The Third Time’s a Charm(er) – a Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady Review

We spent September 21-25 aboard Virgin Voyages (VV) Scarlet Lady for the 4-night Fire and Sunsets Soirées. This was our third time on the ship and second doing this itinerary. However, this time we went to Key West rather than Nassau. This sailing had about twice the number of passengers as our first two, which put us around 1,300 sailors on the ship. This is a little less than 50% full.

tl;dr version

If you like cruising, but want to experience things in a whole new way, just get on the boat. Bar service can be a little slow, some of the music is a bit repetitive, take the time to get to know the crew, especially the Happenings Cast, if you want to get wild and crazy you can, if you want to chill and relax you can, choose your own cruise adventure.

The App

From the time you book and while on board the App is essential. It can also be a bit of a headache. I still think it works best on the ships Wi-Fi. You really want to take the time to explore the app either on your own or with Sailor Services once on board. Here you will book reservations for fitness classes, shows, and dining. You can also review you spending on the ship, shake for Champagne, if so inclined, request services like housekeeping, cabin maintenance, and Room Service (which doesn’t have to be delivered to your room) and more. There is a pretty big learning curve here, but it pays off if you take the time.

Boarding Process

VV is testing some features of their loyalty program that is scheduled to roll out in 2023. Since this was our third 2022 sailing, we qualified as Sea-Rovers for their Deep Blue Perks package. Other ways to qualify are being a Sea-Blazer, sailed with VV in 2021, or the Match and Sea More Program, status match from another cruise line.

I mention this now, because one of the perks is expedited boarding. Since the program is new, there is a learning curve for the staff, and it continues to evolve and improve with each voyage. Through the app, you can schedule a check-in time. Since we were driving from Orlando (just about 4.75 hours, if traffic plays nice) we picked 1:45 PM, since we knew boarding starts around 2:00. We pulled into the Terminal V Garage, which is directly across from the terminal, about 1:20 and strolled over to the terminal expecting to get in line for a bit at 1:30. We were allowed to enter right away and got in a line for check-in. It moved pretty quickly and were done with that process by 1:50.

I did have to ask about the Deep Blue Perks, as we weren’t given our special band/bracelet thing. Our check-in person didn’t seem to know about it and had to go ask someone. She quickly came back gave us our bracelets and we were on our way. As we approached the next person, we were handed boarding group 9. This was odd as we were told we would get boarding group 1 as part of the perks. Luckily the group number we were given didn’t matter and once we got up stairs we went to the boarding area, showed our special bands, and were allowed to walk right on without having to wait for our specific boarding group. Those who purchase the Splash of Romance package also get a similar expedited boarding process. If you are sailing as a Rock Star, you still have your own special check-in and boarding.

After boarding we headed straight to our room to drop off our luggage, since the rooms are available right away.

Food & Drink

This is the one area we did notice some of the growing pains of increased capacity. This was in terms of speed, not quality. With that being said, the delay mostly seemed to occur in The Galley where it took longer for us to get our food order placed. Once it was, the food arrived in the same amount of time as on our previous cruises. The speed also seemed to improve a bit as the cruise went on. We ate at the Galley most days for Breakfast.

Our first dinner was at Pink Agave. The menu had changed slightly from what we remember, but it was still delicious. The Pork and the steak here should not be missed. Same goes for the guacamole and street corn.

We had a breakfast and dinner at Razzle Dazzle our first full day on the ship. They still have the best bacon on the ship. Don’t let the fact that this is a Veggie Forward restaurant scare you away. They have some great meat dishes available.

We also ate at Extra Virgin. Excellent as always, however, we have been spoiled recently by our son who has been making home-made gnocchi with various home-made sauces. The portions of the pasta are probably bigger than they need to be, but very good. Whatever you do, don’t skip the gelato dessert cart.

For our last nigh on board, we ate at the Korean-BBQ, Gunbae. GUNBAE! (If you know you know) we were sat with two other couples who were experiencing Gunbae for the first time, so they followed our lead and just got all the meats. Seriously, just order all the meats.

We grabbed some late-night pizzas one night and had a couple of ice cream cones. I also had a hotdog, pretzel, and some treats from the Social Club. This is where you can order a boozy float too. They are worth a try.

We pre-paid for our bar tab and got the $100 bonus. On a 4-day cruise it can be a bit of a challenge to get through for some, like us. With the generous Champagne sail away on day one, you don’t need to have much else to have a nice buzz. Plus, there are many events where you are handed some bubbly or other beverage.

