Has anyone been on this cruise......

[Jaymee287]

7 day Southern Caribbean, on the Carnival Victory, departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico visiting the ports of:

 

Departing San Juan: 10:00 pm

St. Thomas USVI: 7 - 5

Dominica: 10 - 6

Barbados: 8-5

St. Lucia WI: 8-5

St. Kitts WI: 8-6

St. Maarten NA: 7-5

Return to San Juan: 7:00 am

 

I recently cruised on the Legend in June and LOVED IT! I'm considering this for our Honeymoon next year! If you have any information on this cruise, the ship, or any of the ports, don't be shy!

[firefly333]

Im sure there are many here who have done this ship. I think any cruise would be great for a honeymoon, how can you go wrong with a cruise ..go for it. Lots of port days and lots to see and do.

[seashinesunshine]

We have done the cruise once, the itinerary twice, first time was on a different ship. We are going back again in Feb. It is the best itinerary! We love the port every day and the Southern Caribbean is the best part. There is some discussion today about Carnival pulling out of Dominica which would be a shame, it is a beautiful island.

For sure it would be a wonderful Honeymoon. I would recommend an aft balcony, just not on the Upper Deck go one deck higher.

[viaggi_per_mare]

We did this twice because the price was right and we wanted the ports and to have the ship to ourselves by skipping ports.

 

There were few activities on the ship due to the ports and the ones they had were very late. Both times we found difficulties with rude passengers, and people fighting on the ship. Pushing and shoving in the buffet lines were the norm both times. As we cruise 2-3 times a year we could make the best of it but it is not a great cruise as far as a nice ship or activities on board. If this was your only cruise, you would never get on a carnival ship again.

 

Many would disagree, but doing this cruise twice, thinking the first time was just bad luck, the behavior we saw was not what we saw on the other 10 Carnival cruises we have been on. The waiter had to give us a salt shaker and wait for you to use it - they said they could leave nothing on the table as it disappeared. We saw passengers going along the corridors and taking silverware/ plates etc and putting them in tote bags from the dirty room service trays. We have NEVER seen this on other Carnival cruises in such a blatant way. It wouldn't stop us from taking a great deal on this ship and we loved Old San Juan.

[yogimax]

We saw passengers going along the corridors and taking silverware/ plates etc and putting them in tote bags from the dirty room service trays.

 

I hope you are joking.

[viaggi_per_mare]

I hope you are joking.

 

No we are not joking at all. I wish we were. I entered the restroom by the buffet and there was a woman putting all the extra rolls of toilet paper in her tote bag. A family came to the dining room from the pool, wet wearing bathing suit cover ups and fought with the staff about the dress code in the dining room. Parents bringing kids to the casino at night and setting them up on a slot machine next to them to play (staff kicked them out but not before a screaming match started and the 20 other family members with them, got involved- then security)

 

We saw things on the two cruises we took from San Juan that we never saw on other ships. It wouldn't stop us from doing this cruise if the price was right but it is a poor cruise for someone who is going to judge Carnival ships by this cruise. The staff were overwhelmed trying to keep order and the passengers were quite abusive to the crew members. Security was all over.

[bojangleshatdance]

We have done this cruise and loved it. We did not encounter any of the rude behaviors. Our trip was a delight. All the ports were wonderful. I would recommend it highly.

Michele

[yogimax]

No we are not joking at all. I wish we were. I entered the restroom by the buffet and there was a woman putting all the extra rolls of toilet paper in her tote bag. A family came to the dining room from the pool, wet wearing bathing suit cover ups and fought with the staff about the dress code in the dining room. Parents bringing kids to the casino at night and setting them up on a slot machine next to them to play (staff kicked them out but not before a screaming match started and the 20 other family members with them, got involved- then security)

 

We saw things on the two cruises we took from San Juan that we never saw on other ships. It wouldn't stop us from doing this cruise if the price was right but it is a poor cruise for someone who is going to judge Carnival ships by this cruise. The staff were overwhelmed trying to keep order and the passengers were quite abusive to the crew members. Security was all over.

 

Think I'll go with Celebrity... $499 for seven nights.

[Disneycruisers]

The staff were overwhelmed trying to keep order and the passengers were quite abusive to the crew members. Security was all over.

