What's wrong with the Victory?

[KAWS]

I've read several posts about the Victory and people saying they would not choose this ship or if given the choice of say three others, the poor Victory comes out as third choice.

 

I am booked to sail on her in March and so I'm wondering if anyone can provide more detailed feedback on this ship. Is it that it's just older and perhaps doesn't have some of the new amenities that the newer and larger ships offer? Or is it something else?

 

Thanks in advance!

[PineappleGal]

People always have mixed reviews of different ships. I cruised her and loved sailing her every min. They have made new changes to make her updated to the newer ships, like the Seaside Theare and newly added Sushi bar. If you would like I have photos and a review of my own if you want to read it a better look at the Victory!!

[Leo Jay]

I'm sailing on it in a few weeks, but it seems not too popular amoung CCers -- I see very few posts about it, and have received very little feedback to my inquiries. I've sailed on its sister ship the Triumph a few years back, though, so I don't expect too many surprises. Frankly, if I weren't sailing solo, I'd have gone for a larger ship (I was originally booked on Miracle), but Victory just happened to have the best available solo deal during the period I wanted to sail. The main difference to me is that Miracle is easier to navigate through -- no dead ends on certain decks; and Victory has no Specialty Restaurant, which is too bad.

[G'ma]

I've been on her twice and loved every minute of it! Victory, her sister Triumph and Fascination are 3 of my faves.

 

Many people thing Victory (and Triumph) are "too old" (2000 and 1999 respectfully). They are smaller in design than the newer ships.

 

I have 61 Carnival cruises under my belt and I must say that some of the best nightlife I've enjoyed has been on Victory and Triumph.

 

Don't get me wrong - I love them all, Liberty, Miracle, Freedom and others - and their oldies like Jubilee (sadly gone), Mardi Gras, Carnivale, Festivale. But these two gems hold a special place. Wonderful ships, great experience.

 

And, I adore the Fascination. Have done 2 B2B on her just to spend 7 days onboard.

 

Not everyone is going to enjoy everything. Each has their own expectations when cruising. It has been my experience that those who don't do their homework ahead of time are those who are usually "disappointed".

 

Go, have a great time....she's a very nice vessel.

[Catrin]

If it is fair to say about the Victory....

 

I do not think it is the ship itself... I think it is the cruise.

 

Last year at this time, the Legend and Victory were getting unfavorable reviews for the cruises out of New York. I am not sure if it is the atmosphere, the Canadian itinerary, cruising the Atlantic instead of the Carribbean, or the summertime passengers with tons of kids.

 

Once those ships moved south, the reviews became more favorable on both ships.

 

We loved the Victory, BTW... one of the best cruises and nicest crew.

 

Catrin

[Carnival Game]

A clean ship in pretty green/aqua tones

Good food

Friendly service

Funny Cruise Director

Great Shows

 

What's not to like?

 

Plenty of other good reviews right here on this board.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=175

[LHP]

I agree with Catrin.

 

For some reason, the Victory does not get as good a review from a New York sailing as she does from a Southern port sailing.

 

Probably the weather??? Perhaps it is a domino effect from weather to passengers (to don't like the weather) to crew (who hear from the passengers who don't like the weather).

 

All I know is that we sailed her last September (the last 7 day of the season) and had a BLAST!!! We had two full days of FOG!! And it was more like an Alaskan cruise than a Caribbean...but we loved it.

[dznymom]

I can only speak for myself, but I had a great cruise on the Victory a couple of weeks ago. I would happily cruise her again!

[e150club]

Ten of us sailed her 7/26/08 to 7/31/08 We all had a fantastic time. I'm suffering from post cruise depression. I'd sail her again.

[Gayle V]

LeoJay, You will likely have no surprises at all. I've sailed the Victory twice and the Triumph once. They are essentially identical. The Victory is maybe a bit gawdier, otherwise they are the same.

 

KAWS, I'm probably one of those who you're talking about. Those two ships are my least favorite, of all our cruises. And being identical, it's for the very same reasons. I almost hate to answer your question, because I know I will get flamed, but you honestly want to know so I will chance it.

 

Mostly it's the deck plan and the decor. Dreadful decor on both. Gawdy color scemes, and ugly, nude statues. Yuk. The overpowering green atrium on the Victory such a turn off.

 

(Here come the flamers. I can hear them all now. So save it.) YES, I know lots of people here think it's silly to even think about the decor, but I say why spend my vacation on an ugly ship, when I can just as easily spend it on a beautiful one. If the beauty of what you see on vacation didn't matter why even have windows and verandahs on the ships. The whole point of them is to view the beauty that you've come so far and paid so much to see. Why does the beauty, or lack of it, cease to matter once you step on the ship.)

 

That beings said, the decor is certainly not enough to keep me off a ship (As you can see, I've been on the Victory twice.) What is the real problem with the Victory and Triumph is the general design of the ship.

