Victory Review 1/23-1/30

[MindTheGap1918]

Sailed on the Victory 1/23/2011 to 1/30/2011. We picked this cruise specifically based on itinerary and price. We did have a great time though there were a couple bumps along the way because of Carnival (see my other post, http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1350806 , regarding Carnival’s policies on dive equipment) and our tour operator in St. Maarten (not Carnival’s excursion, get to that later). Here is the rundown with a few pictures added:

 

Cabin: We had an interior cabin on the Riviera deck. Quiet deck, one floor up from the gangway which made it easy to get off the ship. Our cabin steward, Wason, was fabulous! He knew our names right away and took care of whatever we needed. He was one of the more pleasant people we met on the ship. In my opinion, there was a lot of storage space in the cabin as far as closets go and plenty of hangers. However, if you prefer to hang up your pants or strapless dresses, bring your own hangers with the clips on them because they were not in the cabin closets. Bring a power strip! There are only 2 outlets in the cabin.

 

Speaking of our cabin, I had made arrangements through my TA to have our cabin decorated for my boyfriend’s 30th birthday at no cost to me and she called the day before we left to make sure everything was in place. I expected it to be decorated when we arrived and of course it wasn’t. I bit my tongue until the day of his actual birthday and when we came back later in the afternoon and it still wasn’t decorated! We started getting ready for dinner around 6PM and someone knocks on our door, my boyfriend answers it and there they are ready to decorate! They give him a confused look and say “I guess we’ll come back” It was finally decorated when we came back to our cabin for the night at 9PM. So much for surprises! Smooth move, Carnival! :rolleyes:

 

Decorated cabin...FINALLY!

 

 

 

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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Cruisin Christi]

Can't wait for more

[MindTheGap1918]

Dining: We were worried that the first night of dining would set the tone for the rest of the week. The first night is open seating and you can eat at any of the dining rooms at any time. Service was bad, though we did try to keep in mind it was an open seating. Our waiter wasn’t the least bit pleasant. It took forever to even get our drink order. They brought my boyfriend the wrong salad dressing and it took 15 minutes to retrieve a new one and by that time, the entrees were coming.

 

 

 

We ended up with Anytime Dining the rest of the week, which worked out great. There was normally a 5-10 minute wait for a table, if that. Service was mixed the 1st part of the week. We finally got it right at the end of the week when we had Oleksiey (I think that’s how you spell it!) as our waiter. He was awesome! Very knowledgeable about wine too. We requested him our last few nights on the ship which made our dining experience a lot better!

[LBumb]

great start

[MindTheGap1918]

Food: I really enjoyed the food on Carnival. All of the portions were good sizes (at least for me) and, of course, you can always order more than one appetizer or entrée (or dessert, which I did one too many times). There were only 2 dishes I didn’t like and those were the Caesar Salad (dressing tasted too much like anchovies, YUCK) and the Chilean Sea Bass (tasted too fishy, does that even make sense?).

 

 

 

Yeah I ate 2 desserts every night. :eek:

 

 

 

I had the Chilean Sea Bass while dining at the CHEF’S TABLE! OMG DO NOT MISS THE CHEF’S TABLE! :D:D:D What a great experience that was! My boyfriend initially wasn’t excited about it, but he thanked me later! (Get your minds out of the gutter) Everything from the galley tour, meal, wine, service while dining at the Chef’s Table was top notch. It is a 7 course meal. There is a $75.00 surcharge and it is limited to 12 people. It was worth every penny. It also includes a photo of your dining group at the Chef’s Table and a cookbook with Carnival recipes. One of the magicians from the ship even came in and performed a couple tricks. Did I mention this was a great experience?

 

 

 

1st time trying Beef Carpaccio!

