Disappointed with the Victory

[truecruiser]

... I never had a problem with the seahorses. We get along okay. I leave them alone and they leave ME alone, but I have seen some people bitten and it's not fun!

 

i didn't even remember seeing them until pete posted a couple of months ago asking about them. but, since his post, i will be sure that we avoid them now if we are ever on that ship again. :D that's for sure. (thanks, pete)

[NoPiratesPlease]

This has shown me that reviews / opinions should really be taken with a grain of salt.

 

I, too, have been beating this drum myself--loud and long! A review is ONE PERSON's snapshot. Despite North Atlantic seas the hull of the Victory sailed as well as, if not better, than any ship we've been on. It was a very smooth ride. We didn't see people getting sea-sick.

[Crusin Karen]

I have one more question about the St. Martin/Bay of Fundy/Reversing Falls excursion if you wouldn't mind! I have my MIL here. She is going on the cruise with us. She has a slight mobility problem. She uses a walker and is fine with us with her for assistance. The description isn't that clear and I wonder if whoever was on this excursion could tell me if it would be a hardship for her to maneuver. Thanks a bunch!

[msescada]

I have one more question about the St. Martin/Bay of Fundy/Reversing Falls excursion if you wouldn't mind! I have my MIL here. She is going on the cruise with us. She has a slight mobility problem. She uses a walker and is fine with us with her for assistance. The description isn't that clear and I wonder if whoever was on this excursion could tell me if it would be a hardship for her to maneuver. Thanks a bunch!

 

This is one of the LEAST active tours --you only walk down on the beach if a) the tide is OUT -- 'cause otherwise the water is 30 feet deep) and b) you want to. At the St. Martin harbor, you can see everything from the bus, although the area is flat and a little walk around is nice.

 

At the reversing rapids, the bus pulls into a parking lot. Get off the bus and walk on flat ground to a spot maybe 20 or 30 feet from the bus to see the rapids (you go 2x so that you see they really reverse). There is a stairway to the lower viewing area but you don't have to go down there to see the rapids.

[Crusin Karen]

Okay, thanks!

[thehittgirl]

Sounds like a fair review, but some of the stuff you encountered isn't fleet wide, I'm sure.

 

We saw Shark Tales on our cruise...yes we had the kids with us. :D

 

Ah...give Carnival another chance! :)

[FarfaFarf]

We just returned from a 5 day cruise to the Canadian Maritime Provinces aboard the Victory and were quite disappointed with the Carnival experience.

 

It was our first time on Carnival after about many times on NCL. We didn't expect all the conveniences so that wasn't a surprise. What was a surprise was three things that hit hard.

 

For the "fun ships", there was less to do than we are used to, but especially during the days at sea. With all the hype of "Dancing With The Stars", they had one cha-cha class and none of the other dances. Events were all scheduled at the same time, so there was lots and lots of down time. Very little dancing was scheduled other than disco, and dance floors were small and crowded. They didn't even have a barbecue. This was the first time in many years we spent significant time in the casino. We've gone on many cruises where we never even walked in, much less played. On the plus side I came out a few dollars ahead in BlackJack--not many, but I got hours of entertainment playing for free (always a plus).

 

The next big surprise was that lack of stuff for older kids. For up-to-13, there seemed to be good fun, but the teens? Nada. We were traveling as a couple, having left the kids home but we spoke to families and the teens were not having fun--these were good kids not trouble-makers (and, no we didn't see any of THOSE on this cruise--that was a plus).

 

The third big surprise was how little open space there was. This was the most cramped ship we've ever been on. Even the 5,000 ton WindStar felt more roomy. The main pool area on the NCL Dawn, a smaller ship, is two to three times larger, and, by itself is much larger than the main and rear pool area on the Victory. To Carnival's credit, the Victory had a pool slide that dwarfs anything we've seen before. We didn't use it, but we appreciated it.

 

Some pluses of the Victory:

 

This may be the smoothest sailing hull we've ever seen. We were in the North Atlantic and never felt anything. We WERE in a top cabin, Cat 12, SR 7299, and Carnival locates the top cabins centrally both top to bottom and forward and aft. Still, it was as smooth sailing as we've ever seen--beating even the QE2 and the late Norway.