 

One thing is the bad floor plan. On both ships, there are several places and times when you will find, that, wherever you are trying to go, "you just can't get there from here." By that I mean, for example: while going to dinner, you will find that you have to go way down the hall in the wrong direction, up two floors and back down the long hall, and down two floors, to get there. There is no direct route. By the end of the week, you may have finally figured out the correct route, but the extra walking in your heels in a major pain in the tush.

 

Even more than that the pool deck is another traffic nightmare, and a major esthetic disappointment. All the foot traffic there is either funneled into one doorway, or forced to walk up tons of steps and through all the lounges. You see on most ships the pool area offers an open vista of lounges, pools and hot tubs. On these ships, the entire area is cluttered, and severely overpowered by the bandstand. On these ships, the major focus of the pool deck is NOT the pool. It's that huge bandstand, with the pool and the hot tubs kind of blocked from view, and hidden away behind it. All the lounge chairs are on tiered deck levels, all directed so all you really can see is the bandstand. Thanks to the sloping (solid wall, not glass) sides of the ship, in that area, (the slope necessitated by the tiered decking) you can hardly even see the sea from your lounge chairs. Why even be at sea, if you can't see the ocean.

 

Add to that the one problem, that I believe is common to all Carnival ships, the ugly overpoweringly orange cabin decor, with the oragne vinyl sofa (Again, flamers, give it a break, the decor matters to me. This is my opinon I'm offering not yours. Feel free to offer your opinion of the ship. Not your opinion of my opinion.) Again, why choose to sail in an ugly cabin when you can choose a ship with a beautiful one.)

 

Well, there were more problems with those three cruises, but they were not due to the ship itself. Things like a badly run excrusion program. And terrible huge lines at the purser's desk (rarely less than 45 minutes.) Also an awful lot of very low class toilet humor from the several comedians. But those are things that can easily be different now, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

 

That's about it. I will say the food on all three of those cruises was very good. And for the most part the staff was wonderful. Great room stewards, and wait staff on all. And we still had lots of fun. And btw, neither ship seemed old at all.

 

I wouldn't ever tell you to not go on your cruise. But, when just choosing a cruise, and looking at the pros and cons of each ship, these two have some negatives on their side of the list.

[e150club]

The galley on decks three and four block through passage from foward to aft. After getting turned around one time I used deck five and above to go fwd. and aft. that was no problem to me. I found the RC explorer of the seas to have more dead ends.

[RatherBFishin]

Last year at this time, the Legend and Victory were getting unfavorable reviews for the cruises out of New York. I am not sure if it is the atmosphere, the Canadian itinerary, cruising the Atlantic instead of the Carribbean, or the summertime passengers with tons of kids.

 

The summertime itinerary from NYC up to Canada is a great vacation for the money. But, like I'm sure everyone else on the cruise, I picked it because without having to fly to get on the ship it was the absolute cheapest cruise I could muster.

 

I can totally see how it would be better in the Caribbean. Switch Victory with either of it's sister ships (Destiny or Triumph) on the same itinerary, and I bet you get alot of the same comments. Someone else here at CC (Mr. P? - I pity the fool that doesn't cruise!) mentioned that the crew considers it a "challenging" assignment.

[KAWS]

Thank you everyone for your comments about the Victory. You've made me feel a lot better. It's nice to know that a lot of people do like her.

 

Gayle, thank you too for your candid remarks. I appreciate them and I think I get the idea of what you're talking about. We sailed on the Crown Princess and encountered a few of those dead ends and they were extremely frustrating! My only experience with Carnival to date is the Miracle and that ship was so easy to maneuver around. The dining room on that ship was a bit gawdy but it didn't bother us a bit. We chose to use the word "whimsical" rather than gawdy.:p

 

There were two things that made us choose the Victory for next March - the southern itinerary that we wanted to try and the price. Both were really attractive to us and with a port every single day, well talk about bang for the buck! Both of those selling features are still there, so we'll stick with the Victory and hope for the best. We will mostly be onboard from dinner onwards each day because of the itinerary. Let's just hope we see her as "extremely whimsical".

 

But I appreciate everyone's comments - good or bad. I did ask for opinions and honesty and that's what I got. Thanks to all.

[livestocruisetoo]

LeoJay, You will likely have no surprises at all. I've sailed the Victory twice and the Triumph once. They are essentially identical. The Victory is maybe a bit gawdier, otherwise they are the same.

 

KAWS, I'm probably one of those who you're talking about. Those two ships are my least favorite, of all our cruises. And being identical, it's for the very same reasons. I almost hate to answer your question, because I know I will get flamed, but you honestly want to know so I will chance it.

 

Mostly it's the deck plan and the decor. Dreadful decor on both. Gawdy color scemes, and ugly, nude statues. Yuk. The overpowering green atrium on the Victory such a turn off.

