Scarlet Lady - Virgin’s debut cruise ship

[Erik101]

I just watched a YouTube video on Richard Branson’s new cruise ship called Scarlet Lady.  It’s debut will be April 2020.  To all of you Carnival cruisers, is this something that would interest you?  Here are some things I noted about the new ship: 

 

• Adults only with minimum age of 18yo (a negative for many) 
• No MDRs, no buffets and no assigned meal seating times.  The restaurants available are included in the price. 
• Restaurants - about 20.  There’s Korean BBQ and a cooking school restaurant. 
• No nickel and diming. All areas of the ship are accessible. 

 

The two drawbacks I see are limitation to 5 night sailing and the price... it’s up there!  Still, I’m very curious! 

 

 

[hotsauce126]

I'm booked on it for next August. I can't wait. Everything about it appeals to me more than Carnival, except for the fact that they're only doing 4 and 5 day cruises while they only have one ship. With three more coming though I'm sure that will change. Keep in mind that the prices on their site default to per cabin instead of per person, and include gratuities (and wifi, fitness classes, and all dining).

Edited June 10, 2019 by hotsauce126

[purplephenom]

At this point in my life, no. Price and ports are my primary consideration. In the future? Maybe. 

[Steve551]

We never cruise on a ship just for the ship (although Oasis Class ships almost make we want to).....we are destination cruisers and are loyal to any cruise lines that takes us where we want to go and I can't think of a 4 or 5 day cruise I would bother with. But have fun!

[CruiseHealing]

After watching the video I have concluded I have zero interest. Thanks for sharing. 

[jbethel11]

53 minutes ago, Erik101 said:

I just watched a YouTube video on Richard Branson’s new cruise ship called Scarlet Lady.  It’s debut will be April 2020.  To all of you Carnival cruisers, is this something that would interest you?  Here are some things I noted about the new ship: 

 

• Adults only with minimum age of 18yo (a negative for many) 
• No MDRs, no buffets and no assigned meal seating times.  The restaurants available are included in the price. 
• Restaurants - about 20.  There’s Korean BBQ and a cooking school restaurant. 
• No nickel and diming. All areas of the ship are accessible. 

 

The two drawbacks I see are limitation to 5 night sailing and the price... it’s up there!  Still, I’m very curious! 

 

 

Even though I am not yet old enough, soon though, I like the fact that all foods, most non-alcoholic beverages, and gratuities are all included. Shows that this cruise line will hopefully not nickel and dime. Also, Korean BBQ is fire!

[Erik101]

22 minutes ago, hotsauce126 said:

I'm booked on it for next August. I can't wait. Everything about it appeals to me more than Carnival, except for the fact that they're only doing 4 and 5 day cruises while they only have one ship. With three more coming though I'm sure that will change. Keep in mind that the prices on their site default to per cabin instead of per person, and include gratuities (and wifi, fitness classes, and all dining).

Please do a review when you get back!  I’m all about trying new lines and ships and cruisers are the best critics.  Oh and thanks for the heads up about the price per cabin.  Very good to know! 

[MJSailors]

It seems,from the video,that this ship may appeal to the twenty and thirty -something age group who are in the BK (before kids) stage of life.

The design is very sleek ,hip and modern. Ages of passengers are 18+.

The plus is that the fare is all-inclusive,apparently without additional fees.

It looked at though cruises to Cuba were featured in the video This may need to change with the ship leaving Miami if government regulations continue to hinder US travel to Cuba.

If this is so, what will the ports be for a four or five day cruise- the Bahamas?

It will be interesting to read passenger reviews once the ship begins sailing

 

[hotsauce126]

8 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

It seems,from the video,that this ship may appeal to the twenty and thirty -something age group who are in the BK (before kids) stage of life.

The design is very sleek ,hip and modern. Ages of passengers are 18+.

The plus is that the fare is all-inclusive,apparently without additional fees.

It looked at though cruises to Cuba were featured in the video This may need to change with the ship leaving Miami if government regulations continue to hinder US travel to Cuba.

If this is so, what will the ports be for a four or five day cruise- the Bahamas?

It will be interesting to read passenger reviews once the ship begins sailing

 

 

They alternate through Costa Maya (Mexico), Puerta Plata (DR), and what was Cuba. They haven't announced what's replacing Cuba yet.

[coevan]

29 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

The plus is that the fare is all-inclusive,apparently without additional fees.

 

 

 

except liquor, one contradiction, they said in the beginning that bottle water was included and near the end they said they will not carry bottled water for environmental reasons

[jt1602sd]

Wow! I really like what Virgin is doing here! 

 

Price-wise, it costs about the same as my 7 day Splendor cruise in September- but that's because I cruise solo so pay double occupancy with Carnival. I really like that Virgin is offering solo cabins.

I like the (mostly) all-inclusive concept- no paying for specialty restaurants, fitness classes, wifi, etc.

The food sounds amazing, and it looks like they are going to have some pretty good entertainment.

 

That being said, I think that the crowd that this ship will attract will be the young, jet-setting, club-going type, and that's just not my crowd. I'l definitely keep an eye out for reviews once she sails, but I think I'll stick with Carnival 🙂

[riffatsea]

I didn't watch the video but no one has mentioned how large/how many passengers this ship holds?

We are not mega ship fans at all! We also cruise for the ports and not just for ship amenities.

I would not want to be on the first sailing of a brand new ship of a brand new company that has never managed a ship before this one!

[hotsauce126]

4 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

I didn't watch the video but no one has mentioned how large/how many passengers this ship holds?

We are not mega ship fans at all! We also cruise for the ports and not just for ship amenities.

