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Exclusive First Look at Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady
This week, I am thrilled to share with you a complete guide on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady. Scarlet Lady is the first of four ships that will be in Virgin Voyages brand new adult-only cruise line. I get so excited whenever I hear that more adult-only offerings are being added to the travel sector.
Scarlet Lady is fully built and was set to debut in 2020, but well...you know. So, now she has plans to “soft open” in August 2021 with 4 weeks of sailing in and out of Portsmouth, UK (no stops), then starting in September 2021, she will proceed with her originally intended programming with 4- and 5-night trips out of Miami across the Caribbean.
Scarlet Lady's Travel Destinations
Scarlet Lady has 4 main itineraries that she’ll be starting with this fall:
Mayan Sol
Costa Maya, MX (9 am - 7 pm)
The Beach Club at Bimini (9 am - 10 pm)
Riviera Maya
Cozumel - Playa del Carmen, MX (8 am - midnight)
The Beach Club at Bimini (9 am - 10 pm)
Fire & Sunset Soirees
Key West, FL (8 am - 7 pm)
The Beach Club at Bimini (10 am - midnight)
Dominican Daze
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (9 am - 6 pm)
The Beach Club at Bimini (9 am - 10 pm)
What’s particularly nice about the Virgin Voyages line is that every itinerary is designed with the intent to maximize your offshore stays - some itineraries even include overnight stays. Instead of packing a ton of short visits into a few days, Virgin Voyages offers fewer stops with longer stays, which I personally love. I’d rather fully experience a single destination than briefly see only a little of a few destinations.
Another interesting aspect about Virgin Voyage’s itineraries is that every one of Scarlet Lady’s trips will include an offshore visit to The Beach Club at Bimini, Richard Branson’s private beach club. Just as food and basic beverages are included on the ship, the same will be included at this offshore site.
Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady
Scarlet Lady is considered a mid-size ship at 110,000 tons and 812 feet in length. She can hold 2,770 sailors (as Virgin cheekily likes to call it) and there are 1,408 cabins on board. Although I’ve only seen videos and images so far, I love the design of the interior. Much of the Scarlet Lady was designed by Tom Dixon, who is not a member of the cruise industry, but instead is known for his luxury boutique hotel designs. He incorporated upscale yet playful design elements with contemporary finishes. The whole ship was designed to feel yacht-like.
Images courtesy of Virgin Voyages
Virgin Voyages is considered an all-inclusive cruise line, however the price does not include things like alcohol, retail, or offshore excursions. But there are some note-worthy expenses that are included with the price on this ship (unlike other cruise lines), such as wi-fi, every restaurant on board (including the fancy ones), gratuity, and group fitness classes.
Although marketed as a young, sexy cruise ship, Virgin Voyages expects that their primary demographic will be between the ages of 35 and 65, with an average age of 48. Although they welcome all ages 18 and above, Virgin Voyages will likely see an older demographic on their ships due to the steeper price point of this cruise line.
Four- and five-night voyages on the Scarlet Lady are priced significantly higher than weeklong cruises offered by other mass-market lines. Although this price includes the extras mentioned before, like group workout classes, wi-fi, gratuity, and all food and basic beverages, it still is not completely all-inclusive.
Virgin Voyages believes that their product is worth it however. Branson described his product offering as being “a first-class product at a business-class fare”. He noted that he wants “everyone to leave Virgin Voyages thinking wow, we got our money’s worth”.
Lady Scarlet's Cabins & Suites
The cabins onboard are different from other typical cruise line offerings and the suites are even more impressive, so let’s jump into that.
Although some avid cruisers who have toured the ship have already been quick to point out inefficiencies in the cabin room designs, I still find them to be interesting and worth experiencing myself before I completely write them off.
Cabins
There are seaview and insider cabins (130-190 sq. ft.) as well as sea terrace cabins (225-265 sq. ft.), 7% of which are reserved for solo travelers. These “clever cabins” have some unique features including:
Mood lighting
A configurable bed that can turn into a couch during daytime for extra room
Handwoven hammocks and chairs on the terrace
Large flat-screen HDTV
Roomy, glass-enclosed shower with rain shower head
Suites
The 78 suites consist of 63 RockStar Quarters and 15 Mega RockStar Quarters. These suites do not disappoint.
The RockStar Quarters range from 352 to 848 square feet and boast some impressive features for a cruise ship. For example, the Cheeky Corner Suites have balconies that wrap around the aft corner of the ship. In these suites, you can pre-select some drink options of your choice and the crew will keep your bar fully stocked with that particular selection.
