Victory 4/10 SOLO Trip report with pics (yes another 4/10 victory thread)

[cdamion]

After perfecting my bad sunburn, it was already time to go pack. That is the one thing with these short cruises, they seem over just as you start getting into the groove. After packing up most of my stuff (of which I brought way too much), I wandered the ship since I didn’t really take pics previously, so here are some random shots of the ship:

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[cdamion]

The shops in the atrium:

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[cdamion]

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[cdamion]

Aegean Sports Bar adjacent to the casino. I was finally able to taste the ThirstyFrog Red ale that carnival has on tap in the sports bar. I didn’t spend much time in here because I really don’t need to be watching TV when I am off the grid on a cruise.

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The South China Sea Club Casino: Where I spent far too much time the first half of the cruise. They definitely came out ahead by giving me the casino rate. One interesting note, which I have never seen before, is that they actually move the slots around at night. I know because there were a couple specific machines I liked to play and they were in different spots each day. As far as the tables and the luckiest dealer I have ever seen, well they stayed in the same spot. I wished they moved those far away.

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The main promenade. It got very crowded in the evenings with way too many photo ops. There was even a backdrop that was a graffiti wall. I just don’t get posing in front of a graffiti covered wall and paying for a picture. Are people that sheltered that it is interesting to them?

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ngZ7i2][img]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7364/13964382123_e94eb8e0cf_c.jpg[/img][/url] Edited April 21, 2014 by cdamion

[cdamion]

Coral Sea Café

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Virtual Sea Arcade – this was actually pretty big.

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Caspian Wine Bar – I thought this was a pretty attractive bar. I spent a little bit of time sitting there watching people pass by.

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[cdamion]

Irish Sea Piano Bar – where I spent a lot of time because of the great people I met.

Here it is empty:

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And “full”

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This was the least attended piano bar I have ever seen on any ship. Like I mentioned previously, I believe it was the school teacher like atmosphere of Angela. I actually liked her, but it was not the same party atmosphere that other piano players create. Definitely lower key.

Continuing on, here is the Black and Red Seas Jazz Lounge. Nice dark room. It would be nicer if there was actually jazz played in there. It is the official place to be able to smoke and have a few drinks – even cigars, which I did not do this time thanks to a recent bout of bronchitis.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/neWmw9][img]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7111/13941211652_7759e3647c_c.jpg[/img][/url] Edited April 21, 2014 by cdamion

[cdamion]

One place I particularly liked in the early evening hours was the area around the aft pool. It was always quiet then and a nice place to grab a drink and see the ship’s wake in the last moments of light.

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[cdamion]

I did like the theme of the Mediterranean Lido Restaurant, but at the times I wanted to eat there was ALWAYS a long line. That is the one thing I just don’t like on the bigger Carnival ships is the lines for food. Granted sometimes you could go around the corner and find nobody, but not always. I ate here a couple of times. No complaints about the food at all. Just the long time it takes to get it.

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The aft dining room and the fish sculpture protecting it.

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[cdamion]

Another favorite spot on the ship is the outside walkway on Deck 3. There is hardly anyone ever out there. It makes for a very relaxing time to just sit and listen to the ocean.

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One last glimpse of the Lido Deck. The one movie that they seemed to play alot was Water Boy I believe. Can't imagine spending time on a cruise watching that. The movie concept is nice though.

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I mentioned that the ship seemed to just be not kept up as nice as others, here is another example of it. This is one of the ceiling tiles in the ship - notice how the color is just peeling away. Again, nothing big, it just is not kept up as well as any other ship I have been on, which is unfortunate because I like the decor and colors of the Victory a lot.

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[cdamion]

I was disappointed with dinner in the MDR once again, the food was just mediocre, which was disappointing. The menu choices were not that enticing and then the meat was fatty. So, 2 nights of truly exceptional food, and 2 nights of mediocre food. Oh well, I was still happy to be on board. I spent the remainder of the evening hanging out in the venues with people I do believe will be my friends moving forward. While the ship was not in the best shape, and the crew just seemed tired and overworked, this was an amazing trip.

I would normally have had many more pics, but I got wrapped up hanging out with my new friends.

The final towel "animal":

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[cdamion]

Finally, in what happens far too quickly in these short cruises, we were all of a sudden back in port. I happened to be up wandering when we pulled in to miami, which looked just amazing at night.

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And with that, the cruise was over.

[mousey]

You take really great pictures. Some of them are hauntingly beautiful. I'm glad you had a good time in spite of the things you found problems with. I've been on lots of cruises and while I've always had an amazing time on all of them...I do understand where you're coming from. I felt the same way you did on our 2010 Fascination cruise. It was the least favorite of all my cruises. I still had an awesome time though. How can you not have fun on a cruise?:D

Thanks for sharing your impressions and pictures. I think it was great that you met so many nice people on your cruise. That to me, is the best part of most cruises.:D

[Frank12]

Love the full moon over Miami pic!

[diamondcharl]

Great review. I like your positive spin on some things that would have caused others to rant! I agree that your pics are beautiful. I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks

[LandlockedCruiser01]

Kudos for the review. I did the same itinerary on my first cruise, only it was on a different ship. Loved the ports. The other difference was that I was one of those adults in balloon hats, acting like spring breakers in Fat Tuesday :D. Victory looked nice, though, even with the wear and tear. I heard it's supposed to be dry-docked in 2015; it'll get the usual maintenance and the Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades. Edited April 22, 2014 by LandlockedCruiser01

[erinmarie424]

Thanks for the review! We will be on Victory the day after tomorrow!

[cdamion]

Thanks for the comments!

For those heading out on Victory soon: I was being nitpicky, don't go on thinking things are going to be bad. I would still happily head out on her again.

There is a new piano player on board now too.