[MindTheGap1918]

Entertainment: Got to watch the Steelers clinch their spot in the Super Bowl by watching it on the big screen from a lounge chair on the Lido Deck. This was my best entertainment! We also attended the Comedy Club (adult show) one evening. It was okay. We were tired and only stayed for one comedian, we were told we missed the better one. We also went to see Rand Woodbury (the illusionist) in the Caribbean Lounge. We were impressed with his show. He was funny and did some cool illusions. I would recommend seeing him if he performs on your sailing.

 

 

 

Steelers!! (I'm already over the Super Bowl loss, so don't bother! ;))

 

 

 

Monster Deck Party!

 

 

During our sea day, we went to the wine seminar. It was our understanding we would be tasting 5 wines and pairing them with food. You tasted 5 wines alright, 5 full glasses! We were expected little shot glasses to taste with so we were shocked when we saw them pouring the glasses. And as far as the food goes, it was a few pieces of cheese, crackers and some fruit. There is a $10 charge for the seminar, but well worth it. You do learn a lot about wine, plus you’re feeling pretty good at the end of it! I recommend eating lunch before! :eek:

 

 

[Cruisin Christi]

Do they offer wine tasting on all ships? I want to do that.

[MindTheGap1918]

I forgot to mention under Food and Dining that we ordered a wine package on our embarkation day. There were 3 different levels of packages (price wise) that included 5 bottles of wine through out the week. We ordered the middle package. (I'm sorry I didn't grab a price list, but I believe you can find it by searching the boards). There is a waiter set up outside the Atlantic Dining room and you can order it on the 1st day your board the ship. You take your receipt to the dining room the 1st night you wish to use your package and your waiter will provide you with coupons for the wine for the rest of the week. We found this to be a great value.

[MindTheGap1918]

Do they offer wine tasting on all ships? I want to do that.

 

 

I'm not sure. I first noticed it on CC when another member posted the Fun Times from another Victory sailing and I was excited to find they had it on our ship. If you have a sea day, my guess would be that they would have one. It was a lot of fun!

[Cruisin Christi]

I'm not sure. I first noticed it on CC when another member posted the Fun Times from another Victory sailing and I was excited to find they had it on our ship. If you have a sea day, my guess would be that they would have one. It was a lot of fun!

 

 

I found a link I saved from a recent set of Fun Times (host mach) on the ecstasy and indeed there is wine tasting the first sea day! I am looking forward to that and the price is good too!

[MindTheGap1918]

I found a link I saved from a recent set of Fun Times (host mach) on the ecstasy and indeed there is wine tasting the first sea day! I am looking forward to that and the price is good too!

 

 

Do it! Well worth ten bucks! Plus if you are actually interested in learning about wine, you learn what to pair it with and what types come from different regions of the world. We also learned tips as far as storing wine.

[LindyLou2]

Great start! Hurry up and post more - we leave on the Victory this coming Sunday, Feb. 13th!

 

Linda

[MindTheGap1918]

I'm working on the shore excursions section, but in the mean time, here are some ship photos...

 

Lido Deck and water slide. If you can see the brown fence on the decks by the water slide, that is the adult Serenity Area. Not sure why it's by the water slide :confused:

 

Lido Deck

 

Watch out! The seahorses bite!! :mad:

[gail8]

Just back yesterday and all four of us were comparing our seahorse bites...lol. Have to say this was our best Carnival cruise ever. I will post a review later. Can't wait to read all of yours. :D

 

Gail

[nytonowhere]

 

During our sea day, we went to the wine seminar. It was our understanding we would be tasting 5 wines and pairing them with food. You tasted 5 wines alright, 5 full glasses! We were expected little shot glasses to taste with so we were shocked when we saw them pouring the glasses. And as far as the food goes, it was a few pieces of cheese, crackers and some fruit. There is a $10 charge for the seminar, but well worth it. You do learn a lot about wine, plus you’re feeling pretty good at the end of it! I recommend eating lunch before! :eek:

 

 

