B2B on Carnival Dream Western & Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean! Review w/Pics!

[ibcnusoon]

Thanks for the review, pictures and word of caution about the van taxi vs. open safari taxi in St. Thomas. Not sure what we're going in St. Thomas yet, we have 365 more days to figue that out. booo :(

 

Great review and pictures though!!

[brilliantseas]

Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean - October 9-15, 2011

 

Day 3 - Fun Day at Sea

 

Carnival Victory's only Fun Day at Sea crams in the best of the best from Carnival's roster of sea day activities. Ice carving, hairy chest, digital scavenger hunts, The Game of Love, it all falls on the only Fun Day at Sea on the Carnival Victory. There really isn't a lot of detail to go into here other than to say that there is enough to keep you entertained that you'll never be bored. The pictures say it all:

 

Live Music on Lido Deck

 

 

 

Hairy Chest Competition

 

 

 

 

 

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Old School Carnival Water Slide

 

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POST #500!!!

 

Serenity Deck

 

Serenity Deck Sun Beds

 

Serenity Deck Showers

 

Serenity Deck Whirlpools

Because the Serenity Deck on Victory is a retrofit and was not originally designed into the ship, some features feel a little out of place. The whirlpools are one of those features. They are very shallow (perhaps 30 inches deep) and built with a bottom shape that feels like a lounge chair. There is only seating on one side, yet people frequently tried to fill the empty area where others' feet were and it created for some very awkward seating positions. I'm glad Carnival decided to add two additional whirlpools to a ship that clearly did not have enough capacity to meet demand (this has been addressed with the Dream class, which features 10 large whirlpools to the 7 smaller whirlpools found on the older ships), but I much preferred the whirlpool next to the water slide or the ones by the aft pool to the ones on Serenity Deck due to the awkward shape.

 

The Serenity Deck spans two levels of the uppermost forward decks, and also features numerous shaded seating areas, hammocks, and a full bar next to the whirlpools.

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Early dining still takes a little getting used to after doing late dining on my previous three cruises, and as such, I found myself eating a little lighter on this cruise than I have in the past. After 10 days at sea, perhaps I was getting a little tired of eating? Is that possible? Anyway, I tried a few different things for dinner on this particular night.

 

Black Bean Soup - 4/5

This was something that I've never had anywhere before, but it was very good. It was just slightly spicy, with black beans and white rice, topped with just a tiny bit of sour cream. I enjoyed it, although it would have been better without the sour cream, but that is just personal preference.

 

Penne Mariscos - 5/5

This dish has changed a little since the last time I had it, as they have now added a small piece of grilled salmon on top of the pasta. I'm not a big fan of salmon, so I just moved it to the side. It seems as if some people get a lot of shrimp, scallops and calamari mixed in with their pasta, while others only get a few pieces of seafood, with lots of pasta. About the only consistency here is the mussels, which appear to be added after the pasta is plated. Still, it is my favorite of Carnival's pasta dishes.

 

Warm Cinnamon, Date and Fig Cake w/Rum Raisin Ice Cream - 5/5

This very moist spice cake reminds me of a cross between carrot cake and cinnamon coffee cake, and the rum raisin ice cream is definitely something to experience. Very good.

 

The production show, City Lights, doesn't really stand out in my mind as anything special. If you've never seen it before, you'll probably enjoy it, but it wasn't a huge highlight of the trip.

 

After the production show, we checked out two of the adults only comedy shows, spent a little time at the roulette tables, and then headed to bed.

 

Note: After reviewing the fun times, I realized that I have day 2 and day 3 mixed up in terms of menus. On the Victory, unlike the other 7-day Carnival itineraries, the menus for nights 2 and 3 are reversed, and the first Elegant Night is held on the sea day. The dinner review posted above is for Monday night's dinner. Tuesday night is "Lobster Night" on the Victory.

Up Next: Barbados

[Bribrittmom]

Can't wait for the rest of your review.We are sailing on the eight day Victory cruise Dec. 18th.

