Seven wonderful days at Sea - Victory 5/23-30

We are just back from the Southern Caribbean on Carnival Victory. All in all, we had a terrific time. To give back to the cruise critics pros who have shared reviews with me, I"m posting my own. I hope it is up to Cruise Critic standards.

Our family consists of me (age 49), my DH (55), and three sons but only two of our sons, Mason and Marc, were able to join us as our eldest, Erich, is serving overseas. Mason is 20; Marc is 17. Traveling with us were our friends, a family of four - husband, wife and two sons aged 16 and 13.

Our family came into San Juan Saturday night,as our cruise was to leave on Sunday. We stayed at the Marriott Stellaris -pricey but as far as I was concerned well worth it after a hectic flight. Our room had two double beds, overlooked the pool and Condado Beach, and was beautifully appointed.

That night we met up with our friends on the streets of Condado where there was a festival going on. I believe it was one of those "taste of the town" festivals, because there were all kinds of restaurants selling wares and yummy dinners. We ate and drank our way up the street and then hung out in front of a place that was having a fashion show. Unfortunately, no pictures! I had not thought to bring my camera. But my girlfriend did so maybe I can get some from her and post them later.

The next morning, we ate the $20 per person brunch at the Marriott. It was good, but overpriced in my opinion. It included standard fare - but had a nice omlette bar, which I sampled. Try the hot sauce they provide. It's great. We ate in their screened in patio area and really enjoyed the leisurely morning.

Next, we met up with our friends and took a taxi from the Marriott to San Cristobal. It was almost 90 degrees and 93 percent humidity by this time. Yuck. I actually love humidity but this was too much. A few minutes after we got off the taxi my husband realized he'd left his camera on the taxi! We called the hotel immediately, and let them know. Within five minutes they'd called back to tell us the taxi driver had returned it to them. I was very impressed and grateful to that honest man for taking the time to return the camera.

San Cristobal was our place for bad luck, as I handed my girlfriend my iPhone and she put it in her purse - where she'd kept a glass of ice -- which had melted -- which was suddenly all over my iPhone. Its not working so I will have to replace it. I was glad to leave San Cristobal --- and, truth be told, glad to leave San Juan. It was too hot and stressful with all the stuff that went on there.

We boarded Victory at 2:30 or 3 pm. The line was way down the street and I was worried we'd be there for hours. But once we got rid of our bags, with the baggage guy arguing with another passenger over a tip (which held up the rest of the line) it went fairly quickly. By 3:30 or 4 we were in our rooms. We had NO problem bringing on 12 bottles of wine, four rum runners and various and sundry little small bottles of Bailey's and Kahlua. I almost crowed about it on Cruise Critic! Throughout the cruise we smuggled more stuff aboard - no problem. To be clear, this was between our two families. We still paid corkage fees and bought plenty of drinks from the bartenders so I didn't feel bad about it.

All four boys shared an inside cabin, while the two couples were in side-by-side balconies. All of us were on Deck 8 - the Verandah deck.

I will post pictures if someone can tell me how to do so without them being tiny thumbnails!

More later...

Can't wait to read more!!!!

Was the wine in your checked bags or carry on?

@2XPrincess - we brought the wine in both ways. I brought three bottles onboard in carry ons [my son will be 21 in a couple of weeks so we figured he looked old enough] - one for me, one for my husband, one for him. Then, I packed one bottle of wine wrapped in bubblewrap in each of our carry on bags for a total of three. I also wrapped up three rum runners and brought them in our carry ons. Our friends brought in two bottles of wine and three rum runners, and after they boarded the ship all four of us went down to the duty free store and they purchased four bottles of wine. We walked through the security with it, and had no problem. By the way we got our water in the Duty Free too - a 12 pack for $5!

I am still trying to figure out how to post these darn pictures, making them large so if anyone knows PLEASE clue me in!

We leave in less than 3 weeks...can't wait to read more!!! :)

Thanks very looking forward to your review....we go on this in August. Is the ship in really bad shape?

So here are some pictures of the Marriott - apparently I did take some pictures with the Iphone. But I can't figure out how to post them properly!!

