Virgin Voyages Cruise

My first Virgin Cruise is on the Valiant Lady on the Dominican Daze: Halloween Edition. Even though I’ve been on many cruises, it is not always my first vacation choice. I am excited about this one to celebrate my friend’s birthday and to visit the Dominican Republic for the first time (Spoiler Alert – Hurricane re-routes us to Mexico).

I start with an evening out in Miami and some Cuban food brunch before we sail off for the adventure.

Bon Voyage. It’s time to explore the ship and sail away from the port of Miami.

Fun music choices in the room. Can’t hook up your own music but this is next best thing.

We are here for my friend’s birthday and we have sail away birthday celebration for her in another’s rockstar room. The rockstar rooms are fantastic if you can afford it.

The wall of the elevator changes. Also the pool bathroom with a view.

Evening Dinner at Extra Virgin, an Italian theme dinner. A big group here is ideal because I get to try a bunch of things and not feel like food is being wasted. We ordered every appetizer on the menu.

Trying to find activities that did not involve drinking alcohol – friendship bracelet making

I was the only one in my group with any interest so I briefly attended a workout dance class and a Salsa class on my own.

My friend and I attended a halloween themed show. We didn’t arrive early enough so we watched the show standing against posts. Unfortunately this made us targets for the show host and we were called up on stage for a game where she had to mummy me with toilet paper. I wore this toliet paper like a badge of honor for as long as I could. So sorry to the cleaning staff at Virgin for my path of trash I laid walking to my next location – trivia.

We have a birthday dinner tonight at Pink Agave where some have splurged to Splash Your Bash. It is a stepped up dinner experience that involves some champagne, food specials and an instant camera. It is a fun experience.

After dinner a few of us reserve a karaoke room for an hour. I don’t think the walls are thick enough to hold all our noise in. I feel bad for people roomed next to us.

Due to the hurricane in the Caribbean we are re-routed to Cozumel instead of the Dominican Republic. I have been to Cozumel before and remembering partying hard there, not being excited about doing that again so I am glad when a couple of my friends want to do a day in Chichen Itza instead. We book an excursion that takes us the long drive to the pyramid complex.

Alter a long hot bus ride where the air conditioner is broken (they actually switched us to a new bus part of the way back) we end up back at the spot where we take the ferry back to our boat. I forget to mention the ferry, which normally sways quite a bit, was extra sway that day due to the hurricane in the area. This caused the bottom level to be unusable unless you had a gut of steel or were heavily drugged. We sat on top trying to not toss our own cookies while we watched others tossed theirs. Let’s just say the transportation portion was not the highlight our day.

Back on the boat we get ready for Scarlet Night which is known for its pool deck party where the majority are dressed in some sort of red attire. But first is dinner and tonight we are at test kitchen. Test kitchen is the Virgin Voyage version of a Michelin type restaurant with small experimental portions of food. At one point in our meal we score a set of free drinks because there is a slow drip from the ceiling onto one of my friends at the table. The food is decent and we have a good time but I hear they don’t really change the menu up as originally intended. It is a dining experience not for everyone.

The party continues to the pool deck where we try to sneak in to see the show but my short self is unsuccessful. Note to self next time get there early.

After the show it is onto the pool deck where some dance in the water. I decided to participate in this tradition, although I didn’t fully submerge even though strangers were encouraging me to do so. I briefly continued the party to The Manor but the crowds were so thick I decided to call it a night.

The next morning we do a caftan brunch at The Wake. It is a nice way to start our day at sea.

I take it easy at brunch because my cabin mate and I signed up for a bungee fitness class. It is not as easy as it looks and we are very unserious for the 30 minutes we are there.

I got out of class just in time for happy hour at The Dock. It was almost impossible to get a seat but luckily I eventually found a couple, even if I had to practically fight someone for the seats I had already claimed. The happy hour includes mediterranean small bites, the downside is there is a limited area that serves the food (the bar is not is not part of it). The food went so quickly that I only have this cocktail picture to show for it.

Costume night

It’s back to the room to relax and get ready for costume night since we are celebrating Halloween. We put on our costumes, some face masks and have some drinks on our verandah.

We head down to the promenade area to watch the costume parade/contest and to people watch. Lots of creative costumes. We take some fabulous group photos in a Photo Booth but unfortunately many of them never make it to our emails due to poor technology.

Tonight there is also a costumed dance party with an 80’s cover band. We have fun dancing and people watching from the balcony.

The day wouldn’t be complete without a late night stop for pizza dressed as pizza.

I start our last full day with Ramen from the Galley and a walk around the deck. Today we are stopping in Bimini Bahamas. Instead of visiting the beach club or booking an excursion we decide to rent some golf carts and create our own adventure.

