Brand Evaluation - Ship & Wisdom - Our Typical Sea Day
It had been 20 months since our last cruise vacation. And we were the lucky ones! Our last cruise had been just before the world shut down, in February of 2020. Many others had their 2020 cruise vacations cancelled. Since then, we had been working either in our basement office, or in our yard. Man did we need a Sea Day!
Cruise lovers know what a "sea day" is. Those two little words can mean so much more or less, depending on who you are and what you LOVE! But generally, it means a full day onboard a cruise ship, doing what you love, whatever that is.
Some love laying by the pool and some love gambling, while others spend the day moving from one bar to the next. Some sit in a quiet lounge reading, while others play bingo or attend the art auction. Some eat six meals, just because they can - it's included in the fare - omg..
Virgin Voyages is a little different because the ship was built as an Adults Only Experience.
In this article a "Typical to me Sea Day" is described at each bulleted point. Photos from our recent Sea Days on the Scarlet Lady are included. In between the photos I will share a narrative about a Virgin Voyages Sea Day, how it is similar or different.
Usually our Sea Days begin with a fancy breakfast in a fine dining establishment - sharing a table with others for a social experience. No hurry - as much coffee as the conversation allows..
Virgin Voyages is seating people at tables for two - which are close enough together for conversation when you want..
Since this was a short itinerary, we only made it to a fine dining restaurant for breakfast once.
All of these were gluten free choices from the marked menu - but I had to tell the hostess that I desired gluten free food. See other Post about Gluten Free Dining if desired.
We never felt rushed - and coffee and/or some very nice breakfast cocktails were available!
Our next item of priority is my carefully allocated and timed sunbathing. Since I am a ginger I can only do one hour on each side IF I have a base tan from a tanning bed prior to traveling. This actually prevents us from wasting the whole day in the sun.
The ship was only partially full. The sea was calm and not at all windy. Perfect weather for laying out.
BONUS: Virgin Voyages is bringing back topless decks! (Hey the whole ship is Adults Only - so why not?)
YEP - I always opt in. Because I believe our bodies are beautiful and there is no shame in feeling free and comfortable. If men can go toppless so can women! Yes - Rob checked the rules before he went wandering around. I laid there for my two hours.
Generally on a Sea Day we have A late lunch - Rob's choice - as long as I can get something gluten free I'm good. Rob likes to be served in a fine dining establishment - if we decide to spend the time.
On this Sea Day, we decided to try the Pizza!
We grabbed a beverage at a bar nearby, ordered our pizza and situated ourselved at the outdoor dining area just outside.
It wouldn't be a typical Sea Day, without exploring the Ship Architecture - taking cool pics!
So we did a self guided ship tour.. This ship is particularly photogenic! or Instagrammable as they say now.
The circulation core - centrally located leading to and from Decks 6 & 7
All of the seating areas are carefully designed and crafted for attractive photography and also so you feel beautiful sitting there.
A beautiful bar... I don't remember where it was - but that's not because we stopped there! It’s THIS BAR HERE!
These were better in concept than in reality - think about it - a person seated on the swing would be backlit with a dark face... and no, a flash didn't help - MUCH.
So yeah.... Which one would you pick?
Custom Art by a young mural painter from Puerto Rico - BECAUSE everything on the ship is "authentic" and "real", by up and coming artists and entertainers - working out in the world! Richard Branson loves to empower and uplift all kinds of talent!
Picture yourself HERE! With several friends...
All the way up to the highest place - Deck 17 Aft - The Perch
Down - through and around the pool..
Stopping here and there to enjoy a beverage - or entertainment makes for an interesting and relaxing Sea Day.
COVID or not, we like the outdoor spaces THE BEST! This bar was overlooking a relaxation area "The Net" on Deck 16 Aft.
Interestingly, the designer in me remembers the metallic gold mosaic tile wall - Striking! Just behind us was that Catamaran Net that everyone else photographs...
We discovered a Moscato wine that we frequently enjoyed.
Normally we do nothing planned or scheduled - by a CLOCK - or an APP! - I'm on VACATION!
Which was a downfall of Virgin, if you ask me. Everything was supposedly run by the APP, which didn't work well. You had to have reservations obtained through the app for almost everything, Dining, Shows, & Services. Plan aheaders - this one is for you! But not just yet - Empty restaurants would show as booked up, and they would run waiting lists for fully booked shows & last minute admission. I am sure they are working on the app situation. Being the flexible sailors that we are, we figured out some work arounds... There is NO WAY I am going to let an app ruin my cruise.
An afternoon nap never hurt anyone, and on a Sea Day you can really get away with it. And you know that the phone is NOT going to RING in the middle of hanky panky, and if it does you can ignore it - you're on VACATION - so it's socially acceptable to be offline. You don't have to tell anyone that you had wifi and phone service the whole time. They don't need to know.
After napping one of us makes a trip to the fast food area for "happy hour appetizers" to go with our embarkation allotment of wine to enjoy in our room. This gets us through our shower and dress for dinner time. We can usually catch the sunset from our balcony...
Ummm.... we learned on the first sea day that we had to pick up those appetizers early in the day, because they RUN OUT!
We prefer fixed seating, late dinner where we see the same group of people each night, and really get to know each of them. We have made life long friendships with fellow cruisers breaking bread together throughout the journey. Otherwise anytime dining works for us. We can work it around a "showtime" either dining before or after the night's main stage entertainment.
Since Virgin only offers "Dinner Reservations" we had to make that work. We learned that certain restaurant venues seat groups of people together, like the Korean Barbeque - Gunbae. We enjoyed dinner with a southern baptist guy who might have been drinking all day and his lovely wife.. On another occasion, the only reservation we could obtain was at 9:30 pm, so we showed up at the restaurant two hours prior, and asked if we could sit in the bar. Instead they seated us! I think this is the first trip that we didn't meet anyone new to connect with.
We always try to catch the featured show - either before or after dinner. The best one's are usually offered on Sea Days!
The Red Room Theater was an immersive show venue - which inspires audience particiapation. One show tugged on your emotional self, while the other tempted you to get up and dance along.
Pole Fitness? You'll have to sail to find out! For sure EVERY SINGLE PART of this Cruise experience was designed to be photogenic! Let us know what you think in the comments. The lighting engineer really earned his money, says Architect Rob!
Typically - If tomorrow is a "sea day" too - we can stay out LATE. But if we are in port, we will retire to our stateroom after an outdoor deck walk in the moonlight.
This night there was a particularly fabulous moon - can you sea it? - floating in the sky while laying on it's back...
I bet you would like a Sea Day as much as I do!
I was looking forward to drifting off to sleep being rocked by the sea - but there was NO MOTION on this newest of new Virgin Voyages Cruise Ship - The Scarlet Lady. Calm sea? or new technology in stabilizers? Maybe some of each.. If you are worried about motion sickness, maybe this one is for you!
Each brand of cruise has a personality. That is why we like to try them all out - so that we can be of service to you in selecting the perfect experience for your personal taste and situation. I believe that this experience will improve immensely as they perfect their APP and make it work as intended. As it stands, we have followed the brand closely since our return and feel like we missed more than we did on the ship. But, that's nothing more than an excuse to go back! After all it was only a five night cruise... Too short IMHO.
I have a couple of friends in mind for this one! Tagging them for sure when I share in social.
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