After 26 cruises with NCL Norwegian Cruise Line, I decided to try a cruise with Virgin Voyages Cruise Scarlet Lady on a transatlantic voyage. The price was right, and the port of call in Morocco intrigued me enough to join this ship. And different it certainly was! Virgin Voyages focuses on the passenger as they are called a sailor, and all the things that go along with being a sailor. The design, the colors, the lighting, and the mirrors can be unnerving after a while. It made me feel like I was in an amusement park! Furniture in general was aesthetically pleasing, but not comfortable.
Cabins
Even the bed in the cabin was unusually low, not high enough to put my suitcase underneath like most cruise lines allow. The cabin bathroom was one of the smallest I have ever seen, and I was in a Sea Terrace (Balcony Room). The high-tech room with a tablet to control the lighting, curtains, and TV was cool and easy to use. Overall size of the cabin was comparable to other cruise lines, but the bathroom was really not acceptable. There is no bottled water anywhere on board, so you are given 2 carafes and ice upon request. These are replenished daily by the cabin stewards. Make sure you bring your own water bottle as the cheapest small one in the gift shop was $10. A rain shower and handheld were included, but I am not a fan of those rain showers. I would have preferred the handheld to be able to be mounted higher for the normal shower head feel.
Boarding Process
Boarding was an interesting scenario, with your assigned arrival time at the pier planned well beforehand. Numerous reminders not to show up early were evident, as I arrived earlier because I had to check out of my hotel room. All the boarding times were organized with stanchions on both sides of the entry door, with times assigned to each line. Of course, they were completely full in advance of the posted time. Priority boarding began at 155pm, and the assigned times began. But they seemed to move quickly and ahead of schedule with the 245pm at 220pm, 3 pm at 225pm, 315pm at 235pm, 330pm at 250pm, and finally me at 345pm at 3 pm. If you arrive exactly at your designated time, more than likely, you will miss your assigned line. But they just allow you to proceed immediately. Once inside, the check-in process is very quick with your coded wristband, security, etc. completed. You can then board immediately, and there is no more waiting, although the hall had plenty of seating.
Time to explore, as it will take a few days to get around the ship and see all of the options for entertainment, food, and beverages. The ship I am on is the Scarlet Lady, one of 4 that Virgin Voyages sails. This includes the newest one, due in September, the Brilliant Lady. My first impression is that the design of the areas, including hallways and elevators, is much different from the old boring NCL ships I have been on over the last few years! Bold colors (of course lots of red), mirrors, and lightning make it look alive and party mood, but a bit too much for me. The adults-only feel is also pleasing, with no children running around like most cruise ships! Obviously, the Gay population loves this cruise line, and they are very prominent on this particular cruise. I would estimate that at least 70% of the sailors were gay, which is a big number if you are homophobic!
Food Services
The major food concept here is The Galley, which is the Virgin Voyages replacement of the buffet. This is a place with 7 different stations that SERVE you the items from their limited menus. You also have the option to order from your table by raising a red flag, and a server comes over to take your order. Then it is delivered when ready. Since all sodas, flavored waters, coffee, and tea are included, there are stations scattered about for self-service. A rolling champagne wine cart is available to serve you alcoholic drinks. There are no liquor beverage packages on Virgin Voyages; only a bar tab can be included with your voyage fare, and I had one for $300 included. The stations included hot entree, burger bar, salad bar, tacos bar, sandwiches bar, desserts bar, popsicle bar, and changed the menu for breakfast items. For instance, the salad bar became a smoked salmon bar in the mornings. By the way hot breakfast can be obtained all day long. These stations mostly close around 4pm with a few staying open during the dinner hours. The Bento Boxes area was quite popular, offering fruits in the morning, but sushi variations all day. There was even a cold case that had take-away items like salads and sandwiches.
The specialty restaurants take over in the evening hours from 5 pm onward. They include the following:
Razzle Dazzle – considered one of the specialty restaurants, it’s an upscale Chinese menu at night and offers a luncheon menu as well, with healthy choices. But once again, the lighting was funky, and I sat in a red light for my whole meal!
The Wake- located at the rear of the ship (aptly named) and offers their steak and seafood options. One of the evenings I was invited to join a small group and they ordered a fabulous seafood tower ($75) as the appetizer. Portions were small, but I guess you can always order more.
