Disclaimer – I was invited to experience Scarlet Night by Virgin Voyages PR company. I am under no obligation to post about the experience or the line. This post also includes mention of alcohol – please always drink responsibly – for further information please visit drinkaware.co.uk.
There’s always buzz surrounding the launch of a new ship – whether its a cutting edge luxury superyacht like Scenic Eclipse, or the latest giant from Royal Carribean. There is of course even more of an intrigue about an entirely new line…one of the many reason why Virgin Voyages is the brand on everybody’s lips!
The line is looking to reinvent cruising, with their maiden ship, Scarlet Lady, bound to be a sight to behold inside and out. There’s promise of fantastic eateries, stunning interiors, incredible entertainment plus setting out to be the most sustainable cruise line – all in all, days and nights to remember. I was lucky enough to get an invite to Scarlet Night London, to get a taste of what nights onboard will be like.
Virgin Voyages first ship, Scarlet Lady, will be visiting Dover and Liverpool before relocating to Miami. Photo Credit- Virgin Voyages Richard’s Rooftop – the private members club on Scarlet Lady accessible to those sailors lucky enough to be staying in one of the Rockstar Suites. Photo Credit – Virgin Voyages
I’d travelled down in the morning to work from my London office (turns out it’s handy suddenly having a head office down south!) and had arranged to share an apartment for the night with my friend Jess and Cruise Addicts Magazine Editor Becky and her sister Gemma – despite talking a lot online Becky and I had never met before Scarlet Night – it was to be a great night of meeting online friends!
After lots of gossiping whilst getting ready, we headed off in an Uber to the Bankside Vault venue, after a quick photoshoot on Blackfriars Bridge – how could we call ourselves bloggers without taking advantage of golden hour by the river?
After meeting the lovely Flavia of Ships and Champagne in the queue we made our way inside to be met with the most incredibly decorated party! Virgin Voyages had truly gone all out making the place ship shape, with theming around every corner.
A pool…at a party…Photo credit – Andrew McAlpine Ooh er- drinks coming out of the walls! Photo credit – Andrew McAlpine Photo credit – Andrew McAlpine Virgin Voyages are big on sustainabiity, so it was nice to see only reusable straws at the party! Photo credit – Andrew McAlpine
After grabbing ourselves some drinks and inventing a new cocktail (seriously, mix Moet with Mojito – it’ll change your life) we made our way into the main part of the venue (bypassing a games arcade I might add!) to the dance floor area. There we met with Emma (Cruising Isn’t Just for Old People), Marcus (Sparkx) and Andrew (Cruise Ship Profiles) – remember that whole thing when we were younger about how you should never meet strangers from the internet? Nah – doesn’t apply!
We all danced the night away, experiencing fun and games from scribbling on toilet walls (seriously, it was encouraged, sharpies provided and everything), exploring an indoor pool (how many parties have you been to with an indoor pool party?), shooting some hoops (and being rewarded with a different kind of shot) and dancing to the beats of Mark Ronson in the flesh (complete with me getting emotional over him playing Amy Winehouse).
Actual Mark Ronson!
With great drinks, great friends and great music, if that’s the atmosphere to be expected on board, I’m certainly intrigued. Plus with some new information about Scarlet Lady coming to the UK, British cruise enthusiasts have even more to be excited about…
Ladyship Touring UK Waters
There’s good news for budding travel advisors, whom the company affectionately refers to as First Mates, and cruise fans alike – the Scarlet Lady, glamorously designed cabins and boasting over 20+ eateries, will be stopping in Dover and (most excitingly for me) Liverpool! She’ll be paying the city a visit in late February 2020, opening its doors to First Mates, media and VIPs, hosting a number of exclusive events before making her way across the pond to her new home of Miami. The news was announced by Geri Horner at the Scarlet Night London press conference, before the party started
Expanded Partnership with Mark Ronson
With a heritage deeply rooted in music, Virgin Voyages also used their press conference to announce an expanded partnership with Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe-winning artist and producer Mark Ronson. Ronson will join the company’s Creative Collective, a group of world-class tastemakers, artists and designers who are collaborating with Virgin Voyages to bring epic Sailor experiences to sea. In his role as the company’s “Minister of Music,” Ronson will be creating a series of pre-voyage and onboard playlists for Sailors, as well as curating the vinyl record selection in the RockStar Suites and the ship’s vinyl and music shop – Voyage Vinyl. What’s more, Ronson will be working with Virgin Voyages’ music teams, defining the brand’s sound at sea as well as at The Beach Club in Bimini, Bahamas– a private and luxurious beach club that is exclusively for Virgin Voyages Sailors while Scarlet Lady is on island.
As a part of Virgin Voyages’ On Deck residency program, Ronson has committed to four performances at The Beach Club at Bimini in 2020. Ronson’s July 9 poolside performance can only be experienced by those who book the July 5, 2020 Mayan Sol sailing featuring stops in Costa Maya, Mexico and Bimini, Bahamas.
Diplo Joins On Deck Residency Program
Continuing the expansion of its On Deck residency program, Virgin Voyages also announced that legendary DJ and record producer, Diplo, will perform at the Beach Club in 2020.
Virgin Voyages will carefully curate the mood at The Beach Club so that Sailors have opportunities to experience moments of relaxation and serenity as well as high-energy excitement. Mornings at the private club will begin with yoga and meditation, with the energy gradually amplified as the day progresses, reaching a crescendo of action in the afternoon where DJ-led pool and floatilla parties will be the centre of the club. The day will cascade into night with a calming fire ritual where Sailors will enjoy acoustic tunes over an open bonfire. From what we’ve heard about the mixture of fitness and partying on board, it’s exciting to see this carried over onto the private island.
It looks like you had a fabulous time there and it’s always nice to have another cruise line operating and new options available but there is almost nothing from the Virgin branding and cruise plans that I like the sound of. The target demographic doesn’t look to be the sort that’s going to keep taking these types of cruises regularly and especially not at the sorts of prices they’re currently marketing things at. Cruising isn’t like a plane or train ride where passengers mostly care about getting from A to B so if Virgin Voyages don’t loosen up how they’re trying to drive everyone to conform to the Richard Branson ideal of a passenger (I’m never going to call a person on a cruise ship a sailor) then I can see this struggling to attract people in sufficient numbers beyond a single cruise just to say they’ve done it. I might be completely wrong, and I’m sure loads of people will love it all. They’re not a cruise line for us, I think it’s fair to say.