Virgin Voyages: Scarlet Lady Hits & Misses

[@81flyboi]

I'll be on her from Rome to Miami 16 nights! this November! I hope there will be things to do. thanks for posting this video!

[@downtovacay]

Whoooaah that's a long trip. Def come back and share your experience for that itinerary. Hope it's super awesome. I hope there will be a lot to do as well. I don't want to be a Debbie downer

[@deborahbielsker9979]

We sailed in Oct. 2023. We were able to get our own hamburger. Took just as long as waiting to be served. Great analogy " Floating Hotel in Miami" Great night life, sleep in the day, recover from doing what-ever, Was disappointed bc hype didn't match reality. Staff inexperienced in all areas. You are "spot on". Glad your app worked. I believe you are the focus clientele age group but First time cruisers would appreciate more. The "adults only" - no kids- is misleading. As seasoned cruisers know, the children on board kid friendly lines have their own part of the ship and are very seldom seen running around or crying in the food places.{But they do tend to press elevator buttons!} In port we met a cruising travel agent that had just visited Carnival's Valenzia and we booked our first Carnival cruise. We are expecting the "awesome experience" we thought VV was going to provide. We kept thinking we had missed something, done VV with the wrong attitude/mindset. Thank you

[@downtovacay]

Super thanks for your thoughts and comment. I'm (Gil) not going to lie, I started feeling as if I had missed something shortly after posting our Hits & Misses.I stand by my feelings lol . So much hype indeed. Wasn't horrible. Cruise reviews are subjective. What may be good for one, not so much for the other. I thought about the Venezia, but then the newer ships were announced. We're sailing on the Viva in Feb. The Icon of the Seas end of March. Carnival Horizon in April and Carnival Jubilee in July. Tons of reviews the first half of 2024. Hope you have fun on the Venezia. Saw the decor. Looks amazing. #downtovacay : )

[@davebielsker2938]

I did enjoy the review. My DW Deborah summed it up really well. Outside of wellness/exercise, eating and drinking, there wasn't really anything to do. The shows and entertainment were pretty awful. And activities like afternoon tea and trivia were held in the wrong venues. Putting trivia in the only bar with sports playing?...ended up spending our free time on The Dock. The thing that annoyed me the most was you couldn't get anything at all to eat between 11a-12p. So it was 130pm before my cheeseburger arrived. We only sailed this due line to the itinerary (DW wanted to go to Key West). To this day, I occasionally think about what I missed that could have made the trip better. And still can't think of anything. Yes - it was basically all inclusive, but when you break down the prices into individual components, could have sailed on RCCL or Celebrity for less money. I do understand the concept, but it's not for us. With that said, it was the quietest and smoothest sailing ship we've ever been on. Looking forward to your reviews on the new NCL ships.

[@downtovacay]

Much appreciated. Reviews are certainly subjective, so we make sure that we give normal honest reviews. No click baits on our end. Based on the price, to us it wasn't worth it. Love the Adult Vibe and parties, but other than that, I can just fly to Miami, stay at a posh hotel and go clubbing every night LOL. We booked because of the supposed food experience and the chance to visit Bimini Island. In the process of recording the audio for that experience. We booked the VIP Cabana for that one. It was surely the quietest and smoothest sail for us as well. Couldn't feel a thing. We sailed on the Norwegian Prima back in Feb, but failed to put up a FULL REVIEW. We posted some videos on the Prima. Go to our NCL Videos section for some of the videos of the Prima experience. Of course, once we sail the Viva, we'll surely put those videos up in the month. Thanks again. Happy Cruising

[@johnharman205]

Were you able to get reservations at all the restaurants?

[@downtovacay]

Virgin Voyages are quite accommodating. Even If you weren't able to reserve on the app, you can still walk in, as they have slots open for these cases. Using the app was a tad complicated, but I (Gil) was able to reserve Gunbae, Pink Agave, Extra Virgin and the Test Kitchen via the app.

