How much we loved the 5/22/11 Victory, and why I'll never sail from San Juan again...

[kclvt]

Looking forward to the rest of your review since we are thinking of this itinerary for 2013.

[shortstuf1255]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We sail in Sept.

[bcs819]

hey, everyone-

 

sorry for the delay, the review will be done tonight, I promise. Chaos at work is eating into my personal time this week, how dare they expect me to catch up after vacation ;)

[misand]

Waiting patiently! 2 more days til we leave!

[bcs819]

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

 

We arrived in Barbados on time, and I was a little worried that we would be on the wrong side to watch the runners at the end of the day, but a quick call to the Bridge and the Captain turned the ship around and backed in to the port.

 

 

We had booked a private tour here, Boyce's Tours. I had emailed Boyce in March and received a phone call from him less than an hour later. All six of us in a private, air-conditioned van, with a list of stops customized for us (we are not interested in shopping). The price was $225 for the whole tour, and I was a little worried about it because I had to pay for it in advance. I shouldn't have worried. We walked too far and couldn't find our ride, but Boyce answered his phone when I called and had our driver come to us. Cameron was a wonderful guide and was very patient with all of our questions. I had printed off the list of things we wanted to see, and Cameron included a few others for us as well. We are all history buffs, so our first unscheduled stop was the monument for the first settlers of Barbados:

 

 

We also visited the St John and St James Parish churches:

 

 

The churches were beautiful and Cameron noticed that my mom and Aunt spent a lot of time reading old gravestones. On our way back to the ship, he tried to pull in to an old synagogue with a really old cemetary but the police showed up and wouldn't let him park long enough to let us out. I thought it was great that he was that attentive.

 

We made several stops and visited things like Bathsheba:

 

and saw the last remaining windmill from sugar cane processing:

[bcs819]

one of our favorite parts of this tour was the Grenade Hall Signal Station, the views were amazing:

 

 

 

The entrance fee to the signal station was $5USD. This was not included in the price of the tour, but we knew about it ahead of time. We opted to pay the entrance fees separate in case we changed our minds on visiting something or skipped it. It was well worth the fee and not to be missed.

 

Our final stop on the tour was Harrison's Caves. My aunt had originally planned to wander around the gardens when we did this tour as she is claustrophobic, but when she found out the entire tour takes place on a tram she took the plunge. Cameron was very excited when we got here, and told us he wouldn't tell us anything but couldn't wait to hear our review. It was obvious he was very proud of the newly renovated attraction. The cost for this was $30USD.

 

 

 

The tram stopped several times and you could get out and take pictures. Unfortunately, the guide thought it would be fun to show us what the "natural light" was like and turned off all the lights. It was pitch black, and several people got very upset, they really left the lights off too long. When the lights came back up, my aunt was not in good shape. It had never occurred to me that they would do something like this without asking everyone, especially as there were several children on the tour and bats in the cave. While my aunt says she enjoyed the tour except for that part, it was unfortunate that this was close to he end of the tour and when Cameron met us at the exit it was obvious that my aunt had been crying and we were all concerned about her. I felt bad for Cameron as he was obviously disappointed as well that we didn't have the reaction he had hoped for. We really did enjoy the tour, and the caves, but be forewarned that the guides do this.

 

The caves were our last stop before Cameron took us back to the ship. We made it back around 3pm and thanked Cameron and tipped him $60. I don't know if this is a good tip or not, it's hard to tell, but this was almost 25% so I hope it was generous enough.

 

We headed back onboard and hit the buffet before it closed for lunch. As we were leaving the buffet, an announcement came over the speakers - "Sierra, Sierra, Sierra - Engine room". We were all hot and sticky and separated for quick showers before everyone convened on our balcony for sailaway and runner-watch. There weren't any runners, and 5pm came and went with no gangplank removal. We started to speculate what the Sierra page was about when we saw an ambulance come through the terminal. It was flashing lights but not speeding. It pulled up to the gangplank and after a few moments, someone was brought out on a stretcher. Using our binoculars, it sadly looked like the cloth was pulled all the way up. The ambulance left without it's lights flashing, and at normal speed. We sailed away shortly after, and just about 15 minutes late. We tried to guess what had happened, and there was no mention of it anywhere else, nor was I able to find anything online. A sad reminder that life is too short and how lucky we were to be on vacation, and be together as a family.

