Carnival Victory Jan 20 Photo Heavy Review

[Danacat222]

On the way back from the light house we stopped off at an area that has a beach with snorkeling and diving, we were really on the fence about getting off and staying, I had read that the beach was free but that they nickel and dimed for everything. With loungers for no charge back at port and more we wanted to do and see, we decided not to go. Only 1 couple stayed, the driver escorted them to wherever they needed to go and he came back and we were on our way back to port.

 

 

 

We found a few lounge chairs, relaxed for a bit, then decided to walk up the beach to Jack's Shack.

 

 

 

After getting back from there we decided to head over to Margaritaville.

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

It was very quiet at Margaritaville, the music was playing but there was not much in the way of participation that the DJ was looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ordered a few drinks and some nachos....

 

 

 

 

Not too long after eating, the sky grew dark and it started to rain...I had experienced this before and figured it would pass in a matter of 10-20 minutes, was willing to wait it out but my Mom did not want to and was getting a bit tired so we headed to the long line of people wanting to get back on the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

This was our first of a few experiences of extremely rude people, rude in line, and then when actually back on the ship very rude with the elevators. Mom was literally almost knocked down twice to get on an elevator. It was crazy.

[Danacat222]

Having made it back on board and finally safely into our cabin, we chilled for a bit, went to the aft pool, then went and got ready for the past guest party.

 

This was our first time and it was nice, a bit underwhelming. Just so you know you can order beer and other drinks but they are passing around the same drinks being pushed on day 1 and they were quite potent. They also passed around some snacks.

 

I have to say we really liked Goose as our Cruise Director. His voice can get a bit annoying but he was very active and very good at what he does. On Liberty we had Josh and we had heard such great things about him and we felt like he talked too much and did too little, Goose was the opposite, he was everywhere and he was not overdoing it on the intercom which was refreshing.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2014 by Danacat222

[Danacat222]

If i remember correctly, we ate dinner late because we were full from the drinks at the Past Guest Party. This is where we really learned the advantages of Your Time Dining and being able to get to know your wait staff. As the night got later the tables were clearing and the wiat staff had more time to interact with their guests. We loved getting to know our waiter and servers. Our waiter, we asked for him every night, has worked for Carnival for 10 years and his wife also works on the ship, we got to meet her at the casino bar!

 

After dinner night shots...

 

 

 

 

 

Latin Band and dance lessons....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

Grand Turk Day was also the big Caribbean Dance Party out on deck...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

leading the party! *sorry about the noise but it was very windy!

[Danacat222]

We woke up early Thursday morning to another beautiful morning with calm waters and fluffy clouds....

 

 

 

 

We ate our breakfast out at the aft pool area, as they have someone there making omelets and there was rarely a wait.

 

After breakfast we headed down to the guest services area to wait with the VIFP and FTTF group. We not only had FTTF but we rented a cabana, so priority tendering was a perk for us. There were not a whole lot of us waiting, maybe about 15 or so, but the line to get a tender ticket was insane!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2014 by Danacat222

[Danacat222]

This was also my 3rd time to HMC and my Mom's first. I was so glad the weather was nice!

 

 

 

One we were beyond the yellow walls, we turned in our cabana tickets and caught a ride on a truck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

Ok, so here we are at lovely HMC, it's absolutely as beautiful as the last time, if not moreso. The water was a little chilly but the clarity was awesome, 4 feet in and you can still see your toes.

 

 

 

 

 

What is wrong with this picture?

 

 

 

There is a major problem with beach erosion that poses a safety hazard. We had cabana 12 and in order to SAFELY be able to enter the water you have to walk over past cabana 9 and make a U-turn to come back and get into the water. Otherwise you are looking at a 2 foot drop-off and you can either fall down it or fall trying to get back up. I carved out a slope and I could get down but my mother, 73 years old, could not take that chance of falling. We saw at least 5 falls either trying to get down or trying to get back up. This was very unfortunate. *I work in a orthopedic inpatient rehab facility and so i am paranoid about people falling.

Edited February 15, 2014 by Danacat222

[PC Cruisin]

Thank you for your great review with awesome pictures! Hubby and I were debating on doing this same cruise (a back to back- we got off the Conquest on the 19th and wanted to do this one, too) of course we regret not doing it :(

 

[lady_cruiser]

I was aiming for the link above this but opened this one instead.

 

I am enjoy your review and photos so much that it makes me want to drive to Florida (I don't fly) and take a cruise on this ship.

 

Keep the review and photos coming because I can't wait to see more.

Edited February 15, 2014 by lady_cruiser

[Danacat222]

I sent a review on Carnival.com of the cabana. They refused publication.

 

 

 

 

We packed Cabana 12 because it is far enough off the beaten path that it is not crowded, but it is close enough to the restrooms and not too far from the barbeque pavilion. My first visit to HMC in 2011 we did not rent a cabana. Second time, just this past October, we rented Villa D [after i received an unexpected bonus at work, otherwise no way!]. This time renting was for my Mom, in case it was too hot, or in case of rain.

