Does Carnival?

[Maxax]

Well...just thought I'd drop you line...to say that YES, I did watch you guys sail away...(as long as you were on the boat...that is)...anyhow...you got off a little late...but that happens all the time....guess it was around 4:30-4:40-ish....or actually 3:40 in Amarillo time! Hope you guys are having fun...I'm here in Amarillo...its Monday...and I worked! Bring on Tuesday!!!

[Maxax]

Well....Good Grief...you're back!!! I got up at 6:00 am...Amarillo time of course...this morning...and checked the web cam...and the ole Victory is already sitting in port! So Welcome....home....almost....still gotta get back to Borger! Well...I'm sure you guys had a great time....and I can't wait to hear some of the details!!! It actually....ought to be kinda neat...considering that we just went to all of those same places...this past summer....so we ought to be able to speak on similar terms!!! Well....you guys have a good trip back to Borger...and write me when you get settled back in!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

I'm back...:(

[Maxax]

Well....WELCOME BACK!!!! And now....start telling me all about it!!! Or are you writing that link somewhere else?!?!

 

But come on...lets hear about it!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Well, no, I haven't posted anything anywhere else. I've been trying to catch up on emails, laundry, house cleaning, valentines day for the kids, and unpacking. Plus sorting out all the souveniers I bought for everybody. I did scan some of our pictures and have them posted. That website is: http://community.webshots.com/user/ladyskill

 

We had a ball...they had to throw us off the ship! :( I LOVED the Eastern Itinerary! San Juan wasn't all that great but St. Martin and St. Thomas were absolutely the most beautiful places I've ever seen!

 

I will write a review, but it's liable to be long! I had SOOOOOOOOOOOOO Much fun!

 

Now Rick wants to do the Mexican Riveria in August! And he only wants a balcony from now on! It was just too awsome! I've got lots of other pictures I've taken but I haven't down loaded them yet but when I do I'll be them on the webshots website.

 

I'm exhausted though. We didn't get home until Midnight. We were worried the snow was gonna affect our flights but we got lucky and it didn't.

[Maxax]

Well...those pictures are GREAT!!!! I wish I had more time to look at them all!!! Its off to work you know!!! I am soooooo glad that you guys had such a great time....that is fantastic....we'll definitely have to share/compare notes from those islands!

 

We sure had a good time this past summer doing the Eastern Caribbean thing too.....but we've also done the Western (like yourself)....and personally.....I don't know which one I liked best....they were both awesome!

 

Well...I will talk to you again soon...and can't wait to hear your full review....and the longer....the better!!!

[Maxax]

Well....I think I looked at all your pictures....those were great....I've never seen Paradise Beach before...when we were in Cozumel...we went to Chankanaub (sp?).

 

So....have you gotten your land legs back yet.....did you feel like you were still sleeping on the boat last night? That's always a weird transition back to land ya know!

 

Well....its American Idol and the Olympics tonight....what excitement I know! My life is a whirlwind I tell ya!!! Non-stop action!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures. I'm starting my review today.

 

Oh, have you ever heard of Storming Norman? He was on our ship...

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

I'll post my review on here for you too read! That way you don't have to go looking for it on another thread? Okay? It's starting to get lengthy, so I'm gonna have to do it in parts!

 

Carnival Victory Review 2/5/2006 – Eastern Itinerary

 

Day 1: Our plane left at 5:40am from Amarillo TX. We got to Miami around 12:30pm, Eastern Time. By the time we found our bags and took the bus to the Ship Terminal, we didn’t get to there until around 2:00pm. We got our Gold Sign and Sail cards and was on the ship around 2:30pm. We then found our very easily. We were in 6392. Close to the stairs and elevators. As the week would go by, we discovered it was a great cabin to have. Well, because the life boat drill was around 3:30pm, we didn’t get anything to eat on the ship until 4pm. Finally, our first Carnival Hamburger! Yum, yum! It was well worth the wait! We found our way around the ship pretty easily. To me, the Victory was very easy to get around. We wanted to make it to the Welcome Aboard party, but because we had been up so long we didn’t make it past 8:30pm…we did however get to see it on the TV…it looked like a lot of fun and we are sorry we missed it. DH did stay up and watch some of the Super Bowl on TV. He ordered room service and it took 40 minutes, but he figured since it was Super Bowl night and all the bars were packed, a lot of other people probably ordered room service too. The 40 minutes seemed to be a rare thing because the rest of the week when he ordered room service it only took about 10 to 15 minutes.

