Victory Review - May 8-15, 2011 - Long and Lots of Pictures

[shwabob]

Overlooking Castries City:

 

 

 

 

Saw this heading back to the ship...wonder if they're an official branch?

 

 

There was a Burger King, which Cosol said was very expensive:

 

 

The end of our wonderful day with Cosol...this was a truly amazing experience:

 

 

After we got back, I stumbled my way back to the room (Thank you, Mr. Blue Bus dude) and passed out for the remainder of the evening.

[shwabob]

Was awakened yet again by the thrusters, but we were in no rush today after our day with Cosol. Went back to sleep once we docked until about 9am. We then headed down to the Pacific Dining Room for another wonderful breakfast. The menu never changed, but we were completely fine with that. Went back to the room to grab our stuff, and we were headed toward the port complex.

 

For this port, we sought out the advise of a friend of mine that had gone to school at the Ross University campus on the island. He suggested the Shipwreck on South Friars Bay, as you'll get to pass the Timothy Hill overlook and get a nice beach with good food and drinks.

 

We walked around the port and poked our heads into a few of the shops, knowing we'd be able get a taxi to take us where we needed to go. By chance, we stumbled into Tatem, who already had a couple our age that was looking to go to a nice beach. I filled them in on the Shipwreck and the overlook which Tatem said he'd be happy to stop at. Cost us $16 each way for the 4 of us, and we ended up just givng him a $20 each time. They paid the first trip and we paid him the return trip. This worked out great.

 

We walked to his very nice and clean van and were on our way to the beach in about a minute. We got to chatting with the couple who happened to be fellow college students like us, from Rutgers in New Jersey. I have quite a few customers in NJ, so we got along great. Tatem stopped at the overlook for us and took pictures for us. We got to the shipwreck just before 11am and arranged to have Tatem come pick us up at 2:30.

 

The Shipwreck proved to be just what we wanted. We paid $10 for the two chairs and shade, and were quite satisfied. The prices aren't ridiculous at the bar, the food was tasty, and the drinks were very strong. It was a bit crowded at certain points, but it thinned out pretty quickly. Tara got an aloe foot massage from a fellow on the beach that went by the name of "Magic Fingers" and that helped her foot/knee issues out tremendously. We relaxed, ate, drank, and had a good time until Tatem came for us to get going.

 

Once back at the port, we looked around a few shops and grabbed a few souveniers. I was able to get onto a wi-fi hotspot or two, but signal was spotty. Was able to quick check my email and post a facebook update before we headed back to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shwabob]

Timothy Hill overlook - Atlantic on the left (East), Caribbean on the right (West). The Shipwreck is located right on South Friars Bay on the West coast.

 

 

Driving down some steep hills...

 

 

Pictures from Shipwreck:

 

 

 

 

[shwabob]

Pictures from Shipwreck/South Friar's Bay:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tatem was an awesome driver:

 

[dhudd]

How are you able to incert such nice big photos along with your post? All that I can do is post small thumbnail photos. We were on the M.S. Carnival Victory twice...so we have many photos. Please advise...Dave.

[shwabob]

How are you able to incert such nice big photos along with your post? All that I can do is post small thumbnail photos. We were on the M.S. Carnival Victory twice...so we have many photos. Please advise...Dave.

 

Well, first I use photoresize to resize all my images down to 1024 pixels. That seems to be the magic number most people like and I'm one of them.

 

Then I upload them to my imageshack account, which lets me select multiple images and generate BBcode for forums like this:

 

 

Now...this code will normally give a 'thumbnail' image. By taking the ".th" out of the image link, I will get the full 1024 pixel image I uploaded.

 

 

I also type everything out and paste all the code into Wordpad well before I even click "Post Reply" on the boards. Then just preview your posts before you submit.

 

XnView is a really handy organizer tool and viewer that I prefer over Picasa and Windows Photo Viewer. It has a lot of batch processing features that make handling a ton of pics easier.

[shwabob]

Pics from the port shops:

 

 

We watched this guy having to let the lines loose on one of the anchoring posts. When the boat came to pull him off, he almost fell into the water. All the people on the aft end of the ship were cheering and clapping for the guy. What a job.

 

 

 

 

[hfweather]

I am loving your review. I thought I knew which cruise I wanted to go on next year, however after reading your review and seeing these pictures, I may change my mind! Keep up the great review!!!

[shwabob]

Sailing Away Pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shwabob]

I am loving your review. I thought I knew which cruise I wanted to go on next year, however after reading your review and seeing these pictures, I may change my mind! Keep up the great review!!!

 

Thanks a lot...I'd highly suggest the Legend since you're in Lakeland. We had an awesome time doing that last year. The ship never felt crowded even though it was sailing full. We had none of the issues that were present on this one. Port of Tampa is a breeze to get in/out of and if you can get someone to drive you out to the port and back, you're looking at no parking expenses. We're seriously thinking another Legend cruise is going to be happening in 2012.

