9/13 Carnival Victory review with pics

[JennyP9]

Just went on a weeklong cruise on the Carnival Victory 9/13-9/20 out of San Juan. I used these boards and others' reviews to plan the cruise, so I'd love to pass on some info to anyone cruising in the next few months.... In return, can I come with you???

 

We flew in to San Juan the morning of the cruise. No problems on the flight down. We arrived at SJU at 11:30 am. Luggage came out quickly and there was no line for taxis ($19 + $1 per bag to the pier, fyi). We got to the pier just after noon, and embarkation was a breeze---we were on the Lido deck before 12:30! Highly recommend getting their early, to avoid the major lines.

 

Oh, and the duty-free store was simple as well. You walk right past it in the lines to get on the ship. We grabbed a bottle of Crown Royal (1.75 L for $22!) and Bacardi Grand Melon, put them in our carry on, and got back into line. No problems going through security.

 

San Juan- After taking a walk around the ship and dropping off our carry-ons in the cabin, my hubby and I decided to get back off the ship and walk around San Juan for awhile. We'd been here before on another tour, so we just walked around the port area. We found a street festival with singers, dancers, food and drinks. We hung out there for awhile, and then back on the ship for dinner, muster drill and sail away. Muster drill is never fun, but this one was especially long due to announcements in English and Spanish. Those life preservers are hot!

 

Sail away was nice, the port is beautiful at night:

 

[HarperSays]

Looking forward to this review. We are leaving Oct. 3 for San Juan and leaving the next day on this cruise. You are welcome to come with us...we live right down the road in Hendersonville, NC!

 

One question already - did you have any problems leaving the ship the first day to go back out and explore San Juan? Or getting back on?

[JennyP9]

St Thomas- We had planned shore trips for Dominica and Barbados, so decided to make St Thomas a beach day. From the CC boards, I had read about Emerald Beach, and the ability to take the public bus there for $1 each.

 

Public bus info-- From port, you have to walk up past shops, and then cross the street and turn left. After walking past construction (and I mean right past...a few feet from someone jackhammering!), Hooters, and the entrance to paradise point, we got to KMart, where there was supposed to be a bus stop. We never saw a sign, but a bus pulled up next to us and asked where we were going. We told him, and confirmed that it was $1 pp. He did take us right where we needed to go, but I would not recommend this as an easy trip for families. We wound up getting a cab back for $6 pp.

 

Emerald beach-- When you go to Emerald Beach, you are dropped off at the Best Western Emerald Beach.

 

 

The hotel is beautiful, lots of palm trees and beautiful flowers. Then we came to a walkway, and I literally gasped at how beautiful the beach scene was:

 

 

My husband and I found paradise. Due to it being the slow season, there was only a maximum of 10 people on the beach all day...much of the time, there were only 2 other people besides us. The hotel had a very nice-looking restaurant, but we never went to it. We just lounged in the water, took some more photos, and enjoyed the sound of the ocean and the breeze. This was one of the most relaxing days I have had ever.

 

If we ever stay on St Thomas for a land-vacation, we will absolutely stay at this hotel.

 

Oh, and it was right next to the airport, which I know is a concern for some. Don't worry, not loud at all! We only saw 3-4 planes leave, and it was much quieter than I expected.

 

More pics of Emerald Beach:

 

 

 

If you are looking for a slow, relaxing day at the beach, this is it. We saw some paddle boats and floats, but that seemed to be it for rentals. Beach chairs and umbrellas as seen in the photos. No music, no vendors, nothing, just pure fun in the sun.

 

[JennyP9]

K&M- We had no problems getting off the ship... you will go back off the way you came in. A bit tough since most of the crowd was walking toward us, but not bad. Getting back to the pier, make sure you don't get stuck in the embarkation line. Just keep your sail & sign card out to show cruise staff, and they will let you bypass all the lines. The only spot we got stuck was the final security screening line, but even that was not more than 5-10 minutes max.

[JennyP9]

Dominica- Levi Baron and Bumpiing Tours....Awesome!

 

Reviews of Bumpiing Tours were probably 98% positive online, so I contacted Levi in early spring to set up a tour. His responses were always informational, friendly, and prompt.

 

We met Levi at the dock as described in emails, and were joined by 2 other groups for a total of 14 people and Levi. There was a little bit of time to explore shops at the pier while we waited for the whole group to assemble. Levi's bus was a new model in great shape, which was lucky for the 'roads' we would be driving on all day.

 

First stop on the tour was the Titou Gorge, site of some filming for Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Levi was worried that a deluge of rain that had been falling might mean the gorge would be difficult to navigate, but when we got there, we were still able to go in.

