Friday, November 7, 2025 - Still Cruising...With Calm Seas

 I woke up in the wee hours and tried to remember where I was.  Which hotel?  After years of traveling for work, it was not an unusual sensation.  But after a second, I remembered I was cruising and realized there was no movement.  All morning, we've had smooth sailing.

I'm enjoying another relaxing day.  Walking, eating and reading in the hammock.  Heaven.  

We've started getting messages about disembarkation.  I have very low expectations of a smooth, speedy process, given that handling queuing doesn't seem to be a Virgin strength.  Combined with US government agencies during the government shut down.  At least I have Global Entry, which should get me in the shortest line.  Then a quick Uber ride to Brightline, a 3 hour train ride to the Orlando airport and another Uber ride home.  

I don't want the trip to be over but am lucky that I love my "real" life as much as I love vacations.  Plus, it's always fun to watch Buddy lose his mind when he sees me.  And, we still have tomorrow!

Photos!

I'll miss the hammock on the balcony more than anything.

I do miss having a quiet, indoor venue for lunch, with a view and table service and no crowds.   After perusing offerings in The Galley and not finding a place to sit, I grabbed a roasted vegetable wrap and headed to my cabin.    

Grey skies but warm temps.  Perfect hammock weather.

After lounging around much of the day, I headed to a concert by Rock On, four guys who did rock covers.

They started in the audience.

And did a great job.  Terrific music, and had the crowd on their feet, singing along.  Very fun.

I'm the world's oldest groupie!  

Blue is the light theme tonight in the hallways.

I love clouds.

We're getting close.  I could happily cruise another week but we'd likely run out of gas and food.

I had a light dinner in Pink Agave, with Michael and Sue, a lovely couple I had dinner with the other night at the Test Kitchen.  When they get off on Sunday, they'll get on an RCI ship.  After that, they'll do a Celebrity cruise before flying back to London.  Sue has done 51 cruises.

I had delicious guacamole.

And a special - shrimp ceviche, which was also excellent.

I also tried the special dessert - pumpkin pie.  As our waiter, Alfredo, said- it's not Spanish but very tasty.

Back in my cabin, I headed to the balcony.  It's dark out there!  Too overcast for any moonlight.

And, there is a light mist falling.  Warm and humid, you can tell we're almost to the Bahamas.

Tuesday, November 4, 2025 - Still Cruising Across the Atlantic

 Last night I spent an hour trying to figure out what time and day it was and contemplating if it was time to move into the "home".  I finally figured it out.  Not only do I need to change the time on my Chromebook, Kindle and phone but also my Google account, which thought I was still in Barcelona, where it was the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday.  

This morning I woke up confident it was Tuesday.  And that it was 6:30 a.m.  Then I looked at the app, which said it was 5:30 a.m.  Long story but the app is wrong.  It has changed times multiple times today and none of them are correct.  As long as I make my dinner reservation on time, I don't care what time it is.

I spent the majority of the morning on the balcony.  Yup, more than three hours of reading, swaying and snoozing.

Later, I caught up with friends on video calls and tonight I'm hitting Razzle Dazzle for dinner.  Another fabulous day at sea.

Photos!

View from my pillow at 5:30 a.m.

And, 630 a.m.

The Galley was getting ready for hungry sailors.

Sunrise from the back of the boat.

You can lie in this net on deck 16.

There are many breakfast options.  I had toast and bacon with a view.

Then enjoyed some apple juice in my hammock.

As the breeze picked up I got chilly. I always travel with a down blanket.  Folds away to nothing, is great on long flights and wonderful with the hammock.  Thanks, Julius, for taking the photo.

Lunch was sushi from the Bento box, in my cabin with two extraordinary desserts.  The desserts on the ship are AMAZING.

The game of "What Time is It?" continues.  The app says 2:39 p.m.  Customer Service agrees with my phone, with says it is 4:39 p.m.  Yesterday on Reddit a guy posted an email he got from Virgin.  He booked a cruise to the ABC Islands, departing this Sunday from Miami.  But the email said embarkation had been changed to San Juan.  Others booked on the cruise chimed in saying they'd gotten the same email.  Several called Sailor Services and some were told it would be from San Juan.  Others were told the email was an error.  I'm guessing it had to be an error.  In any case, it made me feel better about not knowing what time it is on a sea day.

Dinner was in Razzle Dazzle, where I dined on embarkation day.  I was seated at the same table, coincidentally.  Apparently, there was a solo travelers' table available but I passed.

Many good choices.

I skipped the entree and went for the lamb shank.  This time, they offered mint jelly, which took it over the top.

The excellent server, whose name I've already forgotten, brought me a knife and I laughed.  The lamb was fork-tender.

Anybody else remember the old Alka Seltzer and "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." ?  That's how I felt.

But hey, I skipped the appetizer so I could have dessert.

