Just off the Victory

[barvn]

Just returned home. Overall we had a great cruise. It started off rough though (waited 2 hours in line with 3 kids to board the ship), then my family had 2 connecting outside staterooms and 3 of us were assigned to 5:45pm diner in the one dining room and the other 3 were assigned to 6:15 in the other dining room. We were not able to eat in the dining room the first night. After this was resolved the cruise was great! I will post a review later but if anyone has any specific questions I will try to answer.

[caribbean dreams]

Glad you had a great time:)

 

We have also had dining assignment problems, we were all assigned the same time but different tables:eek:

Glad it all worked out for you and was all straightened out.

[streaks23]

So glad you had a great cruise..welcome home..

We're sailing on the Victory 12/16 :)

How did you enjoy the Seaside Theatre? Did they use it during the day?

Renovations on the ship? Flat screen tv's in the rooms? New carpet?

Any info would be great !!!

[Rirruto]

I assume you used the new terminal at the Port of Miami for embarkation and debarkation?

[barvn]

So glad you had a great cruise..welcome home..

We're sailing on the Victory 12/16 :)

How did you enjoy the Seaside Theatre? Did they use it during the day?

Renovations on the ship? Flat screen tv's in the rooms? New carpet?

Any info would be great !!!

 

During the day they had something on the theatre like an aquarium. At night they did play movies. The Sunday that we arrived they did have the Dallas/Eagles game on. I do know that they played Spiderman. I was never on the ship before so I don't know what renovations they had done. The ship was very clean. I did see rolls of carpets in some hallways. The TV in our room was not a flat screen. We were on level 2 (main).

[barvn]

I assume you used the new terminal at the Port of Miami for embarkation and debarkation?

 

Yes we did. I commented to one of the workers regarding the long wait and she said that it was because of the new terminal. There was 2 huge lines that merged into 1 as you entered the ships. Perhaps that is not the way that it is usually done. That had to be the worse part of the trip. I have 3 5 year olds and my mother who is in her 70's. It was alot for them.

 

The other long line that we encountered was in Grand Cayman. We had to be back on board by 3:00pm. We finished our tour around 2pm thinking that we would have time to shop prior to boarding, but instead we waited in line for 1 hour to get on the tender.

[LHP]

Sorry to hear about the long lines. Yes, they can be a hassle.

 

Glad you had a good time. Did the kids like Camp Carnival?

[barvn]

Sorry to hear about the long lines. Yes, they can be a hassle.

 

Glad you had a good time. Did the kids like Camp Carnival?

 

My kids did not utilize Camp Carnival often. I signed them up and 1 day they did go to an activity and color tshirts and play games but that was about it. They are a little funny about leaving us. So I really can't give much of an opinion on the camp. They did, however, allow me to signed my kids up for the 6 - 8 year old group instead of the 2 - 5 year olds. They are 5 but turning 6 in December. I knew that they would not enjoy being with the 2 year olds.

[LHP]

My kids did not utilize Camp Carnival often. I signed them up and 1 day they did go to an activity and color tshirts and play games but that was about it. They are a little funny about leaving us. So I really can't give much of an opinion on the camp. They did, however, allow me to signed my kids up for the 6 - 8 year old group instead of the 2 - 5 year olds. They are 5 but turning 6 in December. I knew that they would not enjoy being with the 2 year olds.

 

I am glad they were able to move them up. Dividing age groups is so difficult because kids mature at different intervals. I am sorry they did not feel more comfortable, though. CC has always been the highlight of our boys cruises.

(Yes, we still have the tshirts they made!!) :)

[dive-in]

I saw on the Cozumel boards you did the Grand Cayman Outrage Stingray City Eco-Tour. How did you like it? We have it booked for January. It's our one BIG excursion on our trip.

[cuyahoga11]

We have been on the Victory twice, and both times enconuntered lines everywhere, from embarking to disembarking and everything in between. I dont think the flow is very good

[notme1955]

We're sailing Victory on 12/23/07. We can't wait! I'm excited because I don't have to do the whole Christmas thing this year! WooHoo!

