A Virgin virgin just off the Scarlet Lady (a review)

[444cruiser]

 

 

This trip was a 4-day getaway for my college-age son and myself after a busy semester and retail-sales season. I consider myself a seasoned cruiser having been on 20+ cruises across multiple lines.  I've been on with kids, without kids, and with girlfriends only.  This was my first time on Virgin Voyages.

By design Virgin does things differently.  It was almost obvious that they asked themselves how do the mainstream companies do it, and then they purposely did it differently.  First off embarkation...  With other lines you are given an approximate timeframe to arrive.  We usually show up early and and after a bit of waiting, can generally get on within an hour.  With Virgin, they are pretty strict with times.   And what I read was true...there's really no where to sit and wait if you do go early.  Our time slot was 2pm.  I can't say what happens earlier than that.  I have seen pictures in my researchh on here showing different lines with times to organize the Sailors.  At 2, there wasn't even a line to speak of.  From inside our Uber, luggage drop-off, stopping to take some pics, and registration, we were walking onto the ship in under 20 minutes.  (It felt fast so I looked back at my pictures to confirm time-stamps- 19 minutes to be exact.) 

 

But to back up...

Our flight to Miami arrived at 8:15am and so I booked a day pass at a resort in South Beach.  The Sagamore hotel was a perfect place to chill. I had done my research but did not book it until I had landed (in case the weather was bad or whatever) and booked it on Resortpass.com while we were waiting for our Uber. One of the reasons I chose this one is there is a liquor store right across the street so we hopped across to pick up our 2 bottles of wine (and a few things to enjoy that morning at the resort on the DL).  Had a lovely time by the pool, checked out the beach, and at 1:30 we Ubered to the pier and were on the ship at 2:20.

 

We went directly to Razzle Dazzle as I was told they could help with reservations.  I had made most of my dinner reservations on the app when they first opened bookings online, but once the event schedule came out, I wanted to change them to earlier times.  The staff was friendly but they could not do anything to change the reservations. Turns out we didn't even go to half of those bookings because we were having too much fun doing other things to stop and eat.  (My only regret of the whole trip was not eating more food. Was sad not to have made it to the Italian restaurant or Gun Bae.)  I think this was the only cruise I've ever been on that I did not gain one single pound.  My fault, not Virgin's!!

 

Then we went to find our cabin.  I had originally booked a Sea View room but when offered to upgrade about a month ago, I bid $160 for a terrace and it was accepted.  I was a bit worried that I would get a crappy, loud, or out of the way cabin, but was assigned right by the mid-ship elevators on Deck 12A.  I would 100% book in the exact same location next time!  Although I would choose starboard (Z) side if given the choice.

 

Our bags came when we were in the room so we got to meet our room steward and I did a bit of unpacking then headed up to the Galley to get a bite.  I grabbed a beautiful caesar salad and some sushi and my son got a panini that he said was delicious.  We ate on the back covered deck outside the Galley.  It was a little chilly and there was no one out there.  We were about to head out when a few ladies from our sailing's facebook group showed up and I recognized them from their pics.  I spent a lot of time with them for the next few days as my son went off and did his own thing. 

 

We then headed up to the main pool deck to check out what was going on. Here we saw a huge difference between other cruises we've been on.  At 4:15 on embarkation day the mid-pool deck was pretty empty. Other lines there would be loud music playing and TONS of people milling around and in the pool.  There was no one in the pool and lots of empty loungers around it. This is not a complaint AT ALL.  It was just not at all what you're used to seeing on other lines.  The sailaway party started around 5:45 or at least that's what time we got back up the the pool deck. The Happenings team were there dancing and the DJ was playing music.  There were a lot of people watching from up above but no one dancing.  I got the party started and grabbed a few ladies to dance with me, but for the most part people were just milling around watching, but not participating like at other sailway parties.  I'd be curious to hear from any of you reading this if this was also your experience on Virgin.  I'm used to doing the Cha Cha Slide as we sailaway, but this wasn't that.

 

Since not much was happening up there we went down to Deck 7 Aft which is the Dock area.  Such a nice space off the back of the ship - lots of day beds and loungers.  A nice bar and also a small grab-n-go food selection right inside the door starboard side.  We hung out there as we left Miami. It was really cool to see the newly-arrived soon-to-sail RC Icon of the Sea!  Looked pretty amazing!  

