home frpm the Victory...

[erin1998]

Good morning everyone...:D

We sailed the Victory from Nov 8-15 and have a great time! This was my first Carnival cruise, but my 5th cruise overall. Travelling on this cruise was myself (35 years old), my son (11 years old) and my parents (early 60's).

 

We decided that this was going to be a relaxing, uneventful holiday and that is exactly what it turned out to be. We did not eat in the dining room once. We ate in the buffet/bbq/pizza/room service everyday. We did not attend any of the evening shows...(not because I didn't want to, but I was too tired at the end of the day :rolleyes:). This cruise was all about the different islands and not about the ship/activities. I realize that this is not what most people do on their cruises, but this is how we cruise. :)

 

My son and I flew in to San Juan from Toronto on Friday November 6 arriving shortly after 10pm. We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan for 2 nights pre-cruise. We had a room on the 8th floor overlooking a parking garage. Not a great view, but the location was terrific. My parents flew in from St.Martaan early on saturday morning (they started their vacation in the caribbean 2 weeks prior by sailing on the Adventure of the Seas, then staying on the island of St.Martaan). They also stayed at the Sheraton. They had a beautiful 1 bedroom suite with a balcony overlooking the cruise ship terminal. Once they got settled, we were off to explore Old San Juan.

El Morro

 

El Morro

 

the crowded streets of Old San Juan

[erin1998]

more of Old San Juan

 

[susan123]

Great beginning to your trip report, and I hope there is more to come very soon. We'll be on this cruise Dec. 6, and we're flying to San Juan 2 days early. We stayed at the Sheraton when we were there 2 years ago, and the location is wonderful. I can't wait for those warm tropical islands.

[erin1998]

Sunday morning we woke up early and went to my parents room to see the ship...it looked beautiful there.....

 

 

We checked out of the hotel around 10:30am and slowly walked over to the terminal. It was absolutely crazy there with the passengers getting off the ship, those of us trying to get on and taxi's everywhere. We walked into the terminal, dropped off our luggage and went upstairs. There was no line ups at all, we checked in, got our sign and sail cards and were given zone 1. By this time it was about 11:30am. We waited until about 12:20 when they started boards and we were on the ship by 12:30pm. It was the easiest embarkation that I've experienced.

 

We had 2 balcony staterooms on the Lido deck...cabins 9262 and 9264. I was a little worried being on the lido deck and so close to the stairs and elevators, but we didn't find it noisy at all. It was a great location, so close to the pools, waterslide and the buffet! Our rooms were ready at 2:30pm.

 

I was very happy with our cabin. The beds were extremely comfortable and my son and I slept soundly every night. There was plenty of storage and room in the room. The only complaint that I have is having the shower curtain in the bathroom. We always got water all over the bathroom floor after our showers...(not a big deal at all, just a lil peeve of mine)

 

We explored the ship and had some difficulty getting around on some decks (3 and 4), but it was fun to explore.

Since this cruise is port intensive, we didn't feel like we were on the ship that much. When we were on the ship, this is where my son and I could be found...

 

[erin1998]

The evening of the first night, I registered my son in the kids club. I knew that there weren't going to be many children on board since we were sailing during the school year. Unfortunately, my son never went to the kids club the entire week. He was pretty bummed out (he always loves going to the kids club on our other cruises) but there were only a few kids in his age group, and they never seemed to be at the club.

 

At 9:30 pm was our muster drill. We did not need to bring our life jackets. It only lasted a few minutes then up to the lido deck for the sailaway party. It was an early night for us (the beginning of many early nights that week :rolleyes:).

 

St.Thomas day...

We woke monday morning, got ready and went to the buffet for breakfast. We didn't have much of a line up for the buffet, however, by the time we were leaving, the line-up was huge!

The weather was warm but very cloudy. We didn't see much of the sun today at all. It was warm, but not hot. We had booked the Downtown shopping and Magen's bay beach excursion through Carnival. We met our tour at 9:30am on the pier and off we went. This was an ok excursion. I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. The shopping is great if you are looking for jewellary (which my mother was), but if you aren't, there wasn't much else.

