When it comes to “differentiators” on Virgin Voyages, there are red hammocks on guests' private balconies, a red-hot "Scarlet Party" one night, plenty of bright red decor throughout the ship and the fact that it's adults-only. Instead of a cruise director, the line opted for a “Happenings Cast" of 12 to 14 people who each have their own cruise personality and role; one is The Foodie, others include The Gamer, The Hostess, The Charmer and so on.
In addition, guests are called “sailors,” and the reception desk is “Sailor Services.” But from Travel Agent’s perspective during our recent seven-night Mediterranean sailing on the 2,770-passenger Scarlet Lady, the standout differentiator is Virgin’s dining concept. The ship’s public spaces are akin to a chic, urban neighborhood. Guests stroll from place to place, along the way discovering many small- to mid-sized eateries.
Nope, guests won’t find any huge main dining room aboard any of the line’s three ships. While a few cruise lines have similarly gone to the concept of several smaller main dining venues in lieu of a huge central main dining room, Virgin has taken the added step of axing all fees for specialty dining restaurants. Guests have a choice of 20-plus dining concepts. While reservations are suggested or recommended in some of the most popular restaurants, travelers won’t pay any cover charges for dining there; all restaurants are complimentary.
Within some of the eateries, there may be a special entrée or other dish that carries an added charge, but in eyeballing the food choices, we’d estimate that 98 percent of the dishes offered are complimentary. While we expected decent or good food, it’s also good to know that—with just one exception within The Galley—we felt that all of Scarlet Lady’s culinary offerings that we tasted were superb.
Beverages? Virgin Voyages includes "essential drinks" in the voyage fare, which covers everything from filtered still and sparkling water to soft drinks, drip coffee and basic teas. For other beverages such as beer, wine, cocktails, smoothies and specialty coffees or juices, travelers can purchase drinks as they go or buy a so-called Bar Tab.
Every Bar Tab includes a bonus. So, guests might “pay $300 and get $350 to spend on board.” A Bar Tab can be used for everything from high-end wines and top-shelf liquors to the signature “Shake for Champagne” offering. The latter is a unique offering: guests just shake their phone on board and, soon, a server will materialize with two flutes and a bottle of Moet Champagne on ice—delivered to wherever the guest is on the ship.
So, with the basics out of the way, here’s our insight about the ship’s top dining spaces. Separately, Virgin recently announced that the ship will enter drydock November 14-28, 2024, for a revitalization, so in appropriate spots below, we provide details of any enhancements to the food and beverage venues.
The Wake – Steak and Seafood
Designed by Roman and Williams, The Wake is what we’d consider the most “glam” dining spot aboard Scarlet Lady. Think of a sumptuous, mid-20th century chophouse aura but combined with a more modern, sophisticated steakhouse design.
As guests enter this eatery’s lounge/waiting area, they’ll discover a few tables and chairs; a gorgeous, white baby grand piano; and views of the interior of the restaurant on two sides. In addition, an open staircase to the next deck gave this entry space an open and airy feel. It was a great spot to wait for friends joining us for dinner.
The menu at The Wake focuses on succulent steaks and savory seafood. We enjoyed a salmon entrée, while a friend ordered a well-marbled steak, that she pronounced "succulent." Plus, there was a sinful chocolate dessert that we couldn’t resist.
As for beverages, this restaurant has table-side drink cart service and Champagne poured by the glass from a magnum bottle. One upcoming enhancement? Following the upcoming drydock revitalization, The Wake’s raw bar will be re-adapted to display the eatery’s collection of high-end wines.
Razzle Dazzle – Great Food, New Evening Concept
Razzle Dazzle drew us back in for meals time and time again. Most of the time, we could pop in without a reservation. First, a bit about that zingy name. Did you know that it’s named for the camouflaging pattern painted on World War I and World War II warships? That’s true.
But there’s nothing boring about the décor, which is bright and contemporary in styling. The menus too are vibrant and creative. Most notably, here guests will find much vegetarian fare, contemporary American favorites and a fun “naughty” or “nice” dishes (designed around the guest's personal taste preferences).
Think of it this way: A healthy vegetarian dish could be ordered “naughty” with a meat add-on or a boozy shot. A traditional dish such as a burger could be turned “nice” by replacing it with an Impossible Burger, for instance.
Following Scarlet Lady’s upcoming drydock, the ship will also emerge with a new evening concept at Razzle Dazzle. On the heels of Virgin’s successful Asian night market concept, “Lucky Lotus by Razzle Dazzle,” which debuted last July during the line’s “Eat & Drink Festival," Razzle Dazzle will welcome a new Chinese-inspired menu with craft cocktails. Communal tables will also be swapped for intimate booths.
