The morning of Curaçao, Mom and I got some laps in around the track before heading to breakfast in The Galley. I saw the woman I ate dinner with at The Test Kitchen and was able to meet her husband.

To start using my bar tab more, I got a mocha which was $5. I was confused as to why I didn’t see the charge in the wallet on Virgin app. I realized after the cruise it was because I got up $10 of free premium coffee daily.

Going to Willemstad

Shortly after breakfast and getting ready, we headed out to the port. We were the furthest ship away from the main part of Willemstad and Queen Emma’s Bridge. Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas was the closest, right next to the bridge. 

Once we’d gotten through the shops and casino area outside our cruise terminal, we were able to witness the Queen Emma bridge opening for the ferry. The entire thing moved all the way to our side from the center of the water. There were people still walking on it as it was moving (although I don’t this they were supposed to)!

By the time it reset, there was a whole crowd of people waiting to go in it. I took pictures of the architecture and a mural I found while we waited for the bridge to go back in place.

We crossed the bridge to the main part of Willemstad. There were heart-shaped structures with locks in them, canons, and live bands on the other side.

We walked down the main street to the Curaçao and Dushi signs, took some pictures of some more structures, and went back to the ship.

We had our thermal spa reservation on this day, so we had to get back.

The Redemption Spa – Thermal Spa

After taking a shower from getting all sweaty outside, we changed into our bathing suits and went to the spa on deck 5.

The thermal spa on port days is $49 per person. On a sea day it’s $69. I recommend going on a port day not just because it’s cheaper but because less people will be there. We almost had it all  to ourselves besides maybe one or two people.

There were 4 rooms: the sauna, the steam room, the salt room, and the mudroom. There’s also a main area with a cold tub, warm tub, mineral pool, and warm stone slabs.

At first, the sauna heat was too much for me but after being in the mineral pool I went back in and almost took a nap in there.  The steam room had some aromatherapy which took a second to get used to. Same with the salt room; the smell in there was a little much.

Tip: it’s not recommended to go in the salt room if you have high blood pressure since you’re inhaling salt. It would be just like ingesting it.

The mudroom is the same as the steam room except you have mud you can put on your body while you’re in there. It’s recommended to do this last. They’ll give you your cup of mud when you’re ready.

Applying the Mud

I’ve seen some people put the spa mud on their face however, the staff advised not to put the mud on your face since the skin on your face is more sensitive than the body.

I treated my mom to the thermal spa since I couldn’t afford the massages. She really enjoyed it and felt relaxed there. It was both our first time in a thermal spa, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. I’d definitely do it again for a relaxation break.

When you book, you can choose a time that will let you be in the spa for up to three hours, which I think is more than enough time.

We had a cocktail party to go to at 5 so we left almost an hour early feeling fully relaxed.

Deep Blue Cocktail Party and Changing Reservations

Because we had deep blue extras, the highest tier in Virgin Voyages loyalty program (at the time it was the only tier), they treated us to free glasses of wine and sangria. It seems like a lot of prizes or perks are free alcohol here (not much for someone who doesn’t drink often, like me). That being said, I really enjoyed my sangria.

After finishing my drink and bumping into Adrian again from the second day, I went on a mini mission to change reservations for the last night. 

On Virgin, you’re allowed to make reservations at restaurants once and can waitlist if you want to visit again. This is to give others a chance to try the restaurants. Well, because we have a 7-night cruise and there are 6 restaurants we have an extra night. I decided to use this opportunity try Test Kitchen’s second menu on the last night. I originally had it scheduled for 6pm but one of the entertainments I hadn’t been to yet was starting at 5:30pm that night. I was able to switch my reservation to later which would actually be after my tattoo.

Give ‘Em the Ol’ Razzle Dazzle

For dinner I met Mom at Razzle Dazzle. It was marketed as the vegetarian forward restaurant, but it had a lot of meat options for dinner, too. Mom got the old bay wings, Nashville hot cauliflower, and lamb shank. I got pork belly, the green goddess salad, and fried chicken that came with greens (I think Swiss chard) and a biscuit with not-so-hot honey.  We both really liked our food, but Mom was so full she couldn’t finish and went back to the room to nap before our show. She wanted to take the lamb shank to go to finish later but they wouldn’t allow her, which I found odd.

All by my lonesome, I stayed at the table to have dessert. I got a crème brûlée (one of the best I ever had) before going back to the room as well. This was probably my second favorite meal. Extra Virgin’s fresh pasta really stuck with me.

Once I was back in the room we had about an hour before the show… Or so I thought.

What Could’ve Been…

The show we were supposed to see was Dual Reality, a show I’ve heard people say is a must-see, but it got canceled! One of the performers “needed a little TLC” according to the notification. They ended up rescheduling it later in the week, but we’ll get into that on day 5 or 6.

Since Dual Reality was canceled, our night was free.

We rested until 10 where I went up to The Galley again to get the oh so famous 10PM cookies. There was a line forming at 9:58. Two gentlemen got theirs immediately but the rest of us waited another 5-10 minutes.

The batch of cookies was small so I could see why people were there early, however it wasn’t worth the wait in my opinion. They were cold and kind of hard so not sure why we had to wait if they weren’t even fresh.

The thing is, these cookies are the same ones we got at the coffee shop on deck 7 (and they’re better at the coffee shop). Don’t wait for the 10pm cookies. Just grab them on deck 7 during the day and save them if you want a late-night snack.

We ended the night discovering more movies and shows to watch on the TV while I begrudgingly ate my cold cookie.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and Scarlet Night so we’ll see what’s in store next week!