Where are the fans of the Victory?

[ibcnusoon]

I think I am looking forward to Barbados the most for the turtle swim followed by St. Lucia. Although, Maho Beach in St. Marteen is sounding fun too!

 

Yup, we got it covered! Beaches, Beaches, Beaches!

 

On St. Thomas we are going over to St. John, snorkeing at Trunk Bay Beach.

 

On Barbados, we are snorkeling/swimming with Sea Turtles

 

On St. Lucia, we are snorkeling at the beach at the base of the Pitons

 

On St. Kitts, we are touring in the morning, then being dropped off at a beach that overlooks the island of Nevis

 

On St. Maarten, we are going to Maho Beach to watch the planes land

[KC625]

My husband and I just sailed on the Victory July 22-29. Like you, I was shocked that the Victory wasn't talked about more on the boards, but the few reviews I did find made me very excited for the cruise! I had all intentions of writing a full review with pictures but have been very busy since we've returned home.

 

We absolutely loved the itinerary and the ship itself. Everyone talks about it being an older ship, but we didn't see the wear and tear that others talk about. It was well taken care of and very clean. The ship is very green, with a lot of blue as well, but we thought the sea-life decorations were very appropriate for a Caribbean cruise. Do take note of the seahorses at the bottom of the stairwells. They bit us and my first thought was "oh yeah! I was warned about them!"

 

The ambience on this cruise was very different as the majority of people were Puerto Rican and Spanish speaking. All announcements were made in English and then repeated in Spanish. We felt there was a good mix of people in every age group. Felipe Couto was our cruise director, and I can't say enough good things about him! He's younger and very active and kept the atmosphere fun! The entertainment staff were very energetic and fun as well! The deck parties, yes two, were very lively! Sunday at sail-away, there will be a deck party right after the muster drill. On Wednesday (Barbados day), passengers will be getting off the ship and more will be joining as they start their cruise in Barbados. Therefore, there's a monster deck party that night, and we thought it was even better than the first one. I was a little worried about passengers disembarking/embarking that day, but you honestly wouldn't notice if they hadn't announced it.

 

We are in our mid-twenties and like to be active. We prefer a port-intensive itinerary over one with several sea days. The ports are absolutely gorgeous, and this is definitely an itinerary we plan to repeat someday! Quick recap:

 

St. Thomas: We took a taxi to Coral World where we did the sea lion swim. It was so much fun and probably our favorite excursion of the entire cruise. Afterwards, we went to Coki Beach, which is a short 5 minute walk from Coral World. The beach was beautiful and had a good number of people, but it wasn't TOO crowded.

 

Barbados: We booked a 24 person catamaran cruise with Silver Moon. AMAZING! We had two different snorkeling stops: one over a shipwreck and reef and the second was with the sea turtles! The turtles were an incredible experience as they swim right by so you're able to pet their shells. The crew was very friendly and we were also served a buffet lunch while docked near a beach. After lunch, you had a short amount of time to swim while the crew cleaned up. Drinks (beer, rum punch, soda, water, etc) were unlimited. It was a really fun day!

 

St. Lucia: We booked the land and sea tour with Spencer Ambrose. Spencer's brother, Neptune, was our tour guide and was very knowledgeable! The land tour took us along the west coast of the island. The roads are super windy and hilly. I get car-sickness pretty easily, but I made sure to take dramamine before we left and had no problems. There are plenty of stops along the way so we weren't just driving the entire time. We stopped at Jalousie Beach (between the Pitons) for lunch and had about 40 minutes to snorkel, swim, or just relax. The beach was very crowded as other tours were there as well but the Spencer Ambrose team made sure everyone was comfortable and enjoying themselves. We returned to the ship by boat which was definitely a good choice after being in a van all day!

 

St. Kitts: We booked an island tour with Royston. Royston is an incredible man! Very friendly and very knowledgeable. Royston took us on a tour that completely circled the island along the coast. He stopped a lot for photo opportunities and took us to some of the most incredible look-out points. He paid for lunch, entrance fees, and even paid the tip so we could hold a monkey. After all, St. Kitts has three times as many monkeys as they do people! After our tour, he took us to South Friars Beach where we could go snorkeling. The snorkeling was great and Royston allowed you as much time as you wanted here. We didn't feel rushed at all.

