Ahoy from the Caribbean Sea! Last time we left off when I first stepped foot on the revamped Scarlet Lady on the Eastern Caribbean Antilles Valentine’s itinerary. Today I’ll be sharing everything I did on the ship after I embarked, and I’ll also share details on what my Sea Terrace Cabin looks like! I ate a ton of food and saw a cool show – and that was only the first day. Keep reading to hear about what went on my first day!

Stepping Foot on the Scarlet Lady

As soon as I high fived the booty shorts-clad gentleman in the cowboy hat, I stepped onto the gangway directly in front of “The Roundabout” on Deck 7. This deck is basically where you can book your shore excursions, book future voyages, get ice cream and pizza, and more. It’s a good deck to be on. 

I was completely overwhelmed with where to go and what to do. There were people everywhere and I didn’t know where to start. Should I get lunch first and wait for the crowds to die down or go straight to my cabin? 

The line for the elevators were so long despite there being 6 of them. With my bag in tow, I decided to skip the crowds and hike up the stairs to Deck 10 where my cabin awaited. The good thing about Virgin Voyages is that your cabin is always ready when you board the ship. No waiting needed! 

My Sea Terrace Cabin

On this cruise, I booked a Sea Terrace Cabin, the category with the iconic red hammock on the balcony. I tapped my newly minted wristband on the key reader and when I entered my cabin the lights turned on and the curtains opened up to a beautiful view of the city of Miami. Surprisingly (or not – let’s be real), my cabin was more spacious than my CitizenM Brickell hotel room! 

My cabin is equipped with a king-sized bed which can be converted into a couch during the day, which I won’t be doing. A curved table doubling as a work desk and vanity are nearby along with a modern pleather chair in the corner. The cabins on this ship definitely have that Virgin Voyages flair, which I love. Despite the walls being white, there’s slatted wood paneling, two toned mirrors, mood lighting, and ombre curtains making the cabin feel spacious and less prison-cell-like. I’ve seen some dungeon-looking cruise cabins online, and believe me this is far from it. 

Since I’m traveling solo on this voyage, I found a letter on the desk waiting for me. The letter stated that there will be a solo meet up later that day at The Athletic Club followed by dinner. All totally optional. Even though the thought of meeting new people fills me with dread, I pushed through and decided to go to this meet up later. For research.

Some thoughts about my cabin having been living here for 48 hours so far: the bathroom is small. Like I cannot stretch my arms out completely in the bathroom, it’s that small. The toilet flushes like an airplane toilet (that caught me by surprise!). The full-sized Red Flower toiletries were a welcome sight and I can report that they’re refreshingly moisturizing. There is a minibar connected to the desk which remains empty for guests to fill with beverages and takeaway containers. A safe and hair dryer are located in the curtained off closet area. I find the storage space to be ample, but if you’re a heavy packer you’ll find that there’s not a lot of space to store things.

In-Room Entertainment

I figured I’d do a separate section for in-room entertainment because I have a lot of thoughts about this. Each cabin comes with a tablet on the desk. The tablet allows guests to play with the climate, lights, curtains, request specific services, and watch movies and tv shows. 

Unlike the tablet at CitizenM where you could choose any color of the rainbow to change your lights to, there are preset “moods” that will change the lights to red, blue, or purple. It’s pretty fun to play around with when you’re with a companion (i.e. the “Get It On” mood), but pretty sad when you’re alone, in my opinion. 

The services that can be requested through the tablet include: requesting fresh towels, cabin cleaning, bed configuration change, water refill, ice, laundry pick up, and maintenance. It’s important to note that housekeeping will clean your cabin daily, and they’ll refill your water in the evening. If your room needs refreshing in the evening, you need to push the button in your closet for “make my room” otherwise they’ll just refill the waters and leave. 

I find the in-room entertainment to be lackluster, if I’m honest. I’d love for the tablet to have more control over the cabin. Also, you can’t cast onto the TV! You’re limited to the shows and movies that are pre-loaded onto the tablet which cast to the TV. If I wanted to cast any videos to the TV, I’m out of luck. Side note: I’m really into a mix of ambient camping videos and life in the 1800’s videos lately. How am I going to get my fix? 

Let’s Get Lunch!

After dropping off my bag in the cabin (my carry on hadn’t arrived at this point yet), I went for lunch. I decided on The Galley to have access to the most options. Seems like everyone else on the ship had the same idea! The Galley is the ship’s food court, essentially. Virgin Voyages is proud to say the don’t have a buffet like most cruises, and The Galley is their modern replacement. You can walk up and order food from any of the food stalls, or place an order with a server. 

I’m such a sucker for multiple food options, unlike my husband who hates mixing different cuisine types together. I once suggested for dinner taquitos to start and spaghetti for dinner and got scoffed at. I walked around The Galley taking in the options: fresh salad from The Daily Mix, sushi from Bento Baby, carb heaven at Well-Bread, tacos at Let’s Taco Bout It, ramen at Noodle Around, sandwiches at Hot Off the Press, burgers at the Burger Bar, generic American slop at Diner and Dash (okay, that’s harsh, but it was some boring chicken, green beans, and gravy this day), dessert at Something Sweet? Did I mention I am a frequent sufferer of decision paralysis? 

I decided on cucumber avocado sushi for the immediate gratification while I waited for my tonkotsu ramen from Noodle Around. The sushi was surprisingly fresh and tasty like I would get from any restaurant. The ramen is a different story. I really wanted to love it, but having eaten a lot of ramen in my life this one was, in one word: meh. The broth just wasn’t developed enough to have any significant flavor. I loved the chew of the noodles and the tenderness of the pork char siu, but the broth tasted like watery soy sauce. I finished off my lunch with a chocolate mousse and red velvet cake from Something Sweet and then made my way back to my cabin to unpack.

