Fun Caribbean Cruise
Carnival Victory Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 36
4 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 07, 2018
Ship: Carnival Victory
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6347
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
Overall, it was a fun cruise. We had a great time, the service was good and we enjoyed all of the activities we did.Embarkation
The embarkation experience was seamless. We dropped our bags off and literally walked right in to the security area and continued moving quickly until we were on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We only ate at the buffet for breakfast on our last day and it was nothing to write home about. The eggs were watery. To be fair, I'm not a buffet person. The main dining room was ok. I ordered filet mignon our last evening and it was dry. My steak the first evening was too rare (I ordered it medium). Our waiter offered to get me something else but I had finished everything else and wasn't that hungry. The pizza was greasy and tasted like cardboard but I still ate it two late evenings after drinking. Lol! The best food I had was Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana for lunches. To be honest though, none of the food on the Victory was spectacular. The best food we had was in Key West at Blue Heaven. Breakfast in the dining room was better than the buffet.
Onboard Activities
The gym was pretty good. The only downfall was you had to walk through the spa to get to it. Found that out the first day when I got roped in to a spa tour when all I really wanted was to see the gym. I've been on bigger ships and their gym wasn't as nice as the one on Victory. We hung out at the pool most days and my only complaint was the music they played. One, it was way too loud. So much you couldn't carry on a conversation with the person next to you at times. And it was usually latin music. I love music and have no problem with latin music but I don't want to hear it all the time. I understand Carnival needs to play to their audience but the most enthusiastic response came when they played older rock. Also, the deck felt like walking on the sun so make sure you have flip-flops or something if going any distance from the pool.
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Everyone was very nice, smiled and said hello. However, we saw our cabin steward 2 times the entire cruise and he only did towel animals for 2 nights. We only had 1 request to have more towels and he took care of that right away. Bartenders were friendly and prompt with service. One odd thing was I went to dining room for breakfast one morning. They tried to seat me at a large table with another family and I really wanted to just eat alone and leave. You would have thought I had asked to eat with the captain. They didn't know what to do with someone who wanted to sit at a small table alone. My biggest complaint would be the muster drill. I do not understand why everyone has to cram like sardines on a deck when it's hot, wait for everyone to get there and then listen to someone you can't understand very well go over what to do in an emergency. There's no reason why everyone can't gather in the dining rooms, theater, lounge, etc and listen to the drill in comfort.
Ship Quality
The layout was ok but getting to the aft dining room was tricky. Finally on the 3rd day, we figured it out. Also, there is only 1 outlet in the cabin and it wasn't it the bathroom. We brought an adapter that would have given us 4 plugs but because of where they placed the outlet, we couldn't use it. The cabin door isn't magnetic so we couldn't hang our signs on our door and the walls wouldn't hold our magnets very well. Also, the shower tended to overflow on the floor which was annoying and then had a slight sewer smell when that happened.
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Keep in mind it's a party ship. There's a younger crowd so if that's not your thing, I would choose a different cruise.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We stayed in South Beach the night before which was something I'm glad we did but don't know if I'd go back.
Loved this port. We did the hop on-off trolley but also used an Uber to get where we wanted to go. Visited quite a few bars, Southernmost point, Kermit's Key Lime Pie (a must!). Went to Blue Heaven for breakfast which was AMAZING! Best food the entire cruise. My only suggestion would be to stay there longer. We left by 2 pm so it definitely wasn't enough time.
Of course they make you go through the duty-free store before getting to the port. We did an all-inclusive, adult only, Casa en la Playa retreat through Carnival. Normally don't go through the cruise line for excursions but decided to on this one. It was a beach house in a gated community. Had the ocean, pool, hottub, private house, food and drinks for the day. The only improvement I could note would be regarding the food. There should be food there when you first get there (chips, salsa, something). Instead, we waited 90 minutes while they made the salsa (they did a demonstration for people). Then our lunch was a bit odd. I assumed it would be tacos or burritos or something. Instead, you had your choice of 3 different meals (A pepper, chicken thigh, or grouper). Not what I'd call a traditional mexican meal, or at least not what I'm used to. And it wasn't all you can eat. The drinks were good though. This was the port where the drunk runner ran into the ship and fell in the water, just as we were entering the ship so that was a tad bit of excitement. He was ok but sporting some bruises.