 

Everyone split up to do their own thing until dinner, where we had our other bottle of champagne waiting. I believe this night was a new menu, and I tried something called "Sicilian Chicken". It was awful, the only time on any cruise I couldn't eat enough of something that the waiter asked if he should bring me something else. Everyone else enjoyed their meals, but this chicken was like soggy fried chicken in chunky tomato sauce and it was all goo. Yuck. I just made up for it was champagne and melting cake, and no calories were lost in the disaster.

 

We didn't have to get up too early in the morning, so we wandered the ship and then headed back to the cabin for bed.

 

Ziplining in St Lucia tomorrow...

[bcs819]

Thursday, May 26, 2011

 

We arrived in St Lucia and slept in as we did not have to get off the ship until 10:30 to do the ziplining with my sister and BIL. I don't normally book ship tours anymore, but this one could only be booked through the ship and so it was. Standard waivers and disclaimers and we were off on a bus to the Adrenaline camp. This island is hilly and wind-y. Take your meclizine if you are riding anywhere on this island. We learned this the last time when half our van on the Cosol tour was searching for a barf bag.

 

 

This day was hot. And sticky. I had covered myself in OFF! before the our and I think it ran off of me. I didn't bring the spray along and I should have. If bugs like you, they will feast on you on this tour. There were 11 lines and this course was much nicer than the one we did in Honduras last fall on the Dream:

 

 

We really enjoyed this tour, and Edward (our guide) stopped along the way to show us various plant life or neat things in the jungle (tip your guide!). If I HAD to make a complaint about this, the harnesses stunk of sweat. Even before we put them on, they stunk, and I know we added to it. By the time the tour was over and we took them off, we smelled like homeless people in the subway.

 

Somehow, we always made it back to the ship around 3pm and got into the buffet for lunch before it closed. We hid in a corner of the buffet and ate quickly, as we knew we would kill the appetite of anyone around us.

 

My mom and Aunt went horseback riding (booked through the ship) and they got back at the same time we did. They had a great time and were happy that the horses appeared healthy. Mom did mention that the guides did an amazing job and she didn't see anyone else on the tour tip them except for one person. She couldn't understand why people don't appreciate the hard work these people do.

 

Anyway, this was the only island where we were docked on the port side, thus no runners.

 

We all did our own thing until dinner, where our waiters were waiting for us with our table and beverages exactly how we wanted it. They are amazing!

 

St Kitt's and Thenford Gray tomorrow...

[bcs819]

Friday, May 27, 2011 - St Kitt's

 

We were up and at'em early today for our most anticipated tour - "The Tour" with Thenford Gray. You can't see me, but we all bow our heads for a moment of silence when we utter his name - by far one of the BEST tours and guides we have EVER taken anywhere.

 

 

A native of St Kitt's, Mr Gray is knowledgeable, proud and anxious to share the island. Unlike some guides that let you out at a stop and sit there and wait for you to come back, Mr. Gray walked along with us and was able to answer questions, or engage in conversation. He and Mom were engaged in a discussion of geneaology at Brimstone Fortress:

 

 

I can't say enough about this tour, and about Mr. Gray. I can say that sometimes I am ashamed of my fellow Americans. Mr Gray was a very gracious and accommodating host, and at one point someone on the tour asked him about his family. He passed around a few family and island pictures while we were driving, and these awful people behind us said (loudly) "why do I want to see pictures of his family, I shouldn't have to pay for this". These people complained that there was no elevator at the fort (I swear, they did) and wanted to know if they could stay on the bus to "save their energy for shopping". I honestly don't know why they took the tour. They did nothing except complain the whole time.

 

The fortress was amazing, and we all agreed we could have spent several hours there:

 

 

 

 

Mr. Gray took us to several other stops, and then let people out at the beach if they wanted to stay. We opted to head back to the ship, and continued to talk about the island. The tour was $48pp in cash and worth every penny. The fort alone was worth it.

 

Back to the ship and just made it into the buffet in time for lunch. Today was the Past Guest party so we all headed back to our cabins to shower and change. I just realized I was wrong and TODAY was the day we were docked on the port side. The past guest party was from 5:15-6, so we didn't have to rush out for sailaway. My sister was out of steam, and decided to skip it. Ed was out of steam and decided to skip it so my BIL and I knocked on Mom's door and she and my Aunt crashed the party with the extra tickets. We had a great time and took full advantage of the plentiful and free cocktails that were available. We left port about 15 minutes early, so I guess there were no runners. I stumbled back to my cabin and took a nap until dinner. We were all pooped, but somehow we managed to make it out to adult comedy, and I am glad we did. Mike Macy was hysterical, and not too shabby on the eyes, ladies!

