Virgin Voyages was voted the #1 Mega Ship Ocean Cruise Line by Travel + Leisure for the second consecutive year in 2024. They also won Condé Nast Traveler’s top 2024 Readers’ Choice Award in 2024. So, when the opportunity came up for us to sail onboard the Scarlet Lady, we took it. We heard Virgin Voyages had incredible food, exciting nightlife and entertainment, included fitness classes and so much more. This means we went into our cruise experience with high expectations.
Well we just got back from 7 days cruising through the Mediterranean onboard the Scarlet Lady, and we can confirm, these cruises are worth the hype. We indulged in Korean BBQ, danced in the pool on Scarlet Night, and explored the Tuscan countryside during our Shore Things Excursion.
In this article we are not only recapping our travel experience, but also diving into our top tips to get the most out of your cruise with Virgin Voyages, including a few secrets we found out about once we got onboard.
Let’s get into it!
Our Itinerary
We departed from Barcelona on a 7 night adventure through the Mediterranean.
Our first stop was Cannes, an incredible seaside town in the French Riviera. Then we were off to Italy to explore Marina Di Carrara, which is the gateway to Tuscany (Florence included) as well as the Cinque Terre.
After that we arrived at Civitavecchia which is Rome’s port city, and finally a little over 40 hours at sea to reach Ibiza! We felt this was a great itinerary to get a week to enjoy European Summer.
One thing we loved about Virgin Voyages was that our stops were for extended times in comparison to other cruise lines. Our Rome port day, for example, was 8:30AM to 11:00PM! This gave everyone onboard plenty of time to experience the magic of one of the most incredible cities in Italy without having to rush.
Embarkation Process in Barcelona
The port in Barcelona is in such a great location. We were able to drop our luggage off just after 11AM (luggage drop off started at 9AM) to the Virgin Voyages crew at the port. Then, we walked around and explored the area before our pre-booked boarding time. We definitely recommend checking out Time Out Market Barcelona just a short walk away from the port for some yummy locally inspired dishes.
There are a few convenience stores close by to purchase the two, 750ml bottles of wine you are allowed to bring onboard with you. While the drinks onboard are a reasonable price. this is definitely a great way to save some money onboard. You can only bring wine, no liquor, beer or coolers, etc.
We have detailed our full embarkation process here, which includes our top tips for a smooth embarkation as well as what we recommend doing as soon as you board and things to do before you sail.
A few memories from our day exploring Barcelona prior to embarking on the Scarlet Lady. We highly recommend visiting the Sagrada Familia, getting Paella and visiting a tapas restaurant. La Plata is supposedly one of Anthony Bourdain’s favourite tapas restaurants in Barcelona so we had to give it try!
If you want to read about how to spend a day in Barcelona before your cruise departs, then you can check that out here!
Sea Terrace Cabin – Our Honest Opinion
We had a Sea Terrace Cabin which was quite comfortable for a cruise cabin. There was a large storage closet with drawers and hangers (you can ask your cabin attendant for more if you need them), a safe for your belongings and shoe rack. The bathroom was a bit tight, but it had a rainfall shower head which was a nice feature.
Inside the cabin we had a comfortable bed, a chair, vanity and a small fridge. Another feature to note is the iPad. This is used for all the room controls and is the remote for the television. Make sure to plug it back in every night or else it will loose power and you will have to wait to use the TV until it recharges.
Our cabin was on the port side, aft on the 13th floor, specifically cabin 13-302A. We loved the location of our cabin because it was close to the elevators (but not too close that the noise bothered us), and we were almost near the end of the hallway making it very quiet and not much foot traffic going by. We originally got assigned to a cabin on the 8th floor, Aft, but we did read that the noise from the Red Room (the theatre) and The Manor (the nightclub) could be noisy in the evenings so we requested a cabin reassignment prior to our departure.
If you want to read more about the difference in room categories you can read our complete breakdown here!
Dining Experiences Onboard the Scarlet Lady
Dining on Virgin Voyages is all included and no buffet and no main dining hall. There is no sitting at a big table with strangers, eating at the same time every night. There are over 20 eateries on board the Scarlet Lady with a variety of different options for different palates. Below we are sharing all of the dining options plus the brand new dining experience onboard the Scarlet Lady.
While most restaurants say that they “encourage” a reservation, we did in fact find that you needed to make a reservation to get a table. You can do that prior to your voyage on the Sailor App or when you board with a crew member in Razzle Dazzle.
The Galley
The Galley is like a food court style eating area. There is a 24 hour American diner, burger grill and salad and soups stand. There is also a Ramen and noodle bar, bento boxes with sushi, and even a taco stand. It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as late night dining. We loved the breakfast offerings at the taco stand! We also loved taking the Bento Boxes to go back to our room and have a snack!
