Carnival Victory 5 day Eastern GT & LSC

[agc291]

Better late than never. We took this cruise Feb 3-8. This will be a short review as I have seen quite a few Victory reviews lately. It was just myself 24 & my boyfriend 26 on this sailing, our 4th carnival cruise. We chose this sailing mostly for the itinerary as we had never been to either island. We were able to get a great deal with some OBC for this sailing along with using a 20% off fare coupon from our Glory cruise.

 

Check in:

We flew in morning of and checked in at MIA airport after getting our luggage. This service was fast, we took our pics and were given our sail& sign cards as well as our FTTF priority boarding placard.

 

The ship:

We had been on the Victory for our first cruise so we were already familiar with the layout. We find this layout very easy to follow and never find the ship to seem over crowded, even during peak eating times in the buffet.

The Victory is due to go into drydock in late March early April 2015. The ship does show small wear and tear here and there but nothing serious. A couple missing or cracked tiles, small carpet stains in high traffic areas, etc. Overall the ship is still in great condition and I would not hesitate to sail on her again if given the chance before dry dock.

 

Our room:

We sailed in the same room as before. We had interior room 1040 on the Panorama deck. We love how close the room is to both the secret decks and to the lido deck. It is also only steps from the elevator so we have no issues getting to the casino, dining rooms, shops. We have always had interior rooms and the layout of this rooms seems to have the best use of space. We didnt have much interaction with our room steward but they did a great job. We usually request that our room is only cleaned in the evening because there is no need for it to be picked up twice. They were happy to accommodate.

 

The crew:

We found that as always the crew on board was very friendly. The bar staff were the best we have ever came across. Boriphat worked on the lido bar and we saw him around throughout the evenings here and there. He was FABULOUS. Seriously the best bartender we have ever had. The crew at guest services were nice and did their best to deal with everyone in a timely manner. The only staff we came across that rubbed us the wrong way was some of the entertainment staff. It was mostly Jennifer, who was the host of the comedy club and games throughout the week. She was rude to multiple guests, talked way too much and was mostly annoying to be around. One of the game shows she seemed to pick a favorite and made the other two contestants stop playing so her favorite could then catch up. Once she caught up she ended up winning. It was really sort of ridiculous.

 

MDR:

We had Anytime Dining as always. This was significantly slower than any of our other cruises. I believe our first night was the only night with a wait but the service was very slow. Our waiters were always great but we were in for dinner for at least 1.5-2 hours each night. I am not sure if they are allowing more people into ATD or if they have cut the # of servers but the service was incredibly slow, too slow. They had their dance numbers which were always entertaining.

 

FTTF:

We decided to purchase FTTF for our cruise strictly to be able to put our carry on bags in the room early. Silly to some but it is a nice feature to us. We also used to special line at guest services. This came in handy multiple times during the cruise, especially toward the end of the week. We didnt need to use the tender perk because we got off early and were able to hop right on. We also used the special debark perk. We had an early flight (11 am) and wanted to get to the airport as soon as possible. We were through customs and in a taxi by 7:45

 

Itinerary:

 

We went to Grand Turk on Wednesday Feb 5 & Little Stirrup Cay on Friday Feb 7, we were in port 7-5 both days. We had never been to either island and we were excited to go to a private island. Both islands have become favorite stops.

 

Grand Turk was amazing. The water was beautiful and it was great to be so close to the beach from the dock. We got off at about 9 am and walked around a little before heading over to Margaritaville. We got some drinks and picked a lounger under the palm trees and relaxed, enjoying our view. Through out the day we made our way back and forth getting drinks, swimming some. The water was warm but the beach was rocky where you first walk in. It seemed to go away the further down the beach you went.

Something to mention is the cost of everything around here. The island certainly seems to be more expensive than others on regards to both shopping and the drinks we purchased. Towards the end of the day we got one last drink and hung around Margaritavilles pool area. Everyone seemed to have a great time and there were a lot of people hanging around the pool. They also had some cabanas to rent and a flowrider that people were enjoying. They had a DJ playing music but it didnt interrupt the serene setting at the beach. The day in port was amazing and the weather was gorgeous.

 

Little Stirrup Cay

This is actually Royal Caribbeans CoCo Cay which RCI rents out to Carnival occasionally. This island would be our first tender experience. As mentioned above we were able to easily hop on a tender with no line as it was about 9 am. We walked to the right of the island because I already knew I wanted to go to Barefoot Beach. We walked past some bars, hammocks etc until we found the beach and it was worth the walk. There were a lot of beaches along the way but the views we saw were so amazing. It was low tide so I followed many other cruises out pretty far. We found some conch, sea urchins, sea snails, and a lot of fish. Some kayakers and snorklers a bit further out said they saw some barracudas and sharks. Later in the day there were some rays swimming right off the beach which was pretty cool. After getting back it was obvious I had gotten pretty burnt as I was out in the reflective water for a couple of hours. We went to the stopped at a bar, ate the BBQ lunch and then headed around the island for a nature walk. They offered an excursion but we opted to walk the trail ourselves. There were lots of iguanas walking the island and we saw plenty along the trail. We ended up back just a ways past barefoot beach. We went down to the first beach, did some shopping and then headed back to shore. Another great day and we really enjoyed the relaxation of being on a cruise line private island.

 

We had great weather. We did come across multiple people who said they were sea sick though out but we didnt feel a thing. We both grew up on boats and it takes a lot for us to feel it so I am not sure! I think you would have to be very sensitive to feel it on this sailing. We really had a great time on this winter getaway and would love to stop at these ports again.

 

I will post a few pictures. If you are interested in more in depth info or additional pictures, feel free to check out my travel blog linked in my signature. I mostly use it for friends & family to follow our travels but do post a lot more info.

Edited March 17, 2014 by agc291

[agc291]

Welcome to Grand Turk

 

View of the ship from the beach

 

Margarittaville Pool from one of the bars

 

Barefoot Beach

 

View of Barefoot Beach from the water

 

Edited March 17, 2014 by agc291

[Pellaz]

Nice, concise review! (Unlike, say, mine. :) )

 

I really envy you for visiting Little Stirrup Cay! Hands down the best beach snorkeling I've seen so far....I wanna go back so bad!

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for the review...and really nice photos. :):):):)

[quickrate]

Next time you go to Grand Turk, go to Jack's Shack. As you get off the ship, walk down the beach to the left about 6 blocks. Drinks are much more reasonable than Margaritaville and it is a great place to hang out for the day.

Pat

[agc291]

Next time you go to Grand Turk, go to Jack's Shack. As you get off the ship, walk down the beach to the left about 6 blocks. Drinks are much more reasonable than Margaritaville and it is a great place to hang out for the day.

Pat

 

 

Thanks we walked down that way pretty late so it was full. we were disappointed that we werent able to experience it. There will definitely be a next time and we will head down that way.

[agc291]

Thanks for the review...and really nice photos. :):):):)

Thank you:D

[agc291]

Nice, concise review! (Unlike, say, mine. :) )

 

I really envy you for visiting Little Stirrup Cay! Hands down the best beach snorkeling I've seen so far....I wanna go back so bad!

 

Next time we will snorkel. I was kicking myself for not. We are looking at a couple cruises to go again next Feb. Cant wait! Its a beautiful place for sure.