My time in Miami and onboard Virgin Voyages, Scarlet Lady!
I must admit I was a little wary of Virgin Voyages as they have heavily advertised that they are focused on attracting those individuals who have not/do not want to cruise. I love cruising so was worried it would be a bit too “out there”. How wrong I was!!
The vibe onboard is very laid back. During the day there are activities going on but they are not advertised in a daily patter, you stumble across them as you work your way around the ship, similar to day out in your local town/city. This can be anything from acoustic sessions, board games (they were so popular with the Americans) to make up classes and so many health and well being choices.
Around the pool, the vibe was chilled with low level music being played until the pool party kicked off and the tempo was turned up. This was the same on an evening, most dining venues also have a bar and the entertainment in each was so different. You could do a pub crawl around the ship and have a wonderful night out just seeing who was playing where. Plus the pop up entertainment like the magicians who will just appear next to you was great.
The shows I saw were brilliant. So different to anything I have seen before and the entertainment team seemed to genuinely enjoy “hanging out” with Joe Public after their shows. I loved the 80s show complete with hula hoops and lots of neon clothing!
Another thing I loved was the deck layout. You can get your bearings on Scarlet Lady quickly with none of the “have to go up a floor to reach that venue” situations going on that you get on most ships. You could walk in a straight line and pretty much get from the front to the back of the ship on all floors.
We stayed in a Sea Terrace (balcony) cabin which was turned into a twin. It was spacious with a good size balcony that comes with a hammock (made in Thailand from recycled materials) although the bathroom was small. However, I genuinely do not think I have been on any other ship where I spent so little time in my room. There was too much to enjoy to be hanging around in there.
Virgin Voyages do not offer a traditional drinks package and instead you can purchase a bar tab. This allows you to buy any drink you want with nothing not included. It is surprising how far the bar tab went as all soft drinks, water and drip tea & coffee are included in the cost of your cruise. As is WIFI and all gratuities. The prices were reasonable with most drinks ranging from $9 to $14 for cocktails.
This ship is 100% one for foodies. With all speciality dining included we enjoyed experimental food with paired wines in the Test Kitchen, Korean BBQ food and Soju drinking games in Gunbae, stylish Mexican flavours in Pink Agave, fine fish & steak dining in The Wake, and a bottomless Prosecco brunch in there too & brunch with a twist in Razzle Dazzle.
This is on top of The Galley food market, low key pizza, hot dogs & tapas options and a truly fabulous ice cream parlour (to reiterate, this is all included, I do not think I have ever eaten as well on a cruise ship!). There was also lots more we didn’t get to experience as there was no way we could have got around all the eateries during our short stay, but we tried!
As part of this amazing experience I got to swim with Pigs in the Bahamas, visit Virgin Voyages own beach club on the exclusive island of Bimini in the Bahamas and also see the alligators in the Everglades. Plus, we spent a wonderful evening on South beach Miami and visited the chilled Bayside area of Miami.
I really did fall in love with Scarlet Lady (as well as Miami and the Bahamas!!) and would 100% go back on her tomorrow if I could!
Scarlet Lady's sister ship, Valiant Lady is sailing around the Med in the Summer and has some amazing itineraries including overnight stays in Ibiza and Mykonos!
Get in touch and let me tell you more about this great cruise line and the wonderful itineraries available! Xx