Trip report Scarlet Lady June 9, 2023

[tbmrt]

Loved Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady cruise….Already thinking about next one! Bought placeholder w/perks onboard.

 

Although we had 2 GPS going, we must have missed something and ended up not going through 395 Miami Tunnel.  No traffic from Land O Lakes to that point, but really took forever to get to terminal.  Next time will consider flying from Tampa to Miami. Did fine exiting the ship around 8:30 AM on a Wednesday thru tunnel.

 

Embarkation Day – had a 1:45 time assigned.  Got to ship around 1 pm and got on ship exactly at 1:45…No leeway in boarding times at that time of day. Sat down immediately on entering ship and booked every event we wanted.  Had previously booked all dining at around 11:30 PM, the night before 45 day booking window opened.

 

Got to cabin in aft of ship and found it to be efficient with App use and places to store things.  Had problem with safe twice.  Turned out it needed to have a new battery installed.  Our steward was OK..Just a Hi in the hallway which as fine with us.  We really didn’t need much.  Cleaning, water, etc taken care of in the morning promptly. Pushed button on app for any extras we needed in afternoon/evening like towels, ice, water. 

 

Had a great time and did not miss the usual all inclusive drink package which was surprising.  Got $300 bar tab and $300 loot w/booking promo.  We used about $400 in drinks and ended up using  the remaining $200 in loot for souvenirs, in casino (can use loot, but only can cash out winnings…do not get loot back. 

 

Had difficulty getting same light beers at various bars.  Liked Amstel Light, but not available everywhere.  No mojitos since there was no mint available.  Martinis not too good.  Husband sent a few back.  Got one at Extra Virgin that was about 1/3 glass full and way too much vermouth.  Waiter and manager very apologetic.  Manager gave us a new martini filled almost to the top.  Husband gave quality of that one about a 7 out of 10.  Good enough!  Loved the frozen and regular margaritas at most restaurants and bars.

 

Didn’t get to see Ships in the Night or Ship Show….Just too tired.  Scarlet Night was moved to Red Room which was very disappointing, but we decided to not go and wait til our next VV to do that event by pool.  Loved Duel Reality, Untitled Dance Party Thing, Loteria Bingo, Bingo with the Diva.(Carlos is amazing..Prizes from about $500 to $2,200 (4 games). He did a Liza Minelli skit which we loved), Great margaritas and shots included in Loteria cost ($40).

 

Main con with the cruise was the layout of the ship.  Felt like we were always walking in circles due to the left/right of ship configuration and going to 7 to get to 6 sometimes, etc. After 5 nights on ship, we still felt like we were getting lost.

 

Room service ordered in wee hours of morning and delivered about 45 minutes later.  Food hot and good. Favorite Bar…On the Rocks. 

 

Loved the hammock, shower, and bedside table in cabin that can be turned over to use on balcony to give one more room to eat, etc.

 

My eating preferences were Extra Virgin and The Wake.  Foodie husband loved Test Kitchen, Pink Agave. Great pizza, hot dogs in Social Club just OK.

 

Spent less time at pool than we usually do on other cruiseships.  Not much seating around pool and pool is ridiculously small.  Did a lot more onboard on sea days than we usually do and more time on balcony.

 

Puerto Plata – Took free trolley from ship to walk through shops (not much there) to pool/lazy river…Wonderful with lots of seating areas.   Drinks were a bit weak…..$14 for a pina colada - $4 for a bottle of water.  Nice day.

 

Bimini…Great time poolside with wonderful DJ & Happenings Cast.  Really nice beach. Bar service very slow.  Didn’t care for curry and other food.  Loved the rum cake!

 

Thanks for all the help you all gave me before this cruise.  Any questions, just ask.

Edited June 16, 2023 by tbmrt
spelling

[KPookey]

What time can I book restaurants exactly?
 

I am sailing in a little over 45 days. 6/20 is my day to book restaurants…does it open at midnight??? The crazy thing is, I’ll be sailing on RCCL that day and my daughter bought internet so I’m planning to hop on and book. 

What other things should I book when booking restaurants?
 

 

[tbmrt]

38 minutes ago, KPookey said:

What time can I book restaurants exactly?
 

I am sailing in a little over 45 days. 6/20 is my day to book restaurants…does it open at midnight??? The crazy thing is, I’ll be sailing on RCCL that day and my daughter bought internet so I’m planning to hop on and book. 

What other things should I book when booking restaurants?
 

 

I managed to stay up the night before the 45 day mark.  Although events showed earlier that evening I could not book these until around 11:45 PM or so.

 

[cantgetin]

3 hours ago, KPookey said:

What time can I book restaurants exactly?
 

I am sailing in a little over 45 days. 6/20 is my day to book restaurants…does it open at midnight??? The crazy thing is, I’ll be sailing on RCCL that day and my daughter bought internet so I’m planning to hop on and book. 

What other things should I book when booking restaurants?
 

 

As above, my experience has been that the system opens just a few minutes before midnight.  Then it promptly crashes  at 12:10am.  If you used a "first mate" for your booking, they can make your reservations for you thru their portal...although I suspect most of them don't want to be working at midnight.  After the system crash, my "first mate" did it for us and got everything we asked for.  As long as she's not cruising, I'll do the same thing next time--try it myself, then turn it over to her if the system goes down.

[Snowball]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:36 AM, tbmrt said:

Scarlet Night was moved to Red Room which was very disappointing, but we decided to not go and wait til our next VV to do that event by pool. 

Why was Scarlet Night moved to the Red Room? Was there bad weather that evening?

[cantgetin]

Lightening

[tbmrt]

8 hours ago, Snowball said:

Why was Scarlet Night moved to the Red Room? Was there bad weather that evening?

Yes said lightning in area.  We decided to wait til next VV cruise to experience Scarlet Night.

[jon81uk]

22 minutes ago, tbmrt said:

Yes said lightning in area.  We decided to wait til next VV cruise to experience Scarlet Night.

Did you see the 9pm to 10pm bits of Scarlet Night? The party is only a small part really of the overall night. 

[tbmrt]

4 minutes ago, jon81uk said:

Did you see the 9pm to 10pm bits of Scarlet Night? The party is only a small part really of the overall night. 

Yes we did...Got dressed up in red and really enjoyed those.  Thinking of Brilliant Lady next.