We're back from the Scarlett Lady!

[meowzas]

Hi Everyone!

 

We have been on dozens of cruises over the years and have tried Carnival (in our 20's), Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity (our favorite), and now Virgin Voyages.  I wanted to share my very honest opinion of the our experience.

 

Embarkation for suite level "rockstars" was an absolute breeze and everyone at VV was very friendly and accommodating.  We were moved into a lounge where we met some rockstar agents who could assist with all sorts of reservations.  We had prebooked all the restaurants, so we didn't need much help.  I planned for a two hour meal and that way we could also catch a show each night.  The nightly entertainment has ALWAYS been a huge deal for me.  I never want to miss a show!

 

Our room was ready right away around 2/2:30 and the suite was amazing (Seriously Suite).  We have had suites on a bunch of other ships and this one tops them all.  The bathroom was HUGE and I loved the shower and also the hammock on the balcony.  Great location on the ship also as it was close to Richards Rooftop, the pool, and the gym.  Our room was #12273A.  The cabin guy, Dani who took care of it was always around and always friendly.  Our fridge did have a bottle of rose that was half gone that we asked to have replaced.  Fully stocked bar - which we didn't even take advantage of LOL.  We did drink the bottle of champagne the last night on our balcony.  The bed, bedding, and pillows were amazing and I loved having a robe in the bathroom also.  Great shower amenities.  Our luggage didn't arrive until nearly 6pm, but we were prepared for that and it didn't matter much.  We went to Richards Rooftop for the champagne happy hour and they were NOT stingy at all!  The servers up there were really nice and we got to know them a bit over the cruise.

 

Dinner on night one was at the Wake.  Very cool decor and the food was fantastic.  The service on the other hand...our server looked lost and made many mistakes - we didn't really care, it happens and we are on vacation.  The issue is that he took so long to do everything (we ordered quickly so it wasn't us holding him up) that we missed the first show.  I was not happy, but eh, ya carryon.

 

We spent days at see at Richards rooftop and loved every minute of it! I'm not sure if the servers didn't want to bother us, or because maybe tips are included, but we had to go to the bar each and every time we needed something.  Again, it's fine - I like to get my steps in, but come on.  Just different from other cruise service we have received.

 

Dinner night two was at the Korean BBQ which was fun, but I did let the server know we have a show in 2 hours.  We had to skip dessert and we still missed the show.  BUMMER.  

 

Mexico we did a beach and snorkel excursion that was... excruciating.  See what I did there?  99% of the cruises we have been on we do this exact excursion and this one was horrible.  The boat "guy" screamed at us the entire time about alllll sorts of crap.  Safety, I get it, definitely tell us.  We are adults, we don't need to be screamed at about leaving cell phones, etc.  If they do, that is on them.  Snorkeling was beautiful, but they jammed us all together and you were kicking each other in order to see anything.  Too much time taken to get to the reef, get to the beach, get to the boat. Not well executed.

 

Dinner night three was at Pink Agave - wonderful food and service.  We even made the show that night (after I let the server know we have two hours there).  The show (Dual Reality) was so, so, so good!

 

Dinner at the Test Kitchen we were told would be 90 minutes - perfection.  Service was great, food was fun.  We didn't see the Cabaret as we walked by and there were no seats.  It's okay - I get that.

 

Disembarkation was the easiest experience we have ever had.  We took our own luggage and it was a breeze.

 

Pros:  It was very cool, more relaxed than most cruises, food was excellent, loved our room. RR was amazing, loved the privacy and champagne happy hours.  Different restaurant experiences were neat, but you saw my issue above.

Cons: ZERO flexibility (even after talking to our rockstar agent) on shifting any of your reservations. ZERO.  I just wanted dinner and a show like on every other ship we have been on.  Even in a "specialty" restaurant we were in and out in 2 hours.  The galley was confusing at times.  Lunch at 11:35am?  Tough because it isn't breakfast and apparently, isn't lunch either.

 

I am sure my post will cause some reactions, but I just wanted to put my honest opinion out there.  For what we paid (very low investment) we got our monies worth and we did have fun.  

 

 

 

 

[Janthere]

Great review! Big question is would you book on VV again in the future? 

[tbmrt]

Your review was wonderful....What date did you return?  The current SL cruise does not return until 6/9 when we board.  

