All things "Victory"

[cruisin' the big blue]

Looks like we will be on the same cruise! We arrive two days early as well. I hope San Juan can handle us!:D

 

 

We will have to meet up sometime!

[TwinFins]

Not sure about the Lobster. You embark around Noon and then you can get back off the ship to look around OSJ and then back onboard by 9pm and sail at 10pm. I loved this night time sailaway.

 

What is the latest I can embark? I was looking at a flight that got in to San Juan around 4:00 pm...

[welldone60]

Since sail time is 10 pm I would think you would have to be on board by 8:30.

[TexasRed]

When we sailed out of San Juan, we let Carnival book our air (never again) and our plane arrived about 7:30. By the time we got our luggage and got to the ship, it was after 8 pm. They were waiting on one last group to arrive, we were literally some of the last to board! The bad thing was that the dining room and Lido are both closed at that hour, but if you come in on a 4 pm flight, that shouldn't be a worry for you.

[welldone60]

Was looking at my reservation and noticed anytime dinning is now available on the Victory for our Feb 2010 cruise.

 

Does anyone know if they use one dinning room for assigned and the other for anytime or use both for both?

Edited August 19, 2009 by welldone60

[cruiseawaits]

Was looking at my reservation and noticed anytime dinning is now available on the Victory for our Feb 2010 cruise.

 

Does anyone know if they use one dinning room for assigned and the other for anytime or use both for both?

 

What date in February are you sailing? And where on carnival.com did you discover the "anytime dining" information. We are sailing 2/14/2010 and my reservation still states "EARLY DINING". I'd appreciate the info because I certainly would be interested in "Anytime Dining".

Thanks

[cruiseawaits]

Was looking at my reservation and noticed anytime dinning is now available on the Victory for our Feb 2010 cruise.

 

What date in February are you sailing? And where on carnival.com did you discover the "anytime dining" information. We are sailing 2/14/2010 and my reservation still states "EARLY DINING". I'd appreciate the info because I certainly would be interested in "Anytime Dining".

Thanks

 

After posting this, I again went to my reservation and could find nothing about "Anytime Dining" being offered. I then went to the "Fun Ship Fleet" site and connected to the Victory, then to dining(this is a general "dining" site, not specifically the Victory's), then to dinner and finally to "Anytime Dining". Under "Anytime Dining" it lists all ship currently offering this venue. Unfortunately, it does not list the Victory. Did you, perhaps, see "Anytime Dining" for the Victory somewhere else?

[dolfndreams]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm sailing Feb 28 and anytime dining was available. That works much better for this intense of an itinerary.

 

Thanks

Nan

[maygoddess]

Was looking at my reservation and noticed anytime dinning is now available on the Victory for our Feb 2010 cruise.

 

What date in February are you sailing? And where on carnival.com did you discover the "anytime dining" information. We are sailing 2/14/2010 and my reservation still states "EARLY DINING". I'd appreciate the info because I certainly would be interested in "Anytime Dining".

Thanks

 

After posting this, I again went to my reservation and could find nothing about "Anytime Dining" being offered. I then went to the "Fun Ship Fleet" site and connected to the Victory, then to dining(this is a general "dining" site, not specifically the Victory's), then to dinner and finally to "Anytime Dining". Under "Anytime Dining" it lists all ship currently offering this venue. Unfortunately, it does not list the Victory. Did you, perhaps, see "Anytime Dining" for the Victory somewhere else?

 

 

I just booked the Victory for the March 28, 2010 sailing and we got "open dining" they call it. So it must be new because I swear reading somewhere here that this had not been an option on the Victory.

 

I just did this similar itinerary on Caribbean Princess this past April and we did anytime dining for the 1st time and we loved it! I thought we would miss out by not doing traditional dining, but we always asked for whatever table was available, bigger the better so I could meet new people each night and we always had great table mates. Usually had table for 6 or 8.

Seems like we always wound up at dinner around 7ish..maybe 6:30ish..so right in between early and late seating.

 

With this intinerary..all islands and some at port until 5 or 6pm..we always stay off the ship until the last possible minute..so I didn't want to rush back for dinner.

