Victory x 2....a b2b review! (with an obscene number of pictures...just sayin')

[summercruisin']

I love your reviews. Wish I could look as good as you do without makeup!! Victory is on our short list of a cruise we must do before Dec. in order to make platinum status, so I'm loving your review.

 

Welcome to FL. I live in Orlando and I must say I think we have had rain every day this summer!!

 

Aww....you are too sweet! :o What else is on your short list (just curious)?

 

Thanks for the welcome. Our new house is in Davenport, so we are practically neighbors, although we won't be down there much...it's just for vacationing. I am, however, heading down there next week to spend the rest of my summer vacation (about three weeks) with my kids to finish up decorating and to relax. When we were there pre-cruise it stormed every single day (and one night there was a horrible storm with really bad lightening and lots of rain...almost 8 inches in our area :eek:). Here in NC it rained all day every day while we were gone and several days after as well. It was crazy!

[pcrum]

Aww....you are too sweet! :o What else is on your short list (just curious)?

 

Thanks for the welcome. Our new house is in Davenport' date=' so we are practically neighbors, although we won't be down there much...it's just for vacationing. I am, however, heading down there next week to spend the rest of my summer vacation (about three weeks) with my kids to finish up decorating and to relax. When we were there pre-cruise it stormed every single day (and one night there was a horrible storm with really bad lightening and lots of rain...almost 8 inches in our area :eek:). Here in NC it rained all day every day while we were gone and several days after as well. It was crazy![/quote']

 

Wow, you are lucky to have 3 weeks left. I work at a private school in Orlando, and we go back to work 7/31. Our last day was 5/31, so we just got 60 days off...way too short.

 

Other ships on our list are Paradise, since Tampa is such an easy drive. I've done the Inspiration out of Tampa, but am a bit put off by the fact that Paradise is so old. We are not considering Port Canaveral, our closest port, because we are not fans of the Bahamas and the shorter cruises (which we must do due to scheduling conflicts) only go to the Bahamas. We have considered Fascination, out of JAX, if we can get one that goes to HMC, as we've never been. Decisions, decisions. I will be platinum with the next cruise, but DH needs two. I'd love to do a B2B, but since I work in the schools and we left it so late, scheduling is hard.

 

Loving the review!

[summercruisin']

When we got back onboard, we went up to the buffet area for lunch. There were several fun things going on that afternoon...the sail-away party, the hairy chest competition, a samba dance class, trivia, cornhole, and so on, but we didn't go to a single one of them :rolleyes:. We picked up lunch at the Chinese deli for DD and me (edible, but not spectacular), at the pizza place for DS (he really got the hang of ordering his own fresh pizza at all times of the day :cool:), and in the salad section of the buffet for DH. The DOD was my very favorite, the blue margarita, so I got one or four of those :p.

 

While we were eating lunch, the Camp Carnival kids came into the dining area for a snack after playing mini-golf. DD decided she wanted to go to Camp Carnival, despite being very disappointed that she had missed mini-golf. But after their snack break, they had a dance off with the staff and then they designed paper clothes and had a fashion show and then they did some water colors drawing. I forgot to mention we had registered both kids for Camp Carnival the night before (somewhere between getting sushi and eating desserts before dinner), so we had the schedule of events for the entire cruise. The fashion show was something that topped DD's list of things she had to do (she owns the stage, as you will see later, if you stick with me).

 

While DD was off having fun, DS went to explore (read: get more ice cream), although he did claim to have made some friends along the way. His idea of making friends is simply having spoken to someone about the same age as he, usually to impart his knowledge on the poor soul who probably isn't interested in whatever it is he is talking about, usually WWII history). And for the rest of this cruise, he did wave awkwardly at some kid the two or three times we passed him. Bless him.

 

DH and I looked through the excursions booklet to try to get some indication of what to do the next day in Cozumel. Usually we avoid booking excursions with Carnival, so we were just trying to get ideas. Usually when we go to Cozumel, we go to Paradise Beach (love it). This time we talked about going to the Mayan ruins instead (but decided we wanted to go to a beach....no more touristy stuff!). We found an excursion for Passion Island. I had read great reviews of this island several times before but was still wary of paying Carnival extra money and going to a new place. We decided to try it out, though (honestly, I don't remember what made us willing to do it....too many margaritas?). So DH went to buy the tickets (the TV thingy wasn't working correctly....hadn't been the day before either) while I went to pick up DD.

