Today marked the first of two back-to-back sea days as Brilliant Lady makes her way toward our final port of call, The Beach Club at Bimini, Virgin Voyages private resort in the Bahamas, where we’ll arrive Friday before returning to Miami on Saturday to wrap up this MerMaiden voyage. So far, this sailing has taken us from Miami to St. Maarten and Tortola, with a lot of days at sea in between.
Sea days are usually those moments cruisers look forward to — a time to hang by the pool, soak up the sun, and simply relax. They’re especially treasured by those escaping colder climates, ready to defrost under the Caribbean sun. For me, a Florida local who enjoys warm weather year-round, sea days are more about just chilling and avoiding all the crowds at the pool.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Our route today brushed along the far-outer moisture bands of Tropical Storm Melissa, and instead of a sunny day at sea, we were treated to gray skies, gusty winds, and periods of rain that stretched well into the late afternoon. The decks were slick, loungers sat empty, and the pool crowd disappeared faster than drinks on Scarlet Night.
Brilliant Lady’s (blue dot) position in relevance to TS Melissa
A gloomy day at sea
With the outdoor spaces mostly a washout, the interior of Brilliant Lady became the place to be. The bars, lounges, and coffee bars were packed with sailors looking for something to do indoors. To see what was happening around the ship, you can check out the daily schedule at the bottom of this report.
Pay-for-Play Events on Virgin Voyages
As I mentioned in a few of my daily reports so far, there are a lot of things included in your fare when you take a cruise on Virgin Voyages, these include soda and soft drinks, gratituties, all dining in all the ship’s restaurants, room service ($10 delivery fee), along with all those bubbles served during the sail away! However, there are some activities that you can partake in for a fee. Here’s a look what these paid experiences on Brilliant Lady are:
Virgin Voyages Paid Experiences
Grog Walk — Draught Haus – $50
Deck 7
A traveling pub crawl with drinks, a snack, and cheeky “missions.” Dress chic and mingle.
Grog Walk — Sip Lounge – $50
Deck 7
Same roaming bar crawl vibe, this time kicking off at Sip. Drinks, a snack, and social shenanigans included.
Rice, Rice Baby – $35
The Test Kitchen, Deck 6
Interactive sushi demo — from knife skills to the perfect roll — hosted with Virgin flair.
Painting & Boozy Bevvies – $35
The Den A, Deck 6
An hour of custom art with bottomless bubbles. No talent required; fun guaranteed.
Blend the Rules: A Whiskey Tasting Experience – $25
Booty Free Shop, Deck 6
Learn about single malts, blends, and aging while sampling curated pours.
Shot for Shot – $50
The Test Kitchen, Deck 6
A hands-on cocktail-making class — shake, stir, and sip your way through three creative drinks.
Champagne Bubbles & Fried Chicken Bites – $45
Razzle Dazzle, Deck 5
Three champagnes paired with crispy fried chicken — classy meets comfort.
Suitcase of Secrets: The Fallen Flotilla – $50
Draught Haus, Deck 7
A team-based puzzle caper paired with cocktails. Think escape room meets bar game.
Johnnie Walker: Voyage of Flavor – $25
Booty Free Shop, Deck 6
A guided tasting featuring JW 18, Blue Label, and rare Xordinaire — refined, smooth, and strong.
Agave Allure: Mexico’s Liquid Gold Journey – $25
Booty Free Shop, Deck 6
A tasting of tequila and mezcal that dives deep into Mexico’s liquid heritage.
Shhh… Speakeasy Series – $20
The Den A, Deck 6
A hidden bar experience with Miami-inspired cocktails and mystery atmosphere.
Behind the Scenes – $200
On The Rocks, Deck 6
A 2.5-hour tour through the ship’s restricted areas — from the bridge to the crew galley.
Dip It Real Good – $35
The Test Kitchen, Deck 6
Blind-tasting global sauces and condiments in a fun, flavorful guessing game.
Lotería Gigante – $40
Pink Agave, Deck 5
Virgin’s twist on a classic Mexican game with cocktails, laughs, and prizes.
Spill the Beans with Intelligentsia Coffee – $35
Grounds Club, Deck 7
A cupping class to compare beans, explore flavors, and learn pro tasting skills.
