Trip Index
- Embarkation, Pink Agave
- Bimini, Extra Virgin, Day at Sea, The Wake, Gunbae
- Puerto Plata, The Wake, Scarlet Night
- Day at Sea, Dock House, Pizza Place, Test Kitchen, Razzle Dazzle
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Our last day on Scarlet Lady was at sea. Five days was not enough to try every dining option on board, so I prioritized. For lunch, we stopped by the Dock House, serving Mediterranean bites. We found seats outside to enjoy the ocean view. The restaurant's description boasted of a roving mezze cart, but was nowhere to be found. Our server brought over three pre-portioned bowls of appetizers, which were a bit dry on the edges from sitting out.
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| beet hummus, califlower couscous, walnut pom dip |
We ordered some items off the grill menu.
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| hangar steak |
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| chicken thigh, shrimp, polenta, octopus |
Our favorites were the grilled octopus and shrimp. Many small bites add up - I was stuffed! The Dock House is a nice place to enjoy the sunshine and sea breeze.
After lunch, Kaleb and I visited the arcade again and did some shuffleboard.
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For second lunch, we headed over to the Pizza Place, serving made-to-order personal pizzas. Just outside the entrance was an automatic hand-washing station. When your hands were detected under the nozzle, soapy water came out, followed by rinse water, then a paper towel was dispensed...pretty cool!
The menu had the usual: cheese, pepperoni, vegan, plus a few others. We shared a delicious white truffle and egg pizza, which took about 15 minutes to prepare.
Afterwards, I had a massage appointment at the Redemption Spa. There were unisex (private) changing rooms, unisex (private) showers and lockers.
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A rare event occurred today - the ship lost power and started slowing to a halt. It took a while since Scarlet Lady had a lot of momentum, but eventually we were dead in the water. Good thing it was during the day, though there was emergency lighting active. Remember I mentioned at the beginning of this trip that Virgin Voyages refrains from making announcements? During the blackout, status updates were periodically delivered over the PA system. After a couple of hours, Scarlet Lady was back up and running. To make up for the inconvenience, ship-wide "happy hour" was offered from 5:30pm to 7:30pm - free drinks for all! This was perfect as we had a 6pm dinner reservation.
The Test Kitchen is an unconventional venue. The set menu is vague - it only lists the main ingredient for each course, such as "Egg" or "Beef". Picky eaters may not enjoy this place because of the mystery. The hostess only asks about food allergies, then diners are left to anticipation. I'm sure the kitchen would make substitutions if you weren't a fan of the main ingredient.
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Kaleb and I received a complimentary welcome drink (don't remember what it contained), then we were led to counter seats overlooking kitchen staff preparing food. Our server suggested glasses of champagne - sure, since it's happy hour! We also ordered a couple of specialty cocktails off their drink menu. The only food choice we made was venison or beef for the main. Let the taste bud symphony begin...
First course was "Mushroom". It was a creamy mushroom pate, molded into that familiar shape, served with thin crispy toasts. I saw staff pull the bread out of a temperature-controlled warming drawer. The toasts were so good, we had to get seconds. Great start to the meal!
Second course was "Egg". Peas and egg yolk were served under a smoke-filled glass cloche, providing dramatic effect upon removal. The peas were a little crunchy but at least they were fresh.
Third course was "Scallop". The broth was poured over by the server. This was a lovely bite - I could've eaten a few more. The scallop was perfectly cooked.
Fourth course was "Venison/Beef". Kaleb and I both chose venison, medium rare. It was perfectly cooked. The sauce was poured over after presentation. I also enjoyed the potato gratin side.
Fifth course was "Cheese". It was a blue cheese semifreddo (cold) dessert. It was an interesting texture - not my favorite, but it was fun to try.
Sixth and final course was "Chocolate". How can one go wrong with a decadent fudgy cake? It was rich and delicious.
Overall, it was a fun dinner and we enjoyed the food. Since the portions weren't too big, we didn't feel overly stuffed. During this sailing, Test Kitchen only served one set menu, so I wouldn't have eaten there again too soon. At the time of this writing, Test Kitchen currently has two omnivore and two vegetarian menus that rotate, so it would be possible to return to the restaurant multiple times during a cruise.
We finished our meal a little after 7pm, so we had time to get a few more happy hour drinks from a nearby bar.
Luckily, we found an open karaoke room to enjoy our libations and pass the time before the first show started.
We had two show reservations tonight; the first was Never Sleep Alone, held in the Manor. This was an adult-oriented show - not for prudes! There was no nudity, but a lot of suggestive content. Entering the venue, we were asked if we would like to participate in the show...uh, no thanks! We were then led to seating further from the stage, saving the chairs up front for willing guests. All the tables had masks and...condoms. It made me think of the movie Eyes Wide Shut.
At the start of the show, the audience was to introduce themselves to someone they didn't know of the opposite sex. Kaleb and I spoke briefly to a couple standing near us. The man was tipsy and handsy around my waist! The rest of the show was non-interactive, except when a few guests were pulled up on stage. Pictures and video were prohibited during that portion since it would be embarrassing if it got out to the public. In summary, it was a hilarious show and I recommend it if you can handle the adult content.
Afterwards, Kaleb and I attended the Duel Reality show, held in the Red Room. For this performance, the space was configured like a school gym with bleachers/seating on opposite sides.
Duel Reality was a re-telling of Romeo and Juliet in a sort of Cirque du Soleil style. The show was entertaining and poignant. I was impressed with the flexibility of the Red Room to support different show styles.
The next morning was disembarkation time...boo hoo! We didn't have enough time to try dinner at Razzle Dazzle, so we had breakfast there. Though it is a veggie-forward restaurant, meat is served but is considered a "naughty" selection.
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| dinner menu example |
The apple cruffin (muffin-shaped croissant) was delicious. We also had the sage Impossible sausage patty, wild mushroom frittata, and acai bowl. I couldn't resist being "naughty" and had a side of smoked salmon.
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Overall, we had a nice breakfast at Razzle Dazzle - don't let the veggie-forwardness deter you from trying it out. Besides, many standard breakfast options are vegetarian, such as eggs, toast, oatmeal, pastries and waffles.
Since we didn't have a plane to catch, we leisurely disembarked the ship after 10am. There wasn't much of a line for customs in Miami at that time. We grabbed an Uber to the St. Regis Bal Harbour in Miami Beach, as our next cruise on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas would depart in a few days (so not exactly back-to-back).
What a great first Virgin Voyages cruise on Scarlet Lady! Five nights was not enough to take advantage of everything on the ship. We missed a few food venues such as the Social (serving fairground eats like pretzels, hot dogs, milkshakes, fudge), Sun Club Cafe (serving poke bowls), and Razzle Dazzle at dinnertime. We also didn't have any time for trivia or catch a live music set. If you enjoy food, want an adult-only vacation or looking for a different way to cruise, give Virgin Voyages a try. You can even redeem Virgin Atlantic points for a cruise whenever it pops up on the Virgin Red app. American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One, Citi Thank You and Bilt points can transfer over to Virgin Atlantic.
Next, we'll be enjoying 3 nights at the St. Regis Bal Harbour...stay tuned!
(Missed reading about going over waterfalls in Puerto Plata? Click here! Don't miss a single update! Click here to subscribe and have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
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