The Cruise I Never Thought I Would Take! Scarlet Lady Feb 27-Mar 4 Review

[ceilidh1]

20 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

If you end up on the beach further away from the DJ, the music isn't really that loud, but yeah, I agree it was super loud if you were remotely close to the pool. 

 

We grabbed a daybed in the middle of the Rockstar area, and the noise level was tolerable... until a group decided to bring their bluetooth speaker and blast tinny-quality streaming music with commercials womp womp.  If you're going to blast people with poor sound quality, at least opt for the premium subscription 😝

Maybe this is a “con” of doing a cabana! We couldn’t choose which we wanted and even though it was a beach rather than pool cabana, it was directly in front of the pool area. Didn’t ruin the day but did get a little annoying! Lol

[SenatorsFan]

I'm really enjoying your review @ceilidh1and I'm so very glad that you were able to get away and enjoy both Miami and a cruise. 🥰Thanks for sharing all the pictures, too.

[ceilidh1]

Final Thoughts

I cannot even begin to explain how well thought out so many aspects of this ship were. I have no idea how it would be if sailing at capacity, but with the reduced numbers on our sailing it was so nice to just appreciate the fine details and planning that obviously went into the design.

 

Firstly, the seating elements - there were so many different options and types of seating available (some not always practical) and we were never having to hunt for a spot to just sit and enjoy the surroundings. From chairs, to daybeds, to loungers, to couches, to swings, and beanbags - there was something for everyone! The hammock on the balcony of the cabin was a genius move - so comfortable and so relaxing to just sit and watch the water. The hammock actually made me spend far more time at the cabin than I ordinarily would!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ceilidh1]

Restaurants - the various eating areas were akin to specialty restaurants on mainstream lines. Each had a "theme" and was designed accordingly. There was no "main dining room" on this ship and it was great to try a different place and cuisine each night. My only regret was that there were just too many places to eat and not enough time to try them all. I am not exaggerating when I say every dish we had was outstanding and hands down the best food I have had on any ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ceilidh1]

Bars/Clubs - Once again, Virgin have stepped out of the mainstream line box and don't have an onboard theatre. Instead they have a venue called The Red Room, where they can reconfigure the seating depending on the show. Sometimes there may not be any seats, other times there may be theatre style seating, and other times a different layout of seating. Genius idea and the seats were very comfortable and had good views from any row! The other main venue was The Manor, which was a more traditional lounge with a stage that could be retracted to make a bigger dance floor. The entrance to this venue was a tunnel of lights and mirrors that really messes with your perception and mind! There were many little bars tucked away on various decks - some you really had to hunt for! By far the winner of the whole ship for me was The Dock House at the aft of the ship. I could have spent all day every day there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ceilidh1]

Shops - This was an area that could have been improved on. There was a Virgin Brand store that had some nice t-shirts, water bottles, etc, but nothing really souvenir like specific to the ship. I usually like to buy some kind of tacky ornament of each ship I sail on, but really didn't find anything like that on this one (maybe not a bad thing). There were also a few higher-end clothing stores, a sustainable sunglass store, watches, cosmetics, jewelry, etc and a small duty free. My biggest complaint was that the stores were so inconsistent with the opening and closing hours - it was really hard to spend money on this ship!

 

Sailor Services -  I LOVED that you could just message Sailor Services and have any questions answered or issues taken care of. They responded almost immediately and also followed up afterwards. We did stop by in person at one point as my sailing partner needed to get her app fixed - they were very responsive and helpful and did get it working (but it was short lived and crashed again shortly afterwards).

 

 

Staff - By far the most diverse group of staff members I have ever seen on a ship! Everyone always seemed happy and appeared to enjoy their work. We got chatting to quite a few and they mentioned that they were treated well. Of interest is that the staff are permitted to mingle with guests, eat in the restaurants, and partake in ship activities (not sure if this is only because there is a lower guest capacity or if this will continue - I hope it does). We often saw staff members who were off duty just relaxing on deck or at the next table to us at dinner. In Bimini, the cabana next to ours was staff members, too! Service was outstanding and we were never told "no" to anything.