The Wake
This steak and seafood restaurant is a favourite among sailors and requires a reservation. You can grab Brunch or Dinner here with options like steak and eggs in the morning. In the evening you can have lamb chops and steak with sides like twice baked potatoes with caramelized onions. Get adventurous and try the Bone Marrow appetizer, or even have an old favourite like Shrimp and Grits!
With almost every restaurant onboard, there are options to upgrade your meal for an additional price. You can try the Tomahawk Steak and Seafood Tower for an up-charge at The Wake. We tried both and absolutely loved them!
Pink Agave
This is the Mexican inspired restaurant onboard and requires a reservation. This restaurant has a great vibe and serves up some really tasty food. Our waiter was from Mexico and he recommended some of his personal favourites on the menu for us to try. We sampled the Ribeye Steak, the stuffed poblano pepper, the pork (which is meant to be eaten as a taco!).
Extra virgin
This is the Italian inspired eatery onboard and again requires a reservation. If you have the appetite we highly recommend ordering multiple main courses here as everything we ate was delicious. We had a Truffle Gnocchi that was divine, as well as a Cacio e Pepe with hand rolled pasta. Make sure to try the Pork Cheek dish, as that was one of our favourite things we ate on the ship!
Lucky Lotus (AKA Razzle Dazzle)
This is the brand new dining venue onboard. It replaces Razzle Dazzle in the evenings and is an asian inspired restaurant serving up some really yummy dishes. We ate here twice and we have no regrets. The sticky ribs were a favourite, as well as the Wonton Soup (so much flavour!), and the dumplings. The spicy noodles were also a hit!
Razzle Dazzle is open for brunch in the same location and offers things like Acai Bowls and
Gunbae
This is the Korean BBQ restaurant on board and absolutely requires a reservation. This restaurant was, in our opinion, the second busiest on the ship behind The Wake. If you are not a group of 8 people, you will be sat with other sailors for this experience. The dining experience starts with a drinking game (a low alcohol content Korean drink is used). Then you will watch your crew member BBQ your dinner right in front of you. Everything is shared family style, so you will be getting to know the other people at your table. Appetizers are ordered individually, and the main course (the BBQ course) is cooked all together.
The Test Kitchen
This restaurant is experimental and the menu changes with each voyage. Meaning you never know what you are going to get! This restaurant recommends a reservation. We would say this was the least busy restaurant onboard. However, we did hear fellow sailors say they had a great meal here!
Other Eateries onboard
Aside from the main restaurants and The Galley, there are many other options to choose from. The Pizza restaurant was a big hit all day and is open until 2am. The ice cream shop was another popular spot for a sweet treat. The Social Club had bar snacks like chicken wings and hot dogs. They also served popcorn and sweet treats as well as had a candy bar. The Dock House is located at the back of the ship and served Mediterranean inspired food and grilled meats.
Ship Eats
Think Uber Eats, but on a ship! While the food is included in your voyage price, there is a $10 delivery fee for each order. If you purchase things like drinks or add ons that equal more than $10, then the delivery fee is waived. Through this service you can pre-order breakfast from 5-11 AM. After that their regular menu runs from 11AM – 5AM! The food will be delivered to your cabin!
Shake for Champagne
We had NO idea that this was even an option! If you open the Virgin Voyages App, and shake it, you can order a bottle of champagne to wherever you are on the ship.
Entertainment Onboard the Scarlet Lady
There is no shortage of entertainment onboard the Scarlet Lady. From themed nights, to a day full of free and paid activities, you will never be bored!
Fitness and Health
If you are looking to maintain your fitness routine or try something new, there are a lot of different options throughout the day. The gym onboard is free to access and has plenty of equipment like cardio machines, free weights and weight machines. If you ever wanted to run on the treadmill or lift weights while looking at the Mediterranean Sea, this is the place to do it. They also have group fitness classes throughout the day, included in your voyage. Be sure to check the schedule in the App when you board to sign up for a spot, some classes fill up fast!
Outside you can find the Jogging track around the top of the ship for cardio with epic views, and also an Athletic Club with basketball nets, pickleball and a boxing ring!
If you are looking for a chance to relax and unwind, then we highly recommend heading to the Redemption Spa. You can buy a pass for access to the Thermal Suite which includes a mud room, salt room, sauna, steam room, hot and cold plunge pools, and heated marble hammam benches! You can also book a treatment like a massage or facial!
Entertainment
It is really important to download the App before you set sail to make sure you know when the themed nights are during your voyage. Scarlet Night is one of our favourite nights onboard, it includes a variety of entertainment throughout the ship, so be sure to pack something red to wear for that night.
