V is for VICTORY (and cruise #5) PHOTO HEAVY review.

Your review was perfectly timed..... we will be sailing on Victory next week! Although our itinerary is different than yours it was still fun to read through the whole thing. We especially liked the pictures of the different areas on the ships. Really appreciate the time and effort that it took you to do this!

Thank you! I enjoy doing these reviews. It gives me reason to explore the ships more and look take time to notice the nice things.

Have a great cruise!

Nice job Sean! Look forward to meeting you and hanging out in November

Thanks, Steve! Ditto!

I just finished reading your review and enjoyed this one as much as I enjoyed your Valor review. You really get some great pictures too. We actually just got back from a Carnival Liberty western Caribbean itinerary (roughest seas we've experienced on a cruise and missed Grand Cayman, but better than cold and snow). We booked kind of last minute since family had change of plans and we're not doing our beach vacation with them this year AND we needed to get away from winter. I think we were flying in and boarding as you were leaving (April 5???). We ended up flying into Miami this time (better price), but flew over Ft. Lauderdale and was able to get a picture of the port. Not as good as yours since we were still up in the air quite a ways. I know that was Carnival Freedom with Oasis of the Seas (and two others) since we were able to check-in for the cruise at the Carnival desk at Miami airport and there were two different shuttles to the ports. One for Freedom passengers going to Ft. Lauderdale and the other for Victory and Liberty passengers. Seeing Freedom with Oasis of the Seas blew my mind. What a difference in size!!! We were really able to tell from the air.

 

I really hope you do a review of your Splendor cruise and if so, I'll definitely be following.

Thank you!

No kidding! You were probably arriving in FLL as I was sitting in the JetBlue terminal waiting for my departure flight. Small world! Stinks that you had rough seas and missed GC. That said though, I do agree that a rough day at sea is better than a rough day at work. I hope you enjoyed your time on Liberty and the other ports you made. I've sailed RCI's Independence of the seas and that made the Conquest class feel small. I can't imagine how the Oasis or Allure feels (not sure I want to be on a ship with that many people, honestly).

I will most definitely be doing a review of my Splendor cruise. It looks to be particularly awesome too with the roll call we have going. I'm also considering upgrading to one of the best lenses I can get for my DSLR. This will be one of the few times I've looked forward to November.

Seannyice81, did you happen to notice whether the floodlights in the aft pool had ever been replaced? That was a maintenance issue I noted on my cruise -- the pool was unlit and very dark at night -- and considering that pool is open 'til midnight, is open to chldren, and a child drowned in the midship pool on the cruise right before ours, I was a bit shocked to see the lights were all burned out.

You lucked out with that balcony cabin!

Yeah, no kiddin'. At first when the Hotel Services officer led me away from Guest Services I thought we were going back to OUR cabin so he could see what it felt like...but we got on an elevator and went up to Deck 6. I realized he was taking me to an alternate cabin and then my eyes popped out when he turned to the outboard side of the corridor and I realized "Holy smokes, a BALCONY!" (I've never had one before and don't expect to be able to afford one again.)

Once I realized that room WAS air-conditioned I "allowed myself" to agree to the move; frankly, THAT acting deserved an Oscar. Then I went downstairs to break the news to my sister.

"Cindy, start packing. We're leaving."

"So, we're going? Off the boat?"

"Yes, we're going. To a different cabin. On Deck 6. It's a balcony!"

...and remember, friends, my sister is a smoker. :D

Could you please post the stateroom # that had poor/no AC on Liberty? Perhaps the damper was jammed.

I had to go dig up my old cruise-stuff. It was Cabin #1355.

Those who don't know. The ships have a lever/knob that controls a damper plate/valve. This regulates the amount of pre-set ac being delivered into your cabin. The actual temperature is set in the engine control room.

Yep, the techs tried adjusting the damper, but to no avail.

The way I finally determined that we would invoke the Vacation Guarantee was, I took my shirt off and sat on the bed, not moving. After five minutes I was still sweaty, and my sister said "That's it. Go tell them we're off the ship."