 

(Here come the flamers. I can hear them all now. So save it.) YES, I know lots of people here think it's silly to even think about the decor, but I say why spend my vacation on an ugly ship, when I can just as easily spend it on a beautiful one. If the beauty of what you see on vacation didn't matter why even have windows and verandahs on the ships. The whole point of them is to view the beauty that you've come so far and paid so much to see. Why does the beauty, or lack of it, cease to matter once you step on the ship.)

 

That beings said, the decor is certainly not enough to keep me off a ship (As you can see, I've been on the Victory twice.) What is the real problem with the Victory and Triumph is the general design of the ship.

 

One thing is the bad floor plan. On both ships, there are several places and times when you will find, that, wherever you are trying to go, "you just can't get there from here." By that I mean, for example: while going to dinner, you will find that you have to go way down the hall in the wrong direction, up two floors and back down the long hall, and down two floors, to get there. There is no direct route. By the end of the week, you may have finally figured out the correct route, but the extra walking in your heels in a major pain in the tush.

 

Even more than that the pool deck is another traffic nightmare, and a major esthetic disappointment. All the foot traffic there is either funneled into one doorway, or forced to walk up tons of steps and through all the lounges. You see on most ships the pool area offers an open vista of lounges, pools and hot tubs. On these ships, the entire area is cluttered, and severely overpowered by the bandstand. On these ships, the major focus of the pool deck is NOT the pool. It's that huge bandstand, with the pool and the hot tubs kind of blocked from view, and hidden away behind it. All the lounge chairs are on tiered deck levels, all directed so all you really can see is the bandstand. Thanks to the sloping (solid wall, not glass) sides of the ship, in that area, (the slope necessitated by the tiered decking) you can hardly even see the sea from your lounge chairs. Why even be at sea, if you can't see the ocean.

 

Add to that the one problem, that I believe is common to all Carnival ships, the ugly overpoweringly orange cabin decor, with the oragne vinyl sofa (Again, flamers, give it a break, the decor matters to me. This is my opinon I'm offering not yours. Feel free to offer your opinion of the ship. Not your opinion of my opinion.) Again, why choose to sail in an ugly cabin when you can choose a ship with a beautiful one.)

 

Well, there were more problems with those three cruises, but they were not due to the ship itself. Things like a badly run excrusion program. And terrible huge lines at the purser's desk (rarely less than 45 minutes.) Also an awful lot of very low class toilet humor from the several comedians. But those are things that can easily be different now, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

 

That's about it. I will say the food on all three of those cruises was very good. And for the most part the staff was wonderful. Great room stewards, and wait staff on all. And we still had lots of fun. And btw, neither ship seemed old at all.

 

I wouldn't ever tell you to not go on your cruise. But, when just choosing a cruise, and looking at the pros and cons of each ship, these two have some negatives on their side of the list.

 

We just got off of the Victory last week and are somewhat confused. We thought it was a great ship, luckily the weather was fine, fog only at night and early morning, and expected a green Hell from what many have said. Maybe I like green but it seemed to to fine. We were able to get to the Pacific diningroom fairly easily, our cabin was aft. The elevator closest to our cabin went right to the casino bar entrance. About the pool area, it is tiered but there is no bandstand. The band that played was one deck up directly under the Big Screen. When we were on the Fantasy, there was a large bandstand on the Lido deck. I don't know of it goes away after the Waterworks upgrade. Our waiters were great as were our cabin stewards. We are booked for the reposition cruise for when Victory replaces the Destiny out of San Juan. The ports were great, Canada is not like many of the ports of call found in the Caribbean. The only thing missing from this ship is a specialty restaurant. One last thing, we never got bitten by the sea horses or the mermaids.:D

[spinkk]

My wife and I sailed on the Victory on 5/26 from Charleston to the Bahamas. It was our first cruise, so I can't compare with other ships. I thought the decor was a little "over-the-top" but I consider it a deluxe floating resort, and expect some glitz. The deck layout is confusing at first but you'll figure it out. The bandstand was removed from the Victory's Lido deck last fall in drydock, and a big screen added above. We had a great time, excellent food, great entertainment, attentive service, and returned home highly pleased. See my Victory pix and links by going to my blog, http://americansabroad.blogspot.com and then clicking on the "Bahamas Cruise" photo. Be sure to follow the links in my photo captions for virtual tours, etc.

 

I think you're going to love it.

[dan40]

I've read several posts about the Victory and people saying they would not choose this ship or if given the choice of say three others, the poor Victory comes out as third choice.

