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

[Dirkgun]

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[mom22tinks]

Great review... fantastic pictures! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this review.

[Dirkgun]

Great review... fantastic pictures! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this review.

 

You are welcome. Thank you for the nice comments. I hope you have a great time on the Victory in December. I am jealous. We just got back from the western Caribbean on the Valor..... and while it was fun. It pales in comparison to our experience on the Victory.:D

[Dirkgun]

[Garion33]

Dirkgun, great review and thanks for taking the time to write it up. We are cruising on the Miracle in December to the Saints (Kitts, Lucia Marteen). Not a port intensive trip, but a relaxing one. I was very interested in what you had to say about the ports. Is there anything in St. Kitts/Lucia you wish you would have done?

 

Thanks again.

 

Garion33

[Dirkgun]

Dirkgun, great review and thanks for taking the time to write it up. We are cruising on the Miracle in December to the Saints (Kitts, Lucia Marteen). Not a port intensive trip, but a relaxing one. I was very interested in what you had to say about the ports. Is there anything in St. Kitts/Lucia you wish you would have done?

 

Thanks again.

 

Garion33

 

 

Hi Garion33, thanks for the nice comment and for reading the review. On St Kitts.... we have been there twice and both times just did the shopping plaza there at the port and then went to Ship Wreck beach for the day to snorkle and relax. I know there are a lot of other things to do but I have not tried anything else (next time I will venture out a little more) On St Lucia...... we have been there 3 seperate times and have done different tours each time all of them very interesting but this last time was by far the best. I wish I would have taken more time at Jalousie beach )in between the pitons) to snorkle or swim.... the water there is amazingly clear. You will have a great time there. It looks from your info that you live in Anchorage??? My little brother is a firefighter/Paramedic in Anchorage and he and his family love it there. :D:cool: you will have to let me know what you decide to do and then write a review on your trip.

[Garion33]

Hi Garion33, thanks for the nice comment and for reading the review. On St Kitts.... we have been there twice and both times just did the shopping plaza there at the port and then went to Ship Wreck beach for the day to snorkle and relax. I know there are a lot of other things to do but I have not tried anything else (next time I will venture out a little more) On St Lucia...... we have been there 3 seperate times and have done different tours each time all of them very interesting but this last time was by far the best. I wish I would have taken more time at Jalousie beach )in between the pitons) to snorkle or swim.... the water there is amazingly clear. You will have a great time there. It looks from your info that you live in Anchorage??? My little brother is a firefighter/Paramedic in Anchorage and he and his family love it there. :D:cool: you will have to let me know what you decide to do and then write a review on your trip.

 

Dirkgun, yeah, we live in Anchorage. I was up here twice while in the Air Force, and decided to retire (really transition from the Air Force; I still have to work) from the Air Force and stay here. Anchorage is a great small city, and I love the fishing/hunting.

 

I'll write a review on my cruise as well. Lots of us "first timers" really appreciate folks who take the time to tell us how a cruise really is, and all of their experiences.

 

We still haven't decided what to do. St. Marteen has the Sea trek, an underwater walk where you put this big helmet on to breathe, you go down about 20 feet for about a half hour or so. We thought that might be cool, then hit the city by cab. My wife wants to do a zip line on one of the other islands, probably St. Kitts, then hit the city. I think on St. Lucia, we'll probably do one of the Catamaran tours. We are still discussing what to do though.

 

Dave

[Dirkgun]

Dirkgun, yeah, we live in Anchorage. I was up here twice while in the Air Force, and decided to retire (really transition from the Air Force; I still have to work) from the Air Force and stay here. Anchorage is a great small city, and I love the fishing/hunting.

 

I'll write a review on my cruise as well. Lots of us "first timers" really appreciate folks who take the time to tell us how a cruise really is, and all of their experiences.