 

With the villa, we had visitors. I gave a tour. People helped themselves to our floating mats and use of the outdoor shower. Someone thought it was a store. "Oh you rented this? I'm on your property."

 

Well, with the cabana, people took our floating mats, they used our shower, and they changed clothes and shoes on our stairs, and used the stairs as a resting place. In the grand scheme of life, not the worst thing that can happen, but I would never have crossed those boundaries myself. While my Mom and i were in the water together, a man tried to remove our stuff from our beach lounge chairs but the lady sitting near us stopped him. Of course I could have left my Mom to guard stuff while I was in the water and taken turns dong that, but one should not need to do that.

 

We had other visitors to our cabana. Birds and lizards. The folks at Carnival give you a cooler full of sodas and water, a fruit tray, a veggie tray, a large bag of chips, some dips, oranges. They even gave us cups and an ice bucket. They put the dips in the fridge and left the fruit and veggie trays out on the table covered in saran wrap. The birds invaded the trays, specifically the veggie tray, pooping on it and poking a hole in it. We tossed that out and managed to get get the fruit tray to fit under the cooler lid. The dips were uncovered in the fridge and a crust of sorts had formed on them. No doubt it's a challenging delivery system, but a little more effort needs to go into this.

 

We also watched as 2 grown women invade villa E as soon as the occupants left. They used the hot tub and were going upstairs when Carnival employees came and they ran out laughing, only to pass our cabana and then went and helped themselves to go into cabana 11.

 

 

Oddly, we did not mind the lizards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

In Oct we learned that leaving later is better. No hurry. Carnival will NOT leave you on HMC. We relaxed, we strolled, we took pics of ourselves and took photos for people here and there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the Ship? Really? Do we have to?

 

 

 

 

 

If we were not on the last tender we were on the second to last. No hurry, they will NOT leave you on the TENDER. Yet some lady was rushing and not paying attention and slammed into my Mom almost knocking her down. On a rocking boat. Geez.

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

Once we made it through another fiasco of elevator frenzied people, we were up on deck watching the pretty sunset.

 

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

We went back to the cabin and changed then headed to the dining room. Each night we ordered drinks...

 

 

 

For dinner, since this was my 4th Carnival Cruise and knowing that the menus are changing, i wanted to try a few things i never had and might not be able to again. I had tried the pork chop steak which was surprisingly excellent, the ribs which were awesome, tonight i tried the bacon mac & cheese.

 

 

 

To be honest, i laughed and took its picture because i thought it was funny, this tiny little piece of chicken with mac & cheese and half a slice of bacon. But it was actually very good. The chicken was cooked and seasoned perfectly. My brother is a chef and I grew up around really great cooks, and though the mac & cheese was not really what I consider to be true Mac & Cheese, the chicken stood out and the mac & cheese was just a nice side.

 

Oh and could this waiter dance and have

Edited February 15, 2014 by Danacat222

[Danacat222]

After dinner we went back to the cabin to find this...

 

 

The night was not over though, we had a few things we wanted to do and to see.

 

Ultimately, the Quest Game ended up being the funnest thing ever, OMG it was a scream, i had seen this on another cruise-line but never on Carnival, Goose did such a great job!!!!

 

Quest -

 

Quest -

 

Quest -

 

 

[Danacat222]

We woke up to a cloudy and windy morning in Nassau. We have been here before and we had been on the fence about staying on board or doing something "different" off ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were supposed to be about 7 ships in port this day, we knew it might be crazy everywhere we went.

 

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

We decided a few weeks before the cruise to look at a few All-Inclusive options. We finally decided on Riu Palace Paradise Island. It included breakfast buffet, drinks, lunch buffet, pool and beach access with no additional fees.

 

Taking a taxi, i had forgotten, is a big ol pain in the tush! OMG, I had to argue and finally got my way. Yes for $4 each you can take a taxi, you might end up waiting all damn morning before you even see the taxi. Anyway, after some taxi drama we were on our way and were dropped off at RIU.

 

We waited in line at their check-in desk, everything is slow paced here, finally got our wristbands and we were pointed instructions on where to find the pool, beach access, towels, etc.

 

By the way, if you book this, they say you have to pay a deposit for use of their towels. Not so. They give you a plastic card to exchange for a towel then when you turn in your towel you get the card back and give it to the check-in desk clerk.

 

On to the pool...

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoy a beach resort with a pool, it gives you options.

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

The beach is attractive, the loungers plentiful and comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beach access is at a pretty good slope, this would be a terrible choice for anyone with mobility deficits. There is a wheel chair assessable ramp from the pool to the beach, but when you get to the und of it there is about a 1 foot drop-off. Otherwise it's a very steep set of stairs to get up and down. There is no beach-side bar service, so if you want to drink you need to go to and from the pool. This turned out to not be a problem as there were so many vendors harassing us we decided to leave the beach and go back to the pool.

