Victory/Short Review

[Carnival Game]

My son and I just got off the Victory yesterday and both said this was THE BEST vacation ever!!!!!

 

We loved Malcolm Burn as Cruise Director. We'd watch the opening show in the room over and over and kept laughing.

 

We met several nice people from our Roll Call. Kim & Dan say "HI" to Dallas & family, Valerie, Clara, Rick, Sneezy and the rest of you.

 

The rest of the people on board were friendly and polite as well. There were not unsupervised kids causing havoc. There didn't seem to be an issue with chair hogs. Most chairs had people in them.

 

The buffet food was much better than others had made it out to be and thought it was just as good as the dining room. Yes, the chocolate melting cake is good, but by the fourth time we ate it said it was SO rich and made you SO thirsty that the portion should be smaller. A little goes a long way.

 

I can't say enough about the shows. They were fantastic! You never know what you'll see. ;)

 

My head is still kind of fuzzy but I'll be glad to answer any specific questions.

[Nuttycruisegirl]

Thanks for the review!

[Carnival Game]

I will elaborate just a bit more.

 

The sea horses at the bottom of staircases were never an issue!

 

We loved the green decor of the Victory! Just from the photos I've seen, the orange color of the Valor does not appeal to me so I will stick with the Victory.

 

The machines in the casino were tight but my son's # came up on his very first spin at the roulette wheel. I won $70.00 at bingo.

 

William and Mikey of the social staff were cute and had British accents. They were fun. Again, can't say enough about Malcolm, the Cruise Director. His actions while directing the silent film skit were hilarious. :D

[Carnival Game]

Also, there was a crazy woman on the ship, about 75-80 years old. She ran up on stage three times during the welcome aboard show and asked Malcolm for his room #. She ran up on the stage during a comedy juggling show, took the guy's sword and went after him with it. She was one of the judges of the hairy chest competition and went crazy feeling and dancing with the men. One day she wore a "Girls Gone Wild" T-shirt. :rolleyes: There's more but I better get back to work.

[luv2cruise777l]

I am so glad you had a great cruise!

 

I have only one question....was there a refrigerator in your cabin?

[Carnival Game]

No there wasn't.

 

We had an inside cabin. Don't know if the better cabins have them or not.

[luv2cruise777l]

No there wasn't.

 

We had an inside cabin. Don't know if the better cabins have them or not.

 

Thanks for the quick answer!

[teanbean16]

thanks for the review:) :)

[stampinrobin]

Just want to say I totally agree with OP review. I had read so many negative reviews lately I was pretty nervous about going on the Victory, it was my first cruise.

 

We could not find anything to complain about! It's a great ship with a friendly crew, excellent service, very clean ship, pretty decor. The seahorses never even nipped at me.............

 

I learned an important lesson about cc.com........take the negative reviews with a grain of salt.............

 

We work hard to earn our money to go on vacation and appreciate not having to be at work.................a so so day on vacation is way better than any day at work! But we didn't even have any so so days, they were all great!

 

People complained (here) that the ice tea was bad--said it was sticky syrup - sorry but it wasn't, it was great, coffee was fine, some lines at lunch, but hey they are only trying to feed 2700 people - deal with it.

 

I was so grateful my room was cleaned twice a day! You don't get that in a land based hotel (or at home for that matter!). I went out of my way to thank Javier everytime I saw him.........I wanted him to know he was making my vacay a much better experience.

 

I just think people expect way too much.............you have to keep in mind that you get what you pay for, if you want to be treated like royalty then fork over the money and stay at the Four Seasons. When we were in Vegas last year, sure the food was totally to die for, but we paid big $$ to get that type of food. Food on the Victory was good and was equal to the $$ we paid. We felt that the ship and experience were excellent value for the money we paid..............I think people go on these cruises with expecations that they are going to be treated like they are paying $2500pp for a week instead of what they do actually pay.

 

Ok, enough venting, I just wanted to get it off my chest that the negative reviews really effected me as a first time cruiser! But as most things "Live and Learn"

 

:)

[Carnival Game]

Robin, that's the way to go -- dwell on the positives!

 

I didn't have issues with many things people talk about, i.e., I didn't see groups of unsupervised kids causing problems, people weren't swearing or rude, the omelet line only contained a few people, there weren't rows of chairs with only a towel or shoe on them -- most contained bodies, I liked the coffee in the dining room...

 

Just one disappointment was the pizza was undercooked with raw vegetables on top. It was better on our last cruise, years ago. Big deal..we didn't get it again..there's enough other food to eat.

 

We had a ball!

[rsldonk]

Loved the Victory and also never had a problem with the sea horses. Mikey is from South Africa, not any of the British Isles, but he's still funny as hell. Thanks for the review!

[Carnival Game]

William and Mikey are both from South Africa. I thought Mikey had a British accent but someone said he sounded more like he was from Australia. William REALLY sounded British. During the Q & A session he told me that South Africa was a part of/affiliated with Britain.

 

I loved all the analogies Mikey used to describe the Hairy Chest competition!

[the queen of clutter]

Thanks for the review. I've read the cc boards for years and learned to take neg. comments with a grain of salt, too. Same for ordering stuff online--I look at numbers. 3,000 positive reviews, 2 lousy ones. Hummmm.

