Carnival Victory Review - August 19, 2012

[nycfa]

Originally we were planning on just taking a taxi to Piegon Island. But with the turtle cancellation yesterday we signed up DH & DD#1 for Snuba at PI thru Carinval. DD#2 is too young for Snuba so DD#2 & I were going to do a catamaran sailing but it was full so we ended up with a *beach break* tour that ened up at PI at the same time as DH & DD#1.

 

Well, in the morning my phone rings in the cabin and it’s the exceruison desk. Snuba cancelled due to low visibly. (TS Issac again!) So we put DH & DD#1 on our tour…..Now I’m doing our original plan of PI but it’s costing me more $$ cause I’m doing it thru carnival……Ugh, but whatever, it was fine. Just it would have cost less $$ and had more time there. :rolleyes:

 

The kids played on the beach and DH hiked up to the forts. He said the views were AMAZING but you definitely couldn’t do it in Flip Flops. He was working up a sweat getting up there. I would have done the hike as well but there wasn’t enough time for me to do it too. It was fun and I’m glad we went but I’d do something different if we went to SL again.

 

 

Beach at Pigeon Island

 

 

 

 

One of the Forts DH walked up to, sorry no photos from the fort....he didn't bring the camera. :(

 

[kenrod]

I am enjoying your review so far! The Carnival Victory is a great ship with a great itinerary. Sorry to hear TS Isaac raining on your parade.

 

Looking forward to your further adventures on this cruise!

[Ricky's Mom]

We started with a balcony on our first 3 cruises. Now only book suites. Lovely to have room to turn around in!

[nycfa]

In St. Kitts we took Thenford Grey's The Tour. I had read so many good reviews here on CC and on TA and he was everything they said he was....

 

We met him at the arrival's area at 9:00 am. Today was a small group just us and 5 other passengers. Mr. Grey, himself, was our guide.

 

We drove around the city a bit while he pointed out the history/buildings/etc.

 

We made our way along the cost towards Romney Manor. Along the way he made a couple of stops for photos or interesting information.

 

Telling us about some flowers

 

 

After Romney Manor we headed over to Brimestone Hill

 

 

Then over to the Top of Timothy Hill for an amazing view of both the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans

 

 

 

Then we headed down to South Friars Beach which was very rough that day due to TS Issac having passed by a few days ago but the wave riding was a lot of fun for the kids.

 

 

 

 

We had about 2 hrs there and if anyone wanted to return to the ship Mr. Grey would have driven them back. However, everyone stayed so he did the same.

 

My family had lunch at the Shipwreck Bar. It was VERY good! I had the fish tacos which I pretty much inhaled! LOL

 

 

At 3 pm we headed back to the ship.

 

Mr. Grey was an excellent guide and I would highly recommend this tour to everyone. It was $48 per person with the kids being $24 each. We paid him in cash that day. Just made the reservation through his website. I heard back from him quickly when I sent the email.

 

Please all around with the day! I felt we got to know St. Kitt and still enjoy some beach time.

[nycfa]

This was our favorite excursion of our whole trip!

 

As I've said previously a friend did the trip a few weeks before us. They did this and LOVED it so we signed up.

 

It did not disappoint!

 

It was a speed boat tour of the island with some snorkeling stops and lunch.

 

The walk from the cruise ship dock to the marina is quick and easy. Less then 10 minutes.

 

Capt Bob met us there along with another couple from the ship and a family of four from one of the hotels.

 

Captain Bob

 

 

On board there was beer, soda and water available whenever we wanted it. After a safety briefing we were off.....

 

The kids were in love from the start as the boat *caught air* zipping across the water! LOL

 

We made our way around the island heading towards Tintamarre.....we traveled under a bridge into a lagoon area with a lot of yachts and ships parked it it. We zipped along the coast time occassionly slowing down for Capt. Bob to point out things.

 

After awhile we arrived at Tintamarre Island which is a nature preserve. Sea Turtles nest there. Capt Bob said the turtles swam out to deeper water during TS Issac but hopefully they were back! And suddenly we saw one pop out of the water! YES!

 

They have snorkeling equipment on board thought we brought our own. We just used their fins. Myself and Youngest DD used noodles to help us float along.

 

We weren't in the water too long before we saw this....

 

 

AMAZING!! JUST AMAZING!!

 

We snorkeled out there for about 40 minutes. As we were heading back to the boat we saw this...

 

 

HUGE Sting Ray right under us!

 

Now we got back in the boat and headed to the French Side of the island. We parked near the beach, jumped off the boat and swam into the restaurant....HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! LOL

 

Our Ride

 

 

The Restaurant

 

 

We relaxed on the chairs and the kids played in the sand/water until lunch was ready. You had a choice of Red Snapper, Chicken, Pork Ribs. Then Red beans and rice OR french fries. All meals came with a salad. The meal was included in the package but you had to purchase drinks from the restaurant. They were very inexpensive. Couple of bucks for a beer.