As part of the Deep Blue Perks we also, got a free Shake for Champagne. The way this works is you open the app, shake it, and a screen will display asking if you really want to order. After confirming, hang out for a bit and a bottle in a bucket of ice shows up, along with two glasses. You also get a free bottle with the Splash of Romance package. In both cases, the charges will appear on your account in the app. Within 24 hours those will be manually removed from your account. Additionally, we also got $10 a day to spend on Coffee, so about two cups. It worked the same way, where the charges would show then disappear after a bit.

One of the things that is nice about Virgin, is if you have a big chuck of your bar tab available, it can be used to by bottles at certain bars. While these bottles are more expensive than what you would pay on shore, the Bar Tab is a use it or lose it, so an over-priced bottle is better than leaving money on the table. We bought some Poppa Pilar Rum and some Patron Silver. With the purchase of the two bottles, we used all of our Bar Tab plus about $40 more.

I do want to mention again that the bar service can be a bit slow. I know some of this is due to the point-of-sale system they use on the ship and at the Beach Club at Bimini. But there are times they do seem to be moving slow. This may be part of the design to help avoid people from getting too intoxicated, but then again, they sell entire bottles at a time. I heard someone say that they thought it was because they are monetarily incentivized. I will say I say I saw someone at Bimini try to tip one of the bar tenders, and he refused it. After the guest dropped the money over the bar and walked away, the bar tender almost seemed annoyed. Note to those who aren’t aware, tips are included with your cruise fare when you sail with VV. They still don’t have a blender bar for your traditional frozen cruise/tropical cocktails, but I am still hopeful we will see it one day.

Ports of Call

On this cruise we had two stops Key West and Bimini. This was nice because, one we weren’t going to Nassau, and two, it was the first time the wife and I made it to Key West together. Seeing how we could get back there with about a 6.5 hour drive we really wanted to get an overview of the area for when we decide to take a long weekend and just stay on the island. We decided to book the Old Town Trolley which has on and off privileges and gives you a good overview of the main touristy areas. They have expanded the loop a bit and even have a few stops at hotels along the way. We did book directly with the company via their website the same day we arrived and saved a few bucks from walking directly up to them. It also saved a few bucks over booking directly with Virgin. The biggest difference is the Virgin Tour seems to be a straight loop around and you are only with other cruise ship passengers. I would assume after the tour you could still take advantage of the off and on and ride it back to any spots you wanted to explore, but I’m not 100% certain of that. From the ship it was a very short walk to Mallory Square where we checked in and caught the trolley at stop #1.  

The Beach Club at Bimini is still a little piece of paradise. I will say this is another spot where we could feel the impact of the increase capacity. It didn’t matter if you went to the bar yourself or if you got one of the roaming waiters to get you a drink, it took way too long. As I said before, it is partly do to their POS system with a lack any sense of urgency.  I can see with the increased headcount where renting a cabana would be more of an advantage but there will still be a lot of free shaded and sunny seats around the pools and the beach. The music kicks off about 1:30 with the Happenings Cast tossing pool floats about 2:00. Dancing, bubbles, water guns, and a mermaid or two keep energy high for a couple of hours. They do have volleyball and a beach side team challenge available as well. The food was still only being prepared at one of the kitchens (North side I think), it can be found to the right of the main entrance as you face the entrance. Several clean bathrooms, changing areas, and showers can be found around the Club. The free tram takes about 20 minutes from ship to Club and does make a few stops along the way. At the Club, food and basic beverages (most non-alcoholic drinks) are included and if you do want to charge anything it is charged back to your room. This way you can use your Bar tab or Sailor’s Loot.

I did have an issue where some drinks I didn’t order on the island were charged to my room. A quick trip to Sailor Services got this resolved.

Pools and Hot Tubs

The Pool is still small and is more designed as a splash pool and shallow water dance floor. This was the first time I saw people in the pool during the Champagne Sail Away. It was also the first time I got in the pool during Scarlet Night. I did change out of my scarlet night attire before heading to the pool, although many did not and several more formal outfits somehow don’t look as formal all wet.

I did not hop in any of the numerous hot tubs on the ship but it seemed like there were always at least one or two available.

Activities and Entertainment

I get understand the shows on this ship might not be everyone’s cup of tea, however, I still find them refreshing and a wonderful change from the same style of shows you get an all other cruise lines.

Ships in the Night is the most traditional show you will see on board. We were pleasantly surprised to see AC back as the lead. The other cast were great and this show is feast for your eyes and ears.