[Maxax]

Good Stuff...can't wait to hear all of it!!! Dang...you're really making me want to book something!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Us too! Rick wants to do the Mexican Riviera in August...with a balcony! It's nearly double what we're used to paying!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

I had a hard time with my 'land legs' Monday! The swaying! Whoosh! But it got better! I learned about Paradise beach on CC. We loved it and it was a free beach, you just had to order some food which was reasonably priced.

 

My review is turning out to be longer than I thought it would be!

 

Day 2: We got up around 6am. We had Room Service deliver a ‘pre-breakfast’ with Coffee, Danishes, hot chocolate, milk, and cereal. They were very prompt and it was always good. And we always enjoyed it outside on our balcony every morning!

 

We didn’t really have much planned for today. We ate lunch in the dinning room this time. Met a very interesting person from Chicago, Johnny (I forgot his last name). He turned out to be very nice and would always talk to DS when he saw him after the first time we met. We played the free Bingo and then we went back to our room to get ready for our first formal night. We went to the Captain’s Cocktail party. Very nice, we got to have free drinks but I honestly don’t think they put much alcohol in them! The captain seems to be a very nice man. We also got a bunch of pictures taken today. We don’t usually get dressed up so it was a great opportunity to get some family pictures.

 

Since this was our first night in the dinning room, we had to find our table, but had no problems doing so. Our waiter, Komang, and his assistant, Joe, were very wonderful! They kept my son entertained at dinner every evening! Our table mates, Kim, Kylie, Kari, Cory, Kelsea, and Tim, were very nice and we really enjoyed talking to them and getting to know them. They had lobster on the menu tonight but I had the steak instead. My son, on the other hand, had the Quail, which I honestly didn’t have any desire to eat! After about two bites, he turned to me and said “I don’t think Sissy would like the quail!” He was referring to his big sister, but I got the hint that he didn’t like the quail either! Then for dessert he asked and received a banana split (no this wasn’t on the menu) Komang had gone out of his way to make sure Ricky got wanted he wanted!

 

After dinner we went to the show that night, Vroom. The girl singer, Penny, has an awesome voice! We really enjoyed the show. I can’t remember if it was this night or not that they had the second comedian on. Honestly, he wasn’t very funny, so we didn’t even attempt to the midnight show. You can tell how good of impression he made on me, since I can’t remember his name or what night he was on!

 

After the show we just called it a night about 10.

 

Oh, yea, another thing! The new bedding! This was absolutely wonderful! DH wanted to bring it home with us!

[Maxax]

No....your review is great....the longer the better....I enjoy reading it...and you know what....last time I was on Carnival...on Lobster night...I had the Quail too.....but I actually liked it!!! My wife...she's a Lobster Monster....she always has two...but could easily eat...4-5.....but I don't like it that much....so I always go with something else....and on Carnival....I remember it well....I had the Quail....but thought it was really good! Anyhow....keep writing....this is all good stuff!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Day 3: We will finally get to a port today…but not until 5pm! So, we do our usual, breakfast on the balcony and then look for more activities to do before we get off the ship tonight. Sooooo…we go to play bingo in the Caribbean Lounge. So while waiting to play, I tell DH that I want to check the Bingo balls because I want that 24 Carat Plastic Gold Ship on a Stick. This is when my DS decides he wants it too. So, we tell one of the Dancers that was helping with the scratch off that DS wants to check the balls. She gets with Felipe and he says “Sure!” Now, my DS is committed to do this…but he’s so shy that we don’t think he’ll go up there. When Felipe called him up there he goes up there, gives his name and where he’s from, makes sure there’s 75 Bingo balls, does the thumbs up signal and….grabs the Ship on a stick and runs back down the stairs…all before Felipe has a chance to do his presentation of the Beautiful ship on the stick! Felipe started laughing so hard he could hardly talk! He says “He didn’t care about the balls; he just wanted the Ship on a Stick!” Unfortunately, we didn’t have a camera one on us! SO, if anybody who is reading this was on the ship and there during all this…yes, that was my wonderful little boy!