The Mega RockStar Quarters are even larger in size ranging from 570 to 2,147 square feet. These are the top tier suites that get the ultimate luxury experience with premium wi-fi, a bottomless in-room bar, a daily bar tab, daily spa access, private transfers, and a dedicated RockStar Agent (which is Virgin’s equivalent of a concierge). Under this line of top luxury offerings, the Massive Suite features an outdoor hot tub, and the Fab Suite has floor to ceiling marble in the bathrooms with a peek-a-boo shower.
RockStars get exclusive access to Richard’s Rooftop on deck 16, which is a VIP sun deck and bar, reserved just for suite members. They also enjoy early booking and priority access to eateries, events, and experiences, both onshore and offshore.
Virgin Voyages' Focus
Virgin Voyages centers on three “pillars” to focus on perfecting for their sailors onboard. That includes wellbeing, eating and drinking (well), and events and gigs. We will cover all three in this comprehensive guide of Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady.
Wellbeing
It’s apparent that wellness is a key priority for Virgin Voyages. Healthy eating options are incorporated into many of the restaurant’s menus, but beyond that, Virgin dedicates a good amount of ship real estate to their spa and fitness programming.
The pool space is rather limited with only 1 main pool and a wellbeing pool comprising a whirlpool and two plunge pools. But what Scarlet Lady lacks in pool offerings, she makes up for in fitness.
The B-Complex is the main indoor gym with different areas dedicated to “build” (strength training and weights), “balance” (yoga and stretching), “bike” (stationary bikes), and “burn” (cardio equipment). Unlike other cruise lines that upcharge for group workouts, all fitness classes are included.
The Athletic Club is an outdoor fitness space with a basketball court and boxing area. On the highest deck of the ship sits The Runway, an elevated jogging track, and The Perch, an outdoor yoga and meditation space. After your workout, hit up Gym & Tonic for some freshly squeezed juice (or cocktail!)
If exercise is not really your thing while cruising, there are plenty of spa and self-care options as well. Redemption Spa features a hydrotherapy pool, mud rooms, salt rooms, and heated marble hammam benches. The Redemption Spa even holds parties at night with DJs and spa treatments.
Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady boasts four different grooming areas on the ship:
Stubble & Groom: gentleman’s barber shop offering hot lather shaves and haircuts
The Tune Up: mani, pedi, and medi salon
Dry Dock: blow dry bar and beauty parlor
Squid Ink: first ever at-sea tattoo parlor
Eating and Drinking (Well)
I love high quality food and drinks, so this is a big factor for me when deciding on where to stay and where to book for travel. Food and drink is another area where Virgin Voyages is striving to push the envelope in the cruise industry.
Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady has over 20 eatery options. They boast having no large buffet, which is especially appealing in light of COVID-19 and ensuring proper safety protocol. Instead of a large buffet, Scarlet Lady has The Galley, which is more like a food hall with 8 shops and food-truck style carts that offer a variety of cuisine, including pastries, paninis, burgers, tacos, sushi, noodles, and more.
There are 7 other restaurants of note to mention:
The Wake: formal steak and seafood restaurant with tableside martinis and a raw bar
Pink Agave: upscale Mexican cuisine
Razzle Dazzle: vegetarian-forward cuisine with Drag Queen brunches
The Test Kitchen: part cooking school / part eatery with chef’s tasting menu
Extra Virgin: mobster lair-themed casual elevated Italian restaurant and wine bar
Gunbae: table-grilled Korean BBQ restaurant with soju drinking games
Lick Me Till...Ice Cream: ice cream shop offering 6 different artisanal flavors
Basic beverages (a.k.a. bevvies) are all included, which covers still/sparkling water, non-pressed juices, sodas, teas, and drip coffee. To get alcohol, you can pre-purchase a non-refundable Bar Tab at a minimum of $300 which can be spent onboard or at The Beach Club at Bimini. Drinks are priced at typical market prices with tips included.
At first impression this Bar Tab seems like a steep investment, however a single Bar Tab can cover anyone on board whether the drink is for yourself or for someone else. Therefore, it may actually end up being more cost-effective because not everyone in your cabin would need to purchase a Bar Tab in order to have alcoholic beverages.
Just as there are a multitude of food options, the same goes for drink options. I won’t name them all but here are a few fun bars and lounges that stood out to me:
Grounds Club: coffee shop
Draught Haus: craft beer tap room
SIP: champagne lounge
On the Rocks: mixology bar
The Loose Cannon: nautical-themed pub
Events and Gigs
The final focus area for Virgin Voyages are the events and gigs, which should come to no surprise to you because Richard Branson is known for hosting some epic celebrations. Although there will be no Cruise Director onboard, Virgin intends on offering a steady stream of events and gigs to entertain their sailors onboard.
