Carnival Victory 11-2 / 11-9 Review

Hello all,

I have wanted to do this for quite some time but I have been super busy since returning. When we were planning our cruise we could find little information about this ship so I hope this help someone. There were a lot of lessons learned on this vacation. I will try to cover as many as I can remember. I do not know how to add pictures but if you give me instructions I will try. So that you know my perspective we traveled with a group of 32 family members and friends. I am 29 and my DH is 30. This is our 5th and 4th cruise respectively.

Pre Cruise

We flew into San Juan on Friday morning. Flight was uneventful. We only had a 45 minute window to change flights in Miami. Pretty painless but I am not sure if I would try it again. We arrived in San Juan around 1 pm. I had arranged a rental car through Charlie’s Rental Cars. After our flight landed we waited outside in the heat for what seemed like forever for their shuttle. Finally I went to the welcome center and they called them for us. I forgot their telephone number so I couldn’t call myself. Total wait time for them, about 20 minutes. It was painful too. It was hot and every 3 seconds it seemed like Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, heck even Dollar shuttles were passing us buy. Lesson number one, bring the number with you! We finally made it to the rental car place and my first thought was, oh no. It was very small. Only 4 people were working there and not a lot of customers. Once it was our turn we stepped up, completed the paperwork, and got the key to our new ride for the next 2 days. We walk out to the grey Taurus in the parking lot and my face fell. I looked at the key, I looked at the car, and then I looked back at the key. Yup I had the right one. It was dinged, dented, and scratched, and that was just the outside. The inside was pretty dirty. I should have taken a picture. I went back inside and made sure they gave me the little piece of paper that shows the way the car was given to you. There was no way I was taking this car without it. I got this recommendation from Cruise Critic on the San Juan Page. It sounded pretty cool because you could pick it up at the airport and return it at a location close to the pier. Their shuttle would then transport you to the pier for free. Sounds like a good deal right! Lets just say next time I will rent from Hertz.

Anyway we were off to our Hotel. I had won the Normandie Hotel on Priceline at the rate of $115 per night. I read the reviews on Trip Advisor and boy was I scarred. Upon arrival we self parked and went in. Self parking was $10.00 per day and it was added to your bill at the end of your stay. The parking lot was right on the side of the hotel and always accessible. We checked in and went up to our room. My first observation, not bad, actually pretty nice. We went up to our room and I did notice a bit of a smell. Not a bad smell, but it smelled like they were trying to cover the smell of something else. The room was not bad, pretty standard. We were please and this would be good for two nights… and only two nights. Upon close review I thought this Hotel needed a good scrubbing. It is an old hotel that has underwent a bit of renovation recently, but they clearly missed the carpets. The walls needed a good scrubbing also. Then I checked closer… I should have never done that. The furniture could have used a cleaning too, which made me think, if the walls, carpet and furniture are a dingy what about the bed mattress. Needless to say I slept in night pants for two days.

After dropping off our luggage we left and went to meet our family. They were staying at the El Convento in the heart of Old San Juan. Lesson 2, we should have stayed there. I was trying to save money by bidding on a hotel on Priceline but once I rented the car, and with gas, we could have just stayed at the El Convento. It was absolutely beautiful and the staff was super friendly. We usually woke up and had breakfast at the Subway across the street from the Normandie. When done we would go to the el Convento to join our family. We were always welcomed as if we were actually staying there and next time, we will be. Nothing much happened the two pre cruise days in San Juan. The ladies shopped, the guys went and hung out at this little café place on the street on the side of the Coach store. I don’t remember the name but it had pictures of Marilyn Monroe in the bar. This would be their hang out daily and we met them there after a good hard day of shopping. The first night we went to the Sheraton for dinner and some gambling. There was a Royal Caribbean ship in port that day and WOW. It was huge. I have since forgot the name but boy was I itching for the Victory by then. This is also when I again wished I had rented from Hertz. They had a rental car place right inside of the Sheraton Old San Juan. You could literally walk across the street to the port. I don’t remember what we did for dinner the second night. We also at lunch at the El Convento on both days. Their food was really good, but a little pricey. Since I don’t remember much except shopping I will skip forward.

