Jump to content

Victory x 2....a b2b review! (with an obscene number of pictures...just sayin')


Recommended Posts

Well, a few of my faithful followers (okay, both of them) have been waiting mostly patiently, so here it is--my picture-laden review of my recent back-to-back cruises on the Carnival Victory. :D

 

To start, I will introduce you to all of the major players, but first, the most important one....this guy......

 

001_zps49c00156.jpg

 

the big one....although the little one is important too. This is my dad (handsome fella, isn't he?). This picture was taken on our Destiny cruise in 2005. My dad took the whole family on this cruise in June 2005 after our mom passed away in February 2005 after a courageous battle with a rare form of cancer. Our family is very very close (we still all live in the same town we grew up in), and this trip was a great chance to honor and mourn our mother as well as to strengthen our family bonds and have a good time.

 

Now fast forward a bit...last year we started talking about doing it again. After a little convincing (okay....a lot), Dad once again agreed to take us all on a family cruise. Just before Christmas we booked the Victory 5-day trip (dad and sister didn't want to be away any longer than that) for all of us....my little family (intros to come soon), my sister and her family, my brother and his girlfriend, and my dad and his girlfriend of 5 years. Our trip was scheduled for June 2013.

 

Now, this cruise would have been my 10th and DH's 9th, and he could hardly stand knowing I would get platinum status without him. So....since my DH and I usually do a full week cruise, and he gets about 11 days off in a row when he takes vacation, he and I decided to book the 4-day Victory cruise that immediately preceded the family trip, in order to "earn" platinum status for DH as well.

 

For the next few months, we excitedly made plans about what to do in each port, and we admonished Dad not to keep any secrets if he was planning to get engaged on this trip (he was not). In early February, Dad started making comments about being very tired and about worrying that he wouldn't be able to go on the cruise. He also made a statement that this would be the last family cruise he paid for (he claimed it was because it was so expensive). In mid-February, I went with him to his heart doctor and found that he would have to have a defibrillator / pacemaker put in. The surgery was scheduled for March 7th, but my dad didn't make it...

 

My hero....my daddy (I'm a daddy's girl and have always been).....the only one who could communicate well with my autistic son.....the rock of our family.....the man I hold every other single man in the world up to in comparison (and they fail....miserably) died in his sleep in the early morning hours of February 28th. :(

 

After some discussion, and not without noting the cruel irony of the timing (two February deaths followed by June cruises with family), my brother and sister and I decided to still go on our cruise (cruises for me). We also decided to still allow dad's DGF to go, if she wanted to (she did). She had just turned 65 this year, and she had never cruised before. We finalized our flight and hotel reservations and put on our happy faces...

 

(sorry for the "downer" of a start, but I thought Dad deserved honor in this whole thing. No more depressing posts coming, I promise! :o)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Key players for 2013 cruise #1....

there's me (early 40-something teacher who loves to travel)

and DH (not as early 40-something retail manager who works way too much)

DS (incredibly bright almost 12-year-old with high functioning autism and about 5 other diagnoses). These cruises would be numbers 5 and 6 for him.

DD (6-year-old who spot of sunshine who lives as if the entire world was created for her enjoyment). These cruises were numbers 4 and 5 for her.

 

Now, it happens that DH and I just purchased a vacation house in Florida (a long-term investment mostly). Here it is...

 

1014598_10200743830545548_758392243_o_zps9214c376.jpg

 

pretty cute, right? Since I am a teacher, as soon as school got out, I planned to go ahead and drive my kids to the vacation house to get some decorating done before the cruise. A few days later, my DH planned to fly down and join us. Now, I think I mentioned in an earlier review (maybe my Dream one?) that my DH moves veeeeerrrrrrryyy slowly (love you, honey! :D). In fact, I think the phrase I used was 'he moves slower than a turtle stampeding through molasses.' Bless his heart. So, I planned everything out for him....paid extra for him to fly out of the small town we live in, made arrangements for our pet rabbit, Hippo (that's a whole 'nother story), packed his stuff in advance and drove it with me so he wouldn't have to check any luggage, printed everything...blah, blah, blah. Well, long story short...he missed his flight. :eek: Yep. Who does that??? :cool: This was NOT the way I wanted to start our vacation, needless to say (and this, friends, is why you NEVER plan to fly in on the day of the cruise).

