A Surprise Engagement On The Victory!! 11/6/11 Review

[ibcnusoon]

Congatulations! What a sweet proposal! Felt like I was there, too! lol

 

Nice, you were surprised and so was the BF!!!

[shonandsuzie]

Nice review so far and...

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!! ♥♥

[INCHARGE]

That was too funny, because you were not the only one surprised on this trip! :) that opportunity was too good to turn down. He did the right thing by going with the flow. Tell him "Well Done." you will have a funny story to share for years to come.

[soulsistah007]

Yay for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.... so who was the first one? Dopey ? LOL

 

Was that just random that K asked if your bf had anything to say to you? OMGoodness, if it was, that is amazing.

 

That is a great story ! I'm glad it turned out to be a surprise for your boyfriend too.... LOL, the best laid plans etc. At least he didn't have to get nervous before each of the other ideas he had.

 

Lol it was Bashful. Watching a lot Disney movies as a kid really paid off lol! One of the qualities I love about him is that he's a go-getter and not afraid of a challenge :)

 

Here's the ring:

 

[StingRaysfan]

oh man... I got a little choked up there!!!! What a great proposal! AND what a great ROCK!!!!!! you guys are a cute couple and I wish you years of happiness (after the stress of planning a wedding is over!)

[soulsistah007]

DAY 4 - BARBADOS

 

I was really looking forward to Barbados as we had it planned as our designated beach day. After researching on CC, we decided that Lobster Alive on Carlisle Bay would be good for us. It was about a 10 min drive from the port and we paid $4/person for cab fare (one way). We got there around 9:30 am and there were only a couple of people there. This ended up being my favorite beach; the water was clear, the sand was so so soft, the area was quiet and not packed at all. The entrance fee is $15 pp and that gets you a chair, an umbrella and 3 drink coupons. It was well worth the price! If I was dozing off on the chair, a sip of the rum punch certainly woke me up lol. They are definitely strong! There were maybe 2 guys trying to get you to buy necklaces, 2 women trying to get you to buy sarongs and 2 guys who said they were "doctors" :rolleyes: and wanted to offer massages with the oil that comes out of aloe plants. My mom fell for this one lol. I think she paid him $10 for a 10min massage. He ended up giving her a piece of aloe to take with her.

I didn’t find them as pushy as other places (i.e. Nassau), a simple no thanks was sufficient. I found that as long as you were nice to them they were nice back. We didn’t get any food at the restaurant. We decided to go back to the ship to get lunch and we made the right decision because it was Caribbean day at the Lido buffet but more on that later!

 

 

 

 

The pier that you see in the pics is the beach where The Boatyard is located so its very close. That area was packed! There was another beach area to the left of Lobster Alive, closer towards the Hilton and that was packed as well. I would definitely recommend Lobster Alive if you’re looking for a quiet beach.

 

Overall, I found the people in Barbados to be very friendly and helpful. My mom being from the islands had asked our taxi driver on the way back for some Bajan Sweet Bread. Our driver stopped off at diffferent shops determined to find some for us. Every bakery/market he went to didn't have it, but it was a really nice gesture of him.

 

Tonight, there was a deck party for guest embarking in Barbados so we went to that and had another great night of fun!

 

 

[soulsistah007]

oh man... I got a little choked up there!!!! What a great proposal! AND what a great ROCK!!!!!! you guys are a cute couple and I wish you years of happiness (after the stress of planning a wedding is over!)

 

Awww thank you so much! We were talking about the wedding yesterday and decided on some ideas/suggestions. We're excited! There's a lot to plan but I think were on the right track. :)

[abitaturbodog]

What a beautiful ring--Congratulations!

 

Love your review. Keep it coming!

[pafam4]

Congratulations! Your ring is gorgeous! What wonderful memories you will have from this cruise!

 

Enjoying the review, can't wait to read more!

[Delta Dear]

I agree, your ring is beautiful. I'm also enjoying every minute and every photo of your review.

[Kris7562]

GORGEOUS RING! And an amazing proposal! He did a good job! Sounds like you have a really great guy!

 

Sounds like you guys had a fantastic cruise! I can't wait to hear about the rest of it!

[soulsistah007]

As mentioned before, the nightlife on this ship was good. There were always events going on in the casino bar such as Motown Sing A Longs and a dance competition so we would stop and watch. The Fun Crew definitely knew how to keep the party going.

