Carnival Victory review: Jan 23 - 31, 2011

[SyrRealtor]

These boards were very helpful in planning our vacation, so here is a short review that I hope will help someone else.

 

Day 1: arrive at the pier around 10:30 am and we are in our cabin by 11. #7416 is an awesome room! It's the last cabin before the wrap aft. Much larger than I expected, and I love the configuration with the bathroom NOT in the hallway, it's on the other side of the bed. King size bed (we were told it would be a queen) and extra long 15 ft balcony with 3 chairs & a table. Quick sandwich on Lido and we head off for a walking tour of Old San Juan. Fairly long lines to re-board around 2:30 PM. Luggage arrives at 4 PM. First night dinner in the MDR is extremely slow and disorganized. We enter the DR at 7 and have to rush through dessert to make the 9:30 muster drill.

 

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Day 2: St Thomas. Pre-booked with Papa Bear of Air Force One Tours. $25 pp for a 1/2 day tour of the island. We are his only clients today and have the whole open-air van to ourselves. Good tour - he boasts that he is the only one who takes a longer back roads scenic route up the hills, eventually to the "World Famous" Mountain Top overlooking Maegan's Bay. Stop to sample local fruit, "sour sop". Enjoy the rest of the day on the ship relaxing.

 

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Day 3: Day at Sea. When we booked the cruise, Dominica was the port for today. Disappointed we will miss it. If you want a decent sun deck location and chairs together, get out early on sea day to reserve! We waited till 10 AM and couldn't find 2 empty lounge chairs together. Later in the afternoon things opened up. Elegant night at dinner.

 

Day 4: Barbados. Pre-booked with Glory Tours "Explore & Discover Barbados" $81 pp. Owner Sarah Taylor takes us in her Toyota SUV for a personal tour, once again just the 2 of us and the guide. Loop the entire island, stopping at many beaches and scenic vistas, St John's parish church, a windmill, etc. Fried flying fish lunch is included. Snorkel and swim with turtles, stop at rum factory, then back to ship. Excellent tour with a wonderful overview of the island. Our most expensive tour day but Sarah did a great job of packing it all in and adding things to make the tour special for us.

 

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Day 5: St Lucia. Pre-booked tour with Herod "Land & Sea" $70 pp. Owner Herod has a full van so we go with his associate John in a car. Once again, just the 2 of us with a guide! Many stops for scenic views and photo ops, stop to sample bananas and fresh bread. Visit the volcano/sulfur springs, lunch at Herod's mother's home, then to the beach between the Pitons. Some of the best snorkeling I've even done. Long (45 minute?) water taxi ride back to the ship. An excellent tour - highly recommend it. Second elegant night in the MDR tonight.

 

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Day 6: St Kitts. Pre-booked with Jim & Rose's Taxi service for a full island tour $41 pp. It was a nice tour, however we were placed in the van with Jim (Rose had another van full) and a group of rowdy party-people. It wasn't a good mix and soured the tour for me. Stopped at the lame Batik factory. Gardens are nice, but it's a typical "tourist factory tour" and we stay way too long. Also stopped at Brimstone Fort and Black Rock, eventually to Frigate Beach and Shipwreck Bar. Past guest party on the ship this evening - free drinks for 45 minutes in the Caribbean Lounge.

 

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Day 7: St Maarten. Took a taxi tour of the island, $40 pp for about 3 hours. Saw the highlights (Phillipsburg, Sunset Beach, Marigot, Fort St Louis, Orient Beach) of this prosperous island. Probably my least favorite port of this cruise because it is all about tourism. No more agriculture. Just casinos and fancy marinas and malls.

 

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Day 8: Debarkation was very slow, but we are allowed to wait on Lido, so it was fine for us to keep lingering in the sun by the pool. We had a late flight, so walked to pier 2 (Victory is docked at Pier #3) and left our luggage at a cafe for $3 per bag while we walked around Old San Juan. Taxi to airport $22.

 

other tidbits: The A/C is very cold in the ship. I nearly froze in the dining room and lounges. Thank heavens we could open the balcony door and get warm air from outside in the cabin. Overall, food and service was great in the MDR. We did the "Anytime Dining" option, usually arriving in the 7 - 8 PM range. Never a wait and we always had a table for 2. The Maitre D' visited our table each and every night. I don't care for buffet lines and get creeped-out watching everyone touch the same utensils along the line, so we didn't go there. Used room service for coffee every morning. Some of the entertainment was lame ("Vroom" was awful). Liked the late night comedy shows and "Love & Marriage" best. Brad was the cruise director this week. Our room steward was a tad lazy (had to track her down a couple times to get things.) Loved the new multilevel Serenity deck! Comfy loungers and perfect temp in the 2 hot tub/spas.

 

Be sure to pack: a sweater, a clock, clothes pins

[birdabee]

Thanks for this review. I like that it was brief but hit the impt points. We sail on the victory 2 weeks from today. Can't wait.

 

You mention that your room was cold? Was there no way to adjust the temps? I've never sailed Carnival before, but on other lines there is usually a digital thermostat so you can adjust the cabin temperature. Thanks.

[MindTheGap1918]

Great review and pictures! :) I was on your sailing as well! We also toured with Rose and Jim's and we were in Rose's taxi. There was a group of nine from our ship that stood her up so there were only 7 of us in her taxi (a few people from the other ship in port joined), it was nice. Too bad you couldn't have hopped in our taxi on one of the stops!

[SyrRealtor]

birdabee - there wasnt a thermostat in the room. The vents on the ceiling had "open" and "closed" positions, but even on "closed" I was chilled. Public areas were even colder.

 

MindTheGap - I'm surprised Rose didnt suggest that we move into her van since I told her at the first stop, the Batik factory, that we were uncomfortable with the "vibes" in our van. It was a wonderful day nonetheless.

[BOOGALOO509]

Many thanks for your review and photos.

 

We are doing this cruise next year from Barbados to Barbados, we are already looking at plans for each of the islands.

 

Do you have any contact details, telephone numbers/web addresses etc for each of the tour companies you used as they seem to be very reasonably priced.

 

Many thanks

 

John

[Prairie_Gal]

Thanks for your concise review.

[SyrRealtor]

John - here are the e-mail addresses:

 

Rose & Jim in St Kitts: rose_jim@sisterisles.kn Their tour price includes admission the the Brimstone Fort. I think it's $8 to get in the fort otherwise

 

Sarah of Glory Tours in Barbados: sarah@glorytours.org She has a long menu of tour options listed on her website. Google Glory Tours Barbados and it comes right up.

 

Herod in St Lucia: **********@gmail.com Looks like he has revised his website and tours. The tour we took was "Land & Sea"

 

Papa Bear in St Thomas: InFo@HaveFunWithUs.com or http://havefunwithus.net/packages.html We did package #6. His prices have increased a bit since I reserved in December.

[BOOGALOO509]

Many thanks for the contact information.

 

Regards.

 

John

[wildcat221]

We booked this exact room for Feb 2013. yuck, long wait but we are still excited and even more so after your review. Thank You Mark