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Our First Virgin Voyages Cruise

Posted on August 24, 2026 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.

We’ve been on five other cruises prior to our first Virgin Voyages sailing and we always thought we weren’t “cruise people” but, as it turns out, we just hadn’t found the right fit–until now.

Here are the five cruises we’ve done in the past in chronological order.

2002 Honeymooon Cruise – This was a 7-day Western Caribbean aboard the Carnival Paradise, which amazingly is still sailing Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries today. I think it was also the only smoke-free ship in those days. We boarded the ship in Miami and visited Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios, before returning to Miami. It was the best cruise, or vacation in general, that we could afford at the time. Five years later we booked an all-inclusive vacation at Couples Tower Isle. It was an adults only resort and we absolutely love it. It was from this day on that we decided we were absolutely 100% not “cruise people” because we much preferred the freedom and relaxing environment of an adults-only all-inclusive resort. Besides that, we liked that all of our drinks were included at Couples.

2008 Halloween Poker Cruise – While we had written off cruises for good, we had the opportunity to cruise for free in 2008 by dealing Texas hold’em aboard the Carnival Conquest. This ship is also still actively sailing today. In 2008 we sailed out of Galveston but had a nearly identical itinerary to our honeymoon–Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel–so we didn’t even get off the ship in some ports.

First Ever Zumba Cruise in 2016 – For ten years we were steadfast in our opinion of cruises and still considered ourselves not “cruise people” but we went another sailing because Zumba decide to host the first ever Zumba cruise. It was way more expensive than a normal cruise but we jumped on the opportunity because I was worried that it may never be offered again. It was actually wildly successful so they continued to have one every year until 2019. Our ship on this sailing was Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas and our ports were Falmouth, Jamaica and Labadee, Haiti.

2018 Zumba Cruise – It was during my Zumba era that I completely forgot that we hated cruises. LOL. We skipped the 2017 Zumba cruise because we had trips to Alaska and Great Exuma (Bahamas) already planned for this year and we just couldn’t work the cruise in the budget. However, by 2018 I was definitely rearing to go again. This sailing was aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas and our ports were Grand Cayman and Costa Maya. We had an amazing time but, sadly, this would be our last Zumba cruise. We had two big trips in 2019 (Costa Rica and Cancun) so couldn’t swing the Zumba cruise in our travel budget–specially since pricing was way more than comparable sailings. Zumba cruises went on hiatus from 2020-2025 and returned in 2026 but, by then, I was no longer that crazy into Zumba and the timing wasn’t ideal–and also, it was just too expensive.

2025 Alaska Cruise – This was Brian’s post-cancer treatment victory tour. We were on the budget-friendly Carnival Luminosa and were joined on this trip by both of our parents, our friends (and travel agents extraordinaire) Jay and Becca, and another client of theirs, Sandy and Lorin Culver. While the scenery was breathtaking and the trip itself was amazing, this cruise did nothing to change our opinion of cruises. There were notably fewer children on this sailing, possibly because of the itinerary, but the ship was dated and the food was just okay and, while we had a balcony cabin, it just wasn’t that impressive. We were still very much not “cruise people” up to this point.

And how for our 6th, and most recent, cruise–the Iceland and British Isles solar eclipse sailing aboard Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady. Our 15-day itinerary brought us to Portsmouth (UK), Dublin (Ireland), Glasgow (Scotland), Liverpool (UK), Belfast (Northern Ireland), three Iceland ports (Siglufjordur, Islafjordur, and Reykjavik), and Edinburgh (Scotland). Besides the itinerary, we really enjoyed the more modern ship and delicious food.

While the trip wasn’t perfect–there were some issues, for sure–we really liked everything about how Virgin Voyages handles the their sailings and, of course, our most favorite part: there were absolutely no children on the ship. I think that in itself was worth every penny spent.

The embarkation process went very smoothly. We were scheduled to board at 2:30 PM and by 3:00 PM we were already having tacos at the Galley. The other thing that impressed us most is that our suitcases were actually waiting outside our cabin door by the time we got to our cabin upon boarding. In our previous cruises, our bags always took forever to show up–sometimes even as late as 9:00 PM or well after we returned from dinner or other activities.

We loved the dress codes (or lack thereof). You didn’t have to dress up for the dinners. Speaking of dinners, we tried all of the restaurants and liked all of them for various reasons but Gunbae was definitely our favorite.

The Wake is the ship’s steakhouse. Neither Brian nor I are particularly fond of steaks but we ate here several times for dinner and brunch. My favorite part of the Wake is that I could get the shrimp clam chowder at breakfast and dinner.

