We had only been on one cruise before this trip and it wasn’t the best experience but we decided to give cruising another try. After researching different cruise lines and itineraries we decided to go with a 5 night cruise aboard the Scarlet Lady.
Our primary goal for this cruise was to relax and try as much of the food as possible. We purchased the Splash of Romance package and it was money well spent. The package included early boarding, specialty daily juice, a 3 hour spa pass, a bottle of champagne, exclusive cocktail hour, and special sweet treats in our cabin on two different days. We received a letter in our cabin with details for the exclusive cocktail hour. This was held at the Perch and there was champagne and live music. They also had a photo booth for pictures. It was a wonderful experience and the best part of the package. The special sweet treats in our cabin were delicious and added a nice romantic touch to our evenings.
I’m not really a Spa kind of person but since it was part of our package we made reservations for our three hour spa pass. The spa was very nice. We experienced the Steam Room, Salt Room, and Mud Room. First time in a mud room for both of us and it was a welcomed experience.
Dining on a Virgin Voyages cruise is a Foodie’s dream. We couldn’t wait to try all the restaurants. We had reservations every night and were ready for many food experiences.
We made our way to Razzle Dazzle on the first night after the sail away party and back the next day for brunch. Both menus had many vegetarian options and a naughty section for meat lovers. The food was delicious.
Test Kitchen was our dining choice for our second evening. It has two rotating menus and since this was a Thanksgiving sailing there were specialty options such as turkey. It was a fun dining experience with all the courses. I chose the wine pairings with my courses and my husband went with the cocktail pairings. The drinks truly complemented the food.
Our third night was spent at the Mexican restaurant named Pink Agave. We wanted to try everything on the menu but narrowed it down to a few dishes each.
We didn’t make it to the Wake for dinner because there weren’t enough nights in this cruise to dine at all the restaurants so we had brunch here on one of our sea days.
Gunbae was interesting with the drinking games at a table with people you just met. It was definitely a way to get to know your table mates. The Korean cuisine was good but the atmosphere was surprisingly smoky.
Extra Virgin was our pick for our last night. Since it was our last night I decided to splurge with the porchetta. It was a treat yourself item that cost extra but it was delicious.
Scarlet Night took place all over the ship. We started in the Roundabout where there was the story of Scarlet Night and a Happenings Cast dance performance. We watched another version of Scarlet Night called Octopus Garden in the Red Room. This version was told by the hostess and then she followed with a song. The pool party was exciting and kind of wild. It started off with the cast dancing around the pool and then they invited certain guests to come into the pool to dance in the water. There was a late party after that we didn’t make it to because we chose sleep instead.
We opted to relax in our cabin most nights after dinner so we didn’t make it to any of the night shows. We did catch a show during the last day called Around the World with the Diva. It was very entertaining and kinda made me regret not seeing some of the other shows. We will have to make it to more shows on our next cruise.
We didn’t do any excursions but we did explore Cozumel and Bimini. The beach club at Bimini was beautiful. We relaxed by the beach, grabbed some lunch, and then headed back to the ship early to check out a less crowded pool.
This was the most relaxed vacation I’ve ever had and we might just become regulars. We got one step closer by booking a cruise for Christmas 2024.