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Entrance to the gorge:

 

 

The water was definitely as cold as everyone says, but it quickly feels amazing. The current was stronger than usual swimming into the gorge, but not too bad. Normally, tours go all the way to a waterfall in the gorge, but it was not safe to get that far today.

 

Levi sharing info inside the gorge:

 

Floating back out of the gorge was much easier:

 

From Titou Gorge, we drove to Trafalgar Falls. Levi said parts of Dominica get 300-400 inches of rain a year (rainforest). Here, you can see how:

 

 

Trafalgar Falls: After a short hike through woods and some stairs, we arrived at the viewing platform for Trafalgar Falls.

 

Mother Falls:

 

Father Falls:

 

The pictures don't do it justice, the sight is amazing. They are actually quite close together, but far enough that you can't get them in the same shot.

 

From the viewing platform, we went down into the hot mineral springs. Dominica is volcanic, and that leads to very warm springs. They are normally hotter, but today they were 90 degrees. It was like sitting in the best hot tub ever. This part was a bit harder to get to, as you had to climb over and around large rocks. It was not too bad for us (in our mid-20s).

 

We also stopped by Morne Bruce for great views of the harbor, and the botanical gardens for a quick drive-through. My friend took those pictures, so I don't have any pics to share here at this time. I'll edit this post if I can at a later point.

 

Again, Levi was a great tour guide. The tour was WELL worth the $40, and we'll definitely book with him again if we are ever on Dominica.

 

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Back in awhile with the next bunch of islands. Lots to catch back up on after the cruise though!

[Sir_Randy]

JennyP9, looking forward to more of your review, we are taking this cruise over Thanksgiving! One quick question. if you don't pruchase your adult beverages when you first got on the boat, would you be able to after you went back into SJU and came back to the boat? What time was your room ready?

[mara93]

I'm anxiously waiting for your review. We did this itinerary in March & loved it. Brings back great memories & makes me long for another!

 

Keep it coming!

[azurewater]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

 

Which tour did you take with Levi? I have been in contact with him this week and want to be sure to take a tour that includes the falls and Champagne Reef. Did you do any snorkeling? Levi seems as if he will be a great guide.

 

I was wondering the same as the previous poster....you bought the liquor during embarkation, not after you got off boat, right?

 

Would love to hear your thoughts and observances on the ship and food. I have read so many varied opinions.

 

Cannot wait to hear and see the photos from your cruise. I have 80 some odd days....cannot get here soon enough.

 

Thanks and you can stow away with us!

 

Joy

[JennyP9]

No problem, I loved reading reviews before we left too!

 

About the duty free store-- we went in before boarding the ship the first time, and then went through again (to get soda this time) after we walked around San Juan a bit. You could technically go through as many times as you want, just bring a bag to put the liquor in.

 

Sir_Randy- We stopped by the Lido buffet and a sportsbar first, but when we went to our cabin around 1:30ish, it was already cleaned. The whole hall seemed ready to go by that point.

 

Joy- We did Levi's Roussea Valley Treasures (wet tour). Champagne Reef was a $10 add-on, but just decided to pass on that since we went snorkeling in Barbados. Levi was very fun; I'll recommend him to anyone I hear going to Dominica!

 

Some quick thoughts on the ship-- I liked the ship's theme, it did not seem too "Las Vegas" to me. The greens in the atrium were very pretty. Everyone says to watch out for the seahorses, and you'll see what that means... Every stairway has a seahorse at the end of it, and the snout sticks out far. If you take the corner too tight- ouch!

 

Our OV room was large and clean, but we were bummed about no mini-bar. Our steward was on top of refilling the ice bucket though.

 

Definitely were some signs that Carnival was skimping a bit. The Captain's Cocktail Party is now the Captains Celebration, with $1 off drinks, no free cocktails. My husband was told he could only take one piece of Canadian Bacon one day in the buffet line by a staff member who was refilling the food. We just laughed and walked away. Food overall was the usual quality; I didn't notice anything that was not cooked fully or didn't taste good.

[dallas52]

nice review, we are leaving in a few months but we are flying down a day early. will be leaving charlotte on feb. 27. cant wait. thanks for the pics

[kirchubel]

We're going with our friends and our kids in late May so I have a looooooooooooong way to wait. But I'm looking forward to it! Please tell us as much as you can about the ship. We went on Legend last time and hope Victory, which is older, is still a nice ship!:D

[JennyP9]

Barbados- After on-and-off downpours in Dominica the day before, we were a bit nervous when we woke up to more rain in Barbados. We were scheduled to do a 5-hour catamaran cruise with El Tigre, including snorkeling with sea turtles, snorkeling over a shipwreck, and then lunch and a quiet beach for some relaxation time. We grew even more nervous when there was an announcement over the speakers that several of the cruise lines' excursions were cancelled that day.