[brilliantseas]

Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean - October 9-15, 2011

 

Day 4 - Bridgetown, Barbados

 

Barbados was a little bit of an unusual day for us as my friend and I would be splitting up for the majority of our day in port. I had originally wanted to go snorkeling with the turtles in Barbados (something that my friend did) and go to the Mount Gay Rum Factory, but unfortunately, I got tied down with two papers and an online mid-term exam for my graduate school courses (something unavoidable when you take a 24 day vacation in the middle of the semester), so after doing my research, my plan was to use my morning in Barbados to use the free wi-fi in the cruise terminal to do homework while my friend went on the Carnival Shipwreck Snorkel and Turtle Swim shore excursion, and then meet up in the afternoon to go to the rum factory together.

 

Unfortunately, I was not the only one who knew about the free wi-fi in the cruise terminal in Barbados, as about 100 of the ship's crew were scattered around, taking up almost every bench and several spots on the floor around the terminal; anywhere they could find an outlet. Normally this wouldn't have been a big deal, except they completely overloaded the two wi-fi hotspots at both ends of the terminal, leading myself and a few other passengers who were trying to use the free wi-fi to spend over half an hour trying to connect with no success. Apparently this is an issue every time the ship docks, and unless you are one of the first 40 or so people off the ship with your laptop, the network gets overloaded and you won't be able to access the hotspots. Being up against a deadline on Wednesday evening, I ended up giving in and spending $102.95 to purchase 240 minutes of satellite internet time on the ship. Goodbye free Carnival shareholder $100 onboard credit. I spent the large part of the morning and early afternoon at a booth in the Adriatic Lounge doing homework.

 

After finishing my homework, and not yet being time for my friend to return from her Carnival shore excursion, I decided that I would head out to explore Bridgetown.

 

Unfortunately, I would discover that there is not much to do around the industrial port area where the Victory docks, and walking out past the security checkpoint for the port does not feel like a safe place to be walking around. Perhaps if I had taken a taxi further out into the city, I would have found something to do, but with no beaches or large tourist areas nearby, I decided to turn around and browse the small shopping area in the port.

 

The port shopping area consists of a warehouse that was converted into a passenger terminal with the big name shops (Del Sol, Diamonds International, Dufry Duty Free, etc.), a small outdoor bar with a few dozen seats, and a small outdoor shopping area where perhaps a dozen stalls are leased to local vendors. Nothing exciting to see here. I browsed a little bit, but after it began to rain, I decided just to give up on Barbados and head back to the ship.

 

My friend got back from her excursion about two hours before our scheduled departure from Barbados, but we decided that it was not enough time to safely get to and from the rum factory and take the tour, so we just spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the ship. She told me all about her excursion, in which they snorkeled over two shipwrecks and got to see a total of 7 large sea turtles, which were attracted over near their catamaran by the tour guides, who hand feed them to bring them up close. She said she had a great time, although the price tag of just below $80 for the short excursion was a bit more than I would typically spend just to go snorkeling.

 

If I return to Barbados, I would probably book an independent excursion to go snorkeling with the turtles. Other companies offer 2-3 hour shipwreck and turtle snorkel excursions for $45-60, with multiple departure times throughout the day. There isn't much to do close to the port, so I wouldn't plan Barbados as a beach/shopping day.

 

Here are some of the pictures that I took around the port area in Barbados. The first picture is of the cruise terminal shopping mall, and the other pictures are of the surrounding port area. As you can see, there isn't much to do around the port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The advantage of staying on the ship is that when it wasn't raining, I was able to enjoy a less crowded Serenity Deck and relax a little on the ship.

 

 

 

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Dinner on night 4 was also a time to try some new dishes that I've heard a lot about but never tried before.