Pellaz, thanks for your input on the Vacation Guarantee situation. That's kind of how I think it might play out in my situation as well. Anyone who actually USES the vacation guarantee will cost Carnival a lot of money (110% of fare, $100 Future OBC, airfare back to Miami, change fees for onward air for some people, transfers, loss of on-board purchases) so it makes sense that they'll go to some lengths to avoid that.

I think the overriding factor was the fact that there WAS an alternate stateroom available. I really didn't care if the new cabin was a balcony, an OV or an interior (although I'd have asked for OBC if it had been an interior), just that it was air-conditioned and comfortable. If there hadn't been another stateroom available, we'd have been flying back from the first non-U.S. port.

Not every departure sails full, of course. My cruise on Imagination was only about 70% full -- even though Carnival had told some of us it sailed full.

Seannyice81, did you happen to notice whether the floodlights in the aft pool had ever been replaced? That was a maintenance issue I noted on my cruise -- the pool was unlit and very dark at night -- and considering that pool is open 'til midnight, is open to chldren, and a child drowned in the midship pool on the cruise right before ours, I was a bit shocked to see the lights were all burned out.

I actually didn't notice. I think I remember there being a net over a drained aft pool around 11 one night, but I can't remember whether the lights were working.

Yeah, no kiddin'. At first when the Hotel Services officer led me away from Guest Services I thought we were going back to OUR cabin so he could see what it felt like...but we got on an elevator and went up to Deck 6. I realized he was taking me to an alternate cabin and then my eyes popped out when he turned to the outboard side of the corridor and I realized "Holy smokes, a BALCONY!" (I've never had one before and don't expect to be able to afford one again.)

Once I realized that room WAS air-conditioned I "allowed myself" to agree to the move; frankly, THAT acting deserved an Oscar. Then I went downstairs to break the news to my sister.

"Cindy, start packing. We're leaving."

"So, we're going? Off the boat?"

"Yes, we're going. To a different cabin. On Deck 6. It's a balcony!"

...and remember, friends, my sister is a smoker. :D

 

I had to go dig up my old cruise-stuff. It was Cabin #1355.

 

Yep, the techs tried adjusting the damper, but to no avail.

The way I finally determined that we would invoke the Vacation Guarantee was, I took my shirt off and sat on the bed, not moving. After five minutes I was still sweaty, and my sister said "That's it. Go tell them we're off the ship."

 

I think the overriding factor was the fact that there WAS an alternate stateroom available. I really didn't care if the new cabin was a balcony, an OV or an interior (although I'd have asked for OBC if it had been an interior), just that it was air-conditioned and comfortable. If there hadn't been another stateroom available, we'd have been flying back from the first non-U.S. port.

Not every departure sails full, of course. My cruise on Imagination was only about 70% full -- even though Carnival had told some of us it sailed full.

Wow! That's pretty bad! Makes me wonder how others might have coped or if they (knew about, and) possibly invoked the guarantee as well. Hopefully they've since fixed whatever the problem was. Spending my nights in one of the noisier cabins wasn't great, but one that's uncomfortable would really stink. Glad it worked-out for you (and then some!).

Thanks for posting the cabin #, hopefully people will see that and beware.

Tough to say, but I think you'll be over the Comedy/Karaoke club.

If you go on cruise deck plans dot com you can "drag" the decks over each other to see what is above and below you. ;)

If you go on cruise deck plans dot com you can "drag" the decks over each other to see what is above and below you. ;)

Good to know!

Great review and pics.

Sent from my LGMS659 using Forums mobile app

Awesome review !!

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

PRE CRUISE DAY 1,2,3 - Miami, Florida

ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2014

First off... Who is Molly?

 

I'm going to be condensing my days in Miami prior to the cruise as it wasn't cruise related and quite honestly, was not a good time.

 

In a nutshell, it was all wrong from the beginning. I traveled with 3 others who we're all each other's cousins. Since they were family, they kind of struck-out on their own as far as flights went. I had booked with JetBlue months in advance to get a decent flight/rate. They booked with American at a much earlier time than me (6am). They also didn't sleep the night before because they're nervous flyers. That in-particular really messed things up. They would get there 3 hours before me and due to the hotel policy, they couldn't actually have access to the room until I got there was was able to check in.

