Victory trip report with pictures and Fun Times

[CruisinCrow]

FANTASTIC review so far! Thanks for taking time to put this together. I am on this itinerary with my mother in July, and it will be her first cruise. I am hoping she likes it.

Quick question...from the pier, how do you get to the Fish Fry? I have heard so many good things about it and would love to go there. I believe there is a place called Frankie Gone Bananas there that someone told me had delicious conch fritters and conch salad.

 

You can take a taxi or bus. The taxis will pick you up right at the pier. Here's a link to the taxi rates: http://www.bahamas-treasures.com/bahamas/Nassau_Taxi_Fares_2004.html I'm just not sure if the Fish Fry would be considered part of downtown ($8) or part of Cable Beach ($15).

 

A bus costs $1.25 a person. You'll want the #10 bus, which you can pick up at the corner of Bay Street and George Street just past the straw market.

 

You could also walk but since you said you're going in July and with your mom, I'd recommend a taxi or bus. :)

[CruisinCrow]

Excellent review and marvelous pictures, I cannot wait to read the rest. Thank you for doing this wonderful review right now, I'm sailing on the Victory next Sunday, the 10th, and this really just put my excitement level at the maximum!! :D

 

I'm glad I could help with the excitement. :) I promise, I'll finish up tonight.

[Missy1005]

My best friend and I only have 6 more days before sailing and your pictures and messages about the Victory really got us more excited to see this beautiful ship. I know we will have a great time. Thank you

[CruisinCrow]

Ok, the last chapter and the Behind the Fun Tour.

 

Day 3 - Sea Day

 

We woke up to sunny skies and the ship at a complete standstill. Odd… We found out later that because of the wind and current, we’d traveled too far the night before. Since we didn’t want to arrive back in Port Canaveral that afternoon, the captain had decided to stop the ship and let us enjoy the spot of sunshine.

 

After breakfast at the buffet, Ron and I went to the Indian Library to meet for our “Behind the Fun” tour, a guided tour of areas of the ship that are normally off limits to guests. Even though we’d done the tour before on Carnival Paradise, I figured that with a different ship and different staff, it would be a new experience. But when we got to the library, guess who our tour guide turned out to be. Giselle from Paradise! That was pretty funny. :) She actually recognized us too since I took notes during the tour. Apparently not many people do that.

 

There were 15 of us in the tour group. After we were wanded down by security and Giselle had confiscated everyone’s cell phones (no cameras or recording devices allowed), we made our way through the Atlantic Dining Room to the galley. The dining room was decorated for the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast, another new addition for Carnival. It looked really cute but I think I would have gotten tired of the music by the end of breakfast. :) In the galley, we met with Executive Chef Michael. The chef on Paradise had spent a lot of time talking about how much money he made and how important it was to “control the cooks”. Chef Michael seemed much more personable and concentrated on food preparation and cleaning procedures. He told us that cruise ships are inspected twice a year by the USPH and have to receive a score of 86 out of 100 to pass. Victory has received a score of 100 five times, which Chef Michael compared to winning the Super Bowl five times. That’s a big deal!

 

We each got to sample a chocolate-covered strawberry before moving on to our next stop, the show lounge, where we met Jemma the Dance Captain and Chris the Entertainment Technical Manager. In the women’s dressing room (Jemma said the men’s dressing room was too messy), we got to see all the costumes laid out for that night’s show. Chris explained how difficult it is to bring a new show to a ship. Because some of the set pieces are so large, they actually have to cut a hole in the hull during dry dock to switch out the pieces. Chris said it is easier to move the ship to a different port than to change the show. He also told us that the theater has 100 lights but no spares, so preventative maintenance is very important. It reminded me how self-sufficient a ship has to be. You can’t run to Home Depot when something breaks.

 

Next we walked through some of the crew areas – the crew lounge, mess and training center. Giselle explained that the dining staff trains in the crew mess first until they are ready to serve guests. Crew members have a 6-month contract and typically work a 70-hour work week with a maximum of 14 hours a day. Ron asked if they had to punch time clocks and Giselle said yes, their clock system was called “Fun Time”. Ironic. :)

 

On Deck 0, where the majority of crew activity takes place, we walked past the morgue and the brig (which fortunately were not in use). We also got to see the ship’s laundry and some of the food storage areas, including a very brief stop in one of the freezers. Brrr, too cold for me!

 

Then it was on to the engine control room, “the heart of the ship”. This was Ron’s favorite part of the tour, probably because Ron, unlike me, actually knew what all those buttons and lights meant. :) We weren’t able to go into the engine room itself for safety reasons but Antonio, one of the Second Engineers, gave us a look at it on the live monitors. They were actually in the middle of replacing the armature on one of the six diesel engines. Ron and I were amazed that they could do that while we were at sea.