 

Tom Ka Gai - 5/5

Tom Ka Gai is described as a chicken soup with coconut and lemongrass. Being a fan of coconut, I decided to give it a try. It was not what I expected. It reminded me of a spicy asian-style soup, not the light/sweet flavor that I expected from something with coconut in it. It isn't super spicy, but will definitely clear out your sinuses. Very good! I just wish I could find it at a restaurant in Ohio to warm up as we head into winter. Panera Bread, are you listening?

Shark and Langoustino Firecracker Roll - 1/5

Just as dry as last week, with even less of the sauce that added a little flavor. Not good.

 

Black Bean and Vegetable Enchiladas - 4/5

Not as good as last week (seemed like it had been sitting in a hot box or steam table for a while), but still very good.

 

Bitter and Blanc - 4/5

Not as good as creme brulee or WCMC, but still very warm and rich. The vanilla sauce really makes this dish.

 

Since I don't have any pictures of any of the entrees, I'll take this opportunity to share some photos of the dining room entertainment on the Victory.

 

 

 

 

 

This was the first time I've been assigned to the aft dining room on any Carnival ship, which kind of surprised me since we had a cabin on deck 9 forward. One thing that I quickly noticed was that unlike the forward dining room (or rather mid-ship dining room, since it isn't actually at the front of the ship), which has the large lobby/atrium area to act as a waiting area, there is very little space for guests to wait for the aft dining room to wait. The multi-story mini atrium which houses the infamous glass sculpture of the fish hanging from the ceiling, is actually closed off by the fire doors until the dining room is ready to open. Why Carnival forces everyone to wait in the elevator lobby and the staircase rather than allowing them to take advantage of the large open space in in front of the aft dining room does not make sense to me. Here is a picture of the crowd waiting in the elevator lobby (we were waiting on the stairs) for the first seating in the Pacific Dining Room.

 

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Demographic Comparison - Carnival Victory vs. Carnival Dream

 

Although I mentioned the uniqueness of the Victory in that all of the important announcements are made in both English and Spanish, and that the ship offers Spanish language entertainment every night to serve the large Puerto Rican segment of passengers on the ship, I really haven't gone into detail about the overall demographics of the cruise.

 

On the Carnival Dream Exotic Western Caribbean sailing a week earlier, we saw a very broad demographic, almost exclusively American, with the age range of the majority of the passengers running from mid-20's to late 50's, and an average age of probably 45. There were also about 200 children on the Dream.

 

On the Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean sailing, I would say the average age of the passengers was at least 15 years older, with the majority of passengers falling between the ages of 50 and 65. There were fewer families aboard, and of those that were traveling with children, most were from Puerto Rico. The ship also had a very large international audience for a Carnival cruise, with a significant number of passengers from England and many of the Caribbean islands. We heard French, Dutch, and Spanish all frequently spoken on the ship. I would guess that only 50% of the passengers on the ship are from the Continental United States, with another 30% being from Puerto Rico, and the remaining 20% being split between England (the majority of which embarked in Barbados rather than San Juan) and several of the Caribbean islands. We met couples and families from St. Thomas, St. Eustatius, St. Barts, Curacao and Aruba on the ship, as well as several older couples from England. This isn't a bad thing, it was just very different from what I've experienced on other Carnival cruises, and it gave the ship a much more quiet/laid back feel vs. the higher energy atmosphere of the other Carnival cruises I've been on.

 

We still had a lot of fun on the Victory, but I would probably steer my other friends who are all in their early to late 20's toward one of the Florida or Gulf Coast based ships rather than to the Victory or the Baltimore/New York based ships as they seem to skew older and have a less lively atmosphere that most younger vacationers are looking for. Just something to think about when deciding which cruise to book.

 

Anyway, back on track to Day 4 of my Carnival Victory cruise...

[brilliantseas]

Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean - October 9-15, 2011

 

Day 4 - Bridgetown, Barbados continued...