The morning of embarkation we checked out. We had to pay additional taxes on top of what we paid on Priceline. We received a bill for $43.20 at checkout, $20.00 for parking and the rest for taxes. Once again next time we will just stay at the El Convento. That eliminates the need for a rental car, parking, gas, etc. When you add it all up we really did not save any money by doing it our way. We returned the car to the location specified that had the free shuttle to the cruise ship. Were were told it would be about 20 minutes because the driver was stuck in traffic at the cruise terminal. We were told to wait ourside across the street where you return the cars and he would pick us up there. Would you like to guess what happened next. It started to rain. I forgot to mention, It rained a lot. Not only in San Juan but on almost all of the islands we visited it would rain in the morning. By noon or so it would be beautiful outside. In St. Lucia our drive mentioned it was rain season for them. I guess that went for the rest of the islands also. Sorry, I get sidetracked easily… Okay so we are outside waiting for the shuttle and it begins to rain. We grabbed the first cab we saw. He wanted to charge us 20.00 to go to the pier. It was just my husband and I and our 4 bags. I said no thanks and he went down to 15.00. I said okay because I wanted to get out of the rain, but I thought this was still way to much for the short distance we traveled. Later I found out I was right but who cares, we were on out way to the VICTORY!!!!!! I will try to post more tomorrow.

hey Cruiselover,

So far I am enjoying your review. I think it really mattered where you were at on the Islands. We had rain for about an hour in Barbados and an hour and half in St. Lucia. The other days we really didn't, maybe a sprinkle but it always seemed like we were driving away from it. Can't wait to read more tomorrow!

Hello all,

 

I have wanted to do this for quite some time but I have been super busy since returning. When we were planning our cruise we could find little information about this ship so I hope this help someone. There were a lot of lessons learned on this vacation. I will try to cover as many as I can remember. I do not know how to add pictures but if you give me instructions I will try. So that you know my perspective we traveled with a group of 32 family members and friends. I am 29 and my DH is 30. This is our 5th and 4th cruise respectively.

 

Pre Cruise

We flew into San Juan on Friday morning. Flight was uneventful. We only had a 45 minute window to change flights in Miami. Pretty painless but I am not sure if I would try it again. We arrived in San Juan around 1 pm. I had arranged a rental car through Charlie’s Rental Cars. After our flight landed we waited outside in the heat for what seemed like forever for their shuttle. Finally I went to the welcome center and they called them for us. I forgot their telephone number so I couldn’t call myself. Total wait time for them, about 20 minutes. It was painful too. It was hot and every 3 seconds it seemed like Hertz, Enterprise, Avis, heck even Dollar shuttles were passing us buy. Lesson number one, bring the number with you! We finally made it to the rental car place and my first thought was, oh no. It was very small. Only 4 people were working there and not a lot of customers. Once it was our turn we stepped up, completed the paperwork, and got the key to our new ride for the next 2 days. We walk out to the grey Taurus in the parking lot and my face fell. I looked at the key, I looked at the car, and then I looked back at the key. Yup I had the right one. It was dinged, dented, and scratched, and that was just the outside. The inside was pretty dirty. I should have taken a picture. I went back inside and made sure they gave me the little piece of paper that shows the way the car was given to you. There was no way I was taking this car without it. I got this recommendation from Cruise Critic on the San Juan Page. It sounded pretty cool because you could pick it up at the airport and return it at a location close to the pier. Their shuttle would then transport you to the pier for free. Sounds like a good deal right! Lets just say next time I will rent from Hertz.

 

Anyway we were off to our Hotel. I had won the Normandie Hotel on Priceline at the rate of $115 per night. I read the reviews on Trip Advisor and boy was I scarred. Upon arrival we self parked and went in. Self parking was $10.00 per day and it was added to your bill at the end of your stay. The parking lot was right on the side of the hotel and always accessible. We checked in and went up to our room. My first observation, not bad, actually pretty nice. We went up to our room and I did notice a bit of a smell. Not a bad smell, but it smelled like they were trying to cover the smell of something else. The room was not bad, pretty standard. We were please and this would be good for two nights… and only two nights. Upon close review I thought this Hotel needed a good scrubbing. It is an old hotel that has underwent a bit of renovation recently, but they clearly missed the carpets. The walls needed a good scrubbing also. Then I checked closer… I should have never done that. The furniture could have used a cleaning too, which made me think, if the walls, carpet and furniture are a dingy what about the bed mattress. Needless to say I slept in night pants for two days.

