Just returned from the Five Day Carnival Victory Cruise to Canada

[Souper Cruiser]

We just returned from the Five Day Carnival Victory Cruise to Canada. Although this is not a thorough review, here is what I have to offer:

 

Embarkation- We live two hours from New York and we drove to the Port. The last mile of our journey took 1 hour. There was so much traffic coming in and out of the port...probably because there were three big ships in port that day. Never the less, we arrived at the terminal around 12 noon and were on the ship within a half hour.

 

We got to enjoy a lovely lunch on the lido deck and by 1:30pm we could go to our rooms.

 

Accommodations- I had only been on one other cruise and it was on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Sea. On the Victory, we had an oceanview stateroom on Floor 2. My husband and I shared a triple room with our two sons (ages 10 and 8) and we had a cot in the room. I was very nervous about using the triple for the four of us but it was fine. In fact, I think it worked out better for us then a real quad. Compared to our last cruise, I found the room to be much more "hotel-like" and there was plenty of space for everything. Our room steward was terrific.

 

CampCarnival-My kids (ages 8 and 10) did a few things with the camp and found that to be plenty. I thought they would be at the camp more but I think only 4 or 5 year olds would be entertained enough to spend a lot of time at camp. The older kids in our family group never did one thing with camp or the club 0-2.

 

The Weather-People laughed when I told them we were going to Canada but we really had great weather. Yes, the pools were cold but our family spent lots of time in the hot tubs. Unfortunately, the waterslide was closed on until our last day at sea...the kids were very disappointed but it wasn't that huge a deal. They did love it on that one day of use!

 

Port visits-First, I would never sign up for an excursion offered by the cruise ship. I think they are so overpriced and just not worth the value. Almost any of the ships planned excursion could be duplicated on your own, quite easily for a fraction of what the ship charges.

 

Both St. John's and Halifax are ports where you can get off the ship and find lots to do within a 10 minute walk. We also had similar weather at both place. The morning started out foggy and by mid-day, the weather turned really nice.

We were the first ship into St. John's for the season and the people there seemed so pleased and happy to see us! We walked around and did some window shopping, visited a few interesting sights, returned our kids to the ship for Camp and went back off the ship for lunch at Steamers.

In Halifax, we walked around the boardwalk area and then signed up for the Harbor Hopper 1 hour tour. My whole family really enjoyed it! You spend a half hour on land and then a half hour touring the harbor. It cost our family of 4 around $70 pus tax. We learned a lot about Halifax in an entertaining and fun way.

 

Dinner Seating- We were on the cruise with our extended family of 15 so we had 2 round tables in the Pacific (aft) dining hall. Adults sat at one table and kids (ages 8-18) sat next to us. It worked out great. The only problem was that some of our family could really feel the ship moving when they were in the front or the back of the ship. So eating in the aft was a bit of a moving experience. I wonder if our meals would have been a little easier in the Atlantic Dining room instead of the Pacific.

 

Dinner Dress- I was surprised how casual most people dressed. It seemed most people only dressed for the Formal night. The rest of the time people were dressed like they were going to a TGIFriday's type restaurant for dinner. The capers actually said dress was casual on all nights except for formal night. (I actually liked this and didn't mind one bit...it just surprised me. I saw people in jeans and sneaker, nice sweats, and nice shorts, etc.)

 

Smoke-I feared the smoke but found it to be not too bad. Only the casino and a few of the bars were really smoky and they were not too bad.

 

Seat saving-I guess having a northern cruise solved this potential problem because there were not a ton of people at the pools but seat hogging was not an issue.

 

Food-Okay, there was a ton of food. It was all pretty good but the desserts were all just okay so by the end we were all ordering Banana splits off the kid’s menus! We did see the Grand Gala buffet but went to be before it opened. As much as my family loves food, it’s just not film worthy to me.

 

Shows-All were really good. We loved the Karaoke! Bingo is overpriced.

 

Carnival in general-I would definitely sail carnival again. The big rooms were great. I did find that things consistently started late. The muster drill was ridiculous. The people (like me) who came on time just stood there for 45 minutes. So just make your life easy and wait for the 10th announcement to leave your room.

