Victory Review- January 6-13th!! With Pictures!!!

[Halftocruz]

Good afternoon,

 

I truly enjoy reading everyone's reviews on this board so I wanted to try and add my own.

 

I'm not the fanciest or best writer but I will post pictures and give my thoughts on the cruise. As you can see we have been on 5 Carnival cruises and I have to say this one was different...

 

Ok to begin, traveling was myself, my DH Jeff, my two sons Trevor (19) and Connor (12). Also my mom joined us on this cruise. She had never been to the Caribbean so she was excited.

 

We left Minneapolis on Saturday the 5th and got to San Juan at 9:30 PM. Pretty uneventful flights and we stayed at the Marriott Stellaris that I booked through Priceline. We all shared one roon since it was only one night. Tight quarters but we made it through. Here are some pictures from our balcony.

 

 

 

 

I hope to get this all posted throughout today. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to ask any questions.

[Halftocruz]

We got up the next day, headed for the ship and dropped our bags off, ate some lunch in the buffet and then headed back out to see the forts. Here is a picture of the balcony cabin we had. #7382. My boys and DH used this cabin and my mom and I had an inside cabin across the hall. I don't have pictures of that one sorry...

 

 

 

 

Now I didn't know that 6th was a holiday in Puerto Rico, called Three Kings Day. So many things were closed that day but we made our way up to the forts. My mom is a little slow so we took our time.

 

My son really loves photography so we took pictures on the walk up to the fort. Below are some of the shots we took.

 

 

Govenor's mansion

 

 

My DH's at the first fort

 

 

View of ship from fort!!!

[lego7191]

yay! Great start! I'm on the Victory in less than a week, so this will certainly help make the last few days of my wait go by fast!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[Halftocruz]

OK so some various fort pictures. These were all taken from the fort. We did not go to El Morro, my mom was really tired. We liked the first fort better anyway.

 

 

 

 

Next I'll discuss some of the issues we came across and on to St. Thomas!

[chosbor2]

So excited to read your review and thoughts. We are on the Valor in October doing the same itinerary.

[hockeyluver]

Thanks, can't wait to board the Victory in a couple weeks, and doing this itinerary next year.

[Halftocruz]

Ok so everything went fine for the sailaway. I don't know why we don't have any pictures but we don't :mad:

 

We went to dinner in the MDR and we had anytime dining. It went really well. I also don't do any photos of food. Sorry food is not that important to me so I never think of it. I will try and discuss some highlights. My mom and son did the Chef's table and absolutely LOVED it!!! I will go over that.

 

We went to bed and planned on getting up at 7:30 for some breakfast before we got off in St. Thomas for our excursion with Sunny Liston. We used him last year and loved it. It is a very affordable way to see St. Thomas and do some shopping and have some beach time! I love Sunny.

 

Well our wake up call on the phone didn't work (never did the whole cruise). I don't know why but I would set it up and it would confirm back but never called our stateroom. Anyway, I digress...

 

My mom and I slept great and were awoken by a knock at our door at 7:50 AM. My DH said well we have a problem... My DS (Connor) the 12 year old was sick. I thought oh, no big deal.. Well I guess he started throwing up at 3:00 AM and it was not pretty. I have to give my husband major credit because he NEVER came and woke me up in the middle of the night. He handled all of the mess. He did call housekeeping and they came and changed the sheets. I thought for sure we would be quarantined but we never were. I went over to see how he was doing and he was not feeling well. We thought maybe something from what he ate but later found out it had to have been the flu. I kept him in our cabin for that whole day and the next so he wouldn't be around others. We ordered him room service on Tuesday (sea day) even though he felt fine by Tuesday. We didn't want him around others.

 

Anyway, my DH (the saint) stayed on the ship with him and myself, my mom and my other son got off in St. Thomas. We did enjoy the day but couldn't go to the beach without my other son so after shopping and sightseeing with Sunny Liston we went back on the ship. I then gave my DH a break so he could get off and walk around.

 

Some pictures from St. Thomas

 

 

Megan's Bay

 

 

Some island (can't remember) from Mountaintop

 

 

Sunny sharing his knowledge!!

[Halftocruz]

Forgot some fun pictures we took at Senor Frogs in San Juan. We went there after the forts and before we visited CVS for wine. Wine is MUCH cheaper there than the duty free shop in the terminal.

 

 

DS's having fun!!!

 

 

My Mom!!

 

 

 

 

 

Kids out front of Senor Frogs!!

[Crusing Nut]

yay! Great start! I'm on the Victory in less than a week, so this will certainly help make the last few days of my wait go by fast!

 

 

We get on the ship on the 27th also! The weather has me concerned now...

[Halftocruz]

Tuesday- Sea Day

 

Again I don't have any photos and with my son staying in the cabin, we took turns hanging with him. He felt fine by Tuesday and had not had any symptoms since Monday about noon but we wanted to make sure.

 

We just hung out at the pool as my older son stayed with Connor. Actually he slept until noon and Connor watched TV :( Not very exciting but he understood.

