Ripheus

More posts coming....we've gotten a bit of snow here in VA and we're expecting more tomorrow. While some snow won't keep most people from posting, its removal is part of my job so it keeps me quite busy.

Wednesday was also our Scarlet Night. It was...ah....interesting. There was definitely a lot going on all over the ship. We ended up in the little sitting area next to the Draught House and met a lovely couple from Jefferson City. When the area became too loud to converse, we went up to the pool deck and scooped up a spot on the outskirts of the pool deck. DW isn't a fan of modern, American music so it definitely was not for her. But I thought it was fun. Scarlet Night.mp4

For dinner Wednesday, we ate at Extra Virgin. We tried a bit of everything. And we were thoroughly stuffed. I had the steak, which should surprise exactly no one at this point. I'm sure @Moochi has more pictures of our food (and remembers what she had for her main). To complement dinner, we had a wine from Virginia winery that we'd brought aboard. (Side note: this winery, Rappahannock Cellars, has the best wine club in all of Virginia, and most of the wine isn't half bad!) For dessert, I had the affogato, fully loaded. DW had each of ALL the ice creams and sorbets.

After lunch, we explored the ship a little and took a short nap before dinner. I took some time, too, to admire the sunset...

Wednesday was our Turks and Caicos day. While the island is very beautiful, we were utterly bored there. The port area is nearly dead. We ventured outside the port area briefly to see if we could find a decent liquor store. No such luck. Our driver took us to one that was closed and then to another that had some super cheap beer and way overpriced wine. $40 later, we were back on the ship. I know some people had a lot of fun at Margaritaville there or the beaches. Neither DW nor I am big on the beach or crowded pools, so that's not really our scene. I'd love to go back there sometime to explore more, but this visit was a bit of a dud for us. After our foray on the island, we landed at the dockhouse again for a late lunch. This time though, we brought a beer (Ommegang's Three Philosophers) from the Draught House. Speaking of the Draught House... I think this was the biggest alcohol related surprise of the trip. We were very pleasantly surprised by the depth of the beer menu there. At home, we typically drink dark beers all year long, so it was nice to be able to buy an American stout on the ship. Of course, there were light beers, seltzers, canned cocktails, a sour or two, along with the typical roster of domestics/European beers.

Wednesday, we had breakfast at the Wake. I had the clam chowder and the steak and eggs. DW had the shrimp and The Wake eggs. The clam chowder is really more of a clam bisque; I think they even use sherry in the base. Very tasty. The steak and eggs were good too, though I wish they just delivered a true steak rather than the pre-sliced portions. For dessert, we had some sort of yogurt thing. It was good too. DW liked it more than I did. (I would have preferred another steak!) To drink, I had a Bloody Maria; VV uses Filthy Foods mixes for their bloody marys and cherry syrups. DW will have more to say about this, I'm sure, but suffice it for me to say we're fans.

After dinner on Tuesday, I spent a little time in the casino. DW wasn't feeling particularly well, as the seas were a bit rough. The casino is alright. The biggest problem with the casino is its location. It's right in the middle of a main thoroughfare between the center stairway, the Manor, and the Red Room. The bar, too, is awkwardly located in that it's really very close to On the Rocks. Yet the other side of the casino has no bar. Normally, this wouldn't be such an issue but for the aforementioned traffic in the area. The massive crowds were enough for me to not to want to come back to casino after Tuesday.

I'm a just leave this here... Test Kitchen Smoked Peas.mp4

After more Tequila, we went to the Test Kitchen for dinner. Overall, that experience was good but not fully baked. The food was outstanding. As a proof-of-concept, VV is definitely on the right track. However, the execution is a bit disjointed. Land based tasting menus tend to be immersive insofar that each dish complements or contrasts the other dishes. Pairings are offered to heighten the experience. The dishes on the menu we had were connected neither by flavor, nor texture, nor story. For most of the dinner, it was too loud in the restaurant to hear what the server was saying about the food. Likewise, the pairs were off. None of the wines DW had paired well with the dish it was served with, and we had no idea what wines were given. The cocktail pairing had a similar issue. Even worse, the glassware they use for the cocktail pairings is cute by not appropriate for actually tasting the drinks. To be clear, I thought all of the drinks were quite good; I just think they need a bit more explanation. Perhaps it might be a good idea to either pass out a card with what's what or have a little placard at each table to explain what's what. ...Pictures and a video to follow...

