This is the second time we have been on the Victory, the first being in 2003. This will be long winded so bare with me.

If you come into Miami International I recommend checking in at the airport. We came in the day before and stayed at the Holiday Inn near the airport and just explored the day prior. We turned in the rental car and went to baggage claim area 27 where the Carnival desk was located. Check in was efficient and easy. We purchased the transfer from Carnival to the ship and waited until the busses arrived. The Carnival people escorted us to the bus so there was no getting lost. When we arrived at the cruise terminal we were directed thru