 

The "meet the captain" reception was this evening at 5:15, since it was elegant evening, but we decided to skip it and go to the pools instead (hoping they'd be uncrowded so close to the first dinner time).

 

We went to the pool in the middle of the ship, under the giant TV. They were playing LOUD music there, and people were having a great time, but it was a little crowded (nothing compared to days at sea, of course).

 

 

The group of girls in their thongs dirty dancing in front of DD was just a little disturbing...

 

 

After I got tired of the loud music and the stripper dancing, we moved to the pool in the back of the ship. It was much less crowded there, and DD had a great time swimming

 

[summercruisin']

We also tried out the kids' pool way up high on the sun deck near the front of the ship (it was shaded and not very deep....perfect for really little kids).

 

 

Then we headed back to the Lido deck, midship, to catch a little of Brave, being shown on the big screen. It started at 6, and the sun was still a little too bright to really enjoy the screen, especially since it has a few "dead" spots from being old and outdated.

 

 

After about an hour or so, we headed back to our cabin to wake up DH and start taking turns in the shower and prepping for dinner. My dear DS grows so quickly that I realized while packing that he didn't have anything he could wear to elegant night (we still dress up a little and make the kids do so as well). So, I figured, with my handful of days in Florida, I'd have no problem picking up something for him. And I did. However, I didn't have him try any of it on before packing it (way to go, mom!). So, when he was all cleaned up and ready to get dressed, he found that his pants were waaaayyyyy too big around the waist, which I expected, since my long-legged skinny boy doesn't fit into any boys' pants. I was proud that I had remembered to pick up a belt, which he tried to put on, but we found that it, too, was way too big. It had been sized incorrectly and was a large instead of a small, like it was marked. Fail.

 

So, bless his heart, he had to wear baggy clothes that he had to pretty much keep his hands in his pockets while standing to keep the pants from falling off :o. I felt terrible, as he does not handle his struggles very well. Thanks to all those challenges, DS was LESS than willing to pose for any pictures on elegant night, and he didn't even want me to take the camera out (no food pictures!). Furthermore, I was so distracted by it all that I didn't notice what anyone else was wearing, so I cannot comment to whether or not all the other diners followed the recommended dress code (sorry! :o).

 

I do know we ate lobster that night (yum!)....all of us. I also got the stuffed mushrooms and a caesar salad. DH got the spicy alligator fritters (and made the same comment on them I've seen here before...so little meat that he questioned the inclusion of gator). For dessert, I had the grand marnier souffle (yummy) and the kids and DH had ice cream or sherbet.

 

I also remember that the waiters sang "That's Amore" this night, and Gede took DD to the little stage area that juts out over the lower level to sing to/with her. She was enamored! After another night of fantastic service, we decided to ask him if he had a big table in his section so that I could make arrangements to still be in his section once the rest of our family joined us (party of 11 total). Lucky me, he did! He told me where it was (and it had an ocean view!) and the table number so that we could request that particular table for the whole family when they joined us. Double win for us, because this meant that DS would not have to deal with changing food servers in the middle of his trips :)

Edited July 21, 2013 by summercruisin'

[summercruisin']

Wow, you are lucky to have 3 weeks left. I work at a private school in Orlando, and we go back to work 7/31. Our last day was 5/31, so we just got 60 days off...way too short.

 

Other ships on our list are Paradise, since Tampa is such an easy drive. I've done the Inspiration out of Tampa, but am a bit put off by the fact that Paradise is so old. We are not considering Port Canaveral, our closest port, because we are not fans of the Bahamas and the shorter cruises (which we must do due to scheduling conflicts) only go to the Bahamas. We have considered Fascination, out of JAX, if we can get one that goes to HMC, as we've never been. Decisions, decisions. I will be platinum with the next cruise, but DH needs two. I'd love to do a B2B, but since I work in the schools and we left it so late, scheduling is hard.

 

Loving the review!

 

We didn't get much more than 60 days off. My last day was mid-June, and I have to go back mid-August, so not much different. I think summers get shorter every year! :rolleyes:

 

You are in the exact same "boat" as my DH and I were. I needed one more this year and he needed two....that's the main reason we decided to do a b2b after my sister insisted on the shorter cruise for the family. Had we gone on a week-long one like usual, DH would probably have missed his chance.

