Multi-part 1-30 Victory review

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

The “excitement” of our grand adventure actually began about 4 hours before we were scheduled to leave for the airport on Saturday. We were flying out of Chicago, with a connecting flight in Atlanta . . . now, does anybody remember what was happening in Atlanta on January 29th? That’s right, a huge ice storm shut down the entire airport. So we found out that not only was our flight canceled, our airline didn’t have ANY flights out of Chicago that didn’t go through Atlanta. In other words, we were up the proverbial creek. :( Since this was a company cruise, DH just called up his boss and fortunately we were able to get two last-minute seats to Ft. Lauderdale – not Miami, but close enough! I hate to think how much those tickets cost. :eek: The only problem was that the new flight was over 2 hours earlier than the original flight. YIKES!! Fortunately we were mostly ready anyway, but it took some real hustling. When we got everything in the cab and pulled out of the driveway, I took a long deep breath and thought . . . wow, I need a vacation! :cool:

 

 

The flight went very smoothly, but with so little advance notice, we had little choice but to take a taxi from FLL to Miami. Not the most economical approach. :( But we found the hotel that had been reserved for us and checked in with the boss for our embarkation procedures the next day – which is when we found out that three people from our party were still stuck in Atlanta!! So in other words . . . nobody knew exactly when would will be embarking, we were just hoping that we wouldn’t have to leave without them! Fortunately, the airline gods smiled on us, and everybody made it to the hotel by the wee hours of the morning. However, that did mean that we didn’t leave the hotel until early afternoon. Traffic was insane – the marathon was over by that point, but the Miami Heat were playing that day so that caused some problems too. As a result, we got to the port terminal at the absolute worst time. However, it really wasn’t all that bad. I watched the time carefully, knowing that “enquiring minds want to know”: it took exactly 45 minutes from the time we got in line until we reached the check-in counter. Fifteen minutes later, we were on board. :)

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Now, I have to thank those of you who shared your advice about inside cabins – because yes indeed, my “inside guarantee” cabin turned out to be just that. We did get a one-category upgrade, so we were on deck 6 instead of deck 2, but some of the others actually stayed on deck 2. Of course, the boss who paid for all of this was up on a deck 10 balcony, but it’s hard to complain about that. :p I was grateful to be on 6 because that put us on the same level as the “hidden balconies” that y’all tipped me to. We were pretty far aft, so it was still a bit of a hike, but at least we didn’t have to take the elevator. And I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised by the dimensions of the cabin – nearly as large as our “junior suite” on RCI! I joked with DH that we had been given the extra-special “Sybaris room,” in reference to the couples-only resort where we spent our wedding night last year: all the bungalows are window-free. (Of course, that makes more sense in suburban Chicago than in the Caribbean, but hey – I’m trying to see the glass as half full!)

 

So anyway, we dumped our stuff in our cabin and headed off to find the hidden balcony, where we stayed until the muster drill, and then returned to watch us sail away.HHHH Awfully glad we found that place! We met up with everybody for dinner and planned out the rest of the week, which is when I found out that I wouldn’t be able to make the scheduled meet & mingle. :( But I did start getting to know some of the other wives, who became good friends during the course of the cruise. DH was tied up for most of the day on sea days, although we did have a few hours together. Port days were left open so we got to go play together.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

We mostly did our own thing in port, except for Grand Cayman where we booked a stingray excursion through Carnival so that we could go with another couple cruising with us. As it turns out, we got separated so we didn’t even meet up until pretty late in the tour, but we still had a fantastic time. And although I’m generally not one to push booking excursions through the cruiseline, in this case I’m awfully we glad we did: we didn’t get back to the port until a half hour AFTER the last scheduled tender back to the ship! But since we were booked through Carnival, they had another tender waiting for us. Whew! At any rate, I HIGHLY recommend doing the stingray experience, however you do it. It really was one of the highlights of the whole trip.

 

In Cozumel we just did some shopping, then took a cab to the San Gervasio ruins. My experience has always been that if you are friendly and courteous and show some genuine interest, the taxi drivers in port will bend over backwards for you. Our driver gave us a bit of a tour around town (we were paying a flat rate, so this was just generosity on his part) and was actually a pretty good tour guide. The ruins themselves were very interesting, but we made the mistake of paying for a “bilingual” guide. Bless his heart, the poor man really tried – and he had lots of pictures and drawings and such – but his English was sooooo weak that even I, who have lots of experience with foreigners learning English, could barely follow him. My advice: if you want to take a guided tour, before you agree to hire your tour guide, ask him enough questions to get him really talking first!!