 

We went out to the port, and met up with Ryan, owner of El Tigre. He was very friendly, but let us know that the other group we were supposed to sail with today had cancelled, and he could not financially afford to take just 4 of us out. We were highly disappointed, but Ryan came through for us by calling around to other catamaran companies. We lucked out, and Calabazza had a group of 4 cancel, so we were able to take their place. Even better, they agreed to honor the (lower) price we had set with El Tigre. Yay!

 

In the end, this turned out to be a great win for us. Calabazza is more expensive because they limit the guests to 12. The service all day was fantastic, the crew was fun and personable, and the food and drinks kept coming all day. We wound up being one of the only catamarans that actually went out that day, and even got some sun through the clouds!

 

Drinks included that day were Banks (local beer), Rum Punch, soda, water and juice. Food included hot banana bread, fish cakes (reminded us of hush puppies), and then lunch buffet which included chicken, fish, greek salad, caesar salad, garlic bread, cous cous, and more. All was delicous.

 

Some pictures of the day:

 

 

 

 

The hotel above is the Sandy Lane Resort, where Tiger Woods got married. We anchored off the beach near this resort, and the sand and views were beautiful. Apparently Simon Cowell has a condo being built in the area as well.

 

 

We laid out on the netting on the front of the boat all day and just enjoyed the feel of the breeze on our faces. With the great service and the wonderful hospitality, we felt like we were on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous for the day! ;)

[crusing48/51]

DH and I will be going next year in September, so we have a VERY long wait. Your review is a way to keep the excitement built until time for us to sail. Is it too early to contact Levi, or would you recommend waiting until closer to time to set sail? I would imagine his tours fill up quickly, due to the positive remarks from all the cruise critic folks.

 

By the way, we are practically neighbors! We live in a small town south of Charlotte. It's called Norwood. Extremely rural, about 45 minutes to Charlotte.

[Payd]

Sounds like a great time - looking forward to the rest of your review.

[JennyP9]

Crusing- I feel your pain. We booked the cruise 9/08, and then finally just went 9/13/09. A long wait, but the excitement definitely built up to make it worth the wait!

 

As far as Levi goes, I first contacted him in February about the tour. I too was worried about missing out. At that point, it did not seem like he was booking up at all. But if you want to email him now, I'm sure he would at least give you information about the tour, even if it is too early to book.

[JennyP9]

St Lucia- We did not book a tour at this island. After two busy tours in a row, we just wanted another beach day. I really wanted to go to Jalousie to see the Pitons, but did not want to spend 90 min each way driving. Instead, we settled on Choc Bay, which had good reviews on CC. Like St Thomas, there would be a $1 bus, and it would stop at The Wharf, a restaurant at Choc Bay (per reviews).

 

Public bus info- The bus situation on this island was much easier to figure out than on St Thomas. The hardest part is leaving the port area, as it felt like we were approached by 30 cab drivers in just a few minutes. We would tell them we were takng a $1 bus to a beach, and they'd offer a $55 per person tour of the volcanoes...um, no? To get to the bus stop, you walk out of the port area to the main road. The bus stop actually has a sign (unlikein St Thomas), and you want route 1A to go to Choc Bay. The cost is actually $1.50 pp, although that may have been in EC, not USD. We just paid $3, better than what a cab would have been! You will take route 1A to come back to the port as well.

 

The Wharf looked like a very nice bar, but when we went through to their portion of the beach, we were less than thrilled. Several locals were laying around, there was construction of some sort, and the beach was quite dirty. Not at all what I had seen in photos. Then we looked to the left of the restaurant, and the beach appeared much cleaner, so we decided to head over there.

 

There are big rocks that split the beach in front of the restaurant, so we had to head back out to the main road, and walk to the resort next door. I am not sure the name of it. But no one gave us any trouble for going through. Down the beach a bit further, there seemed to be more action, and it turned out that it was the Sandals resort. We decided to spend the day there.

 

The beach was quite pretty, but probably the least favorite of our week. I am not sure if you could use the Sandals facilities to buy drinks or food or use their restrooms without buying a daypass. We had some food and drinks in our bags, so that fine. For being a Sandals resort, I was surprised at the lack of activity...maybe that was because it is the off-season for them. My husband and I are easily amused, so just being at the beach was enough for us. But I think we would want to try out a different beach or a tour of the island if we are ever back on St Lucia.

 

Some pictures:

 

Sandals:

 

Beach with Sandals restaurant over the water:

 

[cantwait06]

what happened to the rest of your review? I would love to hear more....

[balcony bound]

Me too! We will be sailing in April, and I love hearing/seeing what places others have visited on this itinerary. Hope you come back and finish:)