We then had the Beyond Tequila event. I would highly recommend this event for anyone with even the faintest interest in either tequila or mezcal. It's well worth the money, both in terms of education and in value of given drinks.

Tuesday (yes, we're that far behind in posting) was our first sea day. My baby got her beauty sleep, which is not something we've experienced while cruising before now. It was wonderful. There's no rush to get up and find food because we know food is available in the Galley or elsewhere. When we finally did get up, we headed up to the Sun Club Cafe. DW had a poke bowl. I passed. I've never been a fan of poke bowls, and the bao buns didn't look appetizing to me. We headed to the Galley to eat and for me to find some food. The burgers are probably the best burgers I've had on a ship. I know X's Retreat burger is lauded on here, but VV's burger is much better. It's not trying to be anything but a burger, and that's exactly what I want in a burger. The fries that come with the burger are the real star here though. I think they must be some kind of beer battered or something; they're out of this world good. Sorry, no pictures though. DW wasn't satisfied with the poke bowl so we headed to the dock house for something tasty. We ended up coming to the dock house any time DW was hungry. There's not much of a menu (we discovered on Friday that they have a separate happy hour menu), but the food is very good. We always ordered the same: two orders of steak skewers for me, and shrimp and octopus for DW.

We took it easy on the drinks for dinner, as we had had quite a few during the Loteria. I did have an Oaxaca in Fashion with dinner. It was quite good. After dinner, we headed to the Pink Agave bar to try some tequila or mezcal. I had a coconut mezcal agua fresca. @Moochi had a Fresca with mezcal instead of vodka. I loved mine; DW was indifferent about hers. Then we headed to On the Rocks to see what that area was about. It was packed. We ordered a couple of drinks but were given something else entirely. We didn't go back.

For dessert, we shared three: the chocolate tacos, the bread pudding, and the milhojas. The chocolate tacos were a miss for me. I just don't think they're very good. DW really enjoyed the milhojas, and we both enjoyed the bread pudding.

For dinner after Nassau - and after plenty of drinks at Loteria Gigante - we of course had to go to Pink Agave. It was fantastic. Service was prompt and consistently good. The food was great. For apps, we had the shrimp and the elote. Both were delicious, but we had to order a second shrimp just to make sure we loved it so much. 😁 For mains, I had the steak and DW had the duck. The steak is not very photogenic, but after many (very many) trials throughout the week, I can confidently say it's the best steak on the ship. @Moochi enjoyed her duck, and I'm sure she'll have a thing or two to add about it. For dessert, we shared three: the chocolate tacos, the bread pudding, and the milhojas. The chocolate tacos were a miss for me. I just don't think they're very good. DW really enjoyed the milhojas, and we both enjoyed the bread pudding.

Well, we got a little caught up in our vacation and didn't quite find the time to post further... But we have notes. @Moochi and I will continue posting about our first Virgin Voyage.

While my better half is taking a bit of a siesta (after the paid Tequila and Mezcal event), I should continue where she left off. We both enjoyed the Loteria Gigante. It was tons of fun, interactive, and tasty. I think we both had 7 drinks during the event, which left us both a bit buzzed. We had and afternoon nap and I ordered some charcuterie and popcorn from ship eats. I tried to get a crafthouse old fashioned too, but it didn't show up. The meat in the charcuterie spread is quite good and consists of both prosciutto and salami. The cheese leaves much to be desired as it's just a couple of bricks of Parmesan and cheap blue cheese. The bread and nuts that accompany it are both stale. Soon it was time for dinner sr Pink Agave. I'll let DW get into detail on that experience, but suffice it to say I was quite happy with our meals. I think we're going to try to switch our dinner at Razzle Dazzle later this week for another Pink Agave.

