and were divided between red and blue. We were encouraged to cheer on our team. What followed was a variety of acts displaying the athletic ability and talents of the performers. They were remarkable. I don’t want to spoil the show for you with too many details, but it’s worth seeing. 

We headed back to the room with the intention of going back out. I slipped off my shoes and decided watching a movie sounded better. The technology in the room is incredible. There is a Samsung tablet in the room that controls the lights, blinds, and TV. It also has a list of movies on the tablet. I found one that sounded interesting and after hitting play I was prompted if I wanted to engage cinema mode. I thought it was going to change the tv and audio for a more cinematic experience. It was so much more! The lights dimmed, the blinds closed, and the movie began. It was cool. 

It’s another Sea Day tomorrow. I hoping for a much smoother day at sea. 

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Don’t Rock the Boat {Day 4}

Last night was our first night sleeping in the cabin. I can’t think of a bed that was more comfortable than this one. I also like how the room greets you when you open the door. Some lighting automatically comes on and the curtains open. It’s a nice touch. 

We started our morning at The Galley which is the dining hall. It’s a seat yourself situation and we found a table right next to a window and near coffee. Our server came by promptly to take our order. Brian ordered avocado toast with a berry bento box and I ordered French toast and also the same bento box. The food was ready incredibly fast and the French toast was amazing. It had that golden brown to it indicating it was fried to perfection. The bento box contained Greek yogurt, granola, and mixed berries each in their own compartment. The bento box was clearly pre-made and it was served to us with the Saran Wrap still on it with the good by date on it too. I didn’t care for it. The strawberries were more white than red and the yogurt was almost bitter. Nothing like the sweet Oui yogurt I normally eat. I also ordered a mocha. It was crafted with care with a leaf design on top. The mocha was made with Hershey syrup, which was a disappointment for me. (For whatever reason, Hershey syrup bothers my throat on the way down.)

After breakfast we wondered the ship. We made our way to the back of the boat where we discovered outdoor seating with a view. The place for breakfast tomorrow! We found our way to the giant netted swings and relaxed for awhile before heading to the pool. It was 9:30am and only two poolside beds had been claimed. We chose our favorite and Brian settled in for the morning. 

Brian had already run three miles earlier in the day, but my workout was scheduled for 10am. You can schedule fitness classes as soon as you board the ship and they are included! This was one of the things that excited me about this cruise line! Unfortunately, demand is high. When I went to schedule my classes, all of the yoga classes and the bungee classes were sold out. There were plenty of other classes though so everyone can still workout. I chose spinning for this morning. In December, I took my first two cycle classes at CycleBar Hudson. I love it! I had never ridden a bike with the special shoes and it makes such a difference for a smooth and enjoyable ride. I could hardly contain my excitement when I realized this spinning class was the real deal. Shoes if you wanted them and screens up front that shows each numbered bike. Our instructor, Reef, was top-notch and the playlist was carefully crafted for the workout. I highly recommend. 

Life is all about balance so I balanced my spinning class with pizza. The pizza place was tricky to find and one of those places you need to seek out on the ship. The signs indicated which deck it was on, but I explored the entire deck before finding it. It’s located beyond the ice cream shop and you enter first by going through the ice cream shop. There is a second entrance from outside, but that is equally difficult to stubble upon. I have a love/hate relationship with the layout on this ship. I hate how difficult it is to find things and have felt much more lost on a ship than I have on other ships. The signs require you to really read them and don’t visually represent where things are like other ships. Also, some things are hidden behind other things so you have to enter one designated area like the ice cream shop to then continue into the pizza place. At the same time, I love that everyday I’m finding something new. I thought we explored everything the first day, but I continue to find new spaces. That part of it makes the experience refreshing. Back to pizza. The pizza was made fresh to order and was exceptional. I ordered The Classic which is traditional mozzarella and tomato sauce and also Chicken Pesto which has chicken, basil pesto, red onions, and fresh tomatoes. After placing the order, I was given a pager. I hung around to watch them make the pizzas. They began with the dough and tosses and pulled it to the right size for the pizza. Next, it went to another guy who placed all the toppings onto the dough. Finally, it was moved to the oven. You have the option of eating there or taking it to go. Since I was taking mine back to the pool, they packed mine in pizza boxes. I ordered two pizzas for the four of us and it was the perfect amount for us. The pizzas were still too hot to eat even after I walked them to the pool area which isn’t particularly close to the pizza place.

