Wow, we are cruising (pun intended) through this trip! Day 3 already? Time needs to slow down. In this blog post I’ll be talking about docking in Puerto Plata, visiting the Redemption Spa, rotating lunch menus in The Galley, dinner reservation snafus, dinner at The Wake (you’ll want to stick around for that!), and catching one of the funniest drag shows I’ve ever seen. Keep reading to find out how my third day on Scarlet’s Valentine’s Voyage was!

Docking in Puerto Plata

This morning I awoke to some unusual groaning, and I’m not talking about sounds coming from neighboring cabins. The ship was groaning and I looked outside to see we had already docked in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic! My views from the window? Dock construction. Oh well, I hadn’t planned on getting off the ship anyway. 

The app had notified sailors that we had docked in Puerto Plata at 8:00 AM ship time, 9:00 AM Dominican time. Why the distinction? Ship time remains a consistent time that doesn’t change with varying time zones. Keeps it less confusing knowing you don’t have to add or subtract hours. The app also let us know that the ship would be leaving at 5:00 PM ship time and all aboard would be 30 minutes prior. It can also be seen in the “Events Lineup” section of the app, so you really can’t miss it! 

A note was left in every cabin the night before to say, “heads up, we’re moving into a timezone one hour ahead but we’re staying on EST so remove auto-timezone settings on your phone.” (paraphrasing). I, unfortunately, forgot to do this and when I woke up as we docked in Puerto Plata, I looked at the time and nearly had a panic attack that I missed my spa appointment. A few deep breaths later and I realized – wait, my phone is showing the time one hour ahead so I’m good. Phew! 

The Redemption Spa – Arrival

I made a decision ahead of time that I’d be using the day docked in Puerto Plata to use the spa facilities while the ship was less full. Puerto Plata had never been a destination that interested me and I felt even more solidified in my decision as I saw the dark rain clouds looming in the distance. To the spa it is!

The Redemption Spa is located on Deck 5 right in between Razzle Dazzle and Pink Agave. I made my reservation through the Virgin Voyages app the day before and they had plenty of availability. When I arrived, I checked in with the reception and let them know I’d also like to access the Thermal Spa (the area with the sauna, steam room, mudroom, etc.). I thought it’d be included in the massage treatment, but it’s a separate charge of $59 on port days for 3 hours access. 

After checking in, I was escorted to the locker area where a robe was waiting for me. Shortly after changing, my massage therapist introduced herself and had me fill out a quick intake form. We were quickly on our way to the treatment room. 

The Redemption Spa – Deep Tissue Massage

I booked a 75 minute deep tissue massage, and this started with a quick dry brushing followed by a generous slathering of oils. After asking her to focus on my back, she basically used firm pressure to work out the knots in my shoulders from being on my laptop all the time. She was exceptionally great at it too, as if it was her mission to pulverize any resistance behind my shoulder blades. 

The spa works exclusively with Elemis products, a luxury skincare brand based out of London. I use some of their Marine Collagen products at home, so I knew they were using quality products. A side note here to say: the spa is not owned and operated by Virgin Voyages. They are a third party called OneSpaWorld who specialize in operating spas on cruise ships. I mention this because while the massage was excellent, there was an upselling aspect to it. Whether it was trying to sell Elemis products used during treatment for “continuous wellbeing” or a discounted Thermal Spa Pass for the next visit, my lady was hustling and I respect it. 

This is another way that being a carry-on only traveler comes in handy. It’s my go-to excuse for a gentle letdown of, “I’d love to bring that energizing gel home with me but I only brought a carry-on and it’s too large. You don’t have a travel size? Aw that’s a shame.” When I landed in Miami, a young woman missionary tried to offer me some religious books and I used the same excuse: “no space, I’m so sorry.” You can thank me later!

The Redemption Spa – Thermal Spa

My massage flew by, and before I knew it I had to change into my bathing suit to use the Thermal Spa. The Thermal Spa contains an entire arsenal of experiences that put other non-cruise spas to shame. Let’s list what they offer: two cold plunge pools, two jacuzzis, a warm water wading pool, a large sauna, an essential steam room, a salt room, a mudroom with complimentary mud mask, and heated quartz beds that are supposed to be good for your energy. I don’t know about that, but it felt good and looked cool. 

I loved that all of the spa rooms had portholes looking to the outside and I imagine they’re particularly peaceful to look out of on sea days. The spa is spacious and modern with ample towels supplied. There were at least half a dozen staff members that came in during my stay that were clearing towels, squeegeeing water, and checking the status of the spa rooms. It was very well run!

I started my Thermal Spa experience with a cold plunge. The cold plunge only went up to my waist but it was so cold that I was shivering when I counted to 30 seconds. Immediately after, I went into the sauna and relaxed for a good 15 minutes letting my body fully thaw out. I decided to visit the steam room after and was surprised to find the steam was infused with eucalyptus oil. Perfect for clearing out my sinuses! The steam room was reminiscent of a hot summer’s day in Curacao, so I felt at home for a while before moving over to the mudroom. The reception desk provides a cup of mud that you can apply on your body and sit in the mudroom to let the steam fully incorporate with the mud on your skin. 