 

Punchliner Comedy Club takes a break for two days in the middle of the week to make room for Super Star Live Karaoke, which, unlike the nightly karaoke offered in the small Red & Black Seas Lounge, is held in the larger Adriatic Lounge and backed up by the live Carnival Victory Show Band. This adds a whole new dimension to karaoke and makes it much more fun to watch. We probably spent an hour each night that Super Star Live was offered watching Karaoke in the Adriatic Lounge.

 

We also attempted to spend some time in the Piano Bar, but unfortunately, Jerry Selix just can not hold a crowd's attention. He is just plain bad. While he can play the piano, he can't sing, and uses his Macbook computer as his backup music. Dave Filsinger on the Dream wasn't much better, but at least he was able to fill most of the stools around the piano. Jerry couldn't even do that. I may have been spoiled by Dave Ross on the Triumph in January, who was standing room only almost every night, but I just don't understand why Carnival can't come up with better entertainers for their piano bars. I've seen more people sing along with the Filipino bands on the casino bar stage than I saw singing along with Jerry Selix or Dave Filsinger. It was a major disappointment.

 

In between Super Star Live sets, we spent a little more time in the casino and finally up on deck where we checked out the Monster Deck Party, which features a variety of line dances and conga lines, all leading up to the late night Mexican Mega Buffet.

 

Up Next: Castries, St. Lucia / Spencer Ambrose Tours

[ibcnusoon]

FREE wi-fi in the Barbados cruise terminal! Thanks so much, will make a note and let my daughters know. Looks like we'll have access on our phone in San Juan and St. Thomas, then again in Barbados via ipad and itouch. Will be sure to tell them they need to be one of the first off the ship!

[emmysmommy]

Thanks for sharing your B2B reviews. I was especially interested in your Dream portion since that is my next trip. I just wish I could get more excited about the food choices and the new menus but at least I won't go hungry! :)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Nice picks.....

[brilliantseas]

Thanks for sharing your B2B reviews. I was especially interested in your Dream portion since that is my next trip. I just wish I could get more excited about the food choices and the new menus but at least I won't go hungry! :)

 

I actually think that Carnival's Lido options have improved, especially on the Dream, which has the new pasta bar and burrito bar, but the dining room menu has suffered slightly. Carnival has what I believe is the best variety of self-service food of any of the major cruise lines, but they are sacrificing quality to save money in the dining room.

 

Probably the biggest "miss" is the lack of a highly desirable appetizer on the every day menu. Unless they bring back shrimp cocktail, I don't really know what that would be? Make the stuffed mushrooms an every day item? I understand that Carnival wants to reduce costs to keep prices low, but chips and guacamole just doesn't seem like an appropriate appetizer for a cruise ship dining room.

 

Outside of that suggestion, I can find something that I like on all of the Carnival menus with the exception of one. The day 5 menu just doesn't resonate with me. I think that I may even resort to going back to the plain grilled chicken breast during my next cruise on that particular day unless the make a change to that menu.

[brilliantseas]

Carnival Victory Southern Caribbean - October 9-15, 2011

 

Day 5 - Castries, St. Lucia

 

 

By day 5, you really start to feel the effects of such a port intensive itinerary. Going to bed late, getting up early, and go, go, go all day long. It was a lot of fun though.

 

Unfortunately, I woke up not feeling very well in St. Lucia. Nevertheless, I packed up the backpack for a day with Spencer Ambrose Tours in St. Lucia and headed off to breakfast. I think I limited myself to a few pieces of toast and some yogurt, and then we headed off the ship to meet Spencer just outside of the cruise port facility.

 

One thing to note is that most of the shops inside the little two story shopping mall that acts as the port facility do not open until later in the morning. As we walked through to head to our meeting area with Spencer, we only saw one or two of the dozen or so shops open. Keep this in mind if you were planning on purchasing any beverages or snacks for your day in St. Lucia.

 

Our scheduled meeting place was the entrance of the port facility, which just happens to be across the street from this rather iconic building.

