Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 #1 Share Posted May 17, 2023 The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step… I don’t know who said that, I suppose you could Google it. I guess I could have Googled it, and saved you the trouble. I’m not here to give you all the answers, we should all be asking more questions… Wait a minute. Where was I going with all that? Oh yeah, I’m going on a cruise! On Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady! The Scarlet Lady is near and dear to me, having sailed upon her three times now, already… I’ve pretty much seen and done everything on board food and beverage-wise, but I’ll try and expand on those options this time around. There are a few items on the various menus that I have yet to experience, so I plan on checking some of those off the list. I will be interested to see how she’s holding up with the increased capacity, as well as what “wear & tear” has occurred since this time last year. My first three sailings were wayyy below maximum occupancy, so it’ll be interesting to see how things are handled now that they’ve “lost their virginity” as a young cruise line… 31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #2 Share Posted May 17, 2023 I booked this sailing back in September 2022 under a promotion called Red Hot Booking Bonus Months, and received $400 in Sailor Loot. I got what I consider a pretty decent rate for an XL Sea Terrace, which is basically a regular Sea Terrace with an extra large bathroom. Not that I really needed it, but my very first cruise on Scarlet Lady back in October 2021, I was booked in one of these, and had it stripped out from under me less than 48 hours prior to sailing. Needless to say, I was pretty angry, but they claimed they needed my cabin as part of the quarantine area, as this was right at the tail end of the pandemic. A few weeks after booking, I submitted my information for their new “status match” program, and was approved in a couple of days. My Platinum status on NCL was good enough to receive this additional benefit, but I’d still have to wait awhile to see if this actually ended up being real. Since my very first cruise in October 2021 was a free cruise, won in their Shipload of Love contest, I failed to achieve status as a Sea Blazer by sailing in their first season. However, by sailing twice in 2022, I had apparently become a “Sea Rover”, but, like I said, I’ll believe any of these extra perks when I see them… About a month prior to setting sail, I called Virgin to see IF any of these supposed benefits would apply to my upcoming cruise, as none of this shows up on my booking, other than the $400 in Sailor Loot. Believe me, I screenshotted that $400 on all my mobile devices in case they try to rescind any of these perks. The customer service rep said that my status match would expire on April 30th 2023, BUT I would be receiving some perks due to their Match & See More, as well as Deep Blue Extras… Honestly, I thought the status match WAS the Match & See More, but she said it wasn’t… She said I’d just have to “trust that it’ll be there”... Well, I’ve already got several trust issues with them going all the way back to January 2020, but I’m just hoping it’ll be there. 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted May 17, 2023 2 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #4 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Only two and a half more days of work to go until I head out in Saturday morning!... Lunch today is leftover air fryer chicken thighs and dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) Virgin Voyages is emailing me urging me to finish my online check in, but I finished that weeks ago... 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #5 Share Posted May 17, 2023 3 1 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Sugar Magnolia Posted May 17, 2023 #6 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Cue Pink Get The Party Started 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BohJang Posted May 17, 2023 #7 Share Posted May 17, 2023 I'm here Sid and ready for the action. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #8 Share Posted May 17, 2023 This supposedly includes expedited boarding in the form of a dedicated line at embarkation. An additional $100 in free Bar Tab. Unlimited Premium WiFi for the entire cruise. Dedicated Sailor Services Support on board. An “exclusive cocktail event” on board. Free laundry service. And, $10 per day in specialty coffee per cabin. I’ll believe any of this when I actually see any of it… ***Updated to add: On May 1st, Virgin Voyages announced that they would be extending the program through at least the end of 2023, so I feel a bit more confident that I’ll actually be able to take advantage of these Deep Blue Extras!... 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #9 Share Posted May 17, 2023 (edited) The Scarlet Lady does four and five night sailings from the beautiful, brand new Terminal V at the Port of Miami... Several weeks ago, on April 9th 2023, the port set an all time record passenger load of 67,594 people in a single day! Edited May 17, 2023 by sid_9169 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenatorsFan Posted May 17, 2023 #10 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Yay, another @sid_9169 review to keep us entertained! 