 

Noon comes around and I touch down at Ft. Lauderdale (on time). Getting off the plane was easy, I was one of the first people to get my bag, and I was off in a taxi in a hurry. Its not often I tell a cabbie to "step on it", but this was one of those occurrences. It was all for nothing though, as I hit construction and accident traffic, not once, twice, but 3 times. It took an hour to get to the DoubleTree in Miami from FLL. I felt so bad, but there wasn't much I could do. As soon as I pulled up, I met up with them and we checked in.

 

Our reservation was for the 2-bedroom condo suite. When we opened the door, it was quite a surprise. Wall-to-wall windows/glass doors, full kitchen, nice furnature, nice bedrooms, and big TV. It looked great! It also had a massive balcony that overlooked the northern part of Miami. It was AWESOME!

 

View from massive balcony

 

 

 

 

One dude packed all these shoes!

 

 

Ultra Music Festival didn't start until 5, so we all kind of took it easy and rested before we'd head over. We wound up waiting even later though as we weren't too interested in the opening acts and we knew there would be a lot of crowding. We had no clue...

DUDEEEE...I am sooo envious you got to take so many kicks and hats!!!!:mad::p Great Review

CRUISE DAY 1 - MIAMI - CONTINUED

 

..<snip>... It was at this time I made an alarming discovery about my cabin. I was right over the comedy club and that's where they have the Superstar Karaoke. This was followed with cursing. As I found my shoes I could hear somebody below me poorly bellowing their way through CCR's Proud Mary. This would be the first of too many times I heard that song.

We were over the Karaoke bar on the old Destiny... Dust in the Wind... every night... 2 or 3 am... :eek::rolleyes:

Thank you for the many, many pictures and review of your journey!!!

Great review and amazing pictures. Pardon me if you said it somewhere within your review, but what type of camera were you using :D

Thanks for the excellent review seannyice81. I enjoyed the read and the pictures The Victory is still my favourite ship, but I am also a big fan of green.

Thanks for the nice review and especially the great pics. We're five years removed from our only Victory cruise and the great memories still linger. Your nice pictures helped just make them that much fresher.

That was when the Victory was doing the 7 islands in 7 days cruise out of San Juan. After many more cruises on some of CCL's newest ships we still look on our Victory cruise as our favorite.

Again....Thanks!

Thank you all for the praise :)

We were over the Karaoke bar on the old Destiny... Dust in the Wind... every night... 2 or 3 am... :eek::rolleyes:

Yea, it got old pretty quick. :rolleyes:

Great review and amazing pictures. Pardon me if you said it somewhere within your review, but what type of camera were you using :D

Thank you

Nikon D-90 with 18-55mm lens/filter, and my iPhone.

Thank you!

Great review!! Thanks for posting all of the awesome pics! I have really enjoyed reading a cruise review from a guy's point of view. We will be cruising on the Victory in about a month for our 26th Anniversary and we weren't sure what all we were going to do in Grand Turk or in Nassau. You have given us some great ideas...thanks!! :)

CRUISE DAY 4 - GRAND TURK - PART 3

 

JACK'S SHACK

 

The ATV tour is fun, but you know what. Its time for a beer! Where do I go? Jack's Shack! I hate wearing closed-toed shoes on a cruise/beach vacation. After the ATV tour, I really needed bare feet so I took my shoes off and walked all the way down the beach, through the water to Jack's Shack. The place was poppin'. People were out front playing volleyball, the loungers were all taken as well as most areas of the beach, and the bar was packed. Looking around, I noticed some familiar faces. Many of the entertainment staff were there catching some rays and using the wifi. They seemed to be having a good time. It's good to see hard working people taking a break and enjoying some time off. I grabbed a seat at the hut/bar and was greeted by Jack. What a cool guy. His wife and daughter were there working as well. I wanted the conch fritters which I think were referred to as "cracked conch." Jack told me it'd be a 45 minute wait for it. "Sure, I'm in no hurry." I planted myself there and enjoyed a really good bottle of Turks Head Lager.

 

Don't let the beat-up lounger fool you. There are a lot more with umbrellas. I would have taken a photo of those, but I didn't want the speedo-wearing retirees that were playing volleyball in a picture. You're welcome.

