Set Sail the Virgin Way

Ahoy & happy almost Friday! We are so close to fall weather & I couldn’t be more ready. It’s seriously the best season! I went on vacation in June with a new cruise line that I have been meaning to share. The ship, the staff, the shows, the food…all of it was exactly what I would want in a cruise experience. I’m not sure if Virgin Galactic, Virgin Hotels, or Virgin Mobile sounds familiar or not. Does it ring a bell? Now Richard Branson has a cruise line called Virgin Voyages. They have four ships to choose from and we decided to take a friend group vacay on the Scarlet Lady. This ship was awarded the best new ship in 2021 by cruise critic’s editor’s pick. I absolutely agree with this award given to Scarlet Lady & this is why…

A retreat. That’s how I would sum up this cruise experience. It’s an adult only, health and wellness focus type of vacation. We flew into Miami, FL the day before to meet up with our friends. The following day around 1pm, we arrived at terminal V to board the ship. Now if you have ever been on a cruise before, think back to those moments when you arrived at your terminal and it was complete chaos. With VV, that wasn’t the case at all. It was the most organized flow when we released our bags to the staff, went through the Covid19 screenings and they had backed up long dreary lines. Instead of having to deal with the annoying lanyard with room keys, drink cards…or whatever else other cruise lines make you carry around, VV gave you a cute bracelet with a RFID chip which linked to your VV app. Super simple! Walking on the ship, all of the staff were so lively and friendly. We checked out our cabins and then went to the top deck for a sail-away champagne toast.

A Michelin-starred chef collectively created onboard dining of 20+ eateries that were included, so we made prior dinner reservations at the major restaurants every night. My favorites were Gunbae and The Test Kitchen. Gunbae is Korean BBQ where they cooked your meal right in front of you and played fun drinking games at the table. The Test Kitchen was a 6-course meal of small portions where you would sample different food combinations. They also have seafood, steak, vegan, Italian and Mexican restaurants which were also delicious. We went to a couple of shows and stopped by the nightclub, The Manor, every night. Sadly, drinks were not included but they weren’t overpriced.

Our first day off the ship, we did an excursion in the Dominican Republic. We took a boat out into the ocean for snorkeling and they provided snacks, drinks and dancing entertainment lol. The ocean was so beautiful and it was so clear where we could see a lot of colorful fish hanging around the coral. Day three was a full day at sea. We decided to have a girl’s day full of self-care! Two of us had massages while the other two went to a skincare class that morning using the brand Comfort Zone. Then all four of us went to the spa after brunch. We decided to purchase the thermal suite pass where we could spend three hours using the different pools/tubs, sauna/mud/salt/steam rooms and the hot stone tables. It was sooo relaxing! We were able to escape the stress of the outside world and focus on ourselves. After feeling refreshed, we made our way to the Sip champagne bar for afternoon tea and refreshments. That night was “Scarlet Night”, where everyone wore red and attended the onboard party. It was a fun night getting to see everyone all dressed up in their red!

The day before returning back to Miami, we stopped by their private clubhouse in Bimini, Bahamas. We rented a Cabana facing the beach to enjoy the beautiful view. They provided lunch and a huge pool with several bars. Once we got back on the ship, we went to our last dinner and then to one of the many hot tubs on the deck. We popped a bottle of champagne and took some time to talk about what we did/didn’t like about this cruise ship. Not many things were brought up that we didn’t like. Some of the things that really stood out to me that we all agreed on was the food, obviously, the fact the employees left us alone during our time on the ship (none of those loud intercom calls in the middle of the day) and just overall how organized/simplistic everything was.

I’ve now been on three different cruise lines and this one was definitely my favorite! I think I might try a couple other cruises just to compare to VV. But I would absolutely recommend Virgin for young and old couples or a friend retreat. I can’t wait to go again and try out one of their other ships to maybe Europe or Australia. Have you ever been on a VV cruise? If so, which ship did you go on and what did you like about it? If you want more information about the Scarlet Lady, please reach out. I’m happy to share more details. Enjoy your weekend!

Love yourself xoxo