 

We still haven't decided what to do. St. Marteen has the Sea trek, an underwater walk where you put this big helmet on to breathe, you go down about 20 feet for about a half hour or so. We thought that might be cool, then hit the city by cab. My wife wants to do a zip line on one of the other islands, probably St. Kitts, then hit the city. I think on St. Lucia, we'll probably do one of the Catamaran tours. We are still discussing what to do though.

 

Dave

 

Actually we are thinking about doing the Victory cruise again in the summer of 2012. So that sea trek sounds awesome. On St Lucia if you like the island tours that see everything... try Spencer Ambrose... he is awesome well worth the $65 per person. I have heard of people doing the zip lines on St Kitts.

 

We went to Alaska a few years ago and really liked Anchorage. My brother now actually lives in Wasilla but works in Anchorage. When we visited there he lived in Soldotna so we stayed a couple days in Anchorage before we went to Soldotna. :cool::D

[Dirkgun]

I'll write a review on my cruise as well. Lots of us "first timers" really appreciate folks who take the time to tell us how a cruise really is, and all of their experiences.

 

 

 

If this is really your first cruise .... you picked a great one to start on. You will absolutely love it. This itinerary is my all time favorite so far. Be sure to take the extra time in San Juan to look around and enjoy the old town city at least. I think that port makes the cruise start off great.

[Dirkgun]

bump

[Dirkgun]

Here is a picture of the Pitons for the CC member that emailed me about it. If you want me to just email it to you let me know

 

[WiscoGirl32]

Dirkgun- I have a few questions about the tour with Spencer Ambrose. Is he with a tour company that has a name or just maybe Spencer Ambrose tour? Did you book independently or through the ship? The tour sounds amazing and seems to hit a lot of things on St. Lucia.

 

Thanks ahead of time for the info. Great review! Really enjoyed the pictures and the great details!

 

Jena

[Dirkgun]

Dirkgun- I have a few questions about the tour with Spencer Ambrose. Is he with a tour company that has a name or just maybe Spencer Ambrose tour? Did you book independently or through the ship? The tour sounds amazing and seems to hit a lot of things on St. Lucia.

 

Thanks ahead of time for the info. Great review! Really enjoyed the pictures and the great details!

 

Jena

 

Yeah just google him on St Lucia and you will find him. We booked independently. It really was an amazing day. We definitely saw a lot of the island and they make sure you are happy with the trip. I think it is a great way to go. Enjoy. :D

[WiscoGirl32]

Yeah just google him on St Lucia and you will find him. We booked independently. It really was an amazing day. We definitely saw a lot of the island and they make sure you are happy with the trip. I think it is a great way to go. Enjoy. :D

 

Thank you so much for the info! :)

[Dirkgun]

Thank you so much for the info! :)

 

 

You will love this tour. Enjoy the cruise.

[Kubanita]

I am planning this cruise for May and I really enjoyed your review!!! Great photos!! Thank you!!:)

[Dirkgun]

Thank you very much. It is a great cruise, in fact we are booked to go again this Dec the week before Christmas. We are taking my new (soon to be) son in Law (May 21st) and my mother in law neither of have cruised before. I just love Puerto Rico and the Southern Carribean. We just got home from a short cruise to the Bahamas for our 25th wedding anniversary and while it was fun..... nothing compared to the southern route. Have a great cruise :D

[Kubanita]

Thank you very much. It is a great cruise, in fact we are booked to go again this Dec the week before Christmas. We are taking my new (soon to be) son in Law (May 21st) and my mother in law neither of have cruised before. I just love Puerto Rico and the Southern Carribean. We just got home from a short cruise to the Bahamas for our 25th wedding anniversary and while it was fun..... nothing compared to the southern route. Have a great cruise :D

 

Well thank you..wow if you are going again..i am suuure not to miss on this route! Now i am REEEAAALLLYYY excited!!!! Thank youuu...!!!! :D:D:D I wish you a wonderful second visit!!!

[Dirkgun]

Well thank you..wow if you are going again..i am suuure not to miss on this route! Now i am REEEAAALLLYYY excited!!!! Thank youuu...!!!! :D:D:D I wish you a wonderful second visit!!!

