Carnival Victory Aug 21-25, 2017: All the details on our fabulous cruise!

[ricew001]

Hi all. We just got home from our Aug 21-25 cruise on the Carnival Victory. I am going to give you all a day-by-day review that I hope you will enjoy! First I'm going to start with some details before my play by play of each day.

 

This cruise was our 25th wedding anniversary celebration and we absolutely enjoyed our magical trip! This was our first cruise since 2011 and that one was also on the Victory - but a different itinerary. I booked this cruise about 15 months ahead of time and had everything paid off - including the Cheers package!! This is the first time I did that and we only had a $263 bill at the end of the cruise! That small tab was for our incredible B&W photo session where we bought $200 worth of pix (although the complete deal was offered at $2,000. GULP!!!) Carnival photos, and taxes on drinks. Plus a $19 spa charge. (more about that soon)

 

Overall - it was fantastic and I can say we are "satisfied cruisers." We are very much of the mindset that your perspective is what makes a trip great or awful. That said, I will say the minor things that I noticed (and I want to get out of the way so I can really talk about the good stuff!)

#1 - the Carnival staff in the Miami terminal were not friendly when we arrived on Monday, 8/21. I was surprised. Even my hubby commented and he NEVER criticizes anything. The grumpy old man at the Carnival transfer desk at the Fort Lauderdale airport is where it started. I was all excited and walked up and said hi there and he gave me this look that acted like he was annoyed that I was happy. Now on the way back, the staff there was very friendly and welcoming. Huge difference. Made me wonder why Monday's crew were such sour pusses. They also told me we didn't need our boarding passes and then the next four people fussed at us for not having them out.

#2 - we spent an afternoon at the adult pool (Sirens I think). Lots of crew that didn't seem busy and lots of dirty dishes just laying everywhere.

#3 - they never got a room service order right - whether it was over the phone or was written on the door hanger. Like yesterday I requested 2 muffins - I got 4 croissants! LOL! I like plain sandwiches and couldn't seem to get any at night without mayo and all the trimmings. Now as I said, we are positive people and my dad always says: "Don't complain with your mouth full" so what can I really say when I'm eating great food on a cruise with my DH in the middle of the ocean!! Those are the boring details so now.....on to the good stuff.......

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[ricew001]

Our cruise started on Monday, 8/21 - our actual 25th wedding anniversary!!!! We flew from Raleigh-Durham to Fort Lauderdale and then took a Carnival transfer to the Victory at Miami (next time I will uber). We got up at 3 am. Left the house at 4 am and got to the airport at 5 am. Our flight was 7:30 - 9:30 and we arrived in plenty of time. (I packed 2 suitcases and a carry on bag. But then couldn't squash our dinner clothes in, so we packed another bigger suitcase - which was good as it held our souvenirs/gifts too on the way back. However, DH said let's try to travel lighter next time. Although I didn't use one dress, one cover up, one pair of shorts, one pair of flip flops and one tshirt, but I used all the other clothes!)

 

I selected FLL because I like Southwest and it was much cheaper flying there than Miami. It was very easy too!

 

I booked a Carnival transfer. I mentioned grumpy old man at the airport who was wearing a Carnival jacket, so I assume he was Carnival and not contract. We met two sisters while waiting who we really liked and kept running into them and even enjoyed an excursion together!

 

The bus (like a greyhound) was air conditioned and we got the first seats!! But we stopped to pick up 2 or 3 more groups at the airport and it was later getting there than I expected. Once we got to the ship around noon, we went to Lido and got some food at the buffet. Oh my word was it HOT!!!! I mean Miami in August is definitely going to be hot but the sun was blazing and it was REALLY scorching. Our room opened at 1:30 and we went straight to it. Met our fabulous steward (Putu). I gave him $20 and asked him to keep our ice bucket full. (We were clueless and didn't realize there was a fridge in the closet til the last day!!!! LOL!) He was a sweetheart the whole trip. He gave us a $50 spa card for our anniversary!!!!!

My sister had ordered us a $40 photo credit and a $25 drink package. Since we already had Cheers it looked like they credited us that amount to the account. Let me just say if you have someone you know traveling that's a really nice little gift!

DH took a nap while I unpacked. We had a room with oceanview and king size bed. It was very comfortable and Putu kept it cleaned and stocked. (The rail in the shower that you hold was broken the whole trip. nothing else seemed to be a problem. Unless you count the hair dryer which is not much of a hair dryer. LOL)

[ricew001]

8/21: Well I used sea bands and used Motion Eaze in addition to starting ginger on Thursday and taking the 24 hour dramamine every day. I had no issues at all!! And I have motion sickness fairly easy. let me say that Dramamine plus alcohol equals getting knocked on your butt fast!

