Diary of Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady Cruise

Introducing a New Cruise Line & New Ship 

In February 2018, Virgin Voyages debuted its headquarters in Plantation, Florida. In November 2018, Virgin Voyages expanded its commitment to Miami by announcing it would build Terminal V, a new 100,000 square-foot terminal at PortMiami estimated at US $150 million, with a scheduled completion in November 2021, and also sail the cruise line's first two vessels from Miami through 2022. 

As of this writing, Scarlet Lady is sailing 4 and 5-night Caribbean voyages out of Miami and the new terminal, now overdue, is almost completed. In fact, when our ship returned to Miami, they did practice docking starting at midnight. 

Virgin Voyages is an adult-only cruise line with many innovations you won't find on other cruise lines. Most notable are the food venues, which are all included, and entertainment which has a unique spin. 

Scarlet Lady was awarded Cruise Critic's Editor's Choice award for Best New Cruise Ship in 2021. They cited "bringing new concepts to sea" and "transforming not just a cruise line but providing excitement for the industry overall" as reasons for the award. 

Is this ship for you? 

Whether you are a first-time cruiser or an experienced one, we highly recommend booking your dream vacation with a travel professional that has cruised on Virgin Voyages as well as other cruise lines. Virgin Voyages set out to transform cruising, and they have hit the mark. However, it's not for everyone, and it could impact your future cruising experiences if you don't have the proper expectation setting from a professional. 

Follow along with us on our voyage to the Dominican Republic and Bimini while investigating this brand-new entry into the cruise industry.

Bookmark this page and come back to read all about this award-winning new ship.  This will serve as the anchor post to his mini-series.  

Day	Port	Blog Posts (Hoover over link for description)	Photo Albums/Videos
Wed Jan 19	Pre-Cruise	xxx	Pre-cruise Hotels
Thu Jan 20	Pre-Cruise	xxx	Pre-cruise Hotels
Fri Jan 21	Miami	Scarlet Lady Embarkation Day Sea Terrace Cabin Lunchtime in The Galley What's for Dinner Pink Agave	Sea Terrace Cabin A or Z (Getting Around) Casino Entertainment Great Outdoors Places & Spaces Retail Shops Scarlet Lady (Exterior) The Galley Pink Agave Miami Sunset
Sat Jan 22	At Sea	We Dare You to Eat One for Breakfast Lick Me Till Ice Cream There's a Chair Waiting for You on Scarlet Lady Stay in Shape on Scarlet Lady Gunbae Korean BBQ	Well-Being Lick Me Till Ice Cream Great Outdoors Gunbae Test Kitchen Sunset Day 2
Sun Jan 23	Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic	Private Tour Puerto Plata Dinner at the Wake	Puerto Plata Pier Macorix House of Rum Walking Tour Puerto Plata Paseo de Dona Blanca Umbrella Street St. Philip the Apostle Cathedral Driving Around Puerto Plata The Chocolate Store Puerto Plata Beach Fortress of San Felipe Taino Bay Puerto Plata The Wake
Mon Jan 24	At Sea	You Wanna Pizza Me	The Pizza Place Scarlet Night The Dock (Lensball) The Dock (Sunset) Extra Virgin
Tues Jan 25	Bimini, Bahamas	xxx	Bimini by Golf Cart Bimini Beach Photo Op Bimini Shopping Stop Exploring Bimini Beaches Bimini Beach Club Bimini Beach Club Lunch Bimini Beach Club Sunset / Bonfire Bimini - Return to Ship
Wed Jan 26	Miami	xxx	yyy

New Ship Overview (Click Here)

Lensball Photography

Lensball photography is the act of taking a photograph through a glass ball also called a lensball. ... The ball uses refraction to bend the light as it passes through the glass, which is of denser mass than air. The lensball acts as a natural frame to capture the scene directly behind it, albeit upside down.

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Exploring Sydney in Two Days

Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay was our base of operations for our two day post-cruise exploration of Sydney Australia.

