My Carnival Victory review 4/1-4/8/2012 (Long with lots of pix!)

[DiverDownAZ]

Loven the food porn.

 

We absolutely loved the turtle swim in Barbados.

[scraphappylady]

Loving the review and pictures, cant wait to do this again Nov the 4th.

Thanks! Wish I could come along - I'd do this cruise yet again, in a minute!

 

What a wonderful family vacation! Your pictures are so great you have convinced me to go get this camera!

Like I said before, I'm so lucky that my kids actually like each other - it made for a really great time!

 

And as for the cameras, I won't buy any other brand than Canon. I love all of them that we have and it's been that way since I first started buying them for myself. On the other hand, I know my SX20 is not the latest model out there, but if I went up to the next level I would have to use rechargable NiCad batteries. At this stage, I can use AA batteries, which means I can usually find them anywhere, at any time. Gonna be hard to go to that next level, but there are always tradeoffs.

[scraphappylady]

Okay, now where was I? Ah, yes, St. Lucia. Today was the day we ended up splitting up to do our excursions.

 

On we go.

 

Thursday, April 5 – St. Lucia

Oh, darn! How hard it was to wake up to yet another gorgeous view, as we slowly headed toward our island for the day.

Because of the way we traveled around the island as we headed into port, we were able to catch a nice view of the Pitons, St. Lucia’s most famous mountainous landmarks, as we rounded the far end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the port where our group ended up splitting up for the day. Half of our group wanted to go ziplining, and DD and I are not happy being high up, so while DH, DS and my aunt were out flying through the trees, DD and I took the Cosol tour. I had been on it in the past, really enjoyed it, and knew Mandy would enjoy seeing more of the island as well.

[scraphappylady]

Mandy and I said good-bye to the others after breakfast, and before we docked at 8 am, went to get some traveler’s checks cashed and take more pictures as we glided into port in Castries, the capital of the island.

 

Mandy waits to cash her traveler's checks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

Setting up the gangways

 

 

 

 

 

I don't even want to know how much they would charge you to use these!

 

The landscaping in port was gorgeous.

 

[scraphappylady]

As we got down onto the dock, we met up with a man holding a sign for the Cosol tour, and were led to a pavilion inside the shop area, to wait for the tour to start.

 

We were given the chance to use the restrooms, since the next chance for such a break wouldn’t be for several hours, and this was the case throughout the trip. Even though we had unlimited drinks available whenever we stopped, (a blue van that was devoted entirely to drinks followed us to every major stop!) we didn’t always have access to, or time to use, the facilities.

 

The amount of people for the tour this time wasn’t quite as high as it had been when I had taken it last, but we were the only ship in port this day. Our overall group of about 60, if I was counting correctly, was led through the shop area and out into a parking lot, where we were divided up into groups of about 12-15 and led to various waiting vans.

 

Our tour guide was Baptiste, and while he didn’t recognize me (no surprise there), I remembered having him as a guide when DH and I took this tour. He was pretty low-key, but had a good sense of humor, and as we worked our way out of town and toward our first stop, he told us a bit about his island.

 

History lesson: St. Lucia passed between British and French rule many times during it’s early days, before becoming independent in 1979. While it is independent, it belongs to the British Commonwealth, with a parliamentary style of government. The island itself is about 250 square miles, with 132,000 inhabitants. They get 160 inches of rain annually, but not all of that falls equally throughout the island; the rain forest naturally gets the most. And if you think our gas prices are high, you certainly wouldn’t want to live there – they pay $6 or more for a gallon of gas!

 

As we worked our way over the first hill, we paused to snap a few pictures of our ship in port

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

then headed back into a valley, and our first stop, a banana plantation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

We learned all about growing bananas, how long they take to mature and where these bananas would eventually end up (England, in grocery stores)

They are covered in blue wrap to protect from bugs and filter the UV rays to slow ripening.

