Mountainbreeze's HUGE Victory vacation review!

[mountainbreeze]

Hello,

 

I am sailing the Victory to Ochos Rios and Grand Cayman in early November. I have aft wrap cabin 7422 - so your review is VERY interesting for me. I'm loving it so far, and I can't wait for your next installments. :)

 

I had so much fun in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman! That part of the review is coming up soon on Days 10 and 11. I'm so glad you are enjoying my review.

 

I have more coming this morning, be back soon

[mountainbreeze]

DAY 4 - SEA DAY 1- Tuesday Sept 3, 2013

 

 

We got up fairly early. I didn't want to sleep my first sea day away, and I really wanted ship breakfast.

 

 

First thing, EVERY MORNING, out on the balcony to see where we were.

 

 

It's a beautiful morning to cruise through the Bahamas!

 

 

 

 

I didn't quite make the actual sunrise, but it was pretty anyway!

 

 

I made sure the kids were up, and they were. We all showered and dressed and met up to go to breakfast.

We remembered to put the "Crusin" sign on our doors so Carlos would know we were out for the morning.

 

 

Lisa also left a $5.00 tip with a note for Carlos. She preferred to leave tips daily instead of at the end of the cruise. I'm sure Carlos didn't mind. I explained to her that we had already pre-paid tips when we booked the cruise, and anything she left for Carlos was over-and-above his regular tip.

 

 

One thing I noticed as we left the cabin, the burning garbage smell from the hallway was completely gone :)

I never smelled it again, either!

 

 

We all went up one floor to the Lido Deck to the buffet. I think we were there just after 8:00AM. I don't usually eat breakfast, but the ship breakfast is one of my favorite meals. So many choices!!

 

 

I got a freshly made ham and cheese omelet and it was very good. I also loaded up my plate with breakfast potatoes, BACON, fruit and a bagel with cream cheese. YUM!

 

 

After we ate, we wandered around the Lido deck for a while. It was fun to people watch and explore a little more.

 

 

We went to the Caribbean Theater around 10:00AM for BINGO!!

I'm not a bingo player at home, but it was fun on the ship.

 

 

We each paid $20.00 for 3 bingo cards. They looked like this:

 

 

(can not get this picture to rotate, sorry it's going to have to be sideways!)

 

 

With our bingo cards, we also each got 2 pull tab things. I won $1.00 from one of my pull tabs.

 

 

Donkey, the assistant cruise director, was our BINGO host, and he made it so much fun!

 

 

 

 

He made us yell things, and it was here that I began to lose my voice. I had shouted, yelled and woohoo'd so much the day before (at sail-away, and during the Welcome Aboard show) and now yelling at BINGO was becoming difficult.

 

 

He had us yell "O" every time he called an "O" with a number.........

 

 

Also, when he called a number and you didn't have it, you had to yell, "COME ON, DONKEY!!" which was so funny!

Then if he called a number and you had it, you had to yell, "YEAH, BAYBY!"

 

 

So everytime Donkey called a number out, the room was full of people yelling things. I thought it was SO fun, I didn't care that I didn't win. Donkey made Bingo so much fun!

 

 

Here is a terrible picture of Donkey calling Bingo numbers:

 

 

 

 

After Bingo, we went to the Casino on Deck 5 to cash in our winning pull tabs. Lisa gave us each $5.00 and we all went to the penny machines to play for a few minutes. I lost mine pretty quickly. Actually, we all lost pretty quickly.

 

 

We all went down to guest services so the kids could get a key card to our cabin. It was hard for us to hear them knock on our door if we were out on the balcony. I also got a key card to their cabin:

[mountainbreeze]

We went back to our cabin for a few minutes.

 

 

In the hallway, we met a nice room steward named Ari. He wasn't our steward, but he was ALWAYS in the hallway near his cart when we came in or out of our cabins. We saw Ari a lot.

 

 

Ari - the room steward who wasn't our room steward:

 



 

 

 

 

Back in the cabin, Carlos had cleaned our cabins and left us ice. He was so nice! Although we didn't see him very much, we thought he did a great job with our cabins.

