---> !!CARNIVAL VICTORY REVIEW!! <--- Complete Pictorial Guide! [April 10, 2014]

 

Please join me and subscribe to this thread as I do my best to give you a review of the FUN SHIP, Carnival Victory!

You may know me from my past review on Allure of the Seas which was my first attempt at a pictorial guide! You can find it here, http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1877135. I am now 19 and still contain the same passion for cruises as I did last year! Does the cruising bug ever really leave? :p Anyway, I am now in college and loving it! I am the vice-president of my school's Travel Club and obviously convinced them to take a cruise for our major trip this school year! So our travel agent booked us on the Carnival Victory on April 10th out of Miami, FL. Even though I just stepped off the Allure last year, I was still excited to go on a cruise and experience the Carnival product once again. This was also my first cruse without family and completely with friends. So please enjoy my review of the wonderful Carnival Victory!

Itinerary

I didn't really have any say over the itinerary as it was kind of set in stone through the club's advisors and travel agent. But we found a good price on a 4 night out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel. I wasn't really excited to hear about Cozumel because I was just there on my past two cruises...I know there could be worse things! Ha! But I was excited for Key West as I have always wanted to go there and it was a new port for me.

I don't know the price of the cruise for us because it was a package that included transportation and airfare but I can imagine it was pretty cheap based on what I payed for the whole trip. We booked about 4 to 5 months in advanced.

Before we knew it, my friends and I were up bright and early to head to the airport to make our way to Miami so we could embark on the fun CARNIVAL VICTORY!!

I loved your Allure review...I don't even have a Carnival cruise coming up, but I know this will still be worth the read!

ROOM SELECTION

As you can probably imagine, I didn't have a choice in my room. I was assigned stateroom 6240 with an advisor going on the trip. The reason I was assigned to be with one of the advisors is because I am not 21. According to all cruise lines leaving out of the United States, one person in the stateroom must be 21. Since this was a school trip, boys and girls had to be separated:rolleyes:...yes I am in college. Haha! So my real stateroom was 6232. The room key situation was sort of a mess in the beginning but we had a system. The other advisor had a key to my room and just gave me her card since she doesn't purchase anything on the ship. The others went down to guest services and got a key just to get in the room. We all figured it out and worked fine. I just wish Carnival and the other lines would work out a better system for groups like ours!

There were 16 of us spread across 8 staterooms on Decks 6 and 7. Two upgraded to a balcony and the rest of us had inside staterooms. I was excited because I've never slept in an inside so I was curious to see how I would like it. We were in the front of the ship near the forward elevators. Deck 6 (Upper Deck) seemed to be a perfect deck because it was an easy walk down to Deck 5 where a lot of public spaces were and not too far from the lido deck (pool/buffet). The only better place would have been to be further back since that's where most of the "action" happened. If you like to go to bed early, do not pick 6! While being in the room during the day, I could hear the music from the main show lounge below like I was right there in the middle of it all! I can only imagine being in the back above the night club! I cannot even tell you the stewards name, the service from him was a large step down from any other cruise I've been on. I saw him every once in a while in the halls and he was friendly but I am used to much better service. The job was done and done well but the personality was lacking, especially after our amazing steward, Edy on the Allure!

I did take pictures of the room this time, lol! But you will see them later on in the review. Did I like it? You'll have to stick around and find out! ;)

Keep a look-out for Day 1, coming soon!

Sweet! Bring on the rest! :)

We r going on victory soon 22 days and counting,always looking for reviews for this trip ....

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Hi, Mike!

You already have me hooked to see how your trip unfolds. Despite some family events that threatened our departure, we leave Saturday for our Tahiti to Lima Oceania Marina cruise. I have kept it a surprise for my husband, but I did accept an upsell offer to the penthouse level cabin. He can figure out how to keep the butler busy :)

I concur with your assessment regarding the lackluster staff service. On any cruiseline with short hop itineraries, you will find a more harried and overworked crew. It seems particularly apparent on Carnival, so it may be that there is less corporate expectation for them to provide excellent service? From my personal point of view, the cruiser who is willing to accept the Carnival overall product may also be willing to accept a lesser standard of service.

I have also booked the whole gang on the Explorer of the Seas to Bremuda in October. I was happy to get the aft corner cabin on deck 7 for my son's family because the balcony is enormous. They will be able to open the divider with his sister next door and OWN the back of the ship :)

Hard to believe the school year is almost over! My law school intern finishes tomorrow and graduates in two weeks. Say hello to your family for me,

M.

- When 5 Hours of Sleep is Enough! -

After getting prepared for the trip a week in advanced, I woke up feeling really excited on Thursday, April 10th! This time I wasn't leaving from home, I was leaving from my dorm. Being organized and prepared, I was able to walk out quietly and quickly without waking up any of my roommates...who know's if I would be writing this if I did, haha! I walked down the hall to meet my good friend Jacquie. We silently screamed in excitement!! Our friend Ashely met us at the building door to pick us up and we were soon off to the airport! We walked in through the large sliding doors to a mammoth check-in building filled with a hoard of people. I swear I've never seen the airport so busy and it was only 5 am! Hello spring break rush! We met up with the rest of everyone going on the trip and went through security. Between the camera equipment, entertainment, and all other technological goodness that I live by, I finally re-packed at the end of the security line and we made our way to the gate! Our feet moved faster than normal and our cheek muscles hurt with a smile we couldn't contain!

