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My VERY long Carnival Victory Cruise Jan. 23, 2010 Review

Kitt Lady

By Kitt Lady,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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triptaker17

triptaker17

Posted
Posted
How far out did you book your air? I was checking for next Jan and it was running close to that. I am just debating on how far out to book it. Last year we paid little ove $800 each. I'm hoping to save in the air this time.

 

I booked my air in late July... this is winter break for the schools up here so I knew the airfare would only get worse...if you have a good deal I would book it, the travel blogs are all saying that airfare is on the rise as a whole...

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sdattiloo

sdattiloo

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We are booked on the same zip line excursion. Looks great. (and maybe too safe LOL) We had done some in Roatan a couple years back and on those if you let go of the holding line you would spin around and slam into the tree... Very fun.. (and fun to watch people who forgot and let go)

 

Great review thus far. We take the same run on April 10th.

 

I saw on your Fun Times one of the formal nights was Tuesday the first day at sea, do you remember the other?

 

Thanks again for all the info and pics!

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Kitt Lady

Kitt Lady

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Our last look at San Juan...

 

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Debarking and Post Cruise Transportation

No one likes to pack but it does happen to everyone…oh well….

We received our zone luggage tags – actually we received two sets. One set was zone two - the letter stated that we had zone two because of early flights. The second set was for zone one – that was for the suite and of course we used zone one.

Disembarking was so smooth and painless. About 20 - 30 minutes from the time we left our room until our transfer bus pulled away from the pier. We were at the airport way too early, but we settled in for the wait. While we waited we turned the cell phones back on – San Juan is in-network. We grabbed a coffee and a doughnut while I started to go through voice mail from the week. I only got to message two – only to realize my world was rocked to the core at home. My DF has Parkinson’s and was in the hospital. Turned out that on Tuesday, he had a high fever, was taken to the ER and then admitted. Thankfully - all is well and he’s now home.

 

~MAJOR MAJOR GRUMBLE ALERT at the end~

Our first flight (American Air) from San Juan to Washington D.C. was pretty uneventful. Then we land and off to the connection… (This is when that doom and gloom music would be playing)

United…grrrrr….we get to the gate about 10 mins before it should board…ok good….we made it. Two United gate employees are arguing….not just arguing but a knock down screaming match between the two of them. All of a sudden a guy runs up to the desk thingy and announces – I’m here for the Pittsburgh flight. The one United Gate guy turns and says to him. It’s gone. Whoaaaa that guy wasn’t happy (neither was I – but this guy lost it) The “Gate guy” says to him…hey, it’s not my fault – the flights are over booked and take off with the first passengers that are here – then we leave.

We were sent to the service desk and whooaaaa did that woman wake up on the wrong side of the bed. We ended up needing to wait SIX HOURS until the next flight. So I paid for a more expensive flight to get home at 6:00 pm and ended up getting home at 1:30 am. Overall, I will never fly United ever again. It was a small nightmare…

Then ok, we are finally on the plane. The stewardesses prepares for the flight. She announces that they will be turning off the cabin lights. They go off….then on…then off….then on….one stewardess marches to the front…lights go on….lights go off…lights go on. Then an announcement - due to a short in the lighting system the cabin lights will remain on the entire flight….WHOOOOAAAAAAA WAIT A MINUTE….

 

I normally don’t mind flying – but I was a nervous wreck flying on a plane that (1) had a short ANYWHERE (2) a short on the lighting system. We did make it to Pittsburgh – only to have the captain in his announcement complain about the ground crew – how they were basically incompetent and weren’t where they needed to be. I was never so glad to put a flight behind me. Never, never again will I use United.

Home

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(January average Temperature - average high 37 degrees and average low 16 degrees - actual)

Did I do well with controlling my "Nervous Nelly Packer" Syndrome? LOL…Yes and No. Yes, I did do better but no, I still packed cloths I didn’t wear. Lol.

I have decided…I am a Caribbean kinda girl. We came home and booked. We are now at 340 days until we are back on the VICTORY!!! This time we are taking our adult kids with us. We now have three balcony rooms booked. DH warned the kids….don’t count on the room…your DM will change it a million times. My DD pulled me aside and said I’m all in for a Grand Suite if you can do that again…lol…no promises. Seriously don’t think I can ever do that one again….but it was GREAT.

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Dirkgun

Dirkgun

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I have decided…I am a Caribbean kinda girl. We came home and booked. We are now at 340 days until we are back on the VICTORY!!! This time we are taking our adult kids with us. We now have three balcony rooms booked. DH warned the kids….don’t count on the room…your DM will change it a million times. My DD pulled me aside and said I’m all in for a Grand Suite if you can do that again…lol…no promises. Seriously don’t think I can ever do that one again….but it was GREAT.