 

After sailaway we went to see the featured musician Matt Walden.  He was SO amazing and actually the highlight of our trip.  For the next few nights my new gal-pals and I fashioned our schedules around his acts.  (Check him out on Spotify) and if you're traveling to Greece on Virgin in the late summer, you're in luck!  He'll be back onboard.

 

We had a 9:30 Pink Agave reservation.  Enjoyed it very much!  My son had the vegetarian dish - potato-stuffed pepper and some corn sauce that he loved.  I had the white fish.  Very good.  My only "not really a complaint" was that the music was REALLY loud.  I enjoyed it, and I wasn't really trying to have a whole convo with my son, but if you were trying to talk to your table mates, it would have been hard.  After dinner we headed down to change into our pajamas for the PJ party.  It was fun to see what everyone was wearing. We danced for awhile. It was cute.  Having been up since 3:30am, we headed to bed around midnight.

 

A note about the beds...I was told the beds are more like foam and really hard.  I like a soft mattress so I was pleasantly surprised with how comfortably I slept.  No complaints.  Also, I wasn't sure how I would like the L-shaped situation with my son, but also it was fine.  Our room was quiet and I didn't miss the sound of teenagers feet running down the hallways that I usually experience on other lines. 

 

The next morning I woke up around 7:15 and headed down to the Grounds Club to get some coffee.  We happened to just be pulling into Key West so I went out on the deck to enjoy my coffee and the view.  Just lovely.  I had booked a non-Virgin snorkeling excursion (fully half the cost of the one booked through the ship).  We walked to the meeting point and joined the group.  It was a bit cloudy so the visibility wasn't good and it started to rain a bit, but it was still fun.  Afterward we were both hungry and tired so we decided to go back to the ship and ate in the galley rather than the self-bar crawl I had penciled in for us.  A giant nap was in order before Scarlet Night.

 

My son was still sleeping late afternoon so I walked around to see what was going on and grab a quick snack.  I ran into my new bff and we spent the next few hours with drinks and some apps on the Dock on 7.  They have this thing called Opa Hour where servers will bring your Mediterranean snacks.  We had lamb shish kebabs and fried polenta with red pepper sauce. Delicious. 

 

Next we all changed into our red outfits for the night and back down to the Roundabout to catch another performance by Matt Walden.  And we missed the first of a few dinner reservations we missed because we were enjoying the music too much!   The rain caused the Scarlet party to move indoors which I wasn't sad about.  Hopefully I'll get to experience an outside party on my next sailing.  It was just so much fun!  The mood, energy and the overall vibe of the whole boat was electric.  I've read that this party really is what you make of it and I agree.  Basically it is a traveling party where there were events, games, and themes in each area of the ship ending in a big dance party at the Red Room.  My only complaint here is that they were using an excessive amount of strobe lights to the point that it was disorienting and kind of made us feel a little nauseous.   Or maybe I'm just getting old and that was their way of weeding us out.  LOL   Oh, one of the highlights was they had a photobooth where you could get a professional pic taken of your group and it was emailed to you immediately.  I got one of my son and me, and I will look back at that picture when I'm 80 and treasure it.  Off to bed.

 

The next morning I woke up before I wanted to and grabbed my phone to order room service.  They said it would be 40-60 minutes so I went back to sleep.  It arrived hot and delicious and I ate it on my balcony. I highly recommend the $4 fresh squeezed orange juice to add to sparkling white later on. Around 10 I threw on my bathing suit and headed up to a daybed on the back of 7.  They were playing chill music and drinks were already flowing.  It was pretty empty.  As I'm a people-watching person, I decided to head to the main pool deck to see what was happening.  That's where the party was!  Lots of people but even still I was pretty quickly able to find 2 chairs and my son joined me for some mojitos. 

 

I want to take a minute to talk about the service on Virgin.  There was just a whole different vibe from the servers.  It's hard to describe but they all just seemed happier in a real (not fake so you'll tip me) kind of way.  And speaking of tipping, here is where Virgin is also different....Since tips are included and you "pay" for your drinks by tapping your wristband, there's no signing of a bill or adding gratuity. So much more convenient. They handed you your drink and walked away.  Of course I still tipped in cash my room steward at the end of the trip, but not per drink as I tend to do on other lines.  The service around the main (busy!) pool was laid back but very attentive.  