 

We went to the shopping talk at 11 with Hollywood. He’s a funny guy. I really liked him.

 

When we finally got to San Juan, we were fortunate enough to have our balcony on the side of the ship that you could see the Fort and everything as you were coming in. It was great to watch! We then decided to eat something before we went into port, since were wouldn’t be getting of the boat until after 5pm. So, when we did finally get off the ship it was really dark outside. We hadn’t booked any excursions, because we just wanted to do our ‘own thing’. The only problem with this is that because we got there so late there’s not much to see or do. SO we took a cab to the top of the shopping area and walked back to the ship. That would have been fine, except it started raining on us. Not a hard rain and it wasn’t cold, but it drizzled just enough that you didn’t want to be our in it. We just then basically went back to the ship. To me, they could skip San Juan. The town seemed dirty and we got there too late to see anything because most of the stuff was closed, well, except for Senor Frogs and we weren’t about to take our 7 YO into there.

 

When we got back on the ship, we decided to go to the show that night. It was the world’s fast juggler, Manuel Zuniga. He was very good and very funny! I really liked him. Then they had the comedian (It was Tuesday, not Monday that we saw the comedian), Dave Miller. He wasn’t funny at all and really a waste of time. So after the show we stayed up to do the midnight Mexican Buffet. Being from Texas we just HAD to! And it was really good, we were thoroughly surprised! Then it was off to bed so we could get ready for St. Martin the next day.

[Maxax]

That's a funny story...good for your son...I saw the picture with him...and the ship on a stick...and my first thought was, "How'd he get that....they must have won something!"

 

As for San Juan....I think the problem you guys had...was just how late you got in there....and I agree...after dark...it wouldn't be that much fun...unless...your only intention was to go to some place like Sr. Frogs! We REALLY enjoyed San Juan...and would totally, totally go back. But we were there during the day...as I told you before...we got to see a lot of the town, we went to a fancy rum shop where they gave out free drinks...went to El Morro...and did a lot of shopping....later on....once it did get dark....then we went back to the ship. Anyhow....maybe some other time you'll get to go there during the day...it really is a neat place! Then again...my attitude is always...."Its all what you make of it!" I live in Amarillo...and LOVE it!

[Maxax]

P.S. I saw your additional pictures....and we went to Coki Beach too....it was a very nice beach...but a little small...and they say that...that is the best beach on St. Thomas....(which isn't that bad...but again...its kinda small)...the other beach on St. Maarten...looked a bit bigger! Is that one on the Dutch side?!?! As you know...we went to Orient Beach...on the nudy side of the island....nudity and all...that was one of the most awesome beaches...maybe the most....that we have ever been too!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

I also think if we had been in San Juan during the day we would have liked it better. I wanted to go to the Fort but because it was after 5, they were closed.

 

I was surprised that Coki beach wasn't more crowded. It's also part of Coral World. I was really impressed with how clean and crystal clean the water was! I just posted some of our underwater pictures from there. We were kinda new to the underwater camera thing so they aren't the best but they're not bad.

 

We didn't do the Orient Beach because of the nudity, I just really didn't want to expose Ricky to that. The Divi Little Bay beach was great. We really liked it, the water wasn't as clear close to the beach as it was in St. Thomas though.

[Maxax]

We went to Coral World too...when we were in St. Thomas....it is really neat...but OVER priced!!! I don't remember exactly...but it was darn near...something like $40/pp....and it really only takes you about an hour to see it all....again...its neat...but not worth $40!!! Coki Beach was nice....very clear water....and good rum drinks....(of which we only had ONE...but they were good). That beach in St. Maarten looks really nice....and yes, you totally made the right call with regards to the little one!!!