After rinsing off the mud, I visited my last room: the salt room. I’ve never been in one of these before, but there was a description outside of the room that called it “halotherapy” and that it was great for treating asthma, sinusitis, flu (I hope people aren’t coming in here with the flu), eczema, psoriasis, and reducing stress. It wasn’t steamy in there or anything – just a warm room with a bench infused with salt. I finished up my spa experience laying on the warmed quartz bed looking out the window, uploading stories on my Instagram, until I decided I was fully content. 

Pro tip for any spa users: there are showers in the spa that are 4x the size of the cabin showers and stocked with the same toiletries. Use them! Even though they don’t provide a hair dryer or any other method of getting fully groomed, I enjoyed being able to spread my arms out completely in a shower that could realistically fit a whole camel. 

What’s For Lunch?

After all that self-care and improving my wellbeing, I was in need of sustenance. I decided to eat lunch at The Galley as the windows overlooked the nicer looking part of Puerto Plata with the lazy rivers and relaxing pools. Is it bad that I laughed to myself when I finally saw the rain come down and saw guests running for the nearest shelter? I’ll give myself a pass for that.

Because it was a port day, The Galley was relatively empty and I loved it! Less lines, less chaos. I was able to snap a few pictures of the food stalls and dining areas as well. I ended up arriving in between the short window when the staff switches from breakfast mode to lunch mode, so some of the food stalls look empty but it’s just because they were prepping for lunch. 

Hot Off The Press had some interesting looking Basque-inspired pintxos in their cold case. Let’s Taco Bout It had chicken quesadillas that day in addition to their greek menu. Well Bread had these amazing looking heart-shaped Nutella-filled doughnuts that I couldn’t look away from. I’ll let the pictures do the talking!

Dining Without a Dinner Reservation

I originally had a 9:00 PM reservation for Pink Agave this evening, but cancelled it because that would’ve been 10:00 PM Curacao time and I normally have dinners around 6 PM. I made a plan to show up at Pink Agave before they opened to see if they’ll take me as a walk-in. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work out here, but it DID work out in the end. 

Pink Agave opened at 5:45 PM and I went downstairs at 5:25 PM to be among one of the first people to possibly snag a bar seat. When I got there, there was already a line of 10 people waiting to get in. By the time I got to the reception, all of the walk-in bar seats were taken. The hostess wrote down my cabin number and told me she’d message me on the app when a seat became available (she didn’t). Feeling a little defeated, I decided to try at Extra Virgin but then I saw a 6:00 PM reservation pop up for The Wake and I quickly picked it up. I think fate was telling me I needed to continue my self-care journey today and treat myself to the fanciest restaurant on the ship. 

Back Up Dinner at The Wake

You’ll recall in my Day 2 blog that I had brunch at The Wake and was pleased by the experience overall. Dinner was an even better experience with the food far more flavorful and service on point. The menu had more to offer than at brunch, though nowhere near Cheesecake Factory level. 

I love a restaurant that serves bread and the bread at The Wake might win the prize for my favorite carb on the ship. It was fluffy and buttery with large salt flakes on top and served with a whipped herb butter. For my starter I had the clam chowder which was served dry with the waiter putting on a bit of a show pouring the broth from a dish into my bowl. Reminder that this was a pinky-up-while- drinking kind of affair. 

For my main, I went with the salt baked dorade, a mild white fish baked in salt and served with a lemon caper sauce. It was tangy and bright without being heavy. I really enjoyed it! There was actually some fanfare with the preparation of the fish (usually they filet it in front of you). Since I was tucked into a tight corner, I let my waiter off the hook and told him not to bother filleting it in front of me and to just bring me the final product. I’d get this again!

For dessert, I went with the Meyer lemon cheesecake. This dessert took the form of its name sake with a hard yellow white chocolate shell encasing a citrus-flavored cheesecake. It was delicious and just the right portion too. There was a cookie crumble garnish that took the dessert to the next level. 

Lights, Camera, Drag (Show)

After dinner, I made sure to line up early for this evening’s drag show. This was held in The Manor which is the smaller performance venue compared to the Red Room. Seating fills up quickly! Despite arriving with plenty of time to spare, I had trouble finding a spot. Luckily, I found a lone chair placed near the bar which had a surprisingly decent view of the stage. 

This drag show was performed by our ship’s resident diva, Dixie Crystals, and she was a hoot. Her show had me clapping, yelling, laughing, and covering my face in embarrassment for some of the participants. The premise of the show was that Dixie, being a performer, wanted to recreate scenes in iconic Hollywood films. She asked the audience to help her out by yelling “cut!” and clapping when a buzzer sounded. 

I don’t want to spoil everything for you guys, because it’s truly a great show that everyone should see, but here are some highlights: she recreated James Bond in perfect drag fashion, she came out with a blow up dinosaur suit acting as “Diana Jones”, she called up an audience member to recreate the infamous fake orgasm scene from “When Harry Met Sally”, and cracked jokes aplenty with countless costume changes.

Sea Legs Update

For whatever reason, the movement of the ship picked up on Day 3 after we took off from Puerto Plata. Especially at night I could feel a distinct up and down movement from the ship. While it didn’t make me feel nauseous, thanks to the dramamine I’ve been taking daily, I feel a bit discombobulated. I’m also out of breath quicker than usual. My no-barf streak still stands!

I ended the evening relatively early as Day 4 had a lot in store including: a tour of Richard’s Rooftop, docking in Puerto Rico, finally getting off the ship, a food tour in Old San Juan, and finally that dinner at Pink Agave. Stay tuned for my next blog update!