Victory Jan 2-6 Mini Review

[Toddcan]

Just back from a 4 night Victory cruise out of Miami with stops in Key West and Cozumel.

 

Quick and Dirty

Cabin: Category 8M - Aft Extended Balcony Cabin # 6465

Dining: Any Time Dining (My time dining)- Atlantic Mid

Overall rating: 7/10

 

What We Liked

Cabin Steward: Nanan- LOVED him. We asked for service both morning and evening and asked for ice. He performed perfectly! Changed ice twice a day, tidied room twice a day. We had towel animals every night. (Royal Caribbean is hit/miss on this point) Can't say enough good about him!

 

Cabin: Aft Extended Balcony 6465 was a nice cabin. It was upgraded, so we had the flat screen TV, and nicer trim. Only complaint was that the couch in the cabin was totally unusable because it was so hard and uncomfortable. We used it as storage :). The balcony was beautiful - especially the view of the wake.. ahhhhh. Well, as long as you stood up, you could see it - the glass panels which were the balcony wall were so filthy, you could not see much through them - clean them once in a while, Carnival!

 

Entertainment. VERY well done production shows. VROOOM was amazing - very well done. Only complaint here is that the headliner comedy shows (which I love) were held at the same times as the main production shows (in another lounge of course), so you had to choose - bummer. Would have liked to see the comedy shows.

 

Dining. We did Anytime Dining, so we just showed up when we were hungry - only had to wait 15 minutes on that first day - other days we were seated right away. Food was very good - but I'm not picky. My wife got the melting chocolate cake every night - no surprise there :).

 

CD - Marcello Marshmallow was great. He was edgy, and funny, but not a huge egomaniac like some I have seen.

 

 

What We Disliked

The Buffet. Oh, come on, people - have you no manners? Yes, the design of the buffet is HORRIBLE - everything is in the same line - so if you want cereal and milk only - you wait in line with everyone else who might want something else. Horrible. Other ships have smaller kiosks with specific items which splits the lines up into much smaller ones depending on what you want. Now... to the manners comment - so, which these long lines, you end up getting people literally leaning over you to grab just those few items they want without having to wait in line. Buddy reached over my shoulder and grabbed (with his HANDS) a handful of French Toast - prompting me to say "At LEAST use tongs when you butt in line" - oblivious. We only ate at the buffet once - All other breakfasts and the Sea Day Brunch were in the Pacific Dining Room (deck 3 aft - just below our cabin). Very nice to order fresh omlettes.

 

The Ship's Layout. OMG.. really?? There should be signs everywhere which say "you can't get there from here". I'm glad the newer ships were designed with passenger flow in mind.

 

Dirty Windows. I'm not normally picky, but the windows when we sat down to eat, or on our balcony were all dirty from the sea salt. I don't know how RCI of NCL do it- but they seem to keep them cleaner. It was very distracting.

 

Shopping. Yeah, I know - it's an older ship - I expected it to be sparse on the shopping points - and it sure was. Basically 2 shops - one with logo wear/booze/souvineers, and one with jewelry. But, the selection was very limited. I was able to get my ship model though - so I'm OK.

 

 

 

Overall, it was a nice cruise. I probably will not cruise on an older Carnival ship again unless the price was as good as this one was.

[BoDidly]

Fair enough , thanks.:D

[tw67]

Just back from a 4 night Victory cruise out of Miami with stops in Key West and Cozumel.

 

Quick and Dirty

Cabin: Category 8M - Aft Extended Balcony Cabin # 6465

Dining: Any Time Dining (My time dining)- Atlantic Mid

Overall rating: 7/10

 

What We Liked

Cabin Steward: Nanan- LOVED him. We asked for service both morning and evening and asked for ice. He performed perfectly! Changed ice twice a day, tidied room twice a day. We had towel animals every night. (Royal Caribbean is hit/miss on this point) Can't say enough good about him!

 

Cabin: Aft Extended Balcony 6465 was a nice cabin. It was upgraded, so we had the flat screen TV, and nicer trim. Only complaint was that the couch in the cabin was totally unusable because it was so hard and uncomfortable. We used it as storage :). The balcony was beautiful - especially the view of the wake.. ahhhhh. Well, as long as you stood up, you could see it - the glass panels which were the balcony wall were so filthy, you could not see much through them - clean them once in a while, Carnival!

 

Entertainment. VERY well done production shows. VROOOM was amazing - very well done. Only complaint here is that the headliner comedy shows (which I love) were held at the same times as the main production shows (in another lounge of course), so you had to choose - bummer. Would have liked to see the comedy shows.

