Victory 8/3, 4 Night, Mini-Review

[Luna'sMom]

Hi, We were on the 4 night 8/3 sailing. I have been on 12 previous cruises but never on Carnival. Now I know that 4-day cruises are probably different than our usual 7-9 nights but this was the WORST cruise I have ever been on. But, I do have some good things to say, first, the crew was wonderful, never had a problem with anyone, always a smile and a good morning. Second , we met some wonderful people and really enjoyed talking to them. Dining room food was OK at best but the buffet was horrible, inedible. And could someone please tell me if ALL Carnival ships have the terrible deck plan of the Victory? No other cruise ship that I have been on is designed that way. You have to go to another deck to go forward or aft. It is the craziest thing, but someone mentioned to me that all Carnival ships are designed that way.. I do have all of the Carnival Capers for this trip and if someone tells me how to post them I will. Good luck to all of you on the Victory, you’re going to need it…. Sorry Carnival but you will never see me again!

[CarribbeanTina271]

sorry you had a problem getting around the ship, I have never been on the Victory, Just the Fantasy class ships and I find them very very easy to navigate. I have been on 1, 7 day cruise which was my first and OMG fell in love with cruising, but due to financial reasons I have to stick to the shorter cruises, but atleast I am on a ship and not at work:p

Sorry you won't be coming back to Carnival...Maybe you should give a Fantasy class ship a try before decided to never try again.

Tina

[MRL325i]

I was on that same cruise and had a blast. The ship is big (duh), and the only time I had any trouble navigating it was when the decks and hallways would get choked by slow-moving larger people (especially those in scooters -- that's a new one!).

 

As far as the buffets go, I am not a big buffet fan (I would rather be served and not wait in line on

vacation), but, in my observation, the lines were long, and they were heavily populated by the "all-you-can-eat" contingent on the vessel.

 

We thought that the food on board was very good, and the service was terrific. I guess that some people are very hard to please. This review reminds me of the old joke attributed to the Catskills comics of the old days: "The food here is bad". "Yeah, and the portions are so small!".

[gatrbait]

I am sorry your cruise wasn't as you wanted I hope the next one is better. I don't know how to post the capers but would love to see them.. hopefully someone will enlighten you...thank you for thinking of us!!!

Micky

[Luna'sMom]

I do not want you to think that I did not have a good time, I did. Any day of cruising is better than a day at work, but IMHO this is not a cruise line for New Yorkers. We are used to good food and the food was awful. Even the dining room, which was much better than the buffet, was cafeteria food at best. BYW, the drinks were cheap in comparision to other cruise lines, maybe that is why they are the" funships".

[MRL325i]

Wow, I'd be willing to bet that you are one tough to please woman.

[CruiseToBooze]

I'm sorry to hear you had a hard time with the food, you should try the Valor...I hear their 7 day 7 night cruise is off the wall and the food/entertainment/the ship in general is awesome! I just booked my 3 day 3 night on the fascination in december! I am sooo excited~!

[bonstersd]

Wow, I'd be willing to bet that you are one tough to please woman.

 

Wow, I bet you could have kept that comment to yourself.

[jenjens1023]

Victory does have a confusing deck plan. It took four days of our seven day cruise to figure out how to get around. Unfortunately, in your situation, the cruise was over by then.

 

I felt the food was good. I've had better, but hey, I didn't have to shop, prepare, serve and clean-up. To me that's a great meal!

 

These were your only two complaints and yet you call it your worst cruise. Were there other problems you're not mentioning? These seem relatively minor in the scope of an entire cruise.

[FlashbackAlternatives]

I do not want you to think that I did not have a good time' date=' I did. Any day of cruising is better than a day at work, but IMHO this is not a cruise line for New Yorkers. We are used to good food and the food was awful. Even the dining room, which was much better than the buffet, was cafeteria food at best. BYW, the drinks were cheap in comparision to other cruise lines, maybe that is why they are the" funships".[/quote']

 

Hey, I am from NY (Brooklyn) and I have been on three (soon to be four) Carnival cruises and have never found the food to be sub-par - and I love food. This was true whether it was a 7 night, 5 night, or 3 night cruise.