 

I may have some problems with some of the services, but this may well have been one of the friendliest crews we've ever seen. EVERYONE of the hotel staff was warm and pleasant. Some of the officers were cold and distant, but that's not a big deal.

 

Not only were the drinks good, but the COFFEE was excellent! We are SO used to atrocious coffee that on ships that have in-room coffee makers we bring a pound of ground coffee and coffee filters and use bottled water. But this ship's coffee was a wonderful unexpected pleasure!

 

The cabin was about the size and comfort level we expected, maybe a little roomier and with a nice balcony. We were very comfortable there.

 

We only did one tour--the St Johns/St Martin/Reversing Falls tour, but for a ship's tour (and we've been on many) it ranked as one of the very best. Compared to some tours, like the Big Island in Hawaii, or a private tour of Pompei, this one held it's own. I would never have expected it to be one of the best tours we've ever taken, but only the private tours we've done have been better! The guide was experienced, knowledgable, interesting and able to connect with her tour group. That's saying something considering the material was only so-so interesting-but she made it FASCINATING!

 

But here I have to add some serious criticisms--3 again, this time health and sanitation.

 

First, we were astonished by how dirty the ship was. We didn't dare use the cabinets in the bath or drawers in the dressing area as they were filthy. Much of the ship could have been cleaner. Room maintenance was poor to go with that--the bed had a 3" sag, there was broken open sloppy caulking in the shower and tub, and there was a big hole that looked like it once held a VCR under the TV.

 

Second, unlike every other ship we've been on in the last 5 or 6 years, there were no hand sanitizing stations anywhere. You go on ANY NCL ship and you cannot get aboard or into ANY dining area without passing hand sanitizers. Getting aboard they REQUIRE you to hand-sanitize, every time. Having had two bouts of Norwalk virus and my wife having had one, I can tell you it's awfully nasty, and when it first appeared, it could race through a ship and leave the staff and passengers devastated (August 2002 on the Cunard Caronia--1/3 of the crew and passengers were down with it). I don't know how Carnival gets away with it or justifies it.

 

Third, we had troubles getting a hot meal. By the time the hot food reached us it was usually cold. And the cold food was tepid. Not only is it unpalatable, it's downright unhealthy. The food on Victory may rank as the worst of any ship we've been on (except, of course, the coffee). Stick to simple foods, and the cold soups (mango, apple-curry) stood out as exceptionally good.

 

A big disappointment was the in-room tv. Most ships at least play a couple of full-length movies a la HBO, but not Carnival. Movies were strictly pay-per-view, just like a hotel (complete with selections of "adult" for double the price). Happily, we kept ourselves busy enough digging up dance floors and in the casino so we didn't use PPV at all.

 

We did manage to have ourselves a nice time--a couple on a 5 day cruise without kids for the first time in 6 years--how could we NOT have a good time?

 

Still, we had hoped for more--better food, more to do, than we got. We doubt we'll be on Carnival again in the future.

 

NPP.

 

I don't even remember a cha cha class. There was definitely a disco dancing class.

 

There were most definitely sanitary stations outside of the eating areas. I used them frequently.

 

Are you sure you went on the Carnival Victory?

[redlef]

I've heard the opposite - that the Victory has a somewhat difficult floor plan compared to other Carnival ships. Anyone know if this is accurate or not?

 

The Victory floor plan is a little nutty - to get from deck 3 mid ship to deck 3 aft, you have to go up to deck 5. It has to do with the way the dining rooms are laid out on decks 3 & 4.

 

After 5 days, I still found myself constantly going up the wrong stairway.

 

This was my second trip on the Victory, so it obviously didn't prevent me from having a good time. The wife and I had many laughs at ourself about it.

 

To the OP about movies - there were 3 movie channels in our room this past week. I didn't watch any, other than seeing them when I was playing with the TV.

 

If hand sanitizer doesn't work against Norovirus, then using hand sanitizer to combat it isn't "better than nothing." It is nothing.

 

That logic is like taking Aspirin to prevent HIV because it's better than nothing. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Sorry, no offense intended and hope none taken.

[NoPiratesPlease]

I don't even remember a cha cha class. There was definitely a disco dancing class.

 

There were most definitely sanitary stations outside of the eating areas. I used them frequently.

