Just back from the Victory, any questions?

[amystarfish]

This is great! How did you like paradise beach?? My hubs and I are headed to victory the week of Labor for our first official vacation just the two of us since our son was born and we are very excited!

 

 

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[jakesnana]

You're sweet. We are pretty easy going cruisers, so it will certainly be more jounal-ish, but like I said...I LOVED reading anything people were saying about our ship to get me excited!

 

As for excursions, this trip was my husband, myself (late 40s early 50s), our two daughters (ages 14 and 12), and my parents (late 60s/early 70s). Most of us have cruised to Key West and Cozumel before, and didn't really feel the urge to do official excursions. So, in Key West, we just walked down to the Southernmost Point and back to the trolley station, stopping to look at things along the way. In Cozumel, we just grabbed a taxi to Paradise Beach.

 

I"m going to try to start typing tonight, and if you have any other specific questions, just let me know! I'll try to post a link to the "review" in this thread if I get spunky :)

 

How long of a walk was it from the trolley drop off point to the Southernmost Point? Thanks for the Fun Times, they are a BIG help, as this is the itinerary we are doing.

 

Did you happen to keep the schedule for Circle C? All of our kids will be in that age group. TIA

[cuppycakemom]

This is great! How did you like paradise beach?? My hubs and I are headed to victory the week of Labor for our first official vacation just the two of us since our son was born and we are very excited!

 

 

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I can hear your excitement in your post! Have a blast! If you like cocktails, be sure to visit the Alchemy Bar!

 

We enjoyed Paradise Beach a lot. I'm all about taking it easy rather than major excursions. We took a cab to the Beach ($30 each way for 6 of us, $15 for less than 4). It was $3 admission (payable to your waiter), and they asked that you spend $10 per person on drinks/food. That admission included beach chairs and umbrellas, use of the pool (which was pretty nice!) and I'm sure a couple of other things. If you wanted to play on the water fun toys (blowups, etc), it was an extra (I believe) $17 per person. We skipped that option.

 

The water had a lot of seaweed and wasn't too awfully clear, but we weren't swimming in it, just walking along the beach and chilling in the lounge chairs. It was a pretty humid day, and it was nice sitting under the shade of the palm trees. The food was decent, and the drinks were alright. Not too terribly expensive, considering the "on the beach" location.

[cuppycakemom]

How long of a walk was it from the trolley drop off point to the Southernmost Point? Thanks for the Fun Times, they are a BIG help, as this is the itinerary we are doing.

 

Did you happen to keep the schedule for Circle C? All of our kids will be in that age group. TIA

 

Glad the funtimes are readable and helpful!

 

The walk was about a mile. Not difficult at all. We walked down Whitehead and back Duval street. There were free maps at a stand right as you get off of the trolley.

 

We never actually had the Circle C schedule in our hands...not sure why they didn't deliver them to our room, since we had a 12 and 14 year old. We went up to the area and they had them posted. They were "out" of the paper copies that usually are there, but since the girls weren't too excited about the activities, we didn't worry about it. There was a lot of "hanging out" time, it seemed, and the girls really love organized things like arts and crafts and trivia and scavenger hunts and such. So, they just hung out with us and we played cards, did trivia and games in the lobby, as well as towel animal classes and things like that!

[Pellaz]

Take it for what it's worth, as I don't seem to notice the same "wear and tear" things that others do. I certainly didn't see anything THAT obvious.

 

Sounds like Victory might have had those issues touched up. The wear in some places, like "rubbed off" paint on fittings near the elevators, was pretty obvious.

 

As for alternative dining, she didn't still have the Mongolian Wok (I wish!),

...and now I'm wondering if I misremembered Victory having the Wok a few years ago. I remember thinking the dining options were amazingly limited...even less than on a Fantasy-class ship.

 

but there was a Deli and a Chinese Station that were near the main Buffet. There was a pizza place, the coffee/ice cream shop, the Taste Bar (mini appetizer before dinner), the Main Dining rooms (of course), but no steakhouse (you could get certain steakhouse selections in the main dining room for a fee of $20. There was also a Seafood Shack that is extra $$.

 

Yep, the Seafood Shack IS definitely new since my Victory cruise. Otherwise, yeah, she still seems pretty limited for dining choices.

[ricew001]

Thank you so very much for posting this. I can't see them clearly enough for a few details (like time, etc). Is there another place you have them posted?

We leave for this cruise on the 21st! I'm so excited!

Couple of questions if you don't mind indulging me please:

So you did have an elegant night?

How "stable" was this cruise? I was on Victory to the Southern Carribean and it was rocky. I had the transderm patch then and did perfectly fine, but since that point I've had some reactions to it. So I'm hoping I will be ok with dramamine.

Thanks for any info! I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

[CRUISEMAMMA]

Do you know if the inside cabins have a refrigerator now?

Yes ours did 2 weeks ago