Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady ~

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By Jessica Martin

I recently had the opportunity to sail aboard Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady and all I can say is WOW. I scheduled the familiarization trip for July. My boyfriend and I were on a sailing called “Fires and Sunset Soirees”. This 5 day, 4 night itinerary included a stop at Key West, a day in Bimini with access to Virgin’s private beach club, and a sea day. Prior to boarding the ship, I did not know what to expect. I had been hearing mixed reviews about the experience on board, but was dying to see it all for myself.

Day 1 – Arrival

The process to board the ship was a breeze. We arrived at the port (Port V, for Virgin Voyages of course) about 10 minutes prior to our arrival time unsure of how the boarding process would go. We were greeted by chipper and welcoming Virgin crew members. Our bags were tagged with our room and off we went. We waited no more than five minutes to check in with a representative. We went through the standard check in process then got in line to check out the room upgrades. This process was also so quick and easy. We had upgraded our room and were on our way within minutes. We were only kept in the holding room for about ten minutes before we were invited to board the ship. Our room was ready upon our arrival, so we headed straight there to check it out! All in all, it only took us 40 minutes from door to door. I couldn’t believe it!

The cabin was really spacious for a cruise room. It felt very sleek and modern, but still cozy. We took some time to check out our amenities in the cabin before setting out to explore. Our luggage was promptly delivered so we were able to get unpacked and settled into our new home right away.

We were starving and decided to head up to The Galley- Virgin’s take on a buffet. As per Virgin, “Our right size and made to order menus are created to help guide the industry in the direction of avoiding unnecessary food waste.” Here you can order tacos, salads, burgers, sushi, all-day breakfast from the diner and more. A crew member takes your order and the food arrives shortly after. While obviously not as quick as a buffet, I was happily surprised by the speed in which the food arrived.

We took some time to explore the ship. It is clear that this boat is brand spankin’ new. The amenities are top notch. We headed to the pool and enjoyed a poolside daybed while catching some rays. The sailaway party began and morale was high. The DJ had everyone dancing while The Happenings, basically the ship’s fun police, interacted with the guests. There was a non-stop flow of champagne courtesy of Virgin Voyages.

After the poolside sailaway party, we headed to The Wake for dinner. This is Scarlet Lady’s steakhouse. I would name this as the most upscale restaurant aboard the ship. One of my favorite things about the ship was its new take on dining. Sailors can make their dining reservation for whatever time they would like at any of the six restaurants. Say goodbye to the traditional dining room with a set time for dinner. There is also no dress code for dinner. Some guests were dressed to the nines, others took on a more “vacation causal” look. Dinner did not disappoint! It gave Ruth’s Chris a run for its money. We couldn’t beat watching the sunset views while enjoying our first meal.

For our final first day activity, we headed to the Dock House bar for Salty Trivia. The entertainment is definitely geared towards the 18+ crowd since this is an adult only cruise. The other guests on board were very friendly. We had a fantastic first day and woke up eager to see what the rest of our cruise had in store for us.

Day 2 – Key West

To kick off our first official full day, we docked early in Key West. Unlike many other ships, it felt like the Scarlet Lady was a late starter type of boat. Guests filtered off the boat slowly throughout the morning. We started our day with breakfast at Razzle Dazzle, the ship’s veggie forward dining option. While it is geared towards vegetarian and vegan dishes, there were plenty of “naughty” options for the meat lovers in your party.

We headed off the boat around noon (which again would be considered a little late on other ships). Disembarking at this port was so easy with no line to get off the ship. We spent the day exploring the town on our own. This is a perfect stop for an adults only cruise, with lots of amazing restaurants and bars to hit. Definitely check out Sloppy Joe’s- a Key West classic.

We boarded the ship around 6 PM. Most other cruises have already departed at this point, so it was really nice to have the extra time at the port of call. Night 2 was Scarlet Night. The entire ship participated and it was a blast. Everyone dressed in different shades of red and was ready to party.

