I was on the Victory last week.

[gram4haley]

We were on the Victory January 15-22,2006. It was my fifth cruise, the third on Carnival. We arrived in Miami the day before our cruise. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami. The rooms were very small but probably adequate for 2 people. The hotel had 1 working elevator for the guests. (In addition there was a service elevator and an out-of-order elevator). Everyone had to wait long periods of time to go anywhere. The housekeeping staff urged us to use the service elevator which we did. It still took about 10 minutes to get down to the lobby.

We arrived at the port around 11am and the US Coast Guard had just showed up to do an unannounced inspection. Carnival staff indicated that the additional wait would be about 45 minutes. Even with that, we were able to eat lunch around 1pm.

The ship looked tired. Seating on the Lido deck could have used reupholstery. The carpeting in the hall on the Rivera deck had an unknown food item that should have been cleaned up and shampooed at sometime during the week but was not. In our cabin, 1401, the floor had a soft spot about 1 foot around. It reminded you of walking on a sponge. I did not say anything to the room steward because I felt he knew about it. It was that obvious. The hallway a short distance from our room also had a soft spot. Our room steward brought his supervisor in to view the soft spot during the week, but no repair was made before we left on Sunday. By the 3rd or 4th day, there was a wet spot on the hall carpet, as if there was an overflow or leak of some kind. The leak continued to grow and by the last day, when you walked on it, it made a slurping sound.

The food was good everywhere, but the meals in the dining rooms were exceptional. If you have the opportunity to sit at table 232 in the Atlantic Dining room and your wait staff is Jonathan and Isabela, you will have the greatest service. At one point my son mentioned that he could not make a decision between 2 entrees, without requesting it Jonathan brought both entrees so my son didn’t need to choose only one. After several lunches on the Lido deck we were tired of the fare so we tried the dining room at lunchtime. We did not go back to Lido for lunch. Our party included 4 adults and our 2-year-old granddaughter. At lunch one of the waiters did magic tricks for our granddaughter. Another created a mouse out of a napkin and proceeded to make the mouse walk up his arm. The coffee tasted good on Lido, but it was better in the dining room.

We did have some extreme weather most of the week. The ship rocked most of the week. Monday was a sea day. We were scheduled to go to Costa Maya on Tuesday, but were unable to dock there because of the high winds and 10-foot waves. A pilot boat came out to meet the ship. The captain of that little board had a great deal of skill. We watched that boat toss and dip for some time before our captain cancelled the port stop. While we were disappointed, everyone seemed to understand. Wednesday was a sea day. On Thursday Grand Cayman shut down their port so we could not get off the ship there. Finally on Friday we docked in Jamaica. It did rain part of the day, but no one complained. Saturday was a sea day and Sunday we were back in Miami, so we had 1 port of call.:mad: It was disappointing, but was not within anyone’s control.

It had been 3 years since I was on a Carnival ship, and finding your luggage has not gotten any better. If they can take care of 2700 people for a whole week, why can’t they make picking up your luggage a less-stressful process?

From what I have read, the missed ports of call seem fairly regular. In those circumstances I would think that Carnival would have included more varied activities than additional games of bingo and trivia to fill your day.

If anyone has questions, I will be happy to answer them.

[coho ken]

I feel your disappointment with the missed ports. Seems like you made the best of it.

[caprcorn28]

Thanks for a good example of giving us a well-rounded view of your trip - the good, the bad and the squishy....

 

That is too bad about missing the ports...I too would have been disappointed, but, what can you do about stinky weather?!

 

I think, from all that I have read about cruising from late November to now thru January...I don't think I will try cruising then. The weather seems too iffy. I'll be trying Spring Break for the first time, I have only always cruised during Hurricane Season prior to this trip...we've always been really fortunate and had fabulous weather!!

 

Thanks again...I guess you'll have to try this itinerary again and see if you can get to land at some point!!!

[jw4jg1mg2eg1]

Thank you for the review. It's great that you had a good attitude about the weather. I know before our cruise on the Elation last year, we were watching the weather every day for about 2 weeks & it kept calling for rain practically the whole cruise. But we didn't encounter anything worse than some dark clouds well off the coast of Belize. Did you ever find out what the soft spot was all about & where the leak was in the other area?

How did the 2 yr old take to the trip? My son & his wife have talked about bringing their 2 yr old but have decided to leave him with her mother during our cruise in April.I think it's great that the dining staff entertained the lottle one...that says so much to me. And how awsome it must've been for your son when he received those 2 entres.

