Virgin Voyages June 5 - 10 review

[scaught]

Quick review of our second sail on Scarlet Lady. First was the NYE cruise ~6 months ago. 
 

• The new terminal is freaking gorgeous. I honestly didn't feel like we got to experience it that much because we BLEW through there super fast. Vastly different experience to 6 months ago in that rundown terminal they were using. We had our covid tests done ahead of time, and the technology/systems seemed to be working much better. No issues at all - there was some headscratching during check in 6 months ago, nothing egregious for a brand new cruise line that had only done ~10 cruises by that point.
• After boarding, we immediately headed to the room to drop our carry on stuff off. Bags showed up as we were leaving the room - again, super fast. Our cruise only had ~650 passengers, so this is probably a factor for these speedy comments. 
• Specific to our stateroom: we chose the 'Lock It In Rate Ltd View Sea Terrace' while booking because it saved us almost $800. I figured if we received a bad room I could just request a change/upgrade. We ended up being on deck 8 towards the back of the boat - we didn't get our stateroom assigned until a day or two before. We were directly above the interior portion of the dock, and could hear some trivia happening below us one night while we were getting ready for dinner, but otherwise it was fine/quiet. We had a very nice view of a lifeboat, but otherwise still enjoyed the balcony/natural light. We took the money we saved and turned ourselves into champagne filters for 5 days. 
• We went to extra virgin for the first time this cruise (didn't make it on the first cruise). It was a very nice meal, and certainly one of the better restaurants on the ship. Everything was delicious, and our server was amazing. Seafood pasta was a highlight for sure.
• We went to Pink Agave twice this cruise, and ate like it was our last meal on earth both times. I'm going to have dreams about that roasted duck with mole. Smoked pork was incredible too. The aguachile and shrimp with mole sauce....ok we liked everything. It's easily our fav restaurant on the ship
• Another first on this cruise was Razzle Dazzle for dinner. We'd only done breakfast at this spot previously. The 'secret steak' is said to be the best steak on the ship, and I'll vouch for it. There was a hollandaise type sauce with kimchi (i love kimchi), and the cook on the steak was very good. The mushroom tartare appetizer may have been the best thing I had on the ship. So much rich mushroom flavor, but also lots of bright acid notes. We also saw a whole roasted cauliflower in the mains section and ordered it to share. It was literally as big as a (cut in half) basketball or bigger - HUGE. It was a little underseasoned for me, but not too bad. 
• We got an invite to the 'secret' magic show. Very small group of people in a very unique location so it felt kinda special. You can get an invite by hanging around the director staff (we came across someone in the loose cannon bar) or just send a DM to ryankanemagic on insta. I've only been following him since the cruise, but for a secret show he talks about it a lot lol. 
• We did a mezcal/tequila tasting that was very informative and delicious. 3 shots of tequila, 2 of mezcal, small group of 8-10 people. Some snacky items were also served. Def worth it if you're into those spirits. 
• Just a general comment to mention the service we received. Again maybe the limited passenger count was a factor but everyone was so nice/accommodating. Romina at Pink Agave was super nice and personable. Manny (bartender, i think he's kind of a lead bartender as he wandered around a lot) was super nice too. He did the mezcal tasting, and made us some special cocktails based on spirits we're into (campari, amaro, mezcal, cynar, etc). 
   

In the things we missed/what would we do next time section:

• We tried to go to the poke bowl place (sun club cafe), but it was closed. Also kinda hard to find...
• We never made it to the ice cream place. We're not super big on sweets (we drink our carbs), but I do like trying new things
• We met a few couples, and had dinner with a couple one night. We didn't go to gunbae this cruise because the group we sat with at gunbae on the first cruise was kinda weird, and didn't want a repeat. Next cruise we'd spend a few days recruiting people and invite that group who we think is OK. 
• Specific to the stateroom, we were told by another couple they asked about an upgrade while checking in, and received one. Definitely worth asking about next time. 
• Try and get a room near the midship elevators. It seems like everything we wanted to do was near midship, so we spent a lot of time walking to those lifts from our room (first world problems). 
• We did our first shows on board this cruise (magic show mentioned above, and duel reality which was incredible), but would try to do more next time. 
   

Overall, it lived up to our expectations or was better. We love the service, food, and 'no kid' factor. We're not super picky but we didn't really have anything to complain about. I wish there were more bathrooms on the pool deck? The canned wine we had at the pizza place was awful? Most of our previous cruises were on RCCL - I can't see us going back but who knows. I like routine and knowing what I'm getting into so I could see myself going back on this ship again knowing nothing much about the experience would change, but can also see how this would be a downer for others. I think Resilient Lady is supposed to have some new/different restaurants? 

Ok this wasn't quick at all. I hope it was somewhat entertaining/informative. 

[cantgetin]

Great review.  Thanks for posting.  My only comment would be that you got the limited view cabin that you paid for.  Since your cruise was only about 25% full, there would have been lots of potential to upgrade at embarkation, but this won't continue when they get the numbers up.

[CruisingWalter]

@scaught thanks so much for that awesome review. We are getting ready to meet Scarlet on July 8 for a cruise we booked 2 years ago. It sounds like we would all get along at Gunbae as we love to experiment with new foods but we're on the mellow side, we might be a little weird, but mellow weird. 🙂 Now you have me really excited for Pink Agave with the duck, sounds divine. That's great you saved the money to get that cabin and with the low capacity on your sailing, it does sound like you would have been able to get an upgrade. I love that you can take your bags directly to the cabin when you board. We're lucky to be in a Cheeky Corner Suite because we got the 200% FCC when they cancelled our first cruise. We originally booked a Sea Terrace. 

 

We've sailed Royal, Princess, Disney, Carnival, HAL, NCL and Celebrity as we love to try out all the ships. Very interested to see what we like and don't like about the VV way. Again, thanks for your review! 

[sbc234]

Is there a casino onboard?

[scaught]

1 hour ago, sbc234 said:

Is there a casino onboard?

There is! It's not the largest casino I've seen on a cruise ship. They have slots, craps, roulette, blackjack, 3 card poker, and some other table games. There was a 1-2 hold em game but I didn't make it there to play. 

I like to play craps or blackjack. This cruise it was $10 minimum, last cruise I was on it was 25.