We started off Scarlet Night with dinner at Pink Agave, the ship’s authentic Mexican cuisine. This was one of my favorite meals that we had. I think we had everything on the menu (for research purposes, of course). The menus in most locations are split into small, medium, and large plates. Coming from the northeast, I felt that the portions were smaller than what I was used to when dining out but comparable to other cruise line offerings. But this made it easy to try everything that we wanted. The pork entree was one of the best dishes I have ever had in my life. We were fighting over it!

After dinner, we made our way to the Scarlet Night Deck Party. This party was so lively and fun! There were professional dancers performing a routine in the pool- splashing water and all. The DJ was pumping through an awesome playlist that everyone could enjoy with songs from the past and present. Vibes were so high that a ton of sailors jumped right in the pool to dance the night away. After the main party was over, some sailors stayed out on the pool deck enjoying their night under the stars. We decided to check out the Drag Show on board. This is a “Must Do” activity for me. We sang, we danced and we laughed so hard we cried! We then caught some live music at the On The Rocks Bar. The band was spectacular. It was the perfect nightcap!

Day 3 – Bimini

We woke up eager to spend the day at Virgin’s exclusive Beach Club. We kicked off the morning with made to order omelets and specialty coffees from Diner & Dash in the Galley. We then gathered our belongings and made our way off the boat. To my surprise, there was again no line or wait at all to exit the boat. Right at the foot of the dock a tram was available to take us right to the Beach Club. It did make numerous stops, but the ride was under 10 minutes.

We walked into the Beach Club and I was in awe of how gorgeous the property was. There are two extremely large pools, numerous bars, and a sprawling beach for sailors to enjoy. Food is completely included at the Beach Club. We had a little bit of everything from the Caribbean-inspired selections. The Rum Cake was a 10/10. We started our day on the beach and made our way up to the pool in the afternoon. In hindsight, I would have made our way up to the pool earlier to get better seats. We got to enjoy the relaxation of the beach and beautiful blue waters of the Bahamas. But, I will mention that jellyfish are extremely present in the water at the Beach Club. We made our way up to the pool just in time for the pool party to begin. The Happenings cast reappeared and threw pool floats of all shapes and sizes into the pool for guests to use. Think glittery tubes, airplane floats, and my personal favorite- the narwhal.

My favorite part about the Beach Club is that guests could choose to be involved in the party scene or take the day to find their serenity. We opted for the perfect mix of both. We again did not have to wait for a tram back to the ship. There were quite a few constantly circulating.

On our third night, we dined at Gunbae- the first Korean BBQ at sea. This restaurant seats smaller parties with other guests at tables of 6 or more. We were sat with two other couples who we had a blast with. Our server (who was amazing), kicked off the night by teaching us and our fellow diners Korean drinking games. She even supplied the soju! She brought us out a spread so that we could try a little bit of everything and then decide what we wanted to eat. We were comfortable sharing dishes with those we were eating with, but you could also opt for your own plate. We absolutely loved this experience and thought it was so unique for dining at sea.

After dinner, we headed down to listen to some live music. There was a huge band with saxophones and keyboards. They were really fantastic. We ended up seeing them multiple times a day almost everyday because we loved them so much! We then headed to The Manor, the ship’s nightclub. On our way there was a quick pit stop in the casino since the entrance to the club lies right next to some slot machines. We couldn’t pass on the convenient opportunity. We danced the night away with our new friends and looked forward to the following day at sea.

Day 4 – At Sea

Knowing that our day at sea was our last full day on the ship, we really wanted to make the most of the amenities on board. We started our morning with a ten o’clock brunch at the Wake. They offer a bottomless brunch to guests with a selection of mimosas, wine, beer, bloody marys and ciders. This brunch was out of this world. The french toast was like two slices of heaven on a plate. Once again, the crew was incredibly friendly and attentive throughout our meal.