I'll be posting more tomorrow - but a quick answer - NO the ship is NOT in bad shape, I'm not sure what all the fuss was about. I'm pretty picky, and our rugs were in fine condition. The bathrooms were older but clean, although our friends had problems with their toilet that did not get resolved to their satisfaction. They were in room 8233 and we were in 8237.

I'll be posting more tomorrow - but a quick answer - NO the ship is NOT in bad shape, I'm not sure what all the fuss was about. I'm pretty picky, and our rugs were in fine condition. The bathrooms were older but clean, although our friends had problems with their toilet that did not get resolved to their satisfaction. They were in room 8233 and we were in 8237.

I can't wait until the rest of your review, we leave in 3 weeks and look forward to your insight to the trip.

We are also staying at the Marriott any pic would be a great help!

kirchubel, Looking forward to more of your review of the Victory. I like what I have read so far.

To answer your question on posting a large picture, I believe you have to upload your pictures to an external web site like Photobucket. Then you can download the attachment as you would when you do the thumbnails.

Please keep in mind, I have never done this, but this is my understanding from what I have read here on Cruise Critic.

I was on the Victory just a week before....and I found the ship to be in very good shape. She was just as cleas as the other's I have been on, and the only place that smelled of smoke was the casino...for obvious reasons.

I stayed at the Old San Juan Sheraton and would NOT recommend it, if anyone was thinking about staying there. The rooms were so musty. I have severe asthma and could not breathe in the room well at all. I had an asthma attack in the middle of the night b/c it was so bad.

This was a fabulous cruise and wonderful itenerary. I would recommend it to anyone! And I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your review! :)

Thank you for taking the time to post your review! Can't wait to read more. We'll be on Victory in September, and I try to read everything I can find. You have my attention, please keep it coming!

Hi I read your post and now I am concerned. We booked the sheraton in Jan for our July 11th cruise. did your air cond work in your room? I remember taking a cruise out of San Juan a few years ago and we stayed at the holiday inn express I think it was and I noticed the same thing there and the air cond wasn't the greatest in the room. Oh well I probably won't get much sleep anyway of all the excitement.

San Cristobal was our place for bad luck, as I handed my girlfriend my iPhone and she put it in her purse - where she'd kept a glass of ice -- which had melted -- which was suddenly all over my iPhone. Its not working so I will have to replace it. I was glad to leave San Cristobal --- and, truth be told, glad to leave San Juan. It was too hot and stressful with all the stuff that went on there.

Put your phone in a bag of rice for a few days. It will dry out the water in the phone. I've had friends who have done this and it works every time.

Hi I read your post and now I am concerned. We booked the sheraton in Jan for our July 11th cruise. did your air cond work in your room? I remember taking a cruise out of San Juan a few years ago and we stayed at the holiday inn express I think it was and I noticed the same thing there and the air cond wasn't the greatest in the room. Oh well I probably won't get much sleep anyway of all the excitement.

We stayed at The Sheraton in 2008 and enjoyed it...air conditioner worked just fine in our room...wasn't musty smelling...I think it's hit or miss and may depend on your room maybe...we are headed back to SJ in October and I'm going to try to win Sheraton again...in 2008 we won it for $110 a night...Sometimes you have to go with your instincts...we originally had Hotel Milano booked and changed it to Sheraton...no regret.

Enjoy your July cruise...you are gonna Love IT!

Hi I read your post and now I am concerned. We booked the sheraton in Jan for our July 11th cruise. did your air cond work in your room? I remember taking a cruise out of San Juan a few years ago and we stayed at the holiday inn express I think it was and I noticed the same thing there and the air cond wasn't the greatest in the room. Oh well I probably won't get much sleep anyway of all the excitement.

Several other groups from our roll call that stayed there had the same problem with the musty smell, but it didn't bother them near as much. If anyone in your group has lung issues, you might want to rethink it. If not, it shouldn't bother you if you have a "musty" room.

EDIT: And the a/c worked....just don't turn it up b/c it took FOREVER for it to cool the room again.

Hi I read your post and now I am concerned. We booked the Sheraton in Jan for our July 11th cruise. did your air cond work in your room? I remember taking a cruise out of San Juan a few years ago and we stayed at the holiday inn express I think it was and I noticed the same thing there and the air cond wasn't the greatest in the room. Oh well I probably won't get much sleep anyway of all the excitement.