 

 

The beginnings of a big bunch of bananas

 

Little baby bananas just starting to grow

 

[scraphappylady]

 

 

 

Baptiste, our guide, holds the baby bananas

 

 

 

 

In addition to trying bananas, we were also given the chance to try fresh mangoes. Without a knife to open them, however, we were told to just use our teeth. Not so easy to do, but the mango inside was delicious!

[scraphappylady]

The first village we passed through was Anse le Raye, a small fishing village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much of our trip consisted of climbing up one mountain, and heading back down the other side. While DD and I do not get carsick, it would be easy to see how this type of travel could affect some people. To give you a better idea of what it was like, Baptiste said he had to replace the brakes on his van every three years. Good thing they don’t get snow!

 

[scraphappylady]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The blue drink van that followed us from stop to stop

 

 

 

 

 

At most of the overlooks we stopped at, islanders had set up stands selling homemade souvenirs and other things. Although they were quite insistent, a simple "no" and they would graciously leave you alone.

 

[scraphappylady]

Around 10:30 am, we made our first substantial stop, for brunch at one of Cosol’s relatives houses, where we also had a chance to use the bathrooms. Be warned – the cost to use the potty was $1 per person. (for maintenance, they said.)

 

As soon as we arrived, tables filled with food were brought out into a courtyard area and we had about 25 minutes to eat, all the while being told that we had to eat up everything before we could leave again. No problem there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

There was a variety of interesting food, all of it quite good, although Mandy said she had a hard time figuring out how to eat the pieces of sugarcane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scraphappylady]

Loven the food porn.

 

We absolutely loved the turtle swim in Barbados.

 

I have to say, it makes my mouth water all over again, when I post those pictures!

 

And I don't think anyone who has done the turtle swim will ever forget it!

[ibcnusoon]

Thanks! We reserved about two months in advance and had to use a credit card to reserve our spot. They took the information, but didn't actually charge the card.

 

Then, when we boarded the boat that morning, we paid the total - in cash, trav checks or by keeping it on the card you used to reserve. The cost was $110 per person (I think younger kids might be less, but no chance of that for us this time! :rolleyes:) and was worth every penny! This guarantees you only 12 people per trip, and after having experienced how full some of Carnival's excursions get, it was money well spent.

 

 

 

We love San Juan, but I have to admit, the part that was most painful about this particular cruise was paying for the airfare to actually get down there. Each time we've sailed out of there, we just keep watching the cost of airfare go up, up, up!!

 

But because of how late the Victory departs, we offset that cost by counting this as another port day and taking full advantage of touring the area. Plus we flew in a day early and left a day after getting back. It helped to look at it that way. Actually, I would like to stay there for a week in a hotel sometime. There is never enough time to see everything!

 

And we are those types who would prefer NO sea days. Tiring, but oh so fascinating at the same time. When DH and I went on the Victory by ourselves, they were still including Dominica, making it one of the few cruises out there that had all port days/no sea days. Sigh. I do miss that still. Not sure the kids could have handled that, though, so I'll grudgingly agree a sea day wasn't a bad idea this time around.

 

I agree.

 

I reserved Calabaza in February for our November 2012 Thanksgiving cruise. Gina, the owner, took care of taking the reservation. We have a party of 6 so I wanted to make sure that we got on the 12-person max catamaran. No charges have been applied to my card and payment will be made when we arrive in Barbados for the tour.

 

Regarding San Juan, I'm paying at least $200 less per person to take this cruise than if I took an Eastern or Western cruise from Florida. That's how I justify the added expense of flying to San Juan. My airfare is only about $100 more per person than if I flew into any of the Florida cities. People complain about the airfare, but in comparison, the Victory is much cheaper than any of the other Florida cruises, plus you get to see some awesome and exciting new ports (Barbados, St. Luca, and St. Kitts are not on EVERY itinerary, so any chance you get to go there is ideal). Also, I would do a pre-cruise in San Juan just as I would do in Florida, no matter what. What is ideal is San Juan could spend a day at the forts, a day shopping, a day at the beach, a day at the Rainforest. There are so many things to see and do there!!