 

I am booked to sail on her in March and so I'm wondering if anyone can provide more detailed feedback on this ship. Is it that it's just older and perhaps doesn't have some of the new amenities that the newer and larger ships offer? Or is it something else?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Search the entire web, VERY HARD, for negative reviews about these ships and sailings:

 

Sun Cruises Sunbird, Panama - March 8, 2003

Carnival Miracle, Western Caribbean - March 11, 2007

Crown Princess, Eastern Caribbean - July 14, 2007

RCCL Radiance of the Seas, Western Caribbean - March 9, 2008

 

I bet you'll be able to find bad reviews on 3 of 4 of them. Compare them with what you KNOW from personal experience. And then you'll know to ignore bad reviews by people that are only happy when they're being unhappy.

 

Dan

[bleuiz]

If it is fair to say about the Victory....

 

I do not think it is the ship itself... I think it is the cruise.

 

Last year at this time, the Legend and Victory were getting unfavorable reviews for the cruises out of New York. I am not sure if it is the atmosphere, the Canadian itinerary, cruising the Atlantic instead of the Carribbean, or the summertime passengers with tons of kids.

 

Once those ships moved south, the reviews became more favorable on both ships.

 

We loved the Victory, BTW... one of the best cruises and nicest crew.

 

Catrin

 

Last year we took the Victory to Canada, as did others from this board, on the same cruise........our experiences were very different.......my group of 15, two of whom never sailed Carnival, loved it! Some on the board did not.........YMMV (Your mileage might vary)

[bleuiz]

Also an awful lot of very low class toilet humor from the several comedians. But those are things that can easily be different now, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

 

That's about it. I will say the food on all three of those cruises was very good. And for the most part the staff was wonderful. Great room stewards, and wait staff on all. And we still had lots of fun. And btw, neither ship seemed old at all.

 

I wouldn't ever tell you to not go on your cruise. But, when just choosing a cruise, and looking at the pros and cons of each ship, these two have some negatives on their side of the list.

 

I have to say, we made it part of the fun.....trying to find our cabin (we considered it an adventure)........and the toilet humor? Well, my 4 year old nephew still remembers one or two of those jokes and still says them, laughing hysterically........that made it worth it for us......

[GlendaleCruiser]

If it is a sister ship to the Fascination, then I say, "cool". I LOVED that ship. Loved the cruise, too. Southern Carib at the time.

[luvgreys]

If it is fair to say about the Victory....

 

I do not think it is the ship itself... I think it is the cruise.

 

Last year at this time, the Legend and Victory were getting unfavorable reviews for the cruises out of New York. I am not sure if it is the atmosphere, the Canadian itinerary, cruising the Atlantic instead of the Carribbean, or the summertime passengers with tons of kids.

 

Once those ships moved south, the reviews became more favorable on both ships.

 

We loved the Victory, BTW... one of the best cruises and nicest crew.

 

Catrin

I agree with you! This ship was great, but the Canadian Cruise itself was not all that fun. I would go back on her in the Caribbean. But we are wanting to try a different cruise line next time.

[trock]

LeoJay, You will likely have no surprises at all. I've sailed the Victory twice and the Triumph once. They are essentially identical. The Victory is maybe a bit gawdier, otherwise they are the same.......

 

 

 

I agree with alot of what you are saying..No flamers for me either please.. Victory was the ugliest ship I have ever been on.. But more important and much more serious, the crew was also a low point..

 

But I think the OP needs to find out for herself if she likes it or not...Our tastes may be the complete opposite of hers.. and to be fair, the Victory has been getting much much better reviews this year...

:)

[Beej29]

We have sailed the Victory Eastern and Western itineraries when it was going out of Miaimi. Sad to see her go. We had a great time on both trips and these were before the upgrades of Seaside Theatre and Sushi Bar. Great food, great ship activities, and great staff. Go and have a great time!!:)

[nybumpkin]

Victory was our first cruise...as well as our fourth, our sixth, and in less than two weeks our eighth cruise. I suspect that may be the end for a while, since we're not into the new-port-every-day Southern route that she will be doing in the fall. She's smaller than the Conquest-class, and I do find that decks 3 and 4 are more confusing than on the larger ships. The dining rooms have to be my least favorite of the dining rooms we've seen on Carnival - I'm really not fond of the mermaid heads. She doesn't have the "bells and whistles" like supper club or fish and chips. However, overall I enjoy the "seven seas" theme, and the Irish seas Bar and the Ionian Lounge are two of my favorite lounges on any Carnival ship. We've never had bad service on any of our Victory cruises; the worst I can say is that on our second Victory cruise we had a less-than-enthusiastic Camp Carnival staff. By the way, the bandstand on the Lido deck is gone; they removed it during the last drydock when they put in the movie screen on lido deck, and the band now plays right under the screen.

 

The Canada run does get different reviews, and I think a lot does relate to the weather - on the part of both passengers and crew. Last year, we had an absolutely gorgeous sea day the first day out and it was clear the crew was excited about the weather. Our cabin steward mentioned how nice the weather was, and later the CD noted that this was the first sunny, warm day in some time.