REVIEW: Carnival Victry 2/7/10 -2/14/10 Southern Caribbean

[Dirkgun]

As a preface… this is going to be my first review of a cruise or really of anything for that matter. So bear with me as I tell you about the Awesome experience we had on the Carnival Victory 2/7/2010 – 2/14/2010 (yes a Super Bowl cruise).

Pre-cruise Day 1 – 2/5/10 leaving Salt Lake City went smooth. We (my wife and I, our two kids DD 19 and DS 17) were meeting up in Miami with my parents (who have never been on a cruise before) their flight was from Las Vegas direct to Miami… ours was with one other stop in Dallas Fort Worth, then on to San Juan Puerto Rico.

We get to Dallas very uneventful , got off, changed planes, getting ready for take-off….. this is when it starts to go down the toilet so to speak. Take-off time has passed without us moving away from the terminal… not to worry, they will make up time in the air? Then we get an announcement that they are having some sort of difficulty with the toilet in the first class section of the plane… They were waiting on some kind of equipment so to be patient, they said. Two hours later and we were watching at least 6 maintenance workers stand around scratching their collective heads wondering how to fix it??? Come to find out some Genius had flushed a diaper down the toilet and they could not move it to drain the system. Now all this would not be so funny if not for my immaculate planning of our flights… I was not going to fly into any airports that have the ability to be delayed with winter snow storms etc…. only to be foiled by a Diaper?!?!?! They finally got us out of there, but right after we got off the ground is when our scheduled connection flight with my parents in Miami was scheduled to leave, oh well I guess we will all get there just not together. As it turns out though they had delays at Miami airport with the American Airlines flights coming in also so we ran through the airport and made the plane as the last ones on board “whew”. We got into Puerto Rico together .. but of course our luggage did not make the same run we did so it did not make it. They did deliver it to our hotel that night though so it worked out. We got a screaming deal of $85 a night through price line for El Caribe Hilton, man what a great place to stay. We had a nice walk around their immaculate grounds and a good meal at the hotel, then went to sleep ready for a new day in San Juan.

 

Pre-Cruise Day 2 – Old San Juan. We got up and leisurely got ready, then did some exploring of the hotel grounds during the daylight…. Still as impressed with the property. After we enjoyed the views and beach a little we caught a cab into Old San Juan. The cab dropped us off at the San Cristobal fort. We walked around it and thoroughly enjoyed all of it. It is so cool just to see the structures and imagine the life the people from this era lived. There are magnificent views of the coast line and easy to see why it made a great fortification place.

 

 

 

 

[Dirkgun]

Then we went to eat lunch at a little locals restaurant that we discovered last year, Los Pinos. It is over by Marriott Miramar in Condado. They have the best Mofongo and rice and beans but, beware it is not a touristy place. just great food cheap.

After we were done with lunch we caught the public bus back into old San Juan ($.50 per person) The bus drops you about a block above the waterfront. We walked down to the pier then west toward the street vendors to take in the experience. It was early in the day on Saturday so the vendors were kind of all just opening their little stands and carts. We wanted to take the free trolley around the city and then up to El Morro but it was never open enough to get on… people just stay on it. We ended up walking along the city wall perimeter then up to the fort …. Quite a long walk but well worth it as it is very picturesque. El Morro is quite a place. It is a lot bigger than San Cristobal but not quite as detailed. The views from inside it were incredible and the structures have to be seen.

Continued....

[Dirkgun]

more of the walk up to El Morro...

 

 

 

 

Some more views and fun... it is a great place to visit. If you get the chance to go there, do it. It is well worth it.

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2010 by Dirkgun

[Carolin]

Loving your review. Can't wait to see more pictures. :)

[Dirkgun]

On our way out of El Morro we decided we would give the trolley one last try….. still no luck. So we walked down through the heart of the old San Juan streets. This city is one of my all time favorite places. Anyways we got back down to the street vendors again and I just had to go and get some oranges…. There is this guy who has a little cart and space and baskets and baskets of oranges. He has fresh squeezed O.J. that looks amazing however the treat that I needed to share with my parents was the peeled oranges. He sticks them on some kind of a spinner and it rotates the orange then an arm cuts the peel off in little strips and it just shoots them 3 or 4 feet in the air (smell is great). Then he takes and cuts at an angle the top off of the orange for you, so you have an orange that you just squeeze and drink the juice then eat it and peel the flesh around as you go…. Very refreshing. We all had some then got two more apiece for the next morning’s breakfast, they only cost $ .50 a piece.