 

After several phone calls and conversations with very nice people at the very tiny airport (I think he had to wait for the receptionist to wheel the stairs back to the building, take off her ear covers, and put the flashlights used for directing the plane down), DH got put on standby for the next flight, and his luck was better than usual. The only negative is that it postponed our leaving the vacation house later than planned for the approximately 4 hour drive to Miami.

 

We arrived at our hotel at about 1 am (hopefully I am forgiven for not taking pictures considering the time). We stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites near the airport because of the glowing reviews on another site (you know, the one where they advise you on trips). Check-in was, well, challenging. Not only had we arrived very late with our little ones, but our reservation was lost (which would result in the not-so-pleasant surprise of getting double charged and having to make a few calls upon our return to fix it). While the nice guy at the counter scrambled to work something out, the porter told my DH he had to move our car because he was in the way. The problem was that there were no parking spaces....at all. This was disturbing, as we paid for the park-n-cruise deal.

 

When DH pointed out the problem, the porter found a moped that someone had parked next to the hotel building and manhandled it over onto the sidewalk before directing DH to park there. He then told us we should be sure to find a "real" space before we left to avoid getting towed while we were gone. Ugh.

 

We finally got checked in and signed up for the shuttle ride to the port (pretty early one...at 10:30) before collapsing in our beds. I don't remember much more about the hotel, except it was quiet despite being right next to the airport, the mini-fridge didn't work (which wasn't a problem, except it smelled sooooooo bad), and the complimentary breakfast was decent but incredibly crowded. Plus, our breakfast was not peaceful, as DH and I had to take turns stalking people who walked outside in hopes of being able to take their "real" spot when/if they left. We got lucky on the third or fourth trip....yay.

Edited by summercruisin'
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And finally, it begins to get good...

 

Luckily, the breakfast and parking issues were to be our last challenges. :) Things really began looking up after that. We checked out, made arrangements for our return shuttle (not complimentary, but convenient to arrange in advance right there at the hotel), and joined the others waiting for the shuttle in the lobby. Right on time, the shuttle arrived, the driver loaded everything up, and we were on our way!

 

The ride was very comfy and only took about 20 minutes. Here's me, DD, and my "granddaughter" Julia...

 

DSCF6009_zps104373e1.jpg

 

Gotta love this sign at the drop-off spot to get fired up for the trip...

 

DSCF6012_zpsac37abb2.jpg

 

I tried to get a good picture of the ship as we approached, but it wasn't possible. But, don't worry. I had plenty of opportunities later.

 

Since I had checked in early and had printed off all our documents (oh, and they said "priority" :D), we moved through very quickly. I think we arrived at the port right around 11, went through security with our box of wine, 24 bottles of water, 24 cans of Dt. Mt. Dew (a must for me :p), and various bags with cameras, "grandchildren" and so on, we soon found ourselves sitting in the VIP lounge with our S&S cards and probably 40-45 people waiting to board.

 

Carnival had a lady with pompoms popping in the room every now and then to assure us that we would be able to board soon. There was lemonade and water available, and there was a big screen tv to watch to pass time. I didn't mark the exact time, but I want to say that around 11:40 the pompom lady announced that we should follow her. We got in line, and she led us down an escalator, weaved us through the rows of seats where everyone else was waiting, and sent us up another escalator. On the way, a handful of people "joined" our line, including a couple of women who jumped right in front of us. But, before we got on the escalator to go back up, the pompom lady showed her tough side and yelled for those who were not platinum to get out of line! :cool:

 

Up the escalator we went for pictures and dinging our cards.....and then we were being welcomed onboard! Woohoo!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the things I was really looking forward to, with this whole platinum thing, was being able to drop our stuff off in our room right away. All that liquid gets heavy, you know! So, as soon as we got on board, we headed to our cabin. We had cabin 8-353 (on the Verandah deck), a balcony room near the mid-to-rear of the ship. Our room was ready, but the stewards were very busy, and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty walking down the halls "early."

