My first Review - Victory Cruise - July 15-22, 2012

[BenjiRodney]

Glad you enjoyed we are going again in 99 days, went last year and loved it. Old San Juan is nice to walk around.

[mattduke1]

I'd like to add my thanks for taking time to post your thoughts. I'll be on the 8/19 cruise as well.

 

I've set-up private excursions (just my wife, me, and a guide) in each one of the ports. Looking forward to reading your likes and dislikes.

[scraphappylady]

Awesome! Another Victory review! I love reading about what things people did on this cruise that were different than what we did. And I love your laid back attitude and writing style! Eagerly waiting for more.

[cruisinwithdad]

Looking forward to the rest , we cruise in 72 days :) We are also staying at the Sheraton Convention Center , but we got a really good price and we wont get in until Saturday at 8pm , so just for one night we hope it works out :)

 

We stayed there again when we returned from the cruise on Sunday. There were no big crowds of kids and they let us check in about an hour early. The pool was extremely crowded with people in general. Also, pre-cruise, we were in room 651?? I think...anyway, when we woke up that morning, I looked out the window to check the weather, and saw the Victory docked. Apparently, our room had a perfect view of the port and we didn't even realize it. That was nice. I am sure it will work out fine for you....especially if the price is right, which is the main reason we stayed there. :)

[cruisinwithdad]

Saturday I really wanted to go to El Yungue. The concierge gave me a map and we talked about the different routes. I asked her about driving up the coastline as my co-worker had said that is what she did and they really enjoyed it. The concierge said they don't recommend that route as it takes you through countryside that is filled with "locals" and not someplace we would want to posssibly be on our own. What?? No way, that is exactly what we were looking for and decided that we could definitely take that route to El Yungue and then possible stay on the main highway on the trip back. Sooooo glad we chose this option.

 

The drive up the coastline to El Yungue was beautiful. The area was certainly raw and offered some eating establishments that might be questionable, but we were up for the challenge. We stopped at what looked to be a little roadside stop with huts where various people were cooking up some local cuisine. It was right across the street from a nice little beach area where the locals had come to play and spend the day.

 

We ate something that I don't remember the name. They made it by putting some kind of batter on a bannana leaf, filling the the batter with meat, and then frying it. We each got one, but I only took a couple of bites out of mine as it tasted quite greasy to me. My DS polished mine off. DH was still hungry and since we had no idea what Mofongo was...we ordered it. Now mind you it is about 8:30 in the morning! They looked at us like we were crazy, but served it up anyway. The lady asked my hubby what kind of meat he wanted and he asked her what she had. Then she took out a large jar of something that looked like it had been pickled. It was octopus. He tasted it and said YES. The three of us ate the whole plate. It was quite tasty and I think we gave them something to talk about the rest of the day!

 

 

The row of huts.

 

The hut where we ate.

 

Order something good honey!

 

They were using planks with nails in them for their fire!

 

 

 

The beach acroos the street.

[cruisinwithdad]

I took a little time to download some pictures from my DH's camera as it is much better than mine. Here is a picture of the Mofongo that we ate on our way to El Yungue.

 

[cruisinwithdad]

After a bite to eat, we headed on up the road to El Yungue. The road was lined with trees, but just beyond the trees to my left was the ocean. There were many small areas you could drive into and enjoy the beach. This seemed to be a very popular area for local folks wanting to enjoy a picnic and a day at the beach.

 

Once we arrived at El Yungue, we did go into the visitor's center. You pay at the gate, I think it cost us about $10 a person. This gives you access to the facilities there which consisted of person sitting at the information desk, posted maps, a theatre with a 15 minute video, a gift shop, bathrooms, a couple of vendors were set up there selling stuff, and there was a place upstairs to get some yogurt or smoothies.

 

You can also go on a guided tour, but we opted to use the map and go on our own. There were security people as you entered into the Rainforest. We drove on up the mountain, and basically stopped where everyone else stopped. Our first stop was a small waterfall which DS and I both climbed, a couple of lookout points were next, and finally we stopped at the first entrance to the bigger waterfall. It is about a 1.5 mile hike to the waterfall. The path is paved and there are some steep moments and a long steep climb of stairs. But if I can do it...anyone can! There was even a family behind us carrying some coolers for their own little picnic.