[shwabob]

Since we missed the 2nd Formal...I mean "Elegant" night due to my passing out after a day with Cosol's Blue Bus of Liver Punishment, we dressed up a little for dinner tonight to make up for it.

 

 

The Maitre'D that had a particular fascination with James Bond and went by the name "007". Funny guy that we always saw walking around the MDRs making sure guests were happy. We made sure to let him know that Ivon and her staff all were some of the best Carnival has.

 

 

2nd to last towel animal:

 

 

 

Coming up...St. Maarten (boooo for last day of the cruise...)

[soulsistah007]

I'm certainly enjoying your review! Glad you guys had a great time despite having luggage issues. Since its so port intensive, did you guys do any activities at night? Also, which port beach was your favorite and why? I'm in the process of planning our Victory Cruise in November but still undecided on which places I would prefer to do a beach day. Thanks!

[hfweather]

Thanks a lot...I'd highly suggest the Legend since you're in Lakeland. We had an awesome time doing that last year. The ship never felt crowded even though it was sailing full. We had none of the issues that were present on this one. Port of Tampa is a breeze to get in/out of and if you can get someone to drive you out to the port and back, you're looking at no parking expenses. We're seriously thinking another Legend cruise is going to be happening in 2012.

 

 

That's an excellent point. My parents live 5 minutes away so I know they could get us to Tampa. I've never been on the Legend, maybe we'll give it a try. The only problem is my husband wants to know how many times he'll have to go to Cozumel, but I see where Cozumel has an Amazing Race adventure and he loves that show, so maybe that will help seal the deal.

[shwabob]

I'm certainly enjoying your review! Glad you guys had a great time despite having luggage issues. Since its so port intensive, did you guys do any activities at night? Also, which port beach was your favorite and why? I'm in the process of planning our Victory Cruise in November but still undecided on which places I would prefer to do a beach day. Thanks!

 

At night we really enjoyed the adult comedy shows. They had Percy Crews, Happy Cole, and Hank McGauley on our cruise. They were excellent. Since we knew Ivon the YTD hostess from our Legend cruise, we went to the dance club with her a few times and would relax on the Lido or Serenity decks at night (only time we could get a chair on the Serenity deck).

 

Our favorite beach was Grand Case in St. Martin (French side). This beach was a nice locals beach (clothing is optional, however...we saw a few ladies sans tops) where there was a delicious set of restaurants serving ribs, chicken, fresh cut fries, and other tasty treats. Taxi ride was a bit more costly than Orient would have been, but well worth it (20 min or so). Our taxi driver came for us at the requested time and dropped us at Front Street so I could go see the YodaGuy and Tara and some people we met up with did the required knock-off purse shopping.

[shwabob]

That's an excellent point. My parents live 5 minutes away so I know they could get us to Tampa. I've never been on the Legend, maybe we'll give it a try. The only problem is my husband wants to know how many times he'll have to go to Cozumel, but I see where Cozumel has an Amazing Race adventure and he loves that show, so maybe that will help seal the deal.

 

Legend was truly awesome. We've suggested it to several friends who have all come back ready to go again. The Cruise Director is absolutely outstanding, the crew was terrific, it just went through a drydock in Feb where they added a Serenity deck aft, and it's usually very well priced. We did Nachi Cocum in Cozumel and it was awesome...we plan on going there if we go to Cozumel in the future.

[shellboat7]

That's an excellent point. My parents live 5 minutes away so I know they could get us to Tampa. I've never been on the Legend, maybe we'll give it a try. The only problem is my husband wants to know how many times he'll have to go to Cozumel, but I see where Cozumel has an Amazing Race adventure and he loves that show, so maybe that will help seal the deal.

 

I sailed on another cruise line last year and we did the Amazing Race in Cozumel. It was so much fun! We finished in second place, but the first place team was actually practicing to be on the show, so we felt pretty good about our placing. I thought the activity was well planned and well run. I would highly recommend it!

[themerle]

Thanks for sharing the review and the pictures! We are going to cruise on the Victory in Nov. We've been to St. Thomas and St. Maarten several times but not to any of the other islands. Seeing your photos and hearing about your excursions has really got me excited about this cruise. Did you book your tour with Cosol before your cruise or at the port? Which dining room was for My time dining? Oh, And I hope Percy Crews will be on the ship when we go in Nov. We really enjoy his shows!!! He's so funny!!!

[shwabob]

Thanks for sharing the review and the pictures! We are going to cruise on the Victory in Nov. We've been to St. Thomas and St. Maarten several times but not to any of the other islands. Seeing your photos and hearing about your excursions has really got me excited about this cruise. Did you book your tour with Cosol before your cruise or at the port? Which dining room was for My time dining? Oh, And I hope Percy Crews will be on the ship when we go in Nov. We really enjoy his shows!!! He's so funny!!!

