Virgin Voyages Cruise Day 5
Welcome to day 5 of my cruise and we finally docked in Key West. I was a bit disappointed that we were missing out on the beach club in Bimini, but I was very impressed with how quickly new solutions were provided due to weather restrictions. Tess and I decided to make the best of it and since there weren’t many excursions available in Key West we decided to rent a golf cart and drive around a bit.
Key West is this small town in Florida and you can legit go from one end to the other in a day lol. There are some famous landmarks in Key West like Ernest Hemingway’s home, Harry Truman Little White House Museum and the Southernmost point on the Island which points towards Cuba (only 90 miles away), and it is the home of the Key Lime Pie. Since we were back in domestic waters we had to go through immigration on the boat before we were able to go into port. It was the quickest immigration run I’ve ever been through. We showed our Passport to the officers and kept it pushing. Since we were already dressed for the day we headed straight to breakfast before leaving the ship.
As we walked into the port we rented a golf cart, grabbed a map provided by the company and started driving around. We followed a map around to some of those famous spots mentioned above before parking for lunch. We visited this restaurant by the water, which I guess had okay food, but I’ll say one visit was good enough lol.
After lunch we hopped back into the cart and drove around some more to see if we missed anything (we didn’t lol) and to use up some more of the rental time before returning the cart and looking around in the different gift shops. Once we had our fill we headed back to the ship.
Back in the room we watched some movies until I heard the horn blow as a warning for people to get on the ship. I went on the balcony so I could see if anybody was late getting back to the ship. Call me petty, but I’ve always seen videos of people running for the boat after being late and getting left at the dock and I wanted to see if that was the case this time. Tess and I did see some of the workers standing around as if they were waiting for someone. Come to find out it was a family of 4!! One of the port workers ran around the area of the port looking for them and finally found their group towards the end. All you could see was 4 people dressed alike running towards the ship. Everybody was on their deck clapping and cheering for them as they ran. I will give Virgin Voyages their just do because they did NOT have to wait for anybody. Honestly I don’t play those games, I would be back on the boat ahead of time each and every time because I refuse to get left behind. This situation wouldn’t have been horrible because we were at least in Florida, but what a mess that situation could be.
We pulled away from the dock and waved at the crowd of Key West locals watching us leave. After heading back in the room, we relaxed a bit until our dinner reservation.
I saved what I thought was the best restaurant option for last, the Wake. The Wake is the ship’s steakhouse and I was so excited to eat. We headed towards the restaurant and stood in line to check in for our reservation. Once lead to our table I ordered clam chowder, a strip steak, creamed spinach, potatoes and mushrooms. The bread was sooo good and my amaretto sour was amazinggg!!
After dinner we walked around the boat a bit to enjoy our last night. I def needed a pic in front of the Virgin sign at the top of the boat, so we headed up there for a bit. The sign is located on the same level as the track, which I didn’t use at all the whole cruise lol. After pictures we went to see the band for a bit before returning to the room. Back in the room it was sadly time to pack. Tess’ bottles of tequila that she purchased were delivered and we went to bed to prep for disembarking the next day.
Disembarking the ship is a bit chaotic, but what do you expect? You were able to sit your luggage outside the night before for pickup, we decided to take our own bags in the morning to avoid any confusion or delays. The lobby was packed of people trying to leave. You had to scan your wristband on the way out but some people were being stopped because they had outstanding fees which had to be paid before getting off. We made it through and headed down to the terminal for a cab. The wait for our cab to get through the terminal for us was nuts!! We waited a good while before our driver was able to make it through the pickup lane. Once inside he took us straight to the airport. Miami airport is pretty easy in the fact that we didn’t have to go to different terminals since we were traveling on different airlines. We dropped Tess off first and drove a few seconds down to my drop off at American Airlines. I decided to treat myself and upgrade to an even more room seat for $12 and I was so happy that I did. What a comfy way to ride back home.
Again this cruise was my first ever and what an experience. I would cruise with Virgin Voyages anytime. I don’t know if these other companies can compete, but I would be willing to try. Which cruise line should I try next? Once again thank you Virgin Voyages for such a great first experience!!
Outfits: black off the shoulder crop top (similar black top), ripped jeans (similar jeans), Gucci sandals, black camera bag ; Multicolor tube midi dress (similar dress), Gucci sandals
