Christmas Victory Review

[atlsteve]

9294 was great! we loved the location, and we heard no noise at all. We loved the fact that we could get some food at the buffet and come back to eat it on the balcony. Also it was great having the pool right there for a quick dip. If I could, I would try to get a similar cabin on another cruise.

 

I'm in that cabin on feb 7. If you could, any more pics from the balcony of ports would be appreciated...

Steve

[2PinaColadas]

I'm loving your review. We will be on the Victory in March. Hoping we will have time to see some of the sites of OSJ too but are not going to have much time there. What was your favorite site there?

[Haysiedaze]

Thank you for the quick response. Great review.

 

9294 was great! we loved the location, and we heard no noise at all. We loved the fact that we could get some food at the buffet and come back to eat it on the balcony. Also it was great having the pool right there for a quick dip. If I could, I would try to get a similar cabin on another cruise.

[flyingandcruising]

I'm loving your review. We will be on the Victory in March. Hoping we will have time to see some of the sites of OSJ too but are not going to have much time there. What was your favorite site there?

 

I loved El Morro, if you like that type of thing, its not to be missed. I was really disapointed that we didnt get to San Cristobal. Also, there's a nice walk on the outside of the wall it's really neat and walking through the gates back into the city.

[WAcruisers]

Love your review! Waiting for the next set of beautiful pictures.

[flyingandcruising]

Day 2, Dec 20 Con't

 

 

The first night is open seating, so we got seated and I ordered the cesar salad, shrimp cocktail and pasta with Italian Sausage, than for dessert I had the one thing I’ve been salivating for, for the past 150 days, the melting chocolate cake…mmmmm.

 

 

After dinner we went back to the cabin and there was a note slid under our door. Since the storm was pounding the eastern states and a lot of people were delayed with flights, Carnival had decided to delay the sail away until midnight and that the sail away in St. Thomas would also be pushed back until 7pm, this was to allow delayed passengers and passengers that needed to catch up with the ship in St. Thomas to do so. I was very impressed with the cruise line for doing this, since St. Thomas is so close it was an easy decision for the cruise line. The Caribbean Princess did the same thing too. I heard horror stories from fellow passengers that didn’t get on until day 3 or 4 of the cruise, I felt so bad for them. We waited until midnight and watched the sail away while eating a pizza snack, It was fun watching the Caribbean Princess go off and us just follow along leaving San Juan behind.See you in 7 days!

 

Side Note: I noticed that at about 1am, we stopped just as we reached international waters. I assume that since St. Thomas is so close that they just stop for a few hours?? I don't know, but just wanted to pint that out to everyone.

[SCFCRUISER]

Yes indeed, the Victory is one of my favorites. We had a blast on that ship!!! Hard to believe that it's been almost a year ago, how time goes by so fast, getting old i guess. We are going to try Princess this year, leaving in a couple of weeks, can't wait.

[EMTRa]

three words.. MELTING CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! Ohhhhh! I can't wait!

Oh and it was VERY nice of the cruise line to hold up and wait for passengers..I am very impressed!

[flyingandcruising]

Day 3, Dec 21st (St. Thomas):

 

We woke up early, to watch the ship sail into the harbour. We both had a great sleep the whole week; the bedding was fantastic, better than at home. I had better sleep here than at home too.

 

 

Since we knew that the ship was now going to sail at 7pm instead of 5pm, we knew we could slow things down. We ate at the dining room for breakfast, the breakfast food is good however there is more selection at the buffet. I have barely any complaints about this trip, but the breakfast at the buffet was always luke warm at best, It was good tasting but just warm, so we only ate a few times in the morning at the buffet.

 

We took our own walking tour of Charlotte Amalie, seeing some of the older buildings and the Synagogue. I walked up the 99 steps and got a great view of the city, and the ship.

 

 

We did a little shopping in Charlotte Amalie and headed back to the ship for lunch. Just a side note, the food overall was good, there were some dishes that were very good, some good, and some fair. But overall it was good, and I was very impressed on how good the buffet was.

[flyingandcruising]

St. Thomas Con't

After lunch we went to Coki beach for some swimming and snorkeling, the area looks a little seedy but the beach is great with nice snorkeling. There is a nice view across the way to an island. I would recommend this beach if you are looking for some snorkeling on St. Thomas.

 

 

Our taxi driver was kind enough to wait for us, so after a couple hours we asked to be taken back to the ship. Again to another surprise, the driver took us on a detour to see some of the views from St. Thomas to neighbouring islands, breathtaking. I was in awe looking at the crystal blue sea and seeing these views that you don’t see in a lot of places.

 

[flyingandcruising]

Day 3, St Thomas Con't

 

 

We got back to the pier and after doing a little window shopping in Havensight it was time to go back and get ready for dinner. We had a 6pm seating time so we got dressed and met our table mates, a nice newlywed couple from Puerto Rico. I ate potato soup and lamb chops, and to our surprise our waiter came around with a few other waiters and they sang happy honeymoon to us and the other couple and left a peice of cake with a candle in it.