The line to take the trolley to the main area is very long. We decide to walk instead, it is not too bad of a walk. My friend has a name of a company recommended for the rental. It takes us a few minutes to find the right company but when we do we easily negotiate a good rate for two carts.

Our first stop is at a conch restaurant. No one is hungry yet but I watch a guy demonstrate how conch is harvested. We plan to stop by later.

We stop at a restaurant to enjoy the view and a drink. Fish parts are thrown in the water to cause an impromptu shark show. We watch the birds and sharks for a little bit then move on to a partially secluded beach. We spend the rest of our time hanging out and admiring the bright waters.

We return to the ship. Some in the group have reservations at Gumbae, the Korean restaurant on the ship. Gunbae is an interactive restaurant where the food is cooked in from of you and a series of drinking games are played. Each player will forced to drink Soju. I even won one round which the prize was the rest of the bottle of soju. Usually the patrons are seated with people they don’t know and the drinking games are ice breakers but they let our group sit together, perhaps because we are a larger party.

Dinner takes a while so it’s late when we get out. There is a dance show tonight. I stay out for a little bit to watch the bizarre show.

Despite my late might I once again wake up before sunrise. I take a walk and have a breakfast before we disembark and start our journey home. I had an amazing time and would do a Virgin Cruise again if the opportunity arises.

Bali hates me

I’ve come to the conclusion that Bali hates me. This is the second time I am in Bali and the second time I am very sick. I guess I could have been more careful but I think I am pretty careful. I blame the lunch we had on our snorkeling outing because the other two girls who ate there with me are sick as well, just not as bad as I. Not even mentioning the soreness and bruises from surfing, I haven’t really been able to leave bed except for a brief period yesterday where I thought I had the energy to surf (false Imodium hope). I tried surfing out there for max 20 minutes but did catch one wave so the whole week wasn’t a total waste. They caught my success on video at least. I feel really bad because everyone at the retreat knows I’ve been sick and keep asking if I am feeling better and my answer every time is no. Another few days wasted in Bali once again due to illness.

Surf pictures

Some things I tried to eat the last couple days of my retreat.

I’ve been pretty sick and and I am tired of it. I canceled my plans for my upcoming silent retreat and booked a western style hotel for a couple days in Seminyak. If I still feel this bad the last thing I want to do is be at a place without air conditioning, far from doctors, and far from other comforts and conveniences.

I check into my new hotel in Seminyak and I can already tell I made a wise decision. My room is nice and comfortable. I settle in with my ginger tea and fall to sleep early. I mean to get a light dinner and medicine but it is not happening tonight.

I wake up and go to an impressive breakfast spread. I can only eat plain white bread today though. I am hoping to try more tomorrow.

Impressive breakfast selection vs what I actually can eat

After breakfast I go to the nearby pharmacy and FINALLY pick up antibiotics. They also talk me into probiotics and vitamins. I am sure I’ll regret these purchases later but for now I’ll buy anything they give me. Note: the probiotics were actually teen vitamins. So basically they talked me into two different types of bulky vitamins I didn’t really need and no probiotics.

Antibiotics, yes I know they resemble something else

I can tell within a few hours the antibiotics are helping. I should have done this days ago.

I finally have the energy to do something other than watch videos on my phone or movies on the tv. I decide to try to resuscitate my bathing suit. I could never quite get it clean while I was at the retreat and it never dried out in time before I had to use it again so it had caked on days of ocean, sweat, and mold. I am soaking it in my hotel in soap and hopeful it can be saved. I despise swimsuit shopping and I would at least wait to do so until I have a long time in Ubud.

While I feel a little better I can mention some more details about the hotel. It is fancy. There is a large amount of security around and they check our bags through X-ray every time I try to return. I did not think Seminyak is an unsafe place to be but if it is, I’m probably in the safest hotel.

During the next two days I slowly recover and every morning I add new food choices to my diet and one afternoon try to have a hamburger and cocktail by the inviting pool. Hamburger is a success but I can’t finish the cocktail. But it is progress.

I dress up and sit on a bean bag chair at my hotel to watch the fire show at the hotel courtyard. It is amazing the control they have over the fire.

I never make it to the beach but I have accomplished what my number one goal is – to get better. I am feeling much better before I head out to Ubud for ten days. I am hoping it is smooth sailing since I got my illness out of the way (spoiler alert: I get sick again).

Snorkeling at Nusa Penida

My retreat package doesn’t include any weekend activities so I do a snorkeling excursion to Nusa Penida with a couple other girls from the retreat.