 

I don't blame you on skipping the Bahamas-only itineraries...we do the same. I did VERY much enjoy HMC (more than I thought I would even) on my first visit (which I'll detail at some point in this review! ;)), and it is now on my short list of places I feel like I MUST revisit sometime. In fact, we started looking at next year's cruises (I thought my cruise certificate I bought last year had to be used this year, but I found out I have two years to book and three to complete the cruise, so no big hurry) and one with HMC on the agenda is still in the list of possibilities! It must be awesome being so close to several ports and having lots of good choices!

[shoppingfever]

I loved your review before and could not wait for this one! I can't wait to read more.

 

Also, I am so sorry about your loss.

[Pellaz]

Yay, enjoying this review of Victory -- will be aboard in just a few months!

 

Is the aft pool all-ages? I thought the aft pools on this ship-class were adults-only.... (The pool and hot tubs under the sliding roof in the back.) :confused:

Edited July 22, 2013 by Pellaz

[summercruisin']

I loved your review before and could not wait for this one! I can't wait to read more.

 

Also, I am so sorry about your loss.

 

Thank you so much! I am humbled. I was a little worried about writing this one, as I am quite obviously more tired and, well, less cheerful (for lack of a better way to say it) than before. I feel like I look several years older and behave like it too! Thankfully, when my family joined us for the second half, things really got better (something to look forward to if you're stuck reading this review :p).

 

Thank you for your condolences as well.

[summercruisin']

Yay, enjoying this review of Victory -- will be aboard in just a few months!

 

Is the aft pool all-ages? I thought the aft pools on this ship-class were adults-only.... (The pool and hot tubs under the sliding roof in the back.) :confused:

 

As far as I know the aft pool is for everyone. There was no indication otherwise. Plus the pizza place, the grill, and one of the bigger ice cream stations are all located there :confused:. The adults-only place on the Victory is a rather small spot near the front of the ship on the sun deck (opposite the kids' wading pool), and if you've read the rest of this review :p, you won't be surprised to hear I didn't find the time to go there. I did glance at it from a door, and it looked nice, crowded, and small. That's all I got...

 

As far as the aft pool goes, if anyone was in it at all, it was almost always kids, often in both the pool and the hot tubs, and no one ever said a thing about it.

[cjknox]

Awesome review! B2B what a treat!:D

[New2Cruising24]

As I mentioned before' date=' DS is autistic. He also has sensory integration disorder (SID) and generalized anxiety, among other things. The SID makes it so that anything that involves the senses is greatly magnified for him. So, you can imagine that the muster / safety drill is magnificent test for him. Standing among people with different smells (he swears everyone has a very distinct smell and he can smell each and every one in his area), lots of conflicting sounds (b/c of his anxiety he wants to focus on what the captain is saying and b/c of his autism, he wants everyone to follow the rules), people brushing up against him or even stepping on his gigantic feet (the boy, at 11, wears size 10 men's :eek:), and so on causes so many issues that we aren't quite ready to share with our 3000 or so new friends. So...since the last significant meltdown during the muster drill on the Dream that ruined the whole night and darn near the whole cruise, we have found it prudent to send an email to Carnival's special needs dept. and ask for an alternate safety drill. Carnival has ALWAYS been very accommodating in this, so if your child has special needs, please do yourself a favor and write them a letter.

 

On the Legend last year, their way of accommodating was to have us just send one member of the family to the drill while the rest of us stayed in the cabin. That was a little awkward, since we had to explain it to the room steward, but it worked well. This year, we were directed to go to our muster station and find the person in charge of that area. That person walked us to the Ionian Cigar room, which was just inside. Since there were a bunch of people in there, I'm guessing the difference was a result of the large number of people asking for an alternate drill space. A Carnival employee demonstrated the proper way to wear the life vest, the kids were given wristbands, and we were very soon on our way. They let us all leave well ahead of everyone else, so we didn't have to be crowded in the stairs or elevators either. Nice touch.[/quote']

 

 

Hi summercruisin', thanks for the great review! Looking forward to the rest.