 

 

It was a nice gesture, and glad that the ship takes the time to acknowledge these things. After dinner we lounged around and went to the show, it was a comedian tonight he was really funny and I really enjoyed it. After the shows each night we didn’t do to much other than grab a snack, sit out on the balcony, or go in the hot tub. We were pretty tired every night.

[flyingandcruising]

Day 5, Dec 23rd (Barbados):

 

 

We had a 9:30 tour set up with silvermoon, so we got off the ship and they were there ready to great us. It was a very short 3 minute ride to the catamaran, we were on the 24 person but only about 20 people came.

 

 

Once everyone was on we were off passing the Victory on our way out to sea. Once out they set the sails and let the wind do the work,

 

 

they served us some fresh banana bread and opened the bar for all you can drink.

[flyingandcruising]

Day 5, Barbados Con't

We first went to where the turtles were and after finding the perfect spot the anchor was set. The operator gave us some rules about the turtles, no fins, and no chasing after them. We were quickly in the water and in no time we were up close with the turtles, it was an amazing thing to see. They are a lot bigger than I thought and they really get close to you, I got some really great pictures. Other than St. Thomas, this was my wife’s second time snorkeling, and she loved it.

 

 

After about ½ an hour of turtles, we got back on the catamaran and went to a reef where there were some interesting sea life.

 

 

That was a lot of fun too, some of the crew came out in the ocean with us and showed us some fish and described them to us. We then had a wonderful lunch before heading back to shore for the end of the tour. This tour was fantastic, and the crew was wonderful. They made sure that everyone was happy and full, and not thirsty. The catamaran is a great size, and no one felt that there was not enough room. We walked around the pier area a bit, there is a small internet kiosk here, $5.00 for ½ an hour. A lot better than the 75 cents per minute on the ship, so we sent everyone at home an email.

[flyingandcruising]

Day 5, Barbados Con't

We were back on the ship for a 5:00 sail and waved to the other 3 ships that were in port that day.

 

 

After a great day, we were hungry for some dinner. I had French onion soup and steak, along with NY cheesecake.

 

 

I can’t remember what show was on that night, I think a juggler and a comedian (both acts were just ok). Just before bed, I started to get a stomach ache, and thought uh oh!

[flyingandcruising]

I just noticed that i posted Barbados before Dominica.....Dominica will be posted tomorrow.

[katiecat]

Thanks for sharing such a detailed review! I love all the pictures, and am on stand by for more.

Thanks Again!:)

[katiecat]

Just wanted to bring this review to front page, so my roll call can find it easier. Waiting for more!:)

Thanks Again!

[doxie2cruise]

DH and I will be sailing the Christmas cruise this year. Love all your information it's wonderful. Thanks,:)

[dallas52]

we will be going on this cruise the last of Feb. cant wait, really enjoying your review. thanks

[EMTRa]

(KATIECAT!!!) I thought I saw a familiar face here!! :)

 

Yes, can't wait for more! :)

[flyingandcruising]

Thank you all for the lovely comments, sorry for the delay in posting. I will try to get in a segment tonight.

 

Next up is Dominica (out of order)......

[flyingandcruising]

Day 4, Dec 22nd (Dominica):

Since we weren’t supposed to dock until 10am, we scheduled for some room service for breakfast to be delivered between 9-915am….at 9:00 on the dot they were there knocking to deliver our breakfast.

We went out to the balcony and ate as we watched Dominica get closer.

After docking, we went down to the pier to meet with Reyno, our tour operator. We got into the van with a bout 8 other people and we were off to explore Dominica. First we drove out to Mr. Nice fruit stand.

[cruisegirl29]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us!! I'm sailing this Sunday, Jan 17th & I can't wait!!

 

Love all the food pix!! Now I'm hungry!! LOL....

 

Sue

[flyingandcruising]

Day 4, Dec 22 Con't

This guy is really funny and personable, the fruit he has was really good, and you can eat as much as you want. We are told that you cannot buy fruit from him, but there is a donation cup near by if you choose to donate.

We than went to the Emerald Pool, there’s about a 15 minute walk to a really nice waterfall, it was really busy and I though someone was going to get hurt, but everyone made it out fine. A lot of people went swimming in the pool, there are some really nice views of Dominica on the way back to the parking lot.

[flyingandcruising]

Day 4, Domenica Con't

Next was Trafalgar falls, which was really beautiful with the picturesque rainforest around and some sulfer springs near by to swim in.

Reyno puts together a nice tour with knowledgeable guides, I would recommend his tour. After Trafalgar it was already time to head back to the ship, so after getting dropped off we went to a few of the souvenir stands but didn’t find anything, and back on the ship we went to prepare for our fist elegant night.