We were on the same cruise as duchessuta but our Sheraton experience was very different. Part of our party stayed at the Sheraton three nights before the cruise and part of us stayed two nights before the cruise and one afterward. So we had three rooms on the front side of the cruise but only 1 on the backside with a total of 4 different rooms for our party.

Based on our experience I was book there again in a heartbeat and would recommend it to others. We had great views, no musty smell, wonderfully cool A/C (which was freezing when we got there and stayed nice and cool) and the staff was very helpful and friendly.

San Cristobal was our place for bad luck, as I handed my girlfriend my iPhone and she put it in her purse - where she'd kept a glass of ice -- which had melted -- which was suddenly all over my iPhone. Its not working so I will have to replace it.

Be sure to remove the sim card so you don't have moisture trapped there. :)

OK _ I am going to try again with posting some pictures! Wish me luck. These will be from the balcony of the Marriott Stellaris. We had a poolside room, but also had views of Condado Beach. The lobby had great music in the evening, and we really enjoyed the lovely atmosphere, and the service was impeccable. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Hi I read your post and now I am concerned. We booked the sheraton in Jan for our July 11th cruise. did your air cond work in your room? I remember taking a cruise out of San Juan a few years ago and we stayed at the holiday inn express I think it was and I noticed the same thing there and the air cond wasn't the greatest in the room. Oh well I probably won't get much sleep anyway of all the excitement.

We were on the May 23 cruise also and stayed at the Old San Juan Sheraton and can't say enough good things about it. Due to International Volleyball tournament we got an up grade from a standard room to a suite facing the port. The staff could not have been nicer and there were no odd smells, the rooms were very clean and spacious. I would recommend in a heart beat.

So, I'm going to give up and go on with the review.

Our first stop was St. Thomas and we pulled into port with a gorgeous view of the island. We took a tour of the island with Air Force One Tours. For $30 per person we got a five hour tour of the island. Papa Bear was our guide, and I couldn’t believe how much history he told us. He took us to all these gorgeous overlooks along a beautiful road that took us to the Crown Mountain Overlook. Along the way, he showed us Lindberg Beach (Lindberg landed nearby once). Papa Bear also took us to a local farm where we sampled some absolutely gorgeous fruit drinks – a mix of Sour Sap [it’s NOT sour – it’s just perfect and sweet but not too sweet!] and passion fruit juice, which tastes like an orange creamsicle. Spectacular! After that we went to a beautiful old governor’s mansion which overlooked the British Virgin Islands (including Tortola). There were only 9 people on our tour, quite personal. In the afternoon there was a deluge of rain for about half an hour just as we were going to the beach so although we could have been dropped off at the beach or shopping, we decided to go back to the boat and relax – and I’m glad I did, I took the book I was reading, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and read for a while. If you're looking for a good read on a cruise, I seriously recommend it!

Later in the day, our friends joined us for happy hour on our balcony – and a gorgeous sunset. We had late dining though so sitting on the balcony and watching the sea go by as we headed toward our next stop was perfect. Dinner was terrific --- I didn't have a complaint at all about any of the meals. You should definitely try some of the chilled fruit soups. They were fantastic. Our table was on the first floor of the Pacific Dining Room, and our wait staff was fantastic. We generally brought a bottle of wine to dinner and paid the corkage fees - thought that it was a good idea to do so and we loved our choices of wine - could have not afforded the exorbitant prices of the wine on board.

Later that evening we tried to see a “Close up magic show” in the small martini lounge but the magician was a no show [maybe he did a disappearing act, HA HA] so we all just went to bed. And may I add that except for at meals and on the islands we barely saw our boys! They were off having a fantastic time on their own, sometimes smoking cigars up on deck, even. Wish I could post the pictures of that!

Wish I could post ANY picture. I've put them on Flickr and facebook AND photobucket - and can't post then the way the pro do. It's really depressing.

NEXT UP: The day on Dominica, our plans to go to the rain forest, and how messed up our private tour guide turned out to be.....

So, I'm going to give up and go on with the review.

