Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady: Why Book this Cruise?

Hey travel lovers! Travel season is officially here with Memorial Day the unofficial day to kick off summer travels! I’m excited about talking to you about my cruise experience with Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady! The Virgin brand, known for Virgin Music and Virgin Atlantic airlines, now have cruises with 3 new ships and it is only for 18 and up! The Scarlet Lady is docked at the Port of Miami and goes to different destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico. My cruise in November 2021 was the Costa Maya Mexico cruise that stopped in Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Bimini Bahamas. Check out my cruise review and cruise tour! Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel!

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The Luxury Experience Virgin Voyages Cruise Riviera Maya

FIRST IMPRESSIONS & COVID PROTOCOL

As you have probably already heard the Virgin Voyages cruise line is the latest of the most luxurious and contemporary style ships right now. You can definitely see that when you first entered the ship. The cruiseline has a lot of great perks like all eateries are included as well as tips, WIFI, essential drinks such as sodas, teas and lemonade, and group exercises too. Prior to boarding, you get plenty of emails to get you ready for the ship from them mailing your wrist band which is not a cheap plastic wrist band that you would get at an amusement park but little bit more chic in style. Also you will get access to the appwhere you can immediately book your excurisions and make dinner reservations too.

All passengers and crew must be fully vaccinated and will receive a complimentary COVID test prior to boarding the ship. The process was really quick an easy. Keep in mind, my boat at the time was at 40% capacity though. I got my results in 10 mins but they stated it can take about 30 minutes.

As you enter the doors to board the ship, you can already sensethat lux feel from the style of the seating and decor. I love the LED lights throughout the ship given it some extra oomph. Everything was very organized and everyone was very excited and happy to be on board. Best of all there were no kids running around.

SAIL CABIN: SEA TERRACE WITH HAMMOCK

There are different Virgin Voyages cruise line that you can choose from but I highly recommend booking the Sea Terrace with hammock cabin. I love the balcony because it is see-through glass all the way down so you can fully see the waves. Other cruises I have been on is opaque so when you sit down you cannot see anything. The hammock is so relaxing that you never want to leave. A great place to watch sunrise, sunset and late night relaxation.

The design inside the cabins is just like their beautiful Virgin Hotels. Very contemporary and upscale that you forget that you are even on a ship. The beds have 3 different options from full size, split twin size beds and even a sofa. You can request the change using their in room ipad which also controlls the lights and the color of the room which is pretty cool.

You have fresh water that is refilled each day and great bath toiletries to use as well. The bathrooms are quite nice versus other cruise bathroom rooms that are very plain. Overall the room has lots of space which I love and space to store your luggage so it is not taking up the living space.

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THE SHIP’S DECKS

The decks on the ship all have a little bit of something different and are all very upscale in style. The whole ship was designed with the seaview in mind. So pretty much wherever there are seating you will have a seaview of some sort to enjoy. Whether outside or inside the seatings are arranged to enoy the views which I love. I love all the different style seatings available. It makes it such a unique experience as well.

I love the outside deck seatings where there are the bars because you really feel like you are on a floating resort in Miami with how chic everything is. There are multiple pools and hotubs throughout the ship and again so screaming kids making a splash. Despite what some people may have thought about Virgin Voyages, it is not nudist rauchy cruise where anything goes. Nothing crazy happened or was seen on my ship or any other sail that I have seen or read. I think that was just misconception prior to launching that got passed around as a rumor.

On the ship you can actually do a little bit of shopping. Below the main deck is a shopping mall where they have MAC Cosmetics, a salon, barber and even a tattoo shop. There are different stores to shop from which is great if you need or forgot something. There is also a cool bar and restaurant on the shopping deck too.

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VIRGIN VOYAGES LUXURIOUS REDEMPTION SPA

You definitely should prebook a day pass for The Redemption Spa! Their day passes fill up quick on sea days which is the perfect day to enoy a spa day. I would recommend enjoying it in the afternoon so you can get the most out of the sun decks to tan during the morning and early afternoon. Then relax indoors before catching some shows and then dinner.