Our first flight on Southwest was completely fine after we had to de-ice. Yes they had to de-ice the plane in the middle of April...smh! Our layover was in Baltimore which was a very nice airport! We then got on our plane to Fort Lauderdale. We THEN got picked up by our transportation service to take us to the Port of Miami. We sang and took selfies during the ride so it didn't seem too long! We were also extremely excited to look out a window and see sunshine and palm trees! Why do I live in NY?

We got to the port around 12:30. The advisor I was assigned to is platinum with Carnival so I got to experience priority check-in while being red! I have to say that I was really spoiled with the Allure last year, everything was just much quicker and easier then but that is mainly thanks to the brand new terminal RCCL built. Even with priority check-in, we waited about 20 minutes. The ship was intimidating as it was showcased through the large windows behind the desk.

We walked up and there we were, stepping on the ship for the first time! I love that feeling so much! We waited for the rest of the group in the main atrium and then our vacation started!

Here are the "Fun Times" program from the first day. I will upload the rest of them and then begin the pictures, the good stuff you're all waiting for! [:

FUN TIMES - DAY 1

Day 1 FUN TIMES continued...

Okay! So we all checked out our staterooms and then headed up to the pool. I always gasp at the Miami skyline, I love this port! The beautiful aqua colors of the water, imposing skyline, numerous palm trees, and colossal yachts/mansions all make a walk around the top deck of the ship a must. I went to eat lunch at the buffet before my exploration. I had to wait in a long line which wasn't too bad. Getting a seat was actually pretty easy! I picked up an ice cream cone and then explored the ship with Katya.

One of the advisors tagged along. We went to the spa because there were tours going on. We toured the massage rooms and then entered the gym which much to my surprise was beautiful and expansive! We then went through the ladies locker room and entered the salon. The salon here is nicer than the Allure only because of the sea views! Awesome! I then entered my name and stateroom number in to win some spa credit.

We looked around some more and then it was time for the muster drill. Yuck. We had to go outside and stand in front of the lifeboats, packed in like sardines. We stood there for awhile until finally someone started speaking over the speakers. I could barely even hear anything. I know I keep comparing but it was much nicer on the Allure where we just went to the ice skating rink and watched a quick video. I forgot how this works on the Dream class but I think it was somewhat similar. Oh well, at least we didn't have to put our life jackets on.

After that we had to go back up to the spa to see if we won any spa credit! What do ya know, my stateroom and name was called first!! I won a $75 spa credit and had to book a signature service for a port day. I was thrilled! I did a little dance on the way up to pick up my voucher which gave the host an idea. From that point on, anyone who won had to dance for 5 seconds! I then rushed up to the top deck for sail away! Woohoo!!

great review so far :p cant wait for the rest!!

Cabin 6232 - I had already talked about the room before but I figured I would take a pause and share a few more remarks. So did I like it?! I liked how it felt cozy and honestly everything was pretty much the same although smaller. I did not like the morning's though. I miss waking up and seeing light! I don't know if I would ever pick another inside room unless I can only afford that category. I do want to try the virtual balcony on Quantum though so perhaps the next cruise will also be an inside. My personal favorite is balcony and of course it would be a suite but I've never stayed in a suite so I can't justify that! :p

Time for dinner! I will be back later to post some more pictures from Day 1, including sail away! Stay tuned and I will reply to all of your comments tonight! Join in on the conversation and ask any questions!

Love it so far and your timing is perfect as we sail on the Victory next week! Was that ice cream in the silver trays?

I loved your Allure review...I don't even have a Carnival cruise coming up, but I know this will still be worth the read!

Thank you so much!! I don't know if this review can live up to my Allure one!

Sweet! Bring on the rest! :)

Woohoo, welcome!!

We r going on victory soon 22 days and counting,always looking for reviews for this trip ....

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Ooooo that's exciting! You're going to have a great time!!

Hi, Mike!

You already have me hooked to see how your trip unfolds. Despite some family events that threatened our departure, we leave Saturday for our Tahiti to Lima Oceania Marina cruise. I have kept it a surprise for my husband, but I did accept an upsell offer to the penthouse level cabin. He can figure out how to keep the butler busy :)

 

I concur with your assessment regarding the lackluster staff service. On any cruiseline with short hop itineraries, you will find a more harried and overworked crew. It seems particularly apparent on Carnival, so it may be that there is less corporate expectation for them to provide excellent service? From my personal point of view, the cruiser who is willing to accept the Carnival overall product may also be willing to accept a lesser standard of service.

 

I have also booked the whole gang on the Explorer of the Seas to Bremuda in October. I was happy to get the aft corner cabin on deck 7 for my son's family because the balcony is enormous. They will be able to open the divider with his sister next door and OWN the back of the ship :)

 

Hard to believe the school year is almost over! My law school intern finishes tomorrow and graduates in two weeks. Say hello to your family for me,

M.

I am so glad you get to go on that cruise! I am so excited to hear about it, I am expecting pictures and a mini review via email when you get back!! :p

I expected that from Carnival but I remember having great service on the Dream!

Will do, glad you found this review! Talk to you later!

great review so far :p cant wait for the rest!!

Thanks!

Love it so far and your timing is perfect as we sail on the Victory next week! Was that ice cream in the silver trays?

Thank you! You'll love it! And yes that was ice cream for an up charge!