 

Pictures-They have all these signs up saying that they remove pictures after a few days but our pictures were up the whole time so we waited till the last night to decide which to buy. One weird thing…they had all these signs showing what the pictures look like if you scan them on your own. (They show the word proof all over the picture.) All I know is that my sister-in-law already emailed me copies of the pictures she bought and they look great.

 

Other-I am really glad I packed my alarm clock but probably should have packed my hair dryer since the one in the room hardly worked. We did pick up the free fun pass card holders in the casino but I wish I had brought our own since I thought they were a little to short and way too bright pink. Personally I kept my in a little wrist pocketbook that I carried everywhere along with my capers and map. I was really glad I brought it. (A fanny pack would work just a well.)

 

Disembarkation-We did self-disembarkation and it was slightly painful. We were off the ship by 9:15am but it seems like carnival could do a lot more to organize it better. There was a log jam in the lobby so people couldn’t even get off the elevator. I think there were all these people just sitting in the lobby waiting to get called but they were taking up the space we needed to reach the exit. They make a lot of statements to put fear in you but I realized we could have just left anytime. (I guess we are just a bunch of rule followers!)

 

All is all, we had a great time. We got to spend lots of time together with no cell phones or blackberry’s.

 

One more thing…We got off the ship yesterday and my brother (who was with us) just called to say he feels like he should call Carnival and offer to pay for another day of the cruise since he has felt like he has been on the ship all day!

 

Sorry for any typos…I am still swaying as well. Feel free to ask any questions.

Debbie

[dickinson]

Thanks for your review. One day I would love to go to Canada. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. :)

[imlulu]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a great time.

 

Was the waterslide closed due to weather or for repairs??

 

Did you go to casino and if so did you see Texas Hold Em?

 

We leave next Saturday. I had just planned to pack shorts for day. Hopefully we will have great weather by then.:)

[Souper Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a great time.

 

Was the waterslide closed due to weather or for repairs??

 

Did you go to casino and if so did you see Texas Hold Em?

 

We leave next Saturday. I had just planned to pack shorts for day. Hopefully we will have great weather by then.:)

 

It was closed for repairs.

 

I did go to the casino everynight! The texas hold em tournament was held the first morning. So sign up early and get there on time.

 

We did have great weather but still needed a light jacket at times.

Enjoy

[arcone]

Accommodations- I had only been on one other cruise and it was on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Sea. On the Victory, we had an oceanview stateroom on Floor 2. My husband and I shared a triple room with our two sons (ages 10 and 8) and we had a cot in the room. I was very nervous about using the triple for the four of us but it was fine. In fact, I think it worked out better for us then a real quad. Compared to our last cruise, I found the room to be much more "hotel-like" and there was plenty of space for everything. Our room steward was terrific.

 

Thanks for the review. We are sailing in Nov. to the caribbean. I have sailed several ships and the Monach of the Seas must be the smallest cabin I have ever been in. It is a wonder how they were able to fit the bed in let alone anything esle. We had an inside room. Please do not judge RCCL on the Monarch of the Seas.

Thanks again for the review.

Does the Victory offer Hot Chocolate that you can get at any time? Usually next to the coffee machine. To my surpise not all ships offer hot chocolate readily available. Also does the Victory have tables and chairs where you can sit and enjoy a cup of hot beverage and enjoy the evening ocean breeze. Some ships do not have outside sitting at a table, just lounge chairs.

[DLCteach]

Debbie,

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review - we're doing the same cruise on July 15th (three weeks from tomorrow - woohoo) and it sounds great. Any info on the piano player in the piano bar? We love to hang out there, so we're hoping someone good is under contract - any scoop?

 

Thanks a bunch!

Donna

[mdogloverd]

just got back from five dayer on victory.

 

Mixed review franly. Cruise seemed bit unorganize.d One day brkst in main drining room cancelled. why is hte buffe the same everyday?? Afterthree days somehting different might be nice.

 

Wine selection was an absolute joke considering their CEO is the head of presidentialwineclub.com. Black opal....please!!!

 

All servers /attendess throughout the ship were wonderful. If you get Tamara on. deck 8 you are in good hands.

