Carnival Victory
Carnival Victory Overview
Tonnage: 102,000
Length: 893 ft
Passengers: 2,642
Registry: Panama
A Conquest-class vessel sailing the southern Caribbean from San Juan - no Funship 2.0 upgrades
Best For People Who WantGlitz and glamour, flamboyance and razzle-dazzle at a price sure to please your pocketbook. Destiny offers a wide range of nightlife choices, including Las Vegas quality production shows, a generously sized casino and late-night adult comedy. The daytime activity is equally inviting, with live music and fun and games around the pool, the latest fitness and spa facilities and extensive programs for kids.
Should Be Avoided By People Who PreferThose who enjoy solitude, quiet days at sea, or who dislike the disruption of children and never-ending activity announcements, are advised to seek out the more understated, refined ambiance offered on smaller ships.
Onboard ExperienceCarnival Victory is the third sister ship to Carnival Destiny, the first ship larger than 100,000 gross tons. By day, the decks are awash in people soaking in the sun with umbrella-laden cocktails, or dancing on deck to a live Caribbean band. But nighttime is when the action goes into high gear, with a variety of venues offering lavish production shows, a sing-along piano bar, dancing to live music or in the uber-disco and late-night adults-only comedy shows. After midnight most of the actions shifts to the casino or the disco, both remaining open into the wee hours.
Victory appeals to a very wide range of passengers; singles, families with throngs of young children, and even retired couples. The passenger mix varies depending upon the season, but the number of kids onboard swells dramatically during the summer and school vacation periods.
The ship can feel crowded. It may list as 2642 passengers, but that is just counting beds on the floor. The maximum capacity is 3360 people, and when the ship is full a lot of those will be kids in rollaway and bunkbeds. Don't be surprised to find yourself in long lines at the shore excursion desk or the luncheon buffet. And finding your way around can take some doing, as the signs at elevators and stairwells are neither as numerous or as clear as you might hope.
DecorA lot of passengers are reminded of Fantasyland, Joe Farcus being the most unapologetically fanciful cruise ship interior designer at work today. Sort of the cruise ship equivalent of Cher's performing wardrobe in the ‘70s and ‘80s, in other words.
Public RoomsVictory won't take long to steal your breath away; you'll no sooner have boarded than you'll find yourself in a soaring nine-story open atrium, with glass elevators rising to top (Pool) deck. Promenade Deck flows like a serpentine tour of fun and diversion, from lounges and pastry shops to the casino and uber-disco. You can jump into the action at any opportunity, and just sit and enjoy observing the passing parade of humanity.
The Piano Bar gives everyone a chance to be a star. As the night wears on, this is an atmosphere guaranteed to remove even the stubbornest inhibition. The jazz and cabaret room is can be SRO at night, or it might be empty depending upon what is happening next door in the Point After dance club which has no fewer than 500 video monitors and a see-through dance floor lighted from below.
The Sports Bar features seven big-screen televisions that get ESPN Network, and video poker machines built right into the bar. The two-floor disco has Additional public rooms include boutiques, a patisserie /cappuccino bar (where there's a separate charge), small library, video game room and wine bar.
CuisineCarnival's food has improved greatly over the years and now compares favourably to that of more expensive cruise lines. You'll marvel at how well managed the everything is, especially considering that there are apt to be 3,400 passengers aboard. No one at sea serves better pizza, and available any time of day at that! Both the breakfast and luncheon buffets offer specialty food stations where you can make a custom order. The lunch buffet offers a marvelous salad bar. New Carnival menus include such upscale favourites as chateaubriand, lobster and rack of lamb. Dessert is usually a choice of cheesecakee, apple pie, and chocolate in the form of mousse or pudding. Rather bland at times. Ice cream is always available.
RestaurantsThe food's mostly delicious, and you'll marvel at how well managed the service is, especially considering that there are apt to be 3,400 passengers aboard. The dining room service is hilarious during dessert, when waiters do foolish dances while balancing trays on their heads.
Carnival's Total Choice Dining offers four seatings for dinner (at 5:45 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m in the main dining rooms). Alternative Bistro dining at an additional charge is an option every evening. In addition to the multiple dining room seatings, the poolside Lido eateries are converted between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. each evening into Seaview Bistros, offering casual buffet dinner with no reservations or advance notice required.
Victory has two dining rooms, Galaxy and Universe. Both comprise two separate levels (upper & lower), and are assigned according to cabin. Diners in the open area on the lower level may have to speak up when they converse, as it can get pretty noisy; tables on both sides and on the balcony are a much better bet. There are a few tables for two, but expect to dine in a group of four or eight.