 

My favourite towel animal presentation:

 

[soccersharon]

Congratulations! Looking forward to the rest of your review...

 

(Good job on the bling!)

[soulsistah007]

DAY 5 - ST LUCIA

 

For St. Lucia, we booked an independent ATV tour with ATV Paradise Tours. Bf had wanted to do ATV’s last year on our cruise but we didn’t get around to it so I figured St. Lucia would be a great spot for this. I had communicated with the owner Kurt prior to arriving on the island. There was a bit of miscommunication at the onset as he mentioned that his driver would meet us at the dock and we waited and didn’t see anyone. We decided to call him from the duty shops and it turns out that our driver was waiting inside for us.

 

The trip to the ATV site was about 40 mins from the port. It was a long ride but the roads weren't as windy as St. Thomas. When we got there, we found out that the tour would be bf and I and another couple. Kurt gave us a safety briefing and we were off! We drove through different plantations, a rainforest and stopped at the Fond River. It was my first time on an ATV and I was nervous at first but got the hang of it and really enjoyed myself!! Along the way, Kurt would stop and give us tips/instructions and explain different plants/vegetation we came across. He was very helpful and very passionate about his job. For anyone considering an ATV tour, I would definitely this tour with Kurt.

 

Bf took some silly pics of us wearing our helmets but he lost his camera going over the first hill and we couldn't find it. Do make sure that if you do something this adventurous that all your items are secure.

 

Kurt also gave us pure grapefruit juice and we got to eat starfruit fresh from the tree. It was delicious!

 

 

 

 

Kurt, the owner:

 

 

 

[soulsistah007]

We came back very muddy but it was very fun. After this though, we were exhausted lol. We had dinner in the MDR which we were treated to a show by the waiters balancing things on their head. One waiter, got on top of the table and started unbuttoning his shirt and did the booty shake lol. Not something I wanna see at dinner but it was pretty funny lol.

 

 

After dinner, we checked out some of our pictures and attended Superstar Live, which was neat with the live band.

 

Up next: St. Kitts!

[GranysT]

Great review, and pictures. Adding my Congratulations to you both. Love the ring. I'm another one who didn't get the traditional proposal. We just both sort of started talking about getting married, and went from there. lol. We met in Aug, and were married in April, this was in 1962. This coming April we will be on a 15 day cruise to and from Hawaii, and celebrate our 50th anniversary. We are renewing our vows on the ship. Oh, and I was only 16 when I got married. DH was 21. True Love can prevail. :D: You both have to just really want to make it work.

[kclvt]

Congrats and can't wait to read the rest of your review!

[gapearl]

You're so right about the duty free at the San Juan port. They had so many good deals that I couldn't buy everything I wanted. I would have needed another suitcase with everything being buy 1, get 1 free!

 

Great review, great pictures, and congratulations!

[soulsistah007]

DAY 6 - ST. KITTS

 

As I mentioned before, both my mom and my fiancés mom are from St. Kitts. Despite this, fiancé and I have never been so we were really excited to see the place where our moms grew up. We have family members that still live here and so they picked us up and gave us a tour of the island and then we headed down to Cockleshell Bay, specifically Reggae Beach Bar.

 

 

If you wanted an umbrella and chair it was $5 each item. The beach itself was not as clear as Barbados and very rocky but it was decent. This is the famous beach with the drunk monkeys but we didn’t stay to see them drink. Apparently it happens when the bar is closing. There is a guy that walks around with a monkey and insists that you hold the monkey and gets the person you're with to take pictures. After which he then asks for $1 a picture. Another tourist trap that my mom fell for lol

 

There are other monkeys in cages and a boar on the beach who was sleeping the entire time we were there. I don’t blame him. St. Kitts was the hottest day of our trip so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to a local restaurant back in the city and then said bye to our family and headed back on the ship. We absolutely loved the island; the scenery is soooo gorgeous!! Hopefully we’ll be able to come back soon. This was the only night we didn’t head to the MDR as we were exhausted.

[gail811]

Loving your review!

I don't want to appear to be hijacking your thread....but I just finished making a calendar today as a gift for my husband, and I included two of my favorite pictures from our stop in St. Kitts in 2009. When I saw your picture I just had to share!!!