Gunbae – Social, Korean, Interactive
Another of our personal favorites during our week aboard Scarlet Lady was Gunbae, an energetic Korean BBQ style eatery. Our group of six people dined in a circular booth with a flameless grill built into the center of our table. It was the first signal that the Gunbae dining experience is social, interactive, fun and, yes, hands-on in some ways.
As guests check out their menus, the server pours a complimentary round of soju for the table, and that was done throughout our dinner, too. Soju is a clear and colorless distilled alcoholic beverage, traditionally made from rice or other grains. It has a flavor similar to vodka.
A Gunbae dinner consists of a mix of “order-off-the-menu” in terms of whatever one likes—delivered on individual plates by the waiter. But there are also tasty family style options (veggies, meats and seafood) grilled right on the table.
Another one-of-a-kind experience at Gunbae? As the dinner wound down, our server interacted with everyone at our table, leading us in a lively Korean drinking game. We couldn’t stop laughing at our tablemates’ responses (and our own!).
The Test Kitchen and The Dock
Travel Agent didn’t have the opportunity to dine at The Test Kitchen on Scarlet Lady this time around, but several fellow travelers pronounced this “laboratory-like” venue as their favorite onboard dining experience. It’s part cooking school and part restaurant. The concept is fun, experiential and social.
The Test Kitchen's pre-fixe menu offers six courses, but guests can personalize their entrée by choosing a meat, such as beef or venison, or perhaps a vegetarian option. In fact, the line offers vegetarian and vegan substitutes for every course if diners have dietary restrictions.
For casual dining, we headed for The Dock, a rustic, relaxing, beach-club-inspired eatery. Here, Virgin’s guests will find carts brimming with Mediterranean-inspired small plates, dips and mezzes. People simply raise the red flag at their table to beckon the server to bring the cart to them.
Virgin also offers several open-fire grill, small plates. For example, see our photo below of two such skewer dishes—grilled shrimp with garlic yogurt and Aleppo butter as well as Spanish octopus with sunchokes and muhammara. Other choices ranged from a fire-roasted chicken thigh to goat cheese polenta and hanger steak.
As for beverages, The Dock has the usual beer, wine and cocktails offerings along with a menu of “spritz-ahs.” Also, near The Dock is the separate Jucie Sea, where people can order cold-pressed juices and more.
More Scarlet Lady Eateries
Pink Agave, a Mexican restaurant, offers tasting dining, communal tables and cozy booths. Dishes have such flavors as tlayudas, memelas, sopes, tortas, esquites, tamales and an expansive array of mezcals. What’s a tlayuda, for instance? We learned that it's a hand-made Oaxacan dish consisting of a large tortilla, covered with anything from refried beans, avocado, meat, Oaxaca cheese, salsa and more.
For fans of Italian cuisine, Extra Virgin onboard Scarlet Lady is a trattoria with hand-crafted pasta and secondi. On one evening, we opted for a savory “Grilled Mediterranean Sea Bass” entrée with lemon, roasted fennel and Yukon gold potato.
At the Pizza Place, guests can build their own pie with favorite toppings. One can simply walk up to the counter to order or head for a table—both inside and outside on the deck—and a server will come to take your order.
The Galley
One of the more creative culinary offerings aboard Scarlet Lady is The Galley. Several years back, cruise lines moved away from one solid buffet line to individual stations. The Galley is, similarly, a food hall with a mix of more than eight shops and food carts. But it’s the unusual nature of what’s offered—a bit beyond the norm that’s found on many ships.
For instance, there’s a sushi bar with bento boxes, a bakery and pastry shop, panini shop, burger grill, taco shack, noodle bar, soup and salad stand, and 24-hour American “Diner and Dash.” We particularly liked the option of a 24-hour made-to-order breakfast at that diner.
What a hoot also to see The Galley’s “Pops and Bubs” pink food cart nearby. There, guests can order a flute of Moet Brut, Brut Rose Champagne and a more cost-conscious sparkling rose. Upon request, guests can also get a nonalcoholic Noughty Sparkling. We liked the selection of paletas (Mexican popsicles) there, too, some highly fruity, others just yummy chocolate ones.
The noodle bar fare in The Galley was the only onboard dining option that we weren’t particularly fond of, despite our love of Asian food. We felt our dish a bit bland, although other guests seemed to be enjoying their selections.