 

Have to say, I think you were a champ about your attitude with the various mishaps on your cruise.  I've been cruising for many years and definitely understand about things happening and not sweating the small stuff, but you did seem to have quite a few things occur that I would have been extremely unhappy about.

[jon81uk]

I’m currently on Resilient Lady and I think there will be a lot fewer sailors onboard compared to Scarlet, but we’ve not had a dinner get close to 90 minutes even. Most have been just over an hour. It does sound like Scarlet is struggling compared to the other ships.

[tbmrt]

Have to say that I really am getting nervous about the dinner times and other mishaps that many people are posting about regarding recent SL cruises. Trying to remain positive!

 

I'm sure there will be wonderful moments as well, but I can't help but think of our MSC Meraviglia cruise last year and an NCL trip a few years ago.  

 

Thanks jon81UK and others in this forum for all the help you've given me.  (Enjoy your Resilient Lady cruise jon81UK!

[meowzas]

I cannot figure out how to personally reply to you all, but I did leave out a couple more things after reading my initial post.

Room service - forget it.  Non-existent no matter when you try.  I have been on bigger ships with lots more people and never had a problem.  Ordering breakfast the night before for the morning.  No chance.

Extra Virgin - again, over 90 minutes for dinner but it was excellent.  Server knew all of our names (4 of us) and the food was excellent.  

I mentioned to several people on board and ahead of time that we had a birthday with us and they did nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

 

Would I cruise VV again?  Loaded question!  LOL.  We paid under 4k for two of us for a 5 day vacation, all food and tips included, tons of free drinks (rockstars kept pouring!), and we actually left with $76 in our account because we couldn't spend it all!  For the money, I would do it again.  I would maybe upgrade to Mega Rockstar status to see if we get the service we expected.  With that being said, cruising is becoming..."not our thing" anymore.  I think we like flying to an island and just chilling out all day.  Read a book, sip a cocktail, repeat.

[aqlollipop]

Great review! I agree that I think they could do a better job balancing out the timing on the evening entertainment so that people don't have to choose between dinner or show. It's possible to do both, but generally requires careful planning and a bit of luck. I was on Scarlet recently myself, and our personal experience with service in the restaurants was polar opposite: I planned that the meals would be long, at least 2 hours each, and in every case (except Test Kitchen, which is a known, very precisely timed meal) we were out in under an hour. I can't explain the inconsistency and I do wish they could smooth it out for people. Strangely, in my case I ended up mostly missing a performance I was interested in seeing but had not marked in my agenda because the timing was too close to our dining reservation. But we ended up done well before it started and I just didn't even remember it was happening until we walked by it later on midway through! 🤦‍♀️

[lisabucsfan1]

We had Dani as our cabin steward on our May SL cruise - he was really friendly as you mentioned (we have done the seriously suite 3 times now and really do love that room and layout).

 

no flame throwing here.. however, I am curious about why so many people complain about not being able to change a dinner reservation. If they are full they are full.. if you are on a "traditional" cruise ship you either dine at the time you are supposed to in the MDR or you eat elsewhere. Not every cruise line has an "any time dining" and even those that do, aren't they for a limited number of people? And if you book a reservation for speciality dining and want to change it, you can only change it to a time that is available... 🤷‍♀️  

With VV they do hold back some space for walk-ins, but again, if they fill up, they fill up...

 

FWIW if you ever do a special event again, make a big stink about it to your rockstar agent. We first sailed last year for our 15th wedding anniversary and one night while up at Richard's Rooftop we mentioned our disappointment about not receiving any recognition for that even though we had mentioned it during booking... a bottle of champaign later appeared in our room.

 

On our May cruise, same thing.. I mentioned to our Rockstar agent that we were sailing for my bday and a bottle of bubbly showed up in the cabin.

[LMaxwell]

On 6/6/2023 at 1:35 PM, meowzas said:

because maybe tips are included, but we had to go to the bar each and every time we needed something.  Again, it's fine - I like to get my steps in, but come on. 

this was actually a sore point for me and I didn't have a big bucks suite. Didn't matter the venue/day/time you HAVE to go to the bar and wait.  On Bimini they had a few grab/go stations/carts that just had bottle beverages which were fast, and right before 1 show they had a similar cart out.  They needed those carts out on the sun/pool decks in the most desperate way.  You would wait in line for 20 minutes while they make Miami Vices and Pina Coladas...then the next person orders a Miami Vice and they start all over again, 1 or 2 at a time max. Impossible if you just want a beer or spiked seltzer.  The lack of drink service and iffy service throughout indicates a lack of staff to me. By design or just what they are dealing with; hard to say honestly.  