 

 

[soulsistah007]

DAY 7- ST. MAARTEN

 

 

 

 

Our last port day, we were sad it came so soon. This was another port we had family members in so we did a quick island tour including seeing the French/Dutch border which was neat to see. The day before was St. Maarten day so this was the first day that the stores re-opened. On top of that, a lot of the roads are being reconstructed. That being said, some areas of traffic were worse than others so some areas we avoided all together. We went downtown to the shopping area and back to my great uncle’s house to relax and catch up.

 

This is the view he see's everyday from his house. I'm quite jealous lol

 

 

It is definitely true what they say about St. Maarten being the best shopping port. I don’t have too many pics because that’s all I was doing lol. The port has many great deals (I got a fantastic sarong for a great price and some jewelry) and the market downtown is a great place to bargain for souvenirs. At the port we got very cheap bottles of alcohol and as I said before, Carnival security was very strict with alcohol at this port so our bottles were checked.

 

St. Maarten is a gorgeous island and I definitely have to return. A hint for anyone taking the Victory, watching the sail away from St. Maarten as the sun starts to set is soooo pretty; almost breathtaking.

 

We had our last dinner in the MDR, said bye to the waiters, and then I played the final bingo game (didn’t win of course) and watched the Legends show.

 

 

 

Up next: Final thoughts (with food review), Debarkation and Flight Delays

[soulsistah007]

Loving your review!

I don't want to appear to be hijacking your thread....but I just finished making a calendar today as a gift for my husband, and I included two of my favorite pictures from our stop in St. Kitts in 2009. When I saw your picture I just had to share!!!

 

 

 

Aww I love the last picture. So cute! Although I do feel sorry that they're caged up. When we were there a family with a young baby had taken a look at the cage and the baby but her fingers on the rails and got bitten by the monkey. It happened so quickly. I really hope that baby is doing ok.

[LBumb]

great photos

[soulsistah007]

Final Thoughts:

 

Food Review: Great selection of food as always with the exception of breakfast. I think different breakfast buffet items on the Lido would go a long way.

 

My fav dishes in MDR:

 

Lobster tails and shrimp

Martini braised basa fillet,

Caramelized apples on puff pastry

Baked Alaska

 

Fiance’s fav dishes:

 

Gourmet burger

Lobster tails and shrimp (he had 3 plates lol)

Martini braised basa fillet

Warm chocolate melting cake

Cappuccino Pie

 

Disappointments:

 

I thought the bacon mac and cheese wasn’t anything to rave about…it was missing a lot of cheese. Maybe mine just didn't have any? Just felt like I was eating noodles and chicken.

 

From room service, we loved the New York Cheesecake and the Chicken Fajita sandwhiches.

 

 

Debarkation Day

 

Self-Assist is available on the Victory but only for US citizens. No one in our party was comfortable with the idea of leaving our luggage out the night before so we just kept our luggage and left when our zone was called. Due to our 12:30pm flight, we were given Zone 3 and were off the ship at 8:30am. There was only one other ship in port that day so the traffic and the airport itself was not as busy as some of the previous reviews I’ve read. I do appreciate the tip of going through the USDA scanners first before checking in! In total, it took just under 1.5 hours from the time we left the ship to the time we sat down to wait for our flight, so we had plenty of time to kill.

 

Our returning flights were also with JetBlue and out of all the travelling I’ve done in my life (plenty), this was the first time I’ve ever been delayed. The plane had mechanical problems so were on the tarmac for over an hour and half waiting for the problems to be fixed. Lots of people were complaining about missing their connecting flights at JFK. We had a 3 hour window to connect so the delay didn't effect us greatly. I’m glad we were delayed going home rather than to the ship. JetBlue ended up giving everyone a $25 credit toward a future flight which I thought was a great gesture.

 

In total between my fiancé, mother and myself, we brought back 12bottles of alcohol and went through Canada customs without having to declare it or pay duties!!

 

Overall, our victory trip was amazing and will always hold a special place in our heart due to us getting engaged :). The ship’s crew was fantastic and so were our fellow cruisers!! Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments and thanks for reading! :)

[Rainberry]

Great review! Thanks for sharing. Congrats on your engagement.

 

I'm originally from Toronto and was excited to see you were from there as well :)