Victory to Canada

[matt082600]

Has anyone sailed the Victory to Halifax? I am thinking of sailing her in August for a 4 night cruise. Any thoughts? I would appreciate any input or past xperiences anyone is willing to share.

[RodneyHamp]

She was my first ever cruise in August 2001. (we did it again the following year on the Triumph). I was just about to turn 20, and had an absolute blast. Went to the Moosehead Brewery, and did some boat tour thru the harbor as well. The ship was very nice and clean, and i was in awe at the size of it (remember, it was my first!).

[vesw01]

We went on the Vistory Oct 04 - GREAT cruise and ports.. Staff was a little less than desired. The people in the cruise ports were SO friendly - we loved it!! I would do it again!

[Majestic-NJ]

Just did the 6/13 cruise on Victory to Halifax and I would/will do it again in a heartbeat. We got rained on and had 20 foot swells on the way back one night but I'd still go again. :)

 

Hope that helps.

[justme_123]

I had a great time.. but my only complaint with that itenerary, FOG and it was cold! We went July 2004 and we had lots and lots of fog! The fog was so bad that the horn blew every 10 minutes. Halifax was a great port. We rented a car for the day that cost us 50 dollars and toured everyone. We went to Peggy's Cove which is a site not to be missed.

[nybumpkin]

We took the five-night two years ago and are booked on the four-night over Labor Day weekend. When we went, the fog came and went; it wasn't constant. At night they closed the magrodome over the aft pool and it was very comfortable; the pool stayed open later. The day we were in Saint John was cloudy and cool, but the next day in Halifax was sunny and very warm. Just be prepared with a jacket/sweatshirt. Sailing out of NYC is great. As much as I don't like ending a cruise, I really liked getting up early the last day to go out on our balcony to experience NY harbor at dawn - you can't imagine such a large city being so quiet!

[yogimax]

The experience will be about the ship. Halifax is a nice port. You will enjoy your time there, but the real "event" will be the ship

[anchorsaweigh]

I agree with YogiMax. It was my first cruise and I was so excited to go on the cruise. I enjoyed the port of Halifax and the Titanic museum but the fun to be had was definitely on the Ship. I would definitely do it again. And definitely try to awake for the cruise into NY harbor. Seeing Lady Liberty in the early am while it was still quiet is absolutely indescribable! Enjoy:)

[Lisa63]

We did this cruise on Carnival Destiny in 2000 and will be onboard Carnival Victory for the 5-nighter next month. Halifax is among my favorite ports, and we have visited several times on other ships. Be sure to be facing the pier as you dock -- and on an outside deck -- as the ship is given a fine welcome by the people of Halifax. And, the city and surrounding areas have so much to offer, including history (Maritime Museum, Citadel fortress) and natural beauty (Peggy's Cove, harbor cruise).

 

As for the ship itself, it has the best standard outside cabins we've had on any of our cruises. Very roomy for our family of three. I recall that the food was very good -- better than I had expected. I didn't particularly care for the ship layout, but I am going on a sister ship so it obviously didn't matter too much. :)

 

Enjoy your planning!

[TanIslandGirl]

Has anyone sailed the Victory to Halifax? I am thinking of sailing her in August for a 4 night cruise. Any thoughts? I would appreciate any input or past xperiences anyone is willing to share.

Matt,

I am also doing this cruise in August. I have searched it on these boards for a while now and for the most part everything is pretty positive. Most posters who have just recently cruised on the Victory are rating the staff & ship pretty high which makes me feel comfortable. As another poster has said its mostly about the onboard experience on this cruise sine it is only a 4 day with one stop. It will be different than other cruises we have done since its not a caribbean cruise but I am realy looking forward to it.

Search the boards if you want to read more about it. Enjoy!:)

[cruisetmc]

Any suggestions for Halifax.

 

We would like to do the Citadel and see the Titanic Cemetery. Is the hop on hop off bus pick up within walking distance of the ship?

[ali38]

we went 2 yrs ago in august and it was fun.It was very foggy thru the whole trip.But we had lots of sun. Be careful if its foggy and sunny, you can burn quite easily. i would do the peggy cove tour. And I believe the titanic cemetary is in walking distance from the ship, but I could be wrong,lol.

[jenjens1023]

There have been several reviews about that cruise lately. Do a serch and you'll find lots of information. Check the ports of call boards, too.

