Review of March 27- April 1 2022 Scarlet Lady, Costa Maya and Bimini

[snarfbeast]

Scarlet Lady March 27-April 1 2022 (Costa Maya and Bimini)

 

For reference, we're a couple, 40-50 age range, no kids. Cruised before on Royal, Carnival, Norwegian.

 

Embarkation - 

 

We stayed in Coral Gables the night before, and arrived via Lyft at the Miami terminal at about 1pm. Straight to the testing tent for a covid test, then to the Rockstar lounge waiting area. Results in about 20 minutes, and boarding started at about 1:50pm. No problems, no rush, though we were directed forward towards an area for booking shows and things instead of aft towards our room. All suites were ready when embarkation began, but our big bags took an hour or so to arrive.

 

Ship - 

My wife commented several times that "she's so beautiful" when we walked down the dock at Costa Maya. Really nice modern decor everywhere. The sitting areas around the ship were well done and mostly comfortable (the low wood chairs on the patio in The Dock were the exception). Our favorite spot was outside the Pizza restaurant. Just enough shade to keep from being hot, with big lounge-y couches and plenty of space.

Note that there were apparently only 600 passengers on this voyage, so things definitely felt open and spacious (even empty in a lot of areas). There's probably plenty of room for the full load of 2700, but this was probably a once in a lifetime voyage for us.

Food - 

Excellent, delicious, plentiful, etc. The Galley is a food court, as people have mentioned, not a buffet. The salads were very good, the desserts were great as well. The burger was a pretty average diner burger, and the tacos were ok, but IMO not up to the standard of the food in the non-Galley restaurants. We didn't try the Panninis. Bento boxes were nice to grab for a snack.

 

Our favorite was easily Extra Virgin. So good we went for dinner one night and then "pre-dinner" two days later. The Carbonara pasta was the run away winner of the whole voyage for me, but everything we had there was amazing.

 

Second was probably the Pizza Place. Fresh made thin crust pizza. Mmmm.

 

The Test Kitchen was a bit disappointing. The stools we sat on were really uncomfortable, and while the food was kind of interesting, it didn't live up to expectations.

We had a good breakfast the last day at Razzle Dazzle. The churros were totally ridiculous, one order is easily dessert for at least 4 people.

 

The Wake was delicious, we did get a tip from one of the Crew: the Hanger Steak on our voyage was much better than the Filet (which was still pretty good). We also had brunch, the eggs Benedict were very good. Snacks in The Dock were also delicious.

 

Gunbae was fun and delicious, but so much food! Our server/cook joked that he'd keep cooking stuff until we tapped out.

 

Room -

We stayed in a Cheeky Corner (11011 A). Odd shape, but a nice big room. The terrace was absolutely huuuge. And it wasn't even the biggest one! You could easily have 6 people out there for a little cocktail party. Furniture was two loungers, two chairs and bistro table. We spent an afternoon at sea lounging out there with drinks from the in room bar. Only minor downside was that the hammock was tucked around the corner.

The bathroom is long and narrow, but the shower is a decent size. I wasn't a fan of the waterfall showerhead, but the wand worked just fine. Really good water pressure and temperature all around.

 

Crew - 

Probably the best experience we've had with any crew on any ship (or resort for that matter). They all felt genuinely happy to be there, and happy to spend time chatting with Sailors. On other lines, we have the impression that crew needs to behave a certain way, and that they're "the help", if that makes sense. Not so on Scarlet Lady. They weren't just anonymous crew members, they were all individuals with funny/interesting stories, unique hair, body art, etc.

 

Ports - 

We went to Maya Chan at Costa Maya, and it was excellent. Quiet, delicious tacos for lunch, super friendly staff. That area of the coast is known for sargassum, but they had a crew keeping the beach mostly clear. Highly recommended. Full when we arrived, but 90% left around 1:30pm, so it was just us and another couple until we left at 5ish. The Costa Maya port area itself is just a busy tourist trap.

Unfortunately, weather kept us from docking in Bimini after 2 attempts, so we got another sea day instead. At least we had a nice balcony to hang out on. =]

 

Shows -

The Diva was really talented and put on a superb show. Never Sleep Alone was... not what we expected. We were not warned that we would be asked to participate a bit no matter what you tell them on the way in. We walked out after about 10 minutes, but others told us that the second half of the show was much better. Everyone dressed up for Scarlet Night, the pool party was moved to The Manor due to weather.

 

Disembarkation - 

No rush, super easy. We chose the latest disembark time since our flight was later that afternoon. We also decided to take all of our bags with us so we didn't have to deal with them in the terminal. Customs was easy and fast since there were so few people on the ship. With a full load i could see a bottleneck happening if they don't have a full staff.

Overall

9/10, would absolutely book again. I took a point off for not being able to dock in Bimini. We booked another voyage for next year while on board.

[briguy1314]

Thanks for the review! We hop on board our cheeky room in just a few more days!!!!

[britincanada]

Thanks for sharing! 38 days until we board!

 

[dukefan94]

On 4/18/2022 at 1:33 PM, snarfbeast said:

9/10, would absolutely book again. I took a point off for not being able to dock in Bimini. We booked another voyage for next year while on board.

@snarfbeastWhat (if any) specials were they running for booking a future cruise while onboard? Thanks.

[LibratPDX]

3 hours ago, dukefan94 said:

@snarfbeastWhat (if any) specials were they running for booking a future cruise while onboard? Thanks.

Whether you book on board or 60 days after debarkation, you get a $300 credit towards your next booking.

 

I was on the same cruise.  I attended the NSA show but I don't know if it was the same showing (since there are at least three per cruise).  I'm not sure what some people found offensive enough that it caused them to walk out.  It's meant to be a comedy, not a recipe for life.  I enjoyed it and participated on stage for a bit.  Nothing too risque, I was blindfolded and had to choose from four suitors based on their answers to the "Doctor's" questions.  The man I "chose" was there with his wife and I thanked her for "sharing" him for the bit, it's not as if we were going to escape somewhere together and hook up.  That is the idea some people seem to have gotten?   

Edited April 20, 2022 by LibratPDX

[dukefan94]

35 minutes ago, LibratPDX said:

Whether you book on board or 60 days after debarkation, you get a $300 credit towards your next booking.

Thanks for the info @LibratPDX. Do you happen to know if the $300 credit is per person or per room? Meaning, if 2 people took advantage of the deal and sailed in the same cabin, could they potentially get $600 off the cabin price?

[_tacocat_]

3 hours ago, dukefan94 said:

Thanks for the info @LibratPDX. Do you happen to know if the $300 credit is per person or per room? Meaning, if 2 people took advantage of the deal and sailed in the same cabin, could they potentially get $600 off the cabin price?

it's per room - so you'd need to either book 2 cabins and bring your friends, or book a back to back to use the 2x$300.  that promo was combinable with the $300 seablazer discount that paying customers who sailed in 2021 got, but appears to be not combinable otherwise.

[LibratPDX]

3 hours ago, dukefan94 said:

Thanks for the info @LibratPDX. Do you happen to know if the $300 credit is per person or per room? Meaning, if 2 people took advantage of the deal and sailed in the same cabin, could they potentially get $600 off the cabin price?

That's a good question, but I assume it's per cabin, since they don't seem to book per person.  If you take a look at their prices, they are all quoted per cabin, not "per person double occupancy".