Onboard the Victory, initial Impressions

Greetings fellow cruise critic members, many of you were so helpful as I was researching for my first carnival cruise since the 1980s, I thought I'd share my initial impressions of the victory with you!

Flight - we flew into Fort Lauderdale yesterday on a flight that was to arrive at 11 AM would you believe most of the flight was full of folks with Sunday cruises. after a three hour delay and over an hour to receive our luggage those individuals actually missed their cruisers - many were out of Fort Lauderdale and some even out of Miami. It was heartbreaking… So this is my public service announcement for flying in the day before your cruise!

Pre-cruise- we stayed in South Beach pre-cruise here's another public service announcement. We took Uber from Fort Lauderdale to South Beach, I accidentally used UberXL instead of UberX that cost $85 for the trip - unless you actually need a large size SUV you need to make sure you only use UberX….

we stayed at the Gates Hilton Doubletree Hotel in South Beach. Can't say I would recommend this hotel for a couple of reasons, most is location. It was in North South Beach on Collins Avenue. This is clearly not where the action is the action in South Beach is definitely south of there on Ocean Drive. The hotel is fairly new and seems to have some real service issues it was difficult checking in but I was definitely not the only one, lots of service issues.

We had dinner at Hua Hua's tacos on Lincoln Avenue. It was fabulous! I actually received this referral from a post I made yesterday and a wonderful cruise critic member posted a link to the best taco shops in Miami. Thank you so much! I highly recommend this place - the prices were great - it was counter service and the guacamole was fresh and the tacos divine and the Mexican beers were ice cold. We loved it!

Easy Uber ride with UberX not ask Al, to the port this morning was only $18 and took less than 15 minutes. We had purchased faster to the fun and I loved it! We checked in and we're on the boat and all of about 15 minutes we arrived at 11:30 but could have actually boarded sooner they were already boarding when we arrived.

We brought two bottles of wine on board as we had two cabins and that couldn't have been any easier. One was in each carry-on and they just went right through security, no questions asked.

We were able to go straight to our rooms and our keys or available at our doors. We dropped off our luggage and bottles of wine and headed to lunch.

Cabins- I was actually surprised at just how much I loved the cabins. We have an ocean view on 2 and a balcony on 8. I could not believe how big the ocean view room is - quite spacious with a lovely view and room for everything. The balcony just as spacious and although the balcony is small, it's still quite functional. The rooms are clean and the Decour bright and fresh we were really quite pleased with the cabins.

Here comes my first criticism so far - I've spent the afternoon working in my cabin on eight, I am in 8255 which happens to be right by the stairs. Sitting in my cabin at my desk, I can hear every word spoken in the hall outside my cabin. I've had people standing by the stairwell making phone calls or just having conversations and literally can hear every single word. I expect as drinking goes on in the night gets long that could be quite intrusive when you're trying to sleep.

The Ship- this is my first Carnival ship and I have to say my initial impressions, I find it really crowded. Maybe that's just a embarkation day experience. The lobby on 3 seems to be incredibly tight and the people flow difficult.

Lunch- speaking of tight, the buffet was crazy, again maybe just an embarkation day thing. Lines everywhere, and no where to sit. I went to the seafood shack and really enjoyed it. I had a lobster roll and it was quite yummy. I am not a huge crowds person so will be interesting to see how this week goes.

Here's the cabin. More pics to come!

I found the promenade deck. Oddly nothing going on today. Hence all the crowds on 3 - lobby and 9- buffet???

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A few more empty bars

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Lobby and lounge

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Temperature- stateroom is cooling off but not cold. Put some public

Areas seem quite cold. Will need a sweater inside!

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Pardon the random thoughts but how great is water delivered to your room for $4.50 for a case of 12?? And, the fridge was empty so could put the water right in the fridge and always have access to cold

Water in the room. Way to go Carnival. This is an awesome benefit!!! Love it. Water is about $2 per bottle on NCL. Crazy.

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Cheers- well, given I had to work till Muster Drill, the Cheers package has only afforded me one glass of wine. But, carnival beats NCL here too! On NCL the only Chardonnay by the glass was about $6 a bottle at home. Carnival serves Kendal Jackson. A nice mid-priced Chardonnay. Very drinkable! Another pleasant surprise.

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Have a wonderful cruise!!! Other than the Atrium bar, sports bar and maybe Casino bar inside.....you won't see the other bars open until early evening (around 5). Not sure if there is a Red Frog...if so...it should be open

Muster Drill - oh carnival, move this inside!!! What gives with lining us up outside??? It's a pretty cool day in Miami but I could see where this could be truly miserable in the heat. Or for those with mobility issues. Time to evolve, in my humble opinion...

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Here comes my first criticism so far - I've spent the afternoon working in my cabin on eight, I am in 8255 which happens to be right by the stairs. Sitting in my cabin at my desk, I can hear every word spoken in the hall outside my cabin. I've had people standing by the stairwell making phone calls or just having conversations and literally can hear every single word. I expect as drinking goes on in the night gets long that could be quite intrusive when you're trying to sleep.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it probably will not get any better. Last month we were in a cabin above where you are on the Lido deck and every night, and also some days we could hear whatever type of entertainment that was going on from deck 3 (lobby) from start to finish. One night a guy played the guitar and sang until midnight. It was not a good 4 days for us.:(:(

Internet- still in Miami, but needed internet immediately for work. Was super easy. Had purchased a package online. Logged in using my folio number and service was immediate. Will see how fast it is from sea, but access was a breeze.

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Have a wonderful cruise!!! Other than the Atrium bar, sports bar and maybe Casino bar inside.....you won't see the other bars open until early evening (around 5). Not sure if there is a Red Frog...if so...it should be open

Thank you! Look forward the finding more venues available!! Think that will spread out the crowd.

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Following! I'll be on her in May!

Sail away! Really fun vibe. Great

Music and energy!!!

Serenity - not so much, but fun!! Has a bit of a frat party vibe but I'm guessing that has something to do with spring break... may be

More suited for my 21 y/o than me this week!!

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Following! I'll be on her in May!

Enjoy!!!

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The first day the buffet and other lido eating area is nuts. There is not dining room open so everyone is in one place. It gets better. :)

And on my last 2 carnival cruises the muster drill was inside. I have been seeing lots of reviews with the drill outside. Yuck

I hope you have a great cruise. :)

Loving your posts and pictures. I was on the Victory for NYE, it was my first carnival cruise and will hold a sweet spot in my heart as it was my boyfriend’s first cruise and he fell in love, we will be on the Glory in June!

As for serenity, on our cruise it was never full, very relaxed vibe, college spring breakers seem to have taken it over on your sailing!

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Victory was my first Carnival ship too. I did it last year. The first night was packed everywhere. After that, it was mostly free-flowing.

Enjoying this thread.

Keith

Love the play by play. Thanks for sharing your thoughts as they happen!

nice! been on once before, back in 2 weeks!

Appreciate the review as I will be sailing in 55 days!!!!

I'm looking forward to more of your thoughts when you're able to share them with us. My wife and I will be aboard the Victory next Monday (yes, we're flying in Saturday). It seems like the Victory had a rough start after coming out of dry dock, but it appears that things have been improving since it has been out a few times.

The buffet layout is one of my main gripes of the ship, awful layout. Rooms are great, pool deck updates look great too,

Enjoy your cruise! Looks like your 21 year old will (If he/she is with you!)