After lunch, I headed over to The Dry Dock which is the on-site salon. You can get haircuts, coloring, or eyebrow shaping done here. I normally have my eye brows waxed, but sickness, quarantine, and the holidays caused me to have to cancel appointments before the cruise. They do not offer eyebrow waxing on the ship, but they do offer eyebrow shaping by tweezing and cutting. The lady had me sit in a giant chair that overlooked a large porthole. As she was working on my eyebrows, she gasped. I opened my eyes to see what was going on and she said look at those waves! The waves were HUGE. I thought that for someone who has worked on cruises for awhile, it must mean something if she points out the size of the wave. The boat was obviously moving, but I felt fine as I was sitting there. She did an awesome job!

I met back up for Brian, and he was looking for a snack. I mentioned that I saw a snack stand with pretzels, his favorite, so we headed that way. The Social Room is a fun hangout located on Deck 7 and the Social Club Diner is an area that features classic carnival treats like popcorn, hot dogs, pretzels, candy, and floats. Brian ordered a pretzel that was served with cheese and popcorn. I ordered a confetti cake pop. After our snack, we moved to the arcade which is located around the corner from the diner. Here they have an awesome collection of old-school arcade games such as Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers, Pac Man, and Golden Tee. The best part of the arcade, it was free! All the games were set to free play mode and you could play for as long as you’d like. We were the only ones in the arcade too. After our games, we headed back next to the diner for air hockey. This was the first time I was really starting to feel the severity of the ship’s movements. I wasn’t feeling well so I headed back to the room for some motion sickness medicine. 

I originally had a body scan assessment and a foam rolling class scheduled for the afternoon, but I canceled them and opted to lay down instead. I rested. Brian continued on with the assessment and foam rolling. Brian said the class was good but painful. Two days after the foam rolling he was still talking about how sore he was from it.

Our dinner reservations were at 6:30pm so I awoke from my nap and headed to dinner. I wasn’t feeling 100%, but didn’t want to miss dinner. The motion had curved my appetite so I only ordered an entree and not the usual appetizer, entree, and dessert tradition we have started on this trip. I ordered the ravioli which was incredibly delicious, but the movement of the ship got the better of me. I excused myself midway through the meal to go lay back down. This is my third cruise and the first time I have felt this level of seasickness. It was however, not as bad as the time I went on a catamaran cruise in Hawaii while pregnant and couldn’t take any medication. Back in the cabin, I was positioned on my back and the not-so-subtle rocking would cause my right shoulder to slightly lift from the bed followed by my left shoulder. There were also times that I felt that sensation you get when you are riding a roller coaster. As a child, I rode The Big Dipper at Geauga Lake daily in the summer. If you’re not familiar, The Big Dipper was an old-school wooden roller coaster that ended with a series of small hills. Each hill would lift my ten-year old body off the seat before crashing back down. There were I think four hills in that series and it always put a giant smile on my face. My thirty-seven year old body didn’t share the same excitement especially as this was a roller coaster with no end in sight. I popped a brain medication I normally take daily which has a sedative side-effect. I fell asleep thanking God that tomorrow I would be on land. 

It turns out the rocking was pretty severe. The waiter had told Brian that it was the worst it has been since the Lady Scarlet set sail this past summer. Winds were at 38 knots and Brian said he noticed the water coming up to the porthole at dinner which was on deck 5. They cancelled the show for the evening and I found out the next day that several people were sick from the rocking. I was not alone. Apparently green apples are supposed to help. I found this out after the fact.

Seasickness aside, the day was very enjoyable. 

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Scarlet Lady {Day 3}

Our time in Miami has come to an end as we approach the real reason we were in Miami…to set sail on Scarlet Lady. Scarlet Lady is Virgin Voyage’s first cruise ship that made its Mermaiden Voyage in 2021. It’s an adult-only cruise line that does things differently. Essentially a cruise for virgin cruisers with a focus on music, food, and wellness. 

If you’ve been watching the news you may have noticed that the CDC has placed many ships in a yellow status and has initiated a level 4 warning advising citizens not to cruise. Before I dive into our cruise experience, I want to elaborate on why we chose to set sail despite the warning. First off, the yellow status. Yellow doesn’t sounds like a great status. It’s not green after all. So what makes a cruise ship turn yellow? One positive case among the crew will do it. The cruise failing to email a report will bring it to yellow. Also, if 0.10% of passengers test positive within 5 days of disembarkation. Our cruise currently has 600 passengers so that number is 0.6 people. So if 1 crew or 1 passenger tests positive within 5 days of being on a ship then the cruise goes to yellow. Our ship is yellow. Ideally, this number would be zero, but my community is currently pretty high with cases so I personally feel like the likelihood of coming across Covid-19 on my cruise ship is a smaller chance than taking my son in and out of his normal activities with unvaccinated children.

