First Time Cruiser
Carnival Victory Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 148
4 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 21, 2017
Ship: Carnival Victory
Cabin type: Inside
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
This was a fantastic introduction to the world of cruising and ignited my love for Carnival, the ship was so much fun, the staff were lovely and all I can ask for now is a longer cruise!Embarkation
We purchased Faster to the Fun prior to boarding, and it was worth it, we waited briefly in the terminal, probably 30 minutes at most, and were ushered on the ship by 11:30am. It was very organized and the system for announcements and boarding worked well.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We ate most of our meals in the main dining room, the food was fantastic and the amount of selection on the menu was great for a four-day cruise, meaning I could try something new every night. We also went to the Sea Day Brunch which was great! I would certainly recommend sitting at a group table if it is available, it was a fantastic way to meet new people that you could chat about your day with. The buffets were also very good and there was certainly never a shortage of food! We sailed before most of the 2.0 upgrades, so there weren't many of the specialty restaurants, but the food was still top notch.
Onboard Activities
One of the coolest parts of this cruise was that everything was brand new, so there was never a shortage of things to try out on the ship. We spent a lot of time on the water slide on Lido, the line never too long, the pools did have a lot of people in them, so we opted to sun bathe more often than not. I was 19 at the time of sailing, so a bit of an in between age on Carnival, too old for the teen club, but not old enough for the adult activities. I found myself spending a lot of time exploring the ship and admiring the views, which was very enjoyable and relaxing.
Entertainment
I was very excited for the stage shows and they were pretty good, it was unfortunate that the shows only featured two singers and the rest of the performers only danced, I felt that it didn't provide the powerful stage show I was hoping for, but they were still enjoyable. I was a big fan of the entertainment around the ship, the lounge, atrium and bar singers were fantastic and made the ship feel alive!
Service and Staff
I really didn't know what to expect from the level of service on a Carnival cruise, but I was blown away, never once did I have a negative encounter with any of the staff. Everyone was so hard working and did their jobs to the highest caliber. These folks are the hardest working people on the ship and they always had the time to say hello and have a quick chat.
Ship Quality
The ship design was a bit outdated for my personal taste, a lot of green, it was still stunning, but it did remind me a lot of the 90's. The decor was fun and a bit outrageous, but it honestly made getting into a cruising mood easy and comfortable. The cleanliness was outstanding, I don't know how they did it, but everything was spotless, all the time. We sailed through quite a bit of rain and the decks were constantly being mopped and the indoors never became waterlogged or dirty.
Cabin / Stateroom
We stayed in an Interior cabin for this cruise, the size was much bigger than expected and for two people it functioned very well. I would have loved a window, so we decided to utilize the front and lido deck cams on our television to give us a little glimpse to the outside. There was plenty of room for storage, and under the bed was optimal for storing empty suitcases! We didn't spend a lot of time in our room, and opted to visit our parent's suite across the hall for morning coffee and croissants.
Ship tip
If you are looking for somewhere to relax during the day, and want to escape the heat, the tables in the Lido buffet by the picture windows offer air conditioning, great views, and close proximity to the ice cream machine.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
We stayed an extra day in Miami before our cruise and it was so worth it, we soaked up the sun and spent the time relaxing. If you are staying near the airport, there is a fantastic little place to grab a bite called Airport Cafe and Liquors, I got a taco salad that was to die for, and the people there were incredibly friendly!
Key West was the most surprising port for me, I wasn't all that excited to stop somewhere still in the states, but our choice to do the Hop On, Hop Off trolley tour was a great one! The day we visited, it was incredibly humid, hitting around 40 degrees Celsius while we were in port, so spending a couple hours not having to walk around with a nice ocean breeze, and an incredible tour guide made the day much more enjoyable. I wish we were in port for a bit longer, but we made sure to try out a frozen, chocolate dipped slice of key lime pie.
We chose to spend our day in Cozumel at Paradise Beach, it was enjoyable, but pretty expensive without an all inclusive option. The food and drinks were great, as were the numerous free shots of tequila that our waiter brought us. The floating toys at the beach were fun, but the beach itself was very rough and rocky and not very enjoyable to walk on, the water was also very stirred up because of the storm that passed through as we arrived. We opted to spend more time in the pool, which was also very fun, I was big fan on the loungers in the shallow parts of the pool. I really enjoyed the main shopping area and didn't find anyone to be too pushy about purchasing anything.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation was smooth and simple, I don't remember it that vividly, which means it must have gone pretty well. We took the Carnival provided shuttle back to the airport which was easy and convenient.
Traveler Photos