 

We booked in advance. He's quite the popular tour, so I'd suggest you shoot him an email or call him up. He'll get you on his list.

 

My Time dining is in the Atlantic Dining room, you enter from the atrium on Deck 4 instead of Deck 3. Pretty much all the upstairs of the Atlantic appears to be configured for YTD. Only time we had a wait was on the elegant night and that's cause we showed up right around 8pm. Normally we wouldn't show up to dinner until 8:45-9:15pm as that was when it was quietest.

[themerle]

We booked in advance. He's quite the popular tour, so I'd suggest you shoot him an email or call him up. He'll get you on his list.

 

My Time dining is in the Atlantic Dining room, you enter from the atrium on Deck 4 instead of Deck 3. Pretty much all the upstairs of the Atlantic appears to be configured for YTD. Only time we had a wait was on the elegant night and that's cause we showed up right around 8pm. Normally we wouldn't show up to dinner until 8:45-9:15pm as that was when it was quietest.

 

Thanks for the information! I was thinking an email would be best. He really is popular!

[shwabob]

Tried to sleep in a bit and ignore the thrusters, but still was up before 8am.

Did breakfast as usual in the Pacific, meeting up with some friends we made on the Cosol tour. We were off the ship around 9:30 and got a taxi to Grand Case Beach. This is a stop that was suggested by both my family, but also the ladies we ran into from the Cosol tour. Taxi's were easy to get onto with prices clearly laid out in advance. We ended up paying $36 for all 4 of us (a big shock from the cheap trip in St. Kitts the day before) but knew it would be worth it and it was about a 30 minute trip getting there. Since Grand Case didn't have regular taxi service like some of the more touristy areas do, we told our driver to come back at 2pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kclvt]

Just a quick question - just curious. How is the smoking on this ship? What is Carnival's smoking policy? Is smoking allowed on individual balconies? My son and daughter-in-law are both smokers so just curious. On RCCL they make formal nights non-smoking nights in the casino but what is the difference - everything already reeks of cigarette smoke!

[shwabob]

Just a quick question - just curious. How is the smoking on this ship? What is Carnival's smoking policy? Is smoking allowed on individual balconies? My son and daughter-in-law are both smokers so just curious. On RCCL they make formal nights non-smoking nights in the casino but what is the difference - everything already reeks of cigarette smoke!

 

We're both not fans of the cig smoke (My Mom's side of the family are smokers, my Dad's isn't...and I grew up with my dad so I really quickly notice it) and I don't remember having any real issues on the trip. Smoking is allowed on balconies and in your cabin (which I can't stand - however our cabin didn't have any smell to it) Our cabin neighbors with the aft wrap did smoke on their balcony but they were very respectful about it, keeping their cigs on the other end of the balcony.

 

You'll definitely notice it going through the casino on Deck 5 (since you can't go straight through Deck 3/4 dining rooms, you have to go up to Deck 5 to get through) but it wasn't near as bad once they had a lot of people flowing through there like on formal/elegant nights. Never noticed anything out on the Lido decks or most other public spaces. The Ionian Cigar room where the computers for internet access are located was really bad though, so you'll want to avoid that area if it really bugs you.

[kclvt]

We're both not fans of the cig smoke (My Mom's side of the family are smokers, my Dad's isn't...and I grew up with my dad so I really quickly notice it) and I don't remember having any real issues on the trip. Smoking is allowed on balconies and in your cabin (which I can't stand - however our cabin didn't have any smell to it) Our cabin neighbors with the aft wrap did smoke on their balcony but they were very respectful about it, keeping their cigs on the other end of the balcony.

 

You'll definitely notice it going through the casino on Deck 5 (since you can't go straight through Deck 3/4 dining rooms, you have to go up to Deck 5 to get through) but it wasn't near as bad once they had a lot of people flowing through there like on formal/elegant nights. Never noticed anything out on the Lido decks or most other public spaces. The Ionian Cigar room where the computers for internet access are located was really bad though, so you'll want to avoid that area if it really bugs you.

 

 

Thanks for your quick reply. The only reason I asked is because some fellow RCCL cruisers mentioned that the smoking was horrible on Carnival.

 

We are reformed smokers (which are suppose to be the worse- but I don't think we are). We just avoid the areas that reek - of course which side of the ship do we normally wind up sitting on the pool deck - just luck of the draw! :)

[shwabob]

Thanks for your quick reply. The only reason I asked is because some fellow RCCL cruisers mentioned that the smoking was horrible on Carnival.

 

We are reformed smokers (which are suppose to be the worse- but I don't think we are). We just avoid the areas that reek - of course which side of the ship do we normally wind up sitting on the pool deck - just luck of the draw! :)

 

I don't remember which side of the ship was the 'smoking side', but if you're looking to lay out on sea day, the area on Deck 10 above/around the aft lido pool is usually pretty calm and should be smoke-free.

[Cruiser_SG77]

Awesome review, thanks for posting it and keep it coming!