Ariya by Razzle Dazzle serves brunch in the morning and Indian food at night. I had fantastic muscles on our anniversary dinner there but this was Brian’s least favorite restaurant on the ship.

Pink Agave is the Mexican restaurant. They started you off with a bowl of warm nuts before multiple courses of delicious food. Brian and I really liked their elote and their rib-eye steak. We also had a slice of cornbread on one of our visits which was phenomenal. Pink Agave also serves the best and most flavorful shrimp of anywhere on the ship.

The Italian restaurant Extra Virgin wasn’t my favorite food-wise but it was the only place I could get an affogato, which is the way I liked to have ice cream/gelato. While the rest of our group frequented the Lick Me ‘Till Ice Cream shop everyday, sometimes multiple times a day, I saved myself for the Extra Virgin affogato.

Test Kitchen is the experimental restaurant. While the food there wasn’t our cup of tea, the experience was really cool. Here’s a highlight video of our dinner there.

Gunbae was my most favorite of all the restaurants on the ship. I’ve found that people either love or hate this restaurant. Some people hate it because it’s the only restaurant that requires you to sit with strangers. Each table seats 6 people so some people say they hate it because they have to make small talk. Others say the restaurant is just too loud, which I do agree with–it does get quite loud because of the drinking game. It was absolutely perfect for our group of 6, though. And, I loved playing the game. The food was fabulous but–even if it weren’t–I’d still want to go just so I could play the game. LOL.

These five restaurants required you to make reservations but–unlike with other cruise lines–did not cost anything extra. Although, there were premium items on the menu that did cost extra if you ordered them. Other dining options include the Galley, where you can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner, so it’s like the buffet on most cruises except they have staff serving the food so you don’t have everyone’s grubby germs all over everything.

On other cruises we’ve done in the past you either ate at the buffet or you dressed up and ate at the main dining room. If you wanted to dine at one of the specialty restaurants on the ship, that would cost extra. I really liked the flexibility of dining at one of the five restaurants or going to the Galley.

In addition, you could also get food at the Dock, the Pizza Place (open until 2 AM), Sun Club Cafe, and the Social Club or have food delivered to your cabin 24 hours a day via ShipEats. You really won’t go hungry.

You won’t get bored either. There are so many fun activities on the ship. We had two instances of back-to-back sea days that literally went by in the blink of an eye. I played some pickleball, competed in a chess tournament, took some dance classes, and played team trivia and other games. There were arts and crafts–just so many things to do that I sometimes had to pick and choose because I couldn’t attend them all.

The shows weren’t as fancy as other cruises we’ve done but we’re not really that big into shows. The shows on Valiant Lady were entertaining enough. I enjoyed watching the stand up comedians (we got to see several) and the musicians perform. Griffin & Jones were are fave, though. They combined comedy with magic tricks. And, Brian got to participate.

There was this “It’s a Ship Show!” thing that we didn’t get to attend. I think it’s kind of a dinner theater because you get served food, which I heard isn’t that great. I wanted to see the show anyway but all the events were sold out. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps I’ll catch it on our next sailing if it’s still part of their programming.

We also missed out on the behind the scenes tours of the ship. All of these events were completely booked in the app by the time we boarded. We’ll be on top of it on our next sailing though.

Something we didn’t miss–all the public service announcements because there were none. I actually really liked that part. I can’t speak for others but I find those announcements super annoying. They’re jarring and totally ruin the vibe.

I think some of the ships we’d sailed on in the past were much older, specially the Carnival Luminosa last year which started its life as a Costa ship before joining the Carnival fleet, so I really enjoyed the modern decor of the Valiant Lady (despite it being the second oldest ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet). The mood lighting in the cabin that you controlled via the tablet was particularly fun. I also really liked that all the different bars, lounges, and areas of the ship in general had their own unique atmosphere.

They also offered lots of arts and crafts type activities throughout the ship. My favorite was the collaborative adult coloring art piece. We actually got to take a piece of it home. I asked for the part that Brian worked on. My plan is to frame it and display it. Best trip souvenir ever.

So, all of the food (except for some premium menu items at the restaurants, specialty coffee, alcoholic drinks, and fresh-pressed juices) and basic bevvies (yes, soda is included so you don’t need to purchase a separate drink package for it), entertainment, and activities including group exercise classes are included in your fare but what else is included? Brian and I booked our trip before they changed the pricing structure last year so our gratuities were already included (you can opt to prepay gratuities in the new voyage fare structure but, before the change, it was automatically included and couldn’t be pulled out) but your standard cruise fare also includes basic Wi-Fi (extremely important because you have to do everything in the app–which some people hated but I actually liked).

