Carnival Victory Key West and Cozumel Family Cruise 8/15-8/19

[ericadawn2001]

Hello Everyone! We just returned from our family cruise on the Victory. This is my 2nd cruise and 1st with the kids; 8 year old daughter and 7 month old son. (Yes he was a handful!) My hubby and I have cruised once before on Majesty of the Seas so we are still very new to cruising. We were invited on this trip by very close friends who brought their kids along as well. Here goes my review!!

 

Day 1 Miami

 

We left Baltimore on the 7:15 flight the day of the cruise. It was the babies' 1st flight!

Luckily they slept right through it!

 

We had an hour delay so we arrived around 10:45 am. We stopped by CVS for a case of water and ran a few other errands and we were at the Port of Miami by 1pm. And BOY was it crowded. We checked in and went through security and then proceeded to get our sign and sail cards. Altogether, it took about 45 minutes. By the way, we carried on 2 bottles of wine (1 for me and 1 for hubby) with no problems. (So glad I read that here on CC!)

 

We were in balcony cabin 6419. It had a king size bed for us, bunk bed for baby girl and a crib for our son. It wasn't very crowded at all. We fit quite nicely! [ATTACH]283483[/ATTACH

 

A few pics from our balcony:

 

We walked around the ship and headed to the buffet. The line was LONG!!! OMG..all this for hot dogs and hamburgers...It's ok, we were on vacation!! We met our friends and made plans for the evening. But wait...we forgot about the muster drill. side note..I never understand why people gripe about this so much..I kinda want to be prepared in case of an emergency...

 

The muster drill was quick and painless. We headed back to our cabin and prepared for dinner. We had the early seating in the Pacific Dining room. I also had my first drink..a strawberry margarita! YUM!

Hubby had a Long Island iced tea. Yum again!

 

We normally indulge pretty moderately with the drinks but decided to take it easy since we had the little ones in tow. (Except when they go to Camp Carnival!) :)

 

The food was pretty good. I ordered the shrimp cocktail and lasagna. Both were pretty good.

 

Dinner was good and the wait staff was very friendly and accommodating. They were very helpful and patient with the baby. We left dinner and returned to our cabin to find our 1st towel animal. I love those!

 

Only one complaint so far...there was a horrid sewer smell in our cabin. ICK..oh wells..we were still on vacation!!

 

We made more plans for the evening. Great start to our vacation!

[Dare2Believe]

Thanks for the review with your pictures!! We're sailing out of Miami on the Victory for the first time in February.

[Lyncoya]

My hubby and I were supposed to be on this cruise, but we had to cancel. Patiently waiting for the rest of your review...:D

[Crazeecat5]

Hubby and I will be taking this cruise in December. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

[Lil_One]

We will be on this cruise in April and getting married while in Cozumel. Really looking forward to your review!

[ericadawn2001]

Day 2-Key West

 

We made the HUGE mistake of having breakfast on the Lido deck. The lines were super long and the food was..in a word...DISGUSTING. I thought I put eggs on my plate but it turned out to be powdery mush. I was done. From then on. we ONLY ate in the MDR unless we had late night pizza or burgers.

 

We left the ship and decided to take the City View Trolley tour. It was awesome! We previously visted Key West during our last cruise but the tour showed us so much more!! The tour operator was wonderful. I think there were 8 or 9 stops but we stayed on the entire time. We learned so much about Key West. I believe we paid $21 for each adult and the kids were free. I definitely recommend this tour!

 

For those of you traveling with young kids, Carnival offer stroller rentals for $8 a day which will be charged to your sign and sail. This was a life saver!!

 

If you have any questions about the ship or anything, please ask away!!

 

I'll attach a few pictures momentarily.

Edited August 23, 2013 by ericadawn2001

[ericadawn2001]

Thanks for the review with your pictures!! We're sailing out of Miami on the Victory for the first time in February.

 

 

Have a great cruise!! Stay away from the breakfast buffet! :o There is so much fun to be had!!

[ericadawn2001]

Thanks for the review with your pictures!! We're sailing out of Miami on the Victory for the first time in February.

 

My hubby and I were supposed to be on this cruise, but we had to cancel. Patiently waiting for the rest of your review...:D

 

So sorry you had to cancel! Hope you can cruise again soon!

 

More coming! :cool:

[dancemum]

We are doing this trip in October. Can't wait. Neither of us have ever been to key west

[ericadawn2001]

Here are a few more shots of Key West:

 

While on the tour, we saw a New Orleans style wedding march. It was so cool. Hope this video works!

 

Higgs Beach looked really pretty. Hope to visit during our next trip.

[ericadawn2001]

We finished the tour and headed back to the ship. We took the kids to the pool and walked around before dinner.

 

All the sightseeing must have been too much for the baby!

 

It was also cruise elegant night so we dressed appropriately for dinner, as did most people.

Yummy lobster!

[ericadawn2001]

We will be on this cruise in April and getting married while in Cozumel. Really looking forward to your review!

 

Congrats on your wedding!! Cozumel is beautiful!!!

[ericadawn2001]

Here's our towel animal! I just love these guys!!

 

When we returned from dinner, we noticed the sewer smell again. And...The toilet wouldn't flush. About 45 minutes later, we heard it flush on its own. Problem fixed I guess??

