!!! Carnival Victory !!! ^_^ The Ultimate Review and Complete Pictorial Guide!!!

[foxcent]

 

 

 

 

I rarely eat bread in restaurants, but they were particularly good here. I had to have some =)

 

 

 

I see Lobster and steak was this Captin Night??????

[foxcent]

Service was EXCELLENT that day!

 

So let's talk MDR. My experience of the MDR on the Breeze was lacking. The food lacked consistency and flavor. In addition to that the service was quite poor as well. Aboard the Victory the food on the MDR was almost always on point. I have to say that this is one of the strong points of the Victory. Those who read my reviews, are aware that I dislike waiting and for that reason sometimes I avoid the MDR, on the Victory you should not miss it. Great stuff!

 

The spring rolls were great.

 

 

I ordered both the duck and escargot. I usually do this to share with everyone. I end up eating very little of it. I am not sure why. But most of them dislike exploring, and then when they taste mine, they end up loving it.

 

The duck was really good.

 

 

And so was the escargot.

 

 

Cheese Dip? It was good I guess, never tried it, but it was gone in seconds.

 

 

And my uncle’s soup. Soups are a running joke for us after the disaster soups aboard MSC Divina. One of them got called dirty dish water soup by him, it really had no taste and was luke warm at best. And it really looked like dirty water!

 

The soups here were good, but he said it lacked noodles and other toppings. He was glad that the soup was much better than MSC.

 

 

 

Regarding the food on the Breeze which I will be sailing on in September, do you think you did different food selections on the Breeze than on this sailing to why it might taste better and on the days they served what you choose the days you went to the MDR on the breeze they were not serving that selection???? I hope you understand my question do not know if I worded it right

[foxcent]

 

The head server was one of the best dancers in the MDR. I have pictures coming up.

 

 

My family had yet to discover the warm chocolate cake, so I allowed them to order at their will without telling them about it. Quite honestly, it was an evil move from me, because it was mainly to get as many pictures of different items :D. I know, I know, but in my defense, I ended up donating the desert to the middle of the table for everyone to indulge in it.

 

Cheesecake, it was ok, I dislike cheesecakes, so I might be biased.

 

 

Black Forest, no clue, never tasted it.

 

 

My cheese platter, it was really good, unlike the Breeze one.

 

 

 

Did you take pictures of the Breeze cheeseplate??? Was it the same cheese or they all together served different cheese???? Just wondering???

[gambee]

Wow, HMC is just gorgeous!

 

I booked the Glory for Spring Break because of that port stop...so glad I did..:D

 

I too will be comparing it with Castaway Cay, but it looks really close competition!

 

 

They certainly are very close competition, each amazing in their own way.

[gambee]

What time did you board the tender? Looks like there were plenty of loungers available. Last time we had a problem getting one but we went around noon. Love HMC, the sand and water definitely beats Castaway Cay. HMC is why we booked the Victory. Hopefully Hurricane Danny does not ruin our chances of getting there

 

I think it was around 8:30 and I believe it was the second tender to arrive to the island. Quite honestly, next time I will try to get on the first tender, and leave on the last. And you're correct the people arriving at noon were struggling to find a lounger.

[gambee]

So glad you got a selfie sick, live to see yor face,you are a handsome guy!

 

Thank you :o

[gambee]

Woohooo!!!! I made it through the first 26 pages of another great Gambee review! Great work!

 

Gone are the days of the mysterious faceless Gambee! Thank-you, selfie stick. :D

 

Some notes as I read along so far...

 

Woahhhhh that green. I'm with you - the gaudy colored-light interiors are not my style.

 

Your uncle sounds like a riot! What a fun group of traveling companions!

 

So glad you made it to a bathroom in Nassau! Yikes - but I don't think you missed much heading back to the ship early. Nassau in the summer is too miserably hot (in my opinion) to do much sightseeing by foot.

 

Wow, I'm surprised that so many Carnival passengers came dressed to impress to formal night, and I'm even more surprised that they were enforcing dress code in the dining room. The only real issue that I could see was your uncle's shorts. It's very rare that someone is going to tell a lady that her footwear is too casual (especially because there could be a medical issue or something that they don't know about). But I completely understand why your mother and aunties did not want to dine in the MDR after that experience. I, too, would want to get the heck out of there. I had a similar "i-should-have-known-better" experience, but when dining in a signature restaurant at Disney World, and we also decided not to stay.

 

The photographers - oh my goodness, I have the same complaints. And since my last cruise was with RCCL, I can confirm that their photographers are just as bad. I remember laughing at prints where the backdrop didn't completely fill the frame, and in one image, the top of my dad's head was cut off. Out of focus, underexposed - They push quantity, not quality.... and that would be understandable if they were working with just digital images. But they are printing these photos! They are wasting ink and throwing away a lot of paper!

