FINALLY! My really long Victory review 1/17-1/24/10 with MEGA pix!!

[scraphappylady]

The fort itself is situated on a huge open area, where on weekends many of the city residents come to fly kites.

 

 

 

 

I got a jolt when I first saw the sign for the fort, and since it proclaims "National Park Service, US Dept. of the Interior." It was hard to keep in mind that even though we were almost four hours away from the mainland by plane, we were still technically in the U.S.

 

We spent the next 45 minutes or so touring this fort and learning a little bit about it's history and quirks.

 

Dry moat at the entrance

 

 

 

[aggieastrosfan]

Not our ship anymore :(

 

I think that is the worst feeling after a cruise. Not getting off the ship, but knowing that someone else is about to be taken care of by YOUR wait staff and YOUR cabin steward at YOUR dinner table and in YOUR cabin.

 

Thanks for the cabin pics - we have 6461 booked, so I kept trying to flip everything around to get an idea of what our cabin will look like. :o

 

How was the noise from the lounge below? We originally had your cabin booked, but switched after we got off the Splendor and the portside deck 6 wrap where you could hear every word of every song from the lounge below.

[scraphappylady]

Latrine area

 

All the "waste" was washed down through this trench to areas outside the fort

 

 

We really grow 'em big in this day and age. Back then, most soldiers would have fit comfortably into this opening.

 

Graveyard for the nuns from the city's convent.

[cruisinJenF]

I am so sad your review of your cruise is over :( I loved every minute and I plan to book the Victory for next year if I can.

 

Thanks! I LOVED IT!!!

 

Jen

[scraphappylady]

After touring the fort, we slowly made our way back down toward the pier area and the tour office, arriving back around 2:30pm. Getting off our Segways was almost second nature by now, and we felt like we could have driven them for another two hours, but our time was up.

 

We meandered around the old city a bit more after our tour and there was still quite a street festival atmosphere, much like the previous weekend, only with fewer people. Natalie told us that because of a recent growth in tourism and all the cruise ships routinely in port, the city has become much more active on the weekends.

 

It was early for supper, so we got a light snack from one of the many food stands. A few beers and some chicken empanadillas hit the spot perfectly. Fried food - what could be better? The empanadillas were so good, we ended up getting two each. This was also where I learned about the cod fish fritters and what they were.

 

 

A slow walk back to the hotel and we officially checked in; fifteen minutes later our luggage arrived in our room. We took some time to relax, pick out clothes for following morning and reshift some of our luggage around for plane trip back, then around 7pm tried to decide on a place for supper.

 

Since there were so many choices that sounded good, we decided to walk back into the city near where three or four of them were located, and see if we could take a look at their menus.

 

By now, the sun had set, and we walked slowly, savoring this last bit of soft, balmy, Caribbean nighttime, before heading back to winter the next day.

 

For our last night, we went with the very relaxed, almost diner-like atmosphere of a place called "Mohitos." It sort of reminded us of a cozy family run diner. We had wonderful drinks, a pina colada for me and a margarita for Jon, then ordered mofongos for our meal. Native to Puerto Rico, mofongos are made of fried plantains, mashed together to form a mound, into which different fillings are stuffed (conch for me and shrimp for Jon) and covered with a sauce. Delicious, but very deceptive in how filling they can be. It was impossible for us to finish, no matter how hard we tried.

 

A little more walking around, then we headed back to our room.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best features of the Sheraton was the top open air deck area, where the pool was located. From here, we had a great view of the surrounding area and Victory still at her dock. (I finally got my nighttime picture!)

 

 

We finished this last official night of our cruise the best way we knew how: paying our compliments to the Victory, as she once again began her trip back out to sea and those wonderful ports we had just spent this last week touring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for coming along on the ride as we relived our wonderful cruise memories!

[BuBBs~Cruise~NYC]

AWSOME REVIEW..

Thanx for sharing.. The pictures were really great.. I give you a alot of dumbs up.. so detailed with pictures as well.. great job..;):D

[scraphappylady]

I know the dining room isn't normally open for lunch on port days, but with a port-intensive cruise like this one, did you notice if one was open for lunch at all?

 

Also, afternoon tea is usually only on sea days - did they schedule any on this cruise?

 

Thanks.

 

Since we weren't onboard much in port, and never for lunch, I'm not sure on both of your questions. However, I went back and looked through the schedule listed in each day's Capers and never saw either one listed. The dining room was only listed under supper each night and no mention of tea that I saw.