By day, most opt for breakfast and luncheon buffets in the ship's poolside Lido restaurant, which offers wonderful sea views and al fresco dining. You'll also find the ship's 24-hour pizzeria here, serving multiple varieties and Caesar salad. A very limited room service menu is available round the clock.
ServiceCarnival's staff is efficient and professional, but don't anticipate a lot of personal attention aboard a ship this size.
TippingCarnival's automatic gratuities arrangement adds $10.00 per person (except children under two) per day to your Sail & Sign card. This includes $3.60 for the stateroom steward; $5.50 for the dining room team. and $.90 for service in the alternative dining rooms, amounts that can be raised or lowered at the purser's desk. You may also prepay gratuities for all service personnel at a rate of $10.00 per person per day. On Cruises-to-Nowhere, such prepayment is compulsory.
A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to all beverage tabs. Tip the maitre d', room service, spa, casino and other staff as you deem fit.
EntertainmentWhen it comes to nightlife, no one at sea does it better than Carnival. The performers in the smaller lounges are uniformly excellent, and the production shows in the [theater name] will take your breath away. Try to get one of the slightly off-center seats in the lower balcony, as, on the main floor, you may well spend the evening trying to see between heads.
CabinsWhen it's time to get away from it all, you'll do so in some of the largest cabins at sea.
The Victory-class were the first Carnival ships to offer private balconies in a majority of the staterooms. Regardless of which stateroom you choose, it's likely to be bigger than on another line; outside standard cabins are an ample 220 square feet and include a sofa and coffee table, while inside cabins measure 195 square feet. Many have pulldown berths to accommodate third and fourth passengers, consequently making the ship popular with families and groups of singles. There are also 230 square-foot "family" cabins with connecting doors near the children's center.
Given Mr. Farcus's flights of fancy in the public areas, cabin decor is often surprisingly understated. Count on a color TV with CNN, ESPN, plus movies. The bathrooms are nice and roomy, with shower, hair dryer and a basket of complimentary toiletries. Oceanview staterooms and suites offer a minibar and bathrobes. The ship's 48 suites and penthouse suites' bathrooms and decor were upgraded in 2005.
A small caveat: The soundproofing between staterooms could be better. A room too close to the casino will have you hearing bells and sirens all night long.
Fitness/SpaSports and fitness lovers will be in their element on Carnival Victory. The gym, with floor-to-ceiling windows and panoramic views, has 13 treadmills, eight Stairmasters, seven stationary bikes, rowing machines, free weights, and hydraulic weight machines. The Steiner's of London-operated spa, all 15,000 square feet of it just next door, offers just about every massage and beautifying treatment ever heard of. Be forewarned that the staff can be a bit in-your-face in pushing its own products. The pool area features a 214-foot circular water slide that kids adore. The jogging deck encircling the entire pool area is eleven laps to a mile. Topless sunbathing is allowed in a secluded section near the main funnel above the pool area.
Attire7-night cruises include two formal nights. Most men wear dark suits and tuxedoes are almost a rarity. If one needs formal wear it may be rented from the eveningwear shop. Daytime wear is strictly casual, but jeans aren't allowed in the dining room or anywhere after dark.
User Reviews
by gregg
1 Review
Publication Date: October 14, 2012
Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Victory by gregg Southern Caribbean October 14, 2012
This cruise started in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ports for this one week cruise were excellent, St Thomas, Barbados, St Kitts, St Marrtin, St Lucia. The staff were very friendly and attentive. I thought the food in the dining room was good and similar to other Carnival cruises we have been on. One reason My wife and I go on cruises is to dance and one big disappointment was that there was really very limited dancing on the ship, unless you only danced the merenge or cumbia with a latin band. The music was so loud in the latin area that we never stayed. There was an excellent band called inpromptwo on the ship that had a great variety of dance music but they were relegated to only playing in the lobby(no dancing) or next to the casino right in the walkway area with no dance floor. For others that don't really care about dancing west coast, foxtrot, cha cha rumba.... you will probably have a great time. We went on several of the side trips at each
port. The island tours were very informative and maybe a better deal than getting a taxi to show you around. try to get the early tours and then when you get back go and explore on your own. Have fun!