We went to the serentiy deck where we met the best bartender of the whole cruise!!!! Her name was Kat. I think she said she had 12 years experience. My favorite drink is a a Carnival Cosmo but the coconut martini looked good. I tried it and didn't like it so I immediately ordered the cosmo and it was perfect. (That's another great thing about the Cheers package. If you get a drink you don't like - no big deal! Just order another one.) Then I got a second one. Then I spilled one and she gave me another one! Ya'll - those drinks plus a dramamine packed a punch! We got a nap and then went to dinner. More to come...

[easyboy]

Nice start (except for the grumpy old man at the Carnival desk at FLL)!

Will be following along.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[ricew001]

Monday 8/21 -Your Time Dining

Diyan was our waiter and he was superb. He and his whole staff were fabulous. He was very skilled with interacting with people and making them feel good. What an art! We had him two nights in a row and they nicely sat us at a table for two near the window and the view leaving Miami was amazing! (As it was the next night leaving Key West.)

I had the flank steak and baked potato. It was ok. Our local Outback Steakhouse was better honestly, but it was good and I was hungry. I ate a lot of delicious bread (another way to combat seasickness). I had dessert and can't remember what I got. On Tuesday and Wednesday I got the chocolate melting cake which never ever disappoints!!! We got the caramel cheesecake for dessert at brunch on Thursday and it was delicious too.

We had our pictures made that night and I was very pleased with the results. We bought 3 8x10's from that night! And while I didn't put as much effort into getting ready (thanks to Kat's Cosmos!!!) I still thought they were lovely!

My hubby is a musician so that's where we tend to hang out is with music. So we walked into the piano bar...and life just got better! We discovered the talents of Reynold Senn (Sugar Rey from Australia!) Find him on Facebook as Reynold Senn Music. He was great! The crowd sang a lot and the variety was just amazing. Then in walks this guy and someone says there is Allen and he's famous! Allen, turns out, had sang at Mel's diner in Universal Studios and runs an entertainment group out of Orlando. He had taken the 8 guys who work for him on this cruise and Rey graciously let them sing and harmonize with him and they were hype men pulling in everyone who walked by. at one point later in the cruise, they had to close the door because we were so loud it was impacting the comedy show!! We were having more fun in the piano bar anyway!! We went every single night as did many other people and we closed it down on the last night. but on Monday i was exhausted. Hubby tucked me in about 11:30 or so and went back to the Piano Bar for a few more drinks and met Rey and talked with him. I slept like a baby and we arrived at Key West the next morning at about 7:30 on 8/22..Tuesday recap is next.....

[ricew001]

Tuesday 8/22 - we did the pub crawl in Key West. oh my word it was hot. SCORCHING hot. I live in NC and I know heat and humidity. I have been to Florida a lot, even Key West - but not Key West in August. Sun was shining and humidity was high!! I was still struggling a bit with all the drinks from the night before too...so.....

We lucked up and got an air conditioned bus to the first bar. The bartender commented that she had to get up early because of us. Okay............

The bars were all cool and mainly outdoor. I'm sure they would have been awesome at night. We got one ticket per bar to use for a drink and you could save your ticket and get two or more at a different bar. The last bar was my favorite. It was called Rick's and the fun bartender was Miguel. They had air conditioning!!!! And two guys playing live music. That's what I expected in the other 5, but since it was so early that wasn't the"vibe" yet. The Hard Rock cafe had a bartender telling Little Johnny jokes. Hubby listened to those and had the drink there while I shopped and spent a small fortune on gifts to take home.We had very little time to shop and I'm a shop-a-holic so I wish we'd had a longer chance at that. We had the open air Conch Train on the way back and talked to a lot of people that we enjoyed chatting with on the ride back.

[ricew001]

Tuesday night 8/22

We got all dressed up for elegant night. I had a floor length black dress with what I thought was a plunging neckline (little did I know) and fancy jewelry. Hubby had a white dress shirt and black dress pants. He balked at taking his suit jacket since it was hot and I said you'll be fine without it. Oh I was so right.

 

We signed up to have our black and white photos done in the photo studio. WOW. the session was fun and the results were AMAZING!! We got to see the photos - all 31 of them on Thursday night. (The entire package was $2,000 - and it was presented to us as about our only option. In the end we purchased four 8x10s for $200. I truly wish they had given us an option to purchase the 31 on digital media for a reasonable price. That was available for $800 but we just couldn't see paying that.) but the four we got are incredible. I mean incredible. We bought about $100 worth of Carnival photos too. That was the only thing we really spent money on and we've been married 25 years and never done professional photos so I don't think we did bad.

