Victory 8/30 just back, quick review!

[apc0204]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just got off the Victory today, 4 night to St.John. I have been on 60+ cruises on all lines. This was my 11th on Carnival and first using the Platinum amenities.

 

We took our 3 yr old daughter who had a blast chasing Fun Ship Freddy around the ship and playing in Camp Carnival.

 

We got to NY about 1pm after driving from Boston. VIP embarkation was great no lines and right on the ship. Definately noticed much better service and attitudes when crew saw the platinum sail and sign card.

 

We had cabin 7427 aft on the Empress deck. Great balcony much bigger than the standard ones, however the room had no couch and the tv was on the same wall as the bed! This did not bother us as we did not watch it. Balcony was semi private if you sat back otherwise everyone could see you because of the slope of the back of the ship's structure. My daughter slept on a roll away that was very comfortable as was our bed.

 

Our cabin steward and waiter were excellent. We were assigned 5:45 dinner but decided to switch it to 6:15. There was a huge line of people waiting to change their dining assignments but the staff asked to see my card and when they saw the platinum status they bumped me to the front which was GREAT! They gave us a great booth for the three of us.

 

Food in the dining room was good, however the buffets and other options were not good at all. I read about the buffet lines on many of the reviews here but they were worse than I imagined. It is hard waiting 20 minutes with a hungry 3 year old. We managed and made the most of it.

 

We stayed on the ship in St.John and made use of the pools/hot tubs. There is no adult only pool on the Victory. The pools were absolutely FREEZING. I tried but could not deal with the cold : )

 

Camp Carnvial was great there were ALOT of kids on board and picking up and dropping off always had 10-20 minute lines.

 

We wanted a fun weekend getaway and that is what we got. The ship was in great condition, and staff friendly. Food was a bit dissapointing but you can always find something and you will not go hungry.

 

One of the best features of the Platinum amenities is the private behind the scenes tour. We went with 15 other passengers to the galley tour. I have done these before but this was truly hands on up close watching as they prepare the food for that day. Not to be missed!

 

Any questions I will do my best to answer!

 

Anthony

 

PS I will try to get cabin pics as well up soon.

[Dorene1]

Hi

 

I was on the galley tour as well. Paul and I had a wonderful time. However, we enjoyed the food in the dining room and buffet. So much to pick from, how could you go hungry. It only got crowded later in the mornings that I noticed, but there were people coming up at noon looking for breakfast.......and upset when they missed it. I loved the Victory and it was nice watching the dolfin's swim near the ship the last night we were sailing. We were on the 10th floor balcony, and the beds are so comfortable. The only thing I didnt like, is the people complaining about Carnival not being like Royal, or Princess lines......I found the Victory to be almost perfect, that I rebooked her for the 5 day.

 

Dorene

[SunnyinMA]

We stayed on the ship in St.John and made use of the pools/hot tubs. There is no adult only pool on the Victory. The pools were absolutely FREEZING. I tried but could not deal with the cold : )

 

I can't even imagine how cold this water is. I won't even spend more than 5 minutes knee deep up in Hampton, NH much less further north than Maine :eek:

 

Thanks for the review!

[MrPete]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just got off the Victory today, 4 night to St.John.

 

Your experience practically parallels mine! I am planning on wearing my Platinum card on my forehead on my next sailing, if I find on the other ships what I found on the Victory.

 

Did you take advantage of the VIP debark service?

[apc0204]

No we took our time getting off the ship as we were just going to drive back to Boston. Our cabin steward let us stay in our room until 9:30! He was excellent. We were one of the last people off the ship and it was great no lines at all.

 

I really enjoy the NY terminal it is so easy to drive and park there. Parking is expensive but it beats flying any day!

 

I forgot to mention too that the temperature onboard the ship was always cold so ladies may want to bring a sweater. My wife kept taking my sport jacket!

[apc0204]

Pete I just noticed you did the Explorer in August! We are leaving for her 9 night on September 28! Which cruise did you like better?

 

My little one is already talking about seeing Fun Ship Freddy again. She is going to be heartbroken to find out he wont be on the Explorer : )

 

You think I could find a costume on E-bay? : )

[LHP]

Thanks so much for the info.

 

We are sailing on her at the end of the month. (imagine how "chilly" it will be by then) Guess hubby will just have to keep me warn!!

 

Forgive me if I have already asked this question (this is a class of ship we have not sailed before)....is there a hot tub inside with the work out area like on the Conquest?

 

Thanks again....

[MrPete]

Pete I just noticed you did the Explorer in August! We are leaving for her 9 night on September 28! Which cruise did you like better?

 

My little one is already talking about seeing Fun Ship Freddy again. She is going to be heartbroken to find out he wont be on the Explorer : )

 

You think I could find a costume on E-bay? : )

 

I hate to say this on this board (duck and hide), but the Explorer cruise blew the Victory cruise out of the water.

 

We never even saw FF on the Victory.

[MrPete]

....is there a hot tub inside with the work out area like on the Conquest?

 

There are TWO of them. :)

[cruzndiz]

Hi Anthony! I looked for you and Dorene and Julie (Jubethone) all weekend to no avail!!! :( I agree with you about the buffet food....I thought some things were quite awful to be honest (eggs especially!) and it was even more disappointing due to the lines being so long......but the food at the Grill and Deli and Pizza were great so I had no trouble whatsoever gaining 10 pounds LOL!!! Everything on the cruise was good for us except our dining room waiter --- I swear he must have already decided not to re-up for another 6 month contract because I've never had a waiter on any cruise be so cold and aloof. What really surprised me was how many friendly passengers I met on board; I am a very social outgoing person so I am always meeting new people everywhere I go -- but this time I had so many people approach me!!:D And they say New Yorkers are rude!!

[apc0204]

Thanks Pete I had a feeling you might say that : )

 

Yes there are two hot tubs in the gym area (they never seemed too crowded).

 

Cruzindiz sorry we missed each other, there were people we met the first day and never saw again : )

 

Sorry to hear your waiter was not good. We lucked out, ours was SO nice and went out of his way to make us happy.

[nybumpkin]

Your experience practically parallels mine! I am planning on wearing my Platinum card on my forehead on my next sailing, if I find on the other ships what I found on the Victory.

 

Did you take advantage of the VIP debark service?

Pete - I can't remember from your review - did you get a private galley tour by virtue of your Platinum status?

[UpstateCruizer]

Pete - I can't remember from your review - did you get a private galley tour by virtue of your Platinum status?

 

When you get onboard check your Capers for the galley tour. They listed the tour and it said for everyone that was interested to show up in the dining room at an assigned time for the tour. It's easily missed as it was not listed in the activity part of the caper but in the more generalized information area. I did not see anything that reflected it was reserved for VIP guests only :)

[MrPete]

Pete - I can't remember from your review - did you get a private galley tour by virtue of your Platinum status?

 

YUP. DD and I went. Never saw that (or any other perk) listed, so I inquired at the Concierge desk. They said the VIP tour was that morning at 10:30 that morning, and we were the only ones that showed up.

 

So, we got a private tour. :)

[nybumpkin]

YUP. DD and I went. Never saw that (or any other perk) listed, so I inquired at the Concierge desk. They said the VIP tour was that morning at 10:30 that morning, and we were the only ones that showed up.

 

So, we got a private tour. :)

You timed that one well!

 

Crazed - There is an "open" galley tour for all passengers, but VIPs are entitled to a private tour as well.

[apc0204]

We got a letter in our cabin that said to contact the concierge desk to set up a time. We called and they said they would get back to us with a time and they did. It was the last day at 10:45am.