 

The staff there was very friendly and the food....OMG so good! Two of us got the chicken and two the red snapper. Great all around!

 

We relaxed for a bit then swam back out to the boat and headed to Creole Rock.

 

Snorkeled there for about another 40 minutes. A lot of fish to see. It was pretty cool There was even a boat of divers there. My youngest was getting tired so we got back on the boat earlier then the others.

 

Next we headed over to Maho Beach and watched a Jet Blue plane land over us and then an American one take off. Totally cool!!

 

Jet Blue landing....notice the rocks? That's where the sand is suppose to be at Maho! It was washed out with TS Issac. Capt Bob said it will all be back within a few days!

 

 

After watching the planes, Bob cranked up the music and the engines and made our way back towards the ship. He let my youngest *drive* and she was in heaven! The kids moved to the front of the ship at his suggestion to feel more of the bumps as we jumped through the waves.

 

It was a amazing tour and Capt Bob really made the trip. He was great about taking care of everyone and making sure everyone was having fun.

 

My family was like this was the best of our 7 days!

[nycfa]

Shot of the Victory Docked in St. Maarten....

 

 

Sadly our last day of our cruise was coming to an end. :(

 

We put our bags outside of our door that evening. We were given zone 17 to depart which I found interesting as we were not going home until Monday. I thought we'd be much further back?

 

The next morning we pulled into San Juan as I enjoyed my last cup of tea on my balcony. I fired up the cell phone to catch up on all my emails. LOL

 

Once everyone was up we packed up the room and headed to the Lido Deck for the buffet breakfast. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. DH & the kids had their last ice cream (yes, ice cream post breakfast! LOL).

 

After awhile we moved by the pool area to wait. The process seemed to be moving along very quickly and soon our number was called.

 

We headed downstairs, dinged out for the last time, found our bags and grabbed a porter to carry them for us.

 

The line to check out was long but moved quickly. Soon we were on our way, grabbed a cab and headed back to the Caribe Hilton for one more night.

 

We were at the Hilton by 10:30 am. Luckily with a $20 upgrade we were able to get into our room.

 

We hung out a bit, I checked in for our flights the next day downstairs in the lobby and printed our boarding passes.

 

DH & DD#1 took a cab over to El Morro and walked around for a couple of hours. DD#2 and I relaxed in the room while she made towel animals with the How to Book we bought on the ship. LOL

 

Late afternoon we went down to the beach to swim for a bit, then back to the room where we ordered Papa John's again for dinner.

 

We had a 5 am wake up the next morning so we headed off to sleep early!

 

The next morning we got a cab at the hotel (there where ones waiting) and headed to the airport. Our flight was a 8 am. We did the USDA Line and headed over to check our bags with the airline.

 

The lines weren't too bad other then the security which was the longest.

 

We grabbed a few muffins/drinks to eat (at a cost of $37?!?! It was the most over priced things we got the whole trip!!! LOL).

 

Before we knew it we were all boarded up and flying home to NY.

 

I'll be back for my final thoughts.....

[t1adams]

I have enjoyed reading all about your trip! We'll be doing this itinerary next March. But it will be the Valor down there at that time. Did you think it cost a lot to take cabs from hotel into Old Town? Just wondering if it would be more cost effective to stay in Old Town and forego the cabs, or would it be cheaper to stay out where you stayed, and just taxi it to Old Town. :confused:

[agc291]

Just a question... did someone tell you that it was broken and that is why you boarded on floor 0? We took this cruise last year and besides embarking & debarking we got off on the islands at 0. Just curios as we are looking into doing this cruise again on the Valor.

[kenrod]

Thank you for your review nycfa. I really enjoyed reading about your adventure.

[jimbo5544]

Just a question... did someone tell you that it was broken and that is why you boarded on floor 0? We took this cruise last year and besides embarking & debarking we got off on the islands at 0. Just curios as we are looking into doing this cruise again on the Valor.

 

Jumping in to answer as we were on the same cruise. We were told embarking that it was broken and embarkation (and debarkation on the return) would be from deck 0. It is normal to use zero in ports.

[ibcnusoon]

Having read about Afternoon Tea here on CC.

 

I made a point of attending it.

 

JUST AS DESCRIBED!!

 

I took my younger DD (older one didn't want to go) and we sat at a large table for 8 with some other ladies.

 

The crowd looked mainly mother/daughter but there were some husband and wife couples there as well.

 

Everyone had a mini tea pot which they filled with hot water. They came around with the tea box for you to choose your tea.

 

They came around with cucumber sandwiches and salmon (bite sized).

 

Then came the dessert trolley....OMG....get the Lemon Cake if they have it!!!

 

All very nice. A piano (i think) playing in the background.

