Carnival's Victory??

[mom23guys]

We thinking of taking the Victory next summer but I talked to someone today that went earlier this summer and was not really impressed. We took our first cruise this summer on the Spirit to Alaska and it was incredible. This person said there were a lot of kids(teens and younger roaming the halls late at night making noise but said that their parents returning from clubs and casino at 2 to 3 AM woke them up every night. They also stated there was a large goup that took over many different areas of the ship and they couldn't use these facilities, even the library.

Does the Victory have more of a late night rowdy crowd usually or was this just an unusual trip? She had an OV room we plan on a balcony.

Carnival is just so ecomonical, especially with the military discount. I'd love another cruise but don't want to spend money and be miserable with little sleep due to inconsiderate party-goers. Don't get me wrong, we like to go to casino and shows at night but 1AM is probably our limit. Everyone (or at least most) seemed to turn in earlier on the Alaska cruise and the cabin hallways were really quiet.

[shutterbug630]

We were on Victory the end of August. There were about 900 kids on the ship. We were on the main deck, deck 2, in an ocean view. I will say one night at 3:30 a group of about 15 kids in the 13-15 age range were walking down our hall talking. They left after about 10 minutes. (Gotta wonder where their parents were.) The last night many of the same group were sitting outside a cabin around 12:30. I asked them to move to the outer lobby near the steps and elevators away from the cabins. They were apologetic and move about 10 minutes later. I don't think it ever dawned on them others were trying to sleep. Since the ship sailed to Canada, many kids were in the hot tubs because it was too cold to be in the pools.

 

But, we did not have to pay airfare and the cruise itself was very affordable. I think you have to deal with kids on any ship during summer months and you can't predict who will be sailing with you. You just make the best of your vacation and go with the flow.

[nybumpkin]

We thinking of taking the Victory next summer but I talked to someone today that went earlier this summer and was not really impressed. We took our first cruise this summer on the Spirit to Alaska and it was incredible. This person said there were a lot of kids(teens and younger roaming the halls late at night making noise but said that their parents returning from clubs and casino at 2 to 3 AM woke them up every night. They also stated there was a large goup that took over many different areas of the ship and they couldn't use these facilities, even the library.

Does the Victory have more of a late night rowdy crowd usually or was this just an unusual trip? She had an OV room we plan on a balcony.

Carnival is just so ecomonical, especially with the military discount. I'd love another cruise but don't want to spend money and be miserable with little sleep due to inconsiderate party-goers. Don't get me wrong, we like to go to casino and shows at night but 1AM is probably our limit. Everyone (or at least most) seemed to turn in earlier on the Alaska cruise and the cabin hallways were really quiet.

 

I'm a mom to 3 guys as well! We've sailed Victory to Canada twice - two years ago (5-night) and just last week (4-night), had a balcony both times. I have a review of our most recent Victory cruise on the Carnival board. We're in bed fairly early - maybe around midnight or a little later - and really have had few problems with late-night folks. I think once I was awakened by some loud passers-by in the passageway outside our cabin on this last cruise. Our oldest son did stay out a bit later, but he stayed at Club O2 (the 15-17 club) or the pizza stand on the Lido deck; he says they wouldn't have had any reason to be in the cabin areas.

 

Comparing the two cruises, when we sailed the first time we thought the nightlife pretty well ended after the last show; a number of the bars, and the disco, were not crowded as all. Last week, I saw larger crowds in the bars in the evening and the disco was much more in use. It may be a factor of a 4-night versus a 5-night cruise. Victory has one hot tub (aside from the spa tubs) for "adults only"; the others are fair game for kids. There were some (but not a huge number) of both adults and kids using the tubs and pools on either of our Canada cruises.

 

We really enjoyed both Halifax and Saint John. On both cruises we did excursions on our own. Last week in Halifax, we did the Alexander Keith brewery tour, lunch, then divided up; I took youngest son on Theodore Tugboat for a harbor tour, DH took older sons on the Harbour Hopper amphibious tour. Lots of fun!

[Host Caroline]

We took a 7 night cruise to Canada/New England in Mid-Sept on the Victory a couple of years ago and there were very very few children: school was back in. I don't like the timing of Boston on this itinerary and the tour offerings in Sydney are lacking (way way too little time at Louisbourg for the port time) but it was a nice cruise.. we will do this itin to Quebec at some point.