There were no added events onboard? That's a shame. What did you do while onboard those days? What all did you get to do in Jamaica?

[gram4haley]

The 2 year old GD handled the cruise just fine. I had hoped she would go to Camp Carnival to get more interaction with children her age, but her mother was not comfortable leaving her with strangers.

 

We did request a table in the dining room for only our family so that if she did create a problem it would be limited to our family. Fortunately we had no problems. As I mentioned before the waitstaff were great with her. She danced with the staff every night at dinner. Her plate always contained her favorite foods even if they were not on the menu. All the things you have heard about the crew catering to children is correct. Let's face it they know it earns bigger tips.

 

The children's pool was deserted most days so GD and her grandfather spend time in the kid's pool. (I can assure you that if other children would have been there DH would not have been in the kid's pool.)

 

In Jamaica we did the Dunn's River Fall and the Enchanted Garden. Both were a great deal of fun. After we got off the ship we booked the Everglades excursion out of Miami. That was amazing. Our Brazilian tour guide did not stop talking from the time we left the port till we arrived at MIA. He gets a "10" from me for education and humor.

[jimc_usa]

A couple of questions though, (we are on the Victory in March)

What is the difference betwen the "dining room" and the Lido?

 

Did you get the port (you missed)charge refunded to your S&S cards?

[Stevie17]

Thanks for the balanced review. We will be sailing on the Victory on 3/5 and are looking foward to it.

[billh65]

A couple of questions though, (we are on the Victory in March)

What is the difference betwen the "dining room" and the Lido?

 

Did you get the port (you missed)charge refunded to your S&S cards?

Dining Room is the sit-down, waited on experience at a set-time that is on you S&S card dining experience, Lido Deck is where the buffet, wait on yourself meal service is.

[star10]

Thanks for the great review! We are on the Victory on 2/19/06 and I'm hoping the weather is good. But it's out of my control... :rolleyes:

 

I also hope I don't get the squishy room! lol.

 

:)

[jimc_usa]

Dining Room is the sit-down, waited on experience at a set-time that is on you S&S card dining experience, Lido Deck is where the buffet, wait on yourself meal service is.

 

 

Thanks

[EPPY]

My husband and I are planning our 1st cruise on the Victory in June. We are supposed to leave from NY to Canada for 4 days. We are both a bit frightened of getting seasick. I also hope this ship is a good one.

[caprcorn28]

My husband and I are planning our 1st cruise on the Victory in June. We are supposed to leave from NY to Canada for 4 days. We are both a bit frightened of getting seasick. I also hope this ship is a good one.

I think it has more to do with the weather/sea conditions more than the ship. This is a big ship (I have only been on ships varying in size from 22,xxx - 77,xxx tons) so she should be pretty stable. But...if it's rough water/weather...

You can do a search on here about seasickness and there are a lot of tips about how to prevent it, what to do if you get sick etc.!!

Good luck!! Have a great trip!!

[blyle]

My husband and I sailed the Victory when it was brand new and we loved the ship. Last year my son went on it and had multiple complaints. I wonder why they are not taking care of the ship! It needs refurbishing soon from what I hear.

[scsagh]

After we got off the ship we booked the Everglades excursion out of Miami. That was amazing. Our Brazilian tour guide did not stop talking from the time we left the port till we arrived at MIA. He gets a "10" from me for education and humor.

 

How early did you get off the ship for the Everglades excursion? We are considering doing this rather than renting a car. Do you remember what time they dropped you at the airport? Our flight isn't until 7:00 p.m., so we were hoping it wasn't real early.

 

Thanks,

Sandy :)

[gram4haley]

Sandy, we were at our meeting place on the ship at 8:45am and left the ship around 9:15pm. It was probably 10am when we left the port. We were at the airport by 1:30pm.

[Cruising89143]

The luggage situation should get better this summer when Carnival moves next door to their new terminals which will be state of art. They will have the luggage Carousels like RCI which makes finding the luggage so much easier or at least that has been my experience.

[scsagh]

Thanks for the info, Gram4haley! Think we will try to do the Everglades tour with Carnival. Do you remember how much it cost? I know they don't have it out for sale yet on our cruise date.

 

Sandy

[coho ken]

Sandy,

Hi.:)

We have inquired with Carnival and have been told that post-cruise excursions are sold only at the ship's excursion desk. We have a 3:40 flight on our return and will probably see you at the excursion desk! I remember reading the cost is about $30 per person.

 

Less than 60 days!

[scsagh]

Thanks, Ken. Yes, I'm sure we'll be running into each other on the Victory!

 

Sandy