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

[gambee]

Hi Gambee. Great pictures. We were at the Turks in Feb. and the seaweed was bad then. But we loved Jacks shack. the water is beautiful and the drinks flow nicely. Just a little FYI about a month ago, the news reported that there is an ALGEe Bloom that killing alot of the sea weed, in the Caribbean Islands. Gasry:rolleyes:

 

I see, we also had some really bad seaweed here in South Florida about 2 months ago. It was so bad, that you could not even go in the water.

[gambee]

Gambee I've never been to Jacks Shack but after seeing your pictures I might have to give it serious consideration for my November cruise

 

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You should try it, great little spot. Much different vibe than the main port area :)

[gambee]

Buenos Dias gambee,

 

I just wanted to say how much I love your reviews and photos they are Muy Bueno!!!!!

 

Muchimas Gracias e Salud

 

Daniel

 

Glad you like them, thank you for the kind words.

[gambee]

I am loving your review, and following and taking note of so many things that thanks to your detailed review, I can use to help me in October when I am on the Victory. I appreciate the fun times and info that is in them. While my itinerary will be Grand Turk and Amber Cove (hopefully it will be open in time for my visit), there is so much info in those fun times that can help me plan my days.

 

I have a question re the buffet. I see that there is one long buffet on lido, shaped like a V. Can you enter on either side? and if so, does every one just

file out when they hit the center of the V? Or; does one enter on one side

only, and work their way all along the V/buffet line? Hope my question makes sense:D

 

Thanks again for your wonderful review. I have been going through some of your others too, and will read them all, because I would love to try all the cruise lines. I have seen many not so kind reviews of MSC Divina, but am enjoying yours, and would love to sail on that ship. I have European family roots, and love Italian food, so it all looks good to me.:)

 

That is correct you can enter on either side on most cases. Sometimes they close one side if there is not many people there. Correct everyone exits when the V meets. I would leave earlier, but most of the good items are towards the end.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise aboard the Victory :)

[gambee]

Wow, I really love the look of Serenity. It very much reminds me of Vibe on the Breakaway (although, if I'm not mistaken, Serenity is free... right?) I agree, though, Gambee... it would be nice if the hot tubs were covered! I love the way they have them in Vibe on breakaway... perfectly positioned for sitting in while you look out at the ocean, and yet with those umbrella-like covers.

 

I've only sailed NCL so far. The Breakaway (in the infamous Gambee stateroom) and the Gem. I'm doing the Gem again in two weeks, and have already booked the Breakaway (the Gambee balcony again!) for September 2016. But more and more, I find myself wanting to try another line. I've been wary of Carnival for various reasons, but geez, this review really makes me want to try this ship. (Then again, EVERY review you write makes me want to try whatever ship you happen to have just sailed! It's like I'm stalking you, but a year later.)

 

And I'll agree with all the others: It's nice seeing your smiling face in the pics! As much as I rather enjoyed the "mystery" of Gambee, seeing you is much more fun!

 

Richard/Tralfie

 

Hello there Richard, nice to "see" you again. Correct Serenity is free to use, but quite honestly it gets so hot there that we could not use it.

 

Have a wonderful cruise aboard the Gem! :)

 

But you're right, you should give other cruise lines a try. There is so much to try out there, that I am sure you will love something about each line.

 

Safe travels my friend.

[gambee]

Gambee, did Margaritaville or Jack's shack have free wifi?

 

If your's was the first ship to dock, I think you would have enjoyed Margaritaville/GT more. It's probably my favorite port, after CC (though I haven't been to HMC yet). The swim up bar at Margaritaville is excellent, you can get one of those long tube drinks (I usually get a flavored margarita or daiquiri) and just stay in the pool, which is huge. I usually get a chair close to the pool, with a nice view spot of the Flow Rider, the wipe outs alone, (along with a nice buz) make it a highly entertaining venue.

 

I also try to spend the last hour or so on the beach as the water has been beautiful on my trips there.

 

OH, and another suggestion for breakfast, ever try to made to order omelette station? It's worth a few minutes wait if you during prime time. I try to get breakfast early, and the wait usually very minimal at most if you go to the AFT side. I don't trust the scrambled eggs as they are probably some kind of powder concoction, and I never tried the eggs benedict as they just never looked appealing..but I have NEVER been disappointed with their omelettes, and you can make them your own, the have lots of options to add. You can also get fried eggs there, sunny side, over easy...etc.

 

Jacks has free wifi, margaritaville not sure. To be quite honest, I did see the pool bar and everything, but the crowds really turned me off. Maybe with one ship in port, then I might reconsider the situation.

 

I believe my uncle tried the omelette on one day, but the lines there were even worse. Everytime I went there, you would see over 10 people there. Maybe next time I will give it a try, but as you know, I am not one for lines. I much rather grab a piece of bread and move on ;) :D

[gambee]

Can you tell me how to get to Jack's Shack? We have been to Grand Turk a few times but have never been there. When you get off the ship, do you turn right or left to get there?

 

I posted it already per your request, it is ingrained in the review :)

[gambee]

Finally all caught up. Love love love the sunset pictures. I laughed out loud about your comment about the MDR lady lol

 

I'm telling you Gambee, you need to take an Alaskan Cruise, I can't even begin to imagine how spectacular your pictures would be!