Booze Clues – $50
The Dock House, Deck 7
Solve riddles and follow clues around ship bars to unlock a “lost” cocktail recipe.
Rum Runners – $35
The Loose Cannon, Deck 7
Rum’s roguish past told through tastings and stories — complete with snacks and swagger.
Let’s Get Choco-lit – $35
The Test Kitchen, Deck 6
Chocolate-making demo and tasting featuring handmade pralines and rochers.
TournamenTYS: The One with the Slots – $25
The Casino, Deck 6
Virgin’s version of a slot tournament — fun, fast-paced, and prize-filled.
Beyond Tequila: Rituals and Stories of a Mezcalier – $50
Pink Agave, Deck 5
A deep dive into mezcal and tequila traditions, complete with tastings and tales.
Master Beverage Class: Path of the Negroni – $50
Extra Virgin, Deck 6
Discover the Negroni’s roots and taste variations on this Italian classic.
Up with a Twist – $50
The Manor, Deck 6
A cocktail-fueled immersive musical — Virgin’s signature theatrical dining show.
Large Cabana – Sea Day! – $250
The Athletic Club Bar, Deck 16
Private cabana for up to 8 with day bed, mini-fridge, snacks, towels, and an $80 Bar Tab credit.
Standard Cabana – Sea Day! – $200
The Athletic Club Bar, Deck 16
Private cabana for up to 4 with similar perks and a $40 Bar Tab credit.
TournamenTYS: The One with Blackjack – $25
The Casino, Deck 6
A fun, social blackjack tournament where sailors play against each other, not the house.
Secret Vintage – $50
Extra Virgin, Deck 6
Mystery wine tasting with hidden labels and a points-based guessing challenge.
Mix It Up – $45
Athletic Club, Deck 16
Watch Virgin’s bartenders battle in a cocktail mix-off — sample, sip, and vote for the winner.
The Notification No Cruiser Wants to See: Disembarkation Time!
It’s that dreaded moment of every cruise — the one notification on our phone we all secretly wish would never show up: “It’s time to select your disembarkation group.” Yep, that’s the polite way of saying, “Hey, it’s almost time to go home!”
The process is actually pretty easy, though it comes with a small sting of reality. Inside the Virgin Voyages app, there’s a section for choosing your disembarkation time — and it’s mandatory for all sailors. Each group has a limited number of spots to keep the terminal from being overrun, and once you leave the ship, that’s it — no turning back for one last espresso at The Grounds Club or a final swing in your hammock.
I picked the 8:15 AM group, which is early enough to grab my luggage and make my 10:00 AM Brightline train from MiamiCentral Station with time to spare.
A few important things Virgin makes crystal clear in the app:
- Everyone must choose a time — it’s not optional.
- You can’t disembark outside your assigned group.
- And the ship has to be completely cleared by 10:30 AM to meet local immigration rules.
The Not-So-VIP Sailing Club Reception
On the first day of the cruise, I found a letter waiting in my stateroom inviting me to the Sailing Club Reception — a special event Virgin Voyages puts on for cruisers in the top two tiers of their loyalty program, the Sailing Club.
Now, you might be wondering: “Wait, Scott, didn’t you say this was your first Virgin cruise?” Yep, I did. So how did I snag an invite? Simple — Virgin Voyages offers a status match program, where you can submit proof of your loyalty status with another cruise line. I sent mine in and got matched into the Blue Extras tier — typically reserved for sailors who’ve completed three to four voyages. Their top tier, Deep Blue Extras, is for those who’ve sailed five or more times.
According to Virgin’s website, Blue Extras members get priority boarding, a bag of laundry on every voyage, specialty coffee credits, and even a cocktail party — which was the whole reason for this invite. More details on the program can be found on Virgin’s official page at virginvoyages.com/sailing-club
The event was originally supposed to take place outdoors on The Perch, but due to weather, it got moved inside to On The Rocks, one of the ship’s Deck 6 lounges. I showed up around 5:10 PM, just ten minutes after it started, and… it was an absolute madhouse.
There was a crew member checking invitations at the entrance, but once you got the green light, it was shoulder-to-shoulder chaos inside a roped-off area. You couldn’t move. People were trying to push toward a bar that didn’t have bartenders, just a few pre-poured glasses of champagne and mocktails sitting out. It was hot, crowded, and uncomfortable — easily one of the worst loyalty events I’ve ever attended.