 

Your two posts on this San Juan cruise were interesting and reminded me of the cruise we sailed on RCCL out of San Juan. While we didn't see any theft (which doesn't mean there WASN'T,) it was, without a doubt, the WORST service we'd ever had on any cruise. I won't even go into detail (as I don't wish to remember that cruise) but I DID learn, from another Carnival passenger, that most cruises out of San Juan, are "different" from other cruises. She said it's because most of the San Juan cruises consist of locals, who don't tip very well, and that the CCL employees have poor morale for this very reason.

[TVChick16]

We did a similar cruise on the Carnival Destiny for our 10th anniversary in July 2008. It was the best cruise we've taken! The itinerary was the same except we had Antigua as a port instead of St. Maarten.

 

All of the islands are very different from one another. It was great waking up in a new port EVERY morning. Best time we had was on St. Lucia... we took the Cosol tour and that was the highlight of the trip... HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! We had been to St. Thomas before so we just shopped there. Barbados was so-so... we took a bus to a beach to swim with wild turtles, but weren't crazy about the island vibe. We did the Thenford Gray tour in St. Kitts which was a good way to see much of the island in one day. Dominica was the biggest surprise... we had planned just to get off the ship after lunch and browse the vendors for an hour and then get back on the ship, only because we had "heard" that Dominica wasn't the best place. When we got off the ship, we were shopping and taking advantage of some $2 local brews when we were approached by a female taxi driver who offered us an island tour. She showed us brochures and we kept saying no. Then she dropped the price to $40 TOTAL and told us she had an air conditioned van and she could give us a three-hour tour in order to get us back to the ship in time. Sounded like a great deal and it was! She took us everywhere... best was when she took us to her friend's store which was a little hut on the side of the road... we had a great conversation with the friend and she had an old fridge packed FULL of beverages... we bought some water and some more $2 local beers to enjoy along the route! There is talk that Dominica will be eliminated from future itineraries which is saddening because we have great memories thanks to a chance encounter with our wonderful tour guide.

 

One of the great things about sailing out of San Juan is that there is a liquor store in the terminal after you go through check-in right before you go through security. As long as you put what you purchase in a backpack or similar, they let you bring it on the ship... no questions asked! We actually flew into San Juan early the day of our cruise, took a taxi to the Barrachina restaurant in Old San Juan because they keep your bags for the day, and then we toured the city ourselves. Took the free trolley to both forts and other places, and then back to Barrachina for a snack and the famous pina colada (seriously the best ever). Since the cruise ship doesn't leave until 10pm, you have plenty of time to explore Old San Juan.

 

Pics from our cruise are in my signature.

[seashinesunshine]

I have to comment. We have done the San Juan cruise twice and have NEVER seen anything like the things you saw. I am not saying that you did not experience those problems or that they did not happen, just that they are not the norm. People are people and once in a while you will find a bad apple, but I have never seen a fight, never seen pushing and shoving at the buffet or really any rude behavior. Most of the very slight rude behavior I have seen has not been from 'locals". I am sorry that some experiences have been bad, that is really too bad. Maybe it has to do with the time of the year, we cruise in the winter, maybe the ships are fuller so they don't discount to to locals so much.

Our experience has been wonderful and we look forward to another great one in 158 days!!

[kelz66]

7 day Southern Caribbean, on the Carnival Victory, departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico visiting the ports of:

 

Departing San Juan: 10:00 pm

St. Thomas USVI: 7 - 5

Dominica: 10 - 6

Barbados: 8-5

St. Lucia WI: 8-5

St. Kitts WI: 8-6

St. Maarten NA: 7-5

Return to San Juan: 7:00 am

 

I recently cruised on the Legend in June and LOVED IT! I'm considering this for our Honeymoon next year! If you have any information on this cruise, the ship, or any of the ports, don't be shy!

 

I ran a cruise critic group on this itin back in april.

It was an amazing cruise!

 

There are many, many review threads on here that we all found informative and useful. :D

[jpg1747]

I did the Princess version of this cruise 2 years ago during Thanksgiving week. I was talking to some passengers who were on the second week of a B2B and they said the week before was totally different and unpleasant. The weeks before and after Thanksgiving are substantially cheaper so you get a different crowd. Thanksgiving week is more family oriented. I'm guessing that makes a difference. So it might depend on when you're going. Some cruises are cheap for a reason. You generally get what you pay for.

[kelz66]

There is a new review on page 1 of the boards now! ;)

[Jaymee287]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I LOVED my cruise, I went with 2 other girls, we left them boys behind!!! SOOOO FUN :) I cruised with Carnival in June so I might try a different company, not sure yet but I did LOVE Carnival so if I can't decide it'll be a shoe-in lol!