by Erica
2 Reviews
Publication Date: August 14, 2011
Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Victory by Erica Southern Caribbean August 14, 2011
This was suppose to be a very happy time for us because we had just got engaged at the begining of our trip! :) My fiance and I choose to stick with Carnival Cruise line again because we both enjoyed our first cruise with them so much.The people were friendly, the food was amazing and the boat was fun to be on. Sadly this cruise was a disappointment. The destinations were absolutely breath taking and very enjoyable and I would recomend them to anyone!!(We visited St.Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Maarten)
HOWEVER, our experience on the boat was not a pleasant one! Majority on the guests on this ship were VERY rude and pushy (all of the time). In my opinion a lot of the staff were getting irritated as well with this but instead of addressing it with the ones who were rude and pushy or handling it professionally, we were talked down to quite a lot, I guess for just being there. I can see why they were stressed out because these guest were stressing us out
as well. But in the same sense, we were nice and polite and still treated rudely by staff. Where we come from in Kindergarten you learn how to stand in a line- apparently the guests on this ship didn't attend kindergarten! We would stand in line at guest services for 30-45 minutes and just as its our turn to talk with a staff member someone goes under the rope and cuts us off. Instead of telling the woman she will be assisted when it is her turn and that she will need to stand in line like everyone else, the staff member assists her, putting us off who have waited patiently!! That was VERY aggrevating! The sad part is that this wasn't just a one tme occurance, it happened to us several times. As for the food - the dining room meals were amazing! Their chef did and outstanding job in preparing each meal. On deck however, the buffett was lacking in taste and variety. Not to mention the rude people behind you pushing you like cattle or cutting in line because they were tired of waiting. Entertainment- the main shows were fun and exciting to watch, Great job! The fun games they would play, like the marriage game, was so much fun to watch as well. We laughed and laughed. The comedians however we very poor!! Not only did this one comedian cut down every working class person in there, I guess for having a job, the second one didn't even show up or make on to the boat. Seriously considering another cruiseline now after this experience!
by Sean Ryan
4 Reviews
Publication Date: April 24, 2009
PREVIOUS CRUISES This cruise on Carnival Victory was my tenth over all. It was my third cruise with Carnival, and the second on a Destiny-class ship. My previous cruises include Premier's Big Red Boat Oceanic to the Bahamas; Celebrity's Zenith to the Western Caribbean; Majesty's Royal Majesty (currently NCL's Norwegian Majesty) to Bermuda; Holland America's Veendam to the Eastern Caribbean; Holland America's Westerdam to the Eastern Caribbean; Princess' Crown Princess to Alaska (Vancouver to Seward); Carnival's Carnival Destiny to the Western Caribbean; Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas to the Western Caribbean; and Carnival's Elation to the Mexican Riviera.
THE CARNIVAL VICTORY Weighing in at around 102,353 gross registered tons, and 893 feet long, the Carnival Victory is the largest and currently the newest ship in the Carnival Cruise Lines fleet. She is currently the fourth largest ship in the world behind only the Explorer of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas, and Grand Princess. We had around 3,400 passengers on our cruise, so she was maxed out to capacity, but you could never tell it was that crowded. The Victory itself is beautiful. The ship's interior as a whole is much more beautiful
and sophisticated than her sister ship, Carnival Destiny. Wood paneling and Formica grace the interior walls and elevators instead of the pink tin colored material on the Destiny. There is also practically no neon anywhere on the Victory. Instead of the darker color scheme of blacks, blues, and purples used on Destiny, the Victory has many greens, aquas, and blues, evoking the colors of the sea. The world's seas are the theme for the Carnival Victory. Every public room is named after a different sea or ocean. The first public room encountered on the Victory is the Seven Seas Atrium. This expansive and colorful atrium rises up nine decks, starting on deck three with the lobby bar. Here, at the base of the atrium is the information desk, shore excursions, and the entrance to the bottom floor of the Atlantic Dining Room; one of two dining rooms found on board the Victory. Up forward on this deck is the first floor of the Caribbean Theatre, the main show lounge on the ship. This theatre rises up three decks, and is quite an impressive sight. On Deck Three aft is the main entrance to the larger of the ship's two dining rooms, the Pacific Dining Room. On Deck Four, one finds the second floor of the Caribbean Theatre, the photo gallery that surrounds the atrium, the second floor entrance to the Atlantic Dining Room, and the Indian Ocean Library. On the aft section of this deck, there is the upper level entrance to the Pacific Dining Room, the Ionian Bar, card room, and Internet Cafe. Internet on the ship is $.75 per minute. Up on Promenade Deck Five, most of the ship's public areas exist. Starting forward, you have the third level of the Caribbean Theatre and the Victory shops, which