 

My son is also on the spectrum and has a very difficult time making it through muster...sometimes we get through it and sometimes we don't. :o I am definitely going to contact the special needs department to inquire about accommodations. If I may ask, do you just outright ask for an alternative muster or do you just indicate the special needs of your family member and see what they say? Also, if there is a specific email or phone number you use, if you don't mind sharing, I would really appreciate it.

 

Thanks again for the review, we can't wait to be onboard in 10 days (same itinerary as your first leg)!

[ch27088]

Well' date=' a few of my faithful followers (okay, both of them) have been waiting mostly patiently, so here it is--my picture-laden review of my recent back-to-back cruises on the Carnival Victory. :D

 

To start, I will introduce you to all of the major players, but first, the most important one....this guy......

 

 

the big one....although the little one is important too. This is my dad (handsome fella, isn't he?). This picture was taken on our Destiny cruise in 2005. My dad took the whole family on this cruise in June 2005 after our mom passed away in February 2005 after a courageous battle with a rare form of cancer. Our family is very very close (we still all live in the same town we grew up in), and this trip was a great chance to honor and mourn our mother as well as to strengthen our family bonds and have a good time.

 

Now fast forward a bit...last year we started talking about doing it again. After a little convincing (okay....a lot), Dad once again agreed to take us all on a family cruise. Just before Christmas we booked the Victory 5-day trip (dad and sister didn't want to be away any longer than that) for all of us....my little family (intros to come soon), my sister and her family, my brother and his girlfriend, and my dad and his girlfriend of 5 years. Our trip was scheduled for June 2013.

 

Now, this cruise would have been my 10th and DH's 9th, and he could hardly stand knowing I would get platinum status without him. So....since my DH and I usually do a full week cruise, and he gets about 11 days off in a row when he takes vacation, he and I decided to book the 4-day Victory cruise that immediately preceded the family trip, in order to "earn" platinum status for DH as well.

 

For the next few months, we excitedly made plans about what to do in each port, and we admonished Dad not to keep any secrets if he was planning to get engaged on this trip (he was not). In early February, Dad started making comments about being very tired and about worrying that he wouldn't be able to go on the cruise. He also made a statement that this would be the last family cruise he paid for (he claimed it was because it was so expensive). In mid-February, I went with him to his heart doctor and found that he would have to have a defibrillator / pacemaker put in. The surgery was scheduled for March 7th, but my dad didn't make it...

 

My hero....my daddy (I'm a daddy's girl and have always been).....the only one who could communicate well with my autistic son.....the rock of our family.....the man I hold every other single man in the world up to in comparison (and they fail....miserably) died in his sleep in the early morning hours of February 28th. :(

 

After some discussion, and not without noting the cruel irony of the timing (two February deaths followed by June cruises with family), my brother and sister and I decided to still go on our cruise (cruises for me). We also decided to still allow dad's DGF to go, if she wanted to (she did). She had just turned 65 this year, and she had never cruised before. We finalized our flight and hotel reservations and put on our happy faces...

 

(sorry for the "downer" of a start, but I thought Dad deserved honor in this whole thing. No more depressing posts coming, I promise! :o)

 

 

I am sorry about the loss of your father. I lost my dad ten years ago on Christmas Day (his favorite holiday). I too was a dad's girl and still miss him each day. However, I know that he is watching over me and my family as your father is also watching over you and your son!!! Glad you were able to still take the trip!

[bsdmhutch]

I agree on the bamboo sheets. They are amazing! I bought some from Cariloha (in Grand Cayman) as well and love them. I was worried about them wearing out too soon so I went to a store here in Charlotte, NC, Tuesday Morning, and found some. They are just as wonderful and under $75 for king size. So if you have one near you, check them out.

 

I'm in Charlotte too (well, sort of - Concord). Will have to check out Tuesday Morning for sheets.:)

[summercruisin']

Hi summercruisin', thanks for the great review! Looking forward to the rest.

 

My son is also on the spectrum and has a very difficult time making it through muster...sometimes we get through it and sometimes we don't. :o I am definitely going to contact the special needs department to inquire about accommodations. If I may ask, do you just outright ask for an alternative muster or do you just indicate the special needs of your family member and see what they say? Also, if there is a specific email or phone number you use, if you don't mind sharing, I would really appreciate it.

 

Thanks again for the review, we can't wait to be onboard in 10 days (same itinerary as your first leg)!

 

Yay! Glad to share and help another family living with ASDs.