 

Who was your cruise director?

[barvn]

I saw on the Cozumel boards you did the Grand Cayman Outrage Stingray City Eco-Tour. How did you like it? We have it booked for January. It's our one BIG excursion on our trip.

 

We had a really good time. We met Michael (I think that was his name) at an area next to the Blue Inguana (which was just a few minutes walk. He picked us up in his vehicle and asked what we were planning to do for lunch. He wanted to know if we wanted to stop somewhere to pick up lunch (like a supermarket) and we could go to a private area to eat or he could take us to eat somewhere. We drove to the dock and boarded his boat (he had a cooler with him of water and sodas - although he mentioned them at the beginning of the tour and never actually offered one to us during the tour). I guess we were just suppose to take one (which we did at the end). Anyway he did stop at a supermarket to pick up squid which is what he used to feed the stingrays. (My husband felt that he wasn't totally prepared - he could have already had the bait prior to picking us up). He got in the water with us and we fed them. It was unbelievable. My kids were a little afraid (my son never even got in the water and my 2 girls did with us carrying them.

Then we went to Starfish beach. He anchored the boat along the shore. This was amazing. The starfish were huge and the kids were able to pick them up.The beach was practically in someone's backyard. Then we walked along the shore line a distance to Rum Point. This is where we had lunch. We then walked back to the boat.

 

I definately think it was worth the little extra money that you would pay if you were to have booked the Stingray tour directly with Carnival. We were able to customize how long we wanted to stay at each area.

 

One other thing, it was a bit bumpy driving in the boat to the stingrays. I guess the water was a little choppy and you did feel it. We were kind of use to it though because we own a 22' Boston Whaler, however, my 72 year old mother was too crazy about that. The way back was a smoother ride.

Are you traveling with kids?

 

You will have a great time.

[nybumpkin]

We had a really good time. We met Michael (I think that was his name) at an area next to the Blue Inguana (which was just a few minutes walk. He picked us up in his vehicle and asked what we were planning to do for lunch. He wanted to know if we wanted to stop somewhere to pick up lunch (like a supermarket) and we could go to a private area to eat or he could take us to eat somewhere. We drove to the dock and boarded his boat (he had a cooler with him of water and sodas - although he mentioned them at the beginning of the tour and never actually offered one to us during the tour). I guess we were just suppose to take one (which we did at the end). Anyway he did stop at a supermarket to pick up squid which is what he used to feed the stingrays. (My husband felt that he wasn't totally prepared - he could have already had the bait prior to picking us up). He got in the water with us and we fed them. It was unbelievable. My kids were a little afraid (my son never even got in the water and my 2 girls did with us carrying them.

Then we went to Starfish beach. He anchored the boat along the shore. This was amazing. The starfish were huge and the kids were able to pick them up.The beach was practically in someone's backyard. Then we walked along the shore line a distance to Rum Point. This is where we had lunch. We then walked back to the boat.

 

I definately think it was worth the little extra money that you would pay if you were to have booked the Stingray tour directly with Carnival. We were able to customize how long we wanted to stay at each area.

 

One other thing, it was a bit bumpy driving in the boat to the stingrays. I guess the water was a little choppy and you did feel it. We were kind of use to it though because we own a 22' Boston Whaler, however, my 72 year old mother was too crazy about that. The way back was a smoother ride.

Are you traveling with kids?

 

You will have a great time.

Thanks so much for posting this! Was this the 3-hour or the 5-hour? We've booked the 3-hour for our February cruise on Valor.

[nrose6]

how exactly did they retro-fit the ship for the LED screen? Im anxious to see how they added it in...

[barvn]

Thanks so much for posting this! Was this the 3-hour or the 5-hour? We've booked the 3-hour for our February cruise on Valor.