 

Jamaica, sadly, was the day after I started feeling under the weather. If I had any sense at all I would probably have just stayed on the ship, but I couldn’t bring myself to not at least set foot on Jamaica soil. The port of Ocho Rios is just so beautiful, and it looked sooooo tempting . . . so, even though we only had about an hour to spend, we did get off the ship. Unfortunately, we might have had better memories of Ocho Rios if we hadn’t!! We had multiple vendors literally follow us around, without any more encouragement from us than a polite smile and a “no, thanks.” I got to the point where I was just pretending I didn’t see or hear them, and it makes me cringe to do that to any human being. :( Blech! Then we paid $1 each for admission to the public beach, thinking that would buy us a bit of peace . . . not so much. We were now being followed around by people wanting to rent us jet skis and such. On the plus side, we did run into our dining room waiter burying his wife, who was a casino host, in the sand. Got some great pictures of this. :p

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Sadly, thanks to the flu I picked up on board, that was the last of the cruise that I really remember. Saturday was so miserable that I never left the cabin, I scarcely even knew what time it was. On Sunday, debarkation went pretty smoothly, largely because we stayed in our cabin as long as possible. Our steward knew I was sick, and we asked him to just let us know when he was ready to clean our cabin. He was very understanding, and we actually left when we heard him cleaning next door to us. We got off pretty quickly at that point. I used the suggestion to put brightly colored shower poufs on our black luggage, and it was incredibly helpful. Ours were actually multi-colored poufs, kind of like a clown’s wig. Hard to miss. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now then, some points of discussion based on previous issues discussed on these boards:

 

1) Inside cabins vs. balconies: I think it really comes down to one thing. There are cruisers who view their cabins as a “necessary evil,” a place you gotta have because at some point you will need to sleep and shower. Then there are others who look at it as their home base, the place where they want to be unless they are doing something in particular. If you are in the first category, by all means book an inside cabin, especially on Carnival. They are surprisingly roomy. Unfortunately, DH and I are much more like “our cabin is our castle.” We will never be booking inside cabins when the choice is ours to make. :o

 

2) Early vs. late seating: we were assigned to the very last seating for dinner, at 8:30. I personally didn’t care for it much, because at home we eat around 6:00. So we typically found ourselves on the Lido deck at 6:00 or so for our pre-dinner snack. However, this did allow me to sample some of the items on the dining room menu, which helped me make my choice later. I also discovered, to my surprise, that what is supposedly the same dish is NOT the same thing when it was served at the buffet vs. the dining room. Better quality in the dining room and infinitely better presentation. Then again, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – simple economics there. ;)

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

3) "Secret balconies:” We must have had a lot of CC pax on this cruise because they weren’t all that secret! :p Still, they were usually quieter than the upper decks, and occasionally they made for some private time.

 

4) Couples massage: I actually put this in a separate thread, because I feel like I’m on a mission to spread the good word. ;) The couples’ massage was nice, but pricey. The couples’ massage CLASS was very economical ($50) and one of the biggest highlights of our trip. There was a group class offered, but we couldn’t make the scheduled time so we got a private session – you have to ask for it, but it was the best $50 I’ve spent in a long, long time. If you’re on the Victory, ask for Jocelyn. You won’t regret it!

 

5) Sewage smell: yes, I smelled it from time to time. It never lasted for more than a few seconds, and I never smelled it in the same place twice. [P.S. from DH . . . “and it could have very well been my husband.”] :eek:

 

6)Okay, this really isn’t from the boards, but I just have to pass on this tip: if your itinerary has you staying late in Cozumel and they have the local folk dancers & musicians performing on board, it really is a must-see. Seldom if ever have I seen such talent on a cruise. Of course, if you’re heavy drinkers, you might not want to pass up a chance to get sloshed at C&C. :p But for DH and I, it was the perfect way to end a day in Mexico.

 

 

Well folks, I think that’s it. Feel free to ask any questions. We’re currently choosing a cruise to take the kids on this summer (all five of them!), so I may be asking questions of my own. :D Happy cruising!

[Cruisinforever]

That was a very interesting review, and I thank you! My friend and I will be on the same itinerary on the Victory on April 24th, and so I found your comments intriguing.

 

I'm sorry to read that you had a "bug" during the cruise, though. I can't imagine a worse way to spend a cruise after having looked forward to it for so long.

 

I've read about those vendors in Ocho Rios. That makes me not look forward to that very much. We booked an excursion through Carnival "River Rafting on the Martha Brae", so I'm hoping most of the vendors will be left behind in the dust (sand?)! I'll have to remember to forewarn my traveling companion about the vendors, and to certainly not tell them your name (from what I've read on other threads).

 

It's getting quite close now.... just over two months! Yeehaw!! :D

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

 

I've read about those vendors in Ocho Rios. That makes me not look forward to that very much. We booked an excursion through Carnival "River Rafting on the Martha Brae", so I'm hoping most of the vendors will be left behind in the dust (sand?)! I'll have to remember to forewarn my traveling companion about the vendors, and to certainly not tell them your name (from what I've read on other threads).

 

Yeah, I think the "safety in numbers" rule might apply there. I heard great things about that tour, too. Enjoy! :)