 

Anyway..my 2 cents!

[welldone60]

Cruiseawaits....We are on the Feb 7 2010 sailing. If you are already booked, go to "MY Reservations" click on "manage bookings" go to where you can edit your dinning time. It shows early, late and anytime.

[cruisingcouple2008]

Cruiseawaits....We are on the Feb 7 2010 sailing. If you are already booked, go to "MY Reservations" click on "manage bookings" go to where you can edit your dinning time. It shows early, late and anytime.

 

 

Yes it does Weldon and that is what we switched to also., We have had it before with Carnival and we love it. It was only available on the upper level of the center dining room and it was wonderful we loved it!!!!!!!! I switched as soon as I noticed it, I look at least a couple times a week for it. Also in an effort to have some familiarity with the servers, we went to the matre d and requested the same server and they even tried to accomodate us at the same table for two everynight right on the rail. This just makes the cruise perfect:D

[cruiseawaits]

Cruiseawaits....We are on the Feb 7 2010 sailing. If you are already booked, go to "MY Reservations" click on "manage bookings" go to where you can edit your dinning time. It shows early, late and anytime.

 

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, I booked with a TA and the site will not allow me to make any changes to my reservation. I e-mailed TA and asked him to do this for me. I await to hear from him.

[welldone60]

Cruiseawaits

Your TA should be able to change you with no problems this far out from the cruise date.

[CarnivalGirl3]

Hi all.

 

Mil booked this one for the week before Christmas. I wanted conquest again, (so we wouldn't have to fly or board the animals) but i wasn't asked. just the thought of no sea days is making me tired, but i know dh will love it!

 

there is a library right? did i mention mil booked the cruise? not looking forward to being in in-laws, i'll be with my books most of the time, out by deck, or hidden somewhere (last time they kept finding me).

 

do they really have the muster drill at 10:30? The next port is at 7:00 AM? heck noway. I'll be asleep before 10:30 to get up before 7am. not that i'm going to the muster drill anyway...just seems really late for those with kids.

 

I've done three 7 days cruises before, but never one with so many stops. which stops are skippable? which ones have the best snorkeling? I'm only going to see the fish. guy at work told me this wasn't the cruise for snorkeling?

 

we don't have a budget yet, need to know how much I want to spend before i can set a budget :D

 

were you able to make it to work on Monday? I'm still thinking there's no way...but I haven't taken off. we'll fly in on sunday and fly out on sunday.

 

i plan on buying a new camera, wasn't planning on buying it for the cruise (or bringing on the cruise), but I'll buy one at one of the ports if it'll save me $$$ oooo course, I still have to figure out which one i want. and convince dh that yes, i do need another one (I need more zoom, faster shutter wouldn't hurt, better quality is lower light setting (early evening) would be a plus).

 

i'm reading people can buy and bring the bottles on their carry on? True?

 

" Seeing your photos inspired me to up grade to a 2GB memory card. Much to DWs rolling eyes. Hope that is enough memory, might need a second card."

 

lol. I'm bringing my 4gig, and my 2 2gigs. there is never enough memory. hehe. last cruise i didn't take many pictures though. prob won't on this one either. I keep the setting at the largest. I learned my lesson the hard way on the first cruise. stupid camera (or stupid camera owner :o) (bringing laptop to back up. on 2nd cruise a camera card was lost. ended up costing a small ton as a results (since I had to buy the $20 photos).

 

azurewater-I think I missed your post, but we'll be on the Victory the week before Christmas.

 

 

I just booked the victory for 2 weeks starting Jan 17th/10 & Jan 24th/10, I guess you call that back to back! I'm enjoying all the great pictures keep up the the great photos folks.

saving this for PROOF to dh that i'm not crazy. i've wanted to do this. course, kinda hard to since i'm working but one day. do they make you get off in b/w? can you keep your stuff in the room?

 

I've only made it page 12.....i'm sure my questions have been asked before, kindly point me in the right direction.

[CarnivalGirl3]

can you edit a post? must be blind, couldn't find the edit.