include a Carnival logo shop, and several designer shops with perfumes, jewelry, and other fine items. Also on this deck, there is the Aegean Seas Sports Bar, the formalities shop, and Neptune's Way. Neptune's Way is the Victory's signature inside promenade that runs most of the length of the ship. Most Carnival ships now have this signature space. Along Neptune's Way is the South China Sea Club Casino, Neptune's Bar which is right across from the casino, the Coral Sea Cafe, Ocean Arcade, Club Arctic Disco, the Caspian Sea Wine Bar, the Irish Sea Piano Bar, the Black and Red Sea Lounge, and the Adriatic Lounge which was the ship's other theatre-type showroom at the very rear of the Victory. Decks Six, Seven, and Eight are all cabins. Up on Lido Deck Nine, there are most cabins on the forward part of this ship, and then there is the main pool area, Trident's Pool. Here, there is the main pool with two hot tubs, a stage, and two bars. There are also two al fresco buffets here that serve breakfast in the morning, and grilled items such as hamburgers and hotdogs in the afternoon. Further aft, there is the Mediterranean Restaurant, which is the ship's two story buffet restaurant. Here, there are two traditional cruise buffet lines; Yangtze Wok, a Chinese restaurant line; East River Deli, a sandwich shop; the 24-hour Pizzeria, and Mississippi BBQ - a grill type line for hamburgers, etc. Back in the back of this deck with the Pizzeria and BBQ place, is Siren's pool. Here, there is the pool with two hot tubs, and a bar. They are all underneath a retractable roof for inclement weather. Up a deck on Panorama Deck 10 are more cabins, and then there are sunning areas, filled with deck chairs, and the King of the Seas pool area. The King of the Sea pool area includes a small pool, a hot tub, and the base of the three story, 214-foot waterslide. Spa Deck Eleven features the Nautica Spa area, and Children's world, as well as the jogging track which circles around the funnel. Deck Twelve consists mainly of sunning areas, the Children's World pool and wading area, and around the funnel is the tops optional sun deck. This ship is plenty large enough. It was incredibly easy to catch an elevator on this ship since there are eighteen of them on the ship! There are ten in the forward elevator lobby, four at midship, and four aft. There was virtually never a wait for the elevators, and I very rarely took the stairs for this reason. For the most part, the Victory towered above other ships in port with the exception of the Voyager of the Seas in Miami, and the Explorer of the Seas in San Juan. Overall, the ship is pretty awesome. It took me no time at all to learn my way around her, but this was mostly because I had previously sailed on the Carnival Destiny, which shares a virtually identical floor plan of the Victory. All in all, I would rate this my second favorite physical ship I have ever sailed on.CABINS The biggest surprise of the week for us came upon check in. We had booked a category 4A inside guarantee cabin. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we had been upgraded all the way to an 8D cabin; an outside cabin with balcony all the way up on Lido Deck Nine! Our cabin, #9280 was located on the port side of Lido deck, midship to forward, right by the atrium elevators. Our cabin was a very good size; it had plenty of room for two people. There was ample closet and drawer space for seven days. There was an electronic safe located in one of the closets, which you could open and close with your credit card. The balcony is beautiful. It is decked with teak wood; it also has glass railings so you can see the sea while sitting down. Solid divisions between balconies ensure a high amount of privacy on the balcony. There is a miniature lounge chair, table, and regular chair out on the balcony. The cabin's bathroom had plenty of room as well. The shower curtain; however, became annoying as the week progressed. Ships should look at the cabins on Voyager and Explorer of the Seas as examples of a perfect cruise ship bathroom...there are sliding glass doors on that ship instead of the annoying shower curtain. All in all, this is a great cabin, and it was appreciated even more considering we booked an inside originally!
SERVICE The personal service we received on this ship was outstanding. Our cabin stewardess, Jana from the Czech Republic was great. She kept our room clean, and our ice bucket full the whole cruise. What more can you ask for? Our waiter was Carlos from Guatemala. He gave us flawless and very quick service throughout the week. He has been with Carnival for twelve years, and you could certainly tell because this guy had our food out in no time! There was never a significant amount of waiting between courses. Our Assistant Waitress was Claire from South Africa. She is twenty-three and this cruise was her first cruise as Assistant Waitress, but you could certainly not tell. She provided excellent service all week long. Her, and her best friend from back home, Lobke were both on the ship, and Lobke actually was the Assistant Waitress of the tables right next to us. I thought it was neat how Carnival positioned the two best friends not only on the same ship, but also with tables right next to each other. The Maitre'd, Stany was very personable and helpful as well as we had to make a dinner change after the first night from the 8:00 seating to the 5:45 seating. The service around the rest of the ship was pretty good. Crew overall was generally friendly. Overall, I would rate service on this large ship very good to excellent.
