Scarlet Lady / Live / Solo - Oct 6 - 10 2021...

[sid_9169]

 

Before I get started, I should warn you that the tale you’re about to read is lengthy… In fact, it began well over a year and a half ago, and documents the trials and tribulations that I endured in my attempt to finally make it on board Virgin Voyages’ new ship, the Scarlet Lady... Soon, it became a diary of sorts, covering my life, as well as the World around me. The way that the universe has a way of disrupting our lives from straight out of the blue. Eventually, this story will get to the part about the actual cruise, I promise, but, there will be many obstacles to overcome  between then and now.  And that’s where the real meat of the story lies…

 

Around the end of 2019, my odometer had just turned over from 49 to 50… The calendar was also about to turn over, ushering in a whole new decade. It seemed like the perfect time to seek out a new adventure in my life. I spend a pretty good amount of time searching for my next cruise, but I normally only consider lines that I’m already familiar with. This was just the situation I was in at the beginning of 2020 while looking at springtime cruises… I needed to get out of my “comfort zone” of Carnival and NCL, and try out something new and different...

 

The truth is, that I’ve become a little bit jaded towards my experience on the 2 lines that I’ve sailed. From the restaurants and bars, to the overall design of the ships themselves. They were all beginning to look and feel the same to me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some GREAT times on Carnival and NCL, but I was looking to expand my horizons.

 

***photo lifted from Virgin Voyages FB page...

 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by sid_9169

[sid_9169]

Normally, I begin my review around three days prior to sailing, however there's a lot of information to convey, this the early start. It been well over a year and a half since I've been on board a cruise ship, that being the Norwegian Encore in December 2019. This one has been a long time coming, and hopefully one of the greatest ever...

 

 

[sid_9169]

In case you've never run across one of my adventures, it may or may not differ slightly from many of the other member Live Reviews... This will mainly be a play by play narrative of my journey from my home here in Atlanta, to the happy hour shenanigans in Miami on the day prior to sailing, and eventually boarding and cruising the brand new Scarlet Lady... There's no telling what sort of things that may happen between now and then, and that'll be half the fun. Feel free to chime in along the way, as I'll be traveling alone on this journey. I'll try to cover all the pertinent information, but sometimes this thing may tend to wander in several directions at once. Here's a link to my last epic cruise on the Norwegian Encore. By the time I board the Scarlet Lady next Wednesday, it will have been 668 days since I have last been on board... 

 

 

 

[sid_9169]

I may be getting a little bit ahead of myself, but I went and retrieved my suitcase from it's hiding spot, where it's been sitting for wayyy too long... I'm in the single digits now, so I guess that it's appropriate...

 

 

[sid_9169]

I booked this cruise back on July 7th, and there was still no roll call for this sailing, so I went ahead and created one. I get the feeling that most of Virgin Voyages Target customers have never even heard of Cruise Critic, as it's been pretty sparse so far... On the other main stream cruise line boards there's a ton more activity, but Virgin Voyages has been a slow go. 

 

 

 

[Quacks the Cruiser]

Enjoy - you’ll love it (even though as an over 50yo you’re not Virgin’s target market and are now past your peak earning potential - allegedly!).

 

We were Virgin cruisers and loved it especially the vibe, the shows and the food (oh the food!)

 

Don

Edited September 28, 2021 by Quacks the Cruiser

[sid_9169]

This was supposed to be my grand birthday cruise, which I take every year... Of course, this past year and a half has sort of spiraled out of control, and there was to be no birthday cruise last or again this year. We'll square that circle over the next week or so... For now, here's a few pictures from my birthday weekend. It'll give you an idea of the kind of food and adult beverage p0rn you'll be in for...

 

 

 

 

 

[sid_9169]

[Lady Hudson]

Looking good, Sid.  Patiently waiting to read your review.  Katherine 

[sid_9169]

Before I get too far ahead of myself, there's still a lot more backstory... In fact, when I first started writing this, the pandemic was barely a blip on the radar... There's much much more to get to...

 

 

For more than a year now, I’ve been bandying about the idea of booking with Virgin Voyages… The company seemed to be taking a whole new approach to many of the things we’re used to on other cruise lines. In fact, their business model seemed to be a seismic shift from what we’ve all been accustomed to with the other lines… First, the adults-only aspect  intrigued me. Not that I have anything against kids, but this was a whole new direction for modern cruising… Second, the idea of including all dining locations in the price of the cruise fare, without the typical upcharges for specialty dining. Also, the deletion of the buffet altogether. Of course, these features do come at a price, with cruise fares running a good bit higher than mainstream cruise lines. And third, the inclusion of gratuities in the base cruise fare, rather than having it be an additional fee. But, when you factor in everything that’s included, it starts to seem like a bit of a bargain...

 

One of the things I am concerned about at this point is the cost of adult beverages, with the absence of traditional beverage packages… Supposedly, their prices for drinks will be reasonable, but until we actually see the menu, that’s still to be determined. It’s a factor that has the potential to increase my out of pocket costs considerably. On top of an already high base fare, I began to question my decision about what I was getting myself into… Still, the idea of sailing on a brand new ship on a brand new line took over. My itchy booking finger had gotten the better of me once again…

[Quacks the Cruiser]

Virgin Food mmmmm

[ceilidh1]

Looking forward to this review!