 

We had 6:15 reservations at the Wake.  Had a great 2 seater right by the back window.  I had the wedge salad and my son had the bone marrow appetizer.  I had filet for my main and he had the salt baked Dorade.  Both very good.  We both thought the apple dessert was gross and we both love apple/cinnamon desserts.  It was tasted bitter/burnt in a weird way.  The lemon cheesecake was good and the presentation on both was picture-worthy and gorgeous!

 

Next stop Bimini.  What can I say other than this was the most perfect beach day.  I woke and had a solo breakfast in Razzle Dazzle.  I went with the basic breakfast (can't remember what it was called) but realized it was the same as what I ordered from room service the day before. (scrambled eggs, potatos and a delicious roasted tomato)  I did add on some bacon and it was TASTY but spicy!  Make sure you have water nearby for that.  Also the chocolate scone they give you to start was good but a little dry.  Delicious dipped in coffee!!  After breakfast I got ready to go the the beach club, but since my son and I are clearly on different sleep schedules, I went on and let him sleep in.  The trip took about 30 minutes from exiting the ship, waiting for tram, trip to the club, till I found a nice spot on the beach under an umbrella.  There were still PLENTY of spots on the beach when I got there at noon.  Now, getting a drink at the bar was a different story!  I found my new friend's mom at the bar and we stood there for well over 20 minutes (she'd already been there for about 10) waiting for a drink.  Since it took so long I decided to order a double vodka soda.  Good choice on my part.

 

We went in the water and it was so beautiful!  Clear water and waves that we could actually jump in.  A note for solo travelers: it is super easy to meet people on this cruise!  You just have to put yourself out there.  My friend and I were jumping in the water and a woman came up to us and asked us if we were solo and asked to join our convo.  I love that!  And we hung out with her for the next hour.  This is what cruising is all about!

 

Time for another drink so we went to the far beach bar and got another double.  They were gearing up for the pool/float party.  There were so many floats and people in the water!  I can understand some won't like the "people soup" of it all, but I loved it!!  Great music and the Happenings crowd put on a great show.  Loved the energy!  

 

By that time my son had shown up and tons of people were clearing out and going back to the ship.  He and I just hung out and chatted for a few more hours and headed back around 5.  It was pretty empty by then.  Back to the room for a change and back out to see the musician play again.  (Can you see a theme developing here?) 

 

We were enjoying the show so much and there were new interesting strangers to talk to so we decided to skip our 9pm reservation at Extra Virgin.  I'm sad I didn't get to go here but honestly I wasn't hungry at the time and I try not to force feed myself on vacation, even as much as I want to.  After dinner my friend and I walked around and got a few drinks at random bars, stalked my son doing god-knows-what at the dance club and listened to some Latin music.  Around 1am when two girls showed up in fuzzy shark costumes and my new stranger-friend said, "Oh hell NAH! When the sharkes come out, you know its NIGH-NIGHT time!" we decided to call it a night and head to bed.

 

Disembarkation Day.  I always hate disembarkation day on other cruises.  There is just this frantic energy you can feel.  It's like this 8am GTFO energy I could do without. On Virgin you technically have to be off by 10:30.  I will say that at 9:30 over the intercom they were encouraging everyone to go on and git, but it didn't feel as frantic. The Wake (and probably RD) were open as well as the Galley but I just grabbed some coffee and pastries from the Grounds Club and encouraged my hungover son to get up.  We got off around 10 and grabbed a $38 cab to the airport.  (FYI Uber was about $25 earlier (9ish) but the later we stayed, and the more people that were trying to get rides, it went up to $45 so we just grabbed a cab.) 

 

Overall it was THE MOST AMAZING trip!  I have very few, if any, complaints.  I did my survey for Virgin and really the only complaints I had was there could be better/more signage around the ship.  Some other random thoughts:

 

Things I LOVED:

The wristbands were super comfortable and convenient.  I'm not a bracelet person but it didn't bother me at all.  I loved not having to worry if I had my card every time I left my room.

