New Carnival Cruiser, Victory Questions?

[Luna'sMom]

Hi Everyone, We are thinking of taking a 4 day cruise to Halifax on the Victory. We are very experienced cruisers with #14 coming up in Oct. We usually sail on NCL, RCCL and Celebrity and will be adding Princess this year. I have heard such mixed reviews on Carnival I am almost afarid to go. We are very easy to please and as far as food goes, as long as I don't have to cook it or clean, I am happy. We are New Yorkers and since it is leaving from here we thought we would give it a try. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.:)

[BigDoug]

With your attitude, I think that you will probably have a great time. Carnival has come a long way in the last 10 years. Try it, you'll probably like it. For a comparison, check out the "Why is Carnival so inexpensive/" thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=348769

There are many points of view represented in this thread. Many posters say why Carnival is good and do comparisons to other cruise lines.

[bucket_O_beer4john]

We were just on her 30 April cruise. Overall, it was a good cruise. I thought the food was great, but the entertainment was weak. (others have said they loved the entertainment and the CD)

 

We did the early dinner this time for the first time, and probably won't do it again.

[Luna'sMom]

Thanks for the replies, but why wouldn't you do early seating again? Also, does Carnival have any speciality restaurants ? They usually charge a fee on other cruise lines.

[ngl116]

Carnival does have special dining for a charge, make your reservations early as they tend to fill quickly!

 

I sailed on the Victory last May and really enjoyed the ship! The crew at the time was great and the food, oh the food!!! :D

[big_duck]

Thanks for the replies' date=' but why wouldn't you do early seating again? Also, does Carnival have any speciality restaurants ? They usually charge a fee on other cruise lines.[/quote']

 

There is no specialty restaurant Victory. Spirt and Conquest Class ships only.

[Sue L]

We did this cruise 2 years ago,you are going with the right attitude. We thought the cruise was great. The food and service I thought was better on the Victory then on our last cruise. And we went on two more Carnival after that, even though we were Princess cruisers before that.

 

The entertainment is okay, but we have now been on 3 Carnival cruises and all had the same "Welcome Aboard Show" , same magician and comedian ( who wasn't that good) on all three cruises. I think we were just unlucky in this respect, as they do move their talent around and even though the 3 cruises spanned over 2 and 1/2 years we just managed to catch the same ones in the rotation. But since you have never been on Carnival you won't run into this problem.

 

We also are in New York ( Long Island) and you can't beat the convience of this cruise. Not sure what you are planning but the parking at the pier was very secure and it was great to get off the ship, get in the car and an hour later be home.

[nybumpkin]

We were on the five-night two years ago and booked the four-night for Labor Day weekend this year. As you can see from my signature, we had such a good time on Victory we kept going with Carnival. Food and service have been good on both our cruises. There's a fairly broad schedule of activities; some may appeal to you, others will not. (I'm a trivia/wine tasting/tea time fan, don't patronize the casinos or the art auctions.) Halifax is a fun port city; last time, we walked along the waterfront, went to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, had lunch, and walked up to the Citadel. This time we might try the Harbour Hopper tour (the amphibious tour).

 

There are four dinner seatings for the two dining rooms: 5:45 and 8:00 for the Pacific (aft) dining room, 6:15 and 8:30 for the Atlantic (forward) dining room. We're early diners, since we're with 3 kids and the early seating best approximates our at-home dining. Even if the kids dine with Camp Carnival, 8:00 is just too late for us. Some folks like the later seating because they don't feel as rushed; the staff doesn't have another seating to arrange.

[TanIslandGirl]

Hi Everyone' date=' We are thinking of taking a 4 day cruise to Halifax on the Victory. We are very experienced cruisers with #14 coming up in Oct. We usually sail on NCL, RCCL and Celebrity and will be adding Princess this year. I have heard such mixed reviews on Carnival I am almost afarid to go. We are very easy to please and as far as food goes, as long as I don't have to cook it or clean, I am happy. We are New Yorkers and since it is leaving from here we thought we would give it a try. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.:)[/quote']

Lunasmom,

I am booked on the Victory leaving NYC on 8/17. It is only a 4 day cruise and it is leaving right here from the greatest city in the world. Give it a try!

[goodml]

We're doing the five night this August 21st. Would any of you that have sailed this itinerary previously have the Carnival Capers or know where to find it online? We've sailed on the Victory before so I'm familiar with the ship and the Caribbean itinerary but I'd love to see Capers from the Canadian itinerary.

[yogimax]

The deli is great - make sure to have a hot pastrami on rye!

[JackieL]

Went on that cruise (5-night) three years ago. I thought it was terrific...great food, great staff, LOTS to do. The only negative thing I could say is the weather...very cool, very hazy, almost foggy. However, that's obviously no reflection on Carnival or the Victory.

 

GO FOR IT!

[Luna'sMom]

Thank you again for all of your replies. We have been to Halifax before ( this will be our 4th time, I told you we cruise a lot!) We will be happy no matter what, " A bad day of crusing is still better that a good day at work"....:) Does anyone know if there are a lot of tables for 2, that is what we requested?

[yogimax]

Thank you again for all of your replies. We have been to Halifax before ( this will be our 4th time' date=' I told you we cruise a lot!) We will be happy no matter what, " A bad day of crusing is still better that a good day at work"....:) Does anyone know if there are a lot of tables for 2, that is what we requested?[/quote']

 

Nope, it's quite limited