I was a Virgin virgin…

Item: Scarlet Lady
Rating: 4.2
Author: jrud05

Scarlet Lady Cruise Review

jrud05

Contributor Level: Second Mate

41 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 58

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

5 Night Dominican Daze (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 07, 2023

Ship: Scarlet Lady

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Coming from being loyal to Norwegian, I found pros and cons to Virgin. I like the technology on Virgin, the ability to contact sailor services from the app, and even close the curtains with the tap of a button. The food wasn’t quite as good, the service was better, the entertainment not as good, the value was better. The hammock on the balcony is amazing. They need another pool area with chill vibes as the main pool is crowded, the water dirty, and the music is much too loud.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Things moved along quickly but they will queue you up outside so if you get hot easily, don’t show up too early!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I had high expectations about the food going into this cruise from the YouTube videos I watched. Sadly I was a little bit let down by the food.

Extra Virgin

3 out of 5

Okay experience but I’m not sure why all of the cruise lines have to go so fancy with their Italian food. Why not have some simple menu items like chicken Alfredo, and lasagna? I had the carbonara and wasn’t a fan of the pasta.

The Test Kitchen

1 out of 5

The service was great, the menu was not.Save yourself and enjoy a meal elsewhere as you likely won’t get full here, and you may not like half of what you get.

Lick Me Till...Ice Cream

3 out of 5

Most of the ice cream options were repeated multiple times. Missing basic flavors like butter pecan and cookies and cream.

The Pizza Place

4 out of 5

The pizza was alright, although it was a bit disappointing not to be able to have it for lunch on sea days since it didn’t open until 2pm.

Grounds Club

5 out of 5

Enjoyed the coffee options, I actually thought it was better than Starbucks.

Razzle Dazzle Restaurant

3 out of 5

I had the chicken sandwich, it was okay. My avocado toast was hard as a rock.

The Wake

5 out of 5

My steak was good and the double baked potatoes are tasty!

Pink Agave

5 out of 5

Pink Agave was my favorite restaurant. The corn and ribeye were great!

The Galley

2 out of 5

Most of the food from the galley wasn’t that great. The desserts were alright. I wasn’t a fan of any of the noodle options, the sushi wasn’t very tasty, the burger was okay and the fries were good.

Gunbae

5 out of 5

The food and service were good, the social experience was nice, and the drinking game was really fun!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

The music is way too loud, don’t get me wrong, I love some nice music while floating in the pool but the volume of the music was often times unreasonable and my Apple Watch made me well aware of this.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

I was only able to watch Dual Reality and it was good. Show space is limited.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All of the staff were very friendly and it was nice to see staff members able to express themselves more openly.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

It can get a bit confusing figuring this ship out and finding a public restroom. The ship was very clean overall and maintenance was working on different projects everyday to keep it in good shape.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Nice cabin, clean, friendly cabin crew, love the technology in the rooms, and although the bathroom is a bit small, the shower is very nice.

Ship tip

Connect to ships Wi-Fi while still in the terminal and book dining while you wait to board.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

The Beach Club (Virgin Voyages), Bimini Bahamas

3 out of 5

Seemed quite crowded, again the music was turned up to bust your ear drums… I don’t get why it needs to be so loud. More of a party vibe than a chill vibe, the two need to be a bit more equal in my opinion. A bit if a wait time to get back to the ship.

Thumbs Up 0

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Very nice port area with a pool, photo spots, and shops. No pressure from the locals, that was a plus.

Thumbs Up 0

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

You pick a time in the app. Pretty easy.

12 Comments

Nikkiv 1 year ago

So, you had to fly home?

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MikeeRochester 1 year ago

I agree with you 100%! The music was a bit loud in the pool area is crowded, but I really enjoyed my virgin cruise already booked another one. I’m very excited.

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Ladyjunecliff 1 year ago

Thanks for the review.

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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lspop205 1 year ago

Thanks for the review

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your detailed and informative review. The comparisons were very helpful. Glad you mostly enjoyed your cruise.

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javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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Cruisersenior 1 year ago

Thanks for the review. Much appreciated. I’m planning on trying version and this was helpful.

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Great detailed review! Glad you enjoyed your Virgin cruise. Thank you for sharing your experience.

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Dumfy75 1 year ago

This is a great review, thank you! You tried something different, so it’s good you found a lot of things to like. I’m also an NCL fan, only tried one other cruise line and really wasn’t for me, but I feel I need to take the plunge again, and Virgin’s the one I was looking at so your review’s been really helpful.

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MargieRita 1 year ago

Thx for your review!

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jrud05 1 year ago

Forgot to mention fitness… it seems to me as if there’s a bit too much focus on working out and a bit too much space is taken up by gyms and workout equipment.

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