 

My mom, older son and I went to the Love and Marriage show in the afternoon. I knew my mom would get a kick out of it and it didn't disappoint!! Very funny. The CD was Henny something (can't remember) but he was good.

 

First formal night and we had planned to get family pictures all dressed up but we never did that night. Got some on the 2nd formal night.

 

Dinner was good. Connor stayed in the cabin alone, yes he is 12. He was so good about not leaving the cabin. We ordered him room service. It wasn't as fun without him. I had the prime rib and it was good. Overall the food in the MDR was good. Can't really complain but again food is not that important to me and I think they do a good job.

 

Went to the show, City Lights, it was pretty good. My older son and I gambled a little in the casino and then called it a night.

 

Next up was Barbados and we had a catamaran cruise with Silvermoon.

[Halftocruz]

Wednesday-Barbados!!!

 

We were very excited to share Silvermoom catamaran with our kids and my mom. We did this same cruise in February 2012 and wanted our kids to enjoy.

 

We had reservations for the catamaran that held 24 people but only 16 were on board. It was FANTASTIC!!! They know how to treat everyone on board. They cater to everyone and always make sure you have something to eat and drink. They serve warm banana bread after the turtles, served a really great lunch of chicken, rice, macaroni pie, cole slaw and carrot cake for dessert. The crew is so great.

 

When we arrived at the sea turtles, one of the crew got into the water with us and fed the turtles so we can touch them. This is the best excursion of the whole trip. In my opinion :) We just enjoyed being together, relaxing on the boat, swimming, snorkeling etc... Here are some photos..

 

 

On our way to the turtles!

 

Family on the catamaran trampoline (not sure what it is called)

 

 

Rhianna's house

 

Few more to follow...

[Halftocruz]

Few more pictures from Barbados. The cruise lasts 5 hours and we got back to port at 3:00. I can't say enough about Silvermoon.

 

The weather that morning started out rainy but soon became sunny and hot!!

 

 

 

The water was so clear and warm!!!

 

 

 

Next up St. Lucia and our all day tour with Herods!!!

[Halftocruz]

Thursday- St. Lucia

 

Beautiful day!! We did the land and sea tour with Herod's. Couldn't decide on a tour operator but in the end loved what we chose. Last time in St. Lucia we did just a sea tour of the Pitons so this was more interesting to see the land and sea. Ok so to start...

 

Met Herod outside and started the tour. Had to walk quite a distance from where we met Herod and his assistant to his van. Had to walk in the street a little but it all worked out. Got into the van and drove through the town. He showed us some churches, the town square and a few other spots of interest. We soon left town and began the climb up through the hills. St. Lucia is so hilly and very thick with jungles.

 

We stopped at a few places to get pictures of the area and different fishing villages. Below are some pictures of the landscape and some of the villages. Since I can only post 6 per post it will take a few posts to get through it all.

 

Pitons in the distance

 

 

 

Houses up in the hills

 

 

Herod at the banana plantation stop...

 

 

Family at an overlook!

 

 

Fishing village...

[funinthesun1964]

Thanks for the doing the review, your photos from St. Lucia are similar to mine! I enjoy seeing others photos and hearing their points of view, so thank you for providing.

[Halftocruz]

More St. Lucia.

 

We were making our way through all the villages to have lunch at Herod's moms house before we went to the Pitons. Lunch was very nice at his mom's. It was cool to see how his family lived and their house. What impressed me the most is how clean their house was and how much food she cooks every day. He had 19 total people that day. She cooks a LOT of food. They are very nice people...

 

 

Flowers at his moms house.

 

Women washing clothes in the river

 

 

Closer to the Pitons!!!

 

 

Kitty at a overlook stop!! They were so friendly

[Halftocruz]

Pictures of lunch at Herods's. It was so beautiful on his porch.

 

 

 

Herod and his mom

 

 

Lunch!! Can't remember all of it. Rice, beans, fried fish, macaroni pie...

 

 

Another beautiful flower at his mom's house

 

Next we went through the Volcano and my kids went into the mud bath. Pictures of that up next.

[Halftocruz]

Volcano and mud baths. This area is certainly stinky but my kids loved the mud bath. They said it was really hot water (100 degrees) but they enjoyed the experience.

 

After that we went to a pier and got on a boat ( I guess you could call it that) and went out to the Pitons. The only downside to this tour was that Herod contracts for the sea portion of the tour. The boat was a REALLY small water taxi. About the size of a small fishing boat. I thought ok that will be ok for the short distance from the pier to the Pitons. But then I found out this was the boat that took us ALL THE WAY back to the ship. That is about an hour drive. I was pretty nervous about it as they didn't even have life jackets. The driver was great and he stayed within 50 feet of the shoreline so I'm sure if anything happened we could swim to shore :eek:

 

I'm not that nervous of a person but with my mom with us I was a little more nervous. I would suggest Herod that he contract with someone who has a larger boat for that portion. Ok so some pictures from the last part.