We have to be up at 6 am for our car ride to the ferry but I wake at 3 am for no reason. I lie in bed for about an hour trying to sleep then eventually turn the lights on to catch up on some research. After about fifteen minutes I start hearing buzzing from a very large flying bug. It is annoying but really likes the light. I’ve got the mosquito canopy so I am sort of safe for now. I soon hear more buzzing. It is almost like a bunch of eggs have hatched many of these things in my room. I count 6 during one count. It is time for me to get ready and they are everywhere: One on my backpack, One one the shirt I want to wear. They are scary looking and I have no idea if they bite or sting. I open my door hoping they will fly out with no luck. I eventually manage to get all I need for today. I lock my room and decide to deal with it when I get back. Fortunately when I return that night only one is left and he just hangs out at the light so I leave him alone.

Our driver picks us up and takes us to the ferry that will take us to the island of Nusa Penida, where we be snorkeling today. The traffic is terrible trying to get to the ferry. Our driver is going to be with us all day. He parks his car and directs us to the ferry. I am glad he is there because all the ferries look alike to me and I would never know which one to get on. Our guide sits in the back of the ferry but us three girls pick out a row. I grab the window seat so I can have the breeze but offer it to the girl in our group that gets sea sick. She refuses but I know her pain. I have taken my medicine so I should be ok for the ride no matter where I sit. Traveling out for a day at Nusa Penida is a crapshoot this time of year. It is the rainy season so the waters can be uncomfortably choppy if the weather is bad. Fortunately rain isn’t expected until later today so we seem safe.

The ferry ride is about an hour. We can not only see Nusa Penida in the distance but we also see a mountain. We try to determine which mountain it is. We get to the island and the boat backs up to the shore. We are not getting off at a pier; the way off is through the back and into the water. Because I am short and clumsy I have a slight fall exiting the boat and end up getting wet in the lower half of my body. One can stay on this island overnight but thank goodness I am not trying to haul my heavy backpack off this boat. I am sure all my things would end up getting soaked.

Our guide takes us to the snorkeling shop where we try on fins and pick out our lunch choice. We are to get our other equipment on the boat. We are waiting around a long time to start, it appears they want a larger group. I use this opportunity to apply sunscreen.

Our main guide tells us he will meet us later and we go to board the boat. Luckily the group isn’t too large where the boast is overly crowded. The water is beautiful. We use the opportunity to take a few pictures before snorkeling destroys our appearance.

We have 4 stops today. The first is the furthest away Manta Bay. The guides warn us the the seas will be rough on the way there (on the boat and in the water) but the reward is that we will see a manta ray. They didn’t lie about either. I start to feel nauseous on this part of the tour even though I had my motion sickness medicine this morning. The boat is rocked around. When we enter the water to snorkel it isn’t much better. The waves cause me to swallow what seems like gallons of sea water. I am constantly emptying out my breathing tube (no I don’t know how to “blow” it all out like the professionals). There isn’t much to see at this location since the fish are scarce and the coral isn’t impressive. At some point when I am underwater I look over and a Manta Ray that’s diameter is longer than me comes swimming toward me. It is partially scary and partially amazing. He kind of looks like he is smiling at me. He glides by without touching me. I pop my head up and tell my friend to go look down right away so she gets to see it as well. Unfortunately there are no photos of this event. We get back on the boat soon after.

The second stop is probably my least favorite, Crystal Bay. The beach area looks beautiful and we see some fish but I am not impressed.

One of the girls with me notices that some of the girls on our boat that are choosing to snorkel are not able to swim. Why someone who couldn’t swim would attend this is beyond me but what happens is that they hang out in their life jackets and hold on to this raft and scream and monopolize the fish guides the entire time with their drama. They also get the best photos from the guide as evident at the end when our trip photos are sent to us all.

Our next stop, Gamat Bay, is the most impressive so far if you ignore the Manta Ray from the first stop. You can see some nice coral here that hasn’t been bleached out. The fish are plentiful. The guide gives me some bread so I have a cheat with the photo moments. I think this is my favorite of the day so far.

The tour advertised online three stops but we have four today. I am getting tired of getting in and out of the boat and the previous stop is good so I think about skipping this stop. In this stop, the Wall, we are told that we swim up to the wall and let the current take us down to view all the good stuff. I decide to go in. Again they did not lie. This is a tie with the third stop of which is best. There is plenty of coral to see as well as colorful fish, with not much physical effort. I am glad I got off the boat.

We head back to shore after this. My only complaint about this tour is the last time I snorkeled in coral areas I not only got some photos of myself but also some photos of interesting fish and coral taken by the underwater photographer. There were no such photos such as these. I would have at least liked photo proof of the manta ray because he was so dang scary and cute at the same time.