 

is there dinner the first night? i'm hoping our flight will be early enough so we can board early. i'm guessing at least the 24 and room service will be open, but will they be super busy?

 

(no flight yet, mil booked the cruise wed. since I don't want to have to fly, dh gets to pay for and book the plane tickets)

 

odd. there was edit on this post, but not my last one?

 

 

"I really didn't explore the entire ship. As expected, we were very tired every day, having done an island tour at each port. Didn't go to any shows or participate in any activities other than eating and a little time in the casino." ugh. that's what i'm worried about! I love going to the shows. this is why i'm hoping to skip a few ports or at least have time for a nap.

Edited August 23, 2009 by CarnivalGirl3

[sunseeker09]

Cruiseawaits....We are on the Feb 7 2010 sailing. If you are already booked, go to "MY Reservations" click on "manage bookings" go to where you can edit your dinning time. It shows early, late and anytime.

 

Thanks for the tip. You rock! We had no idea that "your time" dining was now offered on our cruise. It wasn't in July when we booked. But I went and checked, just as you suggested, and voila... there it is. So we have changed from late to anytime. I HATE being told exactly when to eat, and was dreading having to wait until 8:15, but on the other hand 6:00 was too early. Now we can go around 7:00/7:30. Thanks! :)

[dz63]

can you edit a post? must be blind, couldn't find the edit.

 

is there dinner the first night? i'm hoping our flight will be early enough so we can board early. i'm guessing at least the 24 and room service will be open, but will they be super busy?

 

(no flight yet, mil booked the cruise wed. since I don't want to have to fly, dh gets to pay for and book the plane tickets)

 

odd. there was edit on this post, but not my last one?

 

 

"I really didn't explore the entire ship. As expected, we were very tired every day, having done an island tour at each port. Didn't go to any shows or participate in any activities other than eating and a little time in the casino." ugh. that's what i'm worried about! I love going to the shows. this is why i'm hoping to skip a few ports or at least have time for a nap.

 

 

Yes, there is open seating dinner the first night. It is offered in both dining rooms from 5:30-8:30 pm.

 

We didn't skip any of the ports. We did an excursion every day and attended every show in the Caribbean Lounge except for one.

[CarnivalGirl3]

Yes, there is open seating dinner the first night. It is offered in both dining rooms from 5:30-8:30 pm.

 

We didn't skip any of the ports. We did an excursion every day and attended every show in the Caribbean Lounge except for one.

 

thanks! I didn't want to be stuck at a buffet and figured room service would have a long wait.

 

I hated open dinning on NCL. even though we're not paying for this cruise, we told mil we'd skip if it wasn't carnival! with open dinning you end up having to wait...no fun!

 

I love the shows! we bring our portable dvd player (and headphones) so we can watch something while they do bingo before the show.

 

As much as I love snorkeling, i doubt i'll be able to to it 6 days in a row!

 

Still reading to figure out which spot(s) are best for snorkeling, any ideas? I've been over to the poc boards, but they mainly seem to talk about each port, rather than saying x is better than y. z is the best.

[Megnolia]

Hi all.

 

 

do they really have the muster drill at 10:30? The next port is at 7:00 AM? heck noway. I'll be asleep before 10:30 to get up before 7am. not that i'm going to the muster drill anyway...just seems really late for those with kids.

 

 

I hope you're kidding! You realize it's not optional.

 

It's a fantastic cruise, and the ports are amazing! I snorkelled in Antigua, Dominica and St. Lucia. Not as good as the snorkelling I've done in the Eastern or Western, but then again, I wasn't on specific snorkelling excursions.

 

I suggest bringing your own books. The library is hardly every open, and it's very small.

 

Enjoy yourself! The ship is lovely with the festive decorations.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Megnolia

[dz63]

thanks! I didn't want to be stuck at a buffet and figured room service would have a long wait.

 

I hated open dinning on NCL. even though we're not paying for this cruise, we told mil we'd skip if it wasn't carnival! with open dinning you end up having to wait...no fun!

 

I love the shows! we bring our portable dvd player (and headphones) so we can watch something while they do bingo before the show.