Scarlet Night is the big ship wide party where they paint the ship red. Well, more like light the ship red. If you look off the aft during the evening you may even see the water turn red too. This has been changed up a bit from our first sailings. They have done away with the rainbow bracelet tour. They moved the Goddess from the Spa to the Red Room and added two performances, this is not on the schedule and is something you don’t want to miss. I was sitting in the right or wrong spot, depending on how you want to look at it, but the Goddess called on me a couple of times and was met with “MIKE” several times around the ship after the show. The Phantom Folktales crew is no longer on board and was deeply missed on the cruise and especially so on this night. I suppose if you had never seen them, you wouldn’t really miss them but they added just that extra bit of magic to the overall Virgin experience.

The Dual Reality cast was almost completely new and this was their first sailing performing. We recognized one of the springboard artists, Anton and got a chance to talk with him a bit later in the cruise, actually on the night of his birthday. While sitting waiting for the show to start we started talking with someone who would not confirm and sternly denied he was part of the show and certainly wouldn’t tell us what part he played. Spoiler he was “Romeo”. We caught up with him one night in The Manor and talked with him for a good bit as well. For those that haven’t seen it, it is an acrobatic retelling of Romeo and Juliette.

Around the World with the Diva was interesting. This show was developed by two artists, @WayOfTheWesley and Miss @Titty_Kaka. So having a different Diva perform a show that doesn’t necessarily fit their own style of drag may not always work. With that being said @CarlosTheUberDriverr did a wonderful job making it their own within the guidelines of the show. We also had the pleasure of sailing with Carlos’s mother, two aunts, and grandmother, all of which were sitting behind us at the show. Two things that were a little different this go around concerning the Diva, they did not have a Bingo with the Diva. This may be because of it being a 4-night sailing or they may have done away with it altogether. We also noticed during the PJ party the Goddess did the singing previously done by the Diva. (Maybe clarify this a bit.  You mention two things, but it looks like only one.)

We squeezed in two shows on out last night, Never Sleep Alone (NSA) and Untitled DanceShowPartyThingy.  We were seated front row for NSA and had such mixed emotions as this was Dr. Audrey’s last sailing as it was the end of her contract. For most this wouldn’t have really been a big deal but Dr. Audrey had been on the ship since our sailing back in April. She had done a back-to back contract and might be the only person we recognized, that didn’t leave and comeback. On Scarlet Night the ship literally had her in stitches so her “replacement”, Dr. Ashley, actually did her last show. Come to find out Dr. Ashley’s last show of her previous contract was done by Dr. Audrey. So, it was a whole Circle of Life kind of thing. This show is always a lot of fun and a bit unpredictable as you never know how the audience participants will behave. For those that have a bit of stage fright they try to find out before the show if you are willing to participate or not. Those who do get invited to a little meet and greet after the show with the good Dr.

Without giving too much away the wife and I were asked to help out with the GDGH segment, otherwise known as “the fruit couple”. This would be the most adult themed show on the ship.

After the little gathering we hurried over to the Red Room to find UntitledDanceShowPartyThing already in progress. This is a high energy dance show with some comedic elements and a cat. I describe it as theater in the round, that moves around you, as the stage is moved a couple of times during the show. You will be standing and dancing for the duration of this show.

There is quite a bit of live music around the ship. They have a house band, a couple of visiting musicians, and some DJs. While the DJs sets can be a bit repetitive, as the same setlist is used for several performance throughout the cruise, they still have some free reign to play their style of music at times. While we didn’t stop to listen to any of the shows, we did enjoy the music as we passed by or lingered around the bars.

We did get invited to three special invite only shows, aka “secret shows”, which all three were new experiences for us. The only things I will say about this is try to get to genuinely get to know the Cast. Don’t ask for an invite. If you don’t get one, you will still have a fabulous time.

If I haven’t said it before, I will mention it now that I do not feel nickel and dimed on Virgin’s ships. Most everything is included but there are a handful of extra events which do have a nominal charge, if you choose to attend these. In most cases it is for the food, drink, and supplies that are used during the event. This cruise we did pay for a couple of these extra events on board, Plate, Snap, Eat: Foodie Photo Workshop (PSE) and Real Talk with Dr. A: 50 Shades of Play (RT).

PSE is held in the Test Kitchen and teaches you how to plate a couple of dishes as well as take Instagram worthy pictures. It is hosted by The Foodie and maybe another Happenings Cast member. For our session the co-host was The Bounce. We were able to assemble and plate the ever so trendy avocado toast and pistachio and raspberry macarons. We also had Champagne to sip to help with the creative process. They also delivered a delicious third dish for us that was fully prepped and plated. The Bounce did a great job of helping some of us older, but young at heart people better understand how to get more out of Instagram. The Foodie provided great inspiration and insight for plating your dishes.