By now we had had a full day so we caught a cab back to the Hilton and went swimming and relaxing in the hot tub. After we had been in the pool for a while we went to one of their on site restaurants and had dessert… banana splits with grilled caramelized bananas and they were great, a little pricey but very good. There is a great little subway and a convenience store just down the street from the hotel so you can eat cheaper if you want the subway does breakfast food also and they are probably the most friendly subway I have ever seen. :D

[Dirkgun]

Loving your review. Can't wait to see more pictures. :)

 

 

Thank you. It is hard to decide which pictures to put in... we had at least four or five cameras taking pics. And they are all such great memories. I think I spent the last two days uploading pictures to photobucket dot com. :rolleyes:

[SoonerOne]

Great review and pictures so far! We just booked this cruise and wa-la, here's 2 new reviews on the Victory:D on the main Carnival boards. Thanks for taking the time to share with us:)

 

BTW, I've found a hotel/round trip non-stop air package for the trip including 2 days pre-cruise and 1 day post cruise in San Juan for $441/per person. Does that seem reasonable?

Edited February 24, 2010 by SoonerOne

[Dirkgun]

Day 3 - Embarkation day. We got up milled around, walked out on the pier at the Hilton… they have this pier out in the water that is right over some rocks and the waves crash there but in between you can see the fish swimming around. Even at night since they have it lit up… it is cool. We also relaxed in the hammocks and lounge chairs… really just wasting time until it was time to board the Victory.

 

 

 

This is the pier that goes out over the rocks and is lit up at night, the next pic is one of the views off the end in the daylight, but the night views are cool also and bring in different fish. I swear we saw a small reef shark looming late the first night. :eek:

 

 

 

[Carolin]

Your picking out some great shots. I can see your family is having so much fun.

 

I will be in PR in just a few short days on the Glory. Where can I find this orange guy? I would LOVE to try the oranges and see all of this orange peels. :D

[Dirkgun]

EMBARKATION: At 11:30 we called our friend the taxi driver (the guy that brought us to the hotel on Friday, he gave us his card). He promptly shows up and drove us to the pier where today the Majestic Victory finally was waiting for us. We got our luggage out and gave our things to a porter at the curbside, got out our fun passes and documents and walked into the building. Excitement is growing…. I am like a kid at Christmas. Since we were taking my parents who have never been, I was very nervous and stressed that they would like it and that all would go well.

We finally got in and went to the check-in line where there was just a few people, so good time to regroup and gather documents. It was our turn next and since we were all on one linked reservation in three separate rooms I assumed we would go to the same person for check in / registration…. The Carnival line lady had other ideas she said we had to go with each separate cabin. My Dad and I went and ours went smooth…. My DD and DM had a huge hassle, and my DW and DS had a huge hassle. Apparently they told them that we should have come to the same person. Anyways…. It worked out after much confusion. So then on we went to the ship upstairs by the Duty free store where you can purchase the needs you might have is located. Then through the final security screening, I guess if they tag your bag here for alcohol you are supposed to surrender it at a table…. But the table is not right there. It is up the gangplank and on the ship, so a good 50 yards away and around the corner so if you needed to readjust you probably could (hint hint). By 12:30 we were on board talking to the pursers desk getting our rooms situated with our SS cards etc. Then on to the Lido deck for some lunch and DOD’s ….We were officially on the ship now. We wandered the ship and found things like the MDR and the mini golf course.

More to come....

[Dirkgun]

Great review and pictures so far! We just booked this cruise and wa-la, here's 2 new reviews on the Victory:D on the main Carnival boards. Thanks for taking the time to share with us:)

 

BTW, I've found a hotel/round trip non-stop air package for the trip including 2 days pre-cruise and 1 day post cruise in San Juan for $441/per person. Does that seem reasonable?

 

 

Yes very... I think our air round trip was in the low $400 range from SLC UT. Then we stayed 2 nights pre at El Caribe ($85 a night per room) and old town Sheraton 2 nights post ($70 per room per night). Enjoy the trip

[Lindys]

Great pics of San Juan!!! Like that you put alot of them up!! Looking forward to my visit

[scraphappylady]

Thank you. It is hard to decide which pictures to put in... we had at least four or five cameras taking pics. And they are all such great memories. I think I spent the last two days uploading pictures to photobucket dot com. :rolleyes:

 

 

Boy, do I hear you on this one!! Took me forever to pick and choose, then upload all of mine. You got some great ones so far! Keep 'em coming!

