My very detailed Carnival Victory review from December 9-16, 2012

[sim444]

again great post

a ?

doing this trip on valor in febuary

carnival says boarding at 6 PM

any problems boarding when you did-was it 11 AM?

plan on copying alot of your excursions

[deladane]

again great post

a ?

doing this trip on valor in febuary

carnival says boarding at 6 PM

any problems boarding when you did-was it 11 AM?

plan on copying alot of your excursions

 

I definitely would board waaaaay before 6pm if I were you! There was no problem at all boarding in the morning like I did. We did have to wait outside for a while before they let us in the terminal, and then we had to sit and wait after we checked in before they were letting people get on the ship, but it was still worth it to be one of the first people on board at lunch time.

[pghsteelerfan]

I loved your whole review - thank you again for taking the time to post. We are now actually in the process of booking our cruise (got the ball rolling - yeah!!!) in May. We will be on Valor instead of Victory, but it's the same itinerary. I'm re-reading your review and getting some ideas of things to do in the islands. You've got me sold to go to Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas. This will actually be our 3rd time in St. Thomas. The first was in 1992 and we went to Magen's Bay the last time was in 2010 and we did the snorkeling at Trunk Bay, St. John. My DH said he'd just like to stay in St. Thomas so I told him about Sapphire Beach and showed him your pictures from there and that's where we are going. We're also going to try to do the sky ride this time since we didn't have time last time. We're also thinking Maho Beach to watch the planes (love the picture you posted) in St. Marten. We'll start figuring out what we'll do on the other islands once our cruise booking is finalized and I know I'll use your review as a guide to get some ideas.

[deladane]

I loved your whole review - thank you again for taking the time to post. We are now actually in the process of booking our cruise (got the ball rolling - yeah!!!) in May. We will be on Valor instead of Victory, but it's the same itinerary. I'm re-reading your review and getting some ideas of things to do in the islands. You've got me sold to go to Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas. This will actually be our 3rd time in St. Thomas. The first was in 1992 and we went to Magen's Bay the last time was in 2010 and we did the snorkeling at Trunk Bay, St. John. My DH said he'd just like to stay in St. Thomas so I told him about Sapphire Beach and showed him your pictures from there and that's where we are going. We're also going to try to do the sky ride this time since we didn't have time last time. We're also thinking Maho Beach to watch the planes (love the picture you posted) in St. Marten. We'll start figuring out what we'll do on the other islands once our cruise booking is finalized and I know I'll use your review as a guide to get some ideas.

 

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the review and found it so helpful in planning your upcoming cruise :) please let me know if you have any questions about anything I did while in port!

[fbe2228]

Deladane,

 

Thanks for the info on Victory vs. Summit. On past cruises, we have heard from people that we have shared excursions, taxis, etc with who were on Celebrity that they were very happy with Celebrity. We'd like to give Celebrity a try sometime. Summit's Southern Caribbean cruise appeals to us, and after reading your review we may give it a try. As I said, as we were planning our last cruise, Summit was a great deal, however there seemed to be way more negative reviews than positive (We've been reading reviews for many years and it's funny to see the varied reviews for each cruise. Especially when we read a review for the exact same date of cruise that we just took and see how people were so miserable. One has to ask if we were on the same ship!?!?!?!?) So, you really did give us an answer. :)

After six cruises on Carnival and a several on other lines, we definitely see that Carnival is cutting things. However, Carnival does seem to be on the lower end price-wise. In the past, we would have said that Carnival was nearly on-par with the other lines. Now we feel that it's getting to the point of "you get what you pay for". Definitely not a deal breaker, since we aren't "high maintainance" and have never had a bad time on any of our cruises. We just feel that unless we get a great deal on a Carnival Cruise (which we did for Paradise in February), we may go back to other lines even if it costs a little more (easy to say that now).