[ceilidh1]

Arcade - Had this ship allowed children, I would have never been able to get my kids out of here! Great selection of retro video games, all free to play! There were also a variety of fooseball tables, shuffleboard (both on deck and in a table version), lots of board games, a phot booth (that you did need to pay for) and a crane machine (also needed to pay) where you could grab a coloured ball and redeem it for an item from the shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ceilidh1]

I didn't use the casino, spa, tattoo parlour, or hair salon so can't report on those aspects. I also never got time to go in the pool or hot tubs, but they were definitely not huge! The gym was very impressive - lots of equipment and very clean. I loved the running track and used it on two mornings - 6 laps = 1 mile. There were a number of folks up there, both walking and running. Also in this area was The Perch, where there were meditation and yoga sessions. This was a great spot for pictures and views! I never found the karaoke rooms (not that I had any intention of doing it) and I'm sure there were many other out of the way spots that I missed. Next time...

 

To sum up, I never thought I would take this cruise - partly due to Covid madness, and partly because I had never imagined sailing without my kids. I am so glad that I did it. It was truly a unique experience, extremely enjoyable, relaxing, and fun. I would absolutely sail Virgin again and would love to take my teen in a few years when she is old enough.

[mopedmom1]

Lovely review @ceilidh1! I am so glad you had a nice time and happy belated 50th!

[luvcruzing]

I will probably never sale Virgin, but this review was fun to read. Hope Virgin personnel read this so that they can get their act together regarding embarkation.  Glad you had a good time and were finally able to get away.  And happy belated 50th birthday - funny how time flies.

[DaisyandSika]

Thank you so much for the thorough review!  I am looking at booking with Virgin next year, and all your detail is very helpful.

 

Glad you had a wonderful trip, and Happy Birthday!  🎂🎉

[Sadebud]

Great review!  Thanks for taking the time to post

[HeyJut]

Wow! @ceilidh1 you packed so much fun, food and drink plus relaxation into your cruise. Thanks for sharing.

And Happy Belated Birthday.

[britincanada]

Great review!

 

We are booked for May 27th, also beginning to feel like we may never get on Scarlet! We booked in Oct '19 for Richard's Birthday Bash July '20, rebooked for the July '21 Birthday Bash, and for our 3rd attempt decided to blow the entire FCC and go as mega rockstars. 

[sid_9169]

5 hours ago, britincanada said:

Great review!

 

We are booked for May 27th, also beginning to feel like we may never get on Scarlet! We booked in Oct '19 for Richard's Birthday Bash July '20, rebooked for the July '21 Birthday Bash, and for our 3rd attempt decided to blow the entire FCC and go as mega rockstars. 

I will also be on the May 27th cruise, as well as the one directly after...

[britincanada]

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

I will also be on the May 27th cruise, as well as the one directly after...

sid_9169 we will look out for you! I read your blog on here of your first VV cruise!

[F27TW]

On 3/6/2022 at 9:38 PM, ceilidh1 said:

-          Lick Me Til I Scream: The ice cream bar had great ice cream, but the flavours never changed. The Key Lime and the apple were my favourites!

 

 

That's gotta be the most genius name for an ice cream parlour .. ever!   LOL!  

 

Loved your review .. the whole experience (once on board, anyway) looked amazing!      Your pics were incredible.

 

Is it really true that there's only that one little pool on that big ship ? 

 

 

[ceilidh1]

3 minutes ago, F27TW said:

 

That's gotta be the most genius name for an ice cream parlour .. ever!   LOL!  

 

Loved your review .. the whole experience (once on board, anyway) looked amazing!      Your pics were incredible.

 

Is it really true that there's only that one little pool on that big ship ? 

 

 

Yeah, the pool was pretty small but it never seemed packed (maybe because we only had about 50% capacity). To be honest, there was far too much to do/see and better places to be than at the pool! I think 99% of my time was spent at the Dock House...that was my happy place!

[briguy1314]

What a fantastic trip review. I will be on in just over two weeks (again a trip I never thought would materialize!!) and you got me even more excited!