 

It was in the pacific dinning room on the back of ship.

 

We were there about 30 minutes and it was a lot of fun!

 

Highly recommend it. The little one couldn't wait to tell her sister all that she missed LOL

 

Sounds like fun! Did you say it was at 3pm on the Sea day?

[cc waddles]

We were on this cruise with you as well! My husband and I and our 2 kids, son 8 and daughter 10. We had a great time of course how could you not! This was our second cruise as a family and the kids were so looking forward to camp carnival. They loved the camp on last years cruise. My husband and I also were looking forward to them spending time in the camp so we could have some time as well to enjoy other things. However, this was not the case. My two were sadly disappointed in Camp Carnival. They also said the kids were not listening and being very disruptive. The camp was like school as my daughter put it. She said the camp counselors were not very engaging and they (the kids) were always being yelled at. My kids did a couple of things and that was it. Both my kids felt the activities were very babyish and not well organized. I also felt there was a lack of interest from the camp counselors. They didn't seem to want to be there and were not energetic fun or happy to be there. Needless to say, that was a major downer in our opinion. Such a disappointment. And of course because of this, DH and I got less time together to enjoy the other more adult activities on the ship.

Overall, yes the cruise was good. Buffet line was crazy of course and unorganized. Seems to many food options in one place. But I do agree the omelet station,( I believe near Sirens pool) is the place to go. We enjoyed several meals there for lunch as well. No lines there. Overall a good cruise!

[nycfa]

I have enjoyed reading all about your trip! We'll be doing this itinerary next March. But it will be the Valor down there at that time. Did you think it cost a lot to take cabs from hotel into Old Town? Just wondering if it would be more cost effective to stay in Old Town and forego the cabs, or would it be cheaper to stay out where you stayed, and just taxi it to Old Town. :confused:

 

 

 

It was about $12 to get over to Old Town. It's my understanding you could walk there from the Hotel as well (about 20 min?) but we didn't try that with the kids.

 

I don't necessarily think it's cheaper over where we stayed (at least at the Caribe Hilton as it's a *resort hotel*).

 

I think it comes down to what you want to do there.

 

We wanted a big pool (s) and a beach area. A resort type place. Which is what Caribe Hilton was prefect for.

 

If you plan on shopping or walking around Old Town you might be better off staying right where you can walk out your door and *be there*.

[nycfa]

Jumping in to answer as we were on the same cruise. We were told embarking that it was broken and embarkation (and debarkation on the return) would be from deck 0. It is normal to use zero in ports.

 

Yup, like Jim said.....They were handing out letters as we entered the check in area stating this. :)

[nycfa]

Sounds like fun! Did you say it was at 3pm on the Sea day?

 

Yes, 3 pm on the Sea Day in the Pacific Dining room!

[nycfa]

We were on this cruise with you as well! My husband and I and our 2 kids, son 8 and daughter 10. We had a great time of course how could you not! This was our second cruise as a family and the kids were so looking forward to camp carnival. They loved the camp on last years cruise. My husband and I also were looking forward to them spending time in the camp so we could have some time as well to enjoy other things. However, this was not the case. My two were sadly disappointed in Camp Carnival. They also said the kids were not listening and being very disruptive. The camp was like school as my daughter put it. She said the camp counselors were not very engaging and they (the kids) were always being yelled at. My kids did a couple of things and that was it. Both my kids felt the activities were very babyish and not well organized. I also felt there was a lack of interest from the camp counselors. They didn't seem to want to be there and were not energetic fun or happy to be there. Needless to say, that was a major downer in our opinion. Such a disappointment. And of course because of this, DH and I got less time together to enjoy the other more adult activities on the ship.

Overall, yes the cruise was good. Buffet line was crazy of course and unorganized. Seems to many food options in one place. But I do agree the omelet station,( I believe near Sirens pool) is the place to go. We enjoyed several meals there for lunch as well. No lines there. Overall a good cruise!

 

I see your kids felt the same way about the CC. Mine said the counselors were all yelling at the kids as well. They were also not impressed.

 

ITA on the buffet lines. Lunch on the Sea Day was nuts!

[nycfa]

Sorry to to take so long to finish....had to go back to work this weekend! Boo hiss on the reality! LOL

 

Dining Room - We had YTD and always ate around 6 pm. We walked in and got a seat right away. We had a waiter's name from my friends cruise in July and we sat in his section every night. Eduardo, Nestor and Elena. We even got the same table every night. LOL We thought the food and service was great.

 

Buffets - The lines could be pretty crazy. Then they would blend into the deli and Chinese lines and it was all kinda confusing IMO. We tried to eat at the back of the boat pool area as those lines were shorter. Especially in the morning.

 

Room - We loved our room and balcony. The four of us fit in there fine but I don't think I would do it with 4 adults. That would be a tight fit. But two kids worked out good. We were a bit cluttered but that was our overpacking vs. the room lay out. I'd bring way less stuff.