[@ms.d4220]

You can get your own food in the galley if you want. My husband and I did so on both of our sailings. I will say, I would never go to the Test Kitchen hungry-lol. Third cruise already booked GenX here I enjoy your content. Much ❤ from The Garden State 🙂

[@downtovacay]

Haaaaaa Def don't go to the Test Kitchen on an empty stomach. I'd like to go back on the VV cruise just to soak it in again without the work aspect. See if we made a mistake with it. Yeah u can get your own food, but not all like a buffet. The plus is that you don't have sneezing and coughing people touch stuff. They bring it to you. 3rd VV Cruise booked or in general? How was your experience? Much appreciated. Thanks for the love. Hopefully we're somewhat on point with our reviews. Forget our craziness

[@ms.d4220]

@@downtovacay I think VV is not for a traditional type of cruiser. My husband and I binged a few of your videos yesterday. We kept liking snd saying support, they are Nyer’s ☺️. I would like to try Celebrity and MSC

[@downtovacay]

@@ms.d4220 Haaaaaa we are Def NY'ers. I think we are spoiled cruisers. May husband is a NYer and I am a newly one, formerly... a uh NJ'er? LOL Appreciate the support. We've certainly opted to live life as much as we can and share our travels and extras. We're lagging behind, but we have some more stuff from the Icon of the Seas. NCL Breakaway+ class ships. 1st Mediterranean cruise out of Greece. We're flying to Germany to watch our beloved Giants. They owe US money.

[@ms.d4220]

@@downtovacay we saw the Icon of the seas hit and misses. We didn’t like so many people and we like quiet zones with a some turn up. My husband and I are Nyers born and raised but left many years ago for NJ. Our kids are born and bread NJ people. They are grown now and they only know NYC really well from us 😆

[@downtovacay]

@@ms.d4220 Def hard to find a true quiet space without kids and club music. If we pay over $5k for a balcony, that would be the only place to get true peace. Now that your kiddos are grown, you can be freeeeeeeee I left Kearney, NJ back in 2013 for the hustle and bustle. Boy do we wish we'd be in a quieter city haaaa

[@NovaGraphics2C]

Great review.

[@downtovacay]

Much appreciated. We have so much more content from other topics and cruises. Thanks for the follow. Hopefully you'll find our reviews and experiences helpful.

[@kimkirksey3018]

This review makes me want to only do 4 nights...I really like Broadway like shows...this cruise line does not seem to really have that, but there are some hit moments for sure

[@downtovacay]

I think 4 nights is the sweet spot for this cruise. Anything longer than that will get boring super fast. It is a great experience for the food and the parties because of the adult only part. We a re a fan of Broadway shows, so we always compare this cruise to others like NCL and Royal that do have shows. Even Carnival's Mardi Gras, Celebration and now Jubilee have show after show after show. You get a well balanced cruise experience on the cruises mentioned. Virgin is just a posh boutique hotel in Miami. Still worth the experience.

[@kimkirksey3018]

I want to go on Virgin Voyage...for the food, the pajama party, the scarlet party...

[@downtovacay]

It's like vacationing in Miami. During the day you hit the beach. Then at night you hit the clubs. Wake up late. Go to the gym and repeat haaaaaa

[@kimkirksey3018]

Actually I am sold on the private cabana

[@kimkirksey3018]

The ship has a futuristic look... modern industrial

[@downtovacay]

Yeah. It kinda does. I feel like it does mostly on the outside. They made it more chic on the inside. We went for the food. It was def an experience. Can't knock that one. We are actually putting together the review for Bimini Island using the private Cabana. Someone takes too long editing videos lol

[@mg0376]

The galley has ready made to go sandwiches, along with sushi and salad. To me I like made to order fresh food that hasn't been sitting out. It's more along the European cruise style

[@downtovacay]

I think we're just impatient haaaa. I'd prefer a wide variety of food to choose from. I don't want the same choices every day and to sit there waiting for it. But it is fresh, so that's a HUGE plus.

[@kimkirksey3018]

That pool is way TOO small!