Carnival Victory vs Freedom

[bmccarthy]

We are looking at going on a cruise in May with friends of ours. They have cruised with Carnival before, but we haven't. The 2 itineraries that we are considering are:

 

7 nt. Southern Caribbean on Carnival Victory

Ports: St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

 

8 nt. Western Caribbean on Carnival Freedom

Ports: Cozumel; At Sea; Limon,Costa Rica; Colon, Panama; At Sea 2 days

 

As a Carnival newbie, can someone who has been on either or both of these ships, give me some tips on what to expect, likes vs. dislikes, etc.

 

Which ship would be better for 2 couples in their early 30's? For those that have done the Southern Caribbean itinerary, was it too port intensive?

 

Thanks for your advice!

Beth

[dolfndreams]

I haven't done both but I went on the Victory last year and enjoyed it so much I rebooked for next year a couple of days after getting home.

 

I personally love port intensive cruises but Dominica has been dropped and that gives you one sea day. The islands are beautiful and San Juan itself is an extra port. The port boards are a great way to explore.

 

I didn't do alot on the Victory since my focus was on island tours and snorkeling but liked the ship itself and absolutely love this itinerary. I'm still dreaming of being back on her, snorkel with turtles, lots of rum and choices of about anything you can think in terms of island tours, RV, zipline, snorkel, dive or just lay on the beach.

 

Love it:D

[Relayer]

I have not sailed on the Freedom but have cruised on her sister ships the Valor and Liberty. Sailed on Victory in March of 2009. The ship's layout is almost identical but the Victory class, Triumph, is smaller than the newer Conquest class which includes the Liberty. We completely enjoyed cruising on both. We have sailed on the Valor many times and have never been disappointed.

 

We feel that our cruise on the Victory will remain one of our favorites based on the itinerary. All of the ports are awesome including Dominica which I understand will be dropped in the near future. I think you get the real Caribbean experience with these islands. You can do as much or as little as you like. No need to feel pressured with the port intensive schedule. We took most of our day in Antigua and just hung out at the pool.

 

The Freedom itinerary sounds nice and we love Nachi Cocom in Cozumel. We feel that our trips on the western side are not truly "Caribbean" but have always enjoyed them.

 

Any cruise, any ship, any time is always better than no cruise at all!

[hancogran]

We did the Victory Southern Caribbean a few weeks ago and loved it. Stopping at a new port every day can be very tiring but it's what we enjoy. There were no sea days scheduled, however we were due to dock in St. Marten on the Saturday (before returning to San Juan on Sunday) and that was canceled due to bad weather so it ended up as a sea day! I'm sure with Dominica being dropped, it will give you a bit of a break having a restful sea day during the week.

 

Southern Caribbean is our favorite itinerary and this was our third time visiting many of the islands.

 

Enjoy your cruise, whatever you decide! :)

[tiggerman101]

I have done both cruises. I loved, loved , loved the Victory cruise. Of course when we did it we hit Antigua instead of St Maarten and also went to Dominica. Now I love St Maarten so it is still a good port day. I was upset to hear about Dominica though as it is my favorite Caribbean island I have been to. Still, the itinerary is amazing and the islands are beautiful. As everyone else stated, you can do as much or as little as you want. I will say that none of the islands are bad. Sailing from Puerto Rico is awesome as well and is a great destination as well.

 

The Freedom Western was really a different kind of cruise (not a bad thing). The four sea days were great and made me realize that I do enjoy them. Aside from Cozumel, the other two stops are more "adventurous". You really need to have something planned for both of these. You are not going to want to just walk off the ship and wander around. Of course, there is a lot to do in these ports. It is hot and humid and deep into Central America and I love it there. It is just different then your typical Caribbean "island cruise".

 

For the most part the ships are the same. The Victory is missing a top level so there is no Supper Club. That is really about it. They are both the same layout.

 

I liked both cruise but they are very different from each other. The Victory cruise is easily one of my favorites though.

[LITown]

I'll throw some questions back at you in an effort to help -

 

Do you and your friends enjoy sea days as much/more than port days? If yes, advantage Carnival Freedom.