 

Our final stop was the bridge. Giselle pointed out a new man-overboard system that was being tested, which used infrared sensors. We also noticed a glass window cut into the floor of the bridge. Giselle said that this allows the officers to see exactly how far the ship is from the dock. When a ship docks at a port for the first time, they paint the Carnival funnel logo on the dock to mark the spot. The next time the ship is at that port, they can line the window up with the logo. I’d seen those funnels on the dock in Nassau and wondered what they were for. Now I know!

 

Then Captain Isidoro Renda came onto the bridge and we had our picture taken with him as a group. He was very gracious and took time to answer everyone’s questions. There was a little girl on the tour who was completely star struck by the captain. After the tour was over and we were headed back to the atrium, she was talking excitedly. It is fun to see a young person discovering what could turn into a lifelong passion. I think we had a future cruise ship captain in our group!

 

[CruisinCrow]

It was noon by then, so Ron and I headed off to the Seaday Brunch in the Pacific Dining Room. I love the Seaday Brunch – it’s so much more civilized than the buffet. :) Usually I order one the breakfast items but we were both in the mood for lunch this time so Ron had the pork chop and I had the bacon macaroni and cheese. Yum!

 

 

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

The sunshine was still holding out so we changed into bathing suits and went in search of lounge chairs on the Lido deck. We finally found two together at the back of the ship above the Sirens’ pool. We spent the afternoon relaxing, taking a few rides on the pool slide, and napping. At some point during my nap, the ship started moving again. We were on our way back to Port Canaveral! Around 4, we went down to the cabin, where we sat on our balcony and enjoyed a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, a gift from Chef Michael for taking the Behind the Fun Tour. Now that’s what I call vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

 

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

When we went to dinner that night, my heart sank when we were seated at the same table as the night before. I hoped the wait team didn’t remember that we’d walked out! But service turned out to be fine, not great but definitely a lot faster and more organized. I ordered a little bit of everything – sushi, crab cake, tomato and mozzarella salad, mahi mahi and (of course) chocolate melting cake. From our table, we could see a pretty sunset out the big windows.

 

 

The trip went by too fast! We had one last drink at the Alchemy Bar and watched another show at the Comedy Club. We went to the “secret deck” to see the stars, but the peace kept getting interrupted by the roving groups of teenagers who were roaming the hallways and jamming the stairwells. I guess they weren’t ready to go home either. So it was back to our cabin, where we had a beautiful view of the full moon from our balcony.

 

Happy Cruising to you all!

~Susan

[CruisinCrow]

As promised, here is a link to the Fun Times: http://susancrow.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

 

I also wrote up a little article for my blog about the Alchemy Bar. Here is the link to that: http://susancrow.blogspot.com/2016/04/carnivals-alchemy-bar.html

 

If anyone has any questions, I'll try to answer.

[thedrunkestmonk]

Did you notice any problem with the buffet lines? (I hear it is a big drawback)

Also, just curious about the crowd. With it being during spring break time, did you notice a lot of "partying" youth? How about school aged children?

 

Oh, and thank you for the wonderful review!

Edited April 5, 2016 by thedrunkestmonk

[piper45maru]

Thank you so much for the amazing, wonderful, picture-filled review! I am boarding her on the 7th, and I can't tell you how excited your review has made me. I was on her sister ship eons ago (got married on that cruise!), so I can't wait to experience all the similarities and differences that 13 years and being a sister ship bring! We have Your Time Dining, too, so I'm curious to see how our experience compares to yours.

 

Thanks again!

[piper45maru]

PS So thrilled to have the Fun Times. I generally take things day-by-day, minute-by-minute, but it's nice to have a general idea going in.

[ShellLoves2cruise]

Thank you for your wonderful review, especially for including the details of the Behind the Fun tour. My friend and I are hoping to get a couple tickets for this tour. After reading your review of the tour, I am definitely hoping to be able to do it <fingers crossed> We have FTTF and know we must go straight to the excursion desk as soon as we board the ship to purchase our tickets.

 

Your review and pictures are fantastic...I felt like I was on the ship, and tour, with you. I am even more excited than I was before, if that's even possible. :D

 

 

Just 4 more days until we leave for Port Canaveral and 5 days until we set sail...we are driving over the night before so we can be right there and on the ship as soon as she begins boarding. Thank you for also including the Fun Times, we will be on the 4 day cruise however I think they will be very helpful in planning our days!

[diamonddaddy]

Great review

[CruisinCrow]

Did you notice any problem with the buffet lines? (I hear it is a big drawback)

Also, just curious about the crowd. With it being during spring break time, did you notice a lot of "partying" youth? How about school aged children?

 

Oh, and thank you for the wonderful review!

 

You're welcome!

 

Yes, the horror stories about the buffet lines on Victory are true. We ate lunch there before we got off the ship for the Segway tour, and (I timed it) it took 5 minutes just to get to the plates. 15 minutes to get through the line. It has to do with the way the buffet is laid out with everything in a single line. It would be so much better if they would separate things into different stations. It doesn't help that people seem to forget what they want by the time they get to the food and just stand there while they make up their mind. :)

 

I actually thought the lines were slightly better this time than our last cruise on Victory, but maybe we just learned how to avoid them better. Also if you just want one item, I recommend nicely asking someone in the line if you could reach in and get it. Most people don't mind since they aren't moving anyway. :)

 

Seating isn't an issue. If you can't find a table on the main level, there are plenty more one deck up. Take the stairs behind the dessert area. A lot of people don't realize there is additional seating up there.

