A repeat is not in the plans

Item: Carnival Victory
Rating: 3.5
Author: emmarn0505

Carnival Victory Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

emmarn0505

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 25

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5

Verified Review

4 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 16, 2019

Ship: Carnival Victory

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9282

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

For a short, cheap cruise this is okay. Miami is a nightmare to drive around. Once in the terminal things were pretty smooth. After boarding you are directed to the Lido deck where a couple thousand people are lining up for food so tables are at a premium. The muster station drill was a course in pushing, shoving, and being forced to stand much too close to the person next to you. The remainder of the cruise was fine. Will I go again? Nope. The credit card antics of the sales people on board have tainted my opinion of Carnival.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

If you have specific dietary needs, make sure you speak with the dining room staff when you board the ship since they may need time to defrost specific things. Choices for those with dietary restrictions are minimal.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Most staff were friendly. No issues encountered.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The metal doors that separate the balconies need to have some kind of cushioning against the door frame. In windy conditions, the doors are incredibly noisy. We had to place a washcloth along the door frame on one side because the banging was so loud.

Ship tip

DO NOT APPLY FOR THE CARNIVAL FUN CREDIT CARD. You will get ripped off. We were promised $200 credit and 0% financing for 12 months. Upon return home there was no credit on my bill. I called the credit card company and was told that you can get either the $200 OR the 0% financing. I have 3 witnesses that were with me in the EFFY store who heard the same thing I did.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Key West, Florida

3 out of 5

Key West is boring during the day. Best to go after dark to experience what it's all about.

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

If you don't spend money for excursions, you will only really be able to wander around the pier and shop/eat.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Mass chaos. The only chaos similar to this was the muster station drill chaos.

4 Comments

Fiesta83 4 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise

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cbyron3 4 years ago

Credit card is even better if you really learn the system. They pay 5 pts per $ for sign and sail ...I charge a few thousand at the casino, cash out immediately, pay the bill with the carnival card, and end up getting enough credit back to completely pay for the cruise and then some every time. I actually clear a net profit of a few hundred bucks overall on most cruises (they have to be premiers so you don't get the 3% surcharge)... .. just need to figure out the system

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bobduck1993 4 years ago

Sorry that you were misled by the card company.

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grandmarnnurse 4 years ago

Sorry you had a bad time. Was this your first Carnival cruise? Do not rule them out just based on one bad experience. The Victory is heading for a total refurbishment, and it’s new look should be very exciting. But what I wanted to talk to you about was the credit card. I have had it for several years. It paid for a honeymoon cruise for my daughter and son in law, by using accrued rewards, and I just applied $1200 last year towards a cruise I took this past March. Not to mention, I redeem reward points to purchase bar credits. For every 5,000 points, I redeem for $50 bar credits. So, no need for a Cheers package for us, as I apply bar credits to my account. For that March cruise, I had $350 bar credits. I have 3 cruises coming up, and I’ve been applying bar credits to each of those cruises. Easy to do when you put EVERYTHING on the card—groceries, bills, all purchases. And any Carnival cruise booked and purchases in Fun Shop give 2 points/$1. Shore excursions, using this card, give an additional 10% discount in your account. Not to mention, when you shop within your Barclay online account on the Reward Boost feature, you can shop at just about any store you want and earn even more points! I used it a lot during Christmas shopping, some stores giving me 10 points/ $1. I have 3 cruises coming up, and am applying bar credits to all 3. I LOVE THIS CREDIT CARD! At enrollment, you are offered 0% interest or the $200 credit. Not both. Since the only way to benefit from this card fully is to never maintain a balance—pay in full monthly—I’d take the $200.

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Other reviews of this sailing

great first cruise experience! snorkeling with sea turtles and in the Mayan Cenote caves was AMAZING!

Cruise from Hell

The cruise was awesome as a whole , there was so much to take part of on and off the ship !