 

Dining. We did Anytime Dining, so we just showed up when we were hungry - only had to wait 15 minutes on that first day - other days we were seated right away. Food was very good - but I'm not picky. My wife got the melting chocolate cake every night - no surprise there :).

 

CD - Marcello Marshmallow was great. He was edgy, and funny, but not a huge egomaniac like some I have seen.

 

 

What We Disliked

The Buffet. Oh, come on, people - have you no manners? Yes, the design of the buffet is HORRIBLE - everything is in the same line - so if you want cereal and milk only - you wait in line with everyone else who might want something else. Horrible. Other ships have smaller kiosks with specific items which splits the lines up into much smaller ones depending on what you want. Now... to the manners comment - so, which these long lines, you end up getting people literally leaning over you to grab just those few items they want without having to wait in line. Buddy reached over my shoulder and grabbed (with his HANDS) a handful of French Toast - prompting me to say "At LEAST use tongs when you butt in line" - oblivious. We only ate at the buffet once - All other breakfasts and the Sea Day Brunch were in the Pacific Dining Room (deck 3 aft - just below our cabin). Very nice to order fresh omlettes.

 

The Ship's Layout. OMG.. really?? There should be signs everywhere which say "you can't get there from here". I'm glad the newer ships were designed with passenger flow in mind.

 

Dirty Windows. I'm not normally picky, but the windows when we sat down to eat, or on our balcony were all dirty from the sea salt. I don't know how RCI of NCL do it- but they seem to keep them cleaner. It was very distracting.

 

Shopping. Yeah, I know - it's an older ship - I expected it to be sparse on the shopping points - and it sure was. Basically 2 shops - one with logo wear/booze/souvineers, and one with jewelry. But, the selection was very limited. I was able to get my ship model though - so I'm OK.

 

 

 

Overall, it was a nice cruise. I probably will not cruise on an older Carnival ship again unless the price was as good as this one was.

 

The dirty windows was right!! Wednesday we had a note in our cabin that on the Sea Day (Thursday) they were cleaning the windows. The note said that due to regulations this can only be performed while at sea. Sometime Thursday morning they did clear our balcony, and I can say that it was better. Not 100%, but better. I do wonder if having very limited Sea Days is a problem getting them all clean!

[Clarea]

Nicely organized report, thanks.

[cruise pup]

Wow! They were doing Vroom when the ship was brand new. It is one of the better Carnival productions but you would think they have replaced it by now.

[Jobeth66]

Thanks for the review - question, did you have a refrigerator in your stateroom?

[easyboy]

Thanks for your honest assessment. Glad you still enjoyed the cruise despite some negatives.

[FloridaMommyof3]

Totally agree with the buffet lines. Very frustrating set up.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the report

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

Thanks for the review.

[Toddcan]

Thanks for the review - question, did you have a refrigerator in your stateroom?

 

Yes, there was a fridge - in the closet. It was empty, so we filled it with the pop we brought on board - and on the 2nd day, they pop was actually cold! I was impressed, since, most of the time, these units are more of a chiller than refrigerator.

[Toddcan]

More information:

 

We did purchase FTTF (First to the Fun), and we would certainly do it again! For the $50, or whatever, we got the following:

 

Skipped the entire check in lines at the front of the terminal, and went directly to the check in counter (they had not opened up the general check in lines yet). After checking in, you sit in a separate area, and then they call you right after the first priority cruisers (suites, and Platinum).

 

Once on the ship (12:15 pm or so?), we sent directly to our cabin (the hallway doors were closed, but we just walked through them), and it was ready as promised. We dropped our carryon stuff, and headed up to lunch - just as everyone else was coming onboard - the only time we didn't experience a line up in the buffet

 

At debarkation, we got luggage tag #2.

 

Note: The signage at the port needs to be more informative. We drove our own car - and no where could I see where to drop off luggage. We had to pull over, and a guy came over, and pointed us to the area we needed to go - around the corner. Very confusing. And, no where were there signs pointing the FTTF people to a different line - I asked only because I didn't think that the big line up front was all FTTF people.

Edited January 10, 2017 by Toddcan

[Toddcan]

The dirty windows was right!! Wednesday we had a note in our cabin that on the Sea Day (Thursday) they were cleaning the windows. The note said that due to regulations this can only be performed while at sea. Sometime Thursday morning they did clear our balcony, and I can say that it was better. Not 100%, but better. I do wonder if having very limited Sea Days is a problem getting them all clean!

 

We got the same note: but, ours said "balcony cleaning". What they did was open all the adjoining doors (between balconies), and washed the decks - I was hoping the glass would be cleaned, but it was not - at least that I could tell.