 

Thanks again this was a great review. Very well written and of one of my favorite subjects (the Victory and the Southern Carribean) LOL. I hope you have a great time with your kids there next time. I know we did, there are so many things to do and see you could do this same cruise over and over and not get board doing the same things twice. :D

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mittypooh

mittypooh

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We are looking at this cruise for next years spring break. I have been watching airfares from Phoenix for months and they have been holding steady at $550 per person on American Airlines.

 

 

Kitt Lady: I am loving your review. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. This may be the best Victory review I ever SEEN:D:D:D ~~ Mandy

"SEEN" lol that is funny! I hope everyone caught that so they too can lol

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montREALady

montREALady

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Our cruise count-down started at 370 days.

Well, we are one of the ones that the new Victory itinerary affected. We booked for the seven nights and seven ports. After Carnival dropped Dominica - we had a GREAT debate, we decided not to change our cruise. We already had air, hotel and end of cruise transfers scheduled and paid. Dominica was the port that my DH wanted the most. So, we are very disappointed - but we're letting go of it and going to have a great cruise.

Little about us...

DH is 55 yrs and I am 44 yrs old. We live in Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Which means...Home = COLD, COLD, COLD. To actually be warm in January is sooooo exciting for me !!! This will be our fourth cruise, two on very small ships and last year (January, 2010) on the Carnival Dream.

SO MUCH TO GET READY !! Lists and lists and more lists...work lists, home list, pre cruise list, cruise lists, dog list - I have lists for my lists (~sigh~).

We book all of our excursions through Carnival. ~please don't flog me~ I know they are more expensive, but we like the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong - we won't be "A Pier Runner" and end up on You Tube when we get home. I think of the extra cost as "Anti-Embarrassment Insurance" (For both us and our three 20 something children...lol).

When reading about our excursions, a note to remember -

I am DEATHLY afraid of heights. So much so, that my stomach begins to turn into knots at the very thought of being off the ground. On the flip side - guess what my DH LOVES ...yep...he LOVES being up high....verrrrry high. ~heavy sigh~ Now, I LOVE the water, guess what my DH HATES....Yep...you guessed it....water. So, as you can imagine picking excursions are a challenge for us...lol

Pre Cruise

Originally we booked a balcony room on the Lido deck. Lido deck is something we both wanted, being close to the food, pools, hot tubs and COFFEE in the morning. We want to be able to just walk down the hall and ~poof ~ there everything is...

I booked at ES and found a price drop. Sent in my request and within an hour got OBC. Looking online, I seen the Jr. Suite wasn't booked yet and it had a price drop too - I called about it and decided to upgrade to it. It's the only suite on the Lido Deck. If we (ok, I say "we" but it's "me") wanted a suite - it had to be a JR. Suite but that gives us VIP boarding. The only problem was once the other Jr. Suite is booked - so much for looking for price drops on our room. But, ok, one more thing off the pre cruise list or so I thought. The month before our cruise I noticed yet again another price drop but on an OS. I thought what the heck, I'll try it. Within 24 hours I had another OBC email...YAYYYYYYY!

I had sort of gave up on price drops on the cruise as it came closer and closer. But old habits are hard to break and you can still check up to two days before you sailing date. So I checked the cruise price yet again at 12 days before we left....WOW...another price drop. Sent in the form and within an hour it was listed on my account. After 365 days of obsessively checking ES rates, our category sold out. I thought it was interesting that the day I booked the cruise was the day it sold out. Over all, I REALLY like the ES program. I know a lot of people don't like it, but it worked out EXTREMELLY well for us.

I am very obsessive with the details - yes, I just DRIVE MY DH CRAZY with details. I just want all decisions made at home. We are one of those couples that would spend the whole time saying - "What do you wonna do...I don't know, what do you wonna do...I dunno ...". So as you can imagine - there were a lot of times we were STUCK on which excursion we were going to do. Soooooo, while we were stuck - I would move on to another aspect of the cruise list.

OBC...just LOVE the sound of that...lol. I decided to try the "Fun Dollars". I took what we spent on the last cruise added on the extras we were wanting to try this time. Such as - Massage for each of us and a spa pass. Then bought the Fun Dollars and watched the OBC go up. My parent's surprised us with more OBC for Christmas. My Mom knows how to get to my heart!! What a surprise when I unwrapped that present!! I guess the talking about the cruise obsessively for 300 and some odd days may have given her a clue...lol. I also have a Carnival Credit Card - I didn't know about this until after we booked and it was paid off. So I really didn't earn much in OBC - but I look at it as an extra 5 DOD !!