Safety precautions are plentiful. In order the board the ship, you must be vaccinated and must test negative when you are tested at the port. Additionally, masks are required at all times except when in the pool or actively drinking or eating. For the most part, everyone is walking around in masks and crew members are wearing N95 masks. Yes, it’s still possible to catch the virus here, but I like my odds with being around fully vaccinated, recently tested, mask wearing adults versus my everyday life where the community is about 50/50 with the vaccine and many aren’t wearing masks at the store. Also, I’m naturally around unvaccinated children with a child who can’t yet be vaccinated and attends a school with other unvaccinated children.

Now for the fun part! The cruise! Our embarkation time was 12:45pm. We took an Uber from our hotel in South Beach to the port. It was a quick 15 minute drive and we lucked out with a driver who knew exactly where he was going. We arrived at the port at 12:20pm and were immediately greeted by porters who collected our checked luggage. We then headed to check-in. First, we had to scan a QR code and fill out some digital paperwork to schedule our Covid-19 tests. We then proceeded inside where we went through metal detectors and our carry-on bags were x-rayed. If you’ve never been on a cruise, think going through the TSA pre-check line at the airport. Next, a stop to check our vaccination status and collect paperwork for our Covid-19 test. We then headed to an area for the test. It was out in the open and there were several providers swabbing. It was the most pleasant COVID-19 test I’ve ever had. I actually enjoyed it! It felt like a pampering massage in my nose. Once our samples were collected we headed to a waiting area. We waited about ten minutes before we each received our test results via e-mail. We were all negative so we could move forward! Our results were verified and then we checked into the ship. There were several kiosks and here they verified our passports and issued us our seabands. Many passengers received their bands in the mail before the trip, but we never received ours. Once we finished, we were given a boarding number. Number 6. Then, we waited for our number to be called. This took much longer than I was expecting. It was about 2:15pm when we finally boarded so the whole process took about 2 hours. 

Our first stop was to our cabin. Our luggage was already inside and the room was ready for our arrival. There was a pitcher of cold water waiting for us and as we settled in, the doorbell rang. I had no idea cruise ships have doorbells! It was our cabin stewards introducing themselves to us. The cabin is a decent size. Our closet area was immediately to the right. There is a curtain to close the closet. There is an area to hang things with 10 hangers, an area above the pole to store bags, a double decker shoe rack at the bottom, and an enclosed area with shelving. The top shelf has the life jackets, the next shelf down has towels for our beach day at Bimini, the third shelf down a safe, and then four empty shelves. There was also a hair dryer in there. Across from the closet is the bathroom. It has a rain shower with three large bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and soap. As someone with long hair, this made me happy! Next to the sink was a bar of black soap and also make-up specific towels. Another luxury! Next in the cabin is the bed with the TV across then a chair and desk area. There is also a mini-fridge and one of the coolest bottle openers I’ve ever seen. Next, is a door to our balcony. The balcony has two chairs, a small table, and a hammock. The door was much easier to open than other ships I’ve sailed. I suppose with no kids there isn’t a reason to make it so hard to open!

We’re all ravenous with hunger so food is next on the agenda. Virgin Voyages is known for their food and lack of buffets. We head to The Galley which is the dining hall most equivalent to other ship’s buffet. It is an area filled with little food stands and has a feel similar to North Market in Columbus or the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. We were expecting to go up to the stand and order, but that’s not how it works. You choose a table and then a server comes by to take your order. Drinks and desserts you grab on your own. I ordered the Buffalo Mozzarella Panini with a side of fruit. I was a little disappointed that the fruit was honeydew melon, cantelope melon, and pineapple; BUT it turned out to be the best fruit. I don’t normally like honeydew melon at all, but this was nothing like the honeydew from your local grocery store. I gobbled it all. The sandwich was good too. I ordered it without tomato which ended up being a great choice. My brother ordered it normally and he said the sandwich was a little soggy with the tomato. Brian loved his avocado toast. My sister-in-law had a salad which looked amazing. The desserts were plentiful and we tried three different ones as a table: a red life-boat looking one filled with chocolate mousse, a pistachio giant macaron, and a passionfruit tart. The lifeboat was by far the favorite. 

