Carnival Victory Review 3/20-3/24

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We get to sail on the Victory in April and this is just what I need to help pass the time. 😎

 

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Thanks! And I know the feeling...nothing like cruising these boards before you go. Have fun! :)

12 days and counting. Thanks for posting, we've been waiting for a current review. April 10th woo hoo

So the first night we put in the books and headed back to our rooms because we were arriving in Key West around 7:30am. Not before a stop for a bite of pizza tho. They now give you your own pizza after you order but we asked for just a slice (which is half the pizza but it's really thin & pretty small)

We warned our college girls that they would be up and ready to leave by 8:00am. If you have college-aged kids you know they're going to need some warning and then at least 2 wake up calls!

Key West: I should preface this by first saying my husband & I lived in WPB from 91-94 BK (before kids). We went to Key West about 25 times in those 3 years because we loved it. So I know this place. If you strain your ears, you can still hear me whining about how early this ship leaves Key West! 1:30 for those who don't know, which is a 1:00 return to ship time (keep reading & I'll give you a good tip).

Key West is a 2' by 4' island so it's very quaint. My #1 tip is to rent bikes to get around. Now if I was giving advice to my parents or History buffs or those who don't want to do the bike thing, I highly suggest the Conch (pronounced konk) Train Tour and maybe the Hemingway House tour. The rest of you get a bike. Time is of the essence so walk to the end of the pier and rent them right there from the lady (Holly) in the little hut. It's $20/day or $10/hr. Just pay the $20 even tho it's half a day. If you're really on top of things you could order ahead of time from maybe Eaton bikes and they'll meet you at the pier. I only say this in case there's a line at Hollys hut but there wasn't for us. She'll give you a map & kind of give you a good route to start out. You take a right and head down to the Southernmost Point for a pic. We started to wait in line but realized people take a ridiculous amount of time taking their pictures so we just stood in front of it with people behind us. (I've been here a lot & I know it's just a picture opp...time is short (still mad). We got lucky & got this pic by standing on the street in front of it (no ppl in background which is tough to do)

After that just hug that coast and you'll see some great sights. Just down the street from the Point is the Southernmost House, Southernmost beach & Southernmost Grill. Park your bikes and take it all in. There's a pier there to walk out on for great views of the house (mansion)

(I cheated a little there. We stayed at Pier House last June which gives guests access to the Southernmost pool & I took this pic then. Sorry)

Continue on that coast and you'll see the resorts on this end of the island like The Reach & Casa Marina. (Beautiful but opposite end of Duvall & Mallory Square. That's why we stay at the Pier House..fyi) Also keep your eyes open for Louie's Backyard in this area. You can park and walk around back (which is right on the ocean) Fun fact: Jimmy Buffet rented a room in the house next door when he was first writing his early songs. He mentions "Louies Backyard" in his song Tryin to Reason w/ the Hurricane season.

If you're ready for a Bloody Mary you could stop here or even better park your bikes at Casa Marina and check out their pool area/bars. Nice

Sorry I'm quickly realizing I should've written a separate Key West review (or book). We then cut back into town heading for a quick ride through the cemetery and over to the wharf (Marina) area. This is the perfect lunch place. We parked our bikes by A&B Lobster and walked around the whole harbor area. Schooner Wharf is an excellent choice for lunch if your super casual, Conch Republic, Turtle Kraals & Raw Bar are all great too.

We went to Dantes since we have college girls. Doesn't open til 11:00 so we waited 5 minutes. Good timing. Dantes is a really cool bar/ restaurant that surrounds a huge pool. (Wear your swimsuits under your clothes but that's for all ports right?) Tgey have a DJ that starts around 11:30 I think. You're supposed to be 21 but since our 20.999 girls were with us it was ok. They couldn't order drinks tho. We had lunch right next to the pool. Very nice

I've written a lot so I'm going to take a break. I think I need to book a trip to Key West!

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Key West is 2mi by 4mi btw. Not 2' by 4'. I'm hoping you all missed that oops. Typing too fast I guess ;p

Also, if you haven't guessed by now, you can ask me anything and everything about Key West.

Great review so far. I'm looking forward to the rest.

moremoremore:)

Thank you for this great review. We are cruising on the Victory in only 12 short days, and this is a great preview of what we can expect. I can't wait to hear your 1pm Key West tip.

Great review so far. I'm looking forward to the rest.

Thank you! :)

moremoremore:)

You got it! :D

Thank you for this great review. We are cruising on the Victory in only 12 short days, and this is a great preview of what we can expect. I can't wait to hear your 1pm Key West tip.

Thank you, and I wish I was joining you!!

Hope I didn't oversell my tip ;p

Accidentally double posted and I don't know how to delete so I had to edit. Oops:cool:

Had to show you Mr. Nikola at the Alchemy bar. Here he is lighting my "Antioxidant" drink. Each drink is a masterpiece. We called him Doctor [emoji23]

Here he is mixing both of our drinks at the same time. Such talent!

And one more showing more of the cool bar. The girl mixologist was good too, but.... she's no Nicola!

Menu from Alchemy

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Ooh, loving this! Thank you. Great pictures! Can't wait til our May Victory cruise. Been on Carnival but this will be the first time with an Alchemy Bar!

Ooh' date=' loving this! Thank you. Great pictures! Can't wait til our May Victory cruise. Been on Carnival but this will be the first time with an Alchemy Bar![/quote']

 

 

Thank you...and you're going to love it! Worth the Cheers program alone! All included [emoji484]

 

 

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So I left off at having lunch at Dantes and walking around the Harbor or Wharf or Marina area. Whatever you want to call it.