 

last day tomorrow - boo-hoo!

[TM&K]

We were on this same cruise with you and also heard the sierra page and wondered what it was about. We never heard anything about it either. We ziplined in St. Lucia as well and loved it. Loving your review and reliving it along with you.

[bcs819]

Saturday, May 28, 2011 - St Maarten

 

We were out late last night, so we slept in a little this morning and met my sister and BIL at 10 to take a cab to Orient Beach. The terminal is very organized with a taxi line for each beach. We didn't wait very long for a full cab and then took the ride - maybe 20 minutes or so. The driver let us out at he back of Kakao Beach Club, I was expecting Pedro's and asked him if we were at Orient before we walked out. I was discombobulated since we didn't get dropped off where we expected and none of us felt like walking down the beach looking for Le String so we parked it where we were.

 

I'm not one to argue with a view like this!

 

 

The cost for 4 chairs, two umbrellas and two tables was $30. They made an amazing BBC and we had the best pizza ever - yes, EVER - on this beach. If you go here, the Caprese pizza was amazing. Hard to believe, but true.

 

We stayed at the beach until about 2:30 and then caught a cab back to the ship, there were several waiting. Did our standard lunch and shower then met for the final sailaway on our balcony. We had a few joggers, but no runners and then sadly, we headed back to Puerto Rico. It's really not nice to walk into your cabin and be greeted with a Customs card and the luggage mat :(

 

We packed up most of our stuff and then headed to our last dinner. As is my tradition, I write our personal thank you notes to our servers and include extra tips on the last night. Dinner was nice, if not sad, and we lingered a long time over our Grand Marnier Souffles. Hugs all around and headed back to get the luggage out.

 

We had planned to head out to the late night comedy again, but were too depressed :(

 

Tomorrow - Debarkation from hell.

[bcs819]

Sunday, May 29, 2011 - Debarkation

 

This was my 16th cruise. I know the drill on debarkation today. Get up, get out, get off.

 

Not today. We got up and headed to the dining room for breakfast (it was open till 8:30). They seated us at a table across from my sister and BIL, so we moved over. Then Mom and AUnt came down just to sit as they had eaten already. Lingered over breakfast and went to peruse the pictures again. They had started self-assist at about 7:15 and our plan was to pay a cabbie for a half day tour since our flight wasn't till 2:40. We were #12. We all sat at the Casino Bar. They didn't start calling numbers until almost 9. Something is wrong, I tell my family who is pulling out playing cards. It's not usually like this, I swear. They didn't call our number till after 10am. And then we get to the luggage. And it's a zoo. We find all our luggage and I gather everyone to head towards customs, except the line is all the way to the end of the terminal! Two agents. Two. And it's hot. No air conditioning. Did I mention there were two agents? At about 10:45 we could see the agents, and the 2 new ones they just added. So much for the half day tour.

 

We took a cab to the airport (don't forget those mandated rates). I knew from these boards that we had to have our luggage scanned and stickered before checking in. What I did not know was that there was no one directing you, and there were so many people standing around trying to figure out what was going on that you were on Mission:Impossible. Sadly, I am slightly ashamed that an agent went by with someone in a wheelchair and we single filed behind him to get through the crowd to the USDA scanners. Then fought our way back down to USAir check in. At this point I am on a slow boil because I cannot stand disorganization. It was then that I decided I would never sail out of San Juan again. We finally check in and then head for security. So.....we're standing in line for security, and as I hand the agent our passports and boarding passes, there are 5 loud bangs close by and people start screaming. One guy jumps to the floor. A lady is crying. At the next agent stand over, the transformer/surge suppressor/outlet thingie blew and there was smoke pouring out of the floor. It's a good thing we all went to the bathroom before we got in line. My sister got picked for the body search thing and then we went to find a spot to sit and wait.

 

Vacation over. I won't bore you with the change of plane details, but suffice to say, there is no fun in flying anymore.