 

However, if you're interested in the behind the scenes ship tour, we found out early on that it was supposed to be on our day in St. Kitts. We asked when we first boarded in San Juan - it also was never listed in the Capers. Regretfully, since we had our tours already planned, we had to skip it. But it's still on our list of must-do's for the future.

 

 

Really enjoyed your review. I felt like I was there with you. When we go in April it may feel like deja vu. :)

 

Thanks! I felt the same way after seeing all those Victory ship pictures ahead of time in other online reviews, but it didn't take away from my own first hand experience in the least. Still got a thrill that first time!

 

Scraphappylady - I don't remember you mentioning in your earlier postings if you were able to find used licensed plates at the other ports. If so can you share where you were able to get those. This will be our first cruise without our daughter and I think she would like those as a surprise souvenir.

My collection is slow to grow, but after 3 cruises, I now have them from Aruba, Curacao, the US Virgin Islands, and both French and Dutch St. Martin. I thought I saw some in St. Kitts, but couldn't remember the shop to go back to later. :( I love all the different colors and the little logos on some of them (in particular, Dutch St. Martin.) I have them pinned to the bulletin board in my office and get a smile just looking at them everyday and remembering.

 

What a wonderful review. I really enjoyed this one. My DH and I will be on the Victory in May and after reading this I can't wait. The pictures you posted were wonderful. I wasn't sure with some of these ports if I wanted to do anything but after seeing your pictures I definately want to do the tour in St. Kitts. It was absolutely gorgeous. How was the Sheraton? We are staying there 1 night pre-cruise.

 

Thanks again for the very informative review!!

Thanks! As I said, we're planning on retiring to St.Kitts after we win the lottery! :D

 

And the Sheraton was very nice. The room was spacious, with a side view of the harbor, and the bathroom was huge. The staff were very patient and accomodating. And there were several free (to guests) computers in the lobby, that we were able to use to print our boarding passes on the night before we left.

 

Never made it into the casino, but from the outside it looked fairly big. Hope that helps! I tried to get this hotel pre-cruise as well, but with the San Sebastian festival, it was booked solid. I was glad we did finally get to try it, though. Just try and get out as early as you can Sunday morning to avoid the mad glut of people!

[cruisegirl29]

What a fantastic review from the same sailing I was on!! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!! It just brings me right back on board!!!

 

Loved all of your pictures as well.

 

Happy Sailing!

Sue

[mooveebuff]

 

 

 

She's pretty...and soon she'll be mine for a whole week! :D

[PreciousCruiser]

Thank you so much for taking time to post such a wonderful review with lovely pics. Now I know what to expect on my upcoming cruise on The Victory and I can't wait!!!!

[scraphappylady]

I think that is the worst feeling after a cruise. Not getting off the ship, but knowing that someone else is about to be taken care of by YOUR wait staff and YOUR cabin steward at YOUR dinner table and in YOUR cabin.

 

Thanks for the cabin pics - we have 6461 booked, so I kept trying to flip everything around to get an idea of what our cabin will look like. :o

 

How was the noise from the lounge below? We originally had your cabin booked, but switched after we got off the Splendor and the portside deck 6 wrap where you could hear every word of every song from the lounge below.

 

 

Same here - so hard that last night to see "OUR" ship sailing off into the night, and knowing someone else was using "OUR" cabin. ;)

 

We heard a few muted sounds from below, but certainly nothing that kept us awake. And a little bit more vibration from (the engines?) at various points, but again, we slept great. I think you'll be ok on the other side as well.

 

Thanks so much for the review (and especially the pictures). I think you've convinced me to do the Cat tour in Barbados to swim with the turtles. I showed my 7yr old son your pics and he (tentatively) said he'd do it if I was right there with him...he's a bit...uh...non-adventurous! I'm a little nervous about the 3 yr old though. I'm not too concerned about him going in the water-if he does, great, if not, that's ok, too. I just hope he's not too whiney and B-O-O-R-R-R-R-R-E-D-D-D and make the other passengers miserable!

 

If both kids are comfortable in the water, you should be ok with the turtles. Most of them seemed pretty shy as it was, and were coming close only because our one guide was throwing out food for them. They didn't stick too close otherwise and really don't want to bump into you! Their shell plates are really cool to touch, though, if you can manage to do it fast enough!

 

And there is a fair amount of "down time" on the boat, getting to the various places, but I'm betting your 3-year-old will be more interested in the scenery going by, the sails, "how does the captain steer, mommy?", and other such fascinating stuff, to remember to whine much. And after lunch, there's more time to swim before heading back. Wear 'em out as much as you can, was what I always said of my two when they were those ages!:p

 

WOW :eek: I loved the REVIEW and your an A$$ Don!