After lunch we explored the ship. There are lots of nooks and crannies around the ship. You can easily find a non-populated area so if your goal is to stay away from people, you can do that! The areas with the most people were the swimming pool and the galley, but neither was crowded by any means. Lots of open space. I’ll share more about the ship as we experience it over the next few days!

After exploring, we headed back to our cabins to relax and settle in. I unpacked while my husband fell asleep in the hammock outside. The room is mostly controlled with a tablet in the room. At a quick glance, we couldn’t get our tablet to work, but turning it on and off fixed it. The wi-fi and app were super flaky while we were docked, but as we sailed it improved immensely. I opted for the upgraded wi-fi because I plan to do a little work while I’m onboard and I have little patience for slow internet. 

Before we knew it, it was time for our six o-clock dinner reservation at The Wake. This is the steakhouse onboard and it is located at the rear of the ship. We were seated next to a window that looked out to water. We witnessed the boat being untethered to the dock and saw the wake begin as we floated away from Miami. It was probably the best place on the ship to watch us leave! There was a deck bon voyage party at the pool, but we missed that for dinner. I’m kind of in an avoid people mentality on the ship so I wasn’t heartbroken to miss it. Dinner was very good, but not at the same caliber as the two restaurants we ate at in Miami. My sister-in-law and Brian both ordered the Clam Chowder and a nearly empty bowl was placed in front of them that did not contain soup. Brian muttered, “this isn’t want I expected.” I started to explain that they hadn’t poured the soup in it yet and we all erupted in laughter. I ordered the wedge salad which was delicious. For entrees, we had lamb, filet mignon, and salmon among the table. Oh there was also tear-away bread served in a skillet. That was good! The table also had the cutest pear-looking golden dish of salt and a mini fancy-room service thing for the butter. Dessert was my favorite. My sister-in-law ordered the Baked Alaska, my brother the lemon cheesecake, I ordered the wake which was a chocolate dish, and Brian had the an apple dessert. The lemon cheesecake wins for the most decorative. It looked like an actual lemon. It was so cute! Emily’s Baked Alaska was my favorite. It tasted like blue moon ice cream to me which was my childhood go-to ice cream flavor. 

We ended our night at the hot tub. That area of the ship was almost completely empty. We had the hot tub to ourselves and the two other hot tubs were empty. Near the hot tubs is a gym-like structure with monkey bars and other almost playground type things. There was one person working out there. It was nice to relax and chat. Before we knew it, we were exhausted and headed back to our cabins. As a write this, there is a pajama party going on upstairs. It sounds like it would be fun, but then I think, there will be people. I’m good here. Pandemic aside, I almost always pick the quieter and relaxing atmosphere over a loud party.

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South Beach, Florida {Day 2}

It was another day of sunshine and blue skies. We started our day at the pool. Upon entry to the pool there is a pool attendant that checks you in and gets you setup with loungers and an umbrella. When the chairs run out, she keeps a waiting list so the pool never gets crowded. The atmosphere at the pool is very mellow with relaxing background music and lots of greenery. There were a decent amount of children swimming and playing, and it was still peaceful. Starbucks is located next door so we enjoyed sipping our coffees and eating breakfast poolside. 

The pool is reserved for hotel guests, but I’m pretty sure I witnessed someone sneak in yesterday. The lounger next to me was occupied by a man who left for a short bit. He left his drinks, breakfast, wallet, and towels there and it was clearly visible that the seats were occupied. While he was gone, a woman with a service dog sat down. I assumed they were together. When the man returned, he stood there looking at the woman not saying anything. The woman immediately defended her dog saying he was a service animal. The man replied saying that this was his lounger and stuff. The woman then apologizes and moves. The guy had left an iced coffee there that the woman spilled on the towels and drank! Later, I overheard her telling another guest how she lived three blocks from here. It was an odd thing! Bottom line. Don’t leave your stuff unattended. 

Pool at Stanton Marriott South Beach

A multipurpose trail is located between the pool and beach. It’s filled with people walking, running, biking, roller blading, etc.  Our hotel has bikes that guests can use as part of the resort fee so we checked out two to explore the trail. We rode 5 miles north and then turned around. The ocean breeze, sunshine, and sounds of the ocean made it an enjoyable place to exercise. It is however, a little difficult to bike between the chaos of walkers, runners, and bikers who each use the trail at their leisure. I didn’t hit anyone with my bike which felt like a true victory. 

