KYWEST1

10 hours ago, Heytray41 said:

We are also on the March 9th cruise. No Key West for us. Cozumel and Grand Cayman are the 2 port stops for that sail date itinerary...usually formal is day 2, which I believe is a sea day for us. 

 

Oops I got my dates wrong. I'm on the March 4th cruise. Key West and Cozumel.

Can't get here soon enough!

1 hour ago, Grumpy Husband said:

I also would suggest you look at Lagerheads Beach Bar as it is close to the where you will be docking. They have good food and a nice beach also.  Here is a video to show you the way to get there.

Wow, I never heard of this bar (and I've stayed at Pier House quite a few times). Thanks for the video. Heading to KW in March for a cruise stop and in May for a vacay.  Love any new Key West tips!

Thank you!

15 hours ago, 2xsin12mths said:

After reading all the comments about the lack of beaches in KW I'm bummed:(  But I think me and my girlfriends will go to Ft. Zachary beach. We dock at the pier where you can get right off the ship and it's a pretty easy walk to the Fort. Our cruise is Key West from 12:00 - 6:00 and Havana, Cuba the next day. So our only chance of a beach is KW. I'm so excited about Havana and we want to take an all day tour of the city. 

Thanks for all the opinions … it's helpful:) 

Can I make a suggestion? You should rent bikes (at the pier or look online and reserve ahead - such as Eaton Bikes- and they meet you at pier), and take them to Ft Zachary beach. It's kind of a long, hot walk and bikes are so much fun in Key West. Then if you want to leave early (or go later after lunch), it's very easy to get around and you can tour the whole island in a short time. Take the bikes over to the wharf area. You could hang out at Dante's for a while. It's a  huge pool & bar with a DJ. A great place to stop for laying in the sun. You could also bike to Casa Marina and hang out at their pool area (which also has a beach). If you're stopped in the lobby, just say you're going to the pool bar for lunch. 

Bikes will open up your Key West world and I promise you'll be so glad you did this! Worth every penny. 

Have a great time!

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Schooner Wharf for lunch. We're renting bikes on our cruise stop and touring around and ending up at Schooner's for a casual lunch. It's right on the marina (wharf) and a really cool casual open air place with live music all day. It's not for a "foodie" but a great little place for a burger and a beer. It depends on what you're looking for I guess.

Also, sunset pier which is right next to mallory square is a fun place to hang out for a quick bite. It's right on the water and easy to get a table (if it's not sunset). They have great conch fritters but I'm not sure about the rest of their menu. More of a place to grab a drink and watch the boats go by. 

Conch Republic is good food and close to the water (marina area). You might not get to see the ocean from your table (or you might if you're lucky), but it's open sides and situated right next to the water. 

There are so many places to go. Just rent some bikes and have fun looking. Can't wait to get back!

On 1/9/2019 at 10:34 AM, Dejlig Ko said:

For lunch with a view in Key West I'm trying to decide between, Casa Marina at the Waldorf Astoria or Louie's Backyard. Thoughts?

Definitely stop in at the Casa for a drink at the beach bar. Gorgeous pool area with fantastic views. Never ordered food here, but I'm guessing that Louie's would be far superior but maybe more expensive. Beautiful side of the island.

17 hours ago, JoAnneNYI said:

two options i found:

https://cozumelbarhop.com/

 

http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/cozumel-bar-hop-tour.html

We booked with the Cozumel bar hop company, but we can cancel. Can anyone compare the two? I noticed that the Cozumel cruise excursions supplied a cooler of beer on the bus, but might stop at different bars than the Barhop tour. 

Thanks for any info!

Just now, c-leg5 said:

 

Tour start time changes depending on ships in port on any given day. Best to write and ask for your particular date. Sometimes more than one tour.

 

you are unlikely to have time to go to Paradise, unless you do start early as tour is around 4 hours and you are dropped off at your pier. You  may be back by 2 or 3 your call if you have enough time for Paradise we have generally had enough drinking and heat by the time we return.

 

the new route does have a couple of sandy beaches. 

 

Thank you! You're probably right. I love Cozumel and want to do it all, but I think we'll just do some shopping after the tour.

We used to rent our own jeep and do our own tour, but I think it's a better idea now to let someone else drive us around.