🥂🥰 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #11 Share Posted May 17, 2023 4 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazz1 Posted May 17, 2023 #12 Share Posted May 17, 2023 fab, fab, fab i'm new here and love your style of writing, looking forward to following along 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Viewer Posted May 17, 2023 #13 Share Posted May 17, 2023 I've been waiting for this!! I have Scarlet Lady booked at the end of June for first Virgin cruise. Used the match to get Sea Rover status so any info on the program will be greatly appreciated. Enjoy your cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CineGraphic Posted May 17, 2023 #14 Share Posted May 17, 2023 (edited) Pre-pandemic, I had zero-fear of flying in from ATL to either FLL or MIA the same day as sailing, if I was booked on the first non-stop of the day. Post-pandemic, it's the only route I'll still fly in on the day of sailing, but my wife really prefers to arrive at least a day early. Safe travels! Edited May 17, 2023 by CineGraphic 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ontheweb Posted May 17, 2023 #15 Share Posted May 17, 2023 1 hour ago, sid_9169 said: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step… I don’t know who said that, I suppose you could Google it. I guess I could have Googled it, and saved you the trouble. I’m not here to give you all the answers, we should all be asking more questions… Wait a minute. Where was I going with all that? Oh yeah, I’m going on a cruise! On Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady! The Scarlet Lady is near and dear to me, having sailed upon her three times now, already… I’ve pretty much seen and done everything on board food and beverage-wise, but I’ll try and expand on those options this time around. There are a few items on the various menus that I have yet to experience, so I plan on checking some of those off the list. I will be interested to see how she’s holding up with the increased capacity, as well as what “wear & tear” has occurred since this time last year. My first three sailings were wayyy below maximum occupancy, so it’ll be interesting to see how things are handled now that they’ve “lost their virginity” as a young cruise line… I thought that quotation was from Confucious, and I was going to post that. But then I googled and found out that I was wrong though many do attribute it to Confucious. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Wikipedia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKR2011 Posted May 17, 2023 #16 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Welcome back, Sid! I'm excited to follow along again. I hope all is well. It's been so long since I've been able to get back to The Tribe I hope things are well at the condo and with your job. ❤️⚓️ Ashley 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fethiyeden Posted May 17, 2023 #17 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Tribe lurker looking forward to following along. Have a fabulous cruise & pre stay in Miami. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare sid_9169 Posted May 17, 2023 Author #18 Share Posted May 17, 2023 7 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beav1279 Posted May 17, 2023 #19 Share Posted May 17, 2023 6 minutes ago, sid_9169 said: I always ask my dog why she is deflating... lol Nice to see another Sid review - always good reading IMO! Have a blast! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorWI Posted May 17, 2023 #20 Share Posted May 17, 2023 I so wanted to jump off the Celebration and onto the Scarlet Lady for a S2S recently but couldn't make it happen. One of these days I'll sail on Virgin though. Until then, I'll follow along on another Sid adventure. Enjoy!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slainte57 Posted May 17, 2023 #21 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Hopping onboard for your next adventure. Thanks for taking us along! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sj cruiser 1 Posted May 17, 2023 #22 Share Posted May 17, 2023 Long time lurker, ready to follow your adventures 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MeganGC1983 Posted May 17, 2023 #23 Share Posted May 17, 2023 (edited) Present! Ready to follow along on your adventures before I head out for the Resilient Lady. Ladies and Gentlemen… start your livers. Edited May 17, 2023 by MeganGC1983 4 25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare lazydayz Posted May 17, 2023 #24 Share Posted May 17, 2023 So glad to see another Sid review. Subscribed and ready for the party! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ninjacat123 Posted May 17, 2023 #25 Share Posted May 17, 2023 I thought the "thousand miles..." quote was from the "Kung Fu" tv show😂. Looking forward to a Sid review!! 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now