[sid_9169]

[jbhcw]

Glad to see your review started!!!

[sid_9169]

I'm trying to survive what's been a busy, busy work day so far, and looking forward to my birthday celebration "part two" at Chop's Steakhouse, one of the premier steakhouses in the entire Southeast... It's only a short walk from my new apartment, so I can have a few nice strong adult beverages and not have to worry about driving afterwards... Pictures to follow later.........

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Looking forward to following along!!

[sid_9169]

 

On January 15th 2020, the actual deck plans, including cabins, were released… Prior deck plans only showed a vague layout of the venues and features. Now, I could see exactly where my cabin was located, as well as study in detail everything that the new Scarlet Lady had to offer.

 

About a week later, sample menus for most of the dining venues were released… Now, I was really getting excited for the cruise. There’s so much great looking food on board that I may not be able to fit it all in with only a five night cruise. They also added a bit of information regarding the beverage pricing. Beers would be around $5-$6, Cocktails around $9, and 42% of wines would be under $10 a glass. All tips included. This news came as a bit of relief to me, as I’m known to have several adult beverages per day…

 

A little more than 100 days out from sailing, I went ahead and made my travel and hotel plans… I found a decent rate for my flights with Delta, our “hometown” airline. I was also able to knock $100 dollars off my flight by cashing in some of my Skymiles…

 

For the hotel, I utilized Priceline’s “Express Deals”,  where you book a hotel with a particular star rating and area, but you don’t know the actual hotel until after booking. One thing that helped in my search was a clue saying “Hint: you’ve stayed here before”... With that, I was pretty confident that it was the InterContenintal, and clicked the “book now” button. Sure enough, that’s where I ended up, and with a pretty decent discount. Also, this puts me right downtown in the area where I normally stay prior to sailing…

[sid_9169]

[sid_9169]

 

I realized that my passport was about to expire in July, so I went ahead and got the renewal process underway. I know that a lot of people routinely cruise without passports, but I like the peace of mind it gives me to be prepared for any situation. Plus, I hope to someday use it to fly away to strange and far away places, though I’ve only ever used it for cruising thus far… I wish that they would just allow you to reuse the picture from your old passport, as “ten years ago me” looks much better than “present day me”... But, I digress...

 

Around the first week of February 2020, Virgin announced that “The Band” would replace the conventional cruise cards for purchases and cabin access… A lot of people seemed to be excited about this, and they are indeed some pretty sporty looking bracelets, however, I’m just not a bracelet type of guy… I’ve heard that there will be no option for a traditional type cruise card, which I would prefer, but this would also be an unknown metric until the actual sailings begin.

 

In mid February 2020, actual photos of the interior of the ship began to emerge on various social media platforms. Finally, our first look at the various venues and overall design of the Scarlet Lady, and her unique and quirky qualities. Many of the initial photos that I came across appear to have been “leaked” by someone, presumably involved in the construction process, and not Virgin Voyages themselves. Their photos and build-up continued at a slow pace, and information only materialized in dribs and drabs, even for those of us who were booked on the early sailings... 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by sid_9169

[sid_9169]

We were about 5 minutes into our lunch break when even more customers rolled in... Our entire day so far has been busy, and it appears that's going to continue. Quitting time can't come nearly fast enough. I'm so ready to wrap my mouth around a nice juicy steak and a few margaritas later...

[Sea Viewer]

Looking forward to this review Sid.  I'll probably have to binge read it after the cruise as I'm sailing Odyssey of the Seas on Sunday ( as long as my covid test on Friday is negative-is that a pass or a fail???)

Hope you have a great time!

 

Mary

[sid_9169]

[JRL81]

Woohoo!!! Following!!! I have been waiting for this!!!!

[sid_9169]

 

On February 18th 2020, Virgin released a promo on social media, as well as their website, wherein you could purchase $300 in on board credit (or, Sailor Loot, as they call it) and receive $100 additional to use towards beverages on the ship, as well as the beach club at Bimini… For me, this was a no-brainer, as I would easily consume $400 in adult beverages in the course of a 5 night sailing. Supposedly, I already had $100 in Sailor Loot as a booking promo, but this money doesn’t show up in any of my online booking details. When I asked about it over the phone, they said that it would all show up in “the app” whenever that was released. Speaking of “the app”, apparently all of your online check-in and restaurant / shore excursions would only be available via the app… 

 

On February 21st 2020, the Scarlet Lady arrived in Dover, and the first real passengers were able to check her out in person… Although, non-paying passengers, this was her first real test with the masses. Real photos and YouTube videos quickly made their way online, and we were finally able to get a better idea of what we were in store for once she made it to the States. The initial impressions were mixed, with some thinking that the decor looked “cheap” or “Ikea-like”... Several also commented on how small the pool was, in relation to the number of passengers on board. Also, the great debate over whether The Galley was a buffet or not, began.  On the bright side, the sea beds that drew ire when they were revealed, actually turned out to be very comfortable. Overall, first impressions of the food on board were positive, which was great news to me…

 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by sid_9169

[SenatorsFan]

Great start, Sid. I'm looking forward to following along for this one! 😀 Enjoy your dinner.