FOOD Well I will start off by saying that Carnival has not changed their menu in the last three years! This is my third Carnival cruise in the last three years, and the dinner menu is still identical to the one I had two years back on the Destiny, and last year on the Elation. This didn't really bother me; just the food gets repetitive if you cruise Carnival as often as I have the last few years. On the Victory, there are two main choices for each meal: the main dining rooms, and buffet style up in the Mediterranean restaurant. I ate breakfast virtually every morning in the Pacific Dining Room. I prefer sit-down breakfast to the buffet since I can get my eggs benedict down there! However, one morning I did get the omelet in the dining room, and it was delicious! Though I never did eat breakfast up in the Mediterranean, there were two main buffet lines serving the standard cruise buffet breakfast fare. There were made to order omelet stations, so if I did eat up there, that is what I would have gotten. There are two other buffet lines outside right by the pool if you want to dine al fresco. Breakfast was overall very good on this ship, every morning but one, I was happy with my breakfast. There were several options for lunch everyday on the Victory. First, you had the sit-down lunch option in the two main dining rooms. This cruise, I never opted for this. Up in the Mediterranean, there were two buffet lines. These contained a substantial salad bar, fruit, four various dishes, a meat, and pasta. There was also a dessert bar. Outside by the pool, hamburgers and hotdogs were served at the two buffet lines by the pool. The Yangtze Wok served different Chinese dishes everyday. I ate this one day and had an excellent meal with spring rolls, fried rice, noodles and Kung Pao chicken. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. It seems that most of my lunches I ate at the East River Deli. Here, they served an assortment of warm sandwiches. My favorite was the Rueben. It was excellent, and easily the best Rueben I have ever had! The deli was open until 11 PM every night, so occasionally I would come up there at night and order a Rueben...they were soooo good! Of course, another choice for lunch was the 24-hour Pizzeria. Here, they served seven types of pizza, calazones, Caesar salad, and chicken Caesar salads. In my opinion, the pizza on Carnival is the best pizza on any cruise line. Yet another option for lunch is Mississippi BBQ. Here, they served hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hotdogs, chicken sandwiches served on a French roll, and steak sandwiches. The hamburgers I ate here were easily the BEST I have ever had on a cruise ship. They were the thickest and juiciest burgers I have had on a ship. Every time I go back on Carnival, their burgers seem to get even better! The dinner options are the same: dinner in the Main Dining Rooms, Pacific and Atlantic, or the casual alternative of dinner buffet style up in the Mediterranean Restaurant. The early seating dinners were at 5:45 in the Pacific Dining Room, and 6:30 in the Atlantic Dining Room. The late seating dinners occurred at 8:00 in the Pacific Dining Room, and 8:45 in the Atlantic Dining Room. We ate every night at 5:45 in the Pacific Dining Room. While we do like early seating, this unorthodox dining time may have been a bit too early. I guess we would have much preferred the 6:30 dinner, but we did not change because we had some great tablemates and the BEST waiter and assistant waitress on the ship! The appetizers and soups were all excellent. My favorites included the shrimp cocktails, southwestern egg rolls, and lobster bisque. The salads were always fresh and tasty. I enjoyed a Caesar salad or mixed salad with field greens every night. The entrees ranged from good to excellent. Highlights of the week included the lobster, fillet mignon, tiger prawns, veal parmigean, and some of the pastas. On many nights, I ordered two entrees because I simply wanted both of them! Carlos, our waiter happily complied with those requests. I'm not that big of a dessert fan, but the desserts on the Victory were outstanding! I loved the apple pie a la mode, cherries jubilee, and strawberry cheesecake. Every night, there was a midnight buffet. I never indulged here, but instead I would have a Rueben sandwich or some pizza late at night at the pizzeria. Overall, the food on the Victory was the best I have ever had on a Carnival ship. Better yet, there is so much of it; you will never be hungry on the Carnival Victory. Though the menu is pretty much the same, the quality and presentation of the food has greatly improved over the last few years. Way to go Carnival!
GYM Okay, this is the category of the ship that sets Carnival above all the other cruise lines. The gym facilities on Carnival, particularly the Destiny class ships are second to none. Although there are larger gym facilities on some ships (Voyager and Explorer of the Seas), I like the layout of the Destiny and Victory's gyms much better. You enter the gym through the lockeroom, which is complete with eight showers, a steam room, and a sauna. The steam room and sauna both have floor to ceiling windows overlooking the side of the ship, and both areas are very enjoyable. The gym/spa complex is actually two levels. It consists of the gym, the hot tubs, aerobics upstairs, and the spa treatment area for massages and other treatments. The actual gym has many free weights with different benches. There are about 8 treadmills and stair climber thingies. There are also many different machines in the gym. These machines are all air pressure, and they give you quite a good workout. There are eight upper body machines; six lower body machines, and two lower back and abs machines. The equipment in here is very adequate for a good workout. The best part, all of this has a view of the ocean through floor to ceiling windows! Also in the gym area is two hot tubs elevated between the gymnasium and the aerobics area upstairs. I used the gym facilities everyday, and I felt that they were very, very complete. If treadmills are not your thing, not to worry, there is a padded jogging track around the funnel. Ten laps are equal to a mile. Like I said, the gym facilities on this ship are hard to beat. While the gym on Voyager and Explorer of the Seas has more physical equipment, I like the layout of the Victory's gym much better.