The staff: Everyone seemed truly happy.  The staff interacted with guests and EACH OTHER.  More than once I saw staff hug each other in a friendly way and it occurred to me I hadn't seen that on other lines.  One other thing I noticed that there were staff with tattoos than I had ever seen before which made me wonder if other lines discriminate against tattoos.  Anyone know? Just an observation that made me think.

Food: was amazing.  Just wish I ate more of it.

Bar Tab: So we had $400 bar tab and $100 sailor loot.  I purposefully did not look/monitor my tab but I was a bit worried a few days in after I saw my son's condition each morning.  But 2 days in I looked and still had $200.  The few nights of free champagne (sailaway and the Scarlet night) and the 2 bottles we brought on board helped.  The last night I still had my sailor loot so I went to the Mac store and bought a few new lipsticks.  All in all we ended with $35 left on our tab which I thought was pretty good.

 

Things I didn't love:

The app could be a little finicky.  Overall great though for finding out what's going on around the ship and what your options for food and entertainment.

Wifi was generally great all week except for the last day.  Not sure why.  But the fact that it was included was awesome.  Usually I choose not to pay for it because I like to unplug on vacation, but it was definitely nice to have.

I wish I could have seen the entertainment schedule before I had to book meals.  I booked so many meals directly when exciting shows were going on and missed them.  I think food is pretty flexible once you get on board though and I do think I stressed a little too much beforehand thinking I had to have everything locked down. One thing I like about cruises is the option to be flexible.

 

Well that's about it.  I had a GREAT time with my son.  Made memories to last a lifetime.  I'm so happy I already have another trip on Virgin to Barcelona this summer. Because I can tell you if I hadn't, I'd be sitting here right now booking something else.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions you have.   I have been a member of Cruise Critic for a long time and I'm happy to share a review if it helps as so many of you have contributed to my travel experiences!

Teresa

 

 

 

 

 

[cantgetin]

To answer one of your questions--most lines prohibit tattoos that can be seen while wearing uniforms.

[CruisingWalter]

14 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

To answer one of your questions--most lines prohibit tattoos that can be seen while wearing uniforms.

 

That rule is definitely changing. I saw some tattoos on crew members on Oceania over the holidays. Much more modest than the openness of VV, but I was pleasantly surprised. Curious to see if Royal has started relaxing their appearance protocols when we sail next weekend. 

[loohoo1]

Wow! What a great review. Thank you for such a terrific description of your trip. I'll be on her for the transatlantic in April and I'm getting very excited. This gets me even more so 🙂

[SinbadThePorter]

2 hours ago, cantgetin said:

To answer one of your questions--most lines prohibit tattoos that can be seen while wearing uniforms.

 

As we all know, sailors and tattoos just don't go together. 🤪

[CineGraphic]

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

That rule is definitely changing.

 

I was on Holland America's Nieuw Statendam last month, and several crew members were wearing flesh colored sleeves to cover up their ink.

[katef529]

Great review and I learned a few things about Virgin so thank you!  One question:  How does VV do the muster drill?  The last cruise we were on in 2023 on RCL, we watched a video on the app, reported to our muster station, and we were good to go. I think I read somewhere that VV does the one where everyone goes at the same time and listens or watches a video together.  I hope that's not true because I'm still having nightmares from a few years before Covid when we stood outside in the sun, shoulder-to- shoulder while people slowly meandered up to check in for muster drill while we waited for them  😉

[AndyUK]

2 hours ago, katef529 said:

Great review and I learned a few things about Virgin so thank you!  One question:  How does VV do the muster drill?  The last cruise we were on in 2023 on RCL, we watched a video on the app, reported to our muster station, and we were good to go. I think I read somewhere that VV does the one where everyone goes at the same time and listens or watches a video together.  I hope that's not true because I'm still having nightmares from a few years before Covid when we stood outside in the sun, shoulder-to- shoulder while people slowly meandered up to check in for muster drill while we waited for them  😉

No , you watch video in your cabin, and then the muster drill is just show up at your station and they give a 2 mins overview of a life jacket and that’s it, you are free to go. They wait for a group of people and do a session, that group goes and they repeat. 