 

Our first stop was St. Thomas and we pulled into port with a gorgeous view of the island. We took a tour of the island with Air Force One Tours. For $30 per person we got a five hour tour of the island. Papa Bear was our guide, and I couldn’t believe how much history he told us. He took us to all these gorgeous overlooks along a beautiful road that took us to the Crown Mountain Overlook. Along the way, he showed us Lindberg Beach (Lindberg landed nearby once). Papa Bear also took us to a local farm where we sampled some absolutely gorgeous fruit drinks – a mix of Sour Sap [it’s NOT sour – it’s just perfect and sweet but not too sweet!] and passion fruit juice, which tastes like an orange creamsicle. Spectacular! After that we went to a beautiful old governor’s mansion which overlooked the British Virgin Islands (including Tortola). There were only 9 people on our tour, quite personal. In the afternoon there was a deluge of rain for about half an hour just as we were going to the beach so although we could have been dropped off at the beach or shopping, we decided to go back to the boat and relax – and I’m glad I did, I took the book I was reading, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and read for a while. If you're looking for a good read on a cruise, I seriously recommend it!

 

 

 

Later in the day, our friends joined us for happy hour on our balcony – and a gorgeous sunset. We had late dining though so sitting on the balcony and watching the sea go by as we headed toward our next stop was perfect. Dinner was terrific --- I didn't have a complaint at all about any of the meals. You should definitely try some of the chilled fruit soups. They were fantastic. Our table was on the first floor of the Pacific Dining Room, and our wait staff was fantastic. We generally brought a bottle of wine to dinner and paid the corkage fees - thought that it was a good idea to do so and we loved our choices of wine - could have not afforded the exorbitant prices of the wine on board.

 

 

Later that evening we tried to see a “Close up magic show” in the small martini lounge but the magician was a no show [maybe he did a disappearing act, HA HA] so we all just went to bed. And may I add that except for at meals and on the islands we barely saw our boys! They were off having a fantastic time on their own, sometimes smoking cigars up on deck, even. Wish I could post the pictures of that!

 

 

Wish I could post ANY picture. I've put them on Flickr and facebook AND photobucket - and can't post then the way the pro do. It's really depressing.

 

 

NEXT UP: The day on Dominica, our plans to go to the rain forest, and how messed up our private tour guide turned out to be.....

 

 

 

Go to Photobucket first and just copy the IMG code....then paste it right where you write and preview it first if it comes up on preview it will come up . Don't click on the manage attachments on the CC page at all....just copy code to where you post your words! Hope to see your pictures tomorrow!

Still trying---Honestly I am not a computer idiot, so have no idea why this is so difficult!

OH MY GOSH! SUCCESS!!! Thanks Jersey for helping me!

This is the view from the balcony of our 16th floor room in San Juan's Marriott Stellaris. We were poolside. It was fabulous, and although pricey for us it was just what the doctor ordered after a stressful spring. We loved it and would go back in a heartbeat, especially if we could get a deal.

Lindberg Beach, on the Air Force One Tour.

Papa Bear, giving us a history lesson, and a great one at that!

Sour Sap fruit - which is NOT sour and makes a fantastic juice. Amazing!

Pepe, who owned a farm we stopped at, had a collection of hand-squeezed juices, including sour sap juice. DEFINITELY one of the best stops because we were thirsty - and he offers rum with your juice if you want!

The view from St Peter's Great House, a former governor's home. Very gorgeous - often the site of weddings. Off in the distance, you can see the British Virgin Islands on clear days.

Parrots at St. Peter's Great House

Final thoughts on St. Thomas: I would highly recommend Air Force One Tours. They gave us a really great time and good value. Papa Bear is a wonderful guide, full of love for his country and a deep knowledge of its history and politics. A side note - he'll be on a Carnival Cruise in June - so I went down to his room and took a picture of his door and emailed it to him! LOL!

Next I'll post pictures of our rooms, and THEN I'll move on to tales of Dominica.

OK, OK, I know, the room is kinda messy. BUT what do ya expect? I'm on vacation! :)

Balcony barrier removed between 8233 and 8237 proved to be a great space maker!

Four boys in one room. Pity the poor steward. We tipped him extra.

View of the water...I could stare at it all afternoon.

The Atrium...surely you've seen this shot before though!