 

Paul

[gapearl]

Thank you! That's so nice of you to say :) As of now, I don't have any other cruises planned. My job is very unpredictable so it's hard to plan vacations in advance, especially when airfare is involved, because I move around a lot. After seeing so many amazing Caribbean islands, I'd love to plan a Mediterranean cruise next, but who knows if/when that will happen! :)

 

I just took a Mediterranean cruise and it was FABULOUS! Definitely add it to your list whenever you can. :)

 

I'm doing this same itinerary in a few weeks and can't wait! :D You gave lots of good tips. I might have to go skim through it again and make a few notes. I was thinking about trying stand up paddle boarding and you made it look like a lot of fun. Thanks for taking the time to post your review!

[cakerbakermom]

I've spent the past two hours reading all about this cruise - you roped me! :)

 

We are a family of 4 (kids 7 and 9) going on Southern Itin on Conquest in November out of San Juan. Will be spending four nights in San Juan with our two little ones and are looking for a place to stay. We really prefer to stay in OSJ and have been thinking the Sheraton will have to do. Can you tell me more about your first hotel, the Hotel Milano? I am wondering about how this might be if you had a family, does it have a pool, anything that might seemed of interest to young children in the area? We spent about 24 hours on the Liberty in OSJ in November (overnight due to mechanical issues) and think we can find enough things to do for three days in OSJ with our kids, but we need a decent place to stay that won't break the bank.

 

What might be your opinion, and do you happen to have any more photos of this hotel? As of tonight, they do have two full bed room opening (per their booking webpage).

 

Thank you!

[deladane]

I've spent the past two hours reading all about this cruise - you roped me! :)

 

We are a family of 4 (kids 7 and 9) going on Southern Itin on Conquest in November out of San Juan. Will be spending four nights in San Juan with our two little ones and are looking for a place to stay. We really prefer to stay in OSJ and have been thinking the Sheraton will have to do. Can you tell me more about your first hotel, the Hotel Milano? I am wondering about how this might be if you had a family, does it have a pool, anything that might seemed of interest to young children in the area? We spent about 24 hours on the Liberty in OSJ in November (overnight due to mechanical issues) and think we can find enough things to do for three days in OSJ with our kids, but we need a decent place to stay that won't break the bank.

 

What might be your opinion, and do you happen to have any more photos of this hotel? As of tonight, they do have two full bed room opening (per their booking webpage).

 

Thank you!

 

Honestly, I'm not really sure if Hotel Milano will suit your needs. It is really just a place to sleep. The location is great, but it's on a street with a lot of bars that spill out into the streets at night. There was no hotel or any other amenities aside from a roof deck with a minimal breakfast. The rooms were clean, and the fridge and AC were convenient, but it was very small and I can't imagine having 4 people in there, especially with kids who might want to move around a bit. We chose to stay there because of the price, location, and the fact that we knew we'd be spending VERY little time in the hotel. I'm not sure which hotels have pools in OSJ, but I would assume that the Sheraton probably does because it's a much bigger hotel. The location for the Sheraton is pretty good- right near a bunch of restaurants, and cross the street from the cruise ship piers. Aside from that, most of the hotels in Condado have pools, and they are much bigger resorts with more amenities. The Marriott where we stayed even had activities during the day for the kids. Please let me know if you have any other questions! :)

[gelo7]

Excellent review.

[sun_set00]

Great review! Thanks for all the information. We are doing the S. Caribbean cruise on the Valor this coming Sunday, so I loved all the pictures and ideas.

Thanks,

Maegan

[cakerbakermom]

Your replay about Milano is what I was wanting to know. Good to know what the neighborhood is like, size of rooms, etc. If it were one night, I think I could handle that with kiddos but we probably need a little more amenities to come 'home' to at night with our two. Our preference is to stay in OSJ, primarily so we can walk to sights, fly our kite, visit children's museum, etc. We thought hotels in other areas might get a tad costly when factoring in taxi prices. I do appreciate knowing the neighborhood dynamics! I am all for having a place to sleep, but if bars and things would inhibit sleeping children, we may end up at Sheraton. I loved the photos of other hotel you stayed at!

[deladane]

Excellent review.

 

Great review! Thanks for all the information. We are doing the S. Caribbean cruise on the Valor this coming Sunday, so I loved all the pictures and ideas.