 

 

I realized that our remote to our TV didn't work anymore. I figured it was low batteries and I would ask Carlos about it the next time I saw him. We just did without the remote for the time being.

 

 

I went out on the balcony to look at the sea.

The water was SO BLUE in the Bahamas!

 

 

 

 

We went to the Lido buffet again for lunch. There were many choices on the ship for food; pizza, deli, the Chinese place, room service and the Main Dining room. We decided to go to the buffet.

 

 

I saw the bartenders walking around with these fish cups, and I HAD to have one.

(this is a pic of the fish cup I found online). I have my cup at home, but I don't have a picture handy, so I "borrowed" one. Thank you if this is your picture.

The drink of the day came in this cup. I think it was a Blue Margarita. I wanted Coke in my cup, it was way too early to drink alcohol for me.

 

 

While we were eating lunch, we saw Amy, Greg and their friends. We also ran into our friends from our Roll Call.

It was nice seeing friends around the ship.

I stopped to get an ice cream cone, I love these things! We stopped at these machines for ice cream a lot on this cruise, they were right above our cabins, one floor up. Very convenient

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris and Cody went to watch the ice sculpting thing and the Hairy Chest contest.

Chris took my camera and got a shot of the ice sculpting

Edited September 26, 2013 by mountainbreeze

[mountainbreeze]

And Cody found her own group of officers to take her picture with:

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa and I walked around a bit and stopped to fill our cups on the Lido deck.

I usually drank ice water, but they had free iced tea, lemonade, hot tea and coffee.

 

 

 

 

We also stopped at the gift shop on deck 5 so I could buy some cigarettes. I had only brought enough cigarettes with me on this trip to get on the ship. I knew they would be very cheap once we were out at sea so I just planned to buy them on the ship to last the rest of the trip.

They were very cheap. Two cartons of Marlboro Reds cost $52.00 with no tax. That's less than half price.

 

 

After that Lisa and I went back to our cabin.

 

 

We saw Carlos on the way back to the cabin.

Here he is! It's Carlos, our awesome cabin steward. He is a man of few words.

We said hello, and I forgot to ask him about the TV remote.

 

 

 

 

Out on the balcony, watching where we have been:

 

 

 

 

We saw a lot of ships around us throughout the day. I had to zoom in to see what this one was:

 

 

Lisa and I settled in on the lounge chairs. Before long I went in and got my pillow and took an AWESOME nap in the lounger on the balcony. I slept for about 45 minutes, and I think it was the best nap in my life. The beautiful weather, the sea, the balcony...........all of these things came together for a perfect nap!

 

 

This is what I woke up to:

[mountainbreeze]

Amy and Greg stopped by to chat for a little while, the kids were still out and about:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris and Cody made it back to the cabin, and they both thought the nap idea was a good one.

Cody was the first one to fall asleep:

 

 

Chris tried to stay awake listening to his music:

 

 

 

 

Soon, he was out too:

[mountainbreeze]

The sun was moving onto our balcony and I was really worried they would burn. Especially Chris, he had no base tan at all. I kept going in the cabin and getting things to cover him up as the sun moved.

 

 

After an hour and a half, I was having too much trouble trying to keep the sun off them both so I woke them up. I told them they could move inside if they were still tired.

 

 

 

 

They woke up, and stayed awake.

 

 

At 3:00 we all decided to go to Tea Time in the Pacific Dining Room. I had heard about this from other people's cruise reviews and I wanted to try it.

Amy and Greg decided to go join us.

We all freshened up and went off to find the Pacific Dining Room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This would have been a great pic of Amy and Greg but it was too dark. I tried to lighten it a little:

 

 

Tea Time lasted about an hour. They brought around many different flavors/kinds of tea bags, little pitchers of hot water, and desserts. It was nice.

[mountainbreeze]

After tea, we took a few pictures with the giant colorful fish outside of the dining room:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know why Cody didn't take a picture with the fish.

 

 

But I got one of her in the elevator:

 

 

 

 

We all headed back to our cabins to get ready for formal night.

 

 

When the four of us were ready we went down to the Promenade deck, by the casino bar.

At 5:15PM, the Captain was going to come down and meet passengers and have pics taken.

I wanted to meet the Captain!