 

DSCF6025_zps2574077a.jpg

 

Because of that, we moved as quickly as possible to toss our things in the room and get out. We did, however, note that the gifts I had ordered my kids were there (the girls' fun pack for DD and a $25 bar credit for DS to buy sodas....he rarely gets to drink them, and I wasn't about to buy the unlimited soda sticker for him). Both were pleased.

 

We headed up to the Lido deck (only one set of stairs up) for lunch. Now, I have a tradition. I always always get the same "welcome aboard" lunch, a bagel with smoked salmon from the deli, along with the pickled veggies, and a caesar salad (yummy....real anchovies! ;)) from the pizza place. Oh, and a DOD as well.

 

DSCF6014_zps44e4bd14.jpg

 

DSCF6015_zps507161ed.jpg

heck, yeah!

 

DD got a grilled cheese sandwich from the deli; DS got pizza; DH made a big ol' salad.

 

Glad to be onboard...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am so sorry for your loss. I am glad that you were able to continue on with the cruise...I am willing to bet that your dad would have wanted that.

 

We board the Victory in 42 days for our b2b that will also make us Platinum.:D I can not wait and truly appreciate your taking the time to write a review. It will help feed the PCO (Pre Cruise Obsessing) and pass the time. Looking forward to the rest!:)

Edited by bonnys
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to hear that your father passed away in Feb. I lost my dad in January of this year. Very difficult. I also have a son on Autism Spectrum (PDD-NOS), now aged 27.

 

I hope you had a wonderful cruise(s) and also hope you have many, many more. Will be looking forward to the rest of the review.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OP, so sorry for your loss! Thanks for sharing your review with us.

 

We are on the Victory in 2 weeks for DS 7th birthday, shhh... it's a surpise. I'm following for the Victory review and most importantly as a fellow mom of a child on the spectrum! :)

 

Thanks again for sharing and looking forward to the rest!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your condolences and kind words. I was afraid I wouldn't have the passion for this review under the circumstances, especially as I feel like I am still sleepwalking through life, to be honest. But, I promised to be positive...

 

so here goes my DH's happy face

DSCF6018_zps947e36f7.jpg

 

okay, you can probably tell it's really his "I'll smile if you hurry up so I can eat" face, but whatever :rolleyes: You can see that this area was still very uncrowded at this point.

 

Like father, like son...

 

DSCF6017_zps106aa88c.jpg

 

and here I am with my smiley DD in the Mediterranean dining area (buffet) with Miami in the background...

 

DSCF6021_zpsc8eb12ac.jpg

 

After our (yummy, by the way!) lunch, we headed down to guest services to take care of a few things.

 

As I mentioned before, DS is autistic. He also has sensory integration disorder (SID) and generalized anxiety, among other things. The SID makes it so that anything that involves the senses is greatly magnified for him. So, you can imagine that the muster / safety drill is magnificent test for him. Standing among people with different smells (he swears everyone has a very distinct smell and he can smell each and every one in his area), lots of conflicting sounds (b/c of his anxiety he wants to focus on what the captain is saying and b/c of his autism, he wants everyone to follow the rules), people brushing up against him or even stepping on his gigantic feet (the boy, at 11, wears size 10 men's :eek:), and so on causes so many issues that we aren't quite ready to share with our 3000 or so new friends. So...since the last significant meltdown during the muster drill on the Dream that ruined the whole night and darn near the whole cruise, we have found it prudent to send an email to Carnival's special needs dept. and ask for an alternate safety drill. Carnival has ALWAYS been very accommodating in this, so if your child has special needs, please do yourself a favor and write them a letter.

 

On the Legend last year, their way of accommodating was to have us just send one member of the family to the drill while the rest of us stayed in the cabin. That was a little awkward, since we had to explain it to the room steward, but it worked well. This year, we were directed to go to our muster station and find the person in charge of that area. That person walked us to the Ionian Cigar room, which was just inside. Since there were a bunch of people in there, I'm guessing the difference was a result of the large number of people asking for an alternate drill space. A Carnival employee demonstrated the proper way to wear the life vest, the kids were given wristbands, and we were very soon on our way. They let us all leave well ahead of everyone else, so we didn't have to be crowded in the stairs or elevators either. Nice touch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...