 

We had Diyan and his superb staff again at dinner. I got the salmon for dinner. It was ok. The potatoes au gratin were good and the melting cake was sensational. I wish I had picked creme brulee because that was the only night it was offered and I missed it :-( Keep that in mind. chocolate melting cake was available every night. I had a glass of sangria and it was really good. I had a cosmo while we were waiting for our pix and we had spent some time at the adult pool and had a drink or two out there earlier. It was hard finding the adult pool and it was rather a party atmosphere that day, but it was hot and the water felt good. I also got a nice little nap at the pool while DH enjoyed watching the young girls dancing in the pool. LOL

 

Back to the piano bar after dinner and it was so much fun.I ordered a drink I didn't really like and gave it to someone else. No you're not supposed to do that but it had set there for hours and the bartender was hard to get there. We had a great time at the piano bar. It was so much fun!! the night before they wished us a happy anniversary. It made us feel really special as we got that so much through the week. we stayed up really late since Cozumel didn't start til 12 the next day. I ordered us room service when we got back to our cabin and yes it was right that time - and came very fast. I put our order out for Wednesday and went to bed. The ship had a gentle rock at night that made sleeping wonderful. I'd glance at the window but the speed and the waves could be motion sickness triggers so I just glanced. I love having the window though and waking up to the light and seeing the port!

 

So I just have to say this about "Elegant" night.....I mentioned I thought my neckline was plunging. HA! I was conservative. my goodness at the short, tight dresses and revealing clothes. I didn't feel like it was "elegant" - but more like it was racy nightclub at best. (Ok I told my husband they should call the attire "hooker optional".) I saw plenty of shorts and flip flops and even one ball cap go in the dining room. I know I know - others clothes shouldn't bother me. They really didn't but made for great conversation and I liked looking at the nice clothes and even the "interesting" ones. There was a little girl who was dressed to the nines and she was precious. I can see what everyone means though about really - anything goes on that night!

 

Cozumel is next.....

[ricew001]

We ordered room service for Cozumel. I got 4 croissants although I ordered 2 muffins. Made me laugh. We got our cereal and bananas and It was just right when we were going to Mr. Sancho's all inclusive beach club with plenty of drinks and food. We arrived in Cozumel and took a taxi out to Mr. Sancho's. It was $17 for the 2 of us so I gave the driver $20. We hung out in the pool and the ocean and ate and drank and chatted with the Orlando entertainment group. So much fun. We had a changing room and bathroom and lockers. The food and drinks were really good. I got a ceramic frog for my sister in law who collects them and an onyx turtle for my sister (she's had a few turtles this summer.) I also bought 3 anklets because she made me a deal. the mosquitoes about ate me alive and I grabbed my spray and that was that - no more issues with them.

Here's my trip disappointment - we are big Jimmy Buffet fans!!! BIG!!! We go to his concerts and his stores whenever we travel. We walked over to it and was pulled aside by I guess what was a guard. They closed early that day!!!!!!! It was like 6 pm and the ships didn't leave until later - ours wasn't leaving until 10!! I had brought cash to buy us stuff like we always get - t shirts, hats, cups, magnets, all kinds of stuff.I desperately wanted a cheeseburger in paradise and a boat drink. I was hugely disappointed. Maybe we should have gone there first but Sancho's is only open to 5 and I thought we'd eat at Margaritaville before going back on board. I was bummed.

We got back on the ship and took showers. ahhhhhh....I put my fancy shirt and capris on and laughed that I was more dressed up than people on elegant night. Hubby did a polo and jeans. We ate again but since it was a late night we just showed up at any dining room. I don't remember my entree but most nights I got two appetizers - the cesar salad and then something else (chicken tenders were good, meatballs were good. those portions were very small.) I had melting cake again. it was so good.

We went back to the piano bar. So much fun. Our goal was to party all night since the next day was a sea day. In reality, I went to sleep at 2 am and slept til 11 the next day. Not quite all night but did I mention I am 48 and my DHi is 59 so I'd say we did pretty good. LOL!