 

St. Maarten: We chose this to be our relaxing day since we had a lot going on the entire week and because it was the last day. We took a taxi to Orient Beach. The beach is beautiful and lots of waves in the ocean! There are a lot of locals trying to sell you stuff, which at times, did get a little annoying. Most of the time, a polite no was enough.

 

**Side note: We book all excursions independently. I don't book anything directly through the ship. I highly recommend every excursion we did**

 

Overall, we had an amazing cruise and cannot wait to sail this itinerary again! I hope you all enjoy your upcoming cruises!:D

[kimmyg726]

My husband and I just sailed on the Victory July 22-29. Like you, I was shocked that the Victory wasn't talked about more on the boards, but the few reviews I did find made me very excited for the cruise! I had all intentions of writing a full review with pictures but have been very busy since we've returned home.

 

We absolutely loved the itinerary and the ship itself. Everyone talks about it being an older ship, but we didn't see the wear and tear that others talk about. It was well taken care of and very clean. The ship is very green, with a lot of blue as well, but we thought the sea-life decorations were very appropriate for a Caribbean cruise. Do take note of the seahorses at the bottom of the stairwells. They bit us and my first thought was "oh yeah! I was warned about them!"

 

The ambience on this cruise was very different as the majority of people were Puerto Rican and Spanish speaking. All announcements were made in English and then repeated in Spanish. We felt there was a good mix of people in every age group. Felipe Couto was our cruise director, and I can't say enough good things about him! He's younger and very active and kept the atmosphere fun! The entertainment staff were very energetic and fun as well! The deck parties, yes two, were very lively! Sunday at sail-away, there will be a deck party right after the muster drill. On Wednesday (Barbados day), passengers will be getting off the ship and more will be joining as they start their cruise in Barbados. Therefore, there's a monster deck party that night, and we thought it was even better than the first one. I was a little worried about passengers disembarking/embarking that day, but you honestly wouldn't notice if they hadn't announced it.

 

We are in our mid-twenties and like to be active. We prefer a port-intensive itinerary over one with several sea days. The ports are absolutely gorgeous, and this is definitely an itinerary we plan to repeat someday! Quick recap:

 

St. Thomas: We took a taxi to Coral World where we did the sea lion swim. It was so much fun and probably our favorite excursion of the entire cruise. Afterwards, we went to Coki Beach, which is a short 5 minute walk from Coral World. The beach was beautiful and had a good number of people, but it wasn't TOO crowded.

 

Barbados: We booked a 24 person catamaran cruise with Silver Moon. AMAZING! We had two different snorkeling stops: one over a shipwreck and reef and the second was with the sea turtles! The turtles were an incredible experience as they swim right by so you're able to pet their shells. The crew was very friendly and we were also served a buffet lunch while docked near a beach. After lunch, you had a short amount of time to swim while the crew cleaned up. Drinks (beer, rum punch, soda, water, etc) were unlimited. It was a really fun day!

 

St. Lucia: We booked the land and sea tour with Spencer Ambrose. Spencer's brother, Neptune, was our tour guide and was very knowledgeable! The land tour took us along the west coast of the island. The roads are super windy and hilly. I get car-sickness pretty easily, but I made sure to take dramamine before we left and had no problems. There are plenty of stops along the way so we weren't just driving the entire time. We stopped at Jalousie Beach (between the Pitons) for lunch and had about 40 minutes to snorkel, swim, or just relax. The beach was very crowded as other tours were there as well but the Spencer Ambrose team made sure everyone was comfortable and enjoying themselves. We returned to the ship by boat which was definitely a good choice after being in a van all day!

 

St. Kitts: We booked an island tour with Royston. Royston is an incredible man! Very friendly and very knowledgeable. Royston took us on a tour that completely circled the island along the coast. He stopped a lot for photo opportunities and took us to some of the most incredible look-out points. He paid for lunch, entrance fees, and even paid the tip so we could hold a monkey. After all, St. Kitts has three times as many monkeys as they do people! After our tour, he took us to South Friars Beach where we could go snorkeling. The snorkeling was great and Royston allowed you as much time as you wanted here. We didn't feel rushed at all.