 

Are you sure you went on the Carnival Victory?

 

Absolutely! If there were sanitation stations they were well-hidden.

 

The disco class was a total waste--embarrassingly so "Wash your hair"--"Get a new act".

 

The cha-cha class was truly weird. He started off with the man stepping back on his right--EVERY dance starts with the man moving his left foot and the lady moving her right "Because the ladies are always right!" But we did learn a cool new move that mirrors the Tango dip! (Yes, I do "dip" Msescada during the Tango.)

 

I'm actually more forgiving of bad dance instructors--it's hard to find good ones even for the better-than-average Cruise Director (which Malcolm is not). Sometimes the best instructors aren't the best dancers (there was a couple on the Dawn last time who taught you how to dance, not how to compete--they were GREAT!) We are also super-forgiving of newbies--it's not easy being a guy and stepping onto a dance class floor for the first time. You galumph around like an elephant and feel like a fool.

 

But give it time--NOTHING makes your wife happier than being glided smoothly around a dance floor--and having lots of fun doing it. Trust me on this!

[dms_cruisers04]

The cha-cha class was truly weird. He started off with the man stepping back on his right--EVERY dance starts with the man moving his left foot and the lady moving her right "Because the ladies are always right!" But we did learn a cool new move that mirrors the Tango dip! (Yes, I do "dip" Msescada during the Tango.)

 

But give it time--NOTHING makes your wife happier than being glided smoothly around a dance floor--and having lots of fun doing it. Trust me on this!

NPP, is it possible he was teaching International style, which is opposite from what we teach in American style? Not that it really matters since the music and timing are the same, but I understand how it seems weird.

 

I agree. Nothing beats cruising around the floor. Certainly not standing still swaying back and forth. Although the Why-Dance is great for teaching rhythm.

[msescada]

NPP, is it possible he was teaching International style, which is opposite from what we teach in American style? Not that it really matters since the music and timing are the same, but I understand how it seems weird.

 

I agree. Nothing beats cruising around the floor. Certainly not standing still swaying back and forth. Although the Why-Dance is great for teaching rhythm.

 

Tim, one of the dancer/singers who taught the class, said after the class when we asked why he started with the man going backward on his right foot that he changed it to make the men more comfortable. The theory was that as most of the time the man is more uncomfortable learning to dance than the woman, and most of the time he's right handed/footed, then starting him off on his right foot instead of his left foot would make him more sure-footed (lots of feet there, sorry).

 

Also, when one does a new yorker, if the dance starts with the woman going back on her right foot (yes i'm always right on the dance floor), then the first open position for the new yorker would have faced the curtain rather than the instructors....duh, so move to the back of the stage so people can see you.

 

In actual matter of fact, it does matter. You'll always be 'off' and starting moves from the wrong side. We learned the cool new step but had to rework how we got into it from the 'right' side...

 

Still, lots of smiles on the ladies' faces and even on a few of the gentlemen's as they got the hang of it.

[dms_cruisers04]

you two have me curious now. :D

 

I meant the cha cha rhythm is the same regardless of what style of steps you're dancing. 1, 2, 3, 4, & is still 1, 2, 3, 4, &.

 

So, when you two start a cha cha is your first cha cha cha on his right or his left? And are you starting on 1 or on 2?

[YoliC]

We were on the Victory (6/30) and our room was spotless. Everything was clean. All of our meals were hot and very good.

[wasiii]

My girlfriend and I sailed the Coral Princess to Alaska 2007.07.31 and then on the Carnival Victory to Halifax with my 9 year old son on 2007.08.31. If we had sailed the Victory first, we probably would have canceled our trip to Alaska because of the poor time we had on the Victory.

 

My son had a good time, after all, he's only 9 and had nothing to compare it to since this was his first cruise.

 

I understand that Carnival is a lower budget cruise line than Princess, and you get what you pay for, but after having been spoiled by the Princess cruise, my girlfriend refuses to go on Carnival again.

 

The food was definitely lower quality and the clientèle were less than we had on the Princess ship.

 

That being said, I still booked a cruise on the Carnival Miracle for me and my son. For me to pay the extra money for a Princess cruise or above would be a waste.