 

I found it odd that they can only wash the balconies at sea. On Royal Caribbean, the first thing they do when you get back to port is open up all of the balcony doors to wash them - maybe Carnival has different guidelines, or uses some less friendly compounds - but this is only speculation on my part.

 

Again - We've never seen dirty glass like on this ship - how do the others keep theirs clean - I've no idea, to be honest - but they do it. I mean, really, at the embarkation lunch, we like to grab a plate from the buffet, and grab a window seat to watch either the city, or the sea, and think about either what we are leaving, or where we are going. So, on this one, I purposely grabbed a seat while my DW went to get her food - because I wanted to make sure to get a window seat. After I got my food, we sat to enjoy lunch, and the view. Both of us immediately notice the grime on the windows - where is actually affected the ability to see clearly. Again, not to beat a dead horse (too late? lol), it was very distracting.

[Toddcan]

More Information:

 

Carnival HUB (app for tablets/phones):

GET THIS APP NOW! It was WONDERFUL! you don't need to get any online internet package for it to work - and it works perfectly. Google it if you don't know all of the details -but make sure you get it on your device before cruising.

 

We could look at the daily activities, ship maps, and even my account - all through this app. Was wonderful! The maps really came in handy on such a poorly laid out ship. You could even see which restaurants were open at that particular time - perfect!

 

Serenity area(adult 21+ area)

It was nice enough - but we only stayed for a few hours. We were able to snag one of the clamshell round beds - nothing special - in fact, a lounger may have been more comfortable. You need lots of pillows to make them comfy - pillows which you needed to steal from surrounding chair backrests.

 

Dress Code Enforcement:

We witnessed 3 times when guys with sleeveless t-shirts were denied entry on cruise casual night in the dining room - good for Carnival for enforcing the "rules".

 

IceCream (Added Cost)Station

We walked by a for-fee ice cream shop, and bought some. The icecream out of the machines was just as good. The purchased stuff was too icy - not creamy at all. Not recommended.

[Jobeth66]

Yes, there was a fridge - in the closet. It was empty, so we filled it with the pop we brought on board - and on the 2nd day, they pop was actually cold! I was impressed, since, most of the time, these units are more of a chiller than refrigerator.

 

Excellent! I never expect them to actually get things cold, so this is encouraging. :)

 

Thank you!

[Toddcan]

Excellent! I never expect them to actually get things cold, so this is encouraging. :)

 

Thank you!

 

It was a pleasant surprise for me too! And... it perfectly held 24 cans of pop (soda)

[dennis-in-ct]

Great comments.

 

My husband and I were also on this cruise and had a blast. We loved the ship and the crew. Definitely would sail this ship again.

 

 

I would like to add some additional comments:

 

- Check-in: The lines to enter the building were outside along the sidewalk. Seems like a small building but the lines moved. It only took one hour total from getting in line on the sidewalk to walking onto the ship's lobby.

 

- The ship did not leave the port until approx. 8pm. No reason given for the delay. The sail away party was on time and fun. By the time the ship left, we were having dinner near a window and enjoyed the view as we set sail. Looking out the window we imagined a River cruise would offer a similar view.

 

- During the night, the Victory assisted in a search and rescue for Cuban refugees. The Captain made the announcement in the morning which explained the delay in docking at Key West. Instead of leaving at 1:30, the ship left at 2:30pm. Hope the refugees were safe.

 

- The lines at the lido were long. It reminded me of the Sunshine but less crowded. Our guess is the floor space does not allow for more food stations like we have seen on other ships. A shame because it would help with the lines. I guess I am one of the rude people who just walked up to the oatmeal pot at the end of the line, then reached to between people to grab a yogurt and a croissant. I am not waiting 25 minutes in a line for two items.

 

- LOTS of Latin music. They could have adjusted the percentage of Latin music down 20%. I am sure they use some metric to decide what to play and it must skew Latin. My surprise and delight was the 80's punk alternative music I would hear in the afternoon - The Ramones, Clash, Buzzcocks, Talking Heads and so on ... I was in my 80's glory !! The DJ made an attempt at being inclusive. We were moved by the Bollywood dance music he play "for the hot tub people". A large family of Indian people were all fired-up and showed their appreciation for his song choice. It was very nice to see.

 

- The entertainment was very very good. The last night in the main theater, VROOM was so good. Damn. The performers worked their butts off. The dancing shined more so than the vocals. So impressive. This isn't amateur hour. Bravo. We were wondering if this was a new show and maybe it would be implemented on other ships but I read here in this thread that VROOM is an older show. I am shocked. Also, the live band was a great touch.