 

This was the 5 hour. You can spend as much time as you prefer at the different stops. I think that if the kids had enjoyed the stingrays more we would have stayed there longer. Since you are booking the 3 hour maybe stopping and grabbing lunch to eat on the way (on the boat) would be better. We did kind of waste an hour eating.

[kewbrook]

Thanks for the info on the "new and improved" Victory. Notme come join us over on the roll call. Can't wait for Christmas to get here.

[thecruiser7]

How did they change the funnel deck. Is it now adult only?

thanks,

[habby]

What types of music did the bands on board play?

[barvn]

Let me first start off by saying this was my first Carnival Cruise. I have been on Royal Carribean twice, Celebrity twice and Holland America once.

There was 6 of us traveling, 3 adults and 3 children. We booked 2 connecting outside rooms.

We flew from Philadelphia to Ft. Lauderdale via Southwest Airlines. We then took a Limo from Ft. Lauderdale to the Port of Miami. The cost of the limo was $120.00 which was cheaper then the transfers would have been through Carnival. We arrived at the port around 1pm and stood in line for 2 hours before entering the ship. We then went right to our cabins where I found our dining assignments. I had requested 6:15 dining. One of our cabins was booked for 5:45 and the other for 6:15. I had verified several times prior to our ship that our rooms were linked together. I went directly to the dining room to straighten this out. They informed me that we were not linked together. They would have it corrected by the next evening, but for the first night we would have to show up at the dining room at 6:00 and see if they could seat us together. We went there and there was a long line of people waiting to have their situations corrected. The line was not moving. After @20 minutes we left and ate Cheeseburgers on the Lido Deck.

 

So far our impression of Carnival was not very good. I was so dissappointed and on top of it I had to keep hearing my husband say why did I book with Carnival.

 

I have to say from that point on things did get better. The next day our dining situation was resolved. I did not get the 6:15 but we all did get a table together at 5:45.

 

2nd Day (at Sea)

 

We ate in the dining room for breakfast. It was very good. The lines for any of the buffets were just so long. It was like that for the rest of the cruise. I don't really understand why. I have been on large ships before but don't recall the lines being so long. I was even more surprised because there are so many different places to eat for lunch, yet everywhere you went there were lines. We did have a nice day at sea.

It was formal night. Our dining room waiter and assistant were great. There names were German and Judy. I could not get over how many different areas there were to get formal portraits taken. They were available all night so you didn't have the pressure of not making your pictures on time if you were not early for dinner. There were plenty of opportunities to get pictures done throughout the entire cruise.

 

Day 3 (Cozumel)

We woke up early (had ordered room service since I have the young kids) ordered them cereal and stuff. Room service never got our order right throughout the cruise. But that is about where the disappointment ended. Everything else was wonderful. We took a taxi to Paradise Beach. It cost $28.00 for a van for 6 of us. I was surprised at the cost because I had read that it was $12.00 for 4. But it was ok. Paradise Beach was wonderful. There were not many people there at all. It actually was pretty empty. I believe there were only 2 ships in port. It rained a little when we first got there, but we used that time to get my girls hair braided and mine as well. My husband and son rented a jetski. They only charge for the first passenger. The food was great as well as the service. Our server was Manuel. They had a little hut with a couple of parrots there that you were able to touch. My kids loved that. They also had a laptop on the bar that you were able to utilize for free. That came in handy since I needed to check my email to see what time I was meeting for my excursion in Jamaica. We took a taxi back to the ship. There was so many shops at the port along with entertainment.

 

Day 4 - at Sea

We just hung out. Enjoyed the day.

 

Day 5 - Grand Cayman

We booked a private excursion Grand Cayman Eco Tour. We were on a 27 Foot Boston Whaler that took us to swim with the stingrays, visit starfish beach and had lunch at Rum Point.