 

I was really excited to read about Half Moon Cay after you said that it rivals Castaway Cay. It looks lovely, and I really appreciate how spread out the loungers on the beach appear to be.

 

Looking forward to more!

 

Hello there, nice to see you here Victoria, and once again thank you for my logo. I am forever grateful :).

 

I was actually quite surprised how dressed up the ship was, I was truly not expecting that at all. But it is nice to see that Carnival is not what people make it to be. So no complaints there.

 

Oh, photographers, lol. But you know what, that job is so crappy that I feel bad telling them no. I just wish they respected us when we had a mouthful, lol.

 

You should make plans to visit HMC, I am sure you will love it there.

 

Thank you for joining in the fun, I truly appreciate it :)

[gambee]

Regarding the RCCL photographers, we had taken what would have been a really nice photo of us at dinner--except my eyes were completely closed!! I snuck taking a picture of the picture because it made us laugh so much.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Lol, my point exactly :p;)

[gambee]

Ahhhmazing pictures, can't wait till next April, it will be my first time to HMC. I like your uncle, looks like he enjoys life to the fullest!

 

 

Yup, that he does. Enjoy your time in HMC ;)

[gambee]

Fabulous pictures of HMC, great job and yes your uncle is a riot.

 

Thank you :D, glad you enjoyed them. I have a few more to post in a few.

[gambee]

On the photographers - a friend of mine worked for one of those companies briefly and yes, they get paid by the photo (a very minimal amount- in her case, it was $0.25/photo) plus a chunk if you buy them (I think hers was like $8/photo)and then minimum wage. So it pretty well sucked and there was definitely a 'get as many photos as possible quick' pressure)- it's why she quit, she would rather take fewer good photos and it just didn't pay off.

 

Thank you for the info, I have always wondered how much they make. Definitely not a job that I would be fond of.

[gambee]

Great pictures! Really enjoying this review.

 

Thank you :)

 

I hope you continue to enjoy it.

[TOMMYCRUISER]

Great review Gambee and plans on any of the new ships (Escape, Vista or Harmony)

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

gambee ~ your photos of HMC are gorgeous! I never got a chance to compare the Disney & RCL islands to it as on my BTB cruises on Wonder & Freedom both islands were skipped due to the weather.:(

 

My one & only time to HMC was in Feb 03 when it was more like a deserted island, don't remember any structures on it at that time. I thought it was lovely: the sand so soft, white & cool, the water so many shades of blue!

 

Was this your other Aunt's 1st cruise & if so how did she like it?

 

Going to go back & look at those pictures again!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[gambee]

Gambee, you've certainly made Half Moon Cay look spectacular! The sand there really does look beautiful.

 

I thought the pictures of your uncle on that slide were priceless!

 

I'm not sure that Half Moon Cay would beat Castaway Cay in my book, though. I would prerer to be docked rather than to have to tender, and to me, that beach at HMC looked like it could be really crowded if there were larger or multiple ships in port. I also thought the loungers at HMC were really packed in close together. I was wondering if you could move a couple of loungers out of their tightly packed group to a less crowded space.

 

I guess I may have to plan a cruise that stops at Half Moon Cay so I can make my own comparison. :D That's a good reason to plan another cruise, right?

 

Those pictures certainly were fun, you should have seen the faces of the people there.

 

You have a valid point, Castaway Cay is one amazing island. The loungers are kind of packed, but the thing is that rarely people lay on them. I for one never actually did, a few in my group did. You're also free to move them as you please. A couple moved two of them away from all of them, and then rented a clam shell to isolate them even more.

 

But the lack of a pier is what I think lowers the points for HMC. Although, as long as they have an efficient process to disembark the ship, everything should be fine.

[gambee]

Wow, Half Moon Cay looks gorgeous! The beach and that sand, I could stay there for days.

 

You got that right :)

[gambee]

The photos of Half Moon Cay were excellent. I've only been there once and definitely need to get back there again

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

Thank you Chris. We both need to make it there again.

[gambee]

Thank you for posting that beautiful sunset. That is one reason we love balcony rooms. Like you I agree that Castaway Cay is a beautiful Island, But the water is so much clearer at HMC. Also the beach sand is so fine it doesn't get hot. Thanks for the memories of HMC and another great review. Hope you enjoyed your day at HMC. Gary:cool:

 

You're very welcome. I think that is why I have come to love balconies, they just offer that peaceful, private space that you're not able to find anywhere else in the ship. Well, maybe on some ships, yes.