[BCcruzer2]

I'm loving this review! We're thinking of doing the ziplining on St. Kitts so we can all tour St. Lucia together. Trying to decide between Cosol tours and Spencer Ambrose land and sea tour. Some comments I've read about these tours is people feel too crowded or rushed. Was this the case for you and your daughter? Also, are the vans air conditioned? Look forward to reading more.... your pics are amazing :D

[ibcnusoon]

 

 

Because of the way we traveled around the island as we headed into port, we were able to catch a nice view of the Pitons, St. Lucia’s most famous mountainous landmarks, as we rounded the far end.

 

 

 

 

Can you beleive this is on my "bucket list" while on the cruise, and that I specifically reserved the starboard side aft so I can get a view of this? Now, can you tell me what time in the morning that you pass the Pitons before docking in St. Lucia? Someone mentioned once it was about 5:30am?

[scraphappylady]

 

Regarding San Juan, I'm paying at least $200 less per person to take this cruise than if I took an Eastern or Western cruise from Florida. That's how I justify the added expense of flying to San Juan. My airfare is only about $100 more per person than if I flew into any of the Florida cities. People complain about the airfare, but in comparison, the Victory is much cheaper than any of the other Florida cruises, plus you get to see some awesome and exciting new ports (Barbados, St. Luca, and St. Kitts are not on EVERY itinerary, so any chance you get to go there is ideal). Also, I would do a pre-cruise in San Juan just as I would do in Florida, no matter what. What is ideal is San Juan could spend a day at the forts, a day shopping, a day at the beach, a day at the Rainforest. There are so many things to see and do there!!

 

Oh, I so agree! But I figure I just have to have something to complain about! :D Seriously, though, I guess I was trying to complain more about airlines and how much their prices have shot up recently.

 

Of course, having said that, we are very picky about our cruises. We cruises almost entirely for the ports themselves - the more "exotic" the better - so some of the cheaper Florida based cruises are not ones we want to take. This one from San Juan is indeed awesome for the places it stops at, as well as Puerto Rico itself, so we just sucked it up and plunked down the money.

 

And I'm also looking at it from the view of my past cruises from San Juan. With DH, it was the two of us, and my last one was with my two aunts and we all paid our own way. One or two airfares are a lot easier to take than when you have to multiply it x4 to take the whole family. :p

[Handsome58]

I just booked this cruise for August yesterday!!!! Great writing and pictures!

[scraphappylady]

I'm loving this review! We're thinking of doing the ziplining on St. Kitts so we can all tour St. Lucia together. Trying to decide between Cosol tours and Spencer Ambrose land and sea tour. Some comments I've read about these tours is people feel too crowded or rushed. Was this the case for you and your daughter? Also, are the vans air conditioned? Look forward to reading more.... your pics are amazing :D

The part of my review about the ziplining that my DH, DS and aunt did is coming up, I promise! Maybe that will help you decide. I don't know what the Ambrose tour is like, but I've heard good things. However, I get the idea that these tours are all about the same.

 

For the most part, on our Cosol tour, the entire group of vans only met up at a few places (brunch being one of them), so we were at the different attractions at slightly different times. I never thought it was overcrowded. And the vans are definitely air conditioned!!

 

As for being rushed, I would have loved to have spent more time in the botanical gardens (coming up next in the review). But really, you also have to realize just how many places these tours actually cover and the sheer driving distance. The reality is that you might not get as much time at some of these places, but they also have only a certain amount of time to show you the island, before ensuring that you are back at your ship at the right time. I'm only touching a bit on each place, but it's such a full day and a real value for the cost. ($65/pp)

 

Just do what we did - wait a year, then take the same cruise over again and re-visit the islands!! :p

[scraphappylady]

Can you beleive this is on my "bucket list" while on the cruise, and that I specifically reserved the starboard side aft so I can get a view of this? Now, can you tell me what time in the morning that you pass the Pitons before docking in St. Lucia? Someone mentioned once it was about 5:30am?