We arrive in port at 8:00am and leave at 6:00pm. Any idea on what time this tour would start? Not really looking to barhop too early! Also, is there enough time to go to a beach, like Paradise, after the tour? Thanks for any info...this tour sounds like a blast.

Oh no!! We're leaving on March 4th on Brilliance and I'll be so disappointed if they don't go to Key West! I chose this cruise because of that stop (and Cozumel) and I have no interest in going back to Grand Cayman again. 

Anyone have any info on which ships are still docking in KW?

Thank you so much for your review! We are leaving March 9th for the same itinerary. 

My sister-in-law thinks the formal night is night #2 (Key West day). Any recent cruisers on Brilliance? 

You said it was night #3 correct?  I just wanted to know for sure because we go to a formal restaurant on formal night and I wanted to make reservations before the cruise.

Thanks again!

I was just looking at those 2 cruises for next January to take with the family since all my college kiddos will be on break. I loved the ports with the Fascination more, but having sailed both ships, the Conquest is so much nicer & bigger in my opinion. I wasn't sure about airfare either and you can always get a good price to Lauderdale. I would say the Conquest but you have me interested in checking out that Vista cruise now. That might be your answer.

thanks! He is sooooooo cute!:)

Ha ha. Thank you. Love him to pieces

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Cooper looks more like a bichon/poodle mix to me. He's cute!

Most people think he's a Bichon. He probably has some in him.

Thanks [emoji4]

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Also, must say KYWest1, your dog could be a twin to mine. I was ever so fortunate to find my best buddy at my local humane society, and only know that she is a poodle mix. So, if I may ask you, what is your dog's ancestry? I have so far been offered by some friends, lasapoo, maltipoo, etc, but yours look so much like my dog, I am curious, though yours may well be a pure breed, just curious, thanks :)

We got him in June 2005 from a pet store (before we knew better and I always took the kids in to "look" after getting DQ next door). He is a poodle (so they say) but we keep him cut with the puppy face so he doesn't look like a poodle. His name is Cooper and we're all obsessed with him. In honor of Easter, I'll post one of my favorite picture of him. Don't judge. He lives to please me. [emoji23]

One more of my baby (sorry)

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Great review!! Getting me soooo excited to go on. Sorry about what happened on the ship. Glad you had a great time. I always take advantage of the ship photographers for my son and I. He is 15 and barely ever get him in the same pic anymore!

Wow, your cruise is 3 weeks from today! How exciting...I'm so jealous! You're going to love having a balcony. Not sure if Andy will still be on the ship, but even if he isn't, you'll always find the fun people hanging out in the piano bar!

Have a great cruise and keep taking pictures until you get the perfect one. :)

Thanks for your review of your Victory cruise. I sailed on a 5 day on her in 2015, and must say that I did like the "green" and sea theme decor. After the Liberty, I think Victory is my next favorite. I also like the size of that ship, as well as the Conquest class. I'm saddened to hear about the loss of life on your cruise, but think you and your daughter handled it in the best way you could, and made the most of your cruise that it could be under the circumstances. Thanks again for your review, and especially the photos. They bring back fond memories of my Victory cruise.

Thank you so much for your kind response. We've sailed the Conquest & Freedom and we do love that class, but this was a fun change. We weren't crazy about the Dream class. I think it was because the Promenade was on the outside and the atrium seemed less than impressive.

Thanks again for your comments. :)

I just finished up with the last part of your review and wanted to let you know how much I've enjoyed reading and love your pictures. The information you gave about Key West was great. DH and I would love to do a land vacation there someday. As many have commented, I feel really bad about the poor young man who went overboard. I have heard of it happening before but, thankfully, have never had that happen on any of our cruises. I can see where it would put a damper on things, just thinking about him, his family, and friends. We were on Glory in May 2010 and were in the comedy club when Punchliner's was just being introduced. On one of our last nights, someone came into the comedy club and walked right up to the comedian. The comedian stopped the show and asked for a woman and said if she was watching, she needed to go to guest services. We didn't think anything of it, maybe to straighten out a bill or something. Through the rest of the evening, they were paging this woman. Fortunately, happy ending. She had been in a spat w/significant other and was hiding and didn't go to guest services when being paged. Others mentioned that the ship was stopped and they had the spot lights looking into the water, even though there were no reports of someone overboard.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to do a review, I know these things take time.

