Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady Gets a Refresh: What’s New?

Virgin Voyages first ship, the Scarlet Lady, is about to undergo a standard maintenance dry dock in mid-November. During that time, the ship will receive a few upgrades to enhance the guest experience. We take a look at all the changes below.

Reimagined Razzle Dazzle Restaurant

Razzle Dazzle is one of the many included dining options on Virgin Voyages ship. When it first launched, Razzle Dazzle had a very vegetarian-forward menu, but since its launch, the menu has been adjusted to cater to a broader audience with some more meat options as well.

During the dry dock, the restaurant will get a makeover, toning down the bold lines and busyness to provide a more intimate atmosphere. They’ll get rid of the long communial tables and replace them with more indicate tables and booths. The new decor has a much more refined, sophisticated feeling. The Red Bar, an often overlooked bar on the ship, will also get a makeover.

The menu will get a facelift as well. At night, the space will be Lucky Lotus by Razzle Dazzle, offering a Chinese-inspired menu and unique craft cocktails. The transformation was inspired by the successful Asian Night Market Virgin Voyages ran on several of its ships.

Updated Grounds Club Too

The Grounds Club Too is a secondary specialty coffee stand located in Virgin Voyages food hall, The Galley. The space can be quite busy in the morning but deserted at night. To make better use of the space, they’ll transform the venue into a full-service bar at night.

Currently, the space looks like a coffee kiosk in a food court, so they’ll be retheming the space. Virgin Voyagers is adding countertop seating, couches, and benches to give the space a lounge vibe. Rather than the industrial feel the space currently has, they’ll add in pops of emerald green and warm wood tones to make the space great for both day and night lounging with friends.

More “Seriously Suite” Cabins

Virgin Voyages offers a variety of suites on their ships called RocktStar and Mega RockStar Quarters. To better accommodate the high demand, several standard Sea Terrace (balcony) cabins on Deck 11 are being combined into 24 new “Seriously Suite” Rockstar Quarters.

“We wanted to give our Sailors a taste of the rockstar life and worked with Tom Dixon to design the 78 RockStar and Mega RockStar Quarters. They did such an amazing job, and there’s so much demand – our Massive Suite is often booked a year or more in advance. We’re answering in a big way by adding suites, so more people can live their best lives,” Nicole Huang, VP of Fleet Experience

These spacious cabins come in at 352 sq ft and include in-room record and vinyls, a stocked bar, and a Peek-a-Boo shower.

New Cabanas

Scarlet Lady will receive six new cabanas for guests to rent out. They’re located on Deck 16 overlooking the Aquatic Club / main pool area. Inside, guests will find luxurious day beds surrounded by breezy white curtains for a more private experience. These cabanas can even be rented together and combined for larger parties.

Expanded Casino

Scarlet Lady’s casino, which is completely non-smoking, will be expanded during the dry dock. They’re adding new slot machines and creating dedicated spaces for high rollers.

Couples Treatment Room in the Spa

The Redemption Spa will receive a couples treatment room so they can share in the experience of a massage or facial. Virgin Voyages pointed out that the existing thermal spa, which sauls, a mud room, and heated quart beds, will not be changed.

The Wake Gets High-end Wines

The Wake, Virgin Voyages’ included steak and seafood restaurant will focus more on wine service. The raw bar will be changed to display the restaurant’s high-end collection of wines.

New Mermaid

Finally, Scarlet Lady will receive a new mermaid on its bow. It’s a symbol of strength and safe passage for the seafaring brand.

Our Take: Some Nice Touch-ups to Further Improve the Brand

While none of these changes are drastic, they’ll further enhance the Virgin Voyages’ cruise experience. I always like when the cruise lines see what’s working and what isn’t and how to tweak it for success. Better utilizing dead space, like the Grounds Club Too at night, is a smart way to reduce lines at other spaces and make the space more useful all day long.

Scarlet Lady was Virgin Voyages’ first attempt at a cruise ship in a quest to reimagine the cruise experience. Since then, they’ve launched two other nearly identical ships, with a third one on the way. It’s impressive that these ships only need minor tweaks to suit this market. When you look at Princess Cruises Sun Princess and the Norwegian Viva which both had to have work done within the first year of launch, you have to commend the designers at Virgin Voyages for really thinking through their initial plans.