 

Well...its Friday...I'm not moving very fast today....just worn out I guess....ready for the weekend! We've got to get something set up....where you work...2 days...and are off...for 5!!!!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Since before I left, I've only worked 4 days a week the weeks I've been working! THen next week we our off for President's day on Monday! YIPPEE! I just wish I had some free time! I'm helping coach a BB team and we had a game at 8 last night and another one tonight at 8!

 

Here's some more of my review...I honestly don't know which side we were on...I think the dutch side...

 

Day 4: We get to go to St. Martin today! Yea, after San Juan and not liking it very well, I was really ready for something I would like.

 

We didn’t do any excursions through Carnival in St. Martin. We just basically got off the ship, asked the information desk that is set up with all the different shops as you get off the ship where a good family beach was. They suggested Little Bay Beach. So from there we went and got a cab to the beach. It was just a $12 cab ride. Just so happens this is where the Excursion for the Divi Little Bay Beach goes for Carnival! So we made a really good choice! It cost us $15 at the beach for two chairs and an umbrella. But Like I said, it was way cheaper than Carnival’s! We loved the beach. It was clean. It had snorkeling equipment, wave runners, parasailing, boogie boards and other stuff you could rent fairly cheaply if you wanted to. We got snorkeling equipment and a boogie board. They were only $5 each. Great price! We didn’t buy any alcoholic drinks there so I can’t tell you how much they cost. But cokes with a cup of ice were $2 each, but if you went to the little store at the front of the beach they were a little cheaper…like $1.50 each and they were already cold. We probably stayed about 3 hours and then went into Phillipsburg and did some shopping. They have a really cool shopping place there! We really liked it. We were back on the ship about 4:30, but we didn’t actually sail until 7pm. So we took showers and went to dinner in the dinning room. I was pretty tired after a long day (for me) in St. Martin, so I didn’t go to the show. Ricky and Rick went to the show; it was the Magic show with Rand Woodbury. They said it was pretty good. They then just came back to the room and called it a night. We had to get ready to get up early in the morning so we could go through immigration before we could get off the ship in St. Thomas.

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Hey, don't forget Daytona this weekend...Jr. Did good in the 150's!

[Maxax]

So....you saw no nudity on St. Maarten....(alas....a squandered opportunity)...kidding!!!

 

Oh...Daytona...I'll be all over that....AND I WAS right there with you Leslie....until you said....the 150's!!! (This is where Engineer in me comes out)...but its the Twin 125's! That's okay....you were just excited...and added a few laps....I understand!

 

I DIDN'T see those though...I hate when they run those things ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON!!!! Most of the world WORKS Thursday Afternoon....NASCAR!!!! And with Survivor, Beauty and the Geek, and the Olympics on TV Thursday night....I didn't even attempt to find any reruns of the 125's! But yeah, I did hear that Jr. ran well....hopefully just saving his car for the race! Let's keep our fingers crossed...I want a Championship this year!!!! Jr. is DUE!!!! Its time....he's not getting any younger....he's got to catch up to Gordon!!! Not to mention...I'd go play in traffic if Gordon ever caught up to...and beat the mythical 7 Championships!!!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Nope, no nudity in St. Martin! I think DH was a little disappointed with that one.

 

Okay, so it's the Twin 125's, I don't get to watch them either, so I always get them confused

 

The only part of racing that I like to watch Jeff Gordon do, is HIT THE WALL! Him and his cheating team mate Jimmy Johnson!

 

I haven't got to see Survivor in two weeks. We had another BB game tonight! I'm never gonna get caught up!

[Maxax]

Wow...2 weeks and no Survivor!!! Its been good this season...a bit different with the whole Exile Island thing and all....kinda has a different feel....anyhow...you'll get caught up...just watch this week!

 

St. Maarten is a great island...its hands down one of the nicest places on Earth! (And that's NOT because of the nudity...it was just a cool island.)

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

This coming from the guy that started to topless deck question!

[CrazieNCruisingGypsy2]

Hey, I just figured out you're finally as old as I am AGAIN! Happy Belated BD!