For ordering in The Galley, guests can just walk up to the food stands and carts. Alternatively, all tables have a small sign that says, “Welcome to the Galley. Just scan our QR codes with your device to see all we have to offer. Raise the red flag [on the sign] or the roof anytime and a server will be right over.” Those bar codes then allow diners to see the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus on their mobile devices.
Grab-and-Go Boxes
One helpful touch on Scarlet Lady is that in various spots around the ship the line positions refrigerators with “Quickeze” take-away food boxes. So, guests can pick up a Caesar salad, smoked turkey sandwich, farmer’s market vegetable wrap, roasted chicken salad, vegetable salad and more.
Late one afternoon, we grabbed a charcuterie and cheese box to enjoy a light bite in our stateroom, given that our dinner was quite late that evening. On another day, we helped ourselves to a Caesar salad, put it in our stateroom’s mini refrigerator and, thus, we had our dinner while doing remote work on our balcony stateroom.
Scarlet Lady: Bars and Lounges
Exclusively for suite guests is Richard’s Rooftop, a chic, outdoor lounge with a private bar, two hot tubs, daybeds and an iridescent design. One highlight is this bar’s daily Moet happy hour. Guests can sip on free-flowing bubbly. While we were in a balcony stateroom, not a suite, Virgin hosted us one afternoon here for a drink, socializing and to see the space. We'd say that suite guests will find it a most relaxing perch with fabulous ocean or landscape views.
Among the ship’s other bars and lounges is The Manor, the signature nightclub inspired by Richard Branson’s history in the music industry. His first-ever Virgin music studio had that same name. The two-story, three-bar Manor also has a 70s punk vibe. For a feeling of a 1920-era New York sports club, guests can just head to the Athletic Club. Besides offering oversized gaming for outdoor adult play, the largest daybed at sea and cabanas for relaxation, the club’s sports bar proved a good spot for socializing post-workout.
Another option is Deck 7’s casual, cozy Draught Haus, which has eight beers on tap. Plus, guests will find bottled artisanal beers, shots, shot cocktails and boilermakers. A “growler service” (which refers to curated beer transported in a certain type of “growler” container) allows guests to take their craft brew to a public space or their own stateroom or suite.
For an elevated drink experience, though, we’d opt for Sip, the cruise line’s Champagne house, which offers diverse Champagnes starting at $9 a glass. Tip: Check out the special vintage bottle of Champagne, priced at $1,000. You might not buy but it's fun to peruse. Separately, Sip is the relaxing spot for afternoon high tea and caviar.
Some bars and lounges have live entertainment. While this story isn’t focused on a full look at that, we will say that we loved listening to the Slam Allen Band in one venue. We and many others returned a second night specifically to hear the group's live blues.
Following Scarlet Lady’s upcoming drydock, Ground Club Too, the coffee bar in The Galley will continue to serve Intelligentsia Coffee by day. But at night, it will become a new full-service bar and sophisticated night-time hangout. Guests can expect an intimate setting and new cocktails, along with countertop seating, emerald benches, rust-colored couches and wood-slatted accents.
Scarlet Lady: Upcoming Revitalization
Beyond the dining and bar changes mentioned above, much more is on tap for Scarlet Lady’s upcoming drydock. Given hefty demand for suites aboard Virgin’s fleet, the line is transforming 36 Sea Terrace cabins on Deck 11 into 24 “Seriously Suite” RockStar Quarters. Spanning 352 square feet, they’ll offer a European king bed, peek-a-boo shower, vanity, stocked bar, an in-room record player and vinyl records, plus the line’s signature Yellow Leaf hammock, among many other perks.
Separately, Virgin is adding six new VIP cabanas on deck. Guests who reserve these can expect a relaxing aura, breezy white curtains and luxe daybeds overlooking the Aquatic Club. Reservations can be made for just one cabana, or for multiple cabanas for larger group celebrations.
In addition, the ship’s non-smoking casino will expand—gaining additional slot machines along with exclusive spaces for the most competitive players. The Redemption Spa will receive a new couple’s treatment room. And finally, Scarlet Lady will debut a new mermaid symbol/art on its bow.
Once all the renovations are completed, the ship will sail a 16-night transatlantic journey from Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, to Miami before embarking on a series of longer Caribbean voyages. Six-night “Western Caribbean Charm” and eight-night “Eastern Caribbean Antilles” itineraries will include such ports of call as St. Croix, U.S.V.I.; Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatán, Honduras; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. In addition, all winter season voyages aboard the refreshed Scarlet Lady will stop at Virgin Voyages’ Beach Club at Bimini in the Bahamas.
For more information on Virgin Voyages, visit virginvoyages.com.
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