A Few Tips with Scarlet Lady. Just off

[basketballdad]

Just off..mixed reviews.  Staff was outstanding and most friendly of 50 plus cruises.  If you status match and are deep blue you stand in line with everyone, then as you go upstairs go to the far right line. No signs though They have a print out of those that are deep blue, and will give you a blue wrist band. It was 15 minutes parking lot to cabin. Great! When you get on board just by the premium internet  package and a few hours later as deep blue you will see a credit.  Made meal reservations and had a phenomenal filet the first night at the wake  wow. 

[basketballdad]

As you walk up by the porters they ask your cabin number (found on ap) and write it on the tag.  Ours wrote one room wrong and thankfully my spouse saw it and corrected it!  So watch.  A few other things. The app shows your balances..loot, drink credit, ECT and is not on the TV like at some hotels.  

 

The cabin was different. The hammock is a chair, the deck chairs hard metal, the bath has no shelves, and the bed low. To store suitcases under bed just unzip them and slide them under open.  My wife is brilliant as other a few other posters could not figure that out

[basketballdad]

The bath has no shelves but it worked. Watch a YouTube video about the cabin. About 80npercent are sea terraces. 

The TV had few live broadcast channels ..2 bnc and 2 ESPN, bit a huge amount of free movies.  Not that we came on a cruise to watch movies but we put one on as we prepared for bed 9ne night 

[basketballdad]

The ship above deck 7 is very narrow. Walk down the a or z halls and you'll notice this by the elevators.  Not good or bad, just an observation.  But things out on deck were lacking in space. 2 small pools and very few chairs.  

[basketballdad]

Virgin started as record company and we were supposed the lack of music choices.  The main guy was an Irish guitarist playing sometimes his own stuff and unheard of Irish music. Followed by a Latin trio that played about 10 percrnt of what you might hear s house band play. Followed by a 5 piece band that played all over the board including cuban standards..as if anyone was from Cuba.  The brother and sister duo the last day played mostly modern standards and we're good. But there was not a house band that played mainstream standards that you would see on bigger ships.  The pipped in music was all over the board. And it varied from area to area at the same time.  Seriously this was annoying.  I listen to a ton of xm.radio and I called some of the music deep cuts on steroids.  For example by the pool they were playing a bunch of 7nheard 9f songs, and a b side of a record (yes purists do vinyl sometimes ) came on. Serious I had not heard or played that in a decade.  I bet very few people had heard that song and I only did because I own it and listened to the b side.  Why the obscure music most of the time?  The song I referred to never charted...

Anyway the pool party did play dance music that was well known and the crowd got into it

 

But having roots in the record business the music was at times awful..who plays deep deep tracks at times?  Virgin does 

[basketballdad]

Most the shows were r rater language wise. Except the dinner show which was pg 13.  Very good show. Variety acts. Weird food at least the salads.  Duel reality was rater g and probably the best show at sea.  Outstanding. We liked it better than the diving shows on the oasis and symphony of the seas.  It was that good.  The 70s club music the last night in the manor was mislabeled nliot was not 70s music but mostly modern club music. Nothing wrong with that but they should label it correctly 

[basketballdad]

At key west we took the free bus around the island. Did the free part of the Truman White House tour then did the shipwreck museum.  Felt the shipwreck museum was very good.  Ring the bell on the tower.  At Bimini it was nice n about a 15 minute tram ride.  We got there in the first hour and got front row shaded seats. They ran out of umbrellas for rows behind us. The food was bizarre.  Curry for an island lunch ?!!where are the burgers? And wow not close to enough chairs by the pool. 

But the beach was top notch. Well maintained

 

[basketballdad]

A our 4 pm the last day you can select on the app your departure time. Latest is 1030 an which was full when we noticed we could select a time.  The shipped docked about 4 am and was the first one in this morning. Watched others dock after..they come in and turn around by the virgin dock. It's actually an amazing view to see these giant ships come down the waterway and turn around by the virgin voyages dock then go park. 

 

Considering all basic tips were included we were surprised how extra friendly and persona le the staff was.  Above a beyond.  

[CineGraphic]

3 hours ago, basketballdad said:

The food was bizarre.  Curry for an island lunch ?!!where are the burgers?

 

Curry is a Caribbean staple....but it would be nice if they offered burgers as well for those who prefer not to experiment.