 

St. Maarten: We chose this to be our relaxing day since we had a lot going on the entire week and because it was the last day. We took a taxi to Orient Beach. The beach is beautiful and lots of waves in the ocean! There are a lot of locals trying to sell you stuff, which at times, did get a little annoying. Most of the time, a polite no was enough.

 

**Side note: We book all excursions independently. I don't book anything directly through the ship. I highly recommend every excursion we did**

 

Overall, we had an amazing cruise and cannot wait to sail this itinerary again! I hope you all enjoy your upcoming cruises!:D

 

 

We are looking at the sea lion swim but I was worried about booking it so far in advance since you had to pay in full. I think our entire group (8) wants to do it. Did you think it was worth the money? Did you by the pictures?

 

St Kitts: My BFF and I LOVE monkeys so I made a promise to her that I will find places for her to interact with monkeys.

[kimmyg726]

Thanks everyone for chiming in with your experiences. Its nice to hear your stories and /or excitement about upcoming adventures!

[KC625]

We are looking at the sea lion swim but I was worried about booking it so far in advance since you had to pay in full. I think our entire group (8) wants to do it. Did you think it was worth the money? Did you by the pictures?

 

St Kitts: My BFF and I LOVE monkeys so I made a promise to her that I will find places for her to interact with monkeys.

We absolutely LOVED the sea lion swim! I would definitely pay to do it again! We were only required to put down a $50 deposit and then we paid the remaining balance that day. There were 10 people total for our swim, which they then split into two different groups. We were in a group of 4 and then the other 6 were a group. While we were in the water with one sea lion, they got in the water with a different sea lion (2 different pools). Then we switched. I don't know if this is how it normally works because I've read that while one group is on land doing tricks and taking pictures with a sea lion, the other group is in the water. The trainers did ask if we were okay doing it this way because it was more so a training session for the second sea lion that was learning new tricks. Of course everyone agreed because that just meant more time in the water for us!

 

The CD of pictures is a must buy! It was only $39 for our CD and has around 140 pictures on it. The CD does include pictures of the other couple in our group of 4 but there is still a large amount of pictures just of us or that have all of us in them. Keep in mind that once they break your entire group down into two smaller groups, the CDs will be different for each group. Your group of 8 will be split up so you would need to buy the two different CDs to have pictures of everyone.

 

I would suggest calling as soon as possible if your group is positive you want to do the swim. They seem to book up fast and there are only 2 or 3 swims at set times throughout the day.

 

In St. Kitts, there will be locals everywhere, including at the pier, asking if you want to hold their pet monkey or get a picture with the monkey. BE WARNED that they do EXPECT a tip. At dinner that night, a family said that a guy came up and placed his monkey on their shoulder (without their agreement) and then told them $10. I don't think they ended up paying but just be warned that the monkeys won't be free. I paid $5 to hold a 4 month old baby monkey that was drinking from a bottle! It was adorable and worth it to me to have those pictures :)

[kimmyg726]

We absolutely LOVED the sea lion swim! I would definitely pay to do it again! We were only required to put down a $50 deposit and then we paid the remaining balance that day. There were 10 people total for our swim, which they then split into two different groups. We were in a group of 4 and then the other 6 were a group. While we were in the water with one sea lion, they got in the water with a different sea lion (2 different pools). Then we switched. I don't know if this is how it normally works because I've read that while one group is on land doing tricks and taking pictures with a sea lion, the other group is in the water. The trainers did ask if we were okay doing it this way because it was more so a training session for the second sea lion that was learning new tricks. Of course everyone agreed because that just meant more time in the water for us!

 

The CD of pictures is a must buy! It was only $39 for our CD and has around 140 pictures on it. The CD does include pictures of the other couple in our group of 4 but there is still a large amount of pictures just of us or that have all of us in them. Keep in mind that once they break your entire group down into two smaller groups, the CDs will be different for each group. Your group of 8 will be split up so you would need to buy the two different CDs to have pictures of everyone.

 

I would suggest calling as soon as possible if your group is positive you want to do the swim. They seem to book up fast and there are only 2 or 3 swims at set times throughout the day.

