I had an unexpected opportunity to join some friends on the Scarlet Lady for the Mayan Sol voyage to Costa Maya and Bimini. This was my very first cruise EVER, and I think this may have eternally spoiled me for any cruise line other than Virgin. Basically, if you know the Cosmopolitan on Las Vegas, the Scarlet Lady is the Cosmo on water. No better way to describe it, and a couple of other Sailors agreed with me. I'm a karaoke singer by inclination, and took full advantage of the public karaoke events, because I like an audience. My singing at those events--first time in international waters!--gave me a minor celebrity status aboard. I was privileged to meet The Diva, Miss Titty Kaka, at Pajama Night the first night, and pleased to have her hosting karaoke on Scarlet Night; could it get any better than that? I also liked Miss Titty's "Around the World in 80 Minutes" show; she's a very versatile performer, and I KNOW drag queens! (I also got to lipsync myself, in this ridiculous pink foam wig, as part of the audience participation. Miss Titty specifically picked me for that because I had told her I'd been a drag performer myself, and she knew who she could count on.) The "Duel Reality" show was full of amazing acrobatic performances, and made up for me missing a Cirque show while I was last in Vegas. Onboard dining was, of course, fabulous. The Wake does great breakfasts as well as dinners (their wedge salad was a wonder; it made me tolerate bleu cheese dressing!). Extra Virgin served me a pasta al ragu that was soul-satisfying, and I'd put it up against the best dishes from my favorite Italian place. Gunbae turned out to be both tasty and fun; that's where I acquired a "posse," my tablemates from that dinner. (Definitely spring for the wagyu beef; you've never tasted anything like it!) Even the Galley was extremely satisfying as well as convenient, not to mention a good place to find and be found by fellow Sailors. I drank Diet Cokes in a number of bars, but actually found the casino bar to be most to my liking. And the main pool made for both an entertaining afternoon and a great dance venue on Scarlet Night. (Ever dance IN a pool? Don't knock it till you've tried it!) My Shore Thing in Costa Maya, a visit to the Chacchoben Mayan ruins followed by lunch at Uchbenkah Lagoon, was a grand day out, and Virgin's Beach Club on Bimini matches the ship in luxury while adding beautiful clear ocean waves (and gentle jellyfish that can't sting humans). I also got an exquisite mani-pedi at The Tune-Up, the first I've EVER had, and some good makeup advice at the MAC store on Deck 6. (Great value; same prices for makeup as on land, and no taxes!) There's no way to nutshell this; what could I say? Rainbows? Silver bells? Mushroom clouds? I'm convinced that this is the ONLY way to cruise the Caribbean...and I've already dropped a deposit on another one!