[_tacocat_]

12 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

You would wait in line for 20 minutes while they make Miami Vices and Pina Coladas...then the next person orders a Miami Vice and they start all over again, 1 or 2 at a time max

waaaay back in the beginning, they did not have blenders at the outdoor bars or on bimini.  their frozen drinks were limited to the froze and skinny pina coladas - whatever was in the big drink mixers were the only option. 

 

the traditional cruiser crowd complained and complained both in person and in reviews that they couldn't get a miami vice or mudslide or strawberry daquiri.  i can't remember when the blenders showed up, but it was at some point last year.  that's definitely contributed to the backlog at bars.

 

a woman was kvetching on one of my voyages that she couldn't get a pina colada at on the rocks at night 🤯 they only have the blenders outside because they're so freaking loud, and they had long been closed for the evening.

[cantgetin]

We had the same experience at The Wake. We sat for 45 minutes between entering at our scheduled time and having someone take our order.  The meal, with no dessert, took 2 1/2 hours.  It made no sense at all, and as you noted, we were not responsible for any of the delay.  Interestingly, there was a couple at a nearby table who had 4 servers/wine stewards/whatever fawning over them all night.  I don't know who they were; I can name several people associated with VV that they definitely were not.

 

1. We had no trouble getting reservations or changing them, but none of our sailings have been completely full.  Our most recent was just under 2000.  
   
   One hint in response to a comment above--you can always make a reservation for an evening event and cancel it if it becomes obvious that you aren't going to make it.  Conversely, there are people looking for reservations, even a few minutes before some events start.  Additionally, there is a standby line as many do not bother to cancel reservations when their plans change.  And if there is something you couldn't get a reservation for (fitness class, evening entertainment, whatever) go to the location 10-15 minutes early and wait....if there is a no show, you can get in.
   
   Good review--thanks!

Edited June 7, 2023 by cantgetin

[sfspider]

What time do the "late" shows generally start? I've read that even with reservations for a show you need to arrive 20-30 min early. Planning on sailing for the first time on Virgin as a rockstar so I should be able to pick my dinner times when they first open up for reservations, but I was wondering how early I should book dinner to avoid missing shows (especially 2 nights in a row!). Would prefer not to eat dinner at 6 p.m., but would do so if necessary.

Edited June 8, 2023 by sfspider

[TYCruise]

Show's in the Red Room were at 9:30 on my cruise except for one night when there were two showing of Duel Reality.

[_tacocat_]

3 hours ago, sfspider said:

What time do the "late" shows generally start? I've read that even with reservations for a show you need to arrive 20-30 min early. Planning on sailing for the first time on Virgin as a rockstar so I should be able to pick my dinner times when they first open up for reservations, but I was wondering how early I should book dinner to avoid missing shows (especially 2 nights in a row!). Would prefer not to eat dinner at 6 p.m., but would do so if necessary.

You basically just need to show up before 10 mins prior to showtime, otherwise they may give your spot away.

 

shows can start anywhere from like 7-10, sometimes later

[jon81uk]

4 hours ago, sfspider said:

What time do the "late" shows generally start? I've read that even with reservations for a show you need to arrive 20-30 min early. Planning on sailing for the first time on Virgin as a rockstar so I should be able to pick my dinner times when they first open up for reservations, but I was wondering how early I should book dinner to avoid missing shows (especially 2 nights in a row!). Would prefer not to eat dinner at 6 p.m., but would do so if necessary.

depends on the ship. We’re on Resilient Lady and initially the major shows were 7pm and 10pm most nights. Once we boarded it was cut back to 8pm some nights and 10pm some nights. We’ve seen 10pm shows most nights and had dinner at 7pm. All dinners have been under 90minutes. Last night Extra Virgin with all the courses and affogato was 70minutes!

[meowzas]

10 hours ago, sfspider said:

What time do the "late" shows generally start? I've read that even with reservations for a show you need to arrive 20-30 min early. Planning on sailing for the first time on Virgin as a rockstar so I should be able to pick my dinner times when they first open up for reservations, but I was wondering how early I should book dinner to avoid missing shows (especially 2 nights in a row!). Would prefer not to eat dinner at 6 p.m., but would do so if necessary.