 

For the past two years, I've emailed them at specialneeds@carnival.com. Here is what I wrote last time (cut and pasted)

 

"My family is traveling on back-to-back cruises on the Carnival Victory, departing on June 20, 2013 and June 24, 2013 (booking #s ----- and -----). Our 11-year-old son has high functioning autism, sensory integration disorder, and generalized anxiety. We understand that there may be some accommodations made to help him (and us) enjoy our cruise as much as possible. Our son is very high functioning and would only need accommodations in a few particular instances.

 

Our biggest concerns are with the muster drills, especially if there is any stressor that may trigger his anxiety. Any time he is in close proximity with people he doesn't know, especially if there are sensory challenges (smells, lots of noise or perceived chaos, harsh lighting, extreme temperatures, people touching him - especially people taller than him), he may have a difficult time reacting appropriately. Are there any arrangements that can be made to help him with these moments? We have cruised as a family before with Carnival, and he has been allowed an alternate safety drill in the past.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer."

 

Both times I tried it, I got a pretty quick response with very clear directions. The first time I wrote (last year), I also asked about priority boarding should DS act up in line. They said it was fine and directed me to see the special guest services people after going through security. However, we tried to do that and were directed to wait until after boarding to do so. When we went to guest services, they seemed to know nothing about autism and only agreed to the special muster drill. It all worked out, thankfully, and since we are now platinum, I didn't even ask this time.

 

I also (last time) asked for a table in a quiet area (not by the kitchen door or in the middle of the walkways) just for our family so DS wouldn't have to sit with strangers at the table (mostly so I wouldn't have to be embarrassed IF he chose to misbehave. He usually behaves exceptionally at dinner, thank God, but as you probably know, it only takes one time for people who don't understand to judge you as a parent very harshly). This time I didn't make that same request for a number of reasons. One was I knew the rest of our family was going to join us after just 4 days; another was that last year's cruise really was a turning point for DS. He did so very well, and I truly believe it changed his entire life in some ways. So, I decided to leave our dining arrangements to fate, and it worked out well. But, depending on your LO's age, tolerance level, etc., you may consider asking for a table just for your family and away from high traffic areas.

 

Carnival seems to do pretty well with helping our kids with special needs, but they still have a way to go. For example, when we showed up at guest services last year, they already had his name on a list and knew his area of disability BUT they did not know much about it. And this year, they did NOT have his name on the list for our first cruise (but they did for the second), and even worse, when I found the person in charge of our muster area (as directed) to explain that we were told to see him to be led to the alternate area, he asked "what's wrong with your son?" Not cool, Carnival guy, not cool.

 

Camp Carnival will want to know about any accommodations your DS may need, as well. If he goes to CC, they will give you a cell phone to use to contact them (or vice versa) as needed. The cool thing about this is that our DS could also call the cell phone from anywhere on the ship. So, he was able to walk around a bit, and if he needed anything, he could pick up one of the phones by the elevators and give us a call. Very convenient.

 

Best of luck on your cruise! I know y'all will enjoy it!

Edited July 22, 2013 by summercruisin'

[summercruisin']

I am sorry about the loss of your father. I lost my dad ten years ago on Christmas Day (his favorite holiday). I too was a dad's girl and still miss him each day. However, I know that he is watching over me and my family as your father is also watching over you and your son!!! Glad you were able to still take the trip!

 

Thank you so much. I am sorry to hear about your loss as well, but I am thankful you shared a word of encouragement about our dads living on.

[gapearl]

Great review so far! Looking forward to reading about the rest of this cruise and the next one too! :)

[summercruisin']

Okay....so, after dinner on elegant night, DS went with DH to go straight back to the cabin to change clothes, and I took DD to get some pictures. She wanted to stop at every one of the photog setups (lucky I was able to convince her that there were only a handful of them right outside of the dining room :p). They took some really cute pictures that I checked out later, but I decided to wait until DH could help me narrow them down before buying them (big mistake, b/c I never go back when I do that!).

 

After getting some pictures, we headed back to the room to gt ready for bed. When we got back, we found our towel animal...

 

 

our gift for reaching platinum status...