[cantgetin]

Watch the video on the app or in your room on the TV.  You indicate on the app/tablet that you watched it.  Then at the appointed time, go to your muster station for about 5 minutes.  NO ONE has to watch a video together or any such nonsense.  There is a 90 minute period where you go to your station for a quick life vest demo; it takes maybe 5 minutes unless your dude decides that he is a comedian.  You can show up any time during that 90 minute window.

[tbmrt]

11 hours ago, 444cruiser said:

 

We went directly to Razzle Dazzle as I was told they could help with reservations.  I had made most of my dinner reservations on the app when they first opened bookings online, but once the event schedule came out, I wanted to change them to earlier times.  The staff was friendly but they could not do anything to change the reservations.

 

11 hours ago, 444cruiser said:

I was surprised to read this info about not getting help to change your reservations when you boarded.  Did  you go to the Sailor Services desk by Razzle Dazzle? Thanks for a great review

 

11 hours ago, 444cruiser said:

 

 

 

 

[CruisingWalter]

10 hours ago, katef529 said:

I think I read somewhere that VV does the one where everyone goes at the same time and listens or watches a video together.

 

As soon as you get to your stateroom, start the video, wait for it to end, check off that both Sailors (if there are two) have watched it. Go enjoy the ship. When they announce Muster Stations are open, report in and watch a life vest demo. If you've never seen the video, you'll enjoy it, best safety video out there since Princess included all the Love Boat stars. But still not at good as New Zealand Air's classic safety video. 

 

Edited January 16 by CruisingWalter

[SueMo]

I will be on a TA cruise in April on the Scarlett Lady and will be booking my dinner reservations ahead of time like you did.  Since you had so many reservation/entertainment conflicts, what dinner times do you recommend that would least interfere with the entertainment on board?  

[jon81uk]

1 hour ago, SueMo said:

I will be on a TA cruise in April on the Scarlett Lady and will be booking my dinner reservations ahead of time like you did.  Since you had so many reservation/entertainment conflicts, what dinner times do you recommend that would least interfere with the entertainment on board?  

I’m not the OP but I do think 7pm dinner so you can see the 10pm show or 8.15pm dinner after the 7pm show is often best.

[cantgetin]

There is entertainment all evening, so you will miss something even if it is not a main show.  THe nice thing about the TA is that most shows repeat and there is little difficulty moving around dinner res after boarding.  First, what time do you like to eat dinner?  We've done the three TAs between Barcelona and Miami on Valiant; the first time we scheduled dinners too early thinking we'd be able to catch early shows.  We could catch the shows, but we didn't like eating that early.

If you schedule dinner by 8 or 8:15, you 'll be out by the late show.  If you eat at 6 or 6:30, you'll be out by early show...or you can do the early show and be out by 9 for a late dinner.  Your call.

[SueMo]

Thanks for the input.  On other cruise lines the main shows are typically 7:00 and 9:00, so knowing the shows on VV tend to be at 7:00 and 10:00 is helpful.  We’ll aim for 6:00-7:00 reservations and catch the later shows.  

[ZsaZsa2019]

I loved your trip report!  I've done a few cruises and just booked on NCL for the caribbean with some friends.  I keep seeing ads for Virgin on my facebook and it has me curious as to what is so special about them.  I learned some more about them with your report, I appreciate it and am glad you had such a great time!!!

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[cantgetin]

16 minutes ago, ZsaZsa2019 said:

I loved your trip report!  I've done a few cruises and just booked on NCL for the caribbean with some friends.  I keep seeing ads for Virgin on my facebook and it has me curious as to what is so special about them.  I learned some more about them with your report, I appreciate it and am glad you had such a great time!!!

The best way I can explain it is that we got off our first VV sailing with 3 more booked!

[ZsaZsa2019]

29 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

The best way I can explain it is that we got off our first VV sailing with 3 more booked!

That pretty much says it all.  The price scares me, but I can see that a lot more is included.  Is ALL the food included, or is there any at all that you would have to pay extra for?  No real drink packages but some drink credits (?) (we ae from WI so we enjoy our beverages and I enjoy my wine)!

[cantgetin]

2 minutes ago, ZsaZsa2019 said:

That pretty much says it all.  The price scares me, but I can see that a lot more is included.  Is ALL the food included, or is there any at all that you would have to pay extra for?  No real drink packages but some drink credits (?) (we ae from WI so we enjoy our beverages and I enjoy my wine)!