 

Ah, I remember mofongo! I got a conch one while we were there and it was delicious, but boy are they deceptive in size. I couldn't finish half of mine before I was too stuffed (of course, I'm sure the pina coladas took up a lot of room in my stomach, too :p)

 

And I had wondered what those orange things were that I saw so many people carrying! Thanks for clearing that up - now I wish I had gotten one. Only 50 cents? Wow!

 

Waiting for your next installment . . . :)

[kelz66]

Boy, do I hear you on this one!! Took me forever to pick and choose, then upload all of mine. You got some great ones so far! Keep 'em coming!

 

Ah, I remember mofongo! I got a conch one while we were there and it was delicious, but boy are they deceptive in size. I couldn't finish half of mine before I was too stuffed (of course, I'm sure the pina coladas took up a lot of room in my stomach, too :p)

 

And I had wondered what those orange things were that I saw so many people carrying! Thanks for clearing that up - now I wish I had gotten one. Only 50 cents? Wow!

 

Waiting for your next installment . . . :)

 

post them all!!!

 

 

LOL

 

:D

[cruiserNC]

Gosh another fantastic Victory Review!!

[Dirkgun]

Your picking out some great shots. I can see your family is having so much fun.

 

I will be in PR in just a few short days on the Glory. Where can I find this orange guy? I would LOVE to try the oranges and see all of this orange peels. :D

 

 

IF you are there in the port right in old town.... just go out to the street and turn left (west) and walk down to the end of the street. You will then see the street change to cobblestones and you will walk through some vendors..... purses and belts and locally made cigars etc. Then just follow the street to the west and you will go through some more vendors just outside the old city wall... he is about halfway down to the fountain. You can't miss him. Enjoy your time there.

 

 

 

 

This is the scenery you want to look for.... he will / should be on the right hand side against the wall. The Oranges are $.50 but the juice I think is $1 with ice and $1.50 without. If you get the juice tell me how it is. I have not tried it in the times I was there. There were some cute little kids there running around when we were there... I bought them some and they loved them. It is a great thing.

Edited February 24, 2010 by Dirkgun

[shebring02lx]

LOVE this review. Can't wait to see more! I love the fort photos. The view is amazing

[Dirkgun]

Victory is a beautiful ship I really liked the décor. My parents were sort of in sensory overload with permagrins on their faces. At 2:30 we went to our rooms and our luggage had not arrived but we really did not expect it until later. We checked our rooms and found them to be great, very roomy. My parents were more than impressed, they thought we would be in some tiny rooms like an RV so they were happy. We were on deck 2 with a connecting room and then the room right next to it (2351, 2355, and 2359). Turns out we were right next to a CC member NANAOFBKM (Marlene I believe is her name) and they were a fun bunch. As it was getting to be early evening and this was a SuperBowl cruise we went to see the situation by the out door screen. We ended up carrying some lounge chairs and reg chairs to a wing deck about three levels above the pool level. We watched the game with a few trips to the buffet to get snacks. Really enjoyed the game (ok mostly I enjoyed the atmosphere) then we had a great sail away. No party but that is because the game had just ended. Muster drill was postponed until the next day when we left St Thomas. I love leaving out of San Juan, going through the channel by El Morro is gorgeous and a little humbling. Tomorrow is St Thomas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Sunday night with the superbowl just starting... it was a packed pool area but a surprisingly good picture and sound and even though there were a lot of people it never really seemed hard to get around the deck that night.

 

 

Bon Voyage.... this is an awesome sight.... with El Morro looming to the right. Very gorgeous.

Edited February 24, 2010 by Dirkgun

[sailingawaysoon]

Loving your review! Can't wait to see and read more.

[Joanns6569]

Thank you for the review, we sail in a short 4 months, can not wait. I look forward to see the rest of the cruise pictures.

[ShannLC16]

Another Victory review! I am so excited! :D

 

More, more!

[SoonerOne]

Yes very... I think our air round trip was in the low $400 range from SLC UT. Then we stayed 2 nights pre at El Caribe ($85 a night per room) and old town Sheraton 2 nights post ($70 per room per night). Enjoy the trip

 

Thank you for replying, we've never flown to a cruise port, so this is a new planning experience for me, keep that review coming;)

[sunseeker09]

Thanks for posting a great review and lots of photos. We did the Victory in Jan. and it's bringing back memories. :)

[CruizinMom2c]

more of the walk up to El Morro...

 

 

 

 

 

my favorite picture by far!

 

 

 

Thank you for the wonderful pictures and review :D

[beach410]

my favorite pix as well, great review, thanks for sharing, it looks like your parents got off to a great start!