I went for the creme brulee, which had a strong smoky flavor.  Very smooth, with the crunchy crust I love.  Yum.  And, as with most of the restaurants, I ended up chatting with the people next to me, which was also enjoyable.

Anybody know what's up with the orange letters on doors?  

There are two or three in my hallway.  

BTW - even though the app said I was two hours early, I showed up on time for my dinner reservation.  It still has an incorrect ship's time.  After another stroll around the ship, I'm back in my cabin for the evening.  Now, I'm watching "Dave".  Sweet dreams everyone.  Tomorrow will be another exciting sea day of food and hammock time.

Monday, November 3, 2025 - Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean

I just love Monday mornings, don't you?  Nothing to do today but eat, relax and be waited on, hand and foot.  I love retirement.  But retirement on a cruise with 8 consecutive sea days is epic.

I don't want to brag, but apparently my blog has power.  I posted that I didn't like the lights on at night on the balcony.  The next night...lights off.  Then I posted that even though they'd cleaned the balconies while we were in Valencia, they needed it again because of the sandstorm in Casablanca.  Yesterday, they cleaned my balcony.  I also posted that I missed having a map available, showing where we are.  Today, there is a giant electronic map, tracking our progress across the Atlantic.

Thank, you, Richard Branson, for paying attention and following through.  Not to be greedy, but if you're still reading, could you arrange for my friend Roland to win a big enough lottery to bring he and the ones he loves joy?  If it's easier to just Zelle a few million, that works too.

While we wait to see if Mr. Branson, who owns a very awesome cruise line, is still listening, here are photos!

I love to wake up, push a button on the tablet and have the curtains open.  To this view. At 6:30 a.m.  

It was clear, sunny and about 70 at 6:30.

I went for my morning walk and came across a candle charging station.  Pro tip:  bring a non-flame candle.  I love mine in the evenings.  I'd love having all these tea lights even more.  Just saying, Richard.

The daybeds around the ship encourage lounging and napping.  This lady was sound asleep.

Someone asked where I am.  Here!  Just six more days of the Atlantic before Miami.

Ahhh.  Anybody read Charles Martin?  I'm reading the second in the Murphy Shepard series, "Letter Keeper".  Excellent cruise material.

If you have status on another cruiseline, Virgin "matches", which means giving you their mid-tier level, Blue Extras.  One perk is a free specialty coffee, per day.

Then the sea looked like this, so I came inside.

Another pro tip:  book a cabin with the seating area next to the balcony.   This is great, but I prefer the chair next to the sliding door.

And, about half an hour after being completely in the clouds?  The sun is back.

I didn't have dinner reservations this evening.  I checked the app and it was a miracle - I got a 6:15 p.m. res at the Pink Agave, a modern Mexican restaurant that is supposed to be one of the best on the ship.  Still hoping to get into Extra Virgin, the Italian restaurant that is supposed to be the best onboard.

For lunch, I headed to the Galley and got this Thai curry with pork, vegetables and noodles.  I asked for some chili on the side.  

With the addition of the chili, this curry was great.  I'd happily pay for it in a restaurant on shore.

And, the clouds are back.  We expect the weather to be windy and changeable for the entire cruise.

I grabbed a chocolate mystery bowl from the take away fridge on my way out of the Galley.

OMG good!  Chocolate mousse.  I almost grabbed the Tres Leches but this would be hard to beat.  If you love chocolate, this is the bomb.

I lucked out and got a reservation at Pink Agave.  This is the entrance.  On my way to the restaurant I got a notice that my reservation had been cancelled.  WTH?  It took a minute to figure out, I'd set my clock back an hour last night, based on the list of time changes they gave us on embarkation day.  Seems they changed it so I spent the entire day an hour behind, lol.  Since we're "falling back" again tonight I don't have to do anything, since I'm already there!  And it's a good vacation when you can go all day without being on time to anything.

My table and seat were odd, I thought.  See that rounded end of the banquet?  My table for one was set up one an end just like that.  Comfortable and since I faced the entrance, it was great for people watching.

I went with the Bistec for the main course.  My waiter, Alfredo, who was from Cancun, so I got to practice my Spanish.  

I started with the corn (esquites).  And finished with the chocolate taco.

Everything was tasty and the steak was large, flavorful and cooked medium rare.  After all the raves I'd heard I was expecting a bit more.  Don't get me wrong, it was a good meal with great service.  But I won't dream about any of those dishes like I will about the strawberry/wasabi dessert from the Test Kitchen.

The steak was well-cooked and flavorful.  I prefer my steak a bit less saucy, though.

The corn was good, IMHO, but not great.

Like the Test Kitchen, the restaurant has lots of large windows but isn't open during the day when you could enjoy the view.

The chocolate tacos with cherry sauce were tasty but didn't taste like dulce de leche as described in the menu.  The cherry sauce was delicious and a good addition.

I was surprised that the restaurant was not full, given how hard it is to get reservations.  It's a lovely setting with Latin music playing, not too loudly.