The Red Room will serve as the Scarlet Lady’s main entertainment venue. A few details have been trickling out from Virgin Voyages about what type of entertainment can be expected of this ship. They playfully call these hints of new information “Ship Teases”. Here’s what I know so far:
Another Rose: a mysterious dinner party performance, produced by Randy Weiner
Scarlet Night: a dreamy event to “paint the ship red”, produced by Randy Weiner
Duel Reality: an acrobatic, circus-take on the classic Romeo & Juliet, produced by The 7 Fingers
Ships in the Night: a tech-forward, electrifying performance, produced by The 7 Fingers
Untitled DancePartyShowThing: (un)title tells you everything you need to know, produced by Sam and Ani
Outside of these interesting new events, there will be plenty of other ways to stay entertained while on the ship:
Dancing at The Manor nightclub, named after the 1st music studio that Richard Branson ever opened
Gambling (or learning how to gamble) at The Casino
Singing in private karaoke sessions at The Groupie
Playing old-school table and arcade games at The Social Club
Furture Virgin Voyage Ships
Aside from Scarlet Lady, two additional ships have been named in the Virgin Voyages fleet (4 planned ships in total).
Valiant Lady
Valiant Lady will make her debut in November 2021 with 6- and 7-night itineraries in the Eastern and Western Caribbean through April 2022.
Eastern Caribbean Antilles
Puerto Plata, MX (9 am - 6 pm)
San Juan, Puerto Rico (11 am - midnight)
St. Croix (8 am - 10 pm)
The Beach Club at Bimini (9 am - 10 pm)
Western Caribbean Charm
Roatan, Honduras (9 am - 10 pm)
Costa Maya (10 am - 7 pm)
The Beach Club at Bimini (10 am - 10 pm)
Then she will make her way across the Atlantic to her Mediterranean summer home. You can travel across the Atlantic Ocean with her from Miami to Barcelona on this 14-night expedition.
Once in Barcelona, Valiant Lady will make 6- and 7-night trips across the Mediterranean in the summer months, May through October.
French Daze & Ibiza Nights
Marseille
Monte Carlo
Olbia
Ibiza
Spanish Obsession
Palma de Mallorca
Malaga
Gibraltar
Ibiza
The Irresistible Med
Toulon
Marina di Carrara
Ajaccio
Cagliari
Ibiza
Resilient Lady
Resilient Lady will be the third ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet. For now, she has plans to travel across the Greek Isles out of Athens on 7-night itineraries, starting in August 2022.
Greek Island Glow
Santorini
Rhodes
Chania
Mykonos
Adriatic Sea & Greek Gems
Croatia
Montenegro
Corfu
Argostoli
No word has been released on the fourth and final “lady ship” in Virgin Voyages. I look forward to discovering more about her when she debuts!
COVID Safety
Cruises may have been the hardest sector impacted by COVID-19 within the travel industry. For this reason, Virgin Voyages has rolled out their Well Plan to ensure that they are meeting all safety protocol and standards.
There will be testing available before you get on board, and every sailor is required to have proof of vaccination before being allowed to sail.
When Scarlet Lady starts sailing, she will be at reduced capacity to allow for proper social distancing. Full medical staff will be on board. Sailors can enjoy contactless payment and room entry with an RFID bracelet. The ship has filtered clean air and hand sanitizers throughout the ship. Finally, there is a cleaning crew to ensure continuous cleaning throughout the ship.
The Verdict
Success of the new Virgin Voyages brand remains to be seen, but regardless I am thrilled to see another adult-only offering come into the travel industry and “make a splash” (pun intended) in a big way. Scarlet Lady is just one of four adult-only ships that are coming onto the market over the next two to three years. She may not be for everyone, but I for one I look forward to sipping cocktails on Lady Scarlet as one of her first sailors in her official debut later this year.
~ When you’re ready to start cruising again, will you be trying Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady?
Why or why not? I’d love to know! ~
author bio
Known as The Jet Set Blonde, Brittany Ryan inspires others to add more adventure to their childfree travel experiences. Brittany has visited 23 countries (and counting!) Connect with her to get access to detailed childfree travel itineraries, travel guides for weekend getaways, and updates on adult-only hotels, resorts, cruises, and other travel amenities.