 

 

We waited around for a few minutes, and Captain Carlo Aquilone came down with Marcello.

When I shook the Captains hand and I told him how much fun we were having and I thanked him. He was very nice and he said he was glad we were having a good time.

We were the first ones to get our picture taken with them.

 

 

 

 

When we were done meeting the Captain, I noticed there was now a long line of people to meet him. It had paid off so far to be early to everything to avoid lines.

[mountainbreeze]

We walked down the Promenade walkway and had our picture taken at several of the backgrounds.

We wouldn't be able to see the pics until the next day, but I'll post them now.

Here are a few of our favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all just loved this one of Cody.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, when we were done with pictures, we went down to our Dining Room to eat dinner.

We ran into Amy and her group, and we all decided to have formal dinner together.

We had different servers in the dining room than we had the night before.

 

 

The waiters sang to us! I loved the singing! I thought since we had "your time dining" we would miss all the singing, but I was pleasantly surprised when the lights flickered and all the waiters went to the stairs to sing to us.

I think they sang, "That's Amore"...........you know the song............."When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, thats Amore............"

Now you can have that song in your head all day long.

You're welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When everyone had ordered dessert, Cody and I slipped outside for a few minutes so I could have a cigarette. We went out the side doors of the lobby. I loved how everything was all blue on this deck.

It was windy, and it was really dark out.

 

 

 

 

We took our time with dinner, and when we were through we all walked around some more.

 

[mountainbreeze]

We ended up at the Casino bar where Donkey was hosting a game called "Guess that Motown Song". We didn't play formally, but we were sitting close enough that we could see and hear it.

I knew the names of about half of the songs they played.

 

 

We planned to go to the Arctic Night Club from 10:00 - 11:00 PM for the 70's & Motown Party

 

 

Around 9:45 we went down to the club and found some seats

(these pics were taken on a day when the club was closed)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is our little group, enjoying the 70's and Motown music that evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few of our group got out there and danced.

 

 

 

Chris, my sweetheart son bought a drink for me. It came in this disco ball!

I got to keep the cup. I went back up to the bar to get a refill (much cheaper than buying a whole new drink) and the bartender showed me that inside there is a string that I can use to hang the disco ball at home.

So cute!

 

 

We had a few drinks, listened to good music. We all had a really good time.

 

 

When the 70's music turned to rap and R&B, it was our cue to leave. All of a sudden I didn't know any of the music! We were all tired from a long day anyway, so we all went up to our cabins.

[mountainbreeze]

As we got to the back part of our hallway, we noticed a few security guards standing outside of someone's room.

 

 

We didn't say anything to them, because, you know, security guards are all serious and they don't really invite chat. So we went back to our cabin and speculated on why they were there. Someone is in trouble!

 

 

Carlos had turned down our room and left us a towel animal!

 

 

 

 

We ended up going back out, probably to fill our cups and/or get more ice cream, and we noticed that only one security guard was left down the hall. He had a chair and a magazine and he was "posted" across the hallway from a balcony cabin. The cabin door was open a little bit.

 

 

When we came back to the cabin we all sat out on the balcony for a little while, and around 1:00AM the kids went back to their room and Lisa went to sleep. I stayed up for a little while organizing my things. I hadn't really had a chance to fully unpack my stuff, we had been so busy. It was making me crazy to be constantly searching for whatever I needed so I did some house cleaning and I felt much better.

 

 

I was excited for tomorrow, GRAND TURK DAY!!! I had been there in 2011 with my husband and I just loved it there. I was also excited that it would be the first time my 2 youngest kids had ever been out of the country, or on an island. I was excited for them. I couldn't wait to show them Grand Turk!

[skoi13]

Great review, thanks for writing. We're doing our first family Carnival cruise soon (the Dream) and I'm so sure we'll like it, I'm reading about all the ships so I can pick which one we go on next. Love the fish and the emerald-city atrium.

[mountainbreeze]

Great review, thanks for writing. We're doing our first family Carnival cruise soon (the Dream) and I'm so sure we'll like it, I'm reading about all the ships so I can pick which one we go on next. Love the fish and the emerald-city atrium.