 

 

DH got one as well, even though he wasn't officially platinum until our second leg :rolleyes:

 

We also got our confirmation for chef's table, which was good, because I was a little worried! I had requested reservations for chef's table in advance by emailing the maitre d, and I received an email confirmation, but I hadn't heard anything else. It kept slipping my mind to ask when I was in the dining room, and since the Victory doesn't have a steakhouse, I just didn't think to confirm. So, it was good to get the invite. DH and I did chef's table on the Legend and absolutely loved the entire experience, so we were looking forward to doing that again. It was scheduled for the last evening of the cruise, which was good since we didn't want to have to come back from Cozumel early for CT. We kinda laughed, though, because when we originally booked b2b, we joked around that....

 

wait.....spoiler alert! Don't read the rest of this post if you've never cruised before and you don't want a little tiny end-of-cruise "surprise" ruined...

 

see, last year, when the waiters sang their last day song (to the tune of "Jet Plane"), it tore DS all to pieces. He cried through the whole thing (I'm not supposed to tell people that :p). So, when we booked b2b, we joked around that while everyone else was all tore up about having to hear that song knowing they would be disembarking the next day, we could just smile knowing we would not. I know...cruel. We almost hated to miss the experience, but not enough to miss CT instead!

[summercruisin']

After a good night's sleep, I woke up pretty early and enjoyed my Dt. Mt. Dew on the balcony (I know, weird). After a while, I woke up the rest of the fam, and we went to the Mediterranean place for breakfast. No hurry this time, since we were not scheduled to arrive in Cozumel until 1, and we had our tickets for our excursion, which was scheduled to leave at 2.

 

This morning, they had pancakes and all the usual stuff.

 

 

DD checked the CC schedule and decided she wanted to go for a while. On this morning, they were doing sand and candy art, "game on madness," and "crazy egg drop." I dropped her off at CC after breakfast, and then I went to the spa to see if I could reserve a spot for the massage special that day before arriving to Cozumel. I usually do not splurge in such a manner, but I had been so stressed out in the weeks before our cruise (between serving as executor for Dad's estate and wrapping up a tough school year), that I had literally been in pain. I was hoping a massage would help. The special that day was the "drift away massage" (see? that just called my name!), and it included a hot stones back massage, a heated back exfoliation, a soothing scalp massage, and a spa facial for $119 if I booked it before noon. When I popped in around 10, they had an opening at 11:30, so I took it. Awesome!

 

I hung out in the room a bit waiting for my appointment and packing our beach bag for the day, and at some point someone called to make sure DH and I had no allergies or food requests for Chef's Table. Last year, the chef found us at dinner the night before to ask, which I liked better. When I went back to the spa a little later, I got checked in pretty quickly....had to sit in the salon to complete the paperwork rating my stress level 1-10 and telling any medical conditions, etc. After that, I was taken to the private room, answered a few more questions, and then got started. The whole experience was really great. The tech made me feel very comfortable. The massage was very relaxing. The facial was great as well. All good :). Afterwards, there was a very short-lived attempt at a sales pitch, but she wasn't pushy at all, which was good as well. I gave her a generous tip and went to finish getting ready for Cozumel.

 

When I got back to the room, DH had picked up DD, and we all headed to the Mediterranean (seeing a trend here?) for a light lunch (grilled cheese sandwiches from the deli for DD and me, salad for DH, pizza for DS). By this time, we had docked in Cozumel and people were already going ashore. We soon joined them :)

[summercruisin']

We got off the ship with no big problems (only dodged the last three of what felt like 8-10 photography opportunities) and headed down the pier. It's a bit of a walk...

 

 

 

Fat Tuesday's is at the end (or the start?) of the pier...looks like a fun place.

 

 

We walked just past there to find our tour leader, who directed us where to wait for just a few minutes. We took a few pictures to fill the time

 

 

 

Then we were led to a two-storied ferry-type boat (I thought they said it would a catamaran, but this didn't look like a catamaran to me). We sat in the bottom to stay out of the hot sun...it was a little crowded, but comfortable enough.

 

 

 

On our way out, we passed the Victory and the Paradise, docked right beside us

 

[summercruisin']

We had a fun crew who gave us a few directions about what our excursion included (a lunch buffet, a slightly limited open bar, floats and chairs, restrooms, hammocks), and we rode for about 45 minutes or so to the island.