I like knowing that everything is taken care of - no surprises at the end of the cruise that would put a damper on the whole week. No bills after we come home. Plus, if we don't spend all of it - they refund it at the end of the cruise. - all taken care of...yayyyyy!

I have to admit, I have the dreaded "Nervous Nelly Packer Syndrome". My obsessive tendencies tends to blossom under the pressure of a vacation. Last year I gave into these tendencies and ~WOW ~ did I over pack. I didn't wear half of what I lugged on the last cruise. I did try to do better this year. I guess I will know at the end of the cruise if I have overcome it....lol...

 

Mom and I will be on the Victory on Mar 20th! Can't wait. I'm in NYC, she's in Montreal, Canada, so we know what cold weather is too. For our first cruise last year (Liberty) the weather was the pits, we're praying for better this year! You sound like me though re overpacking, I brought like 3 pairs of flip flops alone last year and probably used one if any. This year I'm bringing one. I'll also pack a couple more comfy lounge pants with perhaps another hoodie since that boat gets COLD at night and sometimes I just want to shlepp to the pizza counter without getting all done up:D. I like to think I have more of an idea on how to pack this year. I had so many lists last year as well, between clothing lists, excursion lists, port lists, I was sooooo well-prepared in that area, lol! My Mom kept telling everyone, "I'm always vacationing with her, she thinks of everything!" All she had to do was pay :D We were on the Lido deck last year and we're there again this year. Interior rooms, didn't bother us last year so we said we'd do it again and use the extra money for something else, like those RIDICULOUS flight costs to PR!! :mad:

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montREALady

montREALady

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The over look area...

 

 

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Off to Magen's Bay Beach...LOVE this beach...

 

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The water is so clear and calm. You walk into the water and the fish would swim right up to you. I really tried to get a picture of the dive bombing birds. I was never fast enough to get them. They would dive bomb right beside you to get the fish. You could hear people squealing every time the birds were diving in...

 

Look how great Magen's looks here, it was so packed last year when we went that we didn't enjoy it :(. We found the distance from the top of the sand to the water to be too short (if that makes sense?), then people in chairs piled on top of each other. Maybe we went too late, our tour did shopping and tour first. Then the weather wasn't so hot, may have been a combo of many things. This year we may try Sapphire. I'm trying to talk Mom into doing Magen's super early in the morning though. Since we don't have to do a tour this year we can beach hop! ;) Did the Sky Ride though, LOVED IT!

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dscow

dscow

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St Lucia is my favorite place ever-we had the best guide ever if anyone needs a name!!

I would appreciate the name of your tour guide. We sail in June and St. Lucia is one island we would like to tour, not just shop or beach. Thanks.

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ealexsism

ealexsism

Posted
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Love your review, reminds me of our sailing on the Victory we loved our cruise and especially the itineary.

 

We also had a Suite and we loved it

 

Keep up the good work, my Canadian winter seems milder when I read your review :D

 

 

BMartin:: Your user name shocked me at first, my mom is Brenda Martin & she has email addies that are BMartin.

 

OP, thanks for post! I really want to go on this exact cruise some day, but it will be hard on the wallet. It's great dreaming through you :)

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SexyK

SexyK

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Thanks for the review. I enjoyed. Felt as if I was on this cruise. Ive always wanted to do this itinerary. But the airfare is whats holding me back. but I think I will do this for my birthday next April. have to start looking at airfares and see how much a balcony is.

Wanted to know how was the snorkeling? Been wanting to do it but I cant swim very well. Can a person not know how to swim go snorkeling? Ive taken swim classes but have a bum shoulder so it makes it hard to tread water. But thats all I wanted to know. Thanks again.

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montREALady

montREALady

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Posted
Thank you so much for the great review. Can you do me a favor and tell me what time you got to the airport and how long it took clearing customs and getting to the gate? My granddaughter has an 11:30 flight and I am concerned about time. thanks

 

Mary, I'm on the same cruise as you (we're in the same roll-call group), what flights did you book? I see we both live in NYC. You can answer in our roll-call, thought I'd catch you here since you posted here more recently.

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blacksheep2

blacksheep2

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Posted
I would appreciate the name of your tour guide. We sail in June and St. Lucia is one island we would like to tour, not just shop or beach. Thanks.

 

Cosol tours-he is fantastic-tell him his friends from Wisconsin told you about him--Mr Bill --he should remember us

Cosol or his brother "Yellow Bird" are the best guides-we had Cosol himsel-he stopped for Bannanas off the tree-bread at road side bake shops took us to his favorite roadside sellers-be sure to get Bannana katcup and sauce-it is great on shrimp on the BBQ-the Bannana Wine is -----well you will see-we went all over the island-Have Fun!;)

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