Solo Sailor Meet Up for the Introvert

The solo sailor meet up was at 5:15 PM, and I got onto the ship around 3 PM. By the time I finished lunch it was just hitting 4, so I had an hour-ish to unpack and find my way to the Athletic Club for the solo sailor meeting. I also had to watch the muster drill video on my TV and check-in at my muster station (quick tap of the band and I was good to go) before heading to Deck 16. 

I did an entire loop around Deck 16 and googled, “The Athletic Club” to make sure I was in the right place. I didn’t see any red-clad Happenings Cast Members show up until 5:15 PM on the dot. I got chatting with another solo sailor from England who also, as luck would have it, was a travel agent. There were about 25 of us at the meet up. The cast members introduced themselves, then we all went around saying our names, where we’re from, and our favorite drinks. You know when people say “good idea, bad execution?” This was one of those. The Athletic Club was blasting music so loud I could barely hear anyone. I hope they do this in a different place next time! 

Scarlet Lady Sail Away Party

After introductions, we walked to Deck 15 to wait for the Sail Away Party at 6 PM. This party happens on every Virgin Voyages ship and involves a free glass of bubbles and a cheers to an amazing trip. Vibey pop music was played, people were dancing, and we were introduced to the Happenings Cast and the ship’s Diva (drag queen). Everyone was in such a great mood, it was a lovely energy to be around! 

Unfortunately, I made dinner reservations for Razzle Dazzle at 6 PM so I had to leave the Sail Away Party before we actually sailed away. It was totally fine though, I had my fill of the crowds and loud music. 

Dinner at Razzle Dazzle/Lucky Lotus

The Scarlet Lady recently introduced a new dining concept taking the place of Razzle Dazzle’s dinner menu: Lucky Lotus. This is a Chinese cuisine concept with dishes like duck bao buns, crispy walnut shrimp, fried rice, sweet and sour fish, etc. Being Asian myself, I was particularly excited for this dinner! 

When I sat down, the server showed me the Valentine’s Voyage specials for the restaurant. I ordered three starters: corn dumplings (special), duck baos, and crispy walnut shrimp. Since I was dining solo, I asked for half the normal portions to reduce any food waste. My mains were sweet and sour fish and a bowl of Szechuan hot and sour noodle soup. I know you’re probably thinking, “wow that’s a lot of food for one person!” and you’re completely right. Even with half portions it was too much for me. 

The corn dumplings were meh. Duck bao was pretty good. Crispy walnut shrimp was amazing. The Szechuan noodle soup was flavorful and punchy while the sweet and sour fish looked cool but lacked substance. The fish was breaded and fried but wasn’t crispy. Know what I mean? It turned into a clump in my mouth. I wish I had room for dessert but I was already unbuttoning my pants mid-main course. All the more reason for me to come back!

Nightly Entertainment: Ships in the Night

Post dinner I went back to my room and laid in my balcony hammock. I used the red blanket to keep me warm, and before I knew it the meditative swinging of the hammock lulled me into a food coma. I woke up an hour later with a ping on my phone letting me know the show I was interested in was starting soon. 

I didn’t know what to expect in terms of entertainment on Virgin Voyages. It’s not like they put on Broadway shows or Disney theater remakes, but I was pleasantly surprised with the show I saw. It was called “Ships in the Night” and involved singing covers, a modern dance performance, and many costume changes. 

Virgin Voyages has a strict policy of no filming the shows, so I don’t have any pictures or videos I can share but I’ll try to describe what I saw. If I could summarize the show in one sentence I’d say it’s a show about two millennials jaded by their 9 to 5 jobs finding each other amidst the chaos.

• Lots of dancers in the same suits.
• A dancer in a blue dress stands out from the crowd.
• She keeps bumping into the same guy in the suit. 
• They start dancing but get pulled away when they get too close. 
• The host sings a cover of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5. 
• Will the lovers end up together even though their deeply entrenched in their soul-sucking jobs? You’ll have to watch the show to find out!

The show was fun to watch and really well produced. The dancers were incredible. The host’s voice was out of this world, and his jokes hit too. Overall, I walked away having really enjoyed that production. 

Sea Sickness: Should I Be Worried?

Since this is my first ever cruise, I came prepared with Dramamine. I started taking it as soon as I landed in Miami. So far, the voyage has been smooth sailing. When we first started moving, my body was kind of like, “hey, I know we’re moving and I don’t know how to feel about this.” I didn’t have any sea sickness symptoms though! 

I would describe the feeling of being on a ship similar to being in an airplane at cruising altitude. You can sort of feel the ship moving side to side a little like wind hits airplanes at 30,000 feet. Thankfully, it’s been bearable and hasn’t triggered any sea sickness symptoms. 

Ending the Night on a High Note

After the show, I visited “Lick Me Til I Scream” for a scoop of chocolate ice cream before heading back to the cabin for the night. I was excited to try a variety of cones as I had seen online, but they only had regular and red velvet. 

Back at my cabin, I booted up the ol’ laptop and started working on the blog post while preparing for my second day on the voyage. I had breakfast planned at The Wake followed by Bingo with the Diva. I also planned to explore more of the top deck and get my steps in on the track. Dinner was to be at a very exciting Korean BBQ concept called “Gunbae”. 

Stay tuned for my next blog post: A Virgin Voyages Diary: Day 2 on the Scarlet Lady