 

 

We met up with Spencer's younger brother, who goes by Small, outside the port facility. There were a total of six people scheduled for Spencer's tours from the Victor. I was still not feeling well when we got to the meeting area, so opted not to go on the tour. This was not a problem, but I felt a little bad for Spencer and Small after another couple were no-shows as well. After giving them an extra 10 minutes or so, Small called a car to pick up the three that were going and they would be off to Spencer's compound outside of Castries, where everyone meets up with the cruisers from the other cruise ships docked at the other port (Emerald Princess was across the harbor) and then split up into the vans that were going on the different tours. We were reserved for Spencer Ambrose's West Coast Island Delight Tour, which goes to a drive-in volcano, a banana plantation, and finally on a boat out between the Pitons to Jalouise Beach. The tour is $65 per person, and lasts almost all day (6-7 hours). It includes water, soft drinks, Piton Beer, and Rum Punch. The boxed Creole lunch was actually not a boxed lunch before, but rather a full Caribbean buffet of grilled meats, rice, and a variety of sides at Spencer's compound that my friend compared to an island family reunion. My friend had a great time on the tour (St. Lucia seemed to be a highlight for her) and she couldn't speak highly enough of Spencer and his team.

 

Now she did specifically mention two things that I will pass along as FYI's. The first is that Jalouise Beach, which is located between the Piton's, is quite beautiful, but covered in broken sea shells, which can be uncomfortable to walk on. She recommended water shoes for those who visit in the future. The second is that the drive back along the coast to the ship at the end of the tour is quite long and some areas are secluded with no immediate access to restrooms, so watch how much Piton Beer and Rum Punch you drink. She said that they ended up pulling over so someone could answer nature's call in the ocean on the way back to Castries. Just a word of warning; GO BEFORE YOU LEAVE JALOUISE BEACH!

 

With those words of caution taken care of, here are some photos that my friend took on Spencer's West Coast Island Delight Tour:

 

 

 

 

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Drive-in Volcano (it smells like sulfur/rotten eggs)

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After hearing (and seeing) how much fun she had on the Spencer Ambrose tour, I really wish that I would have been feeling well enough to go as my experience of St. Lucia was much less beautiful. I ended up spending most of the morning in our cabin. A three hour nap helped things, and by mid-afternoon I was feeling well enough to grab a sandwich from the deli on the Lido Deck and then head into Castries to explore.

 

Like Barbados, there are no beaches close to the port, nor are there many major tourist attractions within walking distance of the ship. Castries is a major city (by Caribbean island standards) and business center. I walked about two miles around the harbor over to where the second cruise ship dock is (the facility where the Victory docks is nicer) and then through the lower elevations of the city to the airport area. Along the way I passed a few local bars, the big flea market, and a soccer field. Unlike Barbados, I felt very comfortable/safe walking around the downtown area, except perhaps the small area around the fisheries district next to the 2nd cruise ship dock (lots of loitering, begging and pushy individuals targeting tourists). I definitely got my exercise and probably lost a few pounds in water weight as the weather was in the high 80's with heavy humidity during my urban hike.

 

It looked like there were one or two larger bars that may have been fun to visit with others, located across from the back of the harbor and the flea market, but I decided against visiting as it was getting late in the day and I am not the type to drink alone. Likewise, I avoided venturing very deep into the flea market as it was already late in the day and emptying out, and the dark narrow aisles and very pushy sales people made me just a little uneasy. All of the booths are selling basically the same items anyway.

 

Here are some photos from my afternoon hike in Castries, St. Lucia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Passengers returning to Emerald Princess from an excursion

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As you can see, downtown Castries is quite beautiful along the waterfront; there just isn't much to do for tourists.

 

 

 

The lower, darker cluster of red roofs is the flea market. While the shade might be nice on a hot afternoon, the interior is very dark and the walkways are very narrow. The taller red roof building is a cluster of shops (mainly serving locals rather than tourists), and the bar that overlooks the harbor.