 

After dropping off our luggage we left and went to meet our family. They were staying at the El Convento in the heart of Old San Juan. Lesson 2, we should have stayed there. I was trying to save money by bidding on a hotel on Priceline but once I rented the car, and with gas, we could have just stayed at the El Convento. It was absolutely beautiful and the staff was super friendly. We usually woke up and had breakfast at the Subway across the street from the Normandie. When done we would go to the el Convento to join our family. We were always welcomed as if we were actually staying there and next time, we will be. Nothing much happened the two pre cruise days in San Juan. The ladies shopped, the guys went and hung out at this little café place on the street on the side of the Coach store. I don’t remember the name but it had pictures of Marilyn Monroe in the bar. This would be their hang out daily and we met them there after a good hard day of shopping. The first night we went to the Sheraton for dinner and some gambling. There was a Royal Caribbean ship in port that day and WOW. It was huge. I have since forgot the name but boy was I itching for the Victory by then. This is also when I again wished I had rented from Hertz. They had a rental car place right inside of the Sheraton Old San Juan. You could literally walk across the street to the port. I don’t remember what we did for dinner the second night. We also at lunch at the El Convento on both days. Their food was really good, but a little pricey. Since I don’t remember much except shopping I will skip forward.

 

The morning of embarkation we checked out. We had to pay additional taxes on top of what we paid on Priceline. We received a bill for $43.20 at checkout, $20.00 for parking and the rest for taxes. Once again next time we will just stay at the El Convento. That eliminates the need for a rental car, parking, gas, etc. When you add it all up we really did not save any money by doing it our way. We returned the car to the location specified that had the free shuttle to the cruise ship. Were were told it would be about 20 minutes because the driver was stuck in traffic at the cruise terminal. We were told to wait ourside across the street where you return the cars and he would pick us up there. Would you like to guess what happened next. It started to rain. I forgot to mention, It rained a lot. Not only in San Juan but on almost all of the islands we visited it would rain in the morning. By noon or so it would be beautiful outside. In St. Lucia our drive mentioned it was rain season for them. I guess that went for the rest of the islands also. Sorry, I get sidetracked easily… Okay so we are outside waiting for the shuttle and it begins to rain. We grabbed the first cab we saw. He wanted to charge us 20.00 to go to the pier. It was just my husband and I and our 4 bags. I said no thanks and he went down to 15.00. I said okay because I wanted to get out of the rain, but I thought this was still way to much for the short distance we traveled. Later I found out I was right but who cares, we were on out way to the VICTORY!!!!!! I will try to post more tomorrow.

Lesson learned on the hotel and car for all of us. Thanks for biting the bullet on that one. Can't wait to hear about the Victory!!

Great start! :D

I will be sailing on the Victory next year, and since it will be my first Carnival cruise, I want to hear every little detail about your holiday to prepare for mine! ;):)

Looking forward to hearing more!

Erin

I hope to stay 1 night pre-cruise in Old San Juan, then stay a couple of nights post-cruise elsewhere. Where we stay will depend on what I have to pay for airfare and what I decide to do in the ports. Don't want those few hotel nights to cost more than the cruise! :eek:

I don't plan on renting a car as those post-cruise days will be needed to rest after all the ports we visit.

Did you not have breakfast or lunch at La Bombanero? That is a "must-do" for me in San Juan.

May I just ask people to PLEASE not quote the entire original post? We know what people are responding to! It takes up so much space! Thanks. :o

Ooh, exciting. I can't wait to hear more. We are also arriving one day before the cruise and then staying 2 days after we get back. I haven't done much research yet, so it is great to hear your experiences! Looking forward to more!