 

Photos - We did a lot of the ships photos and bought an embarrassing amount of them. LOL But we rarely every have our family all together in one photo so we splurged.

 

Shows - we only went to one City Lights which I believe was the Sea Day. It was good. Mosty nights the shows were either while we were still eating or too late so we didn't do any others.

 

Comedy Club - We went to the *family friendly* one. I think it was the first one that had (St Thomas night) and I don't remember the comendian but I do know we left after about 10/15 mins. While it was funny, I did not find it family friendly when the word Hell is used repeatedly. :confused: Maybe I'm a prune but I didn't think it was appropriate for my family so we left.

 

Towel Making Class - We took the kids to this and they had a blast! My youngest begged for the *How to Book* afterwards with a please please please can we get it? of course we did! There were kids and adults all enjoying making the animals. It was fun!

 

Casino - Never made it in there. So no report there!

 

Spa - DH used the steam room and sauna once. I walked through there once to look on the ladies side. Neither of us used the gym. DH said the facilities were nice.

 

Staff - I found the staff warm and friendly. I was always greeted with a smile and a hello.

 

 

Overall, it was a great cruise. We loved the heavy island itinerary and would highly recommend it to anyone. We loved the Victory and it's staff.

 

It was the best vacation we have done as a family. Everyone got along and had a great time! I was very sad to see it end and have to get off the boat. I really want to do a back to back now so I can stay longer! LOL

 

 

For all those that are traveling soon....have a great time! I wish I could go with you!

 

 

If anyone has any questions please let me know! Thanks for reading!

[t1adams]

Thanks for the review! If you think of any "must-do's" or "must-sees" in any of those ports, please let me know! Or any helpful hints, best food to try, etc. We do this same itinerary next March on the Valor. Soooo excited! I think planning and reading all these other reviews is half the fun! :D (hey, what can I say....I live a boring life, lol) It will be me, my dh, our two kids (14 1/2 yr old dd, and a 10 1/2 yr old ds) and my mom (mid 70's but pretty active...just has some hip issues if walking or standing too long....but she does take water therapy from a PT). So any suggestions or warnings, or whatever, I would appreciate! :D

[5waldos]

Thanks for the review- the more I read the more I am sure we made the right decision for this cruise!

 

Do you remember which evenings were Elegant Nights? And do you know by any chance what night the Chef's Table was held? We still have a couple of days unplanned and might leave them that way.

[nycfa]

Thanks for the review! If you think of any "must-do's" or "must-sees" in any of those ports, please let me know! Or any helpful hints, best food to try, etc. We do this same itinerary next March on the Valor. Soooo excited! I think planning and reading all these other reviews is half the fun! :D (hey, what can I say....I live a boring life, lol) It will be me, my dh, our two kids (14 1/2 yr old dd, and a 10 1/2 yr old ds) and my mom (mid 70's but pretty active...just has some hip issues if walking or standing too long....but she does take water therapy from a PT). So any suggestions or warnings, or whatever, I would appreciate! :D

 

I think it just depends on what you like to do....beach days? activities? sightseeing?

 

I think all the islands have a little bit of everything. I know for us I tried to avoid too much time in a van (so I avoided the long St. Lucia tours) and have a little water/beach time each day.

 

For my kids water/beach/animals are the name of the game!

 

I got so much info here and on Trip Advisor to plan on my trip! Planning it is half the fun! :)

[nycfa]

Thanks for the review- the more I read the more I am sure we made the right decision for this cruise!

 

Do you remember which evenings were Elegant Nights? And do you know by any chance what night the Chef's Table was held? We still have a couple of days unplanned and might leave them that way.

 

Elegant Nights were Tuesday - Sea Day and Thursday - St. Lucia

 

I don't know about the Chef's Table as we didn't do it.

 

It was a great cruise! Awesome islands.

[Hogladyrider]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review, it was GREAT!

 

This cruise is definitely on my "bucket list"!

[nycfa]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review, it was GREAT!

 

This cruise is definitely on my "bucket list"!

 

Thanks! It was a great cruise. I would like to do it again at some point! :)

[Ricky's Mom]

Thanks for the review- the more I read the more I am sure we made the right decision for this cruise!

 

Do you remember which evenings were Elegant Nights? And do you know by any chance what night the Chef's Table was held? We still have a couple of days unplanned and might leave them that way.

 

Whoa! Didn't know there WERE Elegant Nights....in the Caribbean I wasn't expecting it. Tks for heads up.

[lake_wannabees]

We're heading out on this cruise in 40 days. Since it's our 30th wedding anniversary we opted for a suite. I've planned the heck out of this except for the Saturday before the cruise. We're coming in on Friday night so good to hear some cab rates and places to definitely see before sailing. Thanks for the review.

 

Joyce :D