Party Cruise- Not relaxing.
Carnival Victory Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Sail date: April 09, 2015
Ship: Carnival Victory
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6439
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 9 years ago
Review summary
We just returned from the Carnival Victory 4 night cruise to Key West and Cozumel. Be warned, this is a party cruise. The ship was completely full which hindered our ability to be moved to a different room. We stayed in stateroom 6439 with a balcony. The room was what we expected but it certainly could use a total wipe down. We took sanitized wipes and wiped down the entire room immediately upon arrival. There were still folks waiting to go to the airport that had just debarked from the ship a few hours earlier. So it was obvious there wasn't enough time to fully turn over and clean the ship.
One thing I didn't realize is that this ship also offers interior, less expensive rooms directly across from the balcony/more expensive rooms. Unfortunately for us, we were placed across from a huge sorority/fraternity that had multiple rooms. We expected them to be a little loud, what we didn't expect was how bad it would get. We got NO sleep the entire trip. They screamed, partied and hung out in the hallway pumping music. They were drunk all the time which caused them to fight regularly as well. They beat on walls, slammed doors and trashed the hallways. Every morning we would wake up to a hallway full off half eaten food that was thrown everywhere and wine bottles. By the third night, we contacted security due to the screaming. At the first call, around 9:30PM, we were told someone from security would come down. Over an hour later, we called again and were told that no one in security was available to come assist us as they were all busy with port authority in Mexico (we were leaving port at 10PM). We then had to call a third time in the middle of the night due to the fighting. I was told they would send someone over, no one showed. The next day we went to Guest Services to explain what was happening. We were very upset that security never showed up. What if the fighting and screaming was an actual emergency? We were apologized to multiple times. The head of security came to meet with us. He apologized as well and assured us they would be there to monitor the hallway the last night and handle this. They didn’t show up. We called around midnight and they sent someone down but the moment they left the kids began again. In the middle of the night I called again and informed them if they didn’t take care of this, we would handle it ourselves. Finally we got some quiet from around 2-4am, then they returned at 5am and started again.
I am very saddened and disappointed that we didn’t get any rest and the security on the ship was less than average.
The ship has two very small pools. One is adult only, aka, a drunken twerking party place. The other was for kids and family. It is TINY. I would not have let my kids in that pool. It was filthy. The slide was the only thing that seemed to keep the kids busy. There is a serenity location for adults only with two hot tubs that aren’t hot but chairs are very limited. The casino does allow smoking which also impacted the sports bar so we didn’t get to enjoy them much.
As for food, it was average. The dinners were good but there is a $20 cost steaks or anything that wasn’t offered for that night. There were always lines for food during the day. They had two sides available for each buffet but would only open one side for lunch and afternoon food. I am not sure if this was due to the lack of staff but it made for a very long wait for anything to eat. The ship was not clean. Carpets, tables etc…were always dirty. They don’t seem to really wipe tables and chairs down fully.
We took the bike and snorkel excursion in Cozumel. I would not recommend it. Our tour guide was wonderful but the excursion was a joke. We arrived after a 20 minute cab ride to an old run down hotel. We were then told we would bike from there back the same way we drove. We would see “replica” ruins and would also have to ride on the interstate some. We passed on the biking and waited for the group to return and rejoined for snorkeling. The reefs were totally dead. The fish were beautiful. Not much to see. We did however get the recommendation for a local restaurant Café Bravo, it was wonderful. It was our favorite part of the trip. We were scoping this cruise out as one to take our family on for our wedding due to the shortness of the trip. I would only suggest this cruise to people who want to drink and remain drunk for 5 days. Anything with families or anyone wanting to relax, I would stay away. We will not be sailing with Carnival again.
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7 Comments
prec4263 9 years ago
I was actually on this same cruise, on the same floor in room 6434 - I know exactly what ajeff is talking about. I heard everything she heard & it was awful. And my room was located on the opposite side. I actually had to go out to the balcony to sleep b/c it was the only way I could. I totally expected a party crowd - they do not bother me - but I expected that crowd in the common areas on the ship - not in the sleeping quarters. There is no excuse for the staff of Carnival to allow that to happen. There should be some consequences to those type of actions. Like a $250 "noise fee" - just like they have a $250 "clean up fee" if you smoke in your room or balcony.
Our room was not clean either. There was 5 inches of dust on the television set & bobby pins & and an empty can of shaving cream on our counter from the previous guests. Our balcony had bottle caps, cigarette butts & candy wrappers all over it - which I had to clean so I would not step on them.
