Review by First-time cruiser Jennifer Hanson with
comments by Barry and Lori Cunningham
Carnival Victory Nov. 25th through Dec. 2nd
(The following comments are from Jennifer Hanson, first-time cruiser and Lori’s
Cunningham’s office assistant. Jennifer has a general knowledge of the ships, etc.;
however, being her first cruise we intentionally tried not to influence her or her travel
companion on the general aspects concerning the cruise line or ship).
At first, I was annoyed by the embarkation’s long hellish line, though expected
some lines and tight security. The fact that the staff took the luggage to your room was
an unexpected surprise, having pictured lugging it up by myself. Boarding the ship I
expected more of a gigantic area and a true ‘wow’, yet entering was a bit
anti-climactic. This is not to say it was not very nice, just that I expected a larger
area as you entered. It seemed to be broken up into lots of areas instead of one big
space, and I did not expect that at all. The ship next to us at the pier was the Paradise
and much smaller. We were glad to be on this ship!
Upon entering, Carnival had your photo taken for I.D. cards and when asked why, the crew
did not really respond (Lori explained). The lobby was not as glitzy as the pictures on
website or the brochure, which was nice. We had a midship cabin (#9256) and thought the
cabin was fine and not as small as expected. Decent storage, closet space, etc. The
bathroom was okay…not a lot of storage for two girls-lots of stuff all over the
counter throughout the cruise. The bottom of the door has a vent and an opening from the
floor so I could hear every conversation and noise and assumed visa versa. Great air
conditioning kept us very cold with a sliding vent to open and close, located on the
ceiling. Cabin stewards were great, keeping the cabin very clean, and were very prompt
(and we slept late often)!
During the ‘Sail Away’ party, my roommate Tawana Golab talked a waiter on
deck into giving us the souvenir glass for the regular price. In general, we found there
was not a lot of alcohol in the drinks for the price (and of course accidentally left the
glass behind).
As far as getting around the ship, it took two days to find there was a pool in the
back of the ship. The signs that guide you to other public rooms are embedded in the walls
and are ‘moving’ lights…very unnoticeable and a bit difficult to get used
to because you have to look up all the time. We found the diagrams in the rooms and on
deck to be virtually useless. The elevator deck diagrams do not show any separate rooms
only deck levels. The ‘Pacific’ restaurant in the back is very hard to get to
and no clear directions are anywhere to be found.
During dinner, the waiters and staff were very impressive. Dinner was typically very
good and the ‘Chateubriand’ was great the last night. Our cocktail waiter Ali
was waiting for us promptly most every night. The cute little dances and singing on two of
the nights were okay-I could take them or leave them.
The ‘Ionian Bar’ after dinner was great, but the music from the disco
upstairs pours down the steps and kills the atmosphere. However, the service is much
better than in the lobby bar by far, so we stayed here quite a bit. The ‘Arctic’
disco needed better music, and the DJ did not play many of the requests and we were
constantly suggesting songs to him. In general, it was fun and very popular each night, as
was the piano bar (which we found smoky and too crowded).
The Casino? Nasty, smoky, low ceilings and just walking through it was gross (hated the
big blue Chinese dog statues). We saw two shows that featured the cruise director…he
had a funny act with people from the audience and his trained parrot show was good-I liked
it. The Juggler act was okay, not great and several people were getting up and leaving
around us.
I literally hated the salt-water pools and after the second day or so, they all looked
somewhat gross (though others had no problem with them, it was probably me). I would not
get in them though I did the big slide once for fun. As far as the outside pool decks go,
the first day was very difficult to find a chair. After that day, it was much easier and
we could always find one without a problem.
We did not care for the ‘lawn-type’ chairs; at least they were not straps.
They did not go all the way down so it was hard on your neck when tanning on your stomach.
I also expected more bars outside by the pool, only one was there and it was very far if
you had a seat on the other side of the deck (and of course the staff was not around when
needed them and there when you didn’t).
Food-wise the breakfast buffet was no different from the dining room except for eggs
benedict and that was only fair (hard yolks). I did not like the buffet lunches at all. I
typically ate less than half of what was on my plate (meats fatty, the salads were not
appealing besides the regular lettuce and basic salad makings). The pizza was not
appealing having very little cheese or toppings, very dry hamburgers at the grill, but we
all loved the deli! Grilled Rueben sandwiches, pastrami, tuna, etc. I stuck with the grill
after two buffet tries. Lines were not bad at all, I thought they would be much longer.
I did like the midway cruise bill under the door to warn you if you have been going too
crazy. I had a credit when we left and they gave me a check for the difference.
As far as the ports go, they were very nice. In Cozumel we rented a jeep and went on
the far side of the island ‘pub crawling’. Beautiful little huts with no
electricity, few tourists and the best salsa and real Mexican food! Bravo Mexcalitos! I
really liked just walking off the ship, and having no tenders to deal with. Cozumel seemed
so easy, no hassle. Probably because Lori and her friends knew what they were doing.
I did not really enjoy Grand Cayman because of heavy waves and wind during the
‘Sting Ray City’ tour. I was washed into a tail and it pricked me, though not
stung it really hurt and bled for awhile. Never again! It might be much better if not
windy. Next time I will go to ‘Seven Mile’ beach.
Jamaica? I will never get off the ship again. The Dunn’s river falls were very
crowded and the heckling was absurd! They followed you everywhere and would not leave you
alone. It is a shame because the island is very beautiful. We did have a great taxi driver
that dropped us off and came back right on time to pick us up.