 

As always, I know I forgot a ton, so feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer-

[oncruisecontrol]

Nicely done. Nicely done. I enjoyed every bit of your review. Was on the Victory way back in 2007 when she still left from Miami.

[bcs819]

Random thoughts I missed, in no particular order:

 

I did not hear or see a single announcement for Future Cruise Certificates. I wanted to buy one for our next cruise, but didn't see anything and was too lazy to search it out.

 

With the intensive port schedule, and multiple photographers at each port, there were more pictures than I had ever seen. We waited till the end of the week and were unable to locate most of our pictures. My sister had the same complaint. This was sad because they did take pictures every night at dinner, and I would have liked to buy some of our group shots.

 

Thank you to MarineGal for our drink coupons - they were put to good use :)

 

There needs to be more laundry rooms, or a garment limit. I waited one night for almost an hour to iron. One lady went right before dinner and was ironing for her whole family. In that time, the line blocked all of the washers and dryers so no one could use them. After that I went early in the day, or we used our travel iron. I tried to do the right thing, I really did.

 

There was conditioner in the bathroom basket!

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our dining room experience. For those of you that complain when you have to wait for things, there are some times when the wait between courses is longer than others. We used this time to share stories from our day, or laugh.

 

The beef was consistently better on this trip, but you should still order a step below the way you want it cooked. Example - if you want medium rare, order rare.

 

Someone or multiple people at our table ordered multiple appetizers every night. Portions are small and you are on vacation - try something new!

 

This was the first time we went to the dining room for breakfast, and we went almost every day. There is no reason to stand in line at the buffet when there is no line in the dining room.

 

If you want to see Adult Comedy, go early. We were there a half hour early for some shows and the room was already full.

 

Is the service as top-notch as it was 10 years ago - no. Is the service still good - yes. Our AC stopped working one day and a call to the Purser had it fixed in less than 15 minutes. Requests for extra pillows, more ice, etc were all handled promptly.

 

Officers were always walking around, and I heard my name used more often that when my mother found me trying to hang my brother upside down from a tree. Everynight in the halls we were greeted by name, actually, every time someone passed us in the halls it seems that they knew our name. Our waiters seated us and called us be name at every meal.

 

Vacation is what you make it. This one was a hot, tiring, exhausting, imperfect one and I still loved every minute. Happy sailing!

[shwabob]

Debarkation was very similar for us as well. It's ridiculous that Carnival hasn't addressed the issues with the Port of San Juan...it's just literally a giant hoard trying to get through the two Customs agents.

 

We were thinking about dropping our bags at Barrachina and then hiking it over to El Morro, but as we got off the boat it started raining so we figured we'd just go ride it out at the airport until our 7pm flight (originally was 5pm, Airtran adjusted it a week before we left). The transfer was a beat up former Greyhound bus that leaked and stunk of mold/mildew. That was horrible...I wished we would have just got a cab even though it would have cost extra $.

 

The rain then proceeded to mess everything up at the airport, so the entire process was Chaotic. Got lucky and bounced into a USDA area that had no line, so we got that over quick. We ended up sitting in McDonalds for a few hours (they had comfy plush chairs and TV's with CNN and ESPN) before we checked our luggage and made our way through security to the gate for our flight (which was delayed). Security wasn't a pleasant experience, very slow and just not put together well like the setups at TPA airport. Then cause it was Sunday everything in the terminal closed at 5pm...grrrreat. It made MSP and EWR look like paradise.

 

Never repeating the San Juan experience again. I went. I saw. I was impressed by some things, but disappointed overall. Carnival could do better and so could the Airport authorities. I'll drive to Tampa, Port Canaveral, and Port Everglades because they have their stuff together and flying just stinks anymore.

[BenjiRodney]

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the Victory in November. I had heard about debarkation and the airport so we are not going to fly home until Monday evening.

[shwabob]

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the Victory in November. I had heard about debarkation and the airport so we are not going to fly home until Monday evening.

 

That's a great idea. It's something I thought of about midway through the cruise. While my Hilton points would have covered it and I had a CSA plan on the airfare, I didn't want to mess with it. I'm sure the airport is infinitely smoother on a Monday morning/afternoon.

[TM&K]

I inquired at the desk about FCC and was told they weren't offered on this ship. We had a totally different experience during debarkation. I had included our flight info in our fun pass info and since we were considered as having an early flight they delivered zone 2 tickets to our room on the 5 th day. We were off the ship by 9:00 and at the airport and checked in by 9:30. But I do agree they should have more customs agents working.