 

 

When you go.... if you can, try to take extra days either before or after or both and explore Old San Juan and Puerto Rico. Very worth it. And be sure to let us know how you liked it. We have cruised out of San JUan 3 times previous and this dec will be 4. It just has an exotic feel to it even though it is an American territory it feels like it is seperate. The people there are great.

[Kubanita]

When you go.... if you can, try to take extra days either before or after or both and explore Old San Juan and Puerto Rico. Very worth it. And be sure to let us know how you liked it. We have cruised out of San JUan 3 times previous and this dec will be 4. It just has an exotic feel to it even though it is an American territory it feels like it is seperate. The people there are great.

 

This is exactly what I wanted to do.. to take a few days before the cruise to explore.. I am not sure yet If i will be able to because of work.. but lets see ( fingers crossed ) but i absolutely agree with you. I was once in San Juan with a Carnival cruise I took in 2010 and you are right Old San Juan has soo much to offer, I feel like we didn't take advantage. We were there for a short period of time =(

Thank You for taking the time to advise me on this one because you are absolutely right! I will for sure make another photo review of this route. Cant WAIT !!!! I will kepp you posted hehe. Thank You! :)

[Dirkgun]

This is exactly what I wanted to do.. to take a few days before the cruise to explore.. I am not sure yet If i will be able to because of work.. but lets see ( fingers crossed ) but i absolutely agree with you. I was once in San Juan with a Carnival cruise I took in 2010 and you are right Old San Juan has soo much to offer, I feel like we didn't take advantage. We were there for a short period of time =(

Thank You for taking the time to advise me on this one because you are absolutely right! I will for sure make another photo review of this route. Cant WAIT !!!! I will kepp you posted hehe. Thank You! :)

 

 

Good luck with work. Definitely do take the time to tour the forts both El Morro (the big one you pass at the mouth of the port of San Juan) and San Cristobal are well worth the small fee to get in and see some cool history. :D

[Dirkgun]

This is exactly what I wanted to do.. to take a few days before the cruise to explore.. I am not sure yet If i will be able to because of work.. but lets see ( fingers crossed ) but i absolutely agree with you. I was once in San Juan with a Carnival cruise I took in 2010 and you are right Old San Juan has soo much to offer, I feel like we didn't take advantage. We were there for a short period of time =(

Thank You for taking the time to advise me on this one because you are absolutely right! I will for sure make another photo review of this route. Cant WAIT !!!! I will kepp you posted hehe. Thank You! :)

 

 

Anxious to read and see your review... we are thinking about doing this cruise with some friends and their families for their sons graduation and that would be around the time of year that you are going. Wondering what the weather is like etc.:cool::D

[cruiseclues]

Outstanding photos...can't say enough about them...you have a very good eye...thank you so very much for doing this review with photos. :)

[Dirkgun]

Outstanding photos...can't say enough about them...you have a very good eye...thank you so very much for doing this review with photos. :)

 

 

Thank you very much. This has been my all time favorite cruise. Thanks so much for the compliments.

[emmtee]

This is exactly what I wanted to do.. to take a few days before the cruise to explore.. I am not sure yet If i will be able to because of work..

 

If you want to go in May, maybe you can take your cruise over Memorial Day or go the week before and you can fly home on Memorial Day. One of the reasons we chose our dates was to take advantage of Veterans Day. The flights from AZ take the whole day, but yours shouldn't be as bad. If you could take a redeye Friday night or fly out Saturday morning, you'd have a day and a half before the cruise (it doesn't sail until 10:00, but you need to be on board earlier.) If you stay a night on your return and take an evening flight home on Monday, you'd have another day and a half in San Juan. So you'd have almost 3 days total in San Juan, but you'd only be gone for 6 weekdays, and if one of them was a holiday, you'd only need 5 vacation days. (That first day back at work would be hell, though.)