 

I really enjoyed the hike down to the waterfall. There were lots of folks in the water enjoying the falls, but we found room to climb in. The hike back wasn't bad and it started raining, but it was hard to tell because of the canopy of trees. Quite beautiful and very enjoyable.

 

Everything was so beautiful and green...this time of year in Texas everything turns brown depending upon how much money you want to send on your water bill!:eek:

 

 

This is the first waterfall you come to as you drive through the rainforest. Many picture takers...some people venture up to get a closer look...My DS and I did! But as I search through the pictures, I see that I have not loaded some of the best out of the 1000 pictures my DH took!

 

[kimmyg726]

I'm enjoying your review! Thanks for posting. We are going on the Victory in October so I love seeing what you did on your trip.

[cruisinwithdad]

I'm enjoying your review! Thanks for posting. We are going on the Victory in October so I love seeing what you did on your trip.

 

 

Thanks. I am hoping to find time to finish it soon. You will love this itinerary! So much too do and see. All of the islands are beautiful.

[cruisinwithdad]

There are a LOT of people at the falls enjoying the area and just hanging out in the water.

 

 

 

 

DS made it under the waterfall. It is pouring down quite hard and it difficult to get up underneath it without help.

[cruisebabe50]

More please!

[ibcnusoon]

Yay, a Victory review! Looking forward to reading the rest of your review. We are sailing the Victory for Thanksgiving!

[cruisebabe50]

Where did you go? I am so excited about reading more of your review! Hurry back!:D

[dallas52]

I could not believe the kids were wanting to be that close to the pigeons! Yikes :eek: (sorry, but I am not a bird lover).

 

 

 

The graveyard next to the fort was quite beautiful. But was someone trying to get out???

 

 

 

 

doesnt look like they were trying to get out, looks like they got out. really enjoying your review.

[funinthesun1964]

I loved our Victory cruise. The only thing I didn't like was the flight from Cleveland to San Juan. But it was worth it, getting out of Ohio in February!

 

Thanks for sharing!!!

[cruisinwithdad]

Ok, I am back. Sorry, but I had to take a break and focus on my son's Eagle Scout Court of Honor. We are also getting ready to send him off to college this week.

 

I will pick up the pace.:D

[nycfa]

Yes, Please! I leave in a week and a half..... ;);)

[happylady]

Ok, I am back. Sorry, but I had to take a break and focus on my son's Eagle Scout Court of Honor. We are also getting ready to send him off to college this week.

 

I will pick up the pace.:D

 

The son of a best friend achieved Eagle Scout in 2007. It's a lot of hard work and dedication. Congratulations to your son (and you;)).

[cruisinwithdad]

After we had our fill of El Yungue, we traveled back to Old San Juan. We had planned on doing the Castillo de San Cristóbal and the Bacardi facotry tour. The last tour at Bacardi starts at 3:45, so we knew we would not make that, but we did make it to the fort.

 

This time we were able to get into the fort and take a look around. Again, absolutely beautiful. There was also a bride and groom taking pictures outside the fort. And it is here where we met our first fellow cruisers!

 

We left the fort and drove to our favorite parking garage downtown and walked across the street to eat some of the fried snapper we had drooled over the night before. It was yummy! The restaurant next door was getting a lot more traffic of people, but when my dh looked them both up the restaurant we were at was claimed as the "hidden gem" and to not be fooled by the crowds next door! lol, we felt validated...and quite frankly the food and service spoke for itself. The sad part is...I can't remember the name of the restaurant. :confused:

 

DH also wanted to taste the Medalla beer. According to the signs around San Juan it was voted the "BEST BEER in New Zealand"! LOL. Dh said it was VERY good. Perhaps it was because we had had a very long, somewhat hot, and fun day...but it definitely hit the spot for him. So much so that we walked over to the famous CVS and picked up a six pack for him.

 

The wedding photos taken at the fort.

 

Just in case you did not know where you were...

 

Fried Snapper

 

Medalla

[cruisinwithdad]

The streets of Old San Juan were interesting in the evening. Many people came out. You can get your picture taken with parrots or Spiderman!