[bcs819]

I agree. Port Canaveral is our favorite port. I will never sail out of Long Beach again (similar customs problem) and I won't fly out of Miami either. I'll spend the extra time and fly out of FLL.

 

I don't blame Carnival for customs, or the airport. We spent quite a bit of money in San Juan, and if they don't want it, I will be happy to take it elsewhere.

[bcs819]

we considered staying over but couldn't take any more time off from work. We usually are on Saturday-Saturday cruises and stay over. Even with the holiday, it wasn't feasible for us, believe me I wanted to.

[mrmrs2]

Thank you so much for sharing this review. I will be on the Victory in August. You gave me a lot of help.:p:p

[frito58]

LOL Yea it is what is at SJU , but we always figure a small price to pay for the beautiful islands you get to visit. We even have a noon flight this year :eek: not sure how its going to work out , I just hate waiting around in that place figure we will do self assist get there first thing and get out of Dodge. We have done 4 cruises out of San Juan , never really had any problems

learn something each time though , just have to take the good with the bad IMHO.

[jrmende63]

Bernie ...thanks for the great review! I love the Victory. It is my second favorite ship..first is Spirit.:D

[Nanaimobound]

Thanks for the great review!

that video is priceless. Lucky young man that they sent a staff member out to fetch him up, his friends would have never gotten him that far.

 

My DH took a video at the royal flush bar on Splendor that is pretty hilarious also of a guy who had too much fun.

 

Just a little add on about customs, Our debarkation from Long Beach was quick and painless on the May 8th sailing of Splendor, so don't strike Long Beach totally off your list yet. One of the fastest customs ever for us.

[Vanessa L]

Friday, May 27, 2011 - St Kitt's

 

We were up and at'em early today for our most anticipated tour - "The Tour" with Thenford Gray. You can't see me, but we all bow our heads for a moment of silence when we utter his name - by far one of the BEST tours and guides we have EVER taken anywhere.

 

 

A native of St Kitt's, Mr Gray is knowledgeable, proud and anxious to share the island. Unlike some guides that let you out at a stop and sit there and wait for you to come back, Mr. Gray walked along with us and was able to answer questions, or engage in conversation. He and Mom were engaged in a discussion of geneaology at Brimstone Fortress:

 

 

I can't say enough about this tour, and about Mr. Gray. I can say that sometimes I am ashamed of my fellow Americans. Mr Gray was a very gracious and accommodating host, and at one point someone on the tour asked him about his family. He passed around a few family and island pictures while we were driving, and these awful people behind us said (loudly) "why do I want to see pictures of his family, I shouldn't have to pay for this". These people complained that there was no elevator at the fort (I swear, they did) and wanted to know if they could stay on the bus to "save their energy for shopping". I honestly don't know why they took the tour. They did nothing except complain the whole time.

 

The fortress was amazing, and we all agreed we could have spent several hours there:

 

 

 

 

Mr. Gray took us to several other stops, and then let people out at the beach if they wanted to stay. We opted to head back to the ship, and continued to talk about the island. The tour was $48pp in cash and worth every penny. The fort alone was worth it.

 

Back to the ship and just made it into the buffet in time for lunch. Today was the Past Guest party so we all headed back to our cabins to shower and change. I just realized I was wrong and TODAY was the day we were docked on the port side. The past guest party was from 5:15-6, so we didn't have to rush out for sailaway. My sister was out of steam, and decided to skip it. Ed was out of steam and decided to skip it so my BIL and I knocked on Mom's door and she and my Aunt crashed the party with the extra tickets. We had a great time and took full advantage of the plentiful and free cocktails that were available. We left port about 15 minutes early, so I guess there were no runners. I stumbled back to my cabin and took a nap until dinner. We were all pooped, but somehow we managed to make it out to adult comedy, and I am glad we did. Mike Macy was hysterical, and not too shabby on the eyes, ladies!

 

last day tomorrow - boo-hoo!

 

Can you tell me how to get in touch with this person? We are doing this cruise in October and wondered what we were going to do in St. Kitts. This sounds like it would be right up our alley!

[disneyaholicraquel]

Thanks, for the review...very informative. Just booked for 4/1/12.....did you get reasonable plane fare? I've been looking and it's about $700 pp. Does that sound like the norm?