We met some friends at the alchemy bar. i had really wanted to try it. Let me say I am a picky cosmo drinker. I want a pink one, made traditionally. I looked at the menu and there were things that looked interesting. It was crowded and when we finally got a bartender and I told her what I like. Her response was so you just want a cosmo? I say no! I am at alchemy - make me something you think I'll love knowing I absolutely love cosmos. She brought me something and then she lit a piece of orange on fire. Sounds crazy but it gave the drink a burnt taste. I didn't like the drink itself. she asked me from across the bar how was it and I shrugged my shoulders - I was being truthful. So she acted miffed and brought me something else for free. It was better but I'd still prefer a Carnival Cosmo. We didn't go back again. I had been reading about Alchemy and I had hoped for more. But it's ok. The next day, Kat on Serenity Deck put me back in Cosmos and Pina Coladas that were all awesome! Again the great thing about the drink package is you just move on to the next drink.

[ricew001]

Thursday, Sea Day! Slept til 11 and I ate my cereal. Hubby said he'd had enough cereal. We put on our bathing suits and went to the dining room brunch. I was hesitant about going in my cover up but realized it was more of a dress than a lot of things I saw on elegant night!!!

The food was good. Scrambled eggs and ham. The hashbrowns had a great flavor. We ordered cheesecake and shared it. The orange juice was one of the best things I drank the whole time!

We went to serenity deck and napped and drank and talked to folks. Lots of fun. Little sad that it was our last day. Hugged all the bartenders and took pix.

I made an appointment at the spa to have the elegant night package which included getting my hair done, eye cream and bronzer. He did a fabulous job!! No pressure to buy products at all. Even though I loved the bronzer and wished I had gotten it although it was never offered. I have red hair so he offered to paint my eyebrows on and they looked amazing!! I wish I could copy that.

We got dressed up again and went to dinner. Packed up everything to put it out later. Went and saw our pictures and purchased them. Then to dinner which may have been my favorite. I got a gigantic portion of lasagna that was delicious and I got chocolate ice cream for desert that was incredible. yes I had sangria again! Hubby did the extra $20 for lobster which he loves and he enjoyed it.

Ran back to the room to finish packing and put on comfy shoes. looks like most people did self assist. Hubby got nervous when he didn't see any other luggage out. He finally saw two rooms at the end of the hallway with theirs out.

closed down the piano bar. It was so much fun! great crowd participation and we all said our goodbyes and went back to our room about 2 and had to get up at 6. Whew... I didn't sleep well because I knew I didn't have long to sleep but that's ok. So much fun to be had!!

[ricew001]

Friday, 8/25 - Everglades tour.

I love having an excursion and the transfer. Made disembarking so easy. We ate at the lido and it was delicious and then disembarked soon after. the Everglades trip was great. Everyone worked for tips but I was ok with that - it meant tipping the tour guide, the bus driver, the boat driver, and the alligator "wrestler". It was informative and fun - it rained which helped keep the day much cooler. We held a baby alligator! We saw several alligators in the water too.

Made it to the airport in plenty of time and arrived home with memories for a lifetime!

 

Some things I should mention: so many people on here said: stuff a laundry bag for $15 wash, dry and fold. So I did. However, it ended up being delayed because it's not :just: stuffing the bag - you had a form to fill out with the inventory of what you submitted. (Made sense but no one ever mentioned that.) I filled the bag on Wednesday but didn't get it picked up without the form so basically I got my laundry back Thursday night which meant i didn't get to wear any of what I had washed - which had been my plan for packing lighter was to have it all done there. That's ok though because at least it's less laundry to do now that I'm home.

So anyone cruising soon, please feel free to ask me any questions and I will tell you all i know to help make your trip awesome too!

[Oppalopa]

Thank you. It seems you both had a great time.

[dyin2cruz]

Thanks so much, we're doing the same cruise in 30 days!!!

[allicat06]

My husband, daughter, and I were on the same cruise and did the pub crawl and Mr. Sancho's! The cruise was a great time! Nice ship, good food and drinks.

I completely agree about the attire on the cruise. My daughter and I wore dresses every night to dinner and I could not believe the outfits I saw. The dress code in the dining rooms really should be enforced.

[ricew001]

Thanks so much, we're doing the same cruise in 30 days!!!

If you have any questions, please let me know. Happy to help - especially while it's still fresh on my mind! LOL!

[ricew001]

My husband, daughter, and I were on the same cruise and did the pub crawl and Mr. Sancho's! The cruise was a great time! Nice ship, good food and drinks.

I completely agree about the attire on the cruise. My daughter and I wore dresses every night to dinner and I could not believe the outfits I saw. The dress code in the dining rooms really should be enforced.

 

Cool! I wonder if we talked any while there! I pretty much talk to everyone. LOL!

I'm so glad to see someone else was as appalled as I was about the outfits. The not meeting the dress code was one thing, but the inappropriate outfits were unbelievable I have to say.

