Scarlet Lady Review
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This was our second time on Virgin. We love it! The fact that there are no kids is a HUGE plus, because they can offer food, entertainment, and atmosphere that appeals to adults (kids would hate it). The food is delicious, current, and innovative, exactly like small upscale restaurants on land. (We have tried all of the restaurants except the Wake). The rooms are comfortable and make the most of the (limited) space. The hammock is amazing, we spent a lot of time there! The spa is wonderful, definitely book a treatment or even just a pass to the thermal suite. The Beach Club at Bimini is beautiful, not to be missed. The pool party there is tremendous, and the food is much better than on other private islands.
A couple of flaws: We had seen all the shows on our last voyage, a year ago, and had no desire to see them again. They should change them more frequently and offer more small shows like comedians or singers. Especially since it’s Virgin, the music offerings could be more varied, with more live music and fewer DJ’s. There should be music selections available in the cabins. There wasn’t a whole lot to do at night if you didn’t do a show. The disco was pretty good, and the Scarlet Night Pool Party is also fantastic! (Bring something red to wear). The wifi was spotty, and we paid for the premium which was also spotty and therefore unnecessary. Also, there is a limit to the number of devices you can connect at one time, (ugh) and it’s very confusing.
The app itself is also buggy and crashes a lot. And everything requires the app, so they should really fix it if they’re going to require it. You don’t know what’s going on without it. (They do hand out paper schedules if you ask, probably because of this problem). Note- the app doesn’t work at all during the safety drill on the first day, they block it completely except for the safety video. This makes it difficult to make reservations for shows and restaurants when you first get on board, since they require you to use the app. (For the shows, you can only reserve on board). We asked about this and nobody who worked there knew that the app was intentionally disabled during that time. They tried to help us but, of course, they couldn’t. A simple assurance that the app would resume once the drill was over would’ve been appreciated, (as would notice that it would be blocked so we could have made our reservations earlier.). It often seemed like the crew was as ill-informed as the passengers. The line has been operating for over a year, there is no excuse for this. The signage could be better, and public bathrooms are scarce and hard to find.
Cabin Review
The Sea Terrace cabins on this ship are small, but beautifully decorated to make the most of the space. There is sufficient storage for two people, probably not more. The beds are comfortable, the lighting effects are fun, and the balcony is spacious. The hammock on the balcony is the best!
Port Reviews
Bimini
The Beach Club at Bimini is absolutely gorgeous, and the pool party there is so much fun! There is plenty of space, but try to get there early to reserve a chair by the pool. The food is great, much better than the burgers and hot dogs served at other lines’ private islands. They do shut the food down at a certain point after lunch though. It would be great if they offered additional snacks, even for purchase. Otherwise, it did seem like people got hungry and started to head back to the ship. The excursions are probably not worth doing, there is not much to see on Bimini outside the Resorts World complex unless you really love fishing or diving. The club is the nicest part of the island.
Key West
We loved Key West! We would recommend getting breakfast or lunch there instead of on the ship, the food there is so good. There are some fun tourist attractions in town, and the shopping is great. And, of course, the bars and live music start in late morning and go on all day. No need to do an excursion here, the town is not to be missed.