Victory from Charlotte Amalie

 

We had 2 hours of shopping, then on to Magen's Bay. We have been to St.Thomas a few times before, but never been to Magen's bay. It was a pretty beach, but very popular.

 

on our way to the beach

 

 

We spent a few hours at the beach, then back to the ship. We browsed a few shops at the port before getting on the ship.

 

As we were sailing out of St.Thomas we were sent away with this (not the greatest picture)

[metman146360]

I am going on this cruise in a few days and can't wait. Looks like you enjoyed it. You got some good pictures too. Thanks.

 

;)Brad;)

[Haysiedaze]

Thanks for taking the time to do the review. Great start to it.

 

We are very interested in it. We sail in February on the Victory with our 10 year old daughter and 11 year old son. We are very interested in what your son enjoyed (or didn't enjoy).

[Cigar Dude]

If you are thinking about doing this cruise let me just say...

 

DO IT! It's great! So many nice places to visit! We loved it! :)

[Scarlett824]

We did this cruise in July. This itinerary is the best!! We had a Lido balcony cabin too - that was about the only thing we liked about the Victory though. That location can't be beat IMO. Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)

[erin1998]

Thank you everyone for you comments...I wasn't going to do a total review since we really didn't do too much on the ship. But I always like looking at others photos and hearing about their excursions, so I thought I should add mine...:D

Dominica....we had originally planned to go on Carnival's Whale Watch Safari. Unfortuately, they cancelled this excursion prior to us leaving. I was hoping that we would be able to book it on the ship, so we made no other plans. When the first opportunity came to speak with someone at the Shore Excursion desk, we were told that this excursion was not offered on our sailing. So we decided to just get off the ship and maybe hire someone at the port for an island tour.

 

When we woke up tuesday morning, the sun was shining bright and telling us that it was going to be a steamy, hot day. We had breakfast in the buffet (just a small line up) then went to our balcony's to watch us pull into Dominica.

 

 

 

We got off the ship at 10am and felt the sun's hot rays. It was HOT!!! My son decided that he just wanted to hang out at the pool and waterslide that afternoon, and I was just as happy to do that. My parents went to the jewellary stores, while my son and I walked through the market/craft tables and bought a few souveniers. It wasn't long before we were both ready for the pool.

 

 

 

We went back to the ship and spent the next few hours swimming, sunning and vegging out! Later in the afternoon, the sky became dark and it started to rain. It continued raining on and off until we left Dominica.

Erin

[Joanns6569]

Great review, so far, keep the pictures coming. My husband and I go in June as a graduation gift to ourselves, and love the information to help plan were to go and what to see.

[cantwait06]

wow, great review (even though you weren't planning on it!) I hope you'll come back and fill us in some more-I can't soak up enough Victory info! Your pictures are beautiful, I loved the rainbow!

 

We are going on Victory in August, so the reviews help pass the time. Keep it coming please!

[azurewater]

We leave on this cruise is 25 days....but who's counting? :)

 

My philosophy is similar to yours...it is about the ports. I could care less about the color of the decor. So, seeing all your wonderful photos is wonderful.

 

Love your photos, thanks for taking the time to post, and keep them coming.

 

Joy

[blueslily]

We leave on this cruise is 25 days....but who's counting? :)

 

My philosophy is similar to yours...it is about the ports. I could care less about the color of the decor. So, seeing all your wonderful photos is wonderful.

 

Love your photos, thanks for taking the time to post, and keep them coming.

 

Joy

 

Hey Joy, we'll be on the same sailing with you. :)

[erin1998]

Barbados...we woke up wednesday morning to the rain pounding on our balcony, thunder and lightning too, but by the time we showered and dressed the sun was shining and the clouds had drifted by.