 

In St. Kitts, there will be locals everywhere, including at the pier, asking if you want to hold their pet monkey or get a picture with the monkey. BE WARNED that they do EXPECT a tip. At dinner that night, a family said that a guy came up and placed his monkey on their shoulder (without their agreement) and then told them $10. I don't think they ended up paying but just be warned that the monkeys won't be free. I paid $5 to hold a 4 month old baby monkey that was drinking from a bottle! It was adorable and worth it to me to have those pictures :)

 

 

KC626: Thanks for the great info! When I looked online for Coral World, it said you had to pay the entire amount? Where did you book through?

 

I have heard the stories about the monkeys so I am prepared. I really would prefer to encounter them away from the port but as long as we get to hold a few, I'm good. Yes, $5 is worth it to me too!!

[KC625]

KC626: Thanks for the great info! When I looked online for Coral World, it said you had to pay the entire amount? Where did you book through?

 

I have heard the stories about the monkeys so I am prepared. I really would prefer to encounter them away from the port but as long as we get to hold a few, I'm good. Yes, $5 is worth it to me too!!

We booked directly through Coral World. We called them and they took our reservation over the phone along with a Credit Card for the $50 deposit. I never saw that on their website so I don't know if anything has changed since we went or not? I would just call or email and see what they say. You might get lucky and just have to put a deposit down!

[Mumsykat]

DH and I were on the Victory back in 2009. We enjoyed it a lot but discovered we preferred something a bit less port intensive - we DO like the sea days! On our cruise we went to Dominica rather than St. Lucia, and we're glad we got to go there since Carnival doesn't stop in Dominica any more. That island was truly an experience! I'll never forget hiking up to the Titou Gorge in the pouring rain, and laughing like crazy. That was truly experiencing the rainforest!

 

As for the biting seahorses - I would pat them on the snout when I passed and I didn't get "bit" once!

[fogal]

We absolutely LOVED the sea lion swim! I would definitely pay to do it again! We were only required to put down a $50 deposit and then we paid the remaining balance that day. There were 10 people total for our swim, which they then split into two different groups. We were in a group of 4 and then the other 6 were a group. While we were in the water with one sea lion, they got in the water with a different sea lion (2 different pools). Then we switched. I don't know if this is how it normally works because I've read that while one group is on land doing tricks and taking pictures with a sea lion, the other group is in the water. The trainers did ask if we were okay doing it this way because it was more so a training session for the second sea lion that was learning new tricks. Of course everyone agreed because that just meant more time in the water for us!

 

The CD of pictures is a must buy! It was only $39 for our CD and has around 140 pictures on it. The CD does include pictures of the other couple in our group of 4 but there is still a large amount of pictures just of us or that have all of us in them. Keep in mind that once they break your entire group down into two smaller groups, the CDs will be different for each group. Your group of 8 will be split up so you would need to buy the two different CDs to have pictures of everyone.

 

I would suggest calling as soon as possible if your group is positive you want to do the swim. They seem to book up fast and there are only 2 or 3 swims at set times throughout the day.

 

 

I'm glad to hear that! We'll be there next month and were really considering doing the sea lion swim but we had seen some so-so to bad reviews about Coral World in general. I'll have to show this review to my wife and we might decide to book it!

[vlwalker]

I've noticed that there aren't many posts about the Victory. There are a few great reviews but I'm surprised by how little folks post about this ship.

 

Is it because it's an older ship, it's too port intensive, or most cruises have already been there, done that with the ship?? Just curious...

 

Fellow cruisers: please share your Victory thoughts/memories/experiences with me. It helps me get excited and stay more informed for our October cruise. :D:D

 

Thanks!

Kim

 

I felt the same way prior to my sailing, I didn't hear a lot about Victory. I loved the ports of call on Victory, especially Barbados and St. Lucia. This was my fourth cruise, and I have to say, I didn't enjoy the food as much. My best meal was the lobster and grilled shrimp on elegant night. Wasn't really happy with my cabin steward. On my first day I cleaned my room with Clorox wipes myself.

 

I think that the crew is under a lot of pressure to get the rooms ready for the next group, that they just rush cleaning, and I lot of stuff isn't getting done. I know for myself, I want to get to the ship as early as I can to start my vacation, but I think I'd rather wait an extra hour or two longer if it means that my room will be properly cleaned.

 

I really missed having a frig in my cabin. Victory is an old ship.

 

I love Carnival, and can't wait for my sister to plan another cruise, it was about 29 of us.