After about two minutes of being shoved around, I grabbed a glass, muttered “I gotta GTFO of here,” and did exactly that — not before letting the crew at the entrance know how disorganized and frustrating it was.
Loyalty events are supposed to make guests feel appreciated, not trapped in a human sardine can. Later that evening, I heard several others complaining about the exact same thing — overcrowded, poorly managed, and overall a big miss. The original outdoor venue wasn’t much larger, so this wasn’t a space issue; it was simply too many people invited at once. If Virgin wants to continue this as a perk, they really need to host it in smaller waves throughout the voyage rather than packing everyone in like a nightclub on free drink night.
The idea was good. The execution? A disaster.
Duel Reality, Dinner… and a Rough Night at Sea (Well, Sort Of)
That disaster of a loyalty reception kind of put me in an off mood that stuck around for the rest of the evening. After showering and changing for the night, I figured I’d try to shake it off with a little casino time — but Lady Luck wasn’t having it. Another strike.
So I made my way over to The Red Room, the ship’s main theater, for the 7:30 showing of Duel Reality. Created and produced by The 7 Fingers, this show is billed as “a fast-paced retelling of Romeo and Juliet with an elaborate circus twist. The performers take the timeless story of two feuding households and drop it straight into a sporting arena, complete with acrobatics, athletic choreography, and heart-pounding stunts. The setup gives you ringside seats to a “battle of love and rivalry” where both danger and emotion run high.”
The theater itself had been completely transformed for the performance. The stage was moved to the center of the room, with seating arranged stadium-style on either side —one side red, the other blue — just like a sports match. (Side note: it’s pretty awesome that Virgin designed The Red Room to be flexible enough to completely change its layout for different shows.)
When I walked in around 7:15, crew members directed guests to either the red side or the blue side. I was sent to blue, though there wasn’t any option to choose where to sit. It felt a little like being herded onto a Disney ride: “move all the way down, fill every available seat.” I followed instructions and ended up sandwiched between two people with zero elbow room.
Here’s the thing — people tend to leave an empty seat buffer when possible, but that wasn’t happening tonight. I was shoulder-to-shoulder, bumping elbows, and after a few minutes of that, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I stood up, walked out, and chalked it up as yet another strike for the night. My bad mood? Yeah, it wasn’t improving.
I decided to head somewhere that always puts me in a better mood — Sip Lounge. My favorite bartenders onboard, Saffrone and Leonardo, have been going out of their way all week to stock Fever Tree tonic for me (Virgin doesn’t normally carry it at their bars), and let’s just say their kindness alone makes every G&T taste even better.
After a few of those, I decided I wasn’t in the mood for a full sit-down dinner, so I wandered up to The Galley, Virgin’s buffet alternative, on Deck 15 to sample a few options.
I started light with some sushi and a small charcuterie box from the grab-and-go stations — the sushi, by the way, has been consistently excellent, and the rotating menu every other day keeps it interesting. Then I tried some spicy shrimp with rice and broccoli, which lived up to the “spicy” label, and grabbed a slice of sausage and caramelized onion
focaccia that was a pleasant surprise.
On my way back to my table, I noticed the “burger of the day” was a fried chicken sandwich. It didn’t look great, but curiosity won out — so I ordered one. It turned out to taste about as good as it looked: tough chicken, bland bun, and not much else going on. The fries weren’t bad, though, so there’s that.
After finishing up, I grabbed a beer and decided to cap the night with a cheese pizza from The Pizza Place. I was handed one of those little buzzers and told it’d be ready in about 10–15 minutes, so I took a quick stroll before heading back to pick it up. Once it buzzed, I grabbed my pie, hopped in the elevator, and brought it back to my stateroom.
The verdict? Not terrible — definitely better than the pizza on Carnival, but nowhere near the level of what Princess serves, and still miles behind the gold standard: MSC’s onboard pizza. Still, it hit the spot for a late-night snack.
And that wrapped up my night. A bit of a rollercoaster (mostly downhill), but tomorrow’s another sea day — and I’ll be diving into what’s waiting for us at The Beach Club at Bimini, including all the available shore excursion options. Stay tuned, because that’s one Virgin Voyages stop everyone talks about.