ACTIVITIES The Carnival Victory featured a number of activities during the day and at night. During the day, there were the standard cruise activities...bingo, quizzes, pool games, hairy chest competitions, and much more. During the day, I just chose to stay out by the pool or rest on our balcony. Camp Carnival runs an excellent program for younger children ages 3-17. There is a very large arcade along Neptune's Way right next to Club Artic disco. Here, there are numerous arcade games as well as an air hockey table. There is also an Internet cafe on the ship, but it is $.75 per minute, so I didn't find myself using it much. It is not in nearly as a convenient of a spot as it is on the Voyager of the Seas. But hell, at least Carnival now has these on board Internet cafes! It is a major improvement from our last Carnival cruise on the Elation. Overall, there is something to do for everyone on the Victory. You can pack your schedule and try to hit every scheduled activity, or you can just relax and not worry about the activities...remember, its vacation!
ENTERTAINMENT Carnival always has some of the finest entertainment in the cruise industry. Cruise Director Corey Schmidt packed full a great week of entertainment on board. There were three great comedians, and two or three midnight 'R-rated' comedy shows. There was also a juggler and a magician. Corey even had an act of his own! He did a show with his birds. He has been doing performances with his birds forever; he even performed at Busch Gardens for quite a while. While I did not attend the two production shows, 'Livin in America' and 'Vrooom,' I heard nothing but good things about them. Entertainment this week was definitely first rate. Getting back to Corey Schmidt, and his cruise staff - they were awesome. Corey was the funniest and most entertaining cruise director I have ever had! Cruise Directors like Corey, and the entertainment that occurs throughout the week is what makes Carnival the leading cruise line when it comes to entertainment, and it is one factor that will always keep us coming back to Carnival time after time.
NIGHTLIFE Few ships have nightlife that can compare to that on board the fun ships of Carnival! Especially the Carnival Victory. Every night, there were several places one could go for evening entertainment. Of course, there were the shows in the Caribbean Theatre and there is the South China Sea Club Casino, which is open to happily receive donations. There was always a light band playing in the Adriatic Lounge called 'Music Society.' The Irish Sea Bar is the ship's piano bar, and one of the more popular places on board at night. A guitarist played all evening along Neptune's Way across from the Casino. Of course, there is also the Club Arctic Disco! This is one of the more impressive dance clubs on a cruise ship. The whole room is decorated with an arctic theme. There is glass along the ceilings that emulate ice, and there are fur seats on the barstools! Club music is played here most nights except for the 50's/60's oldies night. The disco was open to everyone before 11:00, but after that, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, only people over the age of 18 are allowed. Security asks for ID of anyone who is of questionable age on these nights. The rest of the nights, the club is open to anyone, and is usually over run with younger teenagers. Club Arctic is really a very fun place, and I spent most of every night in there! Overall, the nightlife on the Carnival Victory is excellent. While the disco does not really compare with 'The Vault' on Voyager of the Seas, it is certainly just as fun!
WHO GOES? We did this trip over the peak of Spring Break; so naturally, there was a much younger crowd on board. The Victory was traveling above maximum capacity with around 3,400 passengers! There we a ton of families, many spring breakers, college students, single people, younger couples, and older couples. There were hundreds of children and teenagers on this cruise as well. The younger people, college kids and all along with a very energetic general population of this ship made this a very fun cruise. It was overall a very fun crowd! I would say that the average age was somewhere from 30-35 years old.