Where did you sign up for the wine seminar in advance, or did you just have to show up? Where was it held, im assuming the wine bar. 10$ is a GREAT deal for 5 Glasses of wine...im definitely doing this in March. Was the seminar advertised in the Capers? Also how was the wine..good, or really cheap..not like it matters for 10$ :rolleyes:

[MindTheGap1918]

Where did you sign up for the wine seminar in advance, or did you just have to show up? Where was it held, im assuming the wine bar. 10$ is a GREAT deal for 5 Glasses of wine...im definitely doing this in March. Was the seminar advertised in the Capers? Also how was the wine..good, or really cheap..not like it matters for 10$ :rolleyes:

 

It was held in the Atlantic Dining room. When we signed up for our wine package initially, the waiter told us about it, then it was also listed in the Fun Times. You don't have to register in advance. We tasted a few name brands like Fetzer and Woodbridge, I hadn't heard of some of the other brands. It was good though! :D

[Cruisin Christi]

Where did you sign up for the wine seminar in advance, or did you just have to show up? Where was it held, im assuming the wine bar. 10$ is a GREAT deal for 5 Glasses of wine...im definitely doing this in March. Was the seminar advertised in the Capers? Also how was the wine..good, or really cheap..not like it matters for 10$ :rolleyes:

 

I found it on the Ecstasy Fun Times from a while back.

[nytonowhere]

Do you have any pics of the Serenity Deck?

[MindTheGap1918]

No I don't. Sorry. What I can tell you about it is, there are 2 floors. There are many loungers (nicer ones than one the Lido deck), day beds, and hammocks. There is also a bar and 2 jacuzzis.

[MindTheGap1918]

Excursions: We booked all shore excursions privately with the exception of the El Yunque Rain Forest debarkation tour with Carnival.

 

St. Thomas- My boyfriend went diving with Aqua Action Divers at Secret Harbour and I took the ferry to St. John on my own. AA Divers was offering a 3 tank dive that day which was a great deal compared to the ship and other dive operators on the island. He enjoyed the dives and stated he would use AA Divers again in a heartbeat. I spent my time at Trunk Bay. Going to St. John on your own is so EASY especially as a lone female! I did not once feel unsafe. Don’t waste your money on a cruise excursion. Carnival’s excursion was there and gone while I was still soaking up rays and snorkeling. As long as you plan accordingly and leave yourself enough time to get back to the ship, you won’t have a problem. It’s $12 round trip on the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and then $6 each way to Trunk Bay. There is a $4 charge to enter Trunk Bay (worth it, goes towards the National Park) There are chair rentals, snorkel equipment, and lockers available there. I stopped at Secret Harbour to meet my boyfriend after his dive so we could travel back to the ship together. Secret Harbour is a nice beach (though nowhere near as beautiful as Trunk Bay). You can rent chairs from AA Divers though you can only sit on certain sections of the beach. There is also a restaurant and restrooms available. Many people were snorkeling.

 

 

Trunk Bay from overlook

 

 

Trunk Bay

 

 

Secret Harbour beach

[Prairie_Gal]

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of your review, and what you did in the ports.

[nytonowhere]

No I don't. Sorry. What I can tell you about it is, there are 2 floors. There are many loungers (nicer ones than one the Lido deck), day beds, and hammocks. There is also a bar and 2 jacuzzis.

 

Yea ive been to the one on the Dream but last time i was on the Victory they didnt have the Serenity area.

[MindTheGap1918]

I guess the Victory went on to drydock in November and it was added then. Every time I walked up there, it was very busy so I don't know how "serene" it is. Of course no kids allowed!

[navybaby1113]

Do you know if you can split the wine tasting between two people? There is no way I'd be able to drink 5 glasses of wine by myself, so I'd like to share with my husband.

[MindTheGap1918]

Do you know if you can split the wine tasting between two people? There is no way I'd be able to drink 5 glasses of wine by myself, so I'd like to share with my husband.

 

 

I don't see why you couldn't, but don't take my word for it. Many people didn't finish all 5 glasses, including myself, because of different tastes in wine.