We headed up to the pool and found a spot on a daybed right up against the pool. I was impressed that we were able to find such great spots by the pool arriving after noon. The ship definitely has a later start than all other boats I’ve been on. There is a “stay up late, take the morning slow” vibe throughout the Scarlet Lady. The pool had a more relaxed feel until around two in the afternoon. Then the DJ arrived and the party began. Guests were dancing away in the pool, having the time of their life.

We soaked up the sun for about three hours before grabbing a quick bite. My boyfriend enjoyed breakfast again at The Galley. He couldn’t get enough of the breakfast options from Diner & Dash. I tried out the Sun Club Cafe which offers poke bowls. This seems to be a hidden gem and was never crowded on the ship. It is not to be missed. The crew member who took our order came out with bao buns in addition to the poke bowl. She claimed they were a must-do and she was not wrong!

After our afternoon bite, we prepped for the Redemption Spa. We had booked a 3-hour “Day Pass”. This gave us access to the mud room, the salt room, the steam room, the sauna, the plunge pools, and the relaxation pool. This was the perfect fit for us since we knew we didn’t particularly want treatments, but wanted to see what the spa had to offer. The spa was rather slow and felt very quiet and serene during our window to enjoy its offerings.

Feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, we headed back to our cabin. We enjoyed the views of the sea from our handmade hammock on our balcony along with a glass of wine. Guests can bring two bottles per cabin on board. Once we were ready for the evening, we decided to explore the ship some more. We watched the beautiful sunset from The Dock at the rear of the ship. We enjoyed some more pre-dinner live music (we couldn’t get enough of this) and explored the shops on board. From stores with luxury goods to the first tattoo shop at sea, there is something for everyone!

Off to dinner we went. We enjoyed our last dinner at Extra Virgin, the ship’s Italian restaurant. To put it simply, this meal blew us away. Our order consisted of all of the recommendations from our server. He kept bringing out course after course and there was not one thing that we didn’t find over the top delicious. The artichoke and beef carpaccio are a must-do. We had a pasta course and entrees. But of course, we left room for dessert. An amaretto chocolate cake stole my heart. Just when I thought we were stuffed to the max, our server insisted we try something from the Affogato bar. You could pick your gelato flavor, your toppings, and if you wanted a coffee pour atop your sundae. It was out of this world.

We closed out our incredible trip with some drinks and one last listen to our favorite band on board. We sat at the On the Rocks Bar and were doing our “Rose and Thorn” of the trip. But, we both really struggled to come up with things that we didn’t like. We were really blown away by the experience as a whole and agreed that we will definitely sail with Virgin again in the near future.

Day 5 – Disembarkation

Guests can select their disembarkation time. We had an earlier flight, so we departed in one of the first few groups. We were able to modify our disembarkation time through the final evening, which was great since we pushed ours back about an hour. We definitely beat the rush by getting off the boat around 8:30. We disembarked and made it through customs in no time. The port did not feel crowded at all when we got off the ship. We were able to carry our own bags off, so we didn’t have to wait for them after disembarking. This process was just as easy as getting on the boat! We were so sad to leave but cannot wait to be back on another Virgin Voyages cruise.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I felt that this cruise was incredible. The food was next level for a cruise ship. I love the laid back style of dining with no dress code and the idea of “eat when you want”. The nightlife was present, but you didn’t have to partake. There was plenty to do for the non-club go-ers. The service was really incredible and all of the crew we interacted with were fun, attentive, and really seemed to love their job. There were no kids!! As a childless traveler, this was a key for me. We got a kick out of the adult-centered entertainment, jokes and overall environment. All of that being said, I think that this cruise is made for a specific type of cruiser. There is definitely a population of guests I imagine who would not like this ship. But, those guests can keep sailing on their preferred cruise line. For now, I am sticking with Virgin!

If you are looking for more information about Virgin Voyages and any of their cruise offerings, do not hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me via email at [email protected]. Let’s make magic together!