May I just ask people to PLEASE not quote the entire original post? We know what people are responding to! It takes up so much space! Thanks. :o

YES,Please.....

Can't wait to read more of your review!!!

I hope to stay 1 night pre-cruise in Old San Juan, then stay a couple of nights post-cruise elsewhere. Where we stay will depend on what I have to pay for airfare and what I decide to do in the ports. Don't want those few hotel nights to cost more than the cruise! :eek:

 

I don't plan on renting a car as those post-cruise days will be needed to rest after all the ports we visit.

 

Did you not have breakfast or lunch at La Bombanero? That is a "must-do" for me in San Juan.

 

May I just ask people to PLEASE not quote the entire original post? We know what people are responding to! It takes up so much space! Thanks. :o

Hi Sorry I did not get to add more last night. I will try to add to it tonite. Just to answer your question, I did not have breakfast at La Bombonera, but my cousin and his wife did an she said it was heaven. On the Sunday we returned we did walk down there to get some mallorcas. We got them plain and they were good just like that. I also got something called crispy apple which was just an apple pastry, but it was good also. I really wish I could have had a hot ham and cheese mallorca.

I had the hot ham and cheese for lunch (it was delicious!) and wished I'd had room for the sugary one for dessert!

In this pic, I sat there at the railing upstairs and watched the man at the very bottom slice them open, slather them with butter, stick them in a press and grill them briefly, them cover them with powdered sugar.

I cannot wait to go back to OSJ!

Sorry for the delay. Where were we… Embarkation…

When we pulled into port it was about noon and it was a zoo. We saw people still leaving the ship from the previous cruise. At this point I knew we were in for a long wait. You enter the terminal and give you bag to the porter; they then place it directly onto a belt to be scanned. They were not pushy for tips at all. The really didn’t have much to do as this port is set up differently from others that I have embarked at. We got to the porters and we did not have anything to attach our luggage tags with. Security was nice enough to allow my husband to go upstairs and see if any of the stores had anything we could use. The liquor store gave him rubber bands and they got the job done. No one ever told us that there was a little station set up out front where they would print and attach luggage tags for you. I didn’t realize this until we were leaving. Oh well. Up the stairs we go. First you take your picture then you get in line for the document check. The last time I cruised in Miami they had a line for fun pass and a line for people who did not complete the fun pass. They did not have this setup here. It was just one long line. It moved kind of fast. The rest of our family had VIP embarkation. I am not sure how as they have not cruised 10 times and only two of them had suites. We proceeded thru the line, had our documents checked and found a seat. We were seated right outside the VIP waiting area. We actually finished in our line before the rest of our crew was finished in the VIP area. We sampled a few of the free drinks and then my husband’s uncle came out. Although we were not vip the carnival lady escorted us along with the rest of the group. DH uncle is a travel agent and a really good salesman. I not sure how he convinced the lady to do this but away we went. We were on board by 1:30 eating our first hamburgers and onion rings of the week. At 2:30 the cabins were ready. We had cabin 6318. Our first balcony. My DH loved it. It was okay for me but he used the balcony a lot. My husband and I then left the ship and walked to Walgreens to pick up a few last minute items for everyone. We had a list but since we were going anyway and we knew exactly where it was why not. Upon our return I decided to test a theory I had read about on these boards. There is a liquor store before security when you board. I had read here if you put it in your bag they would allow you to continue on with it. That is true and not true. We did purchase a bottle of vodka and some mini bottles. We put them in my husband’s book bag and went thru security. No one said anything. Past security but before where they ding you in there was a lady sitting at a liquor collection table. We just continued walking. I guess there was not way for her to know that we had liquor being it was in his book bag and security was all the way down the hall. So if you have ever wanted to know how that works, there you go. We went to open seating dinner and sat with our in-laws and a nice couple from Buffalo NY. Nothing special about dinner. They offered bottled water and before I could quietly warn my fil there would be a charge he accepted. As we were leaving they ran him down for his sign and sail. Needless to say he did not make that mistake again. We did go to the Welcome Aboard show and I found Malcolm to be really funny. This would be the last time I would see him in person. We did not make it to any of the shows. This was a really ambitious schedule and most days when we returned we were really tired. Can’t remember much more from that night. Next up St. Thomas…

Okay lets see if this works. I am trying to give you all some visual aids.

