Cruise-ginity lost on Carnival’s Victory – 10/7-10/14 Review

[PathfinderEss]

Great review and wonderful photo's, thanks for posting looking forward to more.

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great review and pictures! Thank you for sharing your cruise adventures with us.

[scraphappylady]

Thank you so much! The really vibrant photos are from my Sony A300 dSLR and the others are from our Sony Cybershot. Later on, you will see all of our St. Lucia photos were taken with our Fujifilm waterproof cameras (we each have one) and our dive photos were taken with an Intova DC9 dive camera. Yes, there are only two of us, yet we took 5 cameras on the trip with us! Now you can see how we ended up with over 1,200 photos!

 

I, too, want to say how awesome your fort pictures look!! You have some great shots and very vivid! I have a feeling it won't be too long before I break down and get an SLR, no matter how hard I resist. And I believe you can never have too many cameras!!:p

 

(But I do have to side with your wife in regards to the Steelers. My DH is Pittsburgh born and bred, and over the years, I have been quietly lured in. I can what you mean about interesting in your house during certain games, though. BIL is a Browns fan and football at those times ranks right up there with religion and politics, as a taboo subject. Not that either team is doing well this year, though. :()

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review, and re-live the trip over again through your eyes!

[trippingpara]

I, too, want to say how awesome your fort pictures look!! You have some great shots and very vivid! I have a feeling it won't be too long before I break down and get an SLR, no matter how hard I resist. And I believe you can never have too many cameras!!:p

 

(But I do have to side with your wife in regards to the Steelers. My DH is Pittsburgh born and bred, and over the years, I have been quietly lured in. I can what you mean about interesting in your house during certain games, though. BIL is a Browns fan and football at those times ranks right up there with religion and politics, as a taboo subject. Not that either team is doing well this year, though. :()

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review, and re-live the trip over again through your eyes!

 

Thank you so much. I've found that cameras are quite addicting! You will love an SLR! Since you wrote a wonderful review on the Victory that I read several times before our cruise, I'll let the fact that you and your husband are Steelers fans slide! Since your BIL is a Browns fan, he must be quite a handsome and intelligent young man (aren't all Browns fans handsome and smart young men?)

[trippingpara]

Our first night on the Victory was pretty uneventful. Due to the late departure time, all dining this night was Any Time Dining for all passengers. So we went to our regularly assigned MDR which was the Atlantic Dining Room. Our first meal was cured salmon with Chicken a la Griecho with a dessert of orange cake for my DW and I had beef soup followed by an awesome sweet and sour shrimp followed by an even more awesome warm chocolate melting cake. Yum-la-friggin'-yum!!

 

Cured Salmon

 

Chicken a la Griecho

 

Sweet and Sour Shrimp

 

After dinner, we took a small tour of the ship led by Srki. Since it was our first time on a cruise ship we thought the tour would help us find our way around. It was very informative and Srki was an absolute riot!

 

When the tour ended we only had a few minutes before we had to report to our muster station and stand around like a herd of cattle for them to show us how to put on our life jackets. They were enforcing the no drinking during the presentation.

 

Afterwards, everyone flocked back up to the Lido Deck for the Sail Away Party.

 

(Taken during our tour before Sail Away party)

 

Unfortunately, non of my evening shots of OSJ during sail away came out real good (I only had my Sony Cybershot with me and was holding by hand). I knew I should have brought my tripod with remote for my dSLR!

 

But we had to get that DOD for the sail away!!

[trippingpara]

Monday, Oct. 8th – Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

 

This was one of our two diving days so we quickly grabbed a cab ($9 per person) from the cruise terminal to Coki Beach where we were diving with Peter at the Coki Beach Dive Club. Our cab driver was called Trinny because he was from the island of Trinidad. He gave us a little tour as he cruised us across the island. We were surprised to see that they drive on the left hand side of the road since it was a US territory. I guess their nearby British neighbors on Tortola rubbed off on them!

 

We were doing a 2 tank beach dive right there from Coki Beach. The water was gorgeous and the dives were nice and easy and very relaxing.

 

 

A flounder staring at me as I glide by him

 

Normally we dive off the shores of Rhode Island and Massachusetts so we are pretty happy if we can see our hands in front of our face so you can imagine our surprise and awe of the clarity of the Caribbean waters.

 

There was a large coral frag farm there trying to rehabilitate the local reefs.

 

After the dive, we went right next door to Coral World (we already had tickets for there) and spent an hour or two walking around there.

 

View from the Underwater Observation Deck in Coral World (okay, so where on the top deck portion of the underwater observation deck!)

 

Some iguanas hanging out

 

We then grabbed another cab back to the cruise terminal and attempted to use our Carnival bought tickets for Paradise Point. The only problem was the fact that it was Columbus Day which is heavily celebrated in St. Thomas and the lift was closed. So far, we’re batting 1 for 3 with our pre-scheduled excursions. Not a very good batting average (unless you play for the Red Sox, then you fit right in!). Sorry, bitter Red Sox over here.

 

We then went back to the ship and chilled out.

[Bashlin]

I'd like to see a few more pics of the ship if you have them..

 

Sent from my Galaxy 3S

[trippingpara]

I'd like to see a few more pics of the ship if you have them..

 

Sent from my Galaxy 3S

 

Here ya go...

