Questions from a newbie, victory in May, sooooo excited!

[ready2gosailing]

Hi everyone!

I have been reading the boards here for a couple of months, and you all are awesome to share your experiences. My husband, my daughter (21) and myself are booked on the Victory in May sailing out of San Juan, and are really excited about our first cruise. I've been trying to do as much research as I can about things to see, places to go, what to bring, etc. My husband just shakes his head and keeps mumbling something about obsession, but I'm ignoring him. :) Anyway, I have a few questions I am hoping someone can help me with. First, I've read some of the packing tips you have all posted, and we're trying to decide what to do about formal nights. We aren't too interested in really dressing up because a) we're on vacation and want to be comfy, and b) we don't want to take a lot of room and weight in our suitcases for clothes and shoes we will only wear a very short time (flying from mid-MO). That said, we really want to eat in the dining room as often as possible. Minimum dress code for MDR? Something we can throw in a suitcase without dress shoes taking up a lot of space, maybe. Another question about the dining room: since this is a port-a-day cruise, we want to maximize all of our time on the islands. Can we get breakfast in the MDR in time to get off the ship as early as we dock? Also, we haven't yet booked any excursions online and were thinking we might just do our own thing on the islands (hubby and daughter are both photography addicts and want to take tons of pics). Is this a good idea or should we do something structured? And speaking of photography, we are concerned about customs. Both are taking expensive cameras and several lenses, lots of stuff that they say they need. Do we need to prove somehow that we own this already and are taking it from home so that customs doesn't assume we bought it at one of the ports and are trying to take it back with us? We haven't ever traveled out of the country before, so it's all new. We are also flying in on Thursday before embarkation on Sunday so we can enjoy San Juan for a few days and can't wait to see it all. Our flight leaves at 11:30 on the day we get back, and it would be awesome if someone who has done this before could tell me we will have plenty of time to get through SJU to our flight after leaving the ship. We also thought of maybe buying toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, etc) in San Juan before boarding the ship so we wouldn't have the excess weight in our suitcases for the flight. Is there somewhere to do this (Wally world, kmart, grocery store, etc.)? We will be staying in Old San Juan at HoJo's. Anyone know how far this is to the pier? Is it walking distance (with rolling luggage)? Another quick question...we always visit Hard Rock Cafe wherever we go, it's kind of a thing. Anyone been to the one in San Juan?

 

I'm sure I have more questions, but we'll start with these. Oh, and I am loving the Victory cruise reviews and all of the pics. This site is great, and you all seem like the warmest people. I'm so glad I found it/you.

 

Thanks in advance for the input and wisdom!

[firefly333]

Im willing to bet no two people do it the same, so neither will you. I bring one dress and a pair of semi dress shoes and wear it both elegant nights. A dress that takes minimum space in the suitcase. We can pack in a carry on each for 5 days or one checked and one carry on for a 7 day usually and the only reason for the one checked is a little bit of soda my sister likes. I have travel size shampoo and creme rinse for myself. If you hair is short, Carnival's shampoo probably is fine. They also have body wash and bar soap provided. There are laundry rooms onboard, if you need to do a load to pack light. Dont overpack.

 

You can do any ports on your own, but it doesnt hurt to visit the ports of call threads to see if there is some place you would want to visit, even if by taxi. I personally dont recommend renting a car. Someone on my ship in Cozumel was set up for a fake accident and hauled to the police and not let go until they paid $800. If you dont know the country its really not the safest idea to rent a vehicle.

 

You dont need to prove what you came with. The customs form is pretty general, just asking what you spent. Unless you intend to go crazy, its not a issue.

 

Oh yea breakfast. If you are doing ports on your own then you sure can eat in the MDR, but if you are meeting someone when the ship arrives, probably better to do the buffet which opens earlier. It will have a omelet station and waffles or pancakes and plenty of breakfast choices.

[Cuizer2]

First, I've read some of the packing tips you have all posted, and we're trying to decide what to do about formal nights. We aren't too interested in really dressing up because a) we're on vacation and want to be comfy, and b) we don't want to take a lot of room and weight in our suitcases for clothes and shoes we will only wear a very short time (flying from mid-MO). That said, we really want to eat in the dining room as often as possible. Minimum dress code for MDR? Something we can throw in a suitcase without dress shoes taking up a lot of space, maybe.

 

Another question about the dining room: since this is a port-a-day cruise, we want to maximize all of our time on the islands. Can we get breakfast in the MDR in time to get off the ship as early as we dock?

 

Also, we haven't yet booked any excursions online and were thinking we might just do our own thing on the islands (hubby and daughter are both photography addicts and want to take tons of pics). Is this a good idea or should we do something structured?

 

And speaking of photography, we are concerned about customs. Both are taking expensive cameras and several lenses, lots of stuff that they say they need. Do we need to prove somehow that we own this already and are taking it from home so that customs doesn't assume we bought it at one of the ports and are trying to take it back with us? We haven't ever traveled out of the country before, so it's all new.

 

We are also flying in on Thursday before embarkation on Sunday so we can enjoy San Juan for a few days and can't wait to see it all. Our flight leaves at 11:30 on the day we get back, and it would be awesome if someone who has done this before could tell me we will have plenty of time to get through SJU to our flight after leaving the ship.

 

We also thought of maybe buying toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, etc) in San Juan before boarding the ship so we wouldn't have the excess weight in our suitcases for the flight. Is there somewhere to do this (Wally world, kmart, grocery store, etc.)? We will be staying in Old San Juan at HoJo's. Anyone know how far this is to the pier? Is it walking distance (with rolling luggage)? Another quick question...we always visit Hard Rock Cafe wherever we go, it's kind of a thing. Anyone been to the one in San Juan?

