Carnival Victory October 9 2017

My friend and I went on the Victory on October 9th. We are both from Oregon and decided to take this cruise basically because of the timing and price. Again we choose this cruise because of the price and we usually sail with RCI. Our wife’s decided not to go because they were afraid to sail during hurricane season and they do not like hot weather. So they decided to stay home.

We flew to Ft Lauderdale a day before and decided to go onthe water taxi and see the sites. Wepicked one that had a bar and it was very enjoyable. We stayed at the BestWestern Oceanside Inn near the beach in Ft Lauderdale. This hotel is in a very nice location by thebeach near the water taxi and restaurants. Living in Oregon we do not have much of a chance to eat main lobster andat reasonable prices, we found lobster dinners for $20 along the beach in Ft Lauderdale.Setting along the warm tropical beach in Florida eating lobster and havingcocktails is not what we get to do in Oregon. This was exceptional.

Departure day. Weused Uber from Ft Lauderdale to the port in Miami it was about $40 and a verynice trip to the port. We arrived around12 pm and went through check in and waited until our deck was called, we waitedabout ½ hour and were on board in a short time. Went straight to the buffet for lunch and it was OK and decided to tourthe ship and see what it was like compared to a RCI ship. I thought the ship was in really good shapeand it was exciting to sail on a Carnival ship. I have sailed on Carnivalseveral times; however, have not been for about 5 years.

Went to the cabin around 1:30 and checked it out. We were on main deck with an oceanviewroom. We were very happy with the cabinchoice and it was recently updated. Luggage arrived around 4 pm and unpacked. Idid place a box of wine in my checked luggage and it was taken by the scanning crew. I realize this is not acceptable and I gotcaught. There was a letter attachedsaying we found alcohol in your luggage and it will not be given back toyou. Well, I should have got the drink package;however, I did not purchase the package. I did bring one bottle of wine in my carry on without any issues. Lessonlearned on trying to get box wine onboard in checked luggage.

Food: I thought thefood in main dining room on this ship was very good. I upgraded to the steak and lobster for $20the first night. I am a foody guy and Iknow how to cook, this upgrade was very good quality and well worth the extracost. We had anytime dining and wereasked by head waiter to stay with them the entire cruise. Staying with same wait staff turned out to bea great decision, they were great and we joked around with them and they reallyenjoyed having us. Every night at dinnerthe head waiter recommended what to have and would bring additional food for usto try, they went out of their way to ensure we had a great dining experience. I was very pleased with food and service inmain dining room on this ship. We didtry the buffet a couple of times for lunch and it was OK. There were quite a few of “professionalbuffet eaters” that transitioned from breakfast to lunch and then onto dinner,I think they never left the buffet area, same people hanging out in there. Irealize that is the thing they like to do and are getting their money’s worthby booking a cruise. I did enjoy the sea day brunch I thought the selectionswere good and food quality was great. Idid try the Carnival pizza and thought it was pretty good. There was always a huge line for the pizza. I also tried the grill and it was good as well.

Casino: My first impressionof the casino was wow, does this ship not have an efficient smoke removingexhaust system. It is really smoky andit reminds me of Reno Nevada. I am acrap player and did roll the bones a few times at the crap table. Their crap table odds are not very good; Iwas up a little and ending up losing about $40. Had a good time and thenhung out in the sports bar and watched some football, overall had a good time.

Ports: We hadnever been to Key West before as mentioned we live on the west coast. We rode the old trolley and enjoyed the narrationabout Key West and its history. Went toa few of the tourist bars and have a few cocktails and walked around town. There were a few places in town where youcould see the damage of Hurricane Irma. Key West cleaned up from this disaster and was in really good shape. Wealso went to Cozumel and decided to go to Mr. Sancho’s all-inclusive for theday. This turned out to be an excellent choice$55 for all the drinks and food you wanted. Had a very good time and it was agood value and had quality amenities.

The Ship: Thisship went through renovation a few years ago and its going back for additionalupgrades soon as pointed out on CC. I thought the ship was in good shape, thegreen atrium was great to hang out in and do some people watching. There were all kinds of different people onthe ship, I did not get the “Carnival Walmart vibe” that some CC people writeabout. Most of the people seemed to befrom the south and they were well mannered and nice people. There were a quitea few kids on this cruise hanging out in the main pool. I have no problem with kids, I have kids alsoand now a grandkid. I did not see much cutting in line and chair saving goingon near the pools. I worked out in the gym several times and I found a goodsection of weight machines and treadmills. Went to several of the shows, Ithought they were good, especially the Varoom show.

Summary: I had avery good time on Carnival, there were no negatives. For the price I paid for this cruise it was avery good value. As compared to RCI asmany times as it has been said on CC, Carnival is similar, however, if you needthe “Wow Factor “of newer ships then choose RCI. I have sailed on Oasis and several other RCI ships;I would not hesitate to book another Carnival cruise. I would like to tryCarnivals newer ships. Thanks for reading this short to the point review of theVictory.

Sounds like you had a terrific cruise. Nice review/report and excellent summary.

Keith

Maybe your wife have some regret not joining you after you enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for the feedback.

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Thanks for your interesting review. I'm glad you had a good time. I agree that Carnival offers a good value for the price.

Happy sailing.

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Victory for Thanksgiving. Only 9 days left before we leave!

Thanks for taking the time to give a report!