Victory Ex Balcony

[shenetic]

New to Carnival....would love info on the pros and cons of booking an aft extended balcony..worth the extra $$???

[TortieGal]

New to Carnival....would love info on the pros and cons of booking an aft extended balcony..worth the extra $$???

 

You aren't referring to the corner ones, correct? If not, then my below answer applies. ;)

 

We just sailed Victory and though we had a regular balcony, one of our friends had this. We had many a sailaway party here. The extra space was nice and it was nice to watch the view as we sailed away but I don't know if it's necessarily worth the extra money. Someone who actually has had this type of room might have a different opinion though. :)

[DOTTE]

New to Carnival....would love info on the pros and cons of booking an aft extended balcony..worth the extra $$???

 

Haven't had the regular aft extended balcony...but had the corner wrap on deck 6. I think it's worth the extra $$. The views back there are awesome.

[shenetic]

Thanks for the response!!! As you can see, I have an alleg1ance to NCL, so a departure to Carnival is traumatic...esp since I read some AWFUL stuff about the Victory...threadbare carpet, dorm food etc...is that accurate???

[gone_cruisin]

Thanks for the response!!! As you can see, I have an alleg1ance to NCL, so a departure to Carnival is traumatic...esp since I read some AWFUL stuff about the Victory...threadbare carpet, dorm food etc...is that accurate???

 

She is a beautiful ship - she may need cleaning up though. She was the prettiest of all the ships I've been on thus far.

I read she goes into drydock in November.

[Cardex]

Thanks for the response!!! As you can see, I have an alleg1ance to NCL, so a departure to Carnival is traumatic...esp since I read some AWFUL stuff about the Victory...threadbare carpet, dorm food etc...is that accurate???

 

Having been on NCL Jade twice and going on my second cruise on the Victory this weekend, I think NCL and Carnival are very similar. I do LOVE NCL freestyle dining so we booked anytime dining on Carnival. I actually liked the food on Carnival better. We cruise for the itinerary not the ship and have been happy with both cruise lines.

[TortieGal]

Thanks for the response!!! As you can see, I have an alleg1ance to NCL, so a departure to Carnival is traumatic...esp since I read some AWFUL stuff about the Victory...threadbare carpet, dorm food etc...is that accurate???

 

Having only sailed Carnival, I can't compare their food to others but I would not say it's dorm food. I'm not a "foodie" though and am very easy to please....usually. ;)

 

My advice is that only you can form your own opinions about things. I never understand people who complain about things like how worn the carpet is. I read reviews of hotels on tripadvisor and I wonder if people go in specifically looking for things to complain about.

 

Of course, I have also been known to shop at Walmart. :rolleyes::p

 

As PP mentioned, the ship is scheduled for drydock later in the year which will probably get her cleaned up. I don't remember seeing anything that specifically needed work. The one thing I personally didn't like was the green carpeting.

 

Enjoy! With this being so port intensive, in case you were to find it awful, you're not on the ship much.

[shenetic]

Good points everyone....there are a lot of complainers out there.....this itinerary is not easy to resist!!!!

[PreciousCruiser]

The itinerary IS AWESOME! I returned on 5/3/10 and loved the ship, service, food, entertainment, ports, tours, all of it. The ship is in need of updating, but if you love to cruise and have a postitive attitude and are going before she is updated in November, you will thoroughly enjoy your cruise. IMHO....

 

ENJOY...........

[seashinesunshine]

We had an aft balcony on the Victory, and yes it is worth the extra $$ if you have it, if it stretches your budget, then don't do it. The only problem we had with it, we were in 6440 right above the drum set in the lounge below, our floor vibrated until 1am. Go on deck above that and you will be fine. It was so nice to be on our big balcony leaving port at sunset every night with an great view of the island disapperaing into the ocean. Priceless.

The balconies are not private. When you are standing at your railing the divider is at railing height, so you have a clear esy view into your neighbors balcony and with little effort into thier rooms. But there were not tons of loud people hanging out on the balconies so they are nice and peaceful. But for privacy, some people have asked about 'the balcony club' and it is not private enough for that.

[tinlizzy]

Hey Shenetic - I have only sailed on Disney and Carnival and while I thought Disney's buffets were better than Carnival, the MDR food is better on Carnival so I think you'll be okay with the food.

 

I got a regular aft balcony on the Miracle out of New York on a June cruise. I was super excited but hated it because of the soot. It rained often and was really windy on that cruise so maybe that played a part in it, but there were 1-2 inch discs of soot every time I went out onto the balcony. We would forget and track the soot in the cabin. The chair had soot on it. I was very frustrated and won't ever do an aft straight off the back again.

 

Hope you have a great cruise! The Southern Caribbean was my favorite cruise so far. The beaches are beautiful. We went when the ship was the Destiny. I think those ships are more worn because of all the ports and the thousands of people getting on and off the ship daily, sometimes several times a day.

[kenrod]

Thanks for the response!!! As you can see, I have an alleg1ance to NCL, so a departure to Carnival is traumatic...esp since I read some AWFUL stuff about the Victory...threadbare carpet, dorm food etc...is that accurate???

 

The interior of the Victory makes it my favourite ship that I have been on. Of course green is my favourite colour, so that is probably why. While we were on the Victory, we did not see anything worn out or anything in disrepair, other than a lightbulb that needed replacing here and there.

 

The food is typical Carnival, which we like a lot. The Victory's menu in the MDR was identical to the menu we had on the Carnival Freedom last November.

 

Most of all, you can't beat this itinerary! I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

I really hope you enjoy your cruise.

[shenetic]

thanks for all the great advice......torn between checking out the NEW NCL Epic with a fair itinerary (lots of sea days :eek:) and a refurbished Victory with a wonderful itinerary....

[smurfm69]

We had an extended balcony cabin right next to the aft wrap on the Triumph which is the same as the Victory. We loved the extra space out there. We are going on the Victory next year and since there are no sea days, we aren't spending the extra money for a balcony. We will have a cat 4j cabin on deck 9 forward which has a large open deck that is a short walk outside the cabin.

[shenetic]

Well....we are going on the Victory in Feb....so I can experience Carnival in person....can't beat this itinerary!!! There are 3 of us..my niece,dauthter (both early 40's and SINGLR) and me....cat 9B..8422...looks bigger than the rest...any feedback on that???

How do you all know that the Victory will be in drydock in Nov??? Would be nice to sail in a newly cleaned and updated ship.....