 

- The punchliner was a lot of fun. We had the chance to see two of the comedians. No trouble getting into the lounge. Good crowd control.

 

- This was the first time we sailed a four day cruise. It was different. Seemed to pack a lot into a short time. For example, the funny "Love and Marriage" show that would normally be an evening show - happened at 2:30pm - it was just odd for us.

 

- We did not mind the lack of tablecloths. On formal night the table had a cloth. Although I will say we witnessed a glass of orange juice knocked over during Brunch and it spilled all over this poor women. If the table cloth had been on the table, it would have absorbed the spill and spared her from a lap-full of juice.

 

- Met nice people. There was a group of 20 people and another group of 80 people on board celebrating a birthday.

 

- Thrilled the sauna and steam room were part of the separate lockers and were free. I was NOT thrilled the steam room temp was set at 55 Celsius (130 Fahrenheit) which is NOT a safe temperature. It should be between 110 and 116 Fahrenheit. After complaining to the desk they reported to the engineer but I was told that is the temp it was set to. It is my opinion that 130 Fahrenheit is a safety hazard. No one was able to use it and kept running out. Please fix this !!!

 

Well - I should stop babbling now .... all in all - great cruise, great people and we had a blast.

 

Thank you Carnival !

Edited January 12, 2017 by dennis-in-ct

[mkbnoc]

Just back from a 4 night Victory cruise out of Miami with stops in Key West and Cozumel.

 

 

Overall, it was a nice cruise. I probably will not cruise on an older Carnival ship again unless the price was as good as this one was.

 

Thank you for the review and details. I had just a quick question, what time did disembarking start on Friday?

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

[easyboy]

Great comments.

My husband and I were also on this cruise and had a blast. We loved the ship and the crew. Definitely would sail this ship again.

 

I would like to add some additional comments:

 

 

Well - I should stop babbling now .... all in all - great cruise, great people and we had a blast.

 

Thank you Carnival !

Glad you too had a great cruise. Thanks for the feedback.

[Cr2zCr8zy]

Thanks for your review. I will be doing a short 3day cruise for superbowl Sunday..

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

[Toddcan]

- The lines at the lido were long. It reminded me of the Sunshine but less crowded. Our guess is the floor space does not allow for more food stations like we have seen on other ships. A shame because it would help with the lines. I guess I am one of the rude people who just walked up to the oatmeal pot at the end of the line, then reached to between people to grab a yogurt and a croissant. I am not waiting 25 minutes in a line for two items.

 

Rude? Yes.

Understandable - perhaps? (after all - it's the problem inherent with the ship's design, right??)

Justifiable - depends your views of etiquette. After all, do you think the people in that 25 minute line all wanted items from every station? Or perhaps, did they only want 2-3 items, just like you? Were they fools for waiting in line? Are you the smart one for seizing the opportunity to jump in line?

 

Line jumping in my books is rude. It shows lack of both respect and manners. But, yes, it's not uncommon - especially in some cultures who have more tolerance to butting in. But, in my books, it's rude. So, we avoided the mess by eating in the dining room. Didn't ruin my cruise by any stretch of the imagination - just an observation through my particular colour of lenses.

[dennis-in-ct]

So, we avoided the mess by eating in the dining room. QUOTE]

 

Agreed.

We also did the same for the same reason.

 

 

At work, our dept. organizes the company Christmas party. It is a nice sit-down meal for 300 plus people. At the end of the mean, the dessert tables open. The series of tables are lined up. Cordials offered at one table, ice cream at other, crepes at another and so on. Well - people like to line up.

 

The venue expects people to approach the different tables with the item you want, take that item and leave. But people still line up. It is an insane LOOOOOONNNGGGG line - yet, people stand in line even if they only want one chocolate cordial baileys drink or just an ice cream that is at one table with no one in front.

 

We have BEGGED the venue to move the tables away from each other into separate stations so people are comfortable approaching the one table they are interested in - and the venue won't do it for logistic reasons. They insist that people will approach the tables and not line up .... and each year there is an exhausting line of people starting at the beginning. People like to line up.

 

Other Carnival ships have a station for bread items, fruit items, etc ... or dessert items at lunch time. And only the hot food items are in the buffet line. THAT is the ideal situation. The VICTORY arranges all the offering in one line due to space limitations. It is frustrating.

[stefyo]

Is there a formal night and if yes which night was it held?

[dennis-in-ct]

Is there a formal night and if yes which night was it held?

 

There is a dress-up night - day 2 - the night of the Key West visit