 

The things my son is interested in is the Bingo (which all ships have), the 24 hour Pizzeria (which Princess does not have, nor should they) and the 200+ foot slide.

 

Because my son wanted to go on another Carnival cruise (because he did not really utilize Camp Carnival on a 4 day cruise) I booked us on the Miracle 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. I did this because of the great reviews I read of this ship.

 

I've tried to get her to reconsider, but she will not join us.

 

Here's hoping we have a great cruise so maybe I can change her mind in the future.

 

;)

[vacruizer]

My girlfriend and I sailed the Coral Princess to Alaska 2007.07.31 and then on the Carnival Victory to Halifax with my 9 year old son on 2007.08.31. If we had sailed the Victory first, we probably would have canceled our trip to Alaska because of the poor time we had on the Victory.

 

My son had a good time, after all, he's only 9 and had nothing to compare it to since this was his first cruise.

 

I understand that Carnival is a lower budget cruise line than Princess, and you get what you pay for, but after having been spoiled by the Princess cruise, my girlfriend refuses to go on Carnival again.

 

The food was definitely lower quality and the clientèle were less than we had on the Princess ship.

 

That being said, I still booked a cruise on the Carnival Miracle for me and my son. For me to pay the extra money for a Princess cruise or above would be a waste.

 

The things my son is interested in is the Bingo (which all ships have), the 24 hour Pizzeria (which Princess does not have, nor should they) and the 200+ foot slide.

 

Because my son wanted to go on another Carnival cruise (because he did not really utilize Camp Carnival on a 4 day cruise) I booked us on the Miracle 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. I did this because of the great reviews I read of this ship.

 

I've tried to get her to reconsider, but she will not join us.

 

Here's hoping we have a great cruise so maybe I can change her mind in the future.

 

;)

 

I think you'll find a different experience on the Miracle (at least I hope so!) The Victory atmosphere was very different from the Miracle, although a lot could have changed since last September.

 

I sent a letter to Guest Relations about the disappointments on our Victory Cruise since we didn't get comment cards and was very pleased with the response - they answered in about 10 days and made a generous offer I wan't expecting (I also made sure to give praise where it was due and let them know I knew from the Miracle that all their cruises weren't like the Victory cruise we were on.)

[flynrph]

Wasii, I'm confused. You sailed the Coral on 7/31/2007? as in the future? Perhaps you meant 7/31/2006. If that's the case, then I can compare these two cruises, as I was on the Coral for the 7/31/06 sailing.

Apples and oranges. Two different cruises, 2 different objectives. Two different cruise lines.

Whereas the food was good on the Alaskan cruise on Princess, 6 months later I could not same the same thing for a Caribbean Princess cruise. And comparing current pricing, I am sailing Carnival because I know what I'm paying for, and I'm happy with the quality.

Surely the Alaskan cruise was much more subdued and sedate.

The Halifax cruise is a short cruise, often a beginner cruise, with mostly a regional draw. Alaskan cruises are longer and have a much different agenda with a much different clientele, and I feel price pays a big part in that. ($1800 pp for a balcony vs $800)

I'll cruse both lines depending on the objective. Hope you can get your friend to keep cruising. It's a great value for your money.:cool:

[Sandi149]

My girlfriend and I sailed the Coral Princess to Alaska 2007.07.31 and then on the Carnival Victory to Halifax with my 9 year old son on 2007.08.31. If we had sailed the Victory first, we probably would have canceled our trip to Alaska because of the poor time we had on the Victory.

 

My son had a good time, after all, he's only 9 and had nothing to compare it to since this was his first cruise.

 

I understand that Carnival is a lower budget cruise line than Princess, and you get what you pay for, but after having been spoiled by the Princess cruise, my girlfriend refuses to go on Carnival again.

 

The food was definitely lower quality and the clientèle were less than we had on the Princess ship.

 

That being said, I still booked a cruise on the Carnival Miracle for me and my son. For me to pay the extra money for a Princess cruise or above would be a waste.

 

The things my son is interested in is the Bingo (which all ships have), the 24 hour Pizzeria (which Princess does not have, nor should they) and the 200+ foot slide.

 

Because my son wanted to go on another Carnival cruise (because he did not really utilize Camp Carnival on a 4 day cruise) I booked us on the Miracle 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. I did this because of the great reviews I read of this ship.