Overall, we had a great time and liked the ports, though I would want to try a
different ship or cruise line next time. It seemed like there were allot of kids. Not many
my age (28), they seemed to be either much younger or a lot older.
The End!
______________________________________________________________________________________
Comments from Barry and Lori’s perspective:
It is true that the ‘glitzy’ Jenn describes, was not nearly as bright as
expected and actually was much, much less than expected and as the brochure pictures. We
thought the ship in general had very nice décor throughout.
Lori and I actually arrived earlier and had her documents, which posed a bit of a
problem with security. The staff was excellent at handling my problem and expediting the
whole process so as I could wait for her as she arrived. Of course, the lines were typical
of boarding within the first hour or so of any ship. Good security before entering the
port and while entering the ship. ID’s and documents checked all along the way.
We were next door to her (#9252) inside cabin, and the midship location was the best!
Out of the cabin down the hall one had immediate access to the pool, the buffet’s,
kids program, elevator access and pantry within a few yards. We highly recommend these
cabins as they saved a lot of walking time, to and from any place on the ship. We found
the cabin stewards to be some of the best of any ship. However they tended to skimp on the
glasses (sometimes leaving only one) and we were constantly stealing from the pantry. The
bath was a solid lovely shade of pink (ahem). There are safes but no mini-fridge’s in
the cabins for the 4E category. We had two pull down beds for the kids and that was fine
for a family our size (a five and eight year old). However, Ashley still is sporting a
huge bruise on her face from falling off the bed and hitting the ladder on the way down in
the middle of the night. The security rails (all of two feet long) need to be replaced on
all ships with these types of rails. It could have been much worse!
As far as the noise and the vents in the door, we were again saved by our trusty fan.
The air-conditioning control is simply a hole in the ceiling with an open and close vent
(which when carefully removed provides a super down draft of air for those hot days).
As far as the cocktails go, Jenn was right on target. I have never seen a more
‘shot-glass-envy’ crew than this one. Seriously, sometimes they would not even
bother to pour a full shot. Moreover, I tried to tip them for better results. J No luck. Maybe it is the cheap coming out in us but for $4.50
per drink (and the other half being water or soda) we want a fair deal.
Getting around was exactly as Jenn stated…we were amazed that the room guides and
elevator guides had no indicators for where public rooms were. Wandering around was the
best way and following those lit signs in the wall worked fine after a few hours for a
seasoned traveler.
We were very happy with the food quality and presentation during dinner. Almost no one
had a harsh word about anything. The lobster was large and very tasty, though we recommend
ordering any beef rare for medium-rare, etc. Deserts were in general, excellent and as
good as any ship we have sailed.
The ‘Ionian’ bar was as described by the hotel manager "a mistake in
design" and Carnival is considering glass walls to block out the sound. Picture the
‘Wheel House’ Bar on Princess ships with dual stairwells going directly to the
disco upstairs! Still, a very nice place to hang out for a bit before the disco gets too
crazy. Speaking of design flaws the casino comment is right on target. Virtually no
ventilation. Simply walking through was a challenge to your nose and clothes for a
non-smoker. In fact, we all agreed that this ship had more smokers than any other ship we
have sailed. It was uncanny how many people had a smoke everywhere you went. Perhaps we
were simply unlucky. Perhaps not. Is this typical of the Carnival crowd?
Ah yes…the lunch foods. We lived on grilled Rueben and Pastrami sandwiches. In
addition, the kids loved the grilled cheese. On the opposite side was decent Chinese
‘Wok’ foods that were a nice change of pace. The worst pizza afloat…period,
in our opinion…others thought it was great. Lots of bread and no cheese to speak of.
At night some of the main seating choices from the restaurant were on the buffet and was a
nice surprise. One evening we had a great early snack of pepper-steak and sweet and sour
shrimp.
The ‘Children’s World’ was rather…well, ‘amateurish’. The
hallway and small room for ages two through five are hand decorated with cardboard cutouts
and colored paper. It’s almost as if it was an afterthought to the design vs. say a
Princess, RCCL, Celebrity, or Disney ship which have extensive moldings and designs to
visually entice the kids (and parents too). Ball pit? More like a 6-foot by 6-foot cage.
They also often were showing PG movies to the very tiny tots. A very big bad
‘no-no’ from our perspective.
In fact there was way too much TV time in the evening and they should separate the very
small children (diapers!) from the three to five year olds. They generally had the six to
eight year olds meet in the disco or elsewhere for activities. One last comment concerning
a new policy enacted last week, only the parent that checks them in can check them out,
NOT good, especially if one wants to nap or is busy in the internet café (get the idea?).
Even the counselors agreed it is no deterrent to child theft. It is simply very
bothersome.
In general we enjoyed the cruise, the staff was very nice and well trained. We
won’t be back anytime soon-if ever. We simply prefer other ships for their design,
children’s program, and dining options. We do so hope you enjoyed the comments and of
course...Happy Cruising!
P.S. Oh yes…we did not take the usual 150 photos this time for
several reasons. Namely, we did try to make it as calm as possible for
Lori’s sake (who worked at least 4-5 hours a day on the Internet) and
there are plenty of photos already out there to see. Thank you to
the people who waited patiently and to those who COA when needed. J
God Bless America Guys! It’s good to be home.
Barry and Lori