[Grtcdnwolf]

Watch out for the Portugese Soccers Fans in Halifax... they can be a bit rowdy... lol.:eek:

[Lisa63]

To answer some questions previously raised:

 

The three cemeteries where Titanic victims were buried are not within walking distance of the cruise terminal. I took a ship's tour last time I was there, but these are also very easily accessible by taxi. Fairview Lawn Cemetery is the largest of the three (~120 pax buried here), and the one most people visit. Baron de Hirsch (10 pax) and Mount Olivet (19 pax) are smaller, and in the same general vicinity.

 

The free FRED bus is operating from July 8 through October 27. This is the best way to get to the Citadel, IMO. The Hop on Hop Off bus is near the pier, too, but isn't free. Neither goes to the cemeteries, but both stop by the Maritime Museum of Atlantic, which has wonderful exhibits, including one on Titanic. (The museum is about a 10-15 minute walk from the ship.)

[skogler]

The latest reviews of the Victory have been very poor. Anyone want to comment on their Canadian vacation? We leave in two weeks and I want some positive comments.

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[site41]

Hey---

 

We were on the Victory for the June 22nd, 2006 sailing to Halifax. The only negative commment I had about the cruise was the weather... Which we all know is out of everyone's control.... The days we were at sea were really foggy --- BUT the ship has a lot to offer... For us it was a change because we were use to the caribbean sailings.... It was nice to stroll around the ship and look out into the fog etc....

 

The Victory was clean and the staff were very friendly... The food in the Pacific Dining room was great and so were the shows.... All in all, this 4 day cruise was better that our last 7 day cruise on RCCL's Navigator of the Seas (mainly due to the smooth seas)..... Much more enjoyable.

 

Remember, its YOUR cruise and its what YOU make of it... A lot of ppl on our ship were complaining about this and that mainly due to the weather... My fiance and I made the best of it and had fun....

 

BTW - I posted a mini review under another thread, but I am too lazy to use the search function... also another person on the same cruise wrote up a good review....

 

Site41

[bbiggar]

I agree with site's comments. The ship and crew are great. We sailed the first sailing this year to Halifax June 13th. The only downfall was the weather and that is no fault except Mother nature. We made the best of it and still enjoyed our cruise.

[vichastwins]

I'm leaving this morning on the Victory, and have well prepared myself for bad weather. I took this cruise on the Triumph in the middle of July 2002, and the days at port were nice, sunny and 80, but at sea was quite chilly (didn't do any swimming.) The weather report is terrible for the next few days in halifax, so I'll just bring along my umbrella and sweatshirts and make the best of it. If it turns out nice, I'll be pleasantly surprised! I'll concentrate on enjoying all of the food and shows!!

 

I'll post a review when I return on Thursday.

[goodml]

Have a great time vichastwins and we'll look forward to your review.:)

[marcyjane]

Cruised Victory New York to Canada in 2004 and loved it. Ship is super nice and the crew was wonderful the cruise director Dana was great.

Shows were good and the food was wonderful and our waiters were above any other we've had before.

The port we like best was Portland, we had a private car tour and the tour went to the Portland lighthouse and tour of Highlights of Portland and out to President Bush's home .

In Halifax we went to Peggy's Cove, it was beauitful.

You'll enjoy the Victory and your ports, have fun and enjoy.

Marcy

[hvsteve1]

I'm visiting Halifax for the week and can tell you the weather here finally broke yesterday with a warm sunny day and decent weather forecast for the rest of the week. I think the locals were celebrating that more than Canada Day.

 

I walked down to Pier 21 Thursday to watch Victory sail out. The next morning's paper had a front page story about the Gray Line bus taking Victory passengers to Peggy's Cove catching fire. Everyone got off before the back of the bus burned. Another bus was sent to take them. They also got their $50 back that they had paid Carnival. Another good reason to use the ship's tours, especially if the fire had happened on the way back and 40 people missed the sailing time.

[matt082600]

Matt,

I am also doing this cruise in August. I have searched it on these boards for a while now and for the most part everything is pretty positive. Most posters who have just recently cruised on the Victory are rating the staff & ship pretty high which makes me feel comfortable. As another poster has said its mostly about the onboard experience on this cruise sine it is only a 4 day with one stop. It will be different than other cruises we have done since its not a caribbean cruise but I am realy looking forward to it.

Search the boards if you want to read more about it. Enjoy!:)

 

 

When in August are you going? Have you read anything with regard to the balconies? How is the privacy factor?

[skogler]

I have been on many cruises. Most have had little problems but not enough to ruin a vacation. I agree that your attitude will make or break your cruise experience. My attitude is great. Thanks for the positive comments.

 

Scott