I would not want to be on the first sailing of a brand new ship of a brand new company that has never managed a ship before this one!

 

110,000 tons, 2700 passengers

Same tonnage as Carnival's Conquest class but 250 less passengers

[riffatsea]

Thanks!! We are ok with that size of ship so look forward to hearing the reviews!

I like the adult only concept although some adults end up being more problematic than some children!!

Edited June 11, 2019 by riffatsea

[Erik101]

1 hour ago, jbethel11 said:

Also, Korean BBQ is fire!

Now this I won't argue because I love Korean bbq on fire that my dragon breath shows.  😅  But seriously, there are several bbq dishes that can be tamed to more flavor than spice.  I love a really good kalbi bbq and they tend to not be on fire at all.

[riffatsea]

Nope! Not for us! I took one look at this new patented cabin design and read the intro which seems to be for those folks who want to have parties in their cabins!

Just perfect! Sooo if you are on this ship you can't possibly know which cabins will have parties and which will be quieter for actually sleeping!!

No thank you!

[coevan]

4 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

No buffet - there will be a buffet.

 

 

Why do you say this, obviously you don't "get" Richard Branson. The spa will be spectacular, it's his style. Have you flown virgin Air? Everything is better than standard U.S. airlines. 

 

 

6 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

No MDR, selection of dining options other than MDR - Why not. I would try this model.

 

 

again look above, there will be not be a MDR.

8 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

No nickel and Diming - Be sure to be "nickel and dimed"

 

 

no you won't, just like Sandals, you can't nickle and dimed if everything is included, yes, expensive but All Inclusive, no tipping either

[hotsauce126]

32 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

 

My initial impression:

Adults only (this is true) - it's a plus, but not a fact that I will consider choosing a ship.

No buffet - there will be a buffet.

No MDR, selection of dining options other than MDR - Why not. I would try this model.

20 restaurants - We need to be careful with terminology. Cruise lines may start from 20 "dining options" in their ads (including room service, pizza, etc). Then newspapers "convert" it into "restaurants" for everyone to repeat and retell. 

All areas are accessible - I don't see it so far. What is "VIP area" that is taking up the forward part of the sun deck? Closed doors again? Same old? No access to foreward views for everyone even for this crazy prices? I still have questions.

No nickel and Diming - Be sure to be "nickel and dimed" as you pay crazy price upfront, that will cover all imaginary "nickel and diming".

As to the price, from what I can see, a standard balcony (recalculated for a 7-day cruise) is about $5,100 (?) this is equal to a suite in Yacht Club (MSC). It's more than a junior suite (!!) on TUI  (about $7,200 for 14-day Caribbean cruise).

Itinerary - this is subjective - for me it's dead boring.

Design and features.

I don't see a proper spa on this ship.

Open decks look cluttered with furniture. Furniture is overwhelming, it's everywhere. Mostly turned inwards, why inwards? Why not to the sea?

No open spaces, except the beautiful jogging track.

I don't see a decent pool.

space ration on the ship is relatively low for the hype. Even lower - if VIP area will exist.

I can continue....

 

Happy cruising!

 

 

 

 

So many things wrong with this 

1) price - I don't know what dates you're looking at, because for my sailing if you extrapolated the cost to 7 days a standard balcony would be $3200 ($1600 pp), which is almost the same price as my 7 day balcony on RC that I have booked

2) there will not be a buffet, there is a food hall. Most major cities have at least one now, more of a gourmet food court

3) If you don't see a spa you haven't looked at much because there's plenty on the spa 

4) the open deck furniture looks far less cluttered than any carnival or royal ship I've seen

5) there's a ton of open spaces, again not sure what you're looking at

6) Space ratio on the ship is on par with similarly priced ships and better than the big 3

Edited June 11, 2019 by hotsauce126

[Erik101]

1 hour ago, riffatsea said:

I would not want to be on the first sailing of a brand new ship of a brand new company that has never managed a ship before this one!

Disagree!  This is Richard Branson's company and I'm sure he only hired highly experienced people to build and who will operate the ship.  But I agree with you on not wanting to be on the first sailing.  I would rather wait to hear what other cruisers think and then determine if it's worth it. 

[Cherrys]

2 hours ago, coevan said:

 

 

 

except liquor, one contradiction, they said in the beginning that bottle water was included and near the end they said they will not carry bottled water for environmental reasons

Lol I noticed this discrepancy too

[Stallion]

What no Circus Wheel, Water Slide, Roller Coaster, Bumper Cars, Bowling Alleys, Ice Skating Rinks or Water Shows AND NO KIDS? Sign me up-I think Carnival and RCCL are going in the wrong direction at least for me when they can't even find a place for dedicated disco dance club on their huge new ships because they got all this other crap that I could care less about. 

[nhsails]

Already booked and we're far from 20 something 🤣 love the new ships coming out such a nice change

[cruisinmems]

I would think that all the people who say they do not like cruising with kids and have asked for adult only sailings would be all over this!  LOL

[bjfitz0703]

We know from the All-inclusive market that there is a large adult only market.  I suspect that there is a large market for an all inclusive cruise market too.  Perhaps both with and without kids.  I know some of the pricey lines approach that construct yet don't think we see it on lower end lines yet I suspect the market exists.  Suspect Virgin knows what that market size is and are trying to tackle it.  No doubt if Carnival had an offering, say through a new line, there would be takers.  I also suspect CCL and RCCL know all about what that market size is and have concepts to serve it.  Filling an Oasis size ship might be tough yet smaller ships might work.  Very Interesting.

[ShakyBeef]

Viking Ocean Cruises is also 18 and up.  The market for adult only cruising definitely exists.