I’m not one to exercise while on vacation so I can’t really compare this on our past cruises but, apparently, on other cruise lines you have to pay for the group exercise classes. On our sailing there were many options for exercise classes (from circuits to dance workouts to spin to HIIT to yoga, posture, and meditation) and they were all free. However, some classes filled up quickly so that was the downside. Since it doesn’t cost anything to attend, the more popular classes were often sold out. I did like that, rather than sticking to the workout studio, the dance classes were held in the Manor or the Red Room so there was lots of space for everyone to join so these were never sold out when I looked.

We don’t really like karaoke but the ship had a couple of fun options to get your karaoke fix. The Happenings Cast hosts regular karaoke in the evenings at the Social Club but, if you wanted to karaoke in private, you could reserve the blue, pink, and purple karaoke rooms at the Groupie absolutely free.

Besides all the activities and entertainment, they also had really cool science talks and presentations on our sailing leading up to and after the solar eclipse. The eclipse itself was kind of a let down because it was so cloudy. It did turn into night briefly for four minutes during the totality before it became day again but we couldn’t see the corona through the clouds. The science talks were really interesting, though.

We also really enjoyed Scarlet Night, the signature event. Here are a few pics..

Typically, on warmer sailings, they have the Scarlet Night party outside on the pool deck and everyone jumps in the pool after. I don’t know this from experience but just from doing research and watching lots of YouTube videos about Virgin cruises. On our sailing, we had our Scarlet Night party at the Roundabout on decks 6 and 7. The ship truly came alive that night. The main party was at the Roundabout but there were activations everywhere on the ship.

Another thing we really liked about Virgin Voyages is how they handle the drinks packages. It’s not like the unlimited drink packages on other cruise lines, which I really don’t like because they make you want to drink a ton to get your money’s worth. Virgin does a “bar tab” concept where you basically prepay for your drinks. If you prepay a certain amount, you get an additional credit.

For instance, Brian and I bought $300 in bar tab and got a $50 bonus. If you estimate correctly (as Brian and I did), you spend exactly what you planned. Brian and I had exactly $32 on our final night and we spent exactly that on three drinks and finished at $0. We absolutely nailed it. Anyway, the drink prices are actually pretty reasonable specially when you consider that tax and tip are already factored in the price of each drink.

In past cruises (except for the Zumba ones where lots of Zumba happened all over the ship) the ship was just pretty much a vehicle for getting to your ports where all of the fun happened. With Virgin, being on the ship was just as much fun as exploring the various destinations. We loved sailing on Virgin so much we actually booked our next sailing before even leaving the ship. We decided our next sailing will be on the Brilliant Lady for the Sisters at Sea first ever fleet rendezvous in February next year. Brilliant Lady sails out of Miami on February 8 and returns on February 18. Click this link if you’d like to join us and receive $150 in free bar tab.

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Laurie’s Last Visit to Wichita

Posted on July 17, 2026 by Ching under Food and Drink, Pickleball.

This is a late post but here are some pics from our friend Laurie Adams’ visit to Wichita last month. Laurie came down to play in the IPN mini tournament at TapNPaddles and got partnered with Harvey Self and won first place!

I ended up taking third place with Deanna Agpoon.

Afterwards we stopped by to check out Gilley’s grand opening open play.

Senda Vu and Lena Quach were running the show.

Kyle Rinck happened to be there.

Then we went home to pick up Brian and take him to dinner at my favorite pizza place — Piatto’s.

The pizzas were delicious as always.

Walked over to Hopping Gnome after for drinks so we could get stamps on our Wicked Brew passports. I was on antibiotics and couldn’t drink so I donated my drink to Laurie. Worked out perfectly.

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2026 Wichita Wicked Brew Tour

Posted on June 15, 2026 by Ching under Food and Drink, Things to Do.

The Wichita Wicked Brew Tour is one of our favorite summertime traditions. We’ve done it every year since inception in 2016; although, we found out about too late to get a shirt that year. The key is to finish your tour early so that they still have your size of shirt available but I have seen some go-getters finish the tour the same day that it starts — which is really wild to me, unless you’re drinking coffee and starting early in the morning.

This year we started our tour at Mokas and finished in exactly 10 days.

We met for lunch at Mokas, got coffee with our Mokas duos, and received our first stamps. SIDE NOTE: If you’ve never been to Mokas, the Mokas duos are an excellent value because you get a half sandwich, salad (or soup), and chips (or fruit) for one price. The portions are generous and their food is fantastic, as is their coffee. If you don’t consider the convenience of Scooter’s, Mokas is hands down Brian’s #1 favorite coffee place.

Next Stop – Saturday, May 30: River City Brewing Company. We went to RCB for dinner after the tournament at TapNPaddles. We got a couple of drinks and stamps along with them.