 

 

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We might just have to arrange that Alaska cruise ;)

[gambee]

Thank you gambee for sharing your cruise with us! Happily following along.

 

 

 

The side-eye in this picture is priceless! Fortunately, the lady recovered by the time the photo below was taken :D

 

 

 

Thank you gambee for sharing your cruise with us! Happily following along.

 

Glad you're enjoying, still one day to go :)

 

Thank you for following along.

[BugsyCruiser]

We might just have to arrange that Alaska cruise ;)

I will finally be doing Alaska next year :)

 

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[gambee]

Beautiful pictures of Grand Turk, Gambee!

 

We have only been there once, and honestly we weren't very impressed. However, since that time I have read a number of reviews including this one that painted a more positive picture of the island than what we saw during our time there. With that in mind I'm willing to give Grand Turk another try. We will just make some different choices based on what I've learned since our first visit to the island.

 

While we enjoyed our time there, it just wasn't one of our favorite ports. There are much ports to visit. I think next time I will take a snorkeling trip somewhere, and make my time more useful there.

[gambee]

Gambee, thank you so much for taking the time and dedication to do such a intensive, thorough review. Your pictures and commentary are incredible!!!

I have no immediate plans (unfortunately) to cruise but your review has helped get me my cruise fix!!!!!:D

 

Excited to now go and read your other reviews!

 

Glad I could help with the cruise blues, hopefully you will setup another cruise soon.

 

 

Thank you for posting :)

[gambee]

Hi Gambee. Great to see you back with another great review. Photos are amazing, kudos! On your Divina thread, you said we would enjoy her and, this July, we sailed MSC Divina in the med. Loved the ship. I am trying to put together a review but I didn't take many photos onboard! I thought I might link to your Divina review for those who need ship pics. Would that be OK with you? Keep up the good work! Ken

 

Note. I posted a pic above here but it's a bit small for a review! How do I make it bigger? I'm using Shutterfly.

 

Of course you can link my MSC review to yours. Enjoy writing the review :).

 

I think the issue with your picture is that it is getting compressed somewhere. I am not sure where it is. It is very hard to tell exactly where the problem is located. Are you uploading the full size picture? is shutterfly setup to compress the pictures to that size? I have never used their service so I am not sure how it works.

 

Sorry, wish I could be of more help. But it is just very hard for me to tell what it is going. Maybe if you can provide me with more details, I could better assist you.

[gambee]

First-what a great review! :) Thanks SO much Gambee!!!! Next my question- Do you feel the price of the balcony/inside rooms on the Victory were a deal compared to other Carnival ships and other cruise lines?

 

You're very welcome. Your question is relative, because the week after we sailed the prices dropped dramatically since school started. It was an ok deal, definately one of the most affordable cruises we could get into. But as far as a mega deal? No, that would be MSC. Or Bimini back then with their crazy offers. It really depends to when you sail, and what ship you sail. I think I paid less for the Breeze by my self in a Lido deck balcony, go figure that one out.

 

But it was a good price for us at that point in time.

[gambee]

Love those glasses. You may have mentioned it already, but where did you guys get those. I love fun glasses like those :) Loving your review

 

He bought them at a dollar store near my house, they actually had different kinds.

[gambee]

I don't know why, but I always that aunt (the one in white) was your Mom. I fell as though she was pictured is one of your older reviews.

 

Now I know!

 

LoL, nope. That is my aunt :)

[gambee]

I'm so happy to be reading one of your reviews again! I need to catch up on them all!! We went on our cruise in October and immediately fell into cruise withdrawal on our return.

 

ANYWAY...We missed the tiered lido deck on the Breakaway! We had them on our honeymoon on NCL Dawn and CCL Destiny. We liked that we could see the action no matter where our deck chairs were!

 

I can't wait to read the rest of your review!

 

Glad to see you here, and thank you for joining in the review :)

 

Yeah, the tiered lido deck really wasnt my cup of tea. Maybe if I spent more time there I would appreciate it a little more though.

[gambee]

I will finally be doing Alaska next year :)

 

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We have been looking into it. Who knows maybe we get to do next year as well :)

[gambee]

Thanks for another great set of pictures, Gambee!

 

 

 

We did not get to explore the beach much when we were at Grand Turk. I will remember to check out the shipwreck next time we go. A shipwreck like that usually does make a food fish habitat. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

 

Glad you continue to enjoy it :), one more day to go!

[Senoj84]

Excellent review, felt like I was right there. You answered a lot of questions I have about the Victory!

[gambee]

Excellent review, felt like I was right there. You answered a lot of questions I have about the Victory!

 

Glad to be of help, have a great cruise!

[gambee]

It was a busy day for me. Tomorrow I am off most of the day, so I will try my best to push out the rest of the review.

 

Hopefully I can finish it. Just keep in mind that there is quite a bit to cover from that day.

 

[sturderick]

I posted it already per your request, it is ingrained in the review :)

 

Thank you!!

[MiffyLynx]

Cannot wait to see what you thought of the sea day! That's the one I've been waiting for :)

[gambee]

Thank you!!

 

Very welcome :), let me know if you have any other questions ;)