Some of the restaurants have one or two upcharge items.  For instance, The Wake has a tomahawk steak and a seafood tower that cost extra.  Gunbae has waygu beef (don't waste your money; the normal marinated beef is better).  There is NO reason to purchase any of these extras unless you want them; MOST of the food items are included and are very good. 

 

There are no drink packages, but I like that.  You don't see people running around trying to max out their 12 drinks per day.  There is the bar tab, which for us, as moderate to light drinkers makes a lot more sense.  Most bookings currently include some complimentary bar tab.  If you want more than you are getting "free," you can purchase a bar tab in advance of your cruise in $300 increments,  For each $300 purchased, you get a bonus of $50-100, depending on the current offer.  The bar tab can be used on any beverage that has a cost (premium tea, coffee, cold pressed juices, alcohol, mocktails).  Sodas, water,  juice from concentrate, brewed tea and coffee are already included.  The price on the alcohol menu is the price that will be deducted from your tab--tip is already included.  This makes VV drinks less costly than other lines.  You can share your bar tab with anyone you wish--someone else in your cabin, or the new best friend you just met.  IF you check the box that you  are covering expenses for your cabin mate, they will be able to use their bracelet to spend on the bar tab.  If purchasing for someone else, you buy it and indicate that it is for the other person.  Since my upcoming booking was made under the $600 bar tab deal and we each got a little more with the status program, we'll never drink that much.  Last trip, we bought two bottles of wine to bring home.  Sure, it costs more on the ship than at home, but it was essentially free since bar tab is "use it or lose it."  

There are also lots of ways to get complimentary alcohol.  Bubbly at sail away is free.  Bubbly and one or two cocktails are free at the loyalty cocktail party.  Win a trivia contest and your whole team gets the drink of their choice.  Several on board activities include alcohol (you pay for the activity)--grog walk, shot for shot, sea horse decorating and racing, etc.  Basically, if there is an activity fee, the drinks are included. If your TA books at least 10 cabins on any given cruise, you'll get a bottle of bubbly in your room, etc.  Oh yeah, that's one reason why it is good to use a gold tier agent.  Or make friends with someone who has a big free bar tab and not enough time to use it!

The largest credit card bill I've had when departing the ship was $8  after all the sailor loot and bar tab we had.  Granted the offers we had have been reduced in 2024 and going forward.  

[ZsaZsa2019]

Wow, thanks Cantgetin!!!  Clears it up quite a bit.  We have been talking about a European/Med cruise next year possibly.  I guess I need to research VV a bit more for that now. 

 

 

[cantgetin]

20 minutes ago, ZsaZsa2019 said:

Wow, thanks Cantgetin!!!  Clears it up quite a bit.  We have been talking about a European/Med cruise next year possibly.  I guess I need to research VV a bit more for that now. 

 

 

Shop carefully.  Prices have gone up a lot, but there are still come bargains out there. Also, SOME TAs may still have the original "My next virgin voyage" certificates that they can sell you  (better deal than the 2024 version).  At the very least, they can get you the 2024 version even though it is your first cruise.  This gets you a discount and onboard credit (loot); amount varies based on when the certificate was purchased.

 

[Gretchendz]

On 1/16/2024 at 12:09 AM, AndyUK said:

No , you watch video in your cabin, and then the muster drill is just show up at your station and they give a 2 mins overview of a life jacket and that’s it, you are free to go. They wait for a group of people and do a session, that group goes and they repeat. 

 

Last week on Valiant, we just checked in at our Muster station. No life vest overview like on Scarlet last summer.

[tbmrt]

1 hour ago, Gretchendz said:

 

Last week on Valiant, we just checked in at our Muster station. No life vest overview like on Scarlet last summer.

Following

[444cruiser]

On 1/19/2024 at 7:16 AM, SueMo said:

I will be on a TA cruise in April on the Scarlett Lady and will be booking my dinner reservations ahead of time like you did.  Since you had so many reservation/entertainment conflicts, what dinner times do you recommend that would least interfere with the entertainment on board?  

I would book in the 6;00 range or just chance a walk-in time.  Based on how many of my own reservations I gave up, I'm assuming many open up.  Unfortunately, even though I booked as soon as the reservations opened up, I could only get timeslots in the 8:30-9 range.