 

Are you beach/snorkle/water sports folks? If yes, advantage Carnival Victory as IMO I don't think Panama and Costa Rica are big water activity ports compared to the Victory itinerary.

 

Do you like fish and chips, and Indian food? If yes, advantage Carnival Freedom with the Tandoori Grill and Fish and Chip stations. Almost forgot the Mongolian Wok station on Freedom too.

 

As already mentioned, do you like the extra fee restaurants? If yes Advantage Freedom since Victory does not have one.

 

Do you like a lot of sight seeing? If so advantage Victory with more ports.

 

Have you been to many of the ports listed before? Advantage or disadvantage to new ports is really up to you and your friends previous experience with those ports.

 

 

Either way you really can't go wrong.

[Stacey779]

I'm interested to read the responses to this as well, since we're considering the same itinerary on Freedom. The ports sound great, but we're worried about being bored with 4 sea days.

 

To the OP, I haven't been on the Freedom, but we've done the Victory itinerary (back when there were no scheduled sea days). We really liked it, but I over-planned everything and if we do it again I'd pick a couple of days to stay on the ship (probably at the ports that you'd have plenty of chances to go to again - St. Martin, St. Thomas, etc.). We're young and have plenty of energy, but it wasn't a very relaxing vacation. Still, we had an awesome time!

[bmccarthy]

We enjoy both sea days and port days. We like a mixture of beaches, water activities, island tours, adventure tours.

 

Carnival Freedom ports: We have been to Cozumel before. We went to Costa Rica for a land vacation on the Pacific side last year and loved it. I have always wanted to go back. Panama is intriguing as well, because I would love to see the Panama Canal.

 

Carnival Victory ports: I didn't realize they dropped Dominica. The website I looked at yesterday shows that it's still on the itinerary, but I noticed on Carnival's website it shows it as a sea day. I would prefer a sea day on the first or last day on a port intensive cruise. We have been to St. Thomas and St. Maarten, but the other ones are new ports for us. I have always wanted to go to St. Lucia and would love to snorkel with the turtles in Barbados.

 

Our friend is a chef, so food is definitely important to him. We usually book the specialty restaurant, if it's a steakhouse. They don't care either way as to whether or not there is a specialty restaurant.

 

We all like to go to shows and our friends enjoy bingo and trivia. We tend to stay up later than them and enjoy the music/disco later at night.

 

We can fly free to FLL and would have less port days, so the Freedom cruise might be cheaper overall than the Victory cruise.

 

Thanks for all your help!

Beth

[Cruisenator]

We just finished the Southern Carribean cruise on the Victory and it was a great time. It is a tiring week, but with the drop of Dominica, you'll have a rest day like others have said and it's needed. My wife and I didn't have the time to stay up late at all for the onboard activities because we had to be up at 6AM to get breakfast and off the ship at 8AM-9AM each morning for our planned excursions. We used St Thomas as a 'Sea Day' and relaxed on the Lido deck most of the day since we've been there quite a few times on our own.

 

Another thing to consider is that the Victory is supposed to be overhauled again very soon for 3 weeks in the drydock and you will probably have what looks like a brand new ship if you were to take the Victory early next year.

[bmccarthy]

Does anyone know why they dropped Dominica from the Southern Caribbean itinerary?

 

Thanks,

Beth

[bluzchick]

Carnival dropped Dominica starting in November: the decision was taken due to the high cost of fuel per the cruise line’s Senior Vice President of Marine Operations Brendan Corrigan.

 

I was bummed as there were a few things I wanted to see there but will enjoy a day at sea...just wish it was in the middle of the sailing and not at the beginning....we won't need the rest quite yet!

[Dirkgun]

I have done the Victory and like alot of others are saying it was absolutely amazing. Link to some of the reviews in signatures and see why. Dominica is a disapointment being taken off but, St Lucia is still as lush and beautiful. Either way have fun. I personally don't think you can go wrong sailing out of San Juan it is such a great city. If you go with the Victory definitely take a couple of extra days and explore. Have a great cruise whatever you decide. :D