When we get to shore our guide meets us along with another gentlemen who I guess is the driver on the island since we didn’t bring a car with us. They take us to a resort for our lunch.

We are directed to a shower to use that looks kind of like a bidet hose and not very sanitary so we all decided to stay drenched in seawater. In retrospect this should have been a red flag. There is a pool nearby and one group of girls jumps in while we wait for our pre-ordered food. It takes a while. My chicken curry comes out with a plate of rice and some raw vegetables. The curry is more like a chicken soup, flavorless, but I eat it anyway. I am smart enough to not eat the raw vegetables but as you will find out later I am not sure it made much of a difference.

We get back in the car and drive for a while. We end up at the viewing area called Kelingking Beach. The beach is actually a 45 minute hike down the stairs but we are not doing that. We are here for the photo opportunity. The place is a madhouse with “models” and tour groups. If you have been following my travels for a few years you will hear me complain constantly about influencers or instagrammers and how they are totally destroying travel. Today we contributed to that just a little bit. If I was on my own I would have taken one look at the crowd and said see ya but our driver was very eager to take us to the best places to take pictures and somehow he knew how to avoid the long lines. I still didn’t like 50% of my photos because I have body image issues but I appreciate what he was trying to do. The only part I didn’t like is when he had us practically running uphill, in our sandals to get to another spot. When we had a moment to enjoy it was a great view though. We made good time because it starts storming as we are leaving. That driver deserves a tip for rushing us.

We then drive down broken road, which is a REALLY broken road, to broken beach. At that location we see the arch from earlier when we were snorkeling. We also see the Angel’s Billabong that is an interesting rock formation. We rest here for a few minutes then start heading back toward the ferry.

We have to hop back into the water to get on the ferry and it is once again very awkward for me. My bottom half gets wet because I am short and clumsy. Also we are fighting the waves while trying to step in onto a swaying ferry. The ferry takes us back to the main land of Bali and then the van back to our retreat.

Swim out to the ferry for us short people

We decide to order dinner out as a group because there is an order minimum anyway. I order a so-so pizza and mango sticky rice. Soon it is bedtime because I am exhausted from the day’s activities. I sleep well … until I don’t. I have some nightmares about high school – very bizarre.

Bali Belly Strikes Again

It is Sunday I don’t set an alarm. The only thing I have scheduled is a 9 am massage today so I do my version of sleeping in. My finger is still weird and I don’t feel the best. It seems like that pizza last night has not agreed with my stomach. It feels a little like a hangover with out the drinking. I bravely try breakfast.

I find it really hard to eat. I know I need to eat but food seems disgusting at this point. I do as well as I can then I excuse myself because I am increasingly nauseous. I walk up the stairs and realize I am not going to make it to my room. I throw up my entire breakfast all over the beautiful lawn of the retreat. Luckily there is a hose there that is used by the surfers. I try to hose away evidence of my mess but it is too much and more is coming so I warn the guys who take care of the facility, apologize and run to my room for more.

I think I have it all out of my system for now. I have no idea what I am doing for lunch but I decide to make my morning massage appointment. There can’t possibly be anything left in my stomach. As the day progresses so does my symptoms. I sleep most of the day and spend a good amount of awake time in the bathroom. I officially have Bali belly. I have had this before last time I was on the island. It is not fun but sometimes it can clear up in a day or so. There is not much I can eat so I try to wait it out.

Hopefully this is a 24 hour thing and I feel better tomorrow.

Moeraki New Zealand Day 2

Today is my second day in Moeraki. On the agenda today is to go see the famous boulders on the beach then head back to Katiki Point to try to catch a sight of penguins again.

I enjoy the cooler weather with a yogurt, granola and banana with a coffee looking at the water below.

I watch the boats heading out for a day’s fishing.

The best time to see the boulders is a low tide. Today that is scheduled at 11:30 am.

I walk along the road a little bit until I reach a now partially closed path. I take the Millennium track toward the beach. It seems like the track was longer in the past (closer to my holiday park) but erosion has made part of the trail unsafe. The brush is slightly overgrown. I am wishing I would have worn long pants today.

I finally make it to the beach where it is nice and calm. There are very few people on the beach but I do notice a dead seal. It is really sad to see. Luckily it has been removed before my walk back.

I make it down to Moeraki Boulders Beach to look at the unique boulders. The boulders were formed around 60 million years ago during the early Paleocene. They are now being uncovered due to coastal erosion.

I head up to the nearby café to order some fish chowder.