 

 

When we arrived, we were told we had to meet in a certain spot and wait until everyone got off the boat for pictures and directions, such as how to find the buffet, where we could and could not go, when to meet back, and so on. Okay, so that was a little annoying, because, honestly, when you see the island after that long ride (that he could have used telling us these things), you just want to get in the pretty blue water and relax. Plus, it took a little longer than I expected and the guide was really stern about it. He spent the time yelling at us over a portable microphone and making it very clear that the people there were very poor and relied on our dollars to feed them. He reminded us multiple times to tip everyone we came in contact with and to consider buying the pictures we were forced to pose for, because they need the money.

 

After escaping the mini-hostage situation (okay, I exaggerate a little), we were free to enjoy the island for several hours.

 

 

the playground

 

 

a lovely hammock spot

 

 

We had a great server who was very attentive and not pushy. He kept the free drinks coming, and after I got a blue margarita that tasted like straight (and cheap) tequila, he made suggestions of other drinks I should try.

Edited July 22, 2013 by summercruisin'

[LVDFW]

Wrong thread

Edited July 22, 2013 by LVDFW
delete please

[summercruisin']

The buffet place (and the bar) was a short ways off the beach (near the playground), and there were tables with palapas all around, but they were a little far from the water's edge for those who are trying to keep an eye on LOs and snack at the same time. Plus, after hearing about how poor the people were, it was hard not to worry about leaving any stuff so far away from the water (I know....I shouldn't be that way, and I usually am not. But you hear all the time about how foolish it is to leave stuff unattended on the islands, and with all that desperation talk, I was a little nervous). Luckily DH was terrified of getting sunburned so early in our trips, and he burns a lot easier than I, so he stayed at the table most of the time and let me swim with my kiddoes. Plus, I think he secretly wanted to enjoy the free beer :p, while I didn't care to drink that much with my kids on the island anyway!

 

The view from the tables

 

 

 

to show you how big the beach is and how far from the water the tables are

 

 

It is probably pretty apparent from the pictures that we didn't feel crowded at any time, which was nice! The beach is gorgeous...and the water too! I don't remember seeing any fish, and I'm guessing this is not the best place to go snorkeling if you like snorkeling. There are, however, some water trampolines and some kayaks. There was a massage place and a small shop, but I didn't go to either.

 

I can't remember everything that was served at the buffet, but I know they had chips, salsa, guacamole (for the record, all three were good, but they are MUCH better at Paradise Beach...I missed this!), fruit, spaghetti for the kids, and fries. Seems like there was a creamy chicken dish and a fish. Maybe chicken wings too? I didn't try anything other than the chips, salsa, and guac.

 

At one point we saw a raccoon (I think) carrying a baby raccoon (I hope) and running along the trees behind the food place, so that was a little fun and unnerving all at the same time.

 

After a few hours, it was time to return to our meeting spot so that we could be reminded again that everyone should be tipped and that we should buy the picture they took earlier. We were promised a "surprise" on the way back, but if that happened, I missed it somehow. I suspect it didn't happen because there were a handful of significantly inebriated guests on our little ferry. One had to be carried back to the ferry and, after he fell into it, hoisted onto the bench right beside us (and right behind the "captain"). This guy (and the two very drunk girls sitting a few rows behind us) pretty much commanded all of the crew's attention (as well as all the guests) for the entire ride back. At one point, drunk guy (we'll call him DG) tried to stand up and dance with a slightly-inebriated girl, and it was obvious that this annoyed our "captain" quite a bit. He tried to cover it well with making a "too much tequila" comment and half a laugh, but then he began speaking angrily in Spanish to his partner who soon posted himself right beside DG in case he decided to try to get up again. When we returned to the port, DG was made to wait until everyone got off the ferry so that a bicycle taxi could be arranged to get him back to the ship...no way he would have made it on his own! :rolleyes:

[summercruisin']

My overall impression of Passion Island....meh :cool:. The beach was lovely, but I know that I can find even better ones with better food, better drinks, better entertainment and less trouble than this one. Next time I think we may try Mr. Sanchos?

 

returning to port...

 

 

Cozumel's Margaritaville from the water

 

 

 

The back of Fat Tuesday's on the pier, or better known as the official starting line of the frantic pier sprint, I imagine :D

 

[bluejay555]

I am loving your review so far! Keep it coming :D

[cruzn buckeye]

I have been to Passion Island and Mr. Sanchos... prefer Mr. Sanchos...