EMBARKATION AND DISEMBARKATION Carnival has made great strides in improving their embarkation and disembarkation procedures during the past few months. On previous Carnival cruises, this procedure was a terrible process. It was horrible and took forever on the Destiny, and was even worse on the Elation. I am happy to report that it is now world's better on the Victory. We arrived at the ship in Miami at around 2:00. We walked through security, and without a line arrived at the ticket counter. We were processed and then we were on board within five minutes. Five minutes for embarkation is impressive no matter what cruise line we are talking about. Let alone a ship with 3,400 passengers! They now take your picture for the cruise card when you are boarding the ship for better security when boarding and exiting the ship at each port of call. As far as disembarkation is concerned, it has improved just as much. Carnival has changed to a relaxed disembarkation. Now, instead of having to be out of our cabin by 7:00 am and having to wait in a public lounge, you are allowed to stay in your cabin for as long as you'd like until your tag color is called. We were called off with the first disembarkation group, so we were off the ship by 9:00. All of the bags were set up in the terminal, so I don't see any problem with getting off with the first group no matter what color you are. There was not even the slightest line in getting off the ship. The procedure was very relaxed, efficient, and much better than the procedure I have endured through on other cruises. Great job Carnival on improving this procedure!
7 NIGHT EASTERN CARIBBEAN ITINERARY Though this was my third time cruising the Eastern Caribbean, it marked the first time I have been to San Juan and St. Croix. My other Eastern Caribbean cruises on Holland America had hit St. Kitts or St. Maarten and Nassau instead of San Juan and St. Croix. I was especially eager to visit St. Croix since my father lived there back some 25 years ago.
SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2001 - Miami, Florida (depart 4:30 p.m.) * Also in Miami were Carnival's Paradise, NCL's Norwegian Sun, and Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas. We already drove to the South Florida area on Saturday from Auburn, Alabama and Houston, Texas. We spent the night at our family's house in Coral Springs Saturday night. Today, we arrived at the Port of Miami at around 2:00. We parked the car ($10 per day), and we were on the ship by 2:15. We got on the ship today, and happily went to our balcony room that we were upgraded to. Since we had already sailed on the Carnival Destiny, we were very familiar with the deck plan of the ship. After looking around the ship for a little bit, we headed up to the Mediterranean Restaurant and had a Rueben sandwich for lunch. We had muster at around 4:00. We promptly sailed away at 4:30. We passed the Voyager of the Seas and Paradise, cheering loudly while we passed the two ships. We had 8:00 dinner tonight, but requested a change to early dinner right afterwards and that request was happily granted by the Maitre'd, Stany. Tonight, I went to the welcome aboard show and then to Club Arctic to meet some new people! Dinner: casual
MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2001 - 'Fun Day at Sea' Today was a standard, relaxing day at sea. I explored the ship some and pretty much just took it easy after I worked out at the Nautica Gym. It looked like deck chairs went pretty fast this morning by the pools, and there was the ever-present saving of chairs for hours at a time with a towel or book. There was, however, plenty of deck space all over the ship, so I didn't have to be right by the pool so it didn't bother me. Tonight was the first formal night. We headed down to the Captain's cocktail party in the Adriatic Lounge and then went to dinner to meet our new tablemates and wait staff at the 5:45 dinner. Tonight I spent most of the evening with new friends I had met and ended up in Club Arctic for a good while. Dinner: formal
TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2001 - 'Fun Day at Sea' and San Juan, Puerto Rico (4:30 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.) * Also in San Juan were Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas, Costa's Costa Victoria, and Seabourn's Seabourn Legend. The first part of today was similar to Monday. I worked out and just took it easy. We sailed into San Juan ahead of schedule, between 4:00 and 4:30. We passed the fort and had a beautiful sail in past Costa Victoria and Seabourn Legend as we docked right next to the largest ship in the world: Explorer of the Seas. We really had no intentions of doing much in San Juan since it was a nighttime stop. We found an Internet cafe right past the pier and called home. Then we took pictures of the impressive sight of two of the world's largest ships. The largest, Explorer of the Seas and the world's fourth largest ship, Carnival Victory. It was truly an impressive sight having these two behemoths right next to each other. We smuggled a bit of rum back on board so security wouldn't take it up, and then headed to dinner. Tonight, after dinner, I went on deck and watched as the Explorer of the Seas left San Juan. I took pictures of the ship as she left, and I got excited since I will be on her for my next cruise in June! Tonight I did the standard stuff -- hung out at Club Arctic. Dinner: extremely casual