 

Day 6 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica

We booked a tour through Marva Shaw. The only problem with this was I wasn't sure what time to meet with her. Her email to me said 1 hour after the ship arrived. Well the ship was scheduled to arrive at 8am. So I had planned on 9am. However, the ship arrived early and I wasn't sure what time she would go by. As a result we were late. She was great about it though. The other people had already left on the tour to Dunns River Falls but her son came back and started our tour. We winded up really having a private tour. We went to Dunns River then went River Tubing. We also went to the beach for lunch. This was probably the most fun we had. Our tour guide was wonderful. Felt very safe with him. He seemed to know everyone. We did drive through some very rough areas getting to the River tubing. We had went in the shops at Dunns River and boy was that an experience. The vendors would place items in your hands and then harrass you like you couldn't believe. My husband had a hard time saying no to them. He even handed one of the vendors $20.00 just to leave him alone and he still wanted my husband to by. It was kind of funny. Lets just say we really contributed to Jamaica that day. With all of the hasseling I forgot to pick up my Video of the falls that I had already paid for. The video man offered to go back into the shopping area to get it for us and came out and told us that they had sold them all. However, our tour guide and the video guy worked out an arrangement and they made us another tape but we didn't have to wait for it. While we were river tubing they met up with each other to get the tape. I thought that was very nice of them. We compensated them for that.

 

The last couple of days at sea were nice. I won $130.00 at Bingo. My husband did very well at the casino all week. Practically paid for our trip. We left Carnival with a very good feeling. I would definately cruise with them again. I know that they are always being compared to Royal Carribean and now that I have gone on both cruises within 1 year I can say that they are very compariable. With the exception of the first day we had a great cruise. Probably the most fun that we ever had on one. I am sure that alot had to do with all of the great excursions that we booked. I received all of the information for the private excursions from Cruise Critic and I am very grateful.

 

I would be happy to answer any questions that I can ask.

Hope this wasn't too lengthy.:) :) :)

[barvn]

What types of music did the bands on board play?

 

Calypso (I think that is spelled right)

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Let me first start off by saying this was my first Carnival Cruise. I have been on Royal Carribean twice, Celebrity twice and Holland America once.

There was 6 of us traveling, 3 adults and 3 children. We booked 2 connecting outside rooms.

We flew from Philadelphia to Ft. Lauderdale via Southwest Airlines. We then took a Limo from Ft. Lauderdale to the Port of Miami. The cost of the limo was $120.00 which was cheaper then the transfers would have been through Carnival. We arrived at the port around 1pm and stood in line for 2 hours before entering the ship. We then went right to our cabins where I found our dining assignments. I had requested 6:15 dining. One of our cabins was booked for 5:45 and the other for 6:15. I had verified several times prior to our ship that our rooms were linked together. I went directly to the dining room to straighten this out. They informed me that we were not linked together. They would have it corrected by the next evening, but for the first night we would have to show up at the dining room at 6:00 and see if they could seat us together. We went there and there was a long line of people waiting to have their situations corrected. The line was not moving. After @20 minutes we left and ate Cheeseburgers on the Lido Deck.

 

So far our impression of Carnival was not very good. I was so dissappointed and on top of it I had to keep hearing my husband say why did I book with Carnival.

 

I have to say from that point on things did get better. The next day our dining situation was resolved. I did not get the 6:15 but we all did get a table together at 5:45.

 

2nd Day (at Sea)

 

We ate in the dining room for breakfast. It was very good. The lines for any of the buffets were just so long. It was like that for the rest of the cruise. I don't really understand why. I have been on large ships before but don't recall the lines being so long. I was even more surprised because there are so many different places to eat for lunch, yet everywhere you went there were lines. We did have a nice day at sea.

It was formal night. Our dining room waiter and assistant were great. There names were German and Judy. I could not get over how many different areas there were to get formal portraits taken. They were available all night so you didn't have the pressure of not making your pictures on time if you were not early for dinner. There were plenty of opportunities to get pictures done throughout the entire cruise.