We arrived at hotel on Friday after our cruise disembarked, checked in, leaving our luggage with the porter, and headed over to the concierge desk.  It is wise to rely on locals when planning your activities.   We had an idea of what we wanted to see, but due to Saturday being Australia Day (which is like the 4th of July in America) we needed some guidance on how best to maximize our time.

We had decided to do a combination hop-on-hop-off bus tour along with a ferry tour.   Since some streets would be blocked on Saturday, he suggested that we do the bus tour on Friday then watch the Australia Day festivities in the morning with the ferry harbour tour afterwards.

Big Bus Tours Sydney

We purchased our tickets thru the concierge but we needed to pick them up on the quay. A short walk from the hotel and we were on the quay and at the ticket counter.  We picked up the modified schedule for the weekend and waited for our bus to start our tour.

Big Bus Tours introduces you to all the most famous landmarks in Sydney, including beautiful Darling Harbour, sculptural Sydney Opera House and gorgeous Bondi Beach. Hop on and off the tour to explore these Sydney highlights and discover more of this iconic seaside city.

We started with the Red Route and took it to Central Station.  After exploring Central Station, we then boarded a Blue Route bus to Bondi Beach.

Note:  At the time of this writing, the Blue Route is suspended.  Please check their website for current tour operations.

Sydney Central Station is worth hopping off the bus for a closer look.  The interior architecture is amazing with beautiful arches and stained glass windows.  While there you could charge your phone, purchase attraction tickets and get some food or beverages for the rest of your journey.   We just looked around before heading to the Big Bus to continue our tour to Bondi Beach.

We'll cover the ferry tours in separate posts.  Check out our photo albums for more images from our tour via the Big Bus.

Additional photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Sydney Marriott

Big Bus Sydney




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Disembarkation Day Sydney Australia

 No cruise to New Zealand is complete without spending time before and after the cruise in Sydney Australia.  In past posts, we looked at our pre-cruise stay.  Our post-cruise adventure begins here.

click images to enlarge

The sun was rising as Majestic Princess began the long process of disembarkation and turning around the ship with a new set of passengers.  These images from our balcony give you a glimpse of what we saw as this 13 day voyage to New Zealand drew to a close.

Since we were staying in Sydney for two more days, we were in no hurry to disembark the ship.  As elite members of  Princess Cruises, we had a lounge set aside for us to wait for our group to be called.

Post Cruise Hotel Stay

We couldn't fly all this way and only spend one day in Sydney, so we booked two more nights at the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay.  

Once outside the terminal we hailed a taxi, since despite the short distance to our hotel, we weren't about to walk there with all our luggage.  Unfortunately, the taxi driver wasn't happy to be getting such a small fare, but we made it worth his while with an extra tip.

Stay tuned for details on our post-cruise activities.

Additional photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Sydney Marriott




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Chocolate Journeys on Princess Cruises

click on images to enlarge

Princess Cruises 

& Norman Love

Do you Love Chocolate? If so, you need to sail on Princess Cruises while Chocolate Journeys^SM desserts are still being featured.

Creations by Norman Love

When we sailed on Regal Princess for our conference in November 2014, Princess Cruises introduced Chocolate Journeys^SM for their 50th Anniversary.

On our most recent Princess Cruise, Majestic Princess 15 Day Australia - Asia, we were happy to see these chocolate masterpieces are still being served on formal nights in the main dining room.

About Norman Love 


Norman Love has been recognized by InStyle Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and O, the Oprah Magazine for his exquisite, silky, rich confections. He has has designed some of the most decadent, hand-crafted treats in partnership with Princess for their exclusive Chocolate Journeys^SM program, available onboard fleetwide.

You’ll find Norman Love’s artful chocolate creations on select main dining room desserts menus. Discover even more unique creations in Sabatini's Italian Restaurant, Crown Grill, Sterling Steakhouse, and at the Chef's Table experience.

Chocolate Journeys

70% of Women Crave Chocolate More than Sex for an Afternoon Delight according to Princess Cruises second annual independent survey.

Chocolate Journeys continues with Premium Chocolate & Wine Tastings and even Chocolate Spa Treatments (Learn More)

View Princess Cruises chocolate desserts photo gallery

 

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