 

This is the day I was most excited about. We had booked the 5 hour snorkel with Shasa Catamaran. When my parents were on the Adventure 2 weeks prior to this, they had done the 3 hour snorkel with Shasa and absolutely loved it. They loved Jason and Tess and couldn't wait to do this again but with my son and I. We were all pumped up for our snorkel with the turtles. We were off the boat at 9am and went to meet Tess. Apparently with swells the evening before were quite big and their boat was damaged. They said the swells were still too big, therefore we couldn't go. We were soooo disappointed!!!! Tess gave us the option to go on a bigger catamaran (with lots and lots of people) but said the water has been turned up, so it wasn't going to be clear. We were looking forward to something with just a few people and more low-key, so we passed. (But now we have another reason to return to Barbados). We decided to go to Boatyard Beach for the day. Tess dropped us off there and we paid $10 each to get in. That gave us each a lounge chair, umbrella and a drink. There were hardly anyone else there and the beach was beautiful.

 

We settled in and enjoyed the hot sun! My son and parents enjoyed the water while I closed my eyes to enjoy the sun....well, I tried to close my eyes and enjoy the sun but I was continuously interrupted. The vendors were everywhere around us. I think that was because there were only a few of us on this beach (it was still early). There were floating trampolines and ice burgs to play on in the water. The vendors offered jet skis, tubing and all kinds of water craft. This beach has tons of stuff to do.

 

 

 

 

We spent a few hours there, then headed back to the ship. We left my son and dad on the ship while my mom and I shopped at the port. We also walked about 5-10 minutes outside of the port area and found a nice craft market area. We loved the little shops in there too.

 

It was a beautiful day....hot and sunny, so it turned out to be a great beach day!!!

[katbat2]

Love the pics, we are going on this cruise in Jan. Do you know which pier in Dominica the Victory docks at? We were wanting to do the Whale excursion, sounds like will have to definitely book private tour for that. Thanks.

[ktm62]

we go in feb and are also on the lido deck.I am very excited about the location. we are on the starbord side though. Did you find you docked portside most often? great pics!! keep up the good work ;)

[erin1998]

Love the pics, we are going on this cruise in Jan. Do you know which pier in Dominica the Victory docks at? We were wanting to do the Whale excursion, sounds like will have to definitely book private tour for that. Thanks.

 

Hi katbat, we docked at the pier in Roseau, which is the pier right in town. The Caribbean Princess ship was at the other pier and was being bused to where we were.

 

When we talked to the Shore excursion desk about the whale watch safari, he was very surprised that it wasn't offered for our sailing. He said that it was available for the cruise prior to ours, so hopefully it will be available for your sailing. I know you will have a ton of fun on your cruise!!!

[erin1998]

we go in feb and are also on the lido deck.I am very excited about the location. we are on the starbord side though. Did you find you docked portside most often? great pics!! keep up the good work ;)

 

We were docked facing the piers in Dominica, Barbados, Antigua and St.Kitts. The views of St.Thomas and St.Lucia were really pretty though too!

You're gonna love the lido deck!

[erin1998]

I am going on this cruise in a few days and can't wait. Looks like you enjoyed it. You got some good pictures too. Thanks.

 

;)Brad;)

 

I have to tell you how jealous I am!!! We had so much fun, with some beautiful islands and terrific weather! Have a fabulous time!!!

[erin1998]

Thanks for taking the time to do the review. Great start to it.

 

We are very interested in it. We sail in February on the Victory with our 10 year old daughter and 11 year old son. We are very interested in what your son enjoyed (or didn't enjoy).

 

My son loved all the islands. He helped decide what we would do each day and he liked helping plan out our days. We spent many evening playing in the arcade or vegging out on the lido deck watching a movie on the big screen. He also loved the waterslide. It was open everyday (except embarkation day) from noon to 5pm. It was very fun to watch all the little kids and big kids (adults) go down it. Since we were up very early every morning, we didn't have late nights. (I was probably more tired than he was).