 

The sewer smell was also present on the Lido deck near the pool. It wasn't overwhelming but it was quite noticeable.

 

We were still having a great time and the kids were so excited!

 

No time to complain, we were on our way to Cozumel!!

[camarowesley]

Day 2-Key West

 

We made the HUGE mistake of having breakfast on the Lido deck. The lines were super long and the food was..in a word...DISGUSTING. I thought I put eggs on my plate but it turned out to be powdery mush. I was done. From then on. we ONLY ate in the MDR unless we had late night pizza or burgers.

 

We left the ship and decided to take the City View Trolley tour. It was awesome! We previously visted Key West during our last cruise but the tour showed us so much more!! The tour operator was wonderful. I think there were 8 or 9 stops but we stayed on the entire time. We learned so much about Key West. I believe we paid $21 for each adult and the kids were free. I definitely recommend this tour!

 

For those of you traveling with young kids, Carnival offer stroller rentals for $8 a day which will be charged to your sign and sail. This was a life saver!!

 

If you have any questions about the ship or anything, please ask away!!

 

I'll attach a few pictures momentarily.

Where did the ship dock in Key West? We are doing this cruise as part of a B2B and have had issues with the cabin temps being too warm on our last several cruises. How was the cabin temps, was it a balcony room, what floor? Thanks in advance.

[ericadawn2001]

Where did the ship dock in Key West? We are doing this cruise as part of a B2B and have had issues with the cabin temps being too warm on our last several cruises. How was the cabin temps, was it a balcony room, what floor? Thanks in advance.

 

Not sure of the name of the place where it docked but I'll show you a picture from our balcony. We were in cabin 6419. Hope this helps.

[ericadawn2001]

Where did the ship dock in Key West? We are doing this cruise as part of a B2B and have had issues with the cabin temps being too warm on our last several cruises. How was the cabin temps, was it a balcony room, what floor? Thanks in advance.

 

The room was quite chilly. We actually left the balcony door open to warm up the room a few times.

[camarowesley]

The room was quite chilly. We actually left the balcony door open to warm up the room a few times.

Sorry, one more question. Did the cabin have the old hair dryers mounted to the wall in the bathroom, or the ones in the drawer in the cabin?

[ericadawn2001]

Sorry, one more question. Did the cabin have the old hair dryers mounted to the wall in the bathroom, or the ones in the drawer in the cabin?

 

The dryers were mounted to the wall.

[oncruisecontrol]

Thanks for your candid review. I agree with you 100% about the breakfast buffet. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[prad]

Hi Erica - Thanks for the review, we are sailing this trip next week 8 /29. Can you please post a picture of the first day Fun Times. Want to know if there was a Latin Band on board (Salsa). Thank you. Freddie

[ericadawn2001]

Day 3: Cozumel

 

We arrived at Cozumel a little before 1 pm. The water was beautiful! We docked at Puerto Maya. Since we were vacationing with kids, we decided to spend the day at Chankanaab. We had a large group of about 18 so we took 2 vans. Each van was $22 each way. They took us directly to Chankanaab and picked us up as well. The entrance fee was $53 for me, my hubby and our 8 year old daughter. The baby was free. Dont forget to print the coupon on their website!

 

This is a pretty nice park. It's great for kids. There is a small beach area, snorkeling and dolphin activities. There was also a sea lion show. The kids had a great time.

 

We also visited the crocodile habitat and the ruins.

 

I would definitely go back again with the kids. If we visit Cozumel without them, I'd look for a more "adult" resort.

 

If you have any questions, please let me know!! :)

 

Pics coming momentarily...

[ericadawn2001]

Here are a few pics..

 

Carnival Paradise was docked next to us.

 

At the sea lion show:

[ericadawn2001]

The park closed at 5 or 5:30 so we picked up a few souvenirs and headed back to the ship.

 

We washed up and headed to dinner. It was great!!

 

Jerk pork loin

 

Shrimp cocktail

 

Our daughter ordered the pasta of the day..chicken fettuccine with a mushroom sauce:

 

I also ordered the turkey and stuffing:

 

And my friend had the chile relleno

 

Apple pie a la mode:

 

And a cheese plate..sheesh we ate way too much!!

 

After dinner, we returned to our room to find this guy:

[ericadawn2001]

Hi Erica - Thanks for the review, we are sailing this trip next week 8 /29. Can you please post a picture of the first day Fun Times. Want to know if there was a Latin Band on board (Salsa). Thank you. Freddie

 

 

SO sorry..i've scoured our cruise stuff but cant find any of the fun times..I think my hubby accidentally threw them away. :(

[ericadawn2001]

Day 4: Fun Day at Sea

 

We were determined to squeeze in a much as we could as the end of our little vacation was near. :(

We headed down to breakfast in the MDR.

 

Then a little relaxation by the pool.

 

Then lunch in the MDR.

Antipasto

Neptune salad

Crab cake

 

 

A few pics from dinner:

 

Drinks in the Aegean Bar

 

And a show..

 

 

We had to turn off all recording devices and cameras when the show began.

The kids seemed to be entertained by the show. It reminded me of a show put on by talented high school singers and dancers.