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The included food options, however, never left me wanting more. Sharing a room with a friend is always a tricky proposition, but even more so in the tight quarters of a cruise ship. My friend and I shared a 225-square-foot Sea Terrace suite and from the photos, it looked like we’d have some trouble squeezing in clothes for two.
Carry-on drinks policy
Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady Dining: Restaurants & Food on Cruise Critic - CruiseCritic.co.uk
Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady Dining: Restaurants & Food on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Mon, 04 Sep 2023 14:20:37 GMT [source]
"The entertainment is unique and feels like something you would see or experience in a major city like NYC, Miami, or London." The pappardelle was lighter and chewier than my previous experiences, which I preferred. And there was just the right amount of sauce not to overpower the flavor of the pasta itself. I didn't feel overstuffed after my meal, as I often do when eating pasta.
Virgin Voyages' Resilient Lady review: A look at Virgin's third cruise ship
Premium and higher-speed WiFi packages are also available for a fee. The highest speed available is $40 for the whole voyage if purchased on the first day. While your social media channels will load perfectly with the free package, and posting is a breeze, working may be a challenge.
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It didn't offer as much of a party vibe as Gunbae, but it still felt lively and served a solid selection of Mexican dishes. Additionally, you'll find casual spots that serve ice cream, pizza, poke bowls and more. You can also order room service; the food is complimentary, but there's a $5 delivery fee. Besides the main restaurants, there's the previously mentioned Galley, where you can savor everything from sushi roll bento boxes to 24-hour diner food. It is a hybrid of a grab-and-go and dine-in experience, meaning how you order will vary depending on which station you visit. Given all the options available, there were more places than we could try on our first Virgin Voyages cruise.
Resilient Lady activities
For my stay, I was booked in the Sea Terrace cabin, which is their standard balcony cabin. Although the bathroom was a little small, I appreciated the extra space in the stylish room. The cabin is high-tech and low-touch with a tablet that centralizes all the controls in the room including the lights, AC, the TV and the window shades. The mood of the cabin changes with a quick swipe as lighting presets add a playful touch with one designed for social media photoshoots and another for hangovers, maybe the most useful feature I found on this party ship. I can’t believe I am going to say this after years of giving my mother grief for not getting off cruise ships and exploring, but my friend and I loved Valiant Lady so much that we wished we spent more time onboard! I’ve sailed a variety of cruise lines throughout the years, beginning with my first voyage as an 18-year-old living in Fort Lauderdale when my mother took me on a nighttime sail.
Drinking age
However, the best by a mile was the white truffle with egg — a pie with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, cracked black pepper and truffle oil topped with a runny egg. I left feeling just the right amount of full, although I only took one bite of the dessert — the world's tiniest piece of cheesecake. (I don't eat raw tuna, so I ordered the vegetarian celery apple bomb for my second appetizer, and it was fantastic.) The timing of the service was also impeccable, coinciding flawlessly with the show. There wasn't too much time between courses; instead, there was just enough for attendees to watch a bit of the performance without constantly being distracted by food. While you enjoy your starters — a series of small bowls of seaweed-style salad that everyone receives — your waiter will lead you in drinking games, complete with complimentary sake. Other specialty drinks are available for a fee; I chose (and loved) the K-Pop Disco Water, which features Jinro grapefruit, watermelon juice and Pop Rocks served in a disco ball cup.
I've been on more than 150 cruise ships; here are my first impressions of Scarlet Lady, the first-ever Virgin Voyages ... - The Points Guy
I've been on more than 150 cruise ships; here are my first impressions of Scarlet Lady, the first-ever Virgin Voyages ....
Posted: Sat, 09 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Overview of Scarlet Lady
The ship does not have a buffet or a cavernous banquet-style dining room. Kids are not welcome, but the adults-only ship gives grownups plenty of opportunities to play in both childlike and mature ways. Cruise fares include all meals, soda, basic Wi-Fi and crew gratuities, but it's not a luxury product filled with opulent decor, sedate travelers and a stuffy vibe. Onboard entertainment will include sexual innuendos, F-bombs and queer themes.
Included with your cruise fare:
Scarlet Lady has all the requisite poolside and sun deck bars, including ones offering smoothies and juices after your indoor or outdoor workout. You will certainly have many opportunities to spend your Bar Tab on board, whether that's wine with dinner, a morning latte or a cocktail at On the Rocks while you listen to live music. Drinking is a key component of Scarlet Lady's nightlife, but as far as I saw, most people embraced the fun but drank responsibly. Unfortunately for me, I could not get the room service option to function properly on my phone, so I could neither see the menu nor order in-cabin dining. Right next door is the Lick Me Till Ice Cream outpost where you can choose from a changing roster of hand-scooped ice cream and cone flavors. Down the hall is The Social Club Diner satisfying all your bar food cravings with hot dogs (including vegan ones), chicken wings and soft pretzels.