[LHP]

Having cruised during all times of the year, cruising when school is in session is the best. However, if you are restricted to the summer, I would suggest that you book a room on Empress deck that is Aft (rear). You have cabins above and below~~which limits the general population noise. If you at the end of a hallway, you have less traffic.

 

We were on the Spirit in July 2005 and if was a wonderful cruise. Only about 150 kids and the scenery was fabulous.

 

We are very excited because after May 2007, we can cruise any time and will not be restricted by school schedules.

 

Tuesday, we are booking the Victory for Sept 29, 2007. It will be our first cruise out of New York. We are going to be booking an interior room on Empress. But we did a balcony for Alaska and were really glad we did!

 

Good luck and happy cruising!!

[mom23guys]

LHP,

Sounds like you are a retiring teacher since you can finally go when school is out. I teach and have three more years until we can finally travel when school is in session.

[TomAndJane]

We sailed last year on a 5 night cruise to Canada over Labor Day weekend on the Victory. I only remember seeing a handful of children and they were all well behaved. I guess if you cruise during the middle of summer, there are more kids, after Labor Day, not so many!!!!

[LHP]

LHP,

Sounds like you are a retiring teacher since you can finally go when school is out. I teach and have three more years until we can finally travel when school is in session.

 

Oh no...I don't have the patience or stamina for that career. Our oldest son is in college now, so he won't be cruising with us and since he has a 4 year fully paid academic scholarship (that leaves him with about $1,000 a semester left over for spending money)....we can spend the money we saved for college on cruises!!!

 

Our youngest son has a form of autism. He will be 16 soon and this is his last year of public school. He will be taking the GED next summer. He does not "relate" to tests in the classroom but performs wonderfully on standardized tests like the TCAP. His math teachers have never figured out how he goes through the school year with a 20 being the highest math score on a test and then every year is proficient in all areas of math on the TCAP.

 

The same for all areas of the TCAP. It is a mystery how his brain works. His IQ is 119. He absorbs every piece of information he is exposed to. But he can't "recall" it in a standard classroom setting.

 

We got the biggest kick out of him last month on the Fantasy. He and Dad were participating in one of the trivia sessions. Dad was sitting there and after 3 questions, did not have any answers on his paper. Our son finally asked 'Dad, why aren't you writing down the answers?" Dad told him because he did not know the answers. So our son proceeds to tell him what the answers are. He was right.

 

Our oldest son said that cruising had prepared him well for college. He said the dorm rooms were about the same size as a cabin. Someone feeds him every 2 hours. And if he could just replace classes with the games on the Lido deck...it would be perfect!!!

 

He is a freshman this year and will finish with 55 hours and has all A's for far. (thank you AP courses)

 

We are really looking to grab a lot of last minutes cruises and saving the "special cruises" (Europe etc) for the summer when oldest son can go.

 

BTW, our sons have been blessed with the best public school teachers in the world. Our oldest son said he did not realize how well prepared he was until he got to college this year. Calculus 3 was a breeze. (Thank you Coach Justus!!)

 

Happy Cruising!!

[kidz_rn]

We're looking into the June 25 sailing out of NYC on Victory, 5 nights, St. John & Halifax. It would be our 5th cruise, but 1st on Carnival and 1st out of NYC. Like Mom23Guys, we are from South Jersey, too, so we would drive to Manhattan and pay the $24/day to park.

 

We've heard many mixed reviews of young folks' & teens' wild behavior on Carnival, especially in the Caribbean, but one CC reviewer said that she thought the avg. age of her cruise to Canada (in Sept. 2006) was 68!

 

We've sailed Celebrity (2x), RC, and HAL. The RC was also to Canada/NE 2 years ago out of Philly -- super convenient. Celebrity Horizon was out of Philly to Bermuda in July -- too hot -- that ship has been sold. The other Celeb & HAL were Eastern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale

 

Friends who have sailed out of NYC have told us sailing down the Hudson, into the harbor, and out to sea under the Verrazano br is spectacular and not to be missed.

 

Any comments are welcome.

 

Russ in So. Jersey

[TomAndJane]

We're looking into the June 25 sailing out of NYC on Victory, 5 nights, St. John & Halifax. It would be our 5th cruise, but 1st on Carnival and 1st out of NYC. Like Mom23Guys, we are from South Jersey, too, so we would drive to Manhattan and pay the $24/day to park.