 

 

One thing that struck me was that there were a couple teens sitting at the bar (NOT drinking booze, thankfully). I was next to some guys going back and forth and joking over which ship was better, Liberty or Victory. People were pretty into it (in a fun way) and even the assistant CD of the Liberty, who was there, chimed in little too. I told them the Liberty was better in my mind. First, because of 2.0 and secondly because of its larger size (with more stuff). My experience on Liberty was also unparalleled. It is a great ship. Not that Victory was bad! This continued for a while and we all talked about the ships and cruises we'd been on. A little later a couple from Boston sat down next to me. I can't remember how, but we got into discussion. We bought some drinks and had an overall good time just hanging out there. I watched their stuff while they went in the water, and they watching mine. I spent about 5 mins in the water and it was so nice. A tiny bit cool when first getting in, but it was awesome after about a 30 seconds. I swam back and forth a little, knowing it would be the last time I was in water that nice for some time. After getting out, I went back up to the bar and picked-up where I left off. My fried conch still hadn't shown up yet and it was almost 1.5 hours later. I asked Jack if he knew what was up, and he brought some right over. Nice! It was pretty good! Very similar to other fried shell fish, but not tough. I shared some with my new friends from Boston. I asked Jack's daughter (can't remember her name) to see if I could buy a shirt. Sure! I picked out a green "bar fly" t-shirt and got a free cocktail with it. Nice! After a while people started leaving. An even shorter time later, we decided it would probably be best to leave too. We agreed to meet on Serenity Deck for sail-away.

 

 

 

After a sad walk back to the pier, and onto the ship. I took a shower and then headed up to Serenity for sail away. Out on deck, Victory had a DJ going, while Liberty had an acoustic guitar player. I found a couple clam shell loungers with my new friends Matt and Kristen. We sipped on Pina Coladas as the Victory pulled up it's mooring lines and started sailing away.

 

 

It was a very nice sail away and yet a little sad. We knew we were now Miami bound. Thankfully we still had 1 sea day left to indulge in what the ship had to offer.

I see me!! :)

Your review was awesome!! It was a great way for me to kill some time at work dreaming about our first cruise. However, We are booked in cabin 6424 and after I check to see what was under us on deck 5 i'm concerned now about the noise we are going to have to deal with considering our room is right above the stage area. Ugh!! I noticed that your cabin wasn't too far away either and you had to deal with noise from below. My PVP kinda rushed us to book, but we still have time before our final payment to change our minds. We really loved the idea of the really big balcony!!

Nice review. Victory has a bit of a gaudy interior.

CRUISE DAY 2 - NASSAU

 

Nassau. Many people seem to take issue with this place. Mostly due to how frequent it's visited on cruises, I suppose. To be honest I could visit Nassau 10 times and still be happy. The place has a lot going on and I could find a new place to hang out every time I visit. If you have yet to visit Nassau, I hope you visit it with an open mind because it can be nice/fun place.

 

I woke up about 6:30. We'd be making port probably a little before our scheduled time of 8. I headed upstairs to get some breakfast on lido and had some coffee to make me a little less groggy. After breakfast, I grabbed my camera and headed out to the secret deck on deck 9. On Victory and Triumph, this is the secret deck where you can go out over the bridge wings. I watched as we pulled into port (we were first there), and couldn't help but notice we had company. There were a couple red funnels on the horizon.

 

 

As we tied our mooring lines to the pier I watched as Fantasy and then Sensation made their way into port. Disney Magic soon followed as well. I had no set times to be anywhere so I took my time watching them arrive. I stepped off Victory as Disney Magic was still being secured.

 

 

Looking back on Victory. The spot next to us would be taken later by Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.

 

Thanks for the review, especially the ship pics. I just booked the Victory for June. First time on this class of ship

Great review and awesome pics. Thank you for posting. We sail her in June, and can't wait.

Thanks for the great review. We are debating between a back to back on the Victory or one more sailing on the Breeze before she leaves to Texas, this has helped a lot! :D

Thanks for the comments compliments on my photos. :)

Thanks for the great review. We are debating between a back to back on the Victory or one more sailing on the Breeze before she leaves to Texas, this has helped a lot! :D

My Victory cruise was almost a year ago and still stands out as one of the better cruises I've been on.

I'll be on Breeze at the end of March for the 8-day Southern. I'll have another review for that one as well.:cool: