Interesting new ship and concept worth a look
Scarlet Lady Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
5 Night Riviera Maya (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 07, 2021
Ship: Scarlet Lady
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 3 years ago
Review summary
Overall a good experience I will try them again in a year to see if they improved.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Razzle Dazzle Restaurant
Veggie forward was not our thing. They put a twist on the food that didn't sit well with our taste. Some of the sailors loved it but I'm glad we only went here for lunch and not for one of the dinners. Best thing I had was the mushroom carpaccio
Extra Virgin
This was one of the specialty restaurants. The best thing here we tried was the waygue carpaccio. WOW. The worst thing we tried was the stripped bass which was so fishy I had to send it back. And I like fish of most kinds. The concept was italian villa
Grounds Club
Good expresso but we aware this is NOT starbucks. They can make expresso drinks and coffee but not blended drinks or any type of starbucks like things. Think of this like an Italian coffee house. Also; NO blender ANYWHERE onboard so no blended drinks unless it's premixed.
The Pizza Place
Decent pizza came out very quick; thin crust. Open later so thats always good.
The Test Kitchen
They tried...but some of the presentation looked like roadkill on a plate. (think big red splatter with a medallion of meat in the middle) They offer alcohol & non-alcohol pairings to go with the 6 courses. I think some of the dishes were successful but some tried too hard. Worth the experience especially cause it's included
The Sweet Side
The desert place in the galley. Not that great. everything is served on a little platter with a handle you can take with you but the flavors were either overpowering (chocolate ganache) or lacking (not sweet enough)
Bento Baby
This is the "grab and go" sushi place in the galley. They have about 6 set types of sushi (one of which is fruit) and also "fruit sushi" for breakfast. It's grocery store sushi but convenient. If you want to grab a box and take it to the pool it's very portable
Noodle Around
Basically a ramen shop with 4 different ramens you can try based on time of day. I stopped here 3 times once for breakfast and once later night. Worth it for quick noodles
Lick Me Till...Ice Cream
My husband said this was incredible. It's home made, and worth a stop every day.
Gunbae
Loved this. good selection of meats but the server overcooked it some. There are quite a few soju selections (plum was YUM)They make you play a drinking game to "get in the spirit" which unless you're with a group of your own friends was a bit trying to say the least.The best thing I had here was the waygu platter well worth the extra money
Well Bread
This is the bread side of the galley. You will also get breads that are found in some of the specialty restaurants here as well (jalapeno croissant)
The Wake
This was THE best restaurant we tried on board. Its the steakhouse. I had a salt crusted fish they attempted to serve table side but you could tell the waiter didn't have enough experience yet doing it. The fillet was nice and well cooked. What I liked the best about this was the whiskey tasting flight. Lead us to buy $500 worth of whiskey before we got off the ship lol.
The Manor
This is like a night club. We attended one show here and it was pretty intimate stand up comedy venue. Think old school club-bar; dark and mysterious
The Galley
Good: selection was well organized and tasted pretty good.Bad: no change to the menu. It's the same every day.Ok: they require you to sit and be served to order seems like later on they will allow you to browse and order but COVID made them do this for now
The Dock House
We tried the food that was tapas sized. The best octopus I've had on a ship was here but some of the other people loved the shrimp here.
SIP
One of the higher end bars on board. They had some of the more expensive wines open here. There is also a "high tea" served here you can reserve.
Pink Agave
The staff were very good. The food was pretty good. Favorite was the pork tacos. The deserts deserve a look as well. They will allow a larger group to dine family style and share the food if you ask
Let's Taco Bout It
quick taco truck like bar in the galley. It's street food but the menu is set so there are only 4 tacos to choose from based on time of day.
Onboard Activities
Redemption Spa
We went for a day pass in the thermal suite. It was just ok. There were no heated recliners only heated seats without backs. The best part was the mud treatment room. The salt room was not working so we didn't try it. Most other cruises we will get a day pass for the thermal suites and come back multiple times. This ship it was worth an hour stop and that was it.
Entertainment
Voyage Vinyl
The idea is good but the selection is very lacking. There was no reason to really stop here. I think they wanted this to represent the virgin music side of the business but really it was just about 10 albums in a case you can preview and buy if you wanted.
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
The elevators have spinning lights inside that didn't sit well with me. Also when you get off the boat it took me a while to realize that all the fore venues were listed in the left column and the aft venues on the right column. There was a distinct lack of signage around the ship.
Ports of call
The Beach Club (Virgin Voyages), Bimini Bahamas