For a ship that was just dry docked for clean up - they did a really crappy job.
On elegant night I ordered the Caesar Salad only to find a live moving beetle of some sort right in the middle of the plate. They did comp me a bottle of wine - the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu.
The ice cream machines were overrun by kids without a parent present & the kids were leaving the levers down & ice cream was running all over the floor - which was full of water - then the kids would walk through it & now the floors have sticky ice cream footprints all over them.
This ship reminded me of a zoo. Funny thing is, besides the noise when I was trying to sleep - the college kids didn't bother me at all. It was the little kids without supervision that were rude & unruly.
I have friends who have been on the Breeze & Conquest who were also on this Victory cruise - and they said it is like a night & day comparison. If I ever decide to do a Carnival Cruise again - it will NOT be on the Victory.
glomarrone 9 years ago
I have found that it is best to steer away from very short cruises because they become party cruises. That being said sometime we get too good a deal to pass up and we do go on them. I would hope that I would not run into the situation that you mentioned. I can understand how upset you were about it. I hope that you do not get so discouraged that you give up on cruising. Just choose a longer cruise and stay away from Spring Break if you can help it.
Thanks for the tip about Cafe Bravo in Cozumel.
ajeff 9 years ago
Thanks, yes...we learned viable lessons. We have 4 kids from 9-11 so this is not a cruise line I will ever get on again. I have been on Holland America, NCL and Royal. I assumed some partying would take place and was ok with that. It was our break from the kids. This was a disaster. I can't believe Carnival allows it. I can't imagine the damage done to the ship is worth it. Who knows. We will write to Carnival but we aren't expecting anything. I do see why it is kids on these ships that keep falling overboard though.
JusMe 9 years ago
So sorry for your trip. I do refer to Carnival as the floating Walmart. During spring break it turns to the floating frat party (can we all remember the movie "Animal House"?).
From your posted profile picture we can see that you are young and not a cranky old person (I'm one of those, old but not cranky) So that lends more credibility to your case.
Please do not let this bad experience turn you off to cruising. Each line tends to cater to different demographics. I would suggest Celebrity Cruise lines to you. It is one of the premium lines that targets a more cultured clientele then Carnival, NCL or RCI.
Unfortunately you picked the worst time of the year or a short cruise. As you found it so affordable so did the frat house.
In future bookings, I may suggest you think of time of year, location of cabin and cruise line. Until you get to know these things a good Travel Agent may be helpful to you.
ajeff 9 years ago
Thanks for your comment. We needed a short cruise and unfortunately our timing was only available at spring break. We expected some wild behavior but nothing like what we experienced. There was fighting, screaming, they accosted folks walking down the hall. The hall was trashed...there was a fold out bed in the hallway the kids were lounging on and to top it off the girls were walking around naked. My point being...we really are pretty relaxed people. This was utter disrespect of property and of other people. My main concern is two fold...we were lied to from security. We were then apologized to and made promises which they didn't uphold. All we asked for was for it to not be in the hallway and to manage the drunk behavior that had turned into fighting and screaming with a lot of childish drama. I intend to address it directly with Carnival, as I made sure it was all documented.
Johngold 9 years ago
I'm sorry that you did not get the experience you expected on this cruise. Please don't let it deter you from cruising in the future.
BUT, You did book a 4 day cruise, on Carnival Cruise lines, in the Western Caribbean----During Spring Break.........What did you expect? I would go visit my Travel Agent and ask "Why didn't you warn me?"
Yes, the cruise line security and the staff should have handled the situation a bit better. I would think that for them, as long as there is not serious violence or other altercations, it would be a case of " been there --done that" Especially on spring break.
By the sheer numbers alone, these kids have literally taken over the ship. Human nature being what it is, they party.
Hope you get resolution from Carnival.
CrusinTim 9 years ago
So sad you had these over-grown children spoil your cruise and there is NO excuse for them to behave the way they did. Nor is there any excuse for ships security not to address this issue immediately and if the children continued to behave the way you explain after being told to stop their behavior, they should have been removed from the ship at the next port. I have heard from many "don't book during Spring Break". And why shouldn't I? These children aren't chartering the ship and need to behave like the ADULTS they want to believe they are. I would write (not email) a complaint along with pictures to Carnival Corp. I would also explain to Carnival that their security onboard has the main objective of the safety and security of the passengers which was not enforced in your situation even after numerous attempts to correct the issue. Best of luck on your next cruise.