 

There were a lot of families with school age and teenage children on our cruise. Not many college age that I saw. The loudest drunks were the full grown adults. The kids really weren't a problem. I mainly noticed them the last night when they were roaming all over the ship is big packs.

[CruisinCrow]

Thank you so much for the amazing, wonderful, picture-filled review! I am boarding her on the 7th, and I can't tell you how excited your review has made me. I was on her sister ship eons ago (got married on that cruise!), so I can't wait to experience all the similarities and differences that 13 years and being a sister ship bring! We have Your Time Dining, too, so I'm curious to see how our experience compares to yours.

 

Thanks again!

 

It's fun to compare sister ships. I want to go on Valor when it moves to Port Canaveral.

 

I hope you have better luck with Your Time Dining than we had! :)

[CruisinCrow]

Thank you for your wonderful review, especially for including the details of the Behind the Fun tour. My friend and I are hoping to get a couple tickets for this tour. After reading your review of the tour, I am definitely hoping to be able to do it <fingers crossed> We have FTTF and know we must go straight to the excursion desk as soon as we board the ship to purchase our tickets.

 

Your review and pictures are fantastic...I felt like I was on the ship, and tour, with you. I am even more excited than I was before, if that's even possible. :D

 

 

Just 4 more days until we leave for Port Canaveral and 5 days until we set sail...we are driving over the night before so we can be right there and on the ship as soon as she begins boarding. Thank you for also including the Fun Times, we will be on the 4 day cruise however I think they will be very helpful in planning our days!

 

It's a great tour and well worth doing. It cost $55 a person and lasted about 2 and a half hours. Afterwards we each got a Behind the Fun baseball cap and backpack plus we got to keep our lanyards from the tour. When we got back to the cabin, we had a plate of strawberries waiting for us and later that night they delivered the picture with captain.

 

Make sure you pack some closed toed shoes because you can't wear sandals or flip flops on the tour.

 

Have a great cruise!

[CruisinCrow]

Oh, one more comment about the BTF tour. Last time we did it, 13 of the 16 people in the group were guys and they had 10 million questions when we got to the engine control room. This time there were more women and several kids. We spent more time in the crew areas and less time in the engine control room. I just thought it was really interesting how the group demographics affected the tour.

 

I believe they take 16 people max so definitely try to sign up first thing when you get on the ship.

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for the great review! Your photos are excellent! I thought the atrium was also very pretty. I do love color. Your review brought back some great memories of my cruise on Victory last year. Thanks again:)

[Barbiegator]

You can take a taxi or bus. The taxis will pick you up right at the pier. Here's a link to the taxi rates: http://www.bahamas-treasures.com/bahamas/Nassau_Taxi_Fares_2004.html I'm just not sure if the Fish Fry would be considered part of downtown ($8) or part of Cable Beach ($15).

 

A bus costs $1.25 a person. You'll want the #10 bus, which you can pick up at the corner of Bay Street and George Street just past the straw market.

 

You could also walk but since you said you're going in July and with your mom, I'd recommend a taxi or bus. :)

My husband and I use local #10 bus to get to Fish Fry. Sometimes just ride it to daiquiri shack across from Sheraton. Fresh fruit and yummy. Then catch another bus back to downtown.Also just ride for roundtrip to sight see. Locals use it a lot but very safe.

[CruisinCrow]

My husband and I use local #10 bus to get to Fish Fry. Sometimes just ride it to daiquiri shack across from Sheraton. Fresh fruit and yummy. Then catch another bus back to downtown.Also just ride for roundtrip to sight see. Locals use it a lot but very safe.

 

Agree. My husband and I always use the bus when we can. Just have small bills since the drivers don't make change.

[cuteflyygirl]

I've been waiting for these Victory reviews. Great review! I loved the details about the BTS, I may do this on my next cruise:) Thanks for taking the time to do it :)

[CruisinCrow]

I went back through my old pictures to see what the Alchemy Bar looked like when it was the Caspian Wine Bar. A little different. :)

 

Caspian Wine Bar:

 

 

 

 

 

Alchemy Bar:

 

 

[ShellLoves2cruise]

Hi Susan,

I just thought of another question I'd like to ask you...are the safes in the rooms the kind you have to put in your own code or are they the kind that any old card with a magnetic strip works?

 

TIA

[CruisinCrow]

Hi Susan,

I just thought of another question I'd like to ask you...are the safes in the rooms the kind you have to put in your own code or are they the kind that any old card with a magnetic strip works?

 

TIA

 

Ours was the kind with the 4-digit code. I like those better.