 

I will post some pictures to this review too!

[Gr101997]

We were on as well. The clothing thing drove me nuts. I saw one woman arguing about going into the pacific room after cozumel wearing what might have been a bikini top, bottoms and fuzzy slippers. You wanna stroll into the buffet looking like that, cool. Not the MDR.

 

We did Sanchos too. Great time. Dirty Bananas all day.

[ricew001]

We were on as well. The clothing thing drove me nuts. I saw one woman arguing about going into the pacific room after cozumel wearing what might have been a bikini top, bottoms and fuzzy slippers. You wanna stroll into the buffet looking like that, cool. Not the MDR.

 

We did Sanchos too. Great time. Dirty Bananas all day.

 

I didn't see as much bathing suit attire as I did totally inappropriate clothing. One girl in heels about 6 inches high had a dress that BARELY I mean barely covered her butt and kept tugging on it. I'm like girl tug all night long and you're not going to make that dress one bit longer. I think it was a top meant to wear with leggings!

And I didn't see anyone turned away regardless of what they had on.

I had rum punch all day and it was really good. I wish the weather had been sunnier but it probably saved me from an epic sunburn! LOL!

[ricew001]

It really was a great time!

I don't want to end on a bad note about the attire.

 

I do want to say this was our first cruise where it wasn't about a port but just having a great time - and we did just that!

[jcsmith1967]

Our cruise started on Monday, 8/21 - our actual 25th wedding anniversary!!!! We flew from Raleigh-Durham to Fort Lauderdale and then took a Carnival transfer to the Victory at Miami (next time I will uber). We got up at 3 am. Left the house at 4 am and got to the airport at 5 am. Our flight was 7:30 - 9:30 and we arrived in plenty of time. (I packed 2 suitcases and a carry on bag. But then couldn't squash our dinner clothes in, so we packed another bigger suitcase - which was good as it held our souvenirs/gifts too on the way back. However, DH said let's try to travel lighter next time. Although I didn't use one dress, one cover up, one pair of shorts, one pair of flip flops and one tshirt, but I used all the other clothes!)

 

I selected FLL because I like Southwest and it was much cheaper flying there than Miami. It was very easy too!

 

I booked a Carnival transfer. I mentioned grumpy old man at the airport who was wearing a Carnival jacket, so I assume he was Carnival and not contract. We met two sisters while waiting who we really liked and kept running into them and even enjoyed an excursion together!

 

The bus (like a greyhound) was air conditioned and we got the first seats!! But we stopped to pick up 2 or 3 more groups at the airport and it was later getting there than I expected. Once we got to the ship around noon, we went to Lido and got some food at the buffet. Oh my word was it HOT!!!! I mean Miami in August is definitely going to be hot but the sun was blazing and it was REALLY scorching. Our room opened at 1:30 and we went straight to it. Met our fabulous steward (Putu). I gave him $20 and asked him to keep our ice bucket full. (We were clueless and didn't realize there was a fridge in the closet til the last day!!!! LOL!) He was a sweetheart the whole trip. He gave us a $50 spa card for our anniversary!!!!!

My sister had ordered us a $40 photo credit and a $25 drink package. Since we already had Cheers it looked like they credited us that amount to the account. Let me just say if you have someone you know traveling that's a really nice little gift!

DH took a nap while I unpacked. We had a room with oceanview and king size bed. It was very comfortable and Putu kept it cleaned and stocked. (The rail in the shower that you hold was broken the whole trip. nothing else seemed to be a problem. Unless you count the hair dryer which is not much of a hair dryer. LOL)

 

 

I am also from the Raleigh-Durham area

[swodog94]

Great review! I truly appreciate the perspective since we're also thinking of taking an August cruise. It looks like Serenity is pretty small...did you have issues finding seating up there? Also, you mention Siren was an adult only pool, was the Carnival staff enforcing that?

[momof3cruisers]

Great review! I truly appreciate the perspective since we're also thinking of taking an August cruise. It looks like Serenity is pretty small...did you have issues finding seating up there? Also, you mention Siren was an adult only pool, was the Carnival staff enforcing that?

I have the same questions basically. Particularly if they were enforcing the chair saving situation on Serenity.

[riclop]

Thanks for the details.

[1lizette1]

Thank you so much for a great review.

We're sailing on the Victory this Dec. Really looking forward to it

[ricew001]

Looks like I didn't answer the questions. No trouble at all finding seats on Serenity and Sirens was definitely adult - but very young (and quite a few very drunk) adults.