 

Definitely som erocky nights... bring a sweater but yes.. still nice weather AND previous person was SOO correct. WE booked "pub crawl" in

St. John. TheRe is no brewery tour..they just don't say so... you end in a pub bar htat you could walk too from ship in five mins. Take taxi though to revers fallls. and city market was really neat too.

 

I was so happy with aft balcony cabin. Not sure bout other cruise lines but our cagin 8439 was great. Fantastic view and friends had the aft cabin corner room..wow their balcony extended round the ship. Gorgeous

 

Also impressed with room service. Sometime only quiet place I could find was my own cabin so I would order in but he sandwhiches were great and room service delivered quickly.

 

Cruse drictor on board was a riot. But darn..boy do they need a better wine selection. Seriously lacking. Still fun but be weary.

[Souper Cruiser]

Does the Victory offer Hot Chocolate that you can get at any time? Usually next to the coffee machine. To my surpise not all ships offer hot chocolate readily available. Also does the Victory have tables and chairs where you can sit and enjoy a cup of hot beverage and enjoy the evening ocean breeze. Some ships do not have outside sitting at a table, just lounge chairs.

 

Yes, there were Hot chocolate machines on the Lido deck but if you order with room service, you get hot water and a dry packet. Yes, there was plenty of outside table seating!

 

Donna, I only walked into the piano bar once...hoping to sing along but it was soooo smoky that I left.

[imlulu]

I have found all breakfast buffets to be the same on Carnival.

 

What do you mean by disorganized????

 

Did you find the ship crowded? I have read reviews from others that find the ship crowded. We have cruised Feb vacation week the last couple of years and ships were always sold out. I never found them overly crowded. However maybe the layout of the Victory makes it feel that way.

 

 

Can you give some info on the Texas Hold Em tournament. MY dh loves poker and is bugging me about it. Someone mentioned the table was electronic vs a real dealer.

7 days to go!

[Lisa63]

Debbie and mdogloverd, thank you both for your review and comments. We leave a week from today. :)

 

What would you suggest for quiet areas on the ship? I am the type who loves to sit in a deck chair on the covered promenade (Deck 3 in this case) and read or write in my journal. Also, is the main dining room closed for lunch when in port?

 

Thanks!

[silentbob007]

I'll agree that Carnival breakfast buffets don't vary except maybe today there's bacon and tomorrow there's sausage. Oh well ... I vary it myself by going to the dining room most of the time. Interesting that they closed it one morning though ... wonder what happend?

[Souper Cruiser]

Can you give some info on the Texas Hold Em tournament. MY dh loves poker and is bugging me about it. Someone mentioned the table was electronic vs a real dealer.

7 days to go!

 

The tournament was held the first morning. There was a $25 buy-in and yes, the game was electronic. I watched my nephew play. I think having the game electonic vs a real dealer helped to keep the game moving. I never heard about any other tournaments happening but they may have held one for the people on the waiting list. Tell him to go the first night to sign up. Also to show up promptly for the game. My nephew almost overslept the 10am game....

 

Lisa63, there are plenty of quiet places to hide and yes, the main dining room was closed the two days we were in port.

[imlulu]

Souper,

Thanks for all the info! It is the only thing my dh is curious about as this is our 4th time on Carnival. Would you know the payout????? TIA

 

 

Lisa,

I am pretty sure the main dining room is only open on sea days for lunch or if it is an evening port like San Juan on Carnival. My kdis love the hamburger grill for lunch. I really like the deli and salad bar.

[Lisa63]

Thank you for answering my questions. I had a feeling that was the case regarding the dining room, as I've noticed the same on a few other cruises. It's not a big deal -- there is the wonderful deli after all, and we also have the option to have lunch in port.

 

Back to packing...

[sweetpea-2]

nice review, have never taken a cruise to Canada but have taken hte Cat over for day from Bar Harbor a few times (we live in Maine) and I think Canada is beautiful and wouldn't mind taking a cruise there !

[Souper Cruiser]

Souper,

Thanks for all the info! It is the only thing my dh is curious about as this is our 4th time on Carnival. Would you know the payout????? TIA

 

I am thinking it was around $250 for the winner!