They have a variety of musicians that perform at different venues throughout the ship during the day and into the evening. Your App will tell you when and where. They also have nightly shows in their theatre aka “The Red Room”. If you want late night entertainment, we suggest heading to The Manor (the onboard nightclub) for live music and DJs and drinks, or hitting the Casino to try your luck there.
There is also a variety of activities like Trivia and Karaoke throughout each voyage. Don’t forget to stop by the Arcade and The Social Club where there are Shuffleboard tables and board games.
Port Days and Shore Excursions – It’s A Shore Thing
Port days and Shore Excursions are a big deal onboard any cruise. We always want to make the most out of every stop we make and sometimes exploring the Port town or city just doesn’t seem appealing. We really enjoyed all the variety of options for Shore Excursions onboard our Mediterranean Sailing on Scarlet Lady. But, we did opt to explore some cities on our own terms as well. All the details of what we did at each stop are below!
CANNES – Magnifique Nice, Eze and Monoco Excursion
This was one of our favourite days of the trip! While Cannes would have been lovely to explore, this excursion looked like a great variety of exploring and history. It was a group tour that took us to Nice, Eze and Monoco. Each stop had a short walking tour with the guide (optional) and then you had free time to explore each destination at your own pace. We walked through the markets in Nice and had a Gelato. In Eze, we wandered the medieval streets and enjoyed an Aperol Spritz. In Monoco, we joined the group for some history on the the city-state and then enjoyed some local beer and snacks! We also got to see the F1 track which was pretty cool to see in real life!
TIP: If it is a tender port, we highly recommend booking an excursion because the team onboard coordinates your tender to be one of the first off the ship = meaning more time at the destination. Otherwise, you sign up for a time to disembark (the remaining options) after all the guests with excursions leave!
Marina Di carrara – Tuscany and Cinque Terre
Marina Di Carrara is considered the port stop that is the gateway to the Tuscan region (like Florence), and the Cinque Terre. There were a number of options for just transportation based excursions that would bring you in a bus to downtown Florence to explore and then bring you back to the ship. They also had a variety of walking and guided tours available in both Florence and the Cinque Terre.
We opted for a pasta making class in Tuscany where we assisted the staff with prepping ingredients for the sauce, and even got to make the pasta! We taste tested as we went and learned a lot about the art of pasta making. Wine and sparkling wine included in the excursion. The farm that we were on had homemade olive oil for purchase, some pottery and a variety of other souvenirs available.
Our pasta making class was roughly half the day, so when we returned to the ship we grabbed a taxi with a small portion of our group and went to see the nearby leaning Tower of Pisa before we had to be back on the ship.
TIP: We honestly would not recommend exploring Marina Di Carrara on your own, There truly was not much to do there. There was a large variety of excursion options for every taste so if you were going to splurge on just one Shore Thing for this itinerary, we would pick this stop!
Civitavecchia -ROME
Civitavecchia is the port city for Rome. This was one of our longest stops on our itinerary, with our arrival into port at 8:30AM and leaving the Port at 11PM. We opted to not partake in a Shore Thing Excursion this day as we have been to Rome before, although there was a lot of variety of things to choose from!
We purchased a train ticket from Civitavecchia Station to Rome Central Station (we get all our train tickets on Omio) which we highly recommend doing. They were significantly cheaper than the round trip transportation options provided by Virgin Voyages and there was more flexibility in what time you left and came back to the ship.
Once we arrived in Rome, we opted for the Hop On, Hop Off bus (we got our tickets here) to give us easy and cheap transportation around the city and spent the day exploring one of our favourite cities in Italy! Don’t forget to stop for some amazing Italian food and get an Aperol Spritz. You can even get an Aperol Spritz to go at many windows around the city to enjoy as you see the sights.
Ibiza
This was our only overnight stop on our itinerary which if you love nightlife, is a great stop! You can purchase tickets for DJ shows at various nightclubs around the island through Virgin Voyages which includes transportation. If you aren’t looking to go out in the evening, Virgin Voyages also provided a bus to and from the city centre for those that wanted to explore at their own pace.
FINAL TIP: If the Shore Thing Excursion you are eyeing up prior to your voyage sells out, don’t worry! If you head to the Shore Things Desk once you embark, they typically have extra availability for a variety of the sold out options. The Magnifique Nice, Eze and Monaco was sold out when we went to book it prior to our trip but we were able to snag 4 spots for our group once we got onboard.
Important to note that your entire group needs to be onboard in order to book a Shore Thing Excursion on Embarkation day with Virgin Voyages.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are a seasoned cruising veteran or a new comer to the cruising world, we think a Virgin Voyages Cruise should be on everyone’s bucket list!
This post contains some affiliate links where we may make a small commission at no additional expense to you! These small commissions help us continue to provide free travel resources for you to enjoy on our website and across social media platforms. Thank you so much for the support in advance!