Don’t ask me what this green drink is because I don’t remember but it was very good. That part, I do remember.

After dinner we went to Cocoa Dolce down the street for a couple more stamps. Brian got a small coffee and I got a tipsy gelato.

The following morning we hit Il Primo Espresso Caffe on the way to High Park in Derby to check out the new pickleball courts.

My back had been killing me so we just went for some pictures and I only played a couple of games. It was also way too windy that day. Here’s our Wicked Brew Tour passports up to this point:

Brian had to stop by his office on the way home to check on some painting that was completed. Since we were already out West, we decided to have lunch at Wichita Brewing Company and get some more stamps for our passports.

The East-side WBC is actually where we typically begin our tour because it’s close to us but we deviated from our usual routine by starting at Mokas this year.

Passport update: 5 stamps completed.

On Monday, Brian took our passports to work and bought his coworker Miranda a coffee so he could get two stamps at Nameless. In previous years, this is how we got out of sync. Whenever I went and got coffee on my own, his passport would fall behind. So this year, we decided we would keep the passports together so we stayed in sync the entire time.

I would have gotten a couple more stamps for us when I got coffee with my coworker Chris on Tuesday morning but that was the day that Brian had to take me to the ER. Chris actually texted me if I wanted to get coffee and, I remember telling him he should just grab coffee for himself on the way to work because I wasn’t feeling well.

I had been suffering from back pain and cramps all weekend and I felt the worst that day. I thought it was just my typical cramps so I just sucked it up and went to work anyway. But then, I started feeling disoriented and my vision got blurry and I started freaking out so I called Brian to pick me up from work and take me to the ER. I will save that story for another time because I’ve gotten sidetracked enough.

The next day, I was back to work because I was feeling much better. I went with Chris to get coffee at Larcher’s Market. Brian told me to tell my manager Alicia “Thank you,” so I did one better. I brought her an iced coffee so I got two stamps in the process. Our passports are continuing to stay synced up.

On Thursday morning, Chris and I went to Reverie Coffee Roasters. He had already gotten his Reverie stamp so he didn’t need one from there but I made him a deal that if we went to Reverie that morning, I would buy his coffee in exchange for a stamp. That was stamp #8 for both Brian and me.

The weekend of June 6, our friend Laurie Adams came to town for a visit so the three of us had dinner at Piatto (my favorite pizza spot) after playing in the IPN mini tournament at TapNPaddles. We decided to walk over to Hopping Gnome to get stamps after dinner. Since I was still taking my antibiotics (which were prescribed by the ER doc), I couldn’t drink. Decided to buy Laurie a drink in exchange for a stamp.

Brian and I finished this year’s tour on Sunday by having breakfast at the Pennant, my current favorite coffee shop because they serve the best iced vanilla latte in the city.

This was kismet because it put us just around the corner from the newly unveiled transit center called The Hub. This deserves its own post so more on that later but, since we were already in the area, Brian and I did drive over there to check it out after breakfast. That pretty much concluded our tour for this year. I think this is the earliest we have ever finished. Most of the time, it takes us at least three weekends because our passports get out of sync and then I’m having to catch Brian’s passport up. We were way more strategic this year. I picked up our shirts on Monday last week. We haven’t worn them yet because Brian refuses to wear new clothes until they’ve been washed but we look forward to wearing them all summer long along with others from past years. How about you? How is your Wicked Brew tour going?

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Hikari Sushi & Ramen

Posted on June 12, 2026 by Ching under Food and Drink.

We usually don’t have to venture South to Haysville much for dining (mostly we either go up North or West) but our friend Keith Lietzke has been raving about this place so we had to try it.

I took pics of Brian perusing the menu.

PRO TIP: Be sure to check out the daily specials board for awesome deals on some gems like fried salmon (Sake on Fire) and spicy salmon (Dinosaur Roll).

I remembered to get food pics but I forgot to note which was which. Your guess will be as good as mine on all these.

Brian, predictably, got ramen. He was very please with the meat-to-noodles ratio. He usually doesn’t get this much chashu at Yokohama or Kyuramen so that’s a positive mark for Hikari.

I’m not sure that we would drive all the way to Haysville because we have really good options in Wichita. For ramen, our current go-to is Kyuramen. For sushi, I really like Blue Fin and Wasabi. Hard to justify the longer drive for similar food. Glad we got to try it though, and the dinner company was phenomenal.

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First Time at Mr. Wingz

Posted on June 10, 2026 by Ching under Food and Drink.

One of Brian’s former T-Mobile coworkers opened a Mr. Wingz down the street from work so we went to check it out last month. I think they’re mostly a carry-out business because there aren’t many tables inside.