Here's a cute picture of us 4 in a big chair at Dantes. Seems like everyone has the big chair now. You never have a bad time squeezing into them! Me & DD are on the left

Got on the bikes again and headed over to Duvall. On a side note, at the end of Duvall (you're in ship proximity here) there is Sunset Pier. Great place for a drink or an appy. Maybe some conch fritters. They're good here. At sunset, it's hard to find an open table, but again, it's nowhere near sunset time.

We actually headed to Sloppy Joes for some tee shirts. Lots of people in there and always a live band. Sloppy Joes is a landmark and you should definitely see it. We always preferred the open air bars/restaurants probably because we're from Chicago and hang inside too much time! Open sided but it's kinda dark. Here are some tee shirts you might like

Again I cheated. That was from last summer (at night of course)

My favorite little place is across the street and down by Front St is Hogs Breath. It's just our all time favorite and ove never had a bad time there

After a little shopping it was 1:00. Here's the tip: Drumroll.....don't go back at 1:00!! I'm not promoting missing the ship but we rode our bikes around the pier area & Sheraton (might be Hilton now..big resort at cruise port). The line to get back on is insane. Don't stand in the hot sun when you could be having a cold beer at Hogs Breath (literally minutes away) or just milling around the little shops in the area. This is why it's great to rent bikes at the end of the pier. You prepay so you just hop off & Holly gives you back the 1 sail & sign card that you leave with her. She gets your cell # and she did call us at 1:15 but we were right there and saw the line. Didn't get back on board until 2:00 and then we didn't even leave until 3!! So be nearby but don't torture yourself in the hot sun. At first you don't see the line but once you go past the first security check there it is. You can keep an eye on it from this area. There are shops behind where I'm standing to take the picture so have someone be a lookout and go grab some last minute souvenirs.

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Thanks for the review.

12 days and counting. Thanks for posting, we've been waiting for a current review. April 10th woo hoo

Lucky you!! Have fun :)

Thanks for the review.

Thanks for reading! :)

Great review so far! We went to Key West last year for the first time and loved it. We rented a scooter and drove around the island a bunch of times and took in the cites. We of course also splurged for a Key Lime Pie which was amazing. Can't wait to read the rest of your review!

As I'm re-reading my review on my laptop I cringe at my many spelling and grammatical errors!! I have to write the review on my i-phone so I can post pics. I'm wearing my cheaters but it's still harder than typing on a laptop! My apologies :D

I also forgot to mention that along that southern/eastern coast (after the Casa Marina) there's a great bike path right along the ocean and you go by Higgs beach and Smathers beach. Also a very poignant Aids Memorial area to see. After Smathers beach we headed back towards town. Sounds like a long trip but it's not at all.

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Thanks for the review! Have only been to Key West once, but would love to go back. Following with delight.

Great review so far! We went to Key West last year for the first time and loved it. We rented a scooter and drove around the island a bunch of times and took in the cites. We of course also splurged for a Key Lime Pie which was amazing. Can't wait to read the rest of your review!

Scooters are definitely another way to go. We always just rented bikes since you can maneuver them around busy areas better and I don't want to be a part of traffic. But they do look fun for the more open roads!

And yes! Good advice on getting some Key Lime pie [emoji4]

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Can't wait to meet Nicola at the Alchemy Bar! I have my recipe from last time and am hoping he can mimic it!!

Again, great review!

Once we got back on the ship we headed right up to Lido to hear the steel drum guy. I know we all miss the whole steel drum band but I'm grateful that they still have one guy (with backup band sound in a music thingy). Grabbed another Funship drink (this became our DOD a lot!) and headed to the aft to see my Key West disappear. Until we meet again my friend.

Here is a pic of Sunset Key. It's right across from Sunset Pier & Mallory Square. There are private homes as well as guest cottages on it. Also our favorite fine dining restaurant Latitudes. You can take the 7 min ferry over for lunch if that sounds good. You have to have reservations and can't take the ferry without them. It's a beautiful restaurant on the waters edge and you can dine inside or out. If you ever spend time in KW treat yourself to a sunset dinner here!

Here's another cheat. Spent my 50th Bday at Latitudes. It was heaven [emoji4]

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Ok enough about Key West! Partied a little more with DJ Zen (after steel drum guy). Forgot to mention if you love steel drum music he also plays in the lobby. One of my favorite places to go before dinner and people watch.

Back to the cabins to get ready for formal night. I still love a formal night but I know there are varying opinions and varying degrees of formal attire. I like to look nice and try not to judge but the drunk guy at the casino bar who was shirtless? Eww... no. I realize you're not going to dinner but you're not at a Lido bar either and it's 7:00. Whatever. Here are our cute girls. Moms were dressier but they weren't feeling the black dress thing.

Dinner was great. Prime rib maybe? For those of you who love to hear about what's on the menu and what did you eat, I'm so sorry... I'm not a foodie. I will say that everything was really good. Better than my last Princess cruise so there! Buffets (only once but looked) were great and MDR dinners were great. I'm not a breakfast person but had the lido fresh made omelette and it was really good. Ok here's something we can all appreciate!

One last picture before I turn in tonight. Late dinner is my favorite because I love being on Lido in the late afternoon hours and you get to see this from your balcony

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