 

We stayed at the Pitons for about an hour and then made our way back. My DH and kids snorkled and my mom and I relaxed.

 

 

One more picture of Pitons in distance

 

 

Volcano

 

Kids with mud...

 

Kids after mud...

 

 

 

Others at the mud bath

[Halftocruz]

Few more pictures of St. Lucia. After we finished this tour we got back on the ship and relaxed. Can't remember what we did that night but I knowwe saw the show Vroom. Was the best show of the week.

 

After St. Lucia, next up was St. Kitts.

 

 

On sea portion we saw this tunnel where they filmed some part of the Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

Next are some pictures of famous people's houses in Marigot Bay. I don't rememeber which house belonged to whom. But Oprah, Mick Jagger, and George Foreman have houses there.

 

 

 

 

[Halftocruz]

OK so a few random pictures. A Princess ship was in port when we were in St. Lucia. Nice ship...

 

Also some pictures of towel animals.

 

 

[Halftocruz]

Friday- St. Kitts

 

I had booked a tour with Thenford Grey. Last time we were in St. Kitts we just took a taxi to Cockleshell beach and hung out. This time I knew that my kids and mom would want to see more of the island. Thenford Grey was such a great host and gentleman. He is SO incredibly versed in St. Kitts and many other things as well. His van was so clean and cool and easy to get in and out. He picked us up at the port and we had about 16 on the tour. He started the tour in the capital city and then we went to Romney Manor, the fort in St. Kitts and then he let us choose a beach to go to. All in all it was a great time!! My sons thought Thenford was a little boring but they don't know anything...

 

We spent quite a while at the Forts and at Romney Manor. Romney Manor had a great demonstration of Batik fabric and the grounds were so beautiful.

 

Below are some pictures from the island...

 

Town square

 

Fort at St. Kitts

 

 

[Halftocruz]

More pictures of fort and then Romney Manor. I'm going to post pictures of the Batik fabric. It was really cool.

 

 

 

 

Family at Romney Manor

 

 

Buildings at Romney Manor

 

Cool old tree at Romney Manor

 

Will post a few more from Romney Manor next...

[tmackel]

Your doing a great job, keep it coming!

[Halftocruz]

More pictures from St. Kitts. On our way to Romney Manor, Thenford stopped at a cemetary that Samuel Jefferson (great-grandfather of Thomas Jefferson is buried). He was so great to let my kids out to take a picture for Connor's school project. When we left Romney Manor and we made our way to the beach, we stopped at the lookout point where you can see both the Atlantic and Caribbean sea. Then my son got sucked in with a very friendly local who had a donkey, monkey and a chicken. At the end he had all of them on his body while riding the donkey. He loved it and the guy was so friendly. The monkey was kinda nibbling his arm and freaked my husband out!!! We ended the day at a beach club. It was right down from Shipwreck bar and grill. It was a very nice beach club. Overall it was a great day and I highly recommend Thenford Grey. He is such a great guy and we so enjoyed our day on St. Kitts. Next, final day in St. Maarten with tour of Orient Beach and Maho!!!

 

 

Kids at Jefferson grave site

 

 

 

Atlantic ocean on left, Caribbean on right

 

 

 

 

Kinda nibbling his arm!!! OK though.

 

 

Monkey at side of road.

[Halftocruz]

The final stop was St. Maarten. I was looking most forward to this day as I knew my kids would love Maho beach and the airplanes. I had booked with Bernard's tours again. We used him before and again they do a fantastic job!!! We had the "mailman" as our guide. He was sooo funny and a great guy to hang with all day. We had the best weather that day. We met at the port and there was only 7 of us on the tour. We went to an iguana farm which was new for this tour and we really enjoyed it. "Mailman" picked up the iguanas and let anyone hold them. It was interesting. Then we went to Orient beach for 2 hours of sun and fun. My kids loved the ocean the most there as there are waves and toys to play with. I did warn my 12 year old that he might see topless women and to just look away. And of course right away, we sat down next to someone topless. You know he just looked away and then my DH got the kids in the water and they stayed there the WHOLE two hours. We were at a place call La Playa and they had a very nice bar that served food. Pretty expensive though. Chicken nuggets and fries were 12.00. They shared :)... When we left Orient we had 1/2 hour at Marigot and we spent the entire time trying to get lunch at Sarafina's. It is world famous for their French pastries but honestly I think it was overrated and the service is HORRIBLE! Very slow!! We wasted the whole time there.

 

We left Orient beach and made our way to Maho. We got there just in time for a large jet to land RIGHT over our heads. We only had one hour there but we saw the largest jet of the day land. It is the Air France jet. My kids thought it was the best part (so the 12 year old says that over the topless woman :))

 

Overall it was another great day and a great choice for tour operator. I highly recommend Bernards.

 

 

Kids playing at Orient beach

 

Lookout point in St. Maarten

 

Yeah Maho!!! Air France jet!!!