 

 

 

 

The Arcade

 

The Irish Sea Bar (the piano bar - sorry for the fuzzy picture)

 

The back of the Lido Deck (Siren Pool and Chess Board)

 

Mini Golf Course

 

Taken from the 'Secret Decks'

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[trippingpara]

Crowds during Sea Day on the Lido Deck

 

 

The Atrium

 

The Caspian Sea Bar

 

Club Arctic

 

Edited October 20, 2012 by trippingpara

[trippingpara]

The Coral Sea coffee shop

 

The upper wall of the Atrium

 

The Aegean Sea Sports Bar

 

The Black and Red Sea (this is where Karaoke is when the Punchliner Club is not being used in the Adriatic Sea Lounge)

 

The giant fish hanging over the entrance to the Pacific Dining Room

 

Mosaic artwork next to Guest Services on Deck 3 (Lobby Deck)

[trippingpara]

Here's just a couple more. If there is anything in particular that anyone would like to see, please don't hesitate to ask, I'm sure I probably took a picture of it!

 

Here some shots of those bloody seahorses...

 

 

 

And of course, no Carnival cruise is complete without seeing Funship Freddy!

 

We did also see their other mascot (I believe it was a parrot) but unfortunately I did not have my camera on me. I know, I know, what the heck was I doing walking around the ship without my camera! That's like walking around buck naked!!

[hockeyluver]

Here ya go...

 

 

Taken from the 'Secret Decks'

 

Love the review and the pictures also!! We will be staying in one of the 4J cabins, looking forward to spending some time on the secret deck :D

[trippingpara]

Love the review and the pictures also!! We will be staying in one of the 4J cabins, looking forward to spending some time on the secret deck :D

 

Thank you so much. You will love the secret decks! We went out there constantly and only once did we ever see anyone else and they were on the deck below us - both Decks 6 and 7 are open. There are stairs from one deck to another however the stairs leading to the secret deck on Deck 5 are roped off with a sign that says 'Crew Members Only'. If you want peace and quiet, that is where you will find it. Just be prepared for some wind. Since I have extremely short hair it was no problem for me but I was cracking up watching my DW's hair whip all over the place. She didn't seem as amused by it though.

 

Here are a couple more shots from the 'Secret Decks':

 

 

 

 

 

The Bridge above us on Deck 7's Secret Deck

Edited October 20, 2012 by trippingpara

[hockeyluver]

Thanks for the secret deck picks... :D did you happen to notice if there were any loungers on deck 9 ? some secret deck pics show loungers.

[jimbri]

Great review. Thank you.

[trippingpara]

Thanks for the secret deck picks... :D did you happen to notice if there were any loungers on deck 9 ? some secret deck pics show loungers.

 

There were loungers there but they were always tied up due to the wind. They are untied when the ship is in port (no wind, no flying loungers!)

[deladane]

How do you access the secret deck from deck 7? That's the deck where my cabin is and I think it would be fun to take pics of the port from out there after we dock every morning :)

[babyblue78]

DH and I have contemplated cruising out of San Juan, but keep resisting due to the crazy airfare. We loved OSJ on our Liberty cruise and St Maarten is fabulous, so I am sure that I would love this cruise. Really enjoying your review, maybe it will convince me to bite the bullet! :D

[trippingpara]

How do you access the secret deck from deck 7? That's the deck where my cabin is and I think it would be fun to take pics of the port from out there after we dock every morning :)

 

The secret deck is really easy to get to. From either the port or starboard side (they are the same), go all the way forward towards the bow (the room numbers will decrease as you go forward). If you are on the port side you will see the hallway turn to your right. There will be a door to your left on the port side (not the forward side). The door is plain white. Open it up and you will see another door that is wooden (it usually has a sign on it that says something to the effect: be careful, strong winds).

 

From the starboard side, the directions are the exact opposite, i.e., the door will be on your right, etc.

[trippingpara]

DH and I have contemplated cruising out of San Juan, but keep resisting due to the crazy airfare. We loved OSJ on our Liberty cruise and St Maarten is fabulous, so I am sure that I would love this cruise. Really enjoying your review, maybe it will convince me to bite the bullet! :D

 

I hope it does convince you to go, you won't regret it!! We flew direct to San Juan from Boston via JetBlue and the prices were actually really good. Now we did purchase the tickets almost 8 months in advance and we watched the fares increase as the date got closer.

[deladane]

The secret deck is really easy to get to. From either the port or starboard side (they are the same), go all the way forward towards the bow (the room numbers will decrease as you go forward). If you are on the port side you will see the hallway turn to your right. There will be a door to your left on the port side (not the forward side). The door is plain white. Open it up and you will see another door that is wooden (it usually has a sign on it that says something to the effect: be careful, strong winds).

 

From the starboard side, the directions are the exact opposite, i.e., the door will be on your right, etc.

 

Thanks so much!! I'm DEFINITELY gonna look for it when I get on board in 7 weeks :-D Which decks have a secret deck on them?

[Bashlin]

Thanks so much for the ship pics ;-)!

 

Sent from my Galaxy 3S

[hockeyluver]

Thanks so much!! I'm DEFINITELY gonna look for it when I get on board in 7 weeks :-D Which decks have a secret deck on them?

 

decks 6,7 and 9, 8 is the bridge. We have often gone out on these decks when we arent booked in a balcony cabin. for sail away. Deck 9 is great because you can walk out on the bridge wing's, for an awesome view.

Edited October 21, 2012 by hockeyluver

[ajagent]

I want to thank you for posting this review. The Pics are AMAZING. The Victory was our first ship and it is also the most recent Carnival Ship I have been on. She was just as good on cruise number 8 as she was on cruise number 1. Your pictures make me feel like I am there one more time!!!