Back at home, we don’t go out for fancy meals often so in celebration of the new year and my birthday, we had dinner reservations to a steak house a short walk from the hotel. Our reservation was at 5pm, but they don’t take reservations for outside so we had to wait for an outside table to open-up. I didn’t look close enough to the reservation ahead of time! We were told it would be 45-60 minutes. The restaurant is located next door to a waterway and the sun was starting to set. We enjoyed taking in the beauty. We also witnessed Carnival’s Freedom float by as it departed for a cruise. As I was taking pictures, I placed my hand on a tree for balance. As I removed my hand, I decent sized splinter wedged its way into my hand. I tried to remove it but that thing wasn’t coming out without the right tools. I googled the nearest pharmacy and as we were deciding if we had time to stop there, my phone rang. The table was ready. 

It had only been fifteen minutes so the table was ready way earlier than predicted. When we arrived at the hostess stand, I asked if they had a first aid kit with antibiotic ointment and a bandaid. They did so I patched up my hand and would deal with it after dinner. The hostess instructed us to head upstairs and that someone would be up there to guide us to a table. This area of the restaurant had just opened so we were offered our choice in seat. We chose a table next to the railing that overlooked the waterway. It was absolutely beautiful watching the sun set in a relatively quiet outdoor atmosphere. 

The service was excellent and the meal was paced out over three hours. We started with drinks: an Old Cuban for Brian and Prosecco for me. The most delicious bread was delivered next. It was four rolls baked into a skillet and the whole skillet was delivered to our table. It was topped with melted butter, salt, and thyme. The bread was warm and perfectly baked. Brian and I had originally each ordered a salad, but our waiter informed us that the salads were large and easily shared. I’m so glad he said that because the salad could have been a meal ok it’s own. It was an iceberg salad with blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, bacon, and tomatoes. The bacon had an appearance more like thick pieces of ham and were divine. Our main course was next: stone crab for Brian and steak with a red demi-glace for me. We also had whipped potatoes to share. It was the best steak, I’ve ever had. We initially passed on dessert because we were so full. The waiter brought Brian another drink and said he’d check back later to see if we changed our minds. He waited just enough time for us to digest some of our food that when he returned, Brian ordered the skillet cookie with ice cream. All of the desserts were pretty large so we shared it. Of all the things we ate, this was my least favorite, but I’m not really a skillet cookie kind of person. I don’t like my ice cream melted. Brian thoroughly enjoyed it because that is one of his favorite type of dessert. 

After dinner, it was time to take care of my hand. We walked about a mile to CVS where we picked up tweezers, rubbing alcohol, Neosporin, and bandaids then walked back to our hotel. It took me about five minutes to remove the splinter and bandage my hand. Good as new. 

Stay tuned for more adventures! 

About Me: My name is Amaris Scipione and I founded Adventure by Amaris in 2020 after over a decade working in video production. A debilitating concussion had me bedridden for weeks and it gave me time to think about my journey and how I wanted to re-direct my life back to my passion. Travel has always been my passion and I studied film and video at Penn State University with the intention of one day creating travel documentaries. Adventures by Amaris allows me to plan and elevate the travel experience for my clients. I also use my skills in video production to best prepare my clients for the experiences that await them and to showcase the amazing locations on planet Earth. If you are considering a family vacation or milestone vacation in the near future, please reach out! Request Vacation Quote

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South Beach, Florida {Day 1}

Many of my trips are spur of the moment trips that seem to fall into place at the last minute. This is not one of those trips. We booked this trip March of 2021 thinking the pandemic would ease by now. That prediction was wrong as Omricon ravages the nation. Ultimately we made the decision to still go. I’d rather be at the beach with a light breeze than cooped up at home especially after quarantining twice in December due to two exposures. 

Cuyahoga County is one of the worst places in the nation for the amount of covid cases so leaving the area seemed like it would be beneficial. It turns out Miami is actually worse, but at least here we can enjoy outdoor dining and outdoor activities. 

We started the day at 3am to catch our 6am nonstop flight from Cleveland to Miami. We flew American Airlines which is typically not my first choice. I was surprised by our new plane and excellent service. Brian slept the whole time and I binged watched a new series: The English Game. I highly recommend it. It’s like a Downton Abbey for sports fans. 

