Victory Review

[capecruzer]

A short Victory review from the 3 day Bahamas 2/28-3/2 out of Miami.  Stayed at Hilton Airport Blue Lagoon, decent enough hotel, price was right.  It was pretty chilly out so the pool and outside bar were empty late afternoon day before the cruise.  Took an UBER to Little Havana and had a few drinks at the Ball & Chain for happy hour.  They had a good salsa band that switched to a Jazz band at 6...all good entertainment, nice little spot.  Drinks were weak but 241.  Walked across the street and had dinner at Olds Havana.  Food was good, average priced.

 

The hotel charge for cruise transfer was $13/pp and required a sign-up with two time options I believe 10 and 11.  We chose to Uber at 10:15 for a total of $19 so a bit of savings for a more private transfer.  Check-in was so easy!  We did have to fill out the health questionairre, nbd.  We went through security (each of us had the larger bottle of wine - is it 1.5L maybe? no problem) immediately, probably about 10:40 am (our check in time was 11:30 am) and sent to the waiting area.  We waited about 20 minutes before boarding.  We were sitting at the Red Frog Pub at the pool by 11:30 am.  Both of us had the Bowls with shrimp and chicken combo, delicious!

 

Weather was cool, probably high 60s.  We sat by the pool in our suits and cover ups but it was too cold to get in the water and this remained true for the three days 😞  Went to our extended balcony L-shaped room #6459 at 1:00 when rooms opened.  Our luggage was there already!  Room seemed a little larger than normal and our balcony was double length which was nice.  Beds were comfortable, linen was great.  The balcony though was in need of cleaning/update/repair.  Lots of rust, dirty tables and chairs, windows were very dirty.  Inside of the cabin was fine but def time for a bit of work.  We did smell an odor of septic/sewer but nothing alarming until....

 

We had a major issue on Saturday night sometime between 6 - 10 pm.  I arrived back to the room solo (sister was still in the casino) to find the sewer had backed up in the bathroom.  I'll say it was not disgusting, not sure what was backing up but it looked like coffee grounds all over the shower and bathroom floor and had gone over the edge into the carpet just outside the bathroom.  Okay I can deal with that....what I cannot deal with is NO ONE ANSWERING THE PHONE at customer service, housekeeping, etc.  I think I tried every extension lol.  I had switched into my PJs prior to noticing the bathroom and had to redress and go down to speak with someone after 30 minutes of attempting communication via telephone.  Yes, that really upset me!!  So, I get dressed again and go down to find a very long line.  I decided I wasn't waiting and went straight to the front amid scowls and under-breath name calling (I would have done the same lol).  I was assured the plumber would arrive soon.  Yes, he did...about 15 minutes later.  He "fixed" the problem and said housekeeping would be right up.  I laid down..there's a reason I came up from the casino instead of staying up another few hours right?  Housekeeping woke me up 20 minutes later and cleaned up the mess.  Now...here's my major issue....when he exited the bathroom I asked what he cleaned with he was empty handed except for towels.  Hot water.  What?  I explained I wanted someone to clean with bleach/or any cleaner at all and that the rug had to be cleaned as well.  They didnt' realize the rug had become soiled.  We compromised on the cleaning WITH CLEANER and rug shampooing for the next morning after we left the cabin as I was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep!

 

We received a message the next day which I couldnt' understand but thought I better check with guest services in the event it was a family emergency. I waited 15 minutes in line to find out they wanted to compensate us by offering the "steak house offer" for dinner that evening.  Okay.  We ended up trading it for a comparable $40 bottle of wine because they had run out of lobster.  Run out of lobster on a 3 night cruise?  I couldn't care less but that's ridiculous.  We found out that running out of things on the last sailing is somewhat typical..they ran out of several things.

 

All in all it was a good cruise because we decided it was going to be fun.  We wouldn't let the several little wrongs get in the way.  We saw the Marriage Show (is it called that?) and it was great !  The comedian for Friday night apparently missed the ship but we saw the show on Sunday and it was very good.  Too cold for outdoor movies 😞  Alchemy Bar had the best drinks but the quietest, boring crowd.  Sushi was well worth the $5.  Iguana Restaurant excellent.  Got just the fries from Guys on Day One and they were great.  Had the burger and fries the next day and they were so spicey you couldnt eat them...I think someone spilled chili or paprika powder on them by accident lol.  They were nasty hot.  Pizza was okay.  In general, we were pleased with all the food, both Main Dining and side places.  Sea Day Brunch was fantastic...steak and eggs!  Service at all eateries was every good.

 

Disembarkement was easy peasy.  We ate in the dining room, grabbed our luggage and had an UBER before 9 am to Fort Lauderdale Beach for $35.  All in all a good cruise but there were some spots that needed some attention for sure.  

[Joe817]

Wow! What an adventure, as I call those 'events'. Hope you had a decent enough time to try cruising again. 

[capecruzer]

Oh yea, I've cruised plenty and a few adventures won't stop me...

[ricew001]

This was similar to our experience on Valor - except I NEVER got anyone back to clean our room after the toilet flooded. It flooded because of the steward, not us. It was not sanitary and a huge inconvenience. I didn't get any type of acknolwedgmenet so I am glad you did.