For my 27th birthday this year (and a late graduation gift), I decided to treat myself to a cruise! I've never been on a cruise before and thought it would be good to try something new. I actually purchased this gift to myself a year and a half ago, so it's been a long wait for this ship to finally set sail. During summer 2022, I saw a commercial for Virgin Voyages which is a newer cruise line and decided to book with them for their Fire and Sunset Soirées trip on a special discount that was offered at the time.
Why Virgin Voyages
At the time I was looking at taking a cruise, I knew I wanted something that would offer the best experience for a reasonable price with as few children as possible. I don't have kids nor do I want to be on vacation around other people's children, and Virgin Voyages offered exactly what I was looking for in their adults-only cruises. Virgin Voyages also offers some great deals and I booked my trip on a good discount plus I received an extra 10% off by paying in full at the time I booked. The price of a Virgin Voyages trip is inclusive of amenities such as basic WiFi, all food (except for premium menu items), and all basic drinks (water, fountain sodas, and non-pressed juices). Additionally, my original plan was to go on the trip alone and they offer cabins just for solo sailors (every guest on board is called a sailor). However, I wasn't alone on the boat because my mom and cousin also got a cabin and, by using my referral code, I received $50 in "sailor loot" (onboard credit) to spend on the ship.
With this being my first cruise, I chose the shortest voyage -- Fire and Sunset Soirée which was only 4 nights on the ship. I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle being on a cruise for a long time and I wanted to use this as an opportunity to see if cruising would be enjoyable enough for future vacations.
Virgin Voyages Bar Tab
Before I recap what each day was like on the Scarlet Lady, I want to make sure to highlight a key difference between Virgin Voyages and other cruise lines. That key difference is the Virgin Voyages Bar Tab. Unlike other cruises which have a drink package, Virgin Voyages has a "bar tab" where you pay a non-refundable $300 to spend on drinks such as alcohol, tea, pressed juice, and smoothies. The big question to ask yourself: "Is getting the bar tab worth it"?
My answer to that question is that it depends on a couple of factors. If you are going on a trip that lasts a week or longer, getting the bar tab can be to your benefit. On a short trip like mine, it may only be worth your money if you plan to drink a lot of premium drinks or will be popping bottles of Moët a couple of times. A great thing about the bar tab is that you can use the money to buy drinks for other people -- which many people were doing in the final hours onboard to use up all their funds!
However, if you are not planning to spend much on premium drinks like me, just pay for each individual drink because they are the same price you would pay in the real world minus taxes and tips. Oh, and you may find that certain restaurants on Virgin Voyages include special drinks as part of the meal which means you may get drinks "for free" at different times. I only spent about $50 on drinks because I had some alcoholic beverages that were included with my meals and I managed to score a free drink on the second night. Continue reading to see how that happened!
Cruising Virgin Voyages
This is a very brief daily recap about my sailing experience with Virgin Voyages. If you want more pictures, details, and video, be sure to follow Kimi's Travel Thoughts on Instagram!
Day 1 - Embarkation
After getting off my Southwest flight in Miami, I took a Lyft to the Port of Miami to get dropped off right at my embarkation time to check-in and board the Scarlet Lady. To my surprise as I was walking into the terminal, I was handed a sheet of paper that explained there was a change to the itinerary. Due to the bad weather, we were being diverted to Cozumel, Mexico and were no longer going to Key West or the Bahamas and would now have a second day at sea instead of one. I've never been to Cozumel, so I was still excited about the trip!
When checking in, Virgin Voyages gives each sailor "the band" which is a water-proof, mostly discrete wristband to keep on the entire trip. The band is everything you need, so never take it off for any reason. Sailors use the band to unlock the door to their rooms and it is also linked to their credit card, acting as a wallet onboard.
Once I got through check-in and security, I was greeted by many excited crew members and made my way up to my room where I met Gladys, the crew member who would be helping maintain the cabins in my area of deck 12. She showed me to my cabin and explained how the technology worked (there is a tablet that controls the lights, thermostat and tv). I settled into the room and changed clothes so I could find my mom and cousin to grab a snack and then take some time to discuss plans before getting dinner at The Test Kitchen. Our dinner was a 6-course surprise menu in which we only knew the main ingredients and would be delighted by carefully curated chemistry-based meals from the chefs. Such a fun experience that I would highly recommend for adventurous eaters!
We ended the night by attending the ship-wide Ugly Sweater/Christmas Pajama Party. People were walking around in their holiday pajamas and ugly sweaters to check out the different spaces on the ship as we officially set sail. My mom, cousin, and I got a late-night snack from Dine and Dash, which is reminiscent of Denny's or IHOP, before calling it a night.
Day 2 - Day at Sea & Scarlet Night
On this first day at sea, I immediately woke up feeling sea sick. I decided to take it easy that day and slowly got out of bed and dressed for the day. I went down to Sip for some tea to help calm my stomach and a very nice lady helped me get a cute photo as I sipped my hibiscus rose tea. I went up to The Galley for some grab-and-go food and chose to get the mango tres leches because it was light and tres leches is my favorite type of cake. I also grabbed a container of sushi on my way back to my cabin to eat later that day.
I watched Barbie (2023) after returning to my cabin and also ate my sushi before taking a nap. When I woke up from my nap, it was time to find my mom and cousin so we could go to Gunbae for dinner. Gunbae is the lively Korean barbeque restaurant on the ship. It's a very loud atmosphere that includes chanting and drinking games. Fortunately, we were seated at a table with a couple who were a bit more mellow like us and were very chill about playing the drinking game. They also wanted to be adventurous like us by trying all of the popular menu items which resulted in a lot of food on our table. They made the dining experience more pleasant. The food was delicious, but I don't think the high energy atmosphere was my vibe for that day.
When we finished dinner, it was time to prepare for "Scarlet Night". On Scarlet Night, everyone on the ship wears red and even the lighting around the ship is set to red tones. My mom, cousin, and I went to The Dock House after taking some pictures and they ordered zero-proof beverages as we listened to Latin music performed live by a trio. Virgin Voyages has a crew called the Happenings Cast and they provide a spark of entertainment wherever they are on the ship and they are also the activities directors. A couple of them popped up while the trio took a short break to tell us about the myth of Scarlet Night and hosted a group game of charades, offering a free glass of sangria to each of the four winners. I volunteered to be the last player and won a free glass of very good sangria! The night culminated with a pool party that included a DJ, dancers, circus acts, a drag queen, and nearly all sailors decked out in red having the time of their lives -- so of course I was present for that!
Day 3 - Cozumel for a Day
We arrived in Cozumel early the next morning and my mom, cousin, and I got breakfast at Razzle Dazzle before leaving the ship for our "Shore Thing". A Shore Thing is an excursion to do while on land. On the first night, we decided to book the one that included chocolate and margaritas: Margaritas and Chocolate Mixology. We took a taxi as a group with other sailors and our tour guide, Eduardo, to The Mayan Cacao Company. Our group learned about the Mayan people, how chocolate is made, and finished the tour by learning how to make three frozen margaritas. Everyone had their own seat and blender to make full-sized drinks. We started with a classic margarita, then a pineapple margarita, and ended with a chocolate margarita all with the help of Eduardo and another employee named Roberto. The classic marg was my favorite and I drank the whole thing along with the pineapple marg. I don't actually like chocolate, so I only had a few sips of the chocolate margarita which I left behind to be able to take the pineapple marg with me.
Some shopping occurred for about 45 minutes as we finished our drinks before we took a taxi back to the port. A mother and daughter that we sat by while mixing margs invited us to join them for lunch at La Choza, a restaurant recommended by Eduardo. We all walked a handful of blocks over to the restaurant and ate some delicious food, finishing our meal just as the lunch rush had arrived. Our small group parted ways as we went off to do some shopping and get back to the Scarlet Lady. Unfortunately, we got caught in some very heavy tropical rain and had to purchase rain ponchos to try and prevent getting completely drenched as we walked back to the ship. Luckily, the crew met us with fresh towels to dry off we returned.
Once dry and into a fresh change of clothes, it was time for dinner at The Wake. This was a quiet restaurant and a real change of pace compared to the experience at Gunbae. The elevated comfort food was delicious as expected and The Wake is the restaurant I would want to return to on my next Virgin Voyage. It was a long, tiring day and I was ready to go to bed after dinner, so I went back to my cabin and watched a movie before falling asleep.
Day 4 - Final Day at Sea
I slept in for the final day at sea and watched Biosphere (2023) once I woke up, feeling extra sea sick. With no reservations at restaurants or dedicated plans for activities or shows onboard, it was finally time to just have a do-nothing day. My mom, cousin, and I ate brunch at The Galley before going to The Social Club for come carnival eats and to watch the three NFL games that day with other football fans sailing on the Scarlet Lady who were looking for a fun environment to cheer for their teams. I ran back upstairs to The Galley for a burger and returned with it to our table to continue watching the last game of the day.
However, that game wasn't exciting and we decided to start working on getting belongings packed because luggage that needed to be picked up by the crew for disembarkation had to be placed outside cabin doors by 10:00 PM. I went with my mom and cousin to their cabin and received a notification through the Virgin Voyages app (the way to book activities, view your wallet, and much more) that our arrival in my Miami would be delayed due to bad weather causing the port to be closed. Another update followed shortly after with a second delay and a sheet of paper with the announcement was slid under the door by the crew. I went back to my room and began getting my things packed up and got ready for bed. I wasn't too pressed about the delay and saw that as an opportunity to sleep in!
Wrap-Up
My experience on Virgin Voyages was incredible! Even with the changes to the itinerary, I was having the best time ever. Not having to lift a finger or think about work and having limited access to the internet allowed me to just focus on myself and relax. I got to eat so much delicious food, try new activities, learn new things, and just have an all around great first half of my vacation. The delayed return to Miami was not ideal for many sailors because people had flights to catch and suddenly needed to change them or be prepared to quickly get to the airport in time to catch their flights. Fortunately, the delays were not an issue for me because I had plans to stick around Miami for a couple of days and extend my vacation. More on that in the next blog post!
Feel free to leave comments below, post (tweet) @KimiThoughts, or leave a post/message on Facebook (@KimisTravelThoughts) and share any memories you have from sailing Virgin Voyages or any other cruise!