Pink Agave- Mexican restaurant with a limited menu, and I felt the portions were very small. I ordered chicken enchiladas for an appetizer and Duck mole as the entree. The tortillas were hard, so I had to get others.
Virgin Oil- Italian upscale with a nice menu, and the carpaccio and New York steak I had were very good. Probably the best meal at the specialty restaurants. There are 2 more specialty restaurants that I did not experience: Gunbae, which is Korean BBQ, and the other was Test Kitchen. Both of these are more interactive, and I do not go on a cruise to be interactive with my food!
I should also mention that there was a Bar & Restaurant on the backside of the ship called The Dock, and it served Mediterranean snacks for lunch and afternoons. There were also 2 coffee stations on board, and since I had a specialty beverage included in my frequent cruise level, I usually got a Macha Latte. The final areas for food included The Pizza Place, where you can order fresh individual pizzas from 12 pm to 12 am, and just outside was the ice cream parlor where hand-scooped cones or cups were a popular place!
Entertainment
Entertainment was much better than NCL, and it was worthwhile to go to the shows and lounges to experience them. The Manor was a nightclub atmosphere with a Puerto Rican jazz Latin solo singer Harry Rios. The Red Room is the main theater, rather small, but that is where the production shows were held. I found my little spot up top with rather comfortable red chairs that I could spread out and relax. The Magnets (Beatbox), Duel Reality, and Ships in the Night were full production shows and very enjoyable. Of course, there were numerous shows and entertainment catering to the Gay sailors every day, from drag shows to Bingo. There is a quasi sports bar called The Social Club, which had TVs, table games, including 2 shuffleboard tables, and was the place for all the games. Such as trivia, bingo, puzzles, etc. They also served snacks there, like popcorn, sweets, and hot dogs.
Bars and Lounges
The various lounges like On the Rocks, Sip Lounge, and Roundabout had 2-4 person singers, bands, and soloists providing a nice variety of entertainment. It should be noted that afternoon tea was served in the Sip Lounge every day for an extra charge of $19-34, in keeping with the British tradition. My complaint on the bars is how they measured the liquor by the milliliter, and you were charged for each drink. On NCL, with the package, they overpour all the time, when you would think they should be more conservative.
Of course, the other places like the Social Club, the Dock, and the upper outside decks, had their own bars. The pool bars were actually different on each side of the area.
Tours/Excursions
I participated in a Virgin Voyages excursion at each port of call, as I usually do with NCL. The first day, we had a delay of 1 hour due to a bus problem, and it did not start well. But the tour was completed in full, and after 8 days at sea, I was ready to explore the Canary Island of Tenerife again. It was my 4th time here and I found something else interesting to see and do! The Tour was called La Laguna, La Orotova, & Wine Tasting, and it involved going to a couple of historic and cultural towns. These gave a glimpse into the beginnings of the Canary Islands’ discovery, dating back to the early 16th century. The final stop was one of the few wineries that was originally sanctioned to provide wine in European Catholic churches for their mass services. We had snacks and a nice selection of tasty wines, usually not associated with wine production in this area.
The next day was a quick sail over to Gran Canaria, and there I took another Tour, “Prehispanic Glory”. This was a bus ride around the island to several villages, including an area where people lived in caves, and we were treated to a great lunch in the banquet hall of Restaurant Guayadeque. It was a unique menu of Spanish tapas from fish, potatoes, omelets, to a dessert pudding.
After another day at sea, we are finally in Morocco, the city of Casablanca. This was the main reason that I took this cruise, as it was a dropped port from the African NCL cruises a few months ago. I signed up for the long bus ride (3 hours) and the Tour to Marrakesh. We arrived there after a bit of traffic delays and entered the old walled city called the Medina. It was similar to other Arabian cities with their main market called the Souk, and this one is famous because of its sheer size. A UNESCO World Heritage site because of the Jemaa el-Fnaa square, and various historical landmarks like the Koutoubia Mosque. I just had wished we had more time, as it was quite a rushed tour of this area. But definitely unique and worth the long bus ride from the port.
Our Final port of call was Valencia after a day at sea that took us through the Gibraltar Straits. On the left side of the ship was southern Spain and Gibraltar, and on the right side was the continent of Africa. We passed by several Moroccan cities of Tangier, Chefchaouen & Fes.
Would I do another cruise on Virgin Voyages? Probably, but only if the itinerary suits me!
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