[1025cruise]

Your thoughts are similar to mine that I posed on a live. Virgin has a different product than other cruise lines, which isn't a bad thing. Choice is a wonderful thing. Also as I said in my live, while I would cruise Virgin again, I'm not in a rush to book another.

[Travel-and-See]

11 hours ago, basketballdad said:

Duel reality was rater g and probably the best show at sea.  Outstanding. We liked it better than the diving shows on the oasis and symphony of the seas.  It was that good. 

Agreed. So glad you saw this show and enjoyed it - it's definitely the best show I've ever seen on a cruise ship.  If you ever take a vacation to San Francisco the same company (7 Fingers) has a show called "Dear San Francisco" which is all about the city.. same type of show though with the same type of circus acts and the same kind of vibe.

 

My experience with the music on Virgin ships has been different than yours, I've always found some really incredible musicians on each cruise but it could be that you had a weird mix. Virgin seems to rotate musicians around a lot. If MORF ever comes back on a Miami-based cruise I'd probably book another cruise just for him! 

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I can't wait for my next cruise on the Scarlet Lady and glad to hear she's got a good crew currently! 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Travel-and-See

[TYCruise]

Music is a "no win" situation. What's great to some is terrible to others.

[Travel-and-See]

1 hour ago, TYCruise said:

Music is a "no win" situation. What's great to some is terrible to others.

thats why most cruise ships provide a good variety of styles. I’ve been very happy with the music on the virgin cruises I’ve taken and felt like the quality is better than other lines but I also feel like they hire more “real” artists so you hear less covers and popular music.  

[KPookey]

Just off, as well.  I loved Duel Reality and It’s a Ship Show. I actually really loved the cruise in general.  It has room for improvement, but overall I had a really great time.

 

[Gretchendz]

On 7/30/2023 at 6:22 AM, basketballdad said:

  Curry for an island lunch ?!!where are the burgers? And wow not close to enough chairs by the pool. 

But the beach was top notch. Well maintained

 

 

As always, food is subjective. We thought the food at Bimini was great. The curry and red snapper were excellent. LOL I can get burgers and hot dogs at home (or on the ship).

[kittyboomboom1]

1 hour ago, Gretchendz said:

 

As always, food is subjective. We thought the food at Bimini was great. The curry and red snapper were excellent. LOL I can get burgers and hot dogs at home (or on the ship).

Have you heard of the new Jimmy Buffet song "Curry in Paradise"?  Didnt think so... hey not to be snippy, I am glad you liked the food.  Food is very subjective.  For me, like the OP, I want a cheeseburger in paradise and you are right, they have very good ones on the ship.  Just wished it was offered at the Beach Club.

[julianiquet]

"Curry for an island lunch?"

Tell me you are American without telling me you are American 😂 My first thought was "who eats burgers in the beach?" 😂

[hotsauce126]

On 8/11/2023 at 10:12 AM, kittyboomboom1 said:

Have you heard of the new Jimmy Buffet song "Curry in Paradise"?  Didnt think so... hey not to be snippy, I am glad you liked the food.  Food is very subjective.  For me, like the OP, I want a cheeseburger in paradise and you are right, they have very good ones on the ship.  Just wished it was offered at the Beach Club.

 

Jimmy Buffet is from Alabama lol not the Caribbean

[conandrob240]

On 7/30/2023 at 5:45 AM, basketballdad said:

Just off..mixed reviews.  Staff was outstanding and most friendly of 50 plus cruises.  If you status match and are deep blue you stand in line with everyone, then as you go upstairs go to the far right line. No signs though They have a print out of those that are deep blue, and will give you a blue wrist band. It was 15 minutes parking lot to cabin. Great! When you get on board just by the premium internet  package and a few hours later as deep blue you will see a credit.  Made meal reservations and had a phenomenal filet the first night at the wake  wow. 

Can you explain more? When we sailed 10 months ago, to the right of the main door, outside  there were designated lines for each time slot. There was an area for Rockstar (entrance where they went right upstairs to waiting room). And then there were a few staff standing at front entrance giving wristbands for deep blue/status sailors. After wristband, you entered the doors and waited in a line inside just below the escalators. So you got to enter first when they started boarding, after rockstars but before any timed entry sailors. Has this changed? Or perhaps you missed it? 