 

Guys on jet skis screaming "Rent Jet Ski" over and over for about a half hour.

 

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

This is directly next to the RIU Palace Resort....

 

 

 

 

Since we decided to go back to the pool, we also checked out their morning buffet breakfast. It was very extensive with bagels, waffles, doughnuts, a fruit and salad bar, cereal, pastries, and bottles of vodka next to the OJ station. We had a light snack then went and found a place by the pool. I had to go to the bar to order us 2 drinks. It was kinda pitiful. Drinks served in 6 ounce plastic cups. One lady was walking around taking orders, but if she were going and slower she would have been going backwards.

 

 

 

The sky was pretty, but it was getting cooler and more windy.

 

 

 

We were wrapped up in our Carnival towels and RIU's towels...

 

 

 

Then all of a sudden there was loud music and a drinking game and 4 people leading a dance class out by the bar, RIU has a recreation director (sorta like a cruise director on land) and he was unbearably obnoxious and not funny. We were not enjoying ourselves. Well, we were laughing making jokes amongst the two of us but ultimately we decided it was a waste of time and money (no service at all like at Cozumel's Nachi Cocum that we love so much!) that we would have been happier on the ship. Lesson learned.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Danacat222

[Danacat222]

We caught a taxi back to the port area, we are from Virginia and our taxi driver had lived in and worked in Virginia for most of his life before deciding "I was too old and it was too cold" and returning to his homeland of Nassau. Small world.

 

We enjoyed looking at all of the ships as we made our way back to Victory.

 

 

 

We went straight to the cabin, as we were both chilly and wanted to warm up. My Mom also had a fall while stepping off of land and onto the gangway. She was shooken up and i wanted to make sure she was OK. We relaxed for a bit and i went and got an ice pack for her and then we decided to go get a light lunch.

 

 

 

That there is from the Yangtze Wok. Very, very good.

 

Mom all bundled up...

 

Edited February 16, 2014 by Danacat222

[Danacat222]

Later on we went seeking out the internet cafe, we wanted to "check-in" our flights with Southwest.

 

This is the Ionian Lounge (deck 4 aft), it's beautiful!

 

 

 

We found the cafe...sorry not a good shot.

 

 

 

There were a few others also trying to check-in with flights, one lady was flipping out about the internet speed (or lack of), i mean she was really making a scene, it was embarrassing. It did end up costing me $15 to do something that would have taken me 2 minutes to do at home, but when on a ship, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

 

 

I am not sure but i think after dinner tonight we packed and watched Despicable Me 2 at the Dive-In Theater.

 

We also visited the nice lady at the Irish Sea Bar. So nice. There were so many friendly crew on Victory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our cabin steward was Richard. He was wonderful. He has worked for Carnival for 20 years!!!! When i asked how many ships he had been on he said he gave up counting 10 years ago.

[Danacat222]

Leaving is always bittersweet. I miss my house, my dog, but I know I'll be cruising again soon. Debating on what's next, Miracle Alaska, Fantasy, Ecstasy? Definitely Pride in 2015 after its drydock with the upgrades.

 

This disembarkation was the easiest and most effortless all off my cruises. With FTTF we could leave early or late. We were not hungry at all, and we heard them calling self-assist and we went to wait in the show lounge and heard them calling those with tags 4 and up (I think), we had tags 2 so we turned right around and went to the area of disembarking expecting a line, there was no line! We sadly dinged our last time and it was over. We had hardly any wait for luggage, the longest wait was in customs but it was pretty swift.

 

We hired MJS Transportation for our shuttle to FLL. http://gomjstrans.com/MJS_Trans/Home.html

 

They are awesome! I can't say enough wonderful things about them. We reserved a 9:30am pick-up, when i called to tell them we were off the ship early, they said someone would be right there to get us in just a minute, and they were. They had a pick up from another ship and the 6 passengers were in customs waiting, they asked if waiting would jeopardize us missing our flights, we had late flights so no big deal, one of the two guys had been on Liberty the same cruse i was on in October, he knew all about each of the ships in port, it was a very entertaining wait. The van was brand new, spacious and comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over all we had a fun and great vacation! There were some issues but by no means deal breakers and we enjoy the fun and value that Carnival provides. After 4 Carnival Cruises I have learned what i like and don't like. I like the 7-night cruises, 5 nights is the minimum I would ever do. I avoid the stuff i don't enjoy and make sure i don't miss the things i love. I have learned i don't care for the larger ships, and i don't like ships with Serenity located forward, i don't care for the stadium style lido layout. I do like the Dive-In though. I love a lido stateroom, forward staterooms (but not all the way forward) are great. Legend is still my favorite ship but Victory is a close second. Liberty 3rd and Pride 4th.

[Jeansfanatic]

Such a great review!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[Danacat222]

Such a great review!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

 

Thank you, thanks for reading.

 

Dana

[funinthesun1964]

Thank you for posting your review. Glad you had quality time with your mom. I enjoyed reading.