How foul--the review is great!

AWSOME REVIEW..

Thanx for sharing.. The pictures were really great.. I give you a alot of dumbs up.. so detailed with pictures as well.. great job..;):D

Thanks for all the kind words and support, guys! Really appreciate it!

[kittycrusin08]

We sailed on the Victory the year before she started the cruise out of San Juan. We loved the ship and your pictures brought back wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing your fun through an interesting dialogue and beautiful pictures. I enjoyed your review so much. :o

[crusing48/51]

Thanks again for the awesome review! DH and I did a Segway tour in Nassau and LOVED it. We would like to schedule the one you did in San Juan. May I please get the name of the company? Thanks!

 

Personally, I found your review and pictures very informative and entertaining. I enjoyed the whole thing very much! I'll be looking for future reviews written by you. Glad you had such a wonderful time!

[islandwannabee]

I loved every single detail in your review. The pictures were awesome, I am sad it is over:(.

 

Please hurry and go on another cruise, so you can do a fantastic review, just like this one!!

[Brangwen]

Great review!! Only a few more weeks for us. :D

[winewanderer]

Thanks for the review, fabulous.

 

We leave in 6 weeks. Can't wait.

[bolt]

Scraphappylady,

 

Loved your review. We will be sailing on the ship next February and now I am even more exicted, if that is possible. Loved your detail, photos and sense of humor.

 

Kim

[cantwait06]

I LOVED your review (not your diary) and I think your pictures are amazing! You helped me pass some time while waiting for my honeymoon-I can't wait! You seem like you had a great time and I love all of your details! I will be re-looking through it tonight with fiance-hes more into pictures anyway! Thanks for all of your time!

[Cakraz]

Excellent review and great pictures. We will cruise this itinerary B2B next month and can't wait!

[Head Shot]

Ok, help me out....I'm confused:o.....we are going on this cruise and my tickets say departure is 10:00 pm, you are saying the same thing, but you arrived at 11:45 am and were on the ship at 12:30 pm and then had to wait all day to leave???? Is this correct????

 

Hi Sooner,

 

Last year we did basically the same thing - boarded around 12:30. After lunch and dropping our luggage in the stateroom, we went back off the ship and explored Old San Juan. We shopped and then just walked all over the place. My 20 year old daughter is an architecture major and wanted to take a bunch of photos, so we spent a few hours looking around. It is a great city and we felt like we were getting an extra "bonus" since the ship was leaving at 10. Then around 6 or so, we got back on board and had dinner and started the "cruise" part of our vacation. Hope this helps!

 

That is so nice, to be allowed to board early and spend some time in town. It does feel like it's a bonus excursion.

[WishIwasOutThereNOW]

What a fantastic review from the same sailing I was on!! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!! It just brings me right back on board!!!

 

Loved all of your pictures as well.

 

Happy Sailing!

Sue

 

i was also on this sailing and agree with sue. and i'm starting to get them old sailing joneses again.

[jrmende63]

Thanks Scraphappylady. We were on the Victory to Canada and New England...loved the Victory...she is one of my favorite ships. We are planning a Southern Caribbean cruise next year for our 30th wedding anniversary and will be going to St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Lucia. I very much appreciated your pics and information on these Islands. I have more of an idea what to do while in port now!

[Head Shot]

I realized after the first few photos, that I had better be careful when taking pictures, so as not to inadvertently get an x-rated one in there. Overall, though, we only saw a small amount of nudity, none ever full body, and most of what we saw certainly fell into the “those who should, don’t and those who shouldn’t unfortunately do” category. Jon tried to tease me that I should go native, so to speak, but I know I fall into the “those who shouldn’t” category and told him to forget it!

 

We spent the next three and a half blissful hours alternating between water fun and baking in the sun.

 

That could be a separate thread discussion entirely:D

[Head Shot]

This time, we watched sailaway from our balcony, trying to take full advantage of it before having to leave it the next day.

 

 

 

Very empty docks next to us!

 

 

 

Oooh, is that the captain on the bridge?

 

 

Truly on our way home now

 

That pier in the back with the yellow huts are for the Oasis. I just realized from your post pictures, your boading experience was without such huts. Apparently the security scans are done on-board with your ship, while Oasis does not. I don't know if Oasis have scanners on-board like the other RCCL ships.

[Benilana]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review & beautiful pictures. I was afraid we wouldn't have the pleasure of reading such a review before leaving on this cruise April 25th. You gave me & my husband so many great details plus some wonderful ideas for tours, food, and souvenirs. You're very much appreciated!!!