By this Author: moorsey88

Cruising into the travel plans for 2026 begins with embarkation on a cruise ship out of Miami. But first I need to get to Miami...

Another travel first for me...a trip in January/February. Good time to escape the snow and the cold. Although I enjoy winter, I won't be upset to ditch my winter coat and boots for flip flops and shorts!

While driving to the airport this morning, I received a text message from Air Canada saying that the flight was delayed. I could not hear the entire message so I had to read it once I got to the airport - but really, a delay? It's a beautiful blue sky day...how bad of a delay could it be??? Ok, it was 2 hours delayed...not terrible, but not great either. Nothing I can do about it....so I continue to drop off my luggage, through security (thank you Nexus) and up to the Plaza Premium Lounge and grab a cocktail - vacation has begun!

A little while later, I received another email informing me of a further delay. OMG! Instead of the scheduled original time of 11:55 a.m., I was now taking off at 4:15 p.m., which ended up being closer to 4:30 p.m.

Delayed flight because of the inbound aircraft was delayed leaving from its departure city. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it. Another reason if you are cruising...never fly in on the same day that your cruise departs, because you never know what can happen.

Arrived to Miami around 8:00 p.m., gathered my luggage from the baggage carousel and grabbed an Uber to the hotel - Fortune House Hotel & Suites. Upon check in, I was greeted with a complimentary glass of champagne and a free room upgrade to a one bedroom suite on the 25th floor!

Time for bed...it has been a long day!

Good morning Miami! Today was a chill day doing a bit of a walkabout around Miami's iconic waterfront area. The weather was not entirely perfect as it was quite cloudy and rainy at times...but it was still +20 degrees Celsius, so time to break out the shorts...and the umbrella (just in case).

My hotel's location in the Brickell part of town meant a 20 minute-ish walk to the downtown area and to Bayside Marketplace located on the banks of Biscayne Bay. This area is where the city meets the sea...shopping, dining and entertainment. It can be quite crowded with tourists but today was not too bad. You can see many of the cruise ships in port near by from Bayside.

Low key day...gearing up for my embarkation tomorrow for my Caribbean cruise.

I got organized and re-packed to check out of my hotel this morning and headed to the cruise port terminal as today was Embarkation Day!

Traffic to the port, as you can imagine can be very congested with cruise ships arriving - people leaving their ship and people trying to get to their terminal. There were 6 ships scheduled to depart today.

Travel Tip: always check your bills at restaurants carefully as some will automatically add the tip...and it could be very easy to tip on top of the tip if you are not aware. And what if the service is shitty?!?! Just sayin'...tipping culture is a bit out of control.

Embarkation was an easy process and I even boarded prior to my designated boarding time. Once on the ship I was able to go directly to my cabin (8218A) as they are always ready and luggage immediately at the cabin door on Virgin Voyages.

I got organized and then set out to explore the ship, The Resilient Lady, which is always fun. I had watched a lot of videos but it was way better seeing it in person.

While walking around I ran into the lady I had met in the boarding queue in the terminal. We ended up touring around the ship together and hanging out during the Sail Away Party which was so much fun. Great tunes and free champagne. We were dancing with our newly made friends. Good times! The weather was unseasonably chilly today in Miami so definitely needed a jacket.

Dinner time - ship fact: Virgin does not have a main dining room, rather there are tons of restaurants and eateries all over the ship and all included with your cruise fare. You can make reservations or just show up and if they have availability, they can seat you. You will never go hungry. So far the food has been really good.

The evening was capped off with the PJ party. All kinds of jammies were seen around. Very fun night. Good start to the cruise!

No alarm set for today. I got up at leisure and headed to "The Galley" (one of the many eateries) for breakfast and met up with Heidi, my new friend from Norway, another solo traveller.

Fun Day at Sea:
> Zumba class to get the day started
> a little gelato
> cocktails by the pool
> listening to some great tunes
> met the Diva (Drag Performer hostess) - she made me feel really short
> 80's party in The Manor - sooooo fun! I even packed a suitable outfit to wear knowing that this was going to take place

Ship Tip: Be sure to check the itinerary of any potential themed events so one can pack accordingly

The 80's party was so fun as many passengers were dressed up and did not disappoint. Great entertainment and nostalgic music...funny - some songs I had not heard in years, yet I knew all the words. Core memories for sure. But sometimes I can't remember where I put my glasses. LOL

We docked shortly before 8 a.m., but Dominican time is one hour earlier - but ship time stays the same.

After breakfast and getting organized for the day I headed down to Deck 4 and the gangway to disembark for my excursion. A short walk thru the port shops and restaurants, past the taxi stands to various tour companies awaiting their passengers. Today's adventure was ATV riding with Dr. Prime Tours. Of course I am early and the first one to arrive.

Tour Tip: Better to be early than late and miss your tour especially if you have pre-paid for the excursion. You do not want to be the person everyone is waiting for.

The company was waiting for passengers from 3 different cruise ships today (Apex, Viva and Resilient Lady) - still a small group, 7 people from those ships and me. They were doing the 4 x 4 Buggy Tour and I was only one doing the ATV...private tour - woohoo!!! This meant we would be able to go fairly fast. You're only as fast as your slowest driver. It had rained earlier in the morning, so the terrain was muddy in places and lots of big ass puddles - made for some good fun! Needless to say I was very wet and muddy after the tour.

Tour Tip: Bring your towel and an extra set of dry clothes and keep everything in a plastic bag. Even bring a different pair of shoes.

Back to the ship for a late lunch and chill around the pool. Not the best weather day - but every day is a good day when you are on holiday!

Lola's Library show in the evening. We had to line up early before the show started to ensure we got a seat. The show was fantastic!!! We went for dinner after at "The Wake" - great restaurant at the back of the ship with a super view of the ship's wake.

Another great day cruisin' the Caribbean. Oh...and I may have had some gelato in there as well at some point.