[gambee]

I gave up eating in the MDR a long time ago for several reasons. One was all the hassle of packing and wearing dress up clothes, another is I usually travel solo, so what's the point? And third, it takes so long to get through the meal. why sit in the MDR for 1-2 hours when i can grab something somewhere else and be done eating in 10 minutes...

 

When traveling solo going to the MDR is something that I do not enjoy as well. That is, unless there is a good group of friends and then we all share a table, like on the Breeze.

 

Thank you for posting :)

[gambee]

I love your detailed review and amazing pictures! We sure all have different tastes because everyone raved about the cruise director on the Breeze and I didn't find him funny at all. He tried too hard to be funny, whereas, Marcelo was naturally funny. LOL!

 

 

Indeed, that we are. Continue to enjoy the review, I have a few more days left for you :)

[gambee]

I see Lobster and steak was this Captin Night??????

 

That is the for a fee lobster. You will find it every day for $20.

 

Regarding the food on the Breeze which I will be sailing on in September, do you think you did different food selections on the Breeze than on this sailing to why it might taste better and on the days they served what you choose the days you went to the MDR on the breeze they were not serving that selection???? I hope you understand my question do not know if I worded it right

 

It was not about the selections on the Breeze. I think I ate similar food, than to the one I ate here. It just lacked flavor on the Breeze, and at times it was cold. I am not sure, but maybe it is because of the larger size of the ship?

 

Either way, it is not as if the food was horrible. It was just not as good as the Victory. But remember, the food in the buffet on the Breeze is absolutely incredible.

 

Did you take pictures of the Breeze cheeseplate??? Was it the same cheese or they all together served different cheese???? Just wondering???

 

I do have the picture of the cheese, it is on my Breeze review. I am just not sure in which night, maybe the third one?

[gambee]

Great review Gambee and plans on any of the new ships (Escape, Vista or Harmony)

 

Thank you :)

 

 

Plans? Yes, definitely. Anything defined? No. My schedule is a mess, it is very hard to plan ahead.

[gambee]

Hi all!

 

gambee ~ your photos of HMC are gorgeous! I never got a chance to compare the Disney & RCL islands to it as on my BTB cruises on Wonder & Freedom both islands were skipped due to the weather.:(

 

My one & only time to HMC was in Feb 03 when it was more like a deserted island, don't remember any structures on it at that time. I thought it was lovely: the sand so soft, white & cool, the water so many shades of blue!

 

Was this your other Aunt's 1st cruise & if so how did she like it?

 

Going to go back & look at those pictures again!

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

 

They definitely added a lot of structure to HMC.

 

One of them had her first cruise on the Sky, the second on Divina and this was her third. She loved them all. Which is kind of ironic, since she is not fond of the beach or the hot humid weather. I am not sure what it is exactly that she loves so much about them. I'll have to ask her. Maybe the traveling aspect :confused:

 

The other aunt this was her first cruise. While she enjoyed her time, she had some issues, more on that later.

Edited August 20, 2015 by gambee

[gambee]

We made it back to the umbrellas and I rushed into the water. I had been out of my element for way too long :D.

 

Buda stance.

 

 

 

That is what's so nice about that water. It is like a lake, you can relax there for hours. And best of all, it does not have that standing water smell that you smell sometimes on other private islands.

 

 

At some point I was running low on booze again. I noticed one of the many sales personnel and I got a couple of beers. I am usually a beer kind of person, but I had no desire on walking all the way to the bar. Next time I will set my umbrellas closer to it.

 

 

 

[gambee]

I believe it was around 12:30, maybe earlier. My aunts chose to go back to the ship. My uncle was thinking about going back with them, mainly because they were nervous about going by themselves. But he was water deep with mom and I. He had no desire of getting out of the water, and I was intending to close the island. If I remember correctly, the ship was there from 8am to 2:30pm, and I planned to make the most out of that limited time. I wish that the ship would have been able to stay there until 5pm.

 

 

The beach slowly started thinning out, I remember my uncle bringing me an additional drink at some point. As the beach thinned out, some water toys started floating around. We took ownership of one of the floating mats. They are actually incredibly comfortable. Maybe next time I will rent one.

 

 

We were trying to get a picture of him, well, you know, just don't make me type it ;)

 

This was the best shot I could get of it.

 

 

Mom took my drink, someone stop her! Believe it or not, I think that is why my drinks run out so quickly. Everytime I let my drink float around, she would grab it and drain it!

 

 

I have to get a little string and tie it up to my leg, muahahaha. Then again sharing is caring =)

 

 

Edited August 20, 2015 by gambee