 

Day 3 (Cozumel)

We woke up early (had ordered room service since I have the young kids) ordered them cereal and stuff. Room service never got our order right throughout the cruise. But that is about where the disappointment ended. Everything else was wonderful. We took a taxi to Paradise Beach. It cost $28.00 for a van for 6 of us. I was surprised at the cost because I had read that it was $12.00 for 4. But it was ok. Paradise Beach was wonderful. There were not many people there at all. It actually was pretty empty. I believe there were only 2 ships in port. It rained a little when we first got there, but we used that time to get my girls hair braided and mine as well. My husband and son rented a jetski. They only charge for the first passenger. The food was great as well as the service. Our server was Manuel. They had a little hut with a couple of parrots there that you were able to touch. My kids loved that. They also had a laptop on the bar that you were able to utilize for free. That came in handy since I needed to check my email to see what time I was meeting for my excursion in Jamaica. We took a taxi back to the ship. There was so many shops at the port along with entertainment.

 

Day 4 - at Sea

We just hung out. Enjoyed the day.

 

Day 5 - Grand Cayman

We booked a private excursion Grand Cayman Eco Tour. We were on a 27 Foot Boston Whaler that took us to swim with the stingrays, visit starfish beach and had lunch at Rum Point.

 

Day 6 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica

We booked a tour through Marva Shaw. The only problem with this was I wasn't sure what time to meet with her. Her email to me said 1 hour after the ship arrived. Well the ship was scheduled to arrive at 8am. So I had planned on 9am. However, the ship arrived early and I wasn't sure what time she would go by. As a result we were late. She was great about it though. The other people had already left on the tour to Dunns River Falls but her son came back and started our tour. We winded up really having a private tour. We went to Dunns River then went River Tubing. We also went to the beach for lunch. This was probably the most fun we had. Our tour guide was wonderful. Felt very safe with him. He seemed to know everyone. We did drive through some very rough areas getting to the River tubing. We had went in the shops at Dunns River and boy was that an experience. The vendors would place items in your hands and then harrass you like you couldn't believe. My husband had a hard time saying no to them. He even handed one of the vendors $20.00 just to leave him alone and he still wanted my husband to by. It was kind of funny. Lets just say we really contributed to Jamaica that day. With all of the hasseling I forgot to pick up my Video of the falls that I had already paid for. The video man offered to go back into the shopping area to get it for us and came out and told us that they had sold them all. However, our tour guide and the video guy worked out an arrangement and they made us another tape but we didn't have to wait for it. While we were river tubing they met up with each other to get the tape. I thought that was very nice of them. We compensated them for that.

 

The last couple of days at sea were nice. I won $130.00 at Bingo. My husband did very well at the casino all week. Practically paid for our trip. We left Carnival with a very good feeling. I would definately cruise with them again. I know that they are always being compared to Royal Carribean and now that I have gone on both cruises within 1 year I can say that they are very compariable. With the exception of the first day we had a great cruise. Probably the most fun that we ever had on one. I am sure that alot had to do with all of the great excursions that we booked. I received all of the information for the private excursions from Cruise Critic and I am very grateful.

 

I would be happy to answer any questions that I can ask.

Hope this wasn't too lengthy.:) :) :)

 

Thanks for taking the time to do a review. Glad everything turned out for the best. Here is a picture of the taxi rates in Cozumel. They do seem to go up dramatically after the first 4.

 

Bill

[cathyoo]

Thanks for the great review. I'm sorry your cruise started out so rough but it was great that you were able to overcome that bad start. For some people that would have been the end of their vacation.

[habby]

Calypso (I think that is spelled right)

Great! Thanks for the reply.

[teeredi2cruise]

Barvn

Thanks for the great review. Now that you have experienced both RCCL & Carnival, what was your impression (good or bad) of the food differences. (i.e. variety, quality, etc.)

 

We are planning for a cruise in May and the Victory is one of our choices as well as RCCL Adventure of the Sea out of San Juan.