RT was something that Dr. Audrey talked us into doing and since it was her last cruise for a while, we were all in. This is a very intro class on BDSM. You meet in one location and are taken to a camera free section on the ship. Again, there are some beverages served with this event and the first part is a Q&A that you do blind folded to increase anonymity and participation. A few impact play toys are demoed and you get a chance to try some out as well. The only downside would be people that are overly intoxicated or wanting to be the center of attention, may distract a bit from the vibe.

This was the first VV cruise we took with The Charmer onboard. The Charmer is the resident Magician and we were able to catch a few of his shows and activities around the ship. We were able to spend a good amount of time with him throughout the cruise. Great magician and an even better human.

Deep Blue Extras

As mentioned above we sailed as Sea-Rovers and were given the Deep Blue Extras. A brief overview of the perks…

Boarding: Once you get upstairs (passed check-in) you get to board with group 1 or as soon as you get there if they are already boarding.

Champagne: You shake – they deliver a bottle of Moet. Charge is removed within 24 hours

WiFi: Not necessarily faster but it does allow for streaming. Just sign up for that once onboard and charge is removed within 24 hours

Sailor Services: They have a rep assigned to help with your needs, this may be better explained during the cocktail party.

Cocktail Event: you will get a letter in your room and a message on the app with the details. We didn’t make it as we got invited to a limited access show.

Laundry: We were only on a 4 day so we didn’t bother using this service.

Coffee: Buy your coffee, charge is removed within 24 hours.

While we didn’t take advantage of all of these, we did like the ones we did use. This is acting as a test/teaser for their full-blown Sailing Club loyalty program, launching next year.

The Crew

Just like our last sailing the crew, no matter their position on the ship was wonderful. I do want to mention that no two Happenings Cast will be the same. When new people are cast into the roles, it is to bring something new to the ship. But you will always have a special place for your firsts. This Happenings Cast included…

• Dr. Audrey and Dr. Ashley
• The Artist, Will
• The Balancer, Anna
• The Bounce, Elesha
• The Charmer, Ryan
• The Diva, Carlos the Uber Driver
• The Flare, Allize (rhymes with Sail away)
• The Foodie, Sunny
• The Gamer, Justin
• The Glow, Kris
• The Hostess, Carmen
• The Hype, Alejandro
• The Spark, Nata

I was a bit nervous meeting this happening Cast as I spent 9 days with the previous cast. Overall this cast was great. Different, but still great. Some, I felt took a little more interaction with them to get them to warm up to you. But I am sure that is in part because there are now people who are doing so not to get to know them, but to get special invites. Again, I want to stress to you, don’t go looking for invites, it’s unbecoming and more than likely won’t work. These people are just people, who put in long hours to help deliver a truly unique and incredible experience. There were two members of this cast, who I will not call out, that really seemed off. One just seemed like they were over their contract and didn’t want to be there or deal with sailors and every time I tried to engage with them, I felt dismissed. The other while I never noticed this towards sailors, seemed to give off a bit of a creeper vibe towards their fellow crew members. To be fair, I don’t know the behind-the-scenes relationships and maybe this wasn’t really a thing. But from the outside looking in it didn’t always seem like things were welcome or playful interaction.

Again we got to talk a bit with Anton and Mike from Dual Reality, Zach from various performances around the ship and Oliver and Malik who were getting ready to return to the ship under a new contract.

I do need to do a better job with names there were numerous other crew who from the bar and wait staff, cabin stewards, Sailor Services that just gave I their all to help make this an amazing vacation.

Conclusion

I love this cruise line. I love the fact that it is unlike what everyone else at sea delivers. The lack of kids onboard, no constant announcements from the Captain or anyone else. The welcoming atmosphere to those from all walks of life. Well, the no-hateful ones.

There have been several changes made since April of 2022 and Virgin, still very much an infant in the industry has mastered so many things. But having only sailed for a year and in the post covid world, they still have some things to learn and some growing pains. But in reality, no vacation ever goes perfect and is going to be what you make of it.

If you enjoy sailing and you haven’t experience Virgin yet, why not? I often hear people ask how “adult” is it? To which I reply it is a cruise for adults, not an “Adult” cruise ship. No one is going to force you to do anything you don’t want. But, like any cruise ship you may find some of the pineapple crowd, you will find members of the LGBTQIA family, there will be solo travelers, bridal and bachelor groups, honeymooners, babymooners, and we have seen people from 18 to their 60s and maybe 70s, I didn’t ask, onboard. As long as you are willing to be kind and courteous to your fellow passengers, and are willing to sail the seas with as new experience, I think you will like sailing the Virgin Way.

If you are ready to book, you can contact me and I will be happy to help or if you prefer, you can click this link and book your Virgin Voyage with me.