 

I have one question. I've read that there are NO trays at the buffet area. I have problems with my thumbs and don't want to spill a plate onto anyone. Nor do I want to make fifty trips back and forth to carry all of my desserts. I mean food ;)

 

Not to mention I read that there are no hot breakfast items for room service, other than beverages. I really hoped my DH would be bringing a huge tray of food to me each morning!

 

Thanks again.

Pat

[Carnival Game]

There are DEFINITELY trays at the buffet! There's a buffet outside and inside. Oftentimes the inside buffet would have a smiling attendant, wearing gloves, that would put a plate and bowl on a tray and hand it to you. The silverware is wrapped in a cloth napkin and sitting on the inside tables.

 

It's true, there are no hot items for breakfast room service. They offer cereals, beverages, yogurt, breads and pastries. We ordered it one day. Make sure you're dressed and ready early. The man brought it a half hour earlier than we requested.

[the queen of clutter]

There are DEFINITELY trays at the buffet! There's a buffet outside and inside. Oftentimes the inside buffet would have a smiling attendant, wearing gloves, that would put a plate and bowl on a tray and hand it to you. The silverware is wrapped in a cloth napkin and sitting on the inside tables.

 

It's true, there are no hot items for breakfast room service. They offer cereals, beverages, yogurt, breads and pastries. We ordered it one day. Make sure you're dressed and ready early. The man brought it a half hour earlier than we requested.

 

Thanks for making my day! I haven't sailed on Carnival since a 3-day-miss-a-day-thanks-USAir honeymoon cruise 17 years ago. I was happy to read such good reviews on the cruise line as a whole.

 

Celebrity had attendants who would be there waiting to take your full tray to the table for you. RCCL did not and I missed the extra pampering. But hey, I'll take the trays myself and be happy that I've got them ;)

 

On RCCL last year our room service person was always early. I guess he got used to two "mature" ladies with bed head wearing flamingo pjs, since it didn't bother us and he continued to be early.

 

Thanks again! Pat

 

PS: oh ok, one more "burning issue." Is the area around the siren's pool and pizza grill open-air for seating? Does it stay crowded? It seems this ship has few nooks and crannies to watch the sea, unless you pay for a balcony cabin.

[punkidoodle]

I'll be on the Victory 5/09 and have to ask....what are the seahorses?

[Carnival Game]

I only saw the siren pool once and didn't pay much attention to it. The pizza area is open.

 

Every day I drank 2-3 glasses of lemonade from the lido deck. It had pulp and was very sour. If you don't like it that sour you could mix in a little fruit punch.

 

You're right about not many areas to watch the sea. Seems like you had to be either way up high or you could go out on Deck 3.

[Carnival Game]

I'll be on the Victory 5/09 and have to ask....what are the seahorses?

 

The seahorses are like statutes built into the bottom of the staircases. Many people say they bang their legs on them. It was never an issue with us. :confused:

[the queen of clutter]

I only saw the siren pool once and didn't pay much attention to it. The pizza area is open.

 

Every day I drank 2-3 glasses of lemonade from the lido deck. It had pulp and was very sour. If you don't like it that sour you could mix in a little fruit punch.

 

You're right about not many areas to watch the sea. Seems like you had to be either way up high or you could go out on Deck 3.

 

Thanks for the heads up for the lemonaid. My 9-year old loves it, so I'll warn her. Our cabin is on the lido deck so that should be interesting. But my DH won't have far to travel to bring back breakfast in bed (on a tray), haha.

 

Deck 3 outside is under the life boats. Did they have chairs? I love shade!

 

Sorry, I keep asking questions. I honestly think that's all I have!

Pat

[Carnival Game]

No problem, I like answering questions. :)

 

We went out on Deck 3 one night when it was so black. We sat at a bench for a little bit. We only stayed in one area, but I imagine there'd be benches here and there along the deck.

[the queen of clutter]

No problem, I like answering questions. :)

 

We went out on Deck 3 one night when it was so black. We sat at a bench for a little bit. We only stayed in one area, but I imagine there'd be benches here and there along the deck.

 

Benches :0

 

Wonder if I'd be the only person to cruise with her folding canvas "camp" chair? It has a drink holder and everything. And, I could clamp my little beach umbrella to the back and have all the shade I need. And......

[Carnival Game]

If I saw someone with one of those, I wouldn't think it's unusual.

[coolestwife]

Oy!! That reminds me of our fantastic cruise on the Victory in 2006...let me tell you, if you are at all clutzy (like me) those seahorses will reach out and whack you a good one on the thigh!! OUCH!!! I also want to get everywhere as fast as I can, so if that's you too, careful running up and down those stairs!:eek: :D

 

The seahorses are like statutes built into the bottom of the staircases. Many people say they bang their legs on them. It was never an issue with us. :confused:

[Carnival Game]

Oh...in case anyone is interested in formal night...

 

On the first formal night (Captains Dinner) I could count the number of tuxes I saw on one hand, with fingers leftover. I'd estimate 10% of the woman wore slacks, 10% were in long gowns, and the rest in other dresses/skirts (many black). I saw no shorts or jeans.

 

The second formal was less formal, but I still didn't see jeans or shorts. More men were in slacks/dress shirts, and a larger percentage of women wore slacks.

[bean24]

I just booked my first Carnival cruise, we were looking for a short one out of NY and it fit our schedule best. It is nice to hear some good things.