 

I prefer the food on Carnival to that on Celebrity (not that Celebrity was bad by any stretch). Only thing I did like on Celebrity was that they had lox at the buffet for breakfast whereas Carnival only has had it in the dining room.

 

Ed

[CarribbeanTina271]

I wouldnt think all New Yorkers would feel the same... Maybe Carnival is not for the OP..Sorry for your experience on the food. It is one of the highlights of all my cruises!!

So what were the highlights if any of your cruise??

[gshock127]

Wow, I'd be willing to bet that you are one tough to please woman.

 

MRL325i - I agree with you.

[Guest YesitDonna]

If I had fun on a cruise but didn't like the layout of the ship, I would just pick a different ship, not boycott the entire line. There are some Carnival Layouts i don't care for as well so I just don't sail those ships. done.

[eigig]

Hi

We were on the 7/29 5 night Victory and would have to agree that it was not a great cruise. I enjoyed my fellow cruisers, the staff was trying their best and the weather was great--however, the ship's layout was terrible and the food was not good.

 

This forum is to provide critique of our cruises--what we liked and what we did not like. Those who post a review do so in service of others. Luna's Mom is not to be dismissed as a "hard to please woman" --there were many onboard the 7/29 sailing who may not be cc members but would have voiced the same opinion.

 

I think that the staff and my fellow passengers tried their best to make it a good time but were working with an inferior product.

I wish us all a good cruise in our futures!!

[Wennfred]

I do not want you to think that I did not have a good time' date=' I did. Any day of cruising is better than a day at work, but IMHO this is not a cruise line for New Yorkers. We are used to good food and the food was awful. Even the dining room, which was much better than the buffet, was cafeteria food at best. BYW, the drinks were cheap in comparision to other cruise lines, maybe that is why they are the" funships".[/quote']

 

Im from Brooklyn also but I love the food on Carnivals Fun Ships. Im not picky when it comes to food I guess. The Deck plan on the Valor was also wierd in some places, We had to cut through the dinning room sometimes.

[ItaliaAmerCruzLady]

I would have to agree that the food was not the best I have ever had, if you read my post, you would see that I had a terrible steak on our first night, but for the most part it was pretty decent. We dont eat at the buffets, I like to be served, we did have good stuff from the Grill however.

The food on the Legend and the Conquest, I have to say , was outstanding. This wasnt as good, but not bad, by any means.

 

The ship layout was a little weird, but once you were on to it, it was ok. I think the larger ships are all laid out this way. I dont recall having quite so much confusion on the Legend, a smaller ship. I was in a room that was deck 8 forward. the dining room was aft. we figured out that if we just trecked down that long, long hallway, and then went down, it took us right there.

oh well, thats just my humble opinion.

[redskin80]

The Liberty also has a strange lay out. I think the only level that you could Stern to Aft was the Lido. The the fifth level would be the best bet, but still had to go down to get to the lower level of the Dining room.

 

I have never cruised less than 7 days and have found the food to always be good on the CCL line. I have found several dishes that I did not care for, but not enough to ruin the trip.

 

We usually eat lunch at the Buffet, and if the food was not what I wanted I would just hit the Deli or he Chinese food place.

 

The Liberty also had a WOK at lunch, where you could have fresh veggies, and a choice of Chicken-Beef-Schrimp. Since i like this kind of food, I found myself having that more than a few times.

 

Sorry the cruise was not all that you hoped, maybe next time.

[Luna'sMom]

I figured I would get bashed if I wrote this review, but maybe I should have gone about it differently. We went on this cruise as a last minute trip. It was our anniversary and we were going to go to Block Island but I got an email with a really great deal for the Victory. Over the years I have heard good and bad about Carnival and I decided to find out for myself. Had I paid more attention to the reviews I probably would not have gone. As I think back all of the negative reviews came from seasoned cruisers and the good reviews came from first time cruisers or people who have only been on Carnival. I stand by my review based on the other 11 cruises I have been on. I’m sorry if you think that I am hard to please, I am not by any means, but this was not a cruise for experienced cruisers. This is just my opinion and I probably will never write another review again, I do not like the personal bashing.