The best way I love to describe their spa is 007 meets a luxury spaceship. I have never been to a spa so upscale like theirs with all the gold! You definitely do not want to leave. I love that it is on a sea level so you can really see the waves from the huge port holes that you can sit in. Also book a spa treatment! I enoyed my massage which had a seaview. Of course you are not looking out at the window during your massage but it is a nice feature to have in your room.

Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady: Why Book this Cruise?

THE 5 STAR FOOD EATERIES

One of the best things to enjoy on this cruise is all the eateries and drink options! Everyone goes on cruises for the food and I am happy to say that the food did not disappoint! These are definitely 5 star restaurants and way better than other cruises I have sailed on. I love the concept of how to enjoy dinner on Virgin Voyages. You can book your dinner appointment on the app like Open Table or Resy and book any time before 5:30 and 9:30pm. Most cruise lines have just a few batch slots that may not been convenient for you. Where there are openings every 15 minutes which is great.

Another good feature depending on how you look at is is that you cannot eat at the same restaurant twice allowing all passengers to get a chance to a eat at another restaurant. Restaurants such as The Test Kitchen is a whole experience so it would not be fair if someone did not want to broaden out and booked it every single night causing other passengers not to be able to experience it as well. So the app has some restrictions in that regard. But it is good to try out everything. I just recommend booking your reservations as soon as reservations becomes available which may be the day of boarding. There was not really any restaurant that disappointed us. We did not get to eat at Razzle Dazzle so I cannot comment there but I have heard mixed reviews.

The ship has no buffet. It is all served to you. The Galley is what you would expect to have a buffet line but it is like a chic foodhall where there are multiple eateries that you can order from and server will bring it to you which is great. You scan a QR code and order from one or multiple spots and your server will bring it to you even if you are eating outside. Again tips are included. Even if you wanted to add a tip I never even found a tipping option. Virgin Voyages prides themselves on paying their crew well. The crew on the ship represents over 60 different countries which I love because of all the accents and backgrounds that you will see.

PORT STOPS: BIMINI BAHAMAS & COZUMEL MEXICO

If you are all about added countries to your list of places you have travelled, cruising on Virgin Voyages is a great option. No matter where you sail in the Caribbean, the ship will stop for a full day stop at their private beach club in Bimini, The Bahamas right before returning to Florida! I love that both port stops in Cozumel and Bimini are full day. So you doc at about 8am and don’t leave until 11pm getting to enjoy the sunset and not feeling rushed. This island is not exclusive to Virgin Voyage but a private part where they have their beach club. There is a free shuttle that takes you to the beach club and back to the ship so where you doc it is not walkable to the club but about a 5 minute ride.

There are plenty of lounge chairs and pool chairs to enjoy. Since hte beach is quite long, there are plenty of beach front chairs too. I had not problem finding one. It is a relaxing time at the beach club where drinks are included (non alcohol) as well as two meals. There is the full lunch that was amazing – Caribbean style and light late lunch afterwards. Breakfast and dinner you enoy on the boat. They have a DJ that plays music throughout which our cruise was suppose to have Diplo supposedly but weas cancelled. There are also lockers and shower.

Turn on your JavaScript to view content Bimini Bahamas Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady: Why Book this Cruise?

Our first port stop was at Cozumel, Mexico. Virgiin has a private ferry that will shuttle you 30 minutes to also enjoy Playa del Carmen. Keep in mind there are only so many private shuttles. So if you book an excurision you may not be able to experience both places. The wayaround that is taking the public ferry to Playa del Carmen and then the private ferry back. It was pretty cheap like perhaps $4. There are so many tours you can book on the Virgin Voyages app such as the SeaTrek as seen in my YouTube review, chocolate factory and sunset cruises.

I hope you enjoyed this review and you get to book your cruise on Virgin Voyages! If you want to explore the Mediterranean such as Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal, check book one of their other ships! It will surely be just as amazing!