 

As much as I love snorkeling, i doubt i'll be able to to it 6 days in a row!

 

Still reading to figure out which spot(s) are best for snorkeling, any ideas? I've been over to the poc boards, but they mainly seem to talk about each port, rather than saying x is better than y. z is the best.

 

We did not have to wait to get a seat for the open dining the first night.

 

We did not snorkel, so I cannot really comment on which beach is the best or better than others. There are snorkel opportunities at Sapphire and Coki Beach in St. Thomas. I have heard that snorkeling at Trunk Bay in St. John's is also very good. Long Bay Beach in Antigua also offered snorkeling, but a couple from our tour group that went snorkeling there, didn't think it was that great. Another beach that offered snokeling was Jalouise Beach in St. Lucia.

 

If you have the time, I have posted a long review with lots of photo's on our Southern Caribbean cruise, including pre and post cruise activities/sites. This will answer alot of questions for you plus give you a good idea about what to expect on the Carnival Victory. The link to my review is posted down in our signature.

[beentravelin]

can you edit a post? must be blind, couldn't find the edit.

 

is there dinner the first night? i'm hoping our flight will be early enough so we can board early. i'm guessing at least the 24 and room service will be open, but will they be super busy?

 

(no flight yet, mil booked the cruise wed. since I don't want to have to fly, dh gets to pay for and book the plane tickets)

 

odd. there was edit on this post, but not my last one?

 

 

"I really didn't explore the entire ship. As expected, we were very tired every day, having done an island tour at each port. Didn't go to any shows or participate in any activities other than eating and a little time in the casino." ugh. that's what i'm worried about! I love going to the shows. this is why i'm hoping to skip a few ports or at least have time for a nap.

About the editing your post thing, you only have up to 15 minutes to edit then the link goes away.

 

Snorkeling? Don't miss snorkeling with the sea turtles in Barbados.

 

 

 

Sapphire beach in St. Thomas is also very good.

 

 

On St. Kitts we went to Cockleshell beach. Not the best for snorkleing but I did see a few Starfish and the best area is around the end of their dock.

 

 

 

Champagne reef in Dominica is also very good.

 

Hope this helps!

[azurewater]

Hey, CarnivalGirl3!

 

DH and I will be on Victory Dec.13th-Dec.20th. Glad to hear someone else is going to be there. : ) We will have to meet up for a drink and you can hide in our cabin if you need to escape the in-laws.

 

Read all these posts...from what I read there is plenty of snorkeling to be done. I could snorkel everyday. We just got back from Mexico and had amazing snorkeling adventures.

 

Chat with you soon. Only 111 more days! whoo whoo.

 

Joy

[CarnivalGirl3]

Thanks beentravelin!

I've done the sting rays, never turtles. I need to figure out which guides know their fish. I get upset when I ask what fish something is and they don't know the answer. i mean, yes, I can look it up but I want to know then! lol. We had a GREAT one last trip, I need to see if it was on St. Thomas.

 

 

Hey, CarnivalGirl3!

 

DH and I will be on Victory Dec.13th-Dec.20th. Glad to hear someone else is going to be there. : ) We will have to meet up for a drink and you can hide in our cabin if you need to escape the in-laws.

 

Read all these posts...from what I read there is plenty of snorkeling to be done. I could snorkel everyday. We just got back from Mexico and had amazing snorkeling adventures.

 

Chat with you soon. Only 111 more days! whoo whoo.

 

Joy

Hey! Thanks for the offer! I like to hear plenty of snorkeling! I'd rather be with the fish than shopping.

 

any beaches we can snorkeling off of?

[NewbyCruiserFromMontreal]

Hi there,

 

I will be on the Carnival Victory on August 30th with my BF. Who else will be joing us ;-)

 

What time can we board the ship? Can we check in Sunday morning, leave our bags then come back later during the day?

 

Rosi

[jpg1747]

Wow, what a great thread. I've just about decided to do this cruise as my annual Thanksgiving cruise in 2010. I've done most of these ports before, but there's always something new to discover.