We have our first sea day on the Valiant Lady!

Based on the long day and night before, it’s safe to say that for the next morning of my cruise, I did not get up when I wanted to.

I told myself I was going to get up at 5am to walk around the ship, film the ship in different spaces, and take pictures. Well, I didn’t wake up until around 7am. Then, I wanted to recap everything from the day before for the blog which wasn’t finished until 8am and by that time a good amount of people were up so I was determined to do it another time.

I showered before heading upstairs for breakfast. Mom wanted to sleep in more, so I let her rest.

Breakfast in the Galley

The morning in the Galley was busier than I expected to be honest. Since it wasn’t a port day, I thought more people would sleep in.

Walking around to see what the different food station offered, I ended up getting a French toast “burger” from the Burger Bar. While I could grab another item like a muffin or fruit, the breakfast sandwich was the only this I needed. It had French toast, egg, bacon, and sausage. Not to mention it was huge! One thing I’m figuring out about Virgin is they’ll give you good portions.

I sat at the counters they had set up in front of the windows to have breakfast with an ocean view.

Tip: If you want to eat outside and enjoy the ocean breeze, go towards the left of the Galley to the back (opposite side of Gunbae) for outdoor seating.

Coloring, Scavenger Hunts, and Trivia

After breakfast, I went straight to a live coloring event where anyone can come up and color in the mural. I thought it was just coloring sheets for de-stressing, but this was pretty cool. The artist who designed it said when it’s finished, she’ll cut pieces of the mural and give them away.

I was a little late to the live coloring event because of breakfast so it lead right into the Artist’s scavenger hunt (similar to the selfie scavenger hunt on Royal Caribbean). I was running around the ship, back and forth, up and down, trying to figure out the riddles. I ran into another team a couple of times in my search. At the end of the hunt, I realized I could’ve (and really should’ve) just joined them. Everyone had formed a big group with maybe one other pairing. I was the only one who did it by themselves. I missed three but still got a pin for participation.

This is where I met a woman named Adrian. I bump into her a few more times on the cruise. She was a nice and chill person.

 Trying to Stop Being a Loner

Right after the scavenger hunt, I went to “salty” trivia. At this point, Mom was up and doing a dance class I think, so I was going to be on a team by myself but I asked if I could share a table with a brother and sister.

“If you’re sharing a table with someone, you might as well be on the same team,” the trivia host, The Gamer, announced. He said this for everyone’s benefit but I know he was talking to me since I sat at the table right in front of him.

The brother and sister welcomed me on their team and explained their father would eventually joined us.

I’m ashamed to say, I was only able to help with 3 answers out of the 30 questions.  We didn’t win but I found out a lot of new things that day. Don’t ask me what because at the time that I’m posting this blog, it’s been nearly two months since this trip and I can’t remember anymore, haha.

Lunch Time!

By this time, I was hungry for lunch (but I got some ice cream first, because why not?). I met back up with Mom and we went to the Galley. This is probably the first time that day we’d sat together longer than 10 minutes.

When I went to the Galley during breakfast, I went up to the food stall to order my food, but you also have the option to have your order taken at the table. I was hungry so I thought walking up would be quicker.

I got ramen, something I’d been excited to try. It wasn’t super-hot temperature-wise, but it was decent. The portion of noodle and soup wasn’t as big like I’d been used to so far on the ship, but I was okay with that. This made it so I wouldn’t be stuffed.

Mom got a burger and salad, but she seemed unimpressed. It was just okay.

Dodging Dodgeball

After lunch we went back to the room so I could change for dodgeball. We were going to go to the 90s boy band dance class but both Mom and I wanted time to just chill first.

I started up Wonka and watched it until it was time for the game.

Dodgeball was one of my favorite things to play during gym or recess back in elementary school. I’d seen contests during Royal Caribbean cruises but would also join too late.

This time, I thought I would give it a try and participate. That is until I saw the big men in the court who looked like they take the game a little too seriously.

Safe to say, I ended up not. I didn’t want to get hit by one of their throws. Believe me, once that game started, they were throwing hard.

There were four teams with 2-3 rounds per bracket. The team on our side won the whole thing and got free drinks as their prize.

“You could’ve been on the winning team,” Mom said.

Leisure Time on Deck 7

Mom and I walked around the track after the dodgeball tournament since it was right above it, then we made our way to the Social Club, where the trivia game was held. She wanted to look for the arcade which was in the Social Club area.

The arcade was small, but all games were free. We played air hockey for a bit (I won) and walked around the rest of deck 7 to the Dock House and then the Groupie, the karaoke lounge, on the other side. I found out you have to sign up for a specific time slot to use the rooms at the Groupie. They were full that day but I plan on using it in the next 6 days.

Dinner at Pink Agave 

We had about an hour before dinner after our wondering. We finished up Wonka and I changed back into my original outfit for the day.

This night, we had dinner at Pink Agave, the Mexican restaurant. I actually saw the family I played trivia with getting seated with the rest of the family as we made our way to our table.

Mom wasn’t happy about where they sat us. It felt like we were placed in the middle of a pathway, and they had us in these wooden chairs that didn’t match the rest of the decor.

Then, they didn’t have fruit punch like Extra Virgin, so that didn’t please her. I think the waitress also sensed the tension.

I got a spiked fresca with pineapple and tequila, my first paid drink of the cruise. It was okay but I probably should’ve stuck with no alcohol.

For dinner, I had esquites (corn) for the small plate, the chicken enchilada for the medium plate, and the ribeye with cheese for the main course. I got the milhojas for dessert which was a puff pastry with tamarind, pineapple, and passionfruit. It was a nice light dessert. I enjoyed it after a slightly heavy dinner.

UNTITLEDDANCSHOWEPARTYTHING

After dinner we went to the untitled dance show party thing (that’s literally what it’s called). I don’t even know how to describe it other than it was so fun! I had a blast. Be prepared to stand the whole time. If you want to participate and/or be up close, make sure to go to the Red Room on the first floor at deck 6. If you’d rather just watch, go through the Red Room on deck 7. There’s dancing you can do yourself so just have fun!

We were going to go to the Manor for the late-night party they had but we were tired, so we turned in.  I usually go to sleep around 10pm so I’ve fallen back into that.

For the next day of our cruise, we’ll be at our first port stop: Aruba! We’ll be there until midnight, which is exciting! I’ve never been in a port city that long before! Check in next week!