Honeymoon Cruise Part 1
Carnival Victory Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Third Mate
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 40
4 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 04, 2017
Ship: Carnival Victory
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 9280
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
My husband and I sailed on the September 4th cruise out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel. This was my husband’s first cruise, and my first with Carnival, so we thought it would be a good idea to start him out with a shorter cruise on a smaller ship. The Victory is an older ship but the crew worked hard to keep everything nice and clean. We had a balcony room on the deck 9 (Lido). Our room steward, Suh, was extremely friendly and professional. He anticipated our needs and always greeted us by name and with a smile. Thanks to other reviewers who shared their experiences we were prepared for the long lines in the buffet so we chose to eat breakfast and dinner in the dining room and visited Pizza Pirate and the sandwich window for lunch a couple of times. Our server in the Pacific dining room, Eduardo, was great. He and his team made each dining experience enjoyable. We only had one meal that we didn’t enjoy but hey, it happens. One bad meal during a 4 night cruise isn’t bad. We missed the comedy shows but we did catch the Broadway-style musical. We also played some trivia games hosted by I-I-Isaac. He was a great host! We even won a movie music trivia game. Every crew member we encountered was pleasant, even when dealing with the changes brought about by Irma. Irma…. To ensure we would return to the Port of Miami ahead of Irma and to allow the ship enough time to return to sea, our time in Cozumel was cut short. We were given the option to disembark in Cozumel to return home on our own, return to Miami as planned, or if our flight was cancelled we could remain on the ship with the crew and return to Miami (if/when) possible. We chose to return to Miami as our flight home was still scheduled. There was definitely a lot of confusion after the first few announcements were made. For example, when I asked what time we would have to disembark in Miami it took a couple of tries to get the correct answer, but I believe the staff did the best they could in a difficult situation. It took a few minutes but we received the answers we needed. We had a wonderful first experience with Carnival and will definitely cruise with them again.Embarkation
We purchased the Faster to the Fun package so embarkation was easy. Our room was ready when we boarded so we were able to drop off our carry-on and start our adventure.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We avoided the crowded buffet and ate breakfast and dinner in the Pacific dining room. Other than one meal the food was pretty consistent. Our server, Eduardo, and his team, were great. We also tried Pizza Pirate and the sandwich station. We purchased the Bottomless Bubbles package and purchased alcohol as we went since we didn't think we'd drink enough to justify the cost of the alcohol package. The bartenders were friendly and very cheerful. Tea time during the day at sea was a nice break in the routine.
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
We enjoyed the live music around the ship, movies under the stars and trivia hosted by I-I-Isaac.
Service and Staff
We received outstanding service from every crew member we encountered.
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Nice sized cabin, very comfortable bed. I believe the rooms were upgraded recently.
Ports of call
We've been looking forward to visiting Key West for a while now. We decided to walk around and explore instead of planning an excursion. We had breakfast at Two Friend's Patio Restaurant , visited area shops including Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe, enjoyed looking at the mix of old homes and new construction and stopped at Sloppy Joe's for a drink before heading back to the ship. We were only at Key West for a few hours but we enjoyed our time there.
Thumbs Up
5
Our time in Cozumel was cut short due to hurricane Irma so we changed our plans a bit but we still had a great time while we were there. We had reservations at Mr. Sancho's but decided to save that for our next visit. We spent some time visiting the stores close to the port before making our way to the taxi stand and heading to Mi Mexico Lindo for the tequila tour and tasting. We went to the downtown location closest to Puerta Maya where we docked. We had a blast with the staff at Mi Mexico Lindo and enjoyed our time there and of course returned with a couple of bottles of tequila. Mission accomplished!
Disembarkation
The disembarkation process was smooth. We self-carried and were off the ship and heading to the bus to the airport by 8:15 a.m.