Let me know if you can see them. If anyone knows how I can make them larger please let me know. I am using snapfish.

testing.

I'm sooooo enjoying the review!

We're on the Victory Jan 11th. Just waiting to get the holidays out of my way :D

We're flying in 2 days early and staying at

Clarion La Consulate in Conadado. Anyone stayed there yet?

Any chance you have the diningroom menu for the evenings?

Thanks!

Debbie

I'm so excited to read about your experience! My fiance and I are searching for a honeymoon cruise and the Victory is one of the "finalists".....I can't wait to hear how the rest of your cruise went :D

I'm really enjoying reading your review!!! I'm anxiously awaiting your next installment!

Waiting for your next installment - we'll be on her January 18.

NCTribeFan,

Where in Old San Juan is La Bombonera? I'd like to check it out for lunch on embarkment day. We board at the Old San Juan Pier. Is it close to there? Thanks, Kaboochi

Sorry for the delay. Where were we… Embarkation…

 

When we pulled into port it was about noon and it was a zoo. We saw people still leaving the ship from the previous cruise.

It is fun reading your postings. I like the installment approach and cna't wait until the next one on St. Thomas. How lond did it take you to complete the boarding process. This is our first at the Old San Juan Pier. The other terminal is a piece of cake. Thanks, Kaboochi

We were on this same Carnival Victory cruise

out of San Juan, Puerto Rico

leaving Sunday November 2nd. 2008.

Guys...there's only one way to get two thousand people onto one ship

and it takes time.

Yes there were lines (there are always lines)

but you prepare yourself for this psychologically

sure in the knowledge that embarkation is going to take somewhere around 2 hrs.:)

Anything less than this...consider it gravy!

More than 2 hrs. yeah it's a bit of a grind, but you'll probably survive the ordeal. :cool:

Want to avoid populous scenes like this?

Book with someone like Regent, or Silversea Cruises instead

where pax numbers are in the hundreds rather than thousands!

Once you're on board and in our cabin, all is well. Relax!

It's just something you endure, in order to board a cruise.

Just about any cruise.

San Juan harbour, Puerto Rico

.

...and here it is.

As we opened the Cabin door..

Oh wow! I could get used to this

even though it might take me four to five minutes to adjust..

Madam soon made herself comfortable

and started checking on the runup to the 2008 Presidential Elections

while I checked out the balcony overlooking scenic San Juan harbour

..as night fell..

.

Thank you sooooooo much for posting the pics!!!! I'm so excited for my first cruise to get here! The balcony door...it looks to me like it opens like a regular door?? I had heard they slide open?? Do you have any pics that shows how tiny that bathroom is? My husband is 6'4" and 280 pounds. Is he going to have problems?

..was fabulous!

I ordered the Indian veggie thing

which turned out to be equal to anything we have here(Barbados)

at Apsara gourmet Indian restaurant.

Service was certainly prompt and adequate. No complaints.

This was our view of the aft-most section of Victory's Pacific Dining Room

This is a view of the main,central section of the Pacific Dining Room

Thank you sooooooo much for posting the pics!!!! I'm so excited for my first cruise to get here!

The balcony door...it looks to me like it opens like a regular door?? ===> Yes.

I had heard they slide open?? ===> No. Not the cabin door, nor the door out on to the balcony.

Both hinge normally.

 

Do you have any pics that shows how tiny that bathroom is? ===> Tiny? Not on Victory

My husband is 6'4" and 280 pounds.

Is he going to have problems? ===> It's not palatially proportioned..c'mon -but he should make out OK.

I found the bathroom to be a bit on the pink side for my male taste..

If you look carefully, you'll see my lens peeping out from behind the shower curtain :D

Here's another (mirrored) balcony view of San Juan harbour

well before we pulled out at 10 p.m.

Another view of the cabin..

Of course, by 10 p.m. sailaway time night had fallen

and the balcony view was looking like this..

Those are the lights of San Juan's Condado area in the distance