 

We've heard many mixed reviews of young folks' & teens' wild behavior on Carnival, especially in the Caribbean, but one CC reviewer said that she thought the avg. age of her cruise to Canada (in Sept. 2006) was 68!

 

We've sailed Celebrity (2x), RC, and HAL. The RC was also to Canada/NE 2 years ago out of Philly -- super convenient. Celebrity Horizon was out of Philly to Bermuda in July -- too hot -- that ship has been sold. The other Celeb & HAL were Eastern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale

 

Friends who have sailed out of NYC have told us sailing down the Hudson, into the harbor, and out to sea under the Verrazano br is spectacular and not to be missed.

 

Any comments are welcome.

 

Russ in So. Jersey

 

As I had mentioned earlier we did ours starting the Monday of Labor Day. There not many kids at all and yes the crowd was older. Seemed like all the Senior Centers had a cruise special that week. I am in my mid - late 40s and I had never been called sweetie or honey so many times in my life...hahahahahahahaha Needless to say, we all had a good time.

 

As far as sailing out of the harbor and under the bridge.... Our roll-call met on the 10th deck (small open deck area right in front of boat) and saw the Statue of Liberty (we all toasted her with a drink - We met at the bar on 10 right after muster) and then under the bridge. On the way back, my wife and I got up at 4:45 a.m. or so, so we could see it again!!!!!! Impressive.

 

Tom

[LHP]

We did end up with an OV for our Victory cruise in September.

We will have a 16 year old with us...so maybe that will lower the average age a little. Not to worry though, he is very well behaved!

 

We have a motto..."follow the rules or lose the cruise!"

:)

[mykidsmom]

As I had mentioned earlier we did ours starting the Monday of Labor Day. There not many kids at all and yes the crowd was older. Seemed like all the Senior Centers had a cruise special that week. I am in my mid - late 40s and I had never been called sweetie or honey so many times in my life...hahahahahahahaha Needless to say, we all had a good time.

 

As far as sailing out of the harbor and under the bridge.... Our roll-call met on the 10th deck (small open deck area right in front of boat) and saw the Statue of Liberty (we all toasted her with a drink - We met at the bar on 10 right after muster) and then under the bridge. On the way back, my wife and I got up at 4:45 a.m. or so, so we could see it again!!!!!! Impressive.

 

Tom

 

 

hi Tom - one of your fellow 9/4/06 cruisers here. We absolutely love sailing under the bridge - we would not have been able to find that little deck without following our other roll-call members. It was great. My next cruise is in August on RCCL with husband, son and about 10 or so other family and friends. Not just the girls this time. Happy cruisin to you!

[TomAndJane]

Hey Hope you and your family have a wonderful cruise in August. Jane and I are going on another cruise in September out of NY on NCL Dawn. Can't get enough of Alaska or New England/Canada. Happy cruising to you as well.

[Seminole Mom]

We sailed 8/7/06 on the Victory out of NYC on the 5 night St.John/Halifax cruise. First time on Carnival -- didn't know what to expect but we had a wonderful cruise! Plenty of kids on the ship but didn't notice any "wild" behavior! At dinner, the tables around us seemed to be couples or families with older kids.

 

St. John was a nice visit -- the town goes all out when a cruise ship pulls into port! We had a starboard side balcony and were able to watch the "show" at the pier while we were pulling into port. They had a singer serenading us as we docked; the town representatives (men in suits, some of the women in traditional outfits) greeted us and handed each woman a rose as we disembarked. When leaving later in the day, a lone bagpipe player sent us off on our way to Halifax. Lovely people there -- really enjoyed the visit. We took a bus/boat shore excursion (booked through the ship) -- city highlights and the Reversing Falls. We had time at the end to walk around their city market and downtown.

 

Halifax was nice as well. Visited Peggy's Cove -- beautiful but a little crowded with all the tourists (wish we had more time there). We also visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic before heading back to the ship (very interesting -- viewed artifacts from the Titanic and learned about the Halifax explosion). My husband and I enjoyed the museum (but probably would have been a little too boring for our kids).

 

And, of course -- it was spectacular sailing out of NYC, past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazano Bridge. We loved our cruise. Happy sailing!:)