Moeraki Boulders Cafe

After lunch I walk back to the holiday park back along the beach.

I hop carefully from rock to rock to a secluded area. I savor the sounds of the ocean and birds. It is very calm here. I notice tide starting to rise. Not wanting to get “trapped” I head back the way I came. I think this probably used to be part of that now defunct track.

I notice different types of flowering plants on my walk back.

I relax for a little while before heading back to the Katiki Point to try to get some more penguin viewing. Today I end up seeing only one penguin.

He goes away from view for a while so I end up looking at some more seals.

The penguin moves uphill where I snap a couple more pictures.

I drive back to the campsite but first stop by the village to walk around. There isn’t much to the village but a pier and a nice restaurants. I have food to eat back at the campsite so I forgo the restaurant.

Back at my campervan I set up a semi-healthy dinner. I make a large salad but can’t resist butter bread with this spectacular butter (I feel like an influencer now, they should be paying me).

I love my stop in Moeraki. If I had more time I would have checked out the nearby towns of Dunedin and Oamaru. Oamaru in particular has the Steampunk HQ: a funky museum of all things steampunk (a missed opportunity on the drive into Moeraki). I just kept missing the window of opening hours so I regret not stopping on the way. I think it would have been fun to visit.

Tomorrow I head further south to Te Anau to get closer to Milford Sound. Loving my visit to New Zealand so far.

Kaikoura, there she (doesn’t) blow

We take the train to Kaikoura today. We arrive at the station in Kaikoura and there is no uber and no regular taxis. There is only one guy with a passenger van who will give rides from the train station. He has a business card but doesn’t seem to be always available for rides. I arrange a ride in the morning to the dock for my whale watching boat (at the time I didn’t realize it is in walking distance from my hotel). Anyway, it is hard to get around here without a car unless you don’t mind walking a while.

The ride to Kaikoura is beautiful with an open air observation car at the back of the train (think cattle car).

The observation train while going through a tunnel

Hotel in Kaikoura – Lobster Inn Motor Lodge

My aunt has a sunset kayak tour scheduled for the evening. We originally thought I would be joining her but I have done some damage to my shoulders while traveling. I am pretty sure ocean kayaking is not in the cards for me at this time. Unfortunately due to rough seas her tour gets cancelled for the evening. She hopes to do a paddle tomorrow sometime during the day instead.

We arrive early enough for lunch. We visit the cafe across the street where I get to try green-lipped mussels. They are large and quite tasty.

Green-lip mussels at Chiwis Cafe and Takeaway

I go to bed early because I have an early morning boat ticket for whale watching tomorrow. Kaikoura is supposed to be a magnificent place to see whales and other sea animals.

There is a 6:45 arrival time for my tour, the first tour of the day. My driver drops me off on time at the office. Once I arrive I come to find out that both my cruise and the cruise scheduled immediately after is cancelled due to rough seas. There are people in line already to reschedule for a later time but most of the other times this morning are already booked. The only time I can reschedule is for the afternoon but doing so would make me miss our train ride that we have booked back to Christchurch. I am disappointed. I usually schedul multiple days in a location in case something like this happens but in this case I did not.

My aunt goes on her kayaking tour this morning as scheduled. I plan to meet up with her later in town. I decide to walk back to the motel from the whale office instead of trying to find the one taxi guy in town. It is a nice walk along the beach.

I spend a couple hours making some phone calls that are much needed to the USA. I have a short window to take care of business by phone since our days are their nights and vice-versa.

After I take care of things I walk down to town. It is a cute little town. I see signs for crayfish everywhere but I am too cheap to order it so instead I end up getting a huge fried flounder and chips at Strawberry Tree Kaikoura. While the fish below is quite tasty, I regret passing up the crayfish because later when I get serious about trying it before I leave New Zealand I end up paying even more for it and end up disappointed. It is probably much fresher in Kaikoura.

My aunt finally meets up with me and helps me finish the fish. She has a photo of the bones and asked if I wanted to post it but it isn’t pretty so I’ll forgo the photo.

We have a little more time to kill before we pick up our luggage so we visit the local museum Kaikōura Museum. It gives a little taste of the history of the area. There is a good exhibit that talks about the major earthquake that occurred in 2016. A great deal of damage had been done to the coast, roads and tunnels. It is said to have pushed the south island 5km closer to the north island.

We head back to get our luggage and then to the train. We are heading back to Christchurch to overnight before our day trip to Arthur’s Pass tomorrow.

Kaikoura is beautiful and I am very sad I didn’t get to see whales during my visit. If I ever make it back to New Zealand it is definitely on my list again – next time for more days.

Video of train ride to Kaikoura