And thank you for taking the time to post such a nice response. It makes me feel like it was worth the effort when I hear from those reading it that they enjoyed my review!

Your husband is a great sport and I love seeing the guys up there who didn't really want to do it at first. The crowd is always supportive and grateful that somebody has the guts to get up there.

Definitely take that trip to Key West. It's a really fun place. You can drive down from Miami if flying directly in is too costly, but you don't need a car once you're there, so take that into account when you're price comparing the drive vs direct flight.

I thought the Victory decor was really pretty as well. I never understood how you could call any cruse ship "tacky" but that's just me. :)

What a wonderful review and so much fun to read. The picture of you and your daughter is so beautiful. I hope you frame it!!

Thanks so much! That photographer was really good so I wanted to let people know who were sailing Victory soon. Definitely a framer!

Those pics are absolutely gorgeous!!

Thank you so much! I'm glad I was able to share them with everyone.

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It was nice to read about someone just having a good time on the cruise. Loved all the pics.

Thanks so much. I love cruising and really just try to have fun on any vacation. Life is too short to look for the negatives. [emoji4]

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Love the picture of you and your daughter, fantastic. Sorry your cruise had to end but enjoyed reading your review.

Thank you so much Janice. I wish the cruise didn't have the sad event, but I promised a review and wanted to write about our happier adventures. [emoji4]

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Really enjoyed your review and pictures! It's been a long time since we were on the Victory, so glad to see she is still looking good. Sad about the man overboard. :(

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us! :D

Thank you for the comment. The Victory is holding her own.

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thanks :).................

Glad you enjoyed it. Have fun!

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Debarkation day: Everyone's favorite right? Yes it's awful. We hit a squall coming into Miami about 4-5am and I swore the ship was going to roll over. If it hadn't been the last night I wouldn't have minded but we left nothing on the table so to speak regarding food & drink that last day and hitting rough seas now was.....rough.

It was cool seeing us pull into port. I always love is it MacArthur Causeway? Very cool. Anyway, we had to be out of our cabins by 8:30. We could've debarked earlier but none of us were close to being ready and our flight wasn't until 5pm out of Lauderdale. Sunshine Shuttles called me while we were still onboard to tell me they were there and let them know when we were outside. Can't say enough about how great they were. They'll be my go to transportation from now on.

So we dragged out luggage to Lido pool area and grabbed a little breakfast. No lines and they were releasing people by decks. When we were ready to leave they were already calling deck 9 so we thought we better get moving or we'll get stuck in the cattle call. Probably took 20-30 minutes from leaving Lido to walking off ship. No customs stop since we didn't stop in Mexico [emoji22]

It started raining as soon as we got outside. Thank you Mother Nature for the cherry on top of this day! Got to Lauderdale airport by 10:00ish and just sat and played on our phones for a good hour. We couldn't check our luggage because our flight was 7 hours later. About 11:30 we decided to Uber to the beach for lunch. It had cleared up and we wanted to enjoy our last day. Left our luggage with this really sweet couple from CA that wasn't flying until later as well. She heard us talking about storing it for $7/bag and offered. We went to Beach Place that has little shops & restaurants. Had lunch at Lulu's Bait Shack. It was fine but the waitress was a snot. Definitely not on Victory anymore. We walked the beach sidewalk and just killed time. Ubered back to the airport and checked into our flight.

That's it. That's a wrap. All in all it was a great ship with great staff. Very unfortunate turn of events but there aren't any guarantees. I was just grateful that we were all safe and had a wonderful mom & daughter vacation. I hope you all enjoyed my review and have a good image of the Victory. I forgot to mention in the beginning, I liked this smaller sized ship as compared to the bigger ones I've sailed on lately. It was nice seeing the same people around the ship and saying hi. Just wanted to add that. Thanks for reading folks and Happy Cruising! Cheers!![emoji484]

One last pic....the best part of going home after a cruise [emoji4]❤️

Well I was glad to see my husband and sons too! Ha ha

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Thanks for the review and the pictures....even the cheating ones!

Ha Ha...you're welcome and thanks for the comment!:)