Inside Virgin Voyages' newest cruise ship, the Scarlet Lady

Table Of Content

• SAILING PORTS:
• How Private Jets Allow Travelers to Skirt Immigration Around the World
• From getting pampered to popping champagne, what’s happening on our adults only cruise ships.
• At the same restaurant, I had fancy doughnuts for dessert.
• feature a Sea Terrace hammock
• Inside cabins on Virgin Voyages cruise ships
• Brilliant Lady

All food at 20-plus eateries, group workouts, basic beverages and other amenities (Wi-Fi, gratuities, etc.) are included in base fares. The suite that's right for you will depend on your budget, the perks you value and where on the ship you wish to stay. It's not a lot of storage space — perfect for one, manageable for two and likely impossible for three or four. All cabins are outfitted with North American, USB and universal (European, U.K. and many other countries) outlets.

SAILING PORTS:

This translates into striking spaces that could just as easily be at home on land as as at sea. The roster of enlisted interior designers includes such noted names as Roman + Williams, Concrete Amsterdam, Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio, Knibb Design and Softroom of London. The crew’s sleek uniforms were crafted by British designer Gareth Pugh. Scarlet Lady is currently based out of Miami, where the ship sails four itineraries to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Each of the four- and five-night cruises spends a day at Virgin's private beach club in Bimini, Bahamas. Other ports of call may include Key West; Cozumel/Playa del Carmen or Costa Maya, Mexico; or Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

How Private Jets Allow Travelers to Skirt Immigration Around the World

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And typically, only a cruise ship's main restaurants and the buffet are included, with meals at specialty dining venues costing extra. Virgin, however, will offer nine restaurant options, ranging from a vegetarian restaurant (Razzle Dazzle) to a Mexican restaurant (Pink Agave). Passengers will be allowed to dine at any of the nine dining spaces for a meal at the time of their choice and, most importantly, the cost of each meal is included in the cruise. Once complete, the Scarlet Lady will offer a total of 1,330 cabins and 78 so-called RockStar Suites. Each of the standard cabins will offer about 265 square feet of space. Unlike traditional staterooms, which feature a standard bed, Virgin has patented a new design, called a Seabed, which can essentially be reconfigured from a bed into a sofa.

From getting pampered to popping champagne, what’s happening on our adults only cruise ships.

A balcony cabin will have two USB ports near the bed, along with a North American outlet. The desk and vanity area have two more USB ports (though one is taken up by the charging cable for the cabin's tablet, which controls the TV, curtains and temperature), two additional North American outlets and one universal outlet. However, passengers can send individual clothing items out for pressing, washing and folding, or washing and pressing. You also have the option to get an entire bag of laundry washed and folded for a flat rate. If you choose to purchase "specialty liquors" in the ports you visit, you may bring these on board but they will also be held for you until the last night of the cruise. Make sure you adhere to customs regulations about how much alcohol you can bring back into the country from abroad.

Here are some of the entertainment highlights of my five-night Caribbean cruise. Most main performances take place in the multipurpose, rearrangeable Red Room, but more intimate shows take over The Manor nightclub. If you're catching some rays and don't want to give up your spot in the sun for lunch, The Sun Club Café is an easy pool deck grab-and-go option for anyone who likes poke bowls. You can use the one long shelf beneath the sink or place your items in the small space next to the sink – there are no other drawers or shelves.

feature a Sea Terrace hammock

It's your "get dolled up and eat steak" venue, with a glam vibe and large windows overlooking what else but the ship's wake. Toast yourself with a glass of bubbly while you dine like a king on clam chowder, roasted bone marrow, filet mignon and lamp chops. Seafood lovers should splurge on the extra-fee towers of lobster, oysters, shrimp, clams, mussels and crab.

The suite has a double-depth balcony with an outdoor shower and lounge chairs. The Cheeky Corner Suite also comes in a range of sizes, 615 to 857 square feet, based on deck and balcony size. The 14 suites are at the back corners of the ship on decks 8 – 14, on either side of the Sweet Aft Suites. Sea View and Sea Terrace cabins trade out the typical cruise ship cabin couch or love seat for a spare director's style chair with a faux leather partial back and a padded seat. In standard cabins, the bed is modular – not only transforming from a queen bed to twins but also turning from a bed into an L-shaped lounging couch. In some quad layouts, a queen bed and an extra twin share the same headboard with a bunk overhead.