 

I have been wanting to go on the Dream, it sounds very nice from the reviews I have read about it. I'm sure you will love your cruise and book many more after that :) Glad you are enjoying my review, thanks for reading it!

[momonthego17]

Hi Mountainbreeze,

 

Having a great time reading more of your review! I just finished reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" and your narrative feels like that. I feel like I'm there. Looking forward to more!

[cruisin_baker]

Great review! We sail the Victory in December so I am enjoying your stories!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Orpheo]

[/url]

Fabulous review. Love all the details and pictures. Loved your MIA review.

Can't wait for the rest! :D

How much did you pay for the water taxi to South-Beach, if you don't mind my asking...;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2013 by Orpheo

[mountainbreeze]

Hi Mountainbreeze,

 

Having a great time reading more of your review! I just finished reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" and your narrative feels like that. I feel like I'm there. Looking forward to more!

 

I'm so glad it feels like you are there when you are reading this :) I was hoping to take you all along with me on my vacation. Looks like it's working!!

More review coming..........

[mountainbreeze]

Great review! We sail the Victory in December so I am enjoying your stories!

 

So many December Victory cruisers!! Looks like there is going to be a party on the Victory in December!!:)

Glad you are enjoying my review!

[mountainbreeze]

[/url]

Fabulous review. Love all the details and pictures. Loved your MIA review.

Can't wait for the rest! :D

How much did you pay for the water taxi to South-Beach, if you don't mind my asking...;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't mind at all! We paid $12.50 per person for the water taxi from Bayside Marina to South Beach. That was for a one way ride with a bit of a sightseeing tour along the way. The guide pointed out some of the more interesting things we were seeing along the way.

So glad you are enjoying my review! I'm having a lot of fun writing it:)

[Flutie03]

So many December Victory cruisers!! Looks like there is going to be a party on the Victory in December!!:)

Glad you are enjoying my review!

 

You should see the December 9 roll call lol

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

[Spaniel Lover]

I'm truly enjoying your review! Thanks for taking the time to post it. I know how much effort that involves.

 

There's just one thing I have to point out to you...

 

DAY 3 - BOARDING DAY - Monday Sept 2, 2013

 

I went to the window and I could see a ship turning around in the bay to the far left. It was a CARNIVAL ship!!! It was MY SHIP!!!!

 

 

I understand your excitement at getting the first glimpse of your ship... but that wasn't your ship! That's a Fantasy-class ship... the one that followed your ship out of the Port of Miami. Notice that it doesn't have any balconies. That wasn't your ship, I'm afraid!

[smc1313s]

"I think they sang, "That's Amore"...........you know the song............."When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, thats Amore............"

Now you can have that song in your head all day long.

You're welcome."

 

You made me LOL with this line! Enjoying your review!:D

[mountainbreeze]

You should see the December 9 roll call lol

 

I bet its a full roll call! I wish I was going again in December :)

[mountainbreeze]

I'm truly enjoying your review! Thanks for taking the time to post it. I know how much effort that involves.

 

There's just one thing I have to point out to you...

 

 

 

I understand your excitement at getting the first glimpse of your ship... but that wasn't your ship! That's a Fantasy-class ship... the one that followed your ship out of the Port of Miami. Notice that it doesn't have any balconies. That wasn't your ship, I'm afraid!

 

You are right!! Good eye!! I do have a pic of the Victory turning around in the same spot that morning, but I must have put the wrong one in here. Yikes!!

[mountainbreeze]

"I think they sang, "That's Amore"...........you know the song............."When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, thats Amore............"

Now you can have that song in your head all day long.

You're welcome."

 

You made me LOL with this line! Enjoying your review!:D

 

I'm glad I could make you laugh :) Thanks for reading!

[Orpheo]

I don't mind at all! We paid $12.50 per person for the water taxi from Bayside Marina to South Beach. That was for a one way ride with a bit of a sightseeing tour along the way. The guide pointed out some of the more interesting things we were seeing along the way.

So glad you are enjoying my review! I'm having a lot of fun writing it:)

 

Thank you for your reply, you all seemed to have enjoyed the water taxi sooo much! It looks very exciting...:D

Going on our first trip to MIA in Nov and cruise in Dec.