 

Ooooh, early riser that I was, I was never up quite that early. Ummm, I think for us it was around 6:15 am, but you might want to set the alarm for 6 am, just to be sure. And each cruise might be different, too. I wonder if the front desk would be able to let you know? Wouldn't hurt to ask.

 

It wasn't a super up close view - I did use the zoom on the camera - but something quite spectacular, none the less. I was thrilled, since I had not seen them on any of my other Victory cruises, and I had heard on these boards from other posters that the consensus was that you would not go near that section of the island coming in. Guess the picture is worth a thousand words!

 

Good luck getting those views!!!

[scraphappylady]

I just booked this cruise for August yesterday!!!! Great writing and pictures!

Thanks! You're gonna love it! Now you get to spend your time reading more reviews and planning what you might do on each island! Hope this helps.

 

 

Oh, and can I just say to everyone who is booked for this cruise in the future - I'm soooooo jealous!!! Enjoy!

[cojuqui]

I'm a horrible judge of distance, but I would say we were anchored maybe 75 feet from shore.? If you are a really good swimmer, I would say that you could probably do it. But I don't know how long you would be able to stay out there for. I can swim, but don't have a huge amount of endurance, and was really happy for the vests we had on for the 25-30 min. we were interacting with the turtles.

 

Also, what were you planning on enticing the turtles with? I think the turtles like the stuff Calabaza was feeding them (like I said, I think it was squid) and know to come around when they see the boats coming near. If you could get out there in the morning, when most of the tours come by, you should be able to kind of slide in there with the rest of the groups. I don't know how you would do in the afternoon, when most of the tours are done.

 

I don't want to discourage you, and we are definitely ones to go off on our own when it benefits us, but this might be one of those things you would be better off doing as part of a tour. I'm not sure I would have tried it without a tour.

 

Just a question - would you consider doing the Segway somewhere else or must it be Barbados? Only asking, because I've done the Segway tour several times in San Juan, both before the ship left port and the day we returned. The company there is awesome (look for more on this further on in my review. We did it the day we got back this time). You get the experience as well as a chance to tour the old city. I think their tours are 9 am, noon and 3 pm, if I remember correctly. I've only ever done the noon-ish one. Then you could book the turtles for Barbados.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks so much, it does help alot. We will be there first thing in the morning, our Segway tour is at 1:45 pm so that will work out. I was figuring we would try to head out there when the boats come. We are all pretty good swimmers. I doubt we'll be out there as long as your group got to be, but seeing as it's just an "extra" thing to do I'll be happy. Even if I see one turtle I'm fine with that.

 

We have other things booked in PR. My DH has family there so we are spending part of our time there with her and then El Yunque and El Morro and Bio Bay tour. I guess we'll just have to maybe FORCE ourselves to make another trip there sometime. Oh darn, ha ha.

[ibcnusoon]

Thanks so much, it does help alot. We will be there first thing in the morning, our Segway tour is at 1:45 pm so that will work out. I was figuring we would try to head out there when the boats come. We are all pretty good swimmers. I doubt we'll be out there as long as your group got to be, but seeing as it's just an "extra" thing to do I'll be happy. Even if I see one turtle I'm fine with that.

 

We have other things booked in PR. My DH has family there so we are spending part of our time there with her and then El Yunque and El Morro and Bio Bay tour. I guess we'll just have to maybe FORCE ourselves to make another trip there sometime. Oh darn, ha ha.

 

Are you doing the illuminescent biobay nighttime tour in San Juan? I was thinking of signing up DH and DD for that, I think they would enjoy that. I haven't booked flights to San Juan (only the return) so I'm thinking we may go down 2 days earlier, rather than the day before.

[cojuqui]

Are you doing the illuminescent biobay nighttime tour in San Juan? I was thinking of signing up DH and DD for that, I think they would enjoy that. I haven't booked flights to San Juan (only the return) so I'm thinking we may go down 2 days earlier, rather than the day before.

 

Yes, thru East Wind Cats. They take you over to Vieques and you have a full meal and then off on a small boat out into the Bio Bay. We are really looking forward to it after seeing a program about it on the Discovery Channel.