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Don’t Rock the Boat | Scarlet Lady

Writer's picture: Amaris ScipioneAmaris Scipione

Updated: Apr 21, 2024

Day 4: Virgin Voyages | Scarlet Lady


Last night was our first night sleeping in the cabin. I can’t think of a bed that was more comfortable than this one. I also like how the room greets you when you open the door. Some lighting automatically comes on and the curtains open. It’s a nice touch.

We started our morning at The Galley which is the dining hall. It’s a seat yourself situation and we found a table right next to a window and near coffee. Our server came by promptly to take our order. Brian ordered avocado toast with a berry bento box and I ordered French toast and also the same bento box. The food was ready incredibly fast and the French toast was amazing. It had that golden brown to it indicating it was fried to perfection. The bento box contained Greek yogurt, granola, and mixed berries each in their own compartment. The bento box was clearly pre-made and it was served to us with the Saran Wrap still on it with the good by date on it too. I didn’t care for it. The strawberries were more white than red and the yogurt was almost bitter. Nothing like the sweet Oui yogurt I normally eat. I also ordered a mocha. It was crafted with care with a leaf design on top. The mocha was made with Hershey syrup, which was a disappointment for me. (For whatever reason, Hershey syrup bothers my throat on the way down.)


Breakfast on Scarlet Lady
Breakfast on Scarlet Lady

After breakfast we wondered the ship. We made our way to the back of the boat where we discovered outdoor seating with a view. The place for breakfast tomorrow! We found our way to the giant netted swings and relaxed for awhile before heading to the pool. It was 9:30am and only two poolside beds had been claimed. We chose our favorite and Brian settled in for the morning.


Brian had already run three miles earlier in the day, but my workout was scheduled for 10am. You can schedule fitness classes as soon as you board the ship and they are included! This was one of the things that excited me about this cruise line! Unfortunately, demand is high. When I went to schedule my classes, all of the yoga classes and the bungee classes were sold out. There were plenty of other classes though so everyone can still workout. I chose spinning for this morning. In December, I took my first two cycle classes at CycleBar Hudson. I love it! I had never ridden a bike with the special shoes and it makes such a difference for a smooth and enjoyable ride. I could hardly contain my excitement when I realized this spinning class was the real deal. Shoes if you wanted them and screens up front that shows each numbered bike. Our instructor, Reef, was top-notch and the playlist was carefully crafted for the workout. I highly recommend.





Life is all about balance so I balanced my spinning class with pizza. The pizza place was tricky to find and one of those places you need to seek out on the ship. The signs indicated which deck it was on, but I explored the entire deck before finding it. It’s located beyond the ice cream shop and you enter first by going through the ice cream shop. There is a second entrance from outside, but that is equally difficult to stubble upon. I have a love/hate relationship with the layout on this ship. I hate how difficult it is to find things and have felt much more lost on a ship than I have on other ships. The signs require you to really read them and don’t visually represent where things are like other ships. Also, some things are hidden behind other things so you have to enter one designated area like the ice cream shop to then continue into the pizza place. At the same time, I love that everyday I’m finding something new. I thought we explored everything the first day, but I continue to find new spaces. That part of it makes the experience refreshing. Back to pizza. The pizza was made fresh to order and was exceptional. I ordered The Classic which is traditional mozzarella and tomato sauce and also Chicken Pesto which has chicken, basil pesto, red onions, and fresh tomatoes. After placing the order, I was given a pager. I hung around to watch them make the pizzas. They began with the dough and tosses and pulled it to the right size for the pizza. Next, it went to another guy who placed all the toppings onto the dough. Finally, it was moved to the oven. You have the option of eating there or taking it to go. Since I was taking mine back to the pool, they packed mine in pizza boxes. I ordered two pizzas for the four of us and it was the perfect amount for us. The pizzas were still too hot to eat even after I walked them to the pool area which isn’t particularly close to the pizza place.





After lunch, I headed over to The Dry Dock which is the on-site salon. You can get haircuts, coloring, or eyebrow shaping done here. I normally have my eye brows waxed, but sickness, quarantine, and the holidays caused me to have to cancel appointments before the cruise. They do not offer eyebrow waxing on the ship, but they do offer eyebrow shaping by tweezing and cutting. The lady had me sit in a giant chair that overlooked a large porthole. As she was working on my eyebrows, she gasped. I opened my eyes to see what was going on and she said look at those waves! The waves were HUGE. I thought that for someone who has worked on cruises for awhile, it must mean something if she points out the size of the wave. The boat was obviously moving, but I felt fine as I was sitting there. She did an awesome job!





I met back up for Brian, and he was looking for a snack. I mentioned that I saw a snack stand with pretzels, his favorite, so we headed that way. The Social Room is a fun hangout located on Deck 7 and the Social Club Diner is an area that features classic carnival treats like popcorn, hot dogs, pretzels, candy, and floats. Brian ordered a pretzel that was served with cheese and popcorn. I ordered a confetti cake pop. After our snack, we moved to the arcade which is located around the corner from the diner. Here they have an awesome collection of old-school arcade games such as Donkey Kong, Mario Brothers, Pac Man, and Golden Tee. The best part of the arcade, it was free! All the games were set to free play mode and you could play for as long as you’d like. We were the only ones in the arcade too. After our games, we headed back next to the diner for air hockey. This was the first time I was really starting to feel the severity of the ship’s movements. I wasn’t feeling well so I headed back to the room for some motion sickness medicine.


Social Club Diner
Social Club Diner

I originally had a body scan assessment and a foam rolling class scheduled for the afternoon, but I canceled them and opted to lay down instead. I rested. Brian continued on with the assessment and foam rolling. Brian said the class was good but painful. Two days after the foam rolling he was still talking about how sore he was from it.


Our dinner reservations were at 6:30pm so I awoke from my nap and headed to dinner. I wasn’t feeling 100%, but didn’t want to miss dinner. The motion had curbed my appetite so I only ordered an entree and not the usual appetizer, entree, and dessert tradition we have started on this trip. I ordered the ravioli which was incredibly delicious, but the movement of the ship got the better of me. I excused myself midway through the meal to go lay back down. This is my third cruise and the first time I have felt this level of seasickness. It was however, not as bad as the time I went on a catamaran cruise in Hawaii while pregnant and couldn’t take any medication. Back in the cabin, I was positioned on my back and the not-so-subtle rocking would cause my right shoulder to slightly lift from the bed followed by my left shoulder. There were also times that I felt that sensation you get when you are riding a roller coaster. As a child, I rode The Big Dipper at Geauga Lake daily in the summer. If you’re not familiar, The Big Dipper was an old-school wooden roller coaster that ended with a series of small hills. Each hill would lift my ten-year old body off the seat before crashing back down. There were I think four hills in that series and it always put a giant smile on my face. My thirty-seven year old body didn’t share the same excitement especially as this was a roller coaster with no end in sight. I popped a brain medication I normally take daily which has a sedative side-effect. I fell asleep thanking God that tomorrow I would be on land.


Razzle Dazzle on Scarlet Lady
Razzle Dazzle on Scarlet Lady

It turns out the rocking was pretty severe. The waiter had told Brian that it was the worst it has been since the Lady Scarlet set sail this past summer. Winds were at 38 knots and Brian said he noticed the water coming up to the porthole at dinner which was on deck 5. They cancelled the show for the evening and I found out the next day that several people were sick from the rocking. I was not alone. Apparently green apples are supposed to help. I found this out after the fact.

Seasickness aside, the day was very enjoyable.


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