 

I've tried to get her to reconsider, but she will not join us.

 

Here's hoping we have a great cruise so maybe I can change her mind in the future.

 

;)

 

Hi, I see you are booked on the Miracle. You are going to love that ship. My husband and I had a wonderful time. I think you should get your girlfriend to read my review plus others who rated most 5 and 5+ on the sailings out of NY.

Here is the link to my review http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=29630

 

You say with regard to Carnival "you get what you pay for".....you are correct.....and I can tell you that I got A LOT :D Wonderful service, excellent food, an extremely clean ship, lots of fun, great shows, etc. I would sail that ship again in a NY minute. :p

[wasiii]

Yes, it was 2006 for the 2 cruises (as you can see from my signature).

 

Spell check only corrects typos, not brain freeze (or finger freeze in this case).

 

:eek:

[jobowl]

Gosh you guys are starting to worry me. I never cruised with carnival before. I have cruised 15 times and always had a great time. I am going on the victory on aug 11. My daughter is getting married in oct. and I was looking at less expenses cruises because of the espense of the wedding. Anyway some of the blogs say there are two formal nights are you kidding me.:eek: Does anyone know for sure. I never heard of that on a five nites. if anyone knows for sure I would really like to know. thanks

Joe

[dms_cruisers04]

Gosh you guys are starting to worry me. I never cruised with carnival before. I have cruised 15 times and always had a great time. I am going on the victory on aug 11. My daughter is getting married in oct. and I was looking at less expenses cruises because of the espense of the wedding. Anyway some of the blogs say there are two formal nights are you kidding me.:eek: Does anyone know for sure. I never heard of that on a five nites. if anyone knows for sure I would really like to know. thanks

Joe

Only one on cruises shorter than 7 days.

[jobowl]

that has always been true but I read twice about two formal nights on a blog. thanks that is what I have found to be the case

joe

[makunc1]

Gosh you guys are starting to worry me. I never cruised with carnival before. I have cruised 15 times and always had a great time. I am going on the victory on aug 11. My daughter is getting married in oct. and I was looking at less expenses cruises because of the espense of the wedding. Anyway some of the blogs say there are two formal nights are you kidding me.:eek: Does anyone know for sure. I never heard of that on a five nites. if anyone knows for sure I would really like to know. thanks

Joe

 

 

You are not wrong. Everyone who is coming off the ship is reporting that there was a second formal night on the five night Victory. This is so despite the general rule of only 1 on shorter cruises.

[thasmin]

I just got off the Victory (review posted separately) and you are right - they originally told us one formal night , but on board we found out there was a second formal night. Interesting thing is, many passengers just ignored the second formal night - like it was a misprint or something. So the first one was "observed", but the second one was kind of ignored by half the ship's passengers.

[Knights on the Beach]

Only one on cruises shorter than 7 days.

It has been reported several times recently that there are TWO formal nights on the five night Victory cruise.

[nybumpkin]

Gosh you guys are starting to worry me. I never cruised with carnival before. I have cruised 15 times and always had a great time. I am going on the victory on aug 11. My daughter is getting married in oct. and I was looking at less expenses cruises because of the espense of the wedding. Anyway some of the blogs say there are two formal nights are you kidding me.:eek: Does anyone know for sure. I never heard of that on a five nites. if anyone knows for sure I would really like to know. thanks

Joe

Hi jobowl - Welcome to Cruise Critic! We're sailing Victory on August 11 too - come join our roll call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=420585

 

We were also on the August 31 2006 cruise with wasiii, and our experience was very different. As a shorter cruise, it didn't rank with the 8-day cruises we've done on Legend and Liberty (it was a long Labor Day weekend for us), but the food was good and the jazz trio in the Ionian Lounge was the best we've ever heard on a cruise. With a few notable exceptions (primarily the woman who bellowed from one end of the Promenade deck to the other for her grandson to get him to pose for a picture and her grandson who came into the dining room swearing a blue streak), the passengers seemed fine. The only complaint we had was with Camp Carnival - of all of our cruises, the staff on this one seemed less engaged than any others. However, I suspect it had to do more with the staffing than the ship itself, since we had a great experience with Camp Carnival the first time we sailed on Victory.