[cantgetin]

45 minutes ago, conandrob240 said:

Can you explain more? When we sailed 10 months ago, to the right of the main door, outside  there were designated lines for each time slot. There was an area for Rockstar (entrance where they went right upstairs to waiting room). And then there were a few staff standing at front entrance giving wristbands for deep blue/status sailors. After wristband, you entered the doors and waited in a line inside just below the escalators. So you got to enter first when they started boarding, after rockstars but before any timed entry sailors. Has this changed? Or perhaps you missed it? 

This was our experience in Miami less than 6 months ago.  Podium with woman handing out the ribbon wrist bands, this got us immediate entrance to the terminal, and a special like, separate from the timed lines.  We boarded right after the suites and Splash of Romance.  And we were in the cabin less than 15 minutes from entering the terminal.

In Barcelona, there was a man looking us up on his tablet to determine whether we could enter the terminal, but we did not get the ribbon band  until the check in desk, at which point we got both the ribbon and the red band.  It was essentially the same procedure with minimal variations.  Also, in Barcelona there was essentially no waiting in the terminal, although this may all be different now as the ship is using Terminal A rather than the WTC terminal.  We entered, went thru security, then to check in....then we waited until boarding started (we were allowed to enter at 1:00 but boarding didn't start till 1:30.  We were in our room by 1:40.  The timed lines were outside the terminal....but again, our next BCN cruise will be using a different terminal, so things may be different.

Edited October 24, 2023 by cantgetin

[cantgetin]

On 7/30/2023 at 5:55 AM, basketballdad said:

 

 

The cabin was different. The hammock is a chair, the deck chairs hard metal, the bath has no shelves, and the bed low. 

The hammock is not a chair other than in a few cabins where the attachments will not allow a standard hammock.  The bathrooms, other than the accessible bathrooms do have a large shelf under the sink,  The accessible cabins are missing this shelf in order to allow a wheelchair to get close enough to the sink!

[happy cruzer]

On 8/11/2023 at 7:43 AM, Gretchendz said:

 

As always, food is subjective. We thought the food at Bimini was great. The curry and red snapper were excellent. LOL I can get burgers and hot dogs at home (or on the ship).

Thanks for the report on the curry and snapper.  Have never eaten anything on other private islands except jerk chicken, just too ordinary and heavy.  I will give these a try.

 

Thanks for all the reports.

[MarkWiltonM]

We just took our first VV cruise, on Scarlet Lady, a couple of weeks ago. Loved the inclusiveness of the guests and cruise. It was very multiracial and lots of LGBTQ+. That was a huge plus. 

 

We thought the food in the restaurants was the best of any cruise line we've been on with the exception of Crystal, and right up there with Crystal. Better than Oceania. Way better than Celebrity and HAL. However, we got bored quickly of the food in the Galley with the exception of the ramen. Tacos were meh. Sandwiches okay. Burgers okay. Nothing special. Didn't like the pizza either in the pizza place. Loved loved loved loved loved the Mediterranean food at the Dock and Dockhouse. Really: very good. And room service menu/food/service: stellar. 

 

That said, we won't cruise VV again because while the interiors were gorgeous the exterior decks were hideous and there was nowhere comfortable for us to sit outside, except on the "promenade" on Deck 7, outside The Grounds Club, which seemed like an afterthought. We felt trapped inside. Also far too much of the seating even indoors was very low. Good for slouching but terrible for posture. Food served at low "coffee tables" in some places. We're in our 60s so this would probably not be as much a problem for younger folk, and the average age on our cruise was probably 35-40. The room was also uncomfortable. Low bed with hard mattress and the pillows were too thick and very lumpy. The towels in the itty-bitty bathroom were worn and hospital-quality. No body lotion supplied in the stateroom (confirmed with Sailor Services) and the necessities shop was sold out, of course. Had to buy a $28 bottle of L'Occitane de Provence body lotion from another shop.

 

But the food and service in The Wake, Extra Virgin, Razzle Dazzle, and Pink Agave (listed in order of preference) were phenomenal. We'll miss that. Wish other cruise lines would get their food act together.   

Edited October 25, 2023 by MarkWiltonM

[neverendingcruising]

Concur on the food review, except the pizza. We were fans! 
 

We also found the lack of lotion to be very vexing, of all the things they include that’s where they decided to skimp??

 

By chance, did you go out on deck 16? A lot of varied seating options midship and aft. 

[TYCruise]

41 minutes ago, neverendingcruising said:

Concur on the food review, except the pizza. We were fans! 
 

 

I found that the pizza goes from "okay" to "great" if you ask for it well-done.