 

 

[Dirkgun]

Lovin' your review. We also love this itinerary and ship. We did it over Super Bowl in Feb 2010 and loved it so much we are doing it again this December. Seeing your pictures is making me remember our trip (that is my favorite part of doing reviews) thanks for taking the time to do it. Will keep an eye out for the rest of it....:D

[cruisinwithdad]

The son of a best friend achieved Eagle Scout in 2007. It's a lot of hard work and dedication. Congratulations to your son (and you;)).

 

Thanks

[cruisinwithdad]

I woke up early Sunday morning looked out the window to see the weather and was surprised to see the Victory out our window. I had no idea that we had a perfect view of the port in Old San Juan. It was a little overcast but that was ok. We wanted to get some breakfast and had been told that we might find a place in Condado. After driving around a bit, we googled bakeries and found a place called "Pinky's". It was near the hospital on Ashford. My ds and I split a Mallorca and an order of blue berry pancakes, while my dh had something called "druken pilot". They were ALL yummy!

 

We drove to the port and DH dropped me, DS, and all our bags off at the port while he went to return our car rental. We figured the cab ride back would be less $$ that way. But since he had been directionally challenged the last couple of days, I was a bit concerned and sure enough it took him 30 minutes to make a 10 min drive. :D

 

For the most part it was not crowded, but every once in a while large groups would appear. There were several large groups on the cruise for birthday parties and family reunions. Looks like we are in for some fun!

 

We entered the boarding area around 11:30 and we were on the ship by 12:30. There was just a short line to get our SS cards, however, the line to go through security took a little longer. While we were waiting in line my DH said something about he wondered if the Medalla beer in his bag would be a problem??:eek: - I was pulling his bag cause it was smaller...so after giving him what for, we switched bags. I did not want to be embarassed when they found it. Well guess what? It went right on through with no questions! Go figure.

 

The gangway was broken and we had to take an elevator down to the bottom of the port to board the ship where you normally get on and off at the various ports.

 

We were told that our rooms would be ready at 2:30 and everyone was sent directly to the Lido. But we wanted to go do the Baccardi tour, so we wanted to drop our bags, get lunch and get back off.

 

Our room was 1003, Panorama, so we just walked over, entered and walked straight to our rum. Our steward, Christopher, was there and said our room was ready and we were welcome to drop things off. I gave him a little extra $$ and asked for ice for our cokes, water and beer!

 

We ate lunch at the deli and were off the ship by 2:30. We needed to take the 3:00 ferry so we could get to the last tour which started at 3:45. The ferry ride is just .50 per person and the Baccardi tour is free. However, it cost $2/pp to take a taxi over to the distillery.

 

Getting to the Baccardi tour was quite interesting. First, the ferry was shut down because there were boat races going on. So we had to wait almost an hour for the ferry. While we waited, people started crowding around this gentleman that was standing near us and taking pictures with him. We had been visiting with a woman and her son who were there visiting relatives and she translated to us that this guy was a famous comedian in the area. He was with his daughter and they were taking the ferry over to go to the fair.

 

It was close, but we made the last english speaking tour of the Baccardi Rum factory.

[cruisinwithdad]

While searching for a way to afford this cruise, I decided to look at Inside Cabins...and an obstructed view inside cabin was listed. After much research, I discovered through CC that this was a handicap room. After checking several days in a row and seeing it still there I decided to book it. Carnival was going to sell it, I thought it would be a nice room and was ok with giving it up if someone needed it. I discussed this with my PVP and we were good to go.

 

 

Despite what I read here and what my PVP said...the beds were put together to form one bed, and there was room for a pop up bed for DS. Funny thing was by DH was a little disappointed the beds were together cause he thought we would have had more room the other way..and since DS was staying with us..it wouldnt really matter! LOL:eek:

 

After setting the table and a chair on his side of the bed where he had his own little sitting area to read and watch the news...he decided it was pretty cool. The boys went on a cruise with the rest of the family a couple of years ago and I had to stay home...they were in an AFT balcony and I think a little spoiled!! But they decided that this wasn't too bad. Actually we decided that we all liked the room and its location very much.

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisinwithdad]

more room pics