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We also salute the proper rainfall showerheads -- that tiny detail does up the ante on Resilient Lady. Virgin Voyages has no official dress code and advises passengers to come as they are, whether it's a sparkly dress or jeans and a T-shirt. However, the average passenger enjoys looking chic and trendy, even when dressed down. There are no formal nights on board, but most people do change into something a little nicer for dinner. In my balcony cabin, I had two USB ports near the bed, along with a North American outlet.
Back in those days (not to date myself), you could get on a ship out of Port Everglades and go into international waters to drink and gamble. As soon as the Scarlet Lady departs US waters the drinking age becomes 18 and the ship is ready to party. The pricing for this cruise line is done a bit differently, charging for cabins that have the capacity for up to 3 passengers (or 'sailors' as the line refers to its passengers).
Still, we sought to sample as much as possible during our four-night sailing. The entertainment we experienced fell somewhere between PG-13 and R, though we admittedly headed to bed by 11 p.m., so perhaps offerings leaned more X-rated as the night went on. Like many people, I went into my cruise expecting most passengers (or "sailors," as the line calls them) to be millennials based on the flashy marketing I've seen from the line. Much to my surprise, though, there was a fair mix of people on my sailing.
I also was put off a bit by Virgin Voyages' "we know better" attitude toward cruising. It has been a cruise company that has talked itself up at times in the lead-up to Scarlet Lady's launch by pooh-poohing the things that other cruise companies do. This seemed suspect to me given how incredibly successful these other cruise companies have been. Last year, Tom McAlpin, the president and CEO of Virgin Voyages, told TPG's resident cruise expert Gene Sloan that on early sailings of Scarlet Lady, the average passenger age was in the 50s, with plenty on board in their 60s and 70s. Based on my trip, I'd say that is still a pretty accurate representation.
More importantly, perhaps, it allows crew members to locate you when you shake for Champagne delivery. On Deck 6, men can get a shave at Stubble and Groom, while women can get blowouts for Scarlet Night at Dry Dock. Also here is Virgin Voyages' groundbreaking tattoo parlor, Squid Ink, where you can pay inflated rates for the bragging rights of having gotten a tattoo at sea. For your other bodily needs, The Tune Up offers medispa treatments, manicures and pedicures by the pool on Deck 15. On the other hand, if working out is core to your vacation ideals, Scarlet Lady offers plenty of options, but the fitness areas aren't connected the way you think they might be, so look at a deck plan before you throw on your sneakers.
But six restaurants for a ship the size of Scarlet Lady still is impressive (at 110,000 tons, Scarlet Lady isn't nearly as big as the biggest ships from some other lines). You probably wouldn't see that on Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas. The late-night spicy ramen, social atmosphere and fun ports more than made up for any hiccups. For us, it was like a four-day long party without the hangover. Additionally, unlike Disney Cruise Line, where cabin attendants make it a point to get to know you and your preferences, Virgin Voyages lacked the same personalized service. I never interacted with a person in charge of our cabin, as it would be serviced while we were out (after pushing a button that sent the request to the crew) by a person that, to us, remained nameless and faceless.
In April 2024, the ship will sail an epic 14-night transatlantic cruise to Barcelona, which will be Scarlet Lady's homebase at least through October 2024. From Spain, it will sail seven-night itineraries to ports in Italy, Spain and the French Riviera, all with overnights on the party island of Ibiza. Pretty much every night there's a themed party in The Manor or out on deck, but the ones you need to pack for are the PJ Party and Scarlet Night. Scarlet Lady's first-night pajama party is optional, but if you do want to get your Virgin vibe going on day one, pack a pair of party PJs and head to the Athletic Club bar on the first night. Scarlet Lady's Redemption Spa is also broken up and scattered around the ship.
Although Virgin Voyages' ships allow anyone 18 and older to sail, the drinking age on board is 21 years when ships are docked in the U.S. In international waters and in places like Europe, where the drinking age is 18, the onboard drinking age is 18. It's also worth mentioning that if, like me, you find yourself working remotely from the ship, many of the public spaces — including The Grounds Club coffee bar and The Galley food court — have tons of outlets available for charging. Held in The Manor, this three-hour nightclub activation is divided into three consecutive one-hour chunks offered a few times per sailing so passengers can come and go as they please. Inside The Manor, the ship's den-like nightclub, there's a central bar on the first floor that serves beer, wine and cocktails.
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