[KC625]

Coral World, itself, is not a large park. I wouldn't plan to go to Coral World unless I had an activity booked, like the sea lion swim or sea trek, etc. Our swim was at 11:15 so we went early and had plenty of time to look around the park beforehand. The sea lion swim was amazing though and made it all totally worth it! This also allowed us a couple of hours at Coki Beach afterwards, which was really nice!

[Retired Sparky]

Loved our Jan cruise watch the video on my sig. Ship, Crew and shows great but the food was the only negative. We did not go hungrey always found someting good just the worst melting cake and lasagne ( my carnival fav. ) Wish I coujd go with you when in San Juan try Orassco's

[seashinesunshine]

KC626: Thanks for the great info! When I looked online for Coral World, it said you had to pay the entire amount? Where did you book through?

 

I have heard the stories about the monkeys so I am prepared. I really would prefer to encounter them away from the port but as long as we get to hold a few, I'm good. Yes, $5 is worth it to me too!!

 

Beware of the Monkey guys, they are not friendly men with Monkeys. They are con artists. I had warned my parents about them, and my parents got caught in it anyway and gave into the guys. What happened is not "you can hold/pet my monkey for 5$" They started piling Monkees on my dad, without warning or asking, then when my mom took a photo they wanted her to pay 40$. They were very agressive and intimidating. I would have told them to, well, you know what, my mom got intimidated into paying 20$. I have heard many stories how they just put the monkees on you then demand $$.

These guys take baby monkees away from thier mothers in the wild keep them for a while then dump them off when they are not babies anymore. Please be careful!!!

Sorry for the lecture, back to the Victory, have fun, she is a great ship with a great staff and a great itinierary. :)

[LynnAnne]

DH and I going on The Victory our of Miami in Feb. Hope she is the same as when sailing out of San Juan. The week before we will be on the Liberty and have booked Coral World through Carnival for the Star Trec or its called helmet dive. Don't think the price is much more then if we booked on our own. Has anyone done this??

[WiscoGirl32]

Loved our Jan cruise watch the video on my sig. Ship, Crew and shows great but the food was the only negative. We did not go hungrey always found someting good just the worst melting cake and lasagne ( my carnival fav. ) Wish I coujd go with you when in San Juan try Orassco's

 

Hello fellow Wisconsinite! Loved your youtube video and seeing how Packer fans cruise the Caribbean! Surfing CC and watching the preseason packer game. We are on the Victory in January 2013!! Can't wait! Thanks for the pictures!! Go Pack Go!

[TSOH]

We will be on this ship in April. Can't wait. Don't care about decor and I book according to sea days. I want as many sea days as port days or preferably MORE sea days. :) Happy on our balcony and cruise for the absolute peace we feel when we are at sea. Looking forward to seeing this ship and then the Sunshine Dec 2013.

[livestocruisetoo]

North to Canada (Bingo cruise) and Miami to San Juan (Repo cruise).

[kimmyg726]

Beware of the Monkey guys, they are not friendly men with Monkeys. They are con artists. I had warned my parents about them, and my parents got caught in it anyway and gave into the guys. What happened is not "you can hold/pet my monkey for 5$" They started piling Monkees on my dad, without warning or asking, then when my mom took a photo they wanted her to pay 40$. They were very agressive and intimidating. I would have told them to, well, you know what, my mom got intimidated into paying 20$. I have heard many stories how they just put the monkees on you then demand $$.

These guys take baby monkees away from thier mothers in the wild keep them for a while then dump them off when they are not babies anymore. Please be careful!!!

Sorry for the lecture, back to the Victory, have fun, she is a great ship with a great staff and a great itinierary. :)

 

 

Thanks Seashinesunshine. I have read some crazy stories in reviews about the monkey guys. :eek:

[Cathy p]

The Victory is the first Carnival cruise we took and it was just a little cruise to nowhere. We ended up winning $1200 enough for my next Carnival cruise. Love it along with the colors.:D

[Dirkgun]

Loved our Jan cruise watch the video on my sig. Ship, Crew and shows great but the food was the only negative. We did not go hungrey always found someting good just the worst melting cake and lasagne ( my carnival fav. ) Wish I coujd go with you when in San Juan try Orassco's

 

Loved your Victory youtube video.... The Victory is also my favorite cruise to date. We are doing it again this December. I can't wait. I love the southern Caribbean and San Juan.