 

Thanks in advance for the input and wisdom!

 

Sorry, I had to break up that single paragraph. It was just too hard to read.

 

Carnival is very relaxed. Sure, some people will dress up. Others will not. Any nice clothes will be fine.

 

If you are looking to maximize your time in port, you might be better off eating breakfast in the buffet. You will have to check the ship's newspaper (it used to be called the Capers - might have a new name now) for the time you dock and the time the MDR will open. If you don't have at least an hour between the MDR opening and docking then head to the buffet. You will not get a table by yourself, so breakfast is not going to be quick.

 

Do what interests you. There is no requirement that you take the ship's sponsored excursions. However, if you go off on your own make sure you get back to the ship on time or it will leave without you.

 

On my last cruise I had three cameras with me. A DSLR, a good point & shoot digital camera and a waterproof camera and I had no problems. However, if you are concerned then bring your receipts with you.

 

If your flight leaves at 11:30am on the day you return then you don't have any time to waste. Get off the ship as quickly as possible and hustle over to the airport.

 

I did not overnight in San Juan when I was there, so I can't help you with shopping in San Juan or the location of the hotel.

[ready2gosailing]

Thanks for the info. Hubby has had the cameras and some of the lenses for a while, no receipts still around. I just want to make sure they don't think we bought them there.

 

So far we are thinking we will just do our own thing on the islands, no structured tours.

 

A couple more questions I thought of... If we do some snorkeling, or even swimming, what do we do with our stuff (cameras, etc.)? Possibly a dumb question, but I'll risk it.

 

And I have seen on some of the posts that the Lido food is available 24/7 (as well as room service), but on others I saw something about it closing at a certain time. Can anyone tell me for sure? I have called Carnival and asked some of these questions, but always get someone who has to look up an answer, and usually it doesn't really answer my questions.

 

Since we need to waste as little time as possible getting off the ship on the debarkation day to make our flight, would it be better to do the express luggage or take our luggage off ourselves?

 

Thanks again for all the info.

[Cuizer2]

Thanks for the info. Hubby has had the cameras and some of the lenses for a while, no receipts still around. I just want to make sure they don't think we bought them there.

 

So far we are thinking we will just do our own thing on the islands, no structured tours.

 

A couple more questions I thought of... If we do some snorkeling, or even swimming, what do we do with our stuff (cameras, etc.)? Possibly a dumb question, but I'll risk it.

 

And I have seen on some of the posts that the Lido food is available 24/7 (as well as room service), but on others I saw something about it closing at a certain time. Can anyone tell me for sure? I have called Carnival and asked some of these questions, but always get someone who has to look up an answer, and usually it doesn't really answer my questions.

 

Since we need to waste as little time as possible getting off the ship on the debarkation day to make our flight, would it be better to do the express luggage or take our luggage off ourselves?

 

Thanks again for all the info.

 

Take a picture of your camera with a local newspaper and make sure you can see the date.

 

The best thing to do with the camera while you are swimming is:

 

1) Leave it in your cabin.

2) Have someone you trust guard it.

 

I have an underwater camera that I take if I am going to get wet. In fact, on my last cruise we stopped in three ports and I took a different camera off the ship in each port.

 

Food is available 24/7 but that does not mean the buffet is available 24/7. The buffet is not open while changing from breakfast to lunch nor while changing from lunch to dinner. I haven't been in the buffet at 2:00 in the morning, but I'll bet that from after dinner until breakfast it is closed. Pizza and room service are available 24/7.

 

Don't trust the Carnival reps to correctly answer a question. Most have not cruised themselves and many are not knowledgeable about their own product. If you ask them a question, call back later and speak to someone else and see if you get the same answer. Then double check it here.

 

If you can handle your own luggage yourself, express debarkation (or whatever Carnival calls it - I don't do it) is best. However, your flight might be too early for express luggage. I found that out the hard way. I had an 11:35 flight in Miami. There was a small delay in getting off the ship. When I arrived at the truck, they said it was too late and would not take my luggage. Then when I got to the airport they had me as already checked in, so I actually lost time. For now on no express luggage for me unless the flight is afternoon (which is usually is - that was a special situation which I had carefully planned or I would not have done it).

 

Here is my experience in San Juan from my review ...

 

Apparently we arrived early. I get dressed and head to the Windjammer for a last meal. Then back to the cabin to work on this and come 8:00am I say my final good-by to the cabin and the room steward. I find plenty of open seating in the Safari Club and I am lucky enough to also find an open outlet. Well actually I find an open power strip. I allow an hour to clear customs and an hour to get from the dock to the airport. Then I add two hours to check in and clear security and since I have a 1:00pm flight I figure I better get in line around 9:00am. This is a very conservative estimate, but I decide to error on the side of caution. There is a major error in my logic that I'll discover once I get to the airport.

 

The number calling is going very slowly and at 9:30am I get in line. It takes 40 minutes to clear customs. The problem here is the escalator. Since it is always moving they have to make sure there is enough room at the bottom to accept everyone on the escalator, or there will be a pile up. So we are standing on the ship doing nothing for ten minutes then we move forward. Then I pick up my luggage, drag it through the final customs check, and drop it off with the airline representative.

 

When I get to the airport I realize a problem with the luggage valet - no claim check. I sure hope they don't lose my luggage. Once at the airport I realize the error in my logic. Arrival at the airport two hours early includes the time to check in. I'm already checked in and I don't have any luggage to check. I'm past security and it is about 10:30am. My flight does not leave for two and one half hours. Oops! I could have spent at least an extra half hour on the ship and been a lot more comfortable.

[SuitCaseBears]

You can also register expensive imported items with customs. But if the camers are that old, odds are they don't look brand new