He was most disappointed in the kids club. Before we left, I tried to explain that there probably wouldn't be many kids on board, but I don't think he really grasped the thought until we were on the ship. There were a few children on board, mostly younger ones, but most spoke spanish. We always sail during the school year, but most have been out of florida with plenty of kids on board. Last year we sailed on the Adventure of the Seas out of Puerto Rico (in October). I was surprised how many kids were on that ship...pleasantly surprised, so my son had lots of kids his age to hang out with. I don't know if that sailing wasn't the norm, or if this one wasn't, but this one definately didn't have many kids on board his age.

I loved us just hanging out together, but I don't think he was too thrilled to hang out with his mom the entire time....:rolleyes:. (just kidding)

You will have a wonderful time!!! Enjoy yourselves!!!

[sunseeker09]

Thanks for posting your photos and review so far. We're going early Jan. and like you, it's all about the ports for us moreso than the ship activities, and since we'll have early mornings to take advantage of a full day ashore, we'll surely have early-ish evenings too. Look forward to more review...

[erin1998]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my little review...

 

St.Lucia...Another gorgeous in the islands! Today we had booked a custom/private island tour with Spencer Ambrose. This was such an incredible and fun tour!!! My communication with Spencer prior to the cruise was prompt, courteous and Spencer was eager to please. My son's father was born and raised in St.Lucia, so my son wanted to see the island "his way" to dig into his "roots". Spencer was very accomadating and customized his tour to suit our needs. The cost for our tour was $50 each and would last 5-6 hours.

 

We were off the ship shortly after 8am and, along with another couple, met up with Spencer. He explained that he has another couple booked with him but they were on a ship that was coming in late. Our driver, cousin John, was waiting for them and we would start out our tour with Spencer...that was no problem at all, we were just thrilled to be in St.Luica. We started out our tour but met up with John at the banana plantation. Spencer explained the process of the bananas and we were able to sample them. Then Spencer went off with his group and we loaded in John's Lexus and off we went. John was a fabulous guide for the day. He has a pride in his island and it shows. He was very informative and was very easy going.

 

We choose to omit Jalousie Beach, as my son really wanted to see the island. We went through Anse La Raye, Soufriere, seen the Pitons, Sulphur Springs and a few other places customized for my son. We had plenty to drink and eat on our tour too. We had a wonderful day and would thoroughly recommend Spencer for your St.Lucia tour!

Here are a few pictures from our day....

my son helping to make Cassava Bread

 

 

 

 

 

[erin1998]

Antigua...we woke up friday morning to find that beautiful sun shining again. We were really blessed with great weather on this trip. We had decided to get a day pass at the Jolly Beach Resort for the day. The cost was $60 per adult, $36 for my son. This day pass includes the use of the hotels 2 pools, beach, chairs, umbrellas, non-motarized water sports, all your food and drinks.

We left the ship and easily found a taxi at the port...they were everywhere. We paid $6 a person for our taxi ride to the resort and the ride was about 25 minutes long. We checked in at the registration desk, paid and was each given a bracelet for the day.

 

This resort is absolutely beautiful. The beach is indescribable. The sand is white, soft and powdery and the water is a milky blue colour...it was stunning. We started our day out at the pool, then moved on to the beach. All our drinks were included, so we enjoyed the bar for the day. We ate lunch at the bar-b-q, which included hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, fries, etc.

 

We had a few periods of rain that lasted about 5 minutes each time, but the sun never went away. It was a great beach day.

 

When we were ready to leave for the day, we had no issue getting a taxi from the hotel.

 

I had read many reviews about Jolly Beach Resort while planning our cruise, but I learned something while we were there. I did not know that there was topless bathing there. I was a little surprised to see it (not as surprised as my 11 year old son was). After the inital shock, we didn't seem to notice it.

Here a few pictures of our day....

 

 

 

 

 

[Anyislandwilldo]

Erin1998,

 

Do you recall if the embarkation terminal was air conditioned?

 

Thanks.