Thanks,

Maegan

 

 

Thank you!! :)

[deladane]

Your replay about Milano is what I was wanting to know. Good to know what the neighborhood is like, size of rooms, etc. If it were one night, I think I could handle that with kiddos but we probably need a little more amenities to come 'home' to at night with our two. Our preference is to stay in OSJ, primarily so we can walk to sights, fly our kite, visit children's museum, etc. We thought hotels in other areas might get a tad costly when factoring in taxi prices. I do appreciate knowing the neighborhood dynamics! I am all for having a place to sleep, but if bars and things would inhibit sleeping children, we may end up at Sheraton. I loved the photos of other hotel you stayed at!

 

FWIW, the Condado hotel cost us literally twice what the Hotel Milano cost :-/ It was a really nice and fancy hotel though, so the pricing was appropriate. I totally agree with you though that it doesn't make sense for you to stay out there because of the taxi fare involved with getting to/from OSJ. I have seen a ton of people mention staying at the Sheraton, so if you do want to stay there, I'm sure you can find out tons of info by using the search button (if it's working!! haha)

[weekscruisers]

Thank you for the amazing review! Can you tell me more about the kayaking trip you took in San Juan? Did you use one company for the entire day, and do you remember the cost?

[deladane]

Thank you for the amazing review! Can you tell me more about the kayaking trip you took in San Juan? Did you use one company for the entire day, and do you remember the cost?

 

We booked the entire day through Kayaking Puerto Rico. It was $109 per person plus tax (I think it came out to $116 incl tax). Our tour was called the Bio Bay and Rainforest tour.

 

Here is the website: http://www.kayakingpuertorico.com/pages/rainforest_tours.html

 

Here is the itinerary from our day:

Duration : 10 hours

Approximate Pick Up Times: San Juan Area (11:00am), Rio Grande (12:00pm), Fajardo (11:30am)

 

Itinerary: Specific times for different sites and pick ups may vary. We will call you the day of your trip to give you the exact pick up time for your location.

 

Transportation Pick Up at Hotel Lobby 11:00am

Arrival at El Yunque National Forrest 12:20pm

Visit to El Portal Information Center Video, Information, Souvenirs 12:30 – 1:00pm

Visit to La Coca Falls Picture Area 1:10 – 1:25pm

Visit Yokahu Observation Tower Picture Area 1:35 – 2:00pm

Hike to La Mina Falls 2:15 – 4:00pm

Restaurant Stop for Dinner (Meals are not included) 4:30 – 5:50pm

Arrival at Bio Bay Departure Point, Check In and Pre Ride Instructions 6:10 – 6:45pm

Kayak Launching 6:45 – 7:00pm

Arrival to Laguna Grande, Interpretation 7:30 – 8:00pm

Kayak Landing 8:30pm

Drop off at Hotel Lobby 9:30pm

[weekscruisers]

Thank you! That looked like a great day!

[cruiseman111111]

Nice Rreview, GREAT Photos...

[deladane]

Nice Rreview, GREAT Photos...

 

Thank you! :)

[pcrum]

I just read this review on your blog and loved it. We did many of the same ports on our 2009 Miracle honeymoon cruise and your trip report brought back wonderful memories. In fact, we did the same tour in St. Lucia as you did (Cosol) and it appears that the tour has not changed at all (which is a good thing, as it was a lovely day).

 

It is such a pleasure to read such a well written review. Thanks again! :)

[deladane]

I just read this review on your blog and loved it. We did many of the same ports on our 2009 Miracle honeymoon cruise and your trip report brought back wonderful memories. In fact, we did the same tour in St. Lucia as you did (Cosol) and it appears that the tour has not changed at all (which is a good thing, as it was a lovely day).

 

It is such a pleasure to read such a well written review. Thanks again! :)

 

Thank you! :) It's so annoying that Facebook changed their settings and my photos don't show up on this thread anymore, but at least I have my blog as a backup!! Every 6 months or so, I go back and re-read all my old reviews to remind myself of what a great time I had on all of my vacations. Agreed that Cosol offered a wonderful way to experience St. Lucia! The excursions on that island are some of the best values in the whole Caribbean if you ask me! haha