Well definitely give the galley another shot. For now, I'm chalking our experience up to first day confusion. I was happy with the turkey and swiss panini. It wasn't spectacular, but it still hit the spot. I'll probably get the burger next. We'll see how that goes. I think the thing that has been most confusing so far is that there's very little in the way of instruction for first time VVers. Nothing is complicated or hard once you know what to do, but there's not really anything to tell you what to do either.

After what we thought was a not-very-clear check in embarkation process, we're happy to be on the ship. We saw our room, charged my phone for a bit, and headed to the galley. Perhaps it was just because it was so packed, but wifey and I were disappointed in both the quality of the food and the service. DW ordered a drink that never came. After an hour, we left. She had a bento box and the ramen and didn't like either. I had a turkey panini. I was happy with it, though I was disappointed for DW. We're at the dock house now. Just ordered the tapas and a couple of drinks. DW is much happier now with her aperol spritz.

Waiting in line stinks...

When we arrived at FLL, I quickly regretted my decision to wear that flannel shirt. We collected our bags, which were thankfully the first ones out and headed on to catch a Lyft to the Hyatt Regency Miami. I had been tracking the prices for rides for the past week or so, and was happy with the $45 price to get us all the way downtown. We got checked in and settled in the nice but almost sterile looking room. After charging our phones for a bit, we searched for a place to grab a bite. We settled on Baby Jane's Cocktail House and Noodles for a post flight drink and some ramen. We'd highly recommend this spot. The cocktail I had (Back in Baby's Arms) and the Ramen were both tasty. I will say this is not the place to go on a Saturday night for a quiet bite. DW and I were sitting maybe two feet from each other and couldn't hear each other over the very loud music.

Yesterday, @Moochi and I finished packing and headed to DCA for our flight down to Miami by way of FLL. We typically fly JetBlue since their seats are the most comfortable economy for a big guy like me. We've also found their DCA service to be quite reliable. We were expecting some significant delays, as the forecast has been calling for some snow. Fortunately, we only saw freezing rain. That was especially a relief for me. I'm a landscaper, so my winters are generally slow. But when it snows, work gets frantic quickly.

DW (@Moochi) and I have sailed exclusively with Celebrity since we've been together. We wanted to give VV a try, so we did the natural thing of booking the Brilliant Lady's maiden voyage. When Brilliant was delayed, we were disappointed but that disappointment quickly turned to elation when we saw VV's replacement offer. We quickly transferred that cruise to the Scarlet Lady TA later this fall. Then we booked this trip to scratch our cruise itch now, while my work is slow. Both DW and I will be posting here to document our experience. We've been researching (watching YT) and think we know what to expect, but we'll see. This review will likely include: 1. This entirely too long introduction 2. Pre voyage and first day (when we're trying really hard to be good) 3. Lots of pictures of food and, especially, drinks 4. DW's assessment of the drinks 5. A critique of the available drinks and my thoughts on how well they align with both what I think VV's target demographic is and with me, if different. 6. My thoughts on Bar Tab and how much we actually used and/or went over. 7. My thoughts on the Casino experience, from an amateur perspective 8. Things I wish I knew at the beginning of this review. 9. Post voyage and final thoughts Of course, if any of you have any questions or comments, please do let us know. We'll try to keep questions in mind during our trip.

DW and I just paid for a mermaiden voyage, as our first VV experience. I still have a few questions though: 1. Is there anything VV does to make the mermaiden different from other voyages? 2. It's a 5 day trip. We have a $300 bar tab, but we're both well practiced drinkers (wine, beer, and cocktails). How much additional bar tab will we need? 3. The website appears to currently have some issues. When things are back to working correctly, when would we typically be able to look at things in the app? 60, 90, 120 days out? TIA

Mint Juleps are very tasty...I think I may request one from by beautiful home bartender @Moochi on Saturday to honor Derby tradition.

It was the Irish coffee. They put Irish in hot water. Wasn't even coffee. I chalk it up to a simple mistake that happened to happen twice. But it was enough to turn me off from ordering drinks at Beyond's Cafe al Bacio.