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2001 - St. Croix, U.S.V.I. (7:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.) St. Croix was our longest stop. We got off the ship right after we docked, walked down the pier and found a rental car place where we rented a jeep. It was $55 for the day, and well worth the money. Since my dad used to live here, he pretty much knew his way around the island. We drove around the island all day. We went to the east end, which is actually the eastern-most point in the United States! We drove atop some mountains for a scenic view of St. Croix and neighboring Buck Island. We drove through the scenic town of Christiansted, and had lunch there. We proceeded to drive around the rest of the island, by beautiful Cain Bay, and on through the rainforest. We arrived back at the ship around 4:30, and got ready for dinner. After dinner, we went back off the ship and into the town of Fredricksted. Here, the locals put on a party called Harbour Nights. This was one of the highlights of the cruise! This is a festival that takes place every other Wednesday night (every night the Victory is in port). Locals and tourists from all over the island converge on this four block long area for a festival. There are exotic foods, shops, and drinks for sail. It was incredibly fun, and it really made St. Croix my favorite stop of the cruise! I headed back to the ship around 11:00 and partied well into the night! Dinner: casual
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2001 - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. (8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.) * Also in St. Thomas were Holland America's Veendam and Radisson's Seven Seas Navigator. We woke up this morning to go diving. We booked the tour through Carnival's shore excursion. We originally thought it would be a boat dive, but we were mistaken. We had about a twenty-minute taxi ride out to Coral World where we ended up doing a beautiful beach dive. The dive lasted about 45 minutes. We then were able to spend about another hour on the beach before heading back to the Carnival Victory. I got back to the ship, worked out, ran, and laid out by the pool. I then watched the Veendam leave port, and went to dinner as we were pulling out of the harbour in St. Thomas. Tonight I did the same as usual: hanging out at Club Arctic! Dinner: casual
FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2001 - 'Fun Day at Sea' Today I slept in a bit, recovering from three port days in a row. I then went up for lunch, worked out and just took it easy the rest of the day. It was a very relaxing day. Tonight was the last formal night. We headed to the Carnival Repeat Passengers cocktail party and then went to dinner. Tonight I did the usual! Dinner: formal
SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2001 - 'Fun Day at Sea' Well, our last full day on the Victory has arrived. Today was basically the same as Friday, except I decided to spend most of the day laying out up on deck most of the day after I worked out. We headed to dinner and said our goodbyes to our wait staff and tablemates. We then went back to the room and backed. You are supposed to have your bags out in the hall by 1:00 a.m. Tonight I partied as usual, and said my goodbyes to all the friends I had made in the past week. The last night is always one of the most fun and saddest nights. I was sad to see the cruise drawing to a close =( Dinner: casual
SUNDAY, APRIL 01, 2001 - Miami, Florida (arrive 4:30 a.m.) * Also in Miami were Carnival's Paradise, NCL's Norwegian Sun, Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, and Radiance of the Seas. This morning I woke up and we were already in Miami. We went to eat breakfast in the Pacific Dining Room, and then headed back to our room where we waited until we were called to disembark around 9:00. To my surprise, Royal Caribbean's brand new ship was docked in Miami! I was happy to get some great pictures of that beautiful ship next to the Voyager of the Seas, as well as some last pictures of the Victory. We sadly drove back to Auburn, Alabama because our cruise was over. Luckily, I have another cruise on the horizon to look forward to: Explorer of the Seas on June 9th of this year.
ODDS & ENDS -Hint: to avoid paying high prices for beer, pack a case in the bottom of a bag that is not a carry on. We did that, and figured it saved us about $50. -If you want a deck chair by the pool, get up there early, before 9. There is never a problem getting a deck chair, but it just may not be by the pool. -Carnival, once again, please give us trays up in the Lido restaurants of your ships! It is hard to carry multiple plates and drinks with only two hands, and a tray would help tremendously! -The Purser's Deck is very crowded on Saturday, so I would recommend getting cash for your tips on Friday instead. -I know I hated doing this, but the later you get to the ship, the smaller of a line you have to wait in. We arrived at 2:00, and had NO line for embarkation. -In my opinion, San Juan was a waste. I would have much rather stopped at maybe St. Maarten or Tortola or something. I realize San Juan is a cruise hub, but it is kind of like stopping at another Miami. -If they are having it the week you are in St. Croix, go to the Harbour Nights Party!! It's a blast! -Victory's gambling age is 18; drinking age is 21. -There is a ton of security on the ship. I thought there was too much security until the last night when they really needed to use it because a fight broke out. -Once again, to try to avoid the high drink prices on the ship, pick up some pints of liquor in port and stuff them in your pockets to take back on the ship. It can save you a little cash. -Go in with a positive outlook, and you will have a great time!
IN CONCLUSION... This was a great cruise. The Victory is a beautiful and very fun ship, and it is my favorite in the Carnival fleet. Victory was the second best ship I have sailed on, second only to Voyager of the Seas. Once again, I would do this cruise again in a heartbeat, and I would most definitely sail on the Carnival Victory again. Carnival gives the cruiser one of the best cruise values, especially on a ship as nice as the Carnival Victory. And this is one of the many reasons why we will continue coming back to cruise with Carnival.
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