We made our dinner reservations for 7:30 and shows for 9:30 or 10, depending on when they began.

[AdoraBelle]

On 6/6/2023 at 1:35 PM, meowzas said:

Lunch at 11:35am?  Tough because it isn't breakfast and apparently, isn't lunch either.

You've hit upon my biggest peeve. 🙂 

I liked the way NCL's big ships did it ... they'd switch half of the buffet over to lunch, while keeping breakfast lines open on the other side.

[meowzas]

2 minutes ago, AdoraBelle said:

You've hit upon my biggest peeve. 🙂 

I liked the way NCL's big ships did it ... they'd switch half of the buffet over to lunch, while keeping breakfast lines open on the other side.

It was so confusing!  I also just took a 45 minute spin class and was STARVING.  My options were super limited and food took forever to arrive.

[Roneill76]

Nothing in this review is a surprise.

The ships tend to struggle anywhere over 1,500 passengers. That's been well documented by passengers as well as from the staff itself.

We missed out on shows our first cruise due to dining times and not reserving early but we still had a blast.

The good thing is that Virgin takes feedback seriously, more so than any other line, since they are still new and trying to perfect their niche cruise so hopefully you took the time to provide feedback.

 

While Virgin is FAR from perfect, it's our favorite cruise line when you factor in the overall experience for us.

[_tacocat_]

3 hours ago, Roneill76 said:

The ships tend to struggle anywhere over 1,500 passengers. That's been well documented by passengers as well as from the staff itself.

they don't though.  if you're referring to the one very vocal complainie janie on youtube, i was on the same voyage as he was.  i experienced almost no issues. 

 

events filled up the first day because people booked them, but all of the shows have standby lines - i've never seen them not let the standby line in.  fitness classes always fill up - doesn't matter how many people are on - yet, every single time, they've let standbys in because someone gets too hungover or sleeps in and misses the class.

 

to be fair, room service sucked the one time i tried to get breakfast, but that was because something apparently happened in the ship eats galley either with the printer or the actual line going down, and orders got mega backed up.  this "vlogger's" complaints were pretty unwarranted, and his whining made it even worse. 

 

also, i'm still waiting for NCL to acquire VV, as he said was IMMINENTLY occurring in his stupid vlog last year, straight from his "inside source" 🤣 🤣 🤣

 

anyway... i've been on 13 times with anywhere from 800 to 2,300, usually in the upper half of that range.  service at the wake sucks even if there are only 800 onboard. something is broken in their system there.  that's really the only major service issue i've encountered across the fleet so far, and that has nothing to do with passenger loads.

 

i prefer the higher load sailings, as they add more shows and activities.  if there are only 800 onboard, it doesn't make sense to have more than 2 showings of each of the shows, but with lots more people on, you have plenty of options and times to catch what you want to see.  case in point, i was on the same 8-night itinerary in january with about 800.  the manor was dark at least 3 nights, so there was literally nothing to do other than sit in bars those three nights.  in december, both the manor and on the rocks were popping almost every night.

[meowzas]

19 hours ago, Roneill76 said:

Nothing in this review is a surprise.

The ships tend to struggle anywhere over 1,500 passengers. That's been well documented by passengers as well as from the staff itself.

We missed out on shows our first cruise due to dining times and not reserving early but we still had a blast.

The good thing is that Virgin takes feedback seriously, more so than any other line, since they are still new and trying to perfect their niche cruise so hopefully you took the time to provide feedback.

 

While Virgin is FAR from perfect, it's our favorite cruise line when you factor in the overall experience for us.

Both me and my husband submitted a very detailed review. I hope they take a look!

[AdoraBelle]

19 hours ago, Roneill76 said:

The ships tend to struggle anywhere over 1,500 passengers.

 

Scarlet Lady did fine on my May sailing with 2k+ pax. Had one dinner that ran weirdly long at Pink Agave. Got every dinner and show reservation we wanted. 

[cantgetin]

I was concerned as each of our cruises has been more full than the last.  Bottom line, we have never had an issue, and if I didn't know the ship had more passengers, I never would have guessed.  We were just under 2K on our last cruise.

And yes, there is a person who is very active on various social media sites who complains about everything related to VV and claims to have inside information on various cruise lines.  NO cruise line will satisfy everyone all the time.  Look at the bulk of the reports before making a decision.