We arrived to our hotel via Uber at 10am. We are staying at Marriott Stanton South Beach. The building is old, but in a cute nostalgia way. As we stand with our luggage, we’re faced with a sizable staircase with no ramp. As I stare at the staircase I think, how am I going to get my 46 lb. bag up there. As soon as that thought crosses my mind, a bellman offered to take our luggage and said it would be delivered to the room. What great service! We head inside and ask if we can check-in early. The receptionist gives us a ‘you’re-crazy-to-think-a-room-is-ready look’ but taps at her computer. Brian stays at Marriott often for volleyball so we have some sort of level on their rewards thing. Once she discovers this, her demeanor shifts. She silently communicates to the lady next to her which I am assuming is her manager. The manager nods and she begins authorizing room keys. When we arrive to our room, we’re pleasantly surprised that they upgraded us to an ocean-view room. Score. 

We change into warm-weather clothes and go off exploring. We maze through our hotel, walk past the pool, and open the gate to the beach. There is a biking/walking/running trail to cross and then a beautiful-wide white-sand beach. The beach is much larger than I anticipated and it’s full of activity. We notice a pier off to the right and we head towards it. The pier is busy so I pull out my mask as we walk down it. The sun is shining and we see beautiful blue water with views of the beach and city. 

Left: Amaris standing at the beach right by Stanton Marriott. Middle: South Pointe Park Pier. Right: Man biking with child near South Pointe Park Pier.

It’s still early but lunch is on our mind. We walk to a Greek restaurant located inside a Hilton. We’re seated outside next to the pool. Brian orders a Cuban salad and I order a gyro. The portions are huge which makes me feel better about the hefty price. We can hear the ocean in the distance and are surrounded by palm trees and sunshine. There are also quite a few birds near us. A man is walking towards our table as he makes his way from the pool area to the restaurant. As I watch him walk, I suddenly witness one of the birds nose dive into the back of head. Ouch! The look on the man face tells me it was painful. Later, one of the birds attempts to land on Brian’s head. Overall, the tropical ambiance the birds create is welcome, but definitely keep your eye on them. With little sleep and a belly full of gyro, I’m in a food coma state. We head back to the hotel where I take a nap while Brian goes off for a run. 

Time for the beach! It’s about 3pm and many of the beach-goers have left for the day. Our resort fee includes beach chairs so we make our way to the chair and umbrella stand. We’re escorted to our chairs and we spend the next couple hours soaking up some vitamin D and enjoying the ocean-breeze. What a wonderful way to close out 2021!

Before you know it, it’s time to get ready for dinner. I made our dinner reservations a month ago for a restaurant called Call Me Gaby which is located within walking distance from our hotel. Many restaurants had a prix fixe special menu for New Years Eve. South Beach is an expensive place to eat in general, but New Years Eve takes it to a whole new level. I am a very picky eater so the reason I chose this restaurant was because of the menu. It was one of the few menus that had an appetizer and entree that I could order. Most menus were seafood heavy. The decor of the restaurant was professionally designed. There was a lot of stuff, but somehow it all worked together to create an eclectic and cozy vibe. We sat outside and we both chose pizza as an appetizer. This was unlike any pizza I’ve ever eaten and it was an artful combination of flavors that created something unique and amazing. I chose the filet mignon as my entree and Brian had the gnocchi. Dessert was a plate of three desserts. Overall the food taste and display was exquisite. I highly recommend eating here!

After dinner, we walked the lively streets of South Beach. There are so many unique hotels and restaurants in the area and the lack of chain restaurants was refreshing.

Brian remembers that his favorite team is playing in the Orange Bowl so we head back to the hotel to catch the game. By the time we turned the tv on, it wasn’t looking good for Michigan. Brian fell asleep watching the game so I switched the tv over to Netflix. I love how easy it was to sign into our Netflix account onto the hotel tv! I set an alarm to wake Brian before midnight and we intend to go back to the beach to watch the fireworks. The alarm went off and it was clear Brian wasn’t making it to the beach. I head to our balcony to watch instead. It was a beautiful show! The view was semi-obstructed from buildings but one building had a mirror-like face that showed a reflection of quite a few of the fireworks. 2021 has been a difficult year for many and the excitement of a new year and new beginning almost made me cry. There were several people out on balconies and you could feel that energy of goodbye hardship. Goodbye 2021. Welcome 2022. Welcome new possibilities. Happy New Year! 

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