[imlulu]

We were on the 7/1 sailing. I agree with your last few sentences Luna's Mom. This is definitely a nice cruise for 1st cruisers. While I loved the decor, I would definitely not do this sailing again. The food and activities(particularly lack of them) was subpar for Carnival. This was our 4th Carnival cruise and we will take a break. We were ont he Miracle in 05 and that was the best vacation we have ever had!

[HeidiHo]

If you ever decide to try Carnival again, I would suggest trying a 7 day cruise on a Spirit Class ship (Spirit, Legend, Pride and Miracle). The Spirit Class ships have a less complicated layout. You can get from one end of the ship to the other on all decks. As for the food, I can't say whether you would like it or not. The menu's are supposed to be basically the same fleet wide. I have found the majority of food on Carnival to be very good but that's me. Everyone's tastes are different.

[gfsmith]

well I am glad you managed to have a good time.

 

That being said the Victory was one of my least favorite Carnival cruises we have been on also. The ship was just to big for us and there were just tooo many people. The staff seemed overworked and tired.

 

We also had a great time. We plan on trying the bigger ships again in January just to be fair. Hoping the Conquest is more inviting.

 

Any Carnival cruise is a great cruise :D

[Lorimike]

Just back from victory 8/7. The layout of the shop IS AWFUL took some time to figure it out. The food was good for the most part but even in the dining room breakfast was sub par and cold. Crew was good and ship is well maintained but the entertainment was lacking. What's up with the guitar player in the piano lounge????? Thought my 13 y/o son's eyes would pop out when the dancers at the show were in fishnet stockings and thong underwear with bikini tops!! :D not expecting that. Otherwise had a good time even though most of the other people on the boat were way over 60. My sons found the dance club empty by midnite. So, everyone has an opinion that's what makes the world go round.

[silentbob007]

I don't have a problem with a negative review ... but FYI it really irks me to read things like "this is not a cruise line for New Yorkers. We are used to good food and the food was awful."

[suzy1212]

I don't have a problem with a negative review ... but FYI it really irks me to read things like "this is not a cruise line for New Yorkers. We are used to good food and the food was awful."

I tried to be mad about that crack too, but I thought back to my trip to NYC last April. I bought a coffee cup that said "New York", but I was very careful not to get one that said "I love New York". ;)

 

The weather was horrible! It was COLD and rainy at the end of April! :eek:

 

We shared a Reuben sandwich and had a Coke and a coffee and it was over $30. It wasn't half as good as the Reuben I get in Roanoke Texas. OK, the deli owners in Roanoke are transplants from Brooklyn. :D

 

I just can't get myself too worked up because some snotty lady from NY doesn't like the same things I like. :rolleyes:

 

I'm half kidding. Every single person that we met while in Manhatten was very very nice. No complaints there at all. They just need to improve their weather and learn to make a Reuben. :p

[Mernie42]

I figured I would get bashed if I wrote this review' date=' but maybe I should have gone about it differently. We went on this cruise as a last minute trip. It was our anniversary and we were going to go to Block Island but I got an email with a really great deal for the Victory. Over the years I have heard good and bad about Carnival and I decided to find out for myself. Had I paid more attention to the reviews I probably would not have gone. As I think back all of the negative reviews came from seasoned cruisers and the good reviews came from first time cruisers or people who have only been on Carnival. I stand by my review based on the other 11 cruises I have been on. I’m sorry if you think that I am hard to please, I am not by any means, but this was not a cruise for experienced cruisers. This is just my opinion and I probably will never write another review again, I do not like the personal bashing.[/quote']

 

Hi Luna's Mom -

The same thing happened to me. I think you are right. The negative reviews come from people who have cruised many times on different lines.

As far as being hard to please - that's just an excuse for disagreeing with you. I recently got back from a 4 day cruise on the Sensation. Bet your ship didn't smell like s#it. Ours did. LOL. Oh well, live and learn. You will find people on these boards who will not accept the slightest negative remark regarding Carnival. Makes me wonder if they've ever tried RCCL,

Princess or Celebrity. They all are far ahead of Carnival in my opinion.