As the team continually aims to create an exciting and radiant experience for its Sailors, it feels right that the fourth ship reflects that. So it’s our absolute honour to introduce Brilliant Lady to the fleet. The lounge is reserved for VIP suite guests, but Virgin Voyages gave Business Insider exclusive access. But beyond these four ships, Virgin Voyages is keeping the cards close as to what's next on the horizon. Branson compared Voyages to Virgin Atlantic, recalling that when the airline was founded in 1984 with only one plane, they didn't expect to have more than four planes. "We are a small, niche player in a big market in the same way that Virgin Atlantic, when it started, was a small, niche player in a big market."

"What we're trying to appeal to is a different way to cruise, a different experience...Naturally, I think we'll get a younger crowd, but this is about appealing to and a different experience for cruisers—cruisers, first and foremost." The ship’s design is intended to mimic that of a yacht with a sleek silvery-grey hull with smoked glass, and of course, the Virgin brand’s distinctive touches of red. The company’s first fleet is referred to as the “Lady Ships,” a play on the term “your ladyship,” in a nod to Virgin’s British heritage. But Virgin is hoping to change all that with the debut of its latest travel industry venture (at least the most recent available those of us wishing to travel only on Earth).

I didn't feel overstuffed after my meal, as I often do when eating pasta. I've had this popular dish at various restaurants, but this rendition stood out because it was made with fresh pasta. For dinner one night, I ordered the Cochinita Pibil, a traditional Mayan dish that originated in the Yucatán Peninsula in 400 AD, as Business Insider previously reported. According to the cruise line, Pink Agave's menu was inspired by Mexico. Once booked, travelers can cancel and receive their deposit back within seven days. Additionally, within a few days of booking, you can change a passenger's name free of charge.

On the same floor, there's a larger room packed with tables for playing board games and puzzles, which are stacked on shelves around the space. I spotted decks of cards and a wide variety of nostalgic games from my childhood, including Mouse Trap, Cranium, and Operation. Virgin Voyages launched in 2021 as an adults-only cruise line, according to its website.

The mattresses are rearranged on a long platform to form various arrangements; any uncovered portion of the platform serves as a nightstand or low table. Instead of a more holistic strategy, “each space was designed to stand alone. Each space has its own background music, lighting, and design,” says Frank Weber, Virgin’s senior vice president of hotel operations.

But when The Galley is packed, such as in the morning on a port day, it can take forever to catch the attention of a server and longer than you'd expect to receive your meal. You can find grab-and-go boxes in several locations on board, but the food selection is limited. I can see first-time and older cruisers being especially confounded by the lack of guidance on board.

There are 1,400 cabins on board, and while some of the standard rooms are on the small side (although 80 percent have balconies with cute red hammocks), there are 78 spacious suites, all designed by Tom Dixon. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Scarlet Lady will be based in Miami and San Juan and will primarily sail in the Caribbean. Five-night cruises start at $1,925 per per person for a Sweet Aft Suite, the entry-level suite category. The ship takes an unconventional approach to cruise ship dining, with no main dining room, no buffet and no extra-fee restaurants.

The Roundabout is the place to be after dinner; look out for flash performances and crew members with invitations to secret parties. The Deck 6 casino is a hopping place at night, partly because it's located between The Red Room performance space and On the Rocks Bar, with the entrance to the Manor nightclub just opposite. Beginners and high rollers alike can sign up for gaming lessons or poker tournaments at the WPT at Sea Poker Room in partnership with the World Poker Tour. However, hands down the most fun you'll have gambling on the ship is at Bingo With The Diva, Scarlet Lady's resident drag queen. Right next door is the Lick Me Till Ice Cream outpost where you can choose from a changing roster of hand-scooped ice cream and cone flavors. Down the hall is The Social Club Diner satisfying all your bar food cravings with hot dogs (including vegan ones), chicken wings and soft pretzels.

Most people do change into something a little nicer for dinner, but you won't find any official formal nights on board. Before you board, you'll link a credit card to your account (which you can do via the app prior to embarkation day) or put up a cash amount from which you can debit for purchases made on board. Wi-Fi is available throughout the ship, and your complimentary access covers two devices logged in at a time per passenger. If you wish to stream music and video, you can pay to upgrade to a Premium Wi-Fi plan, subject to availability. Fares start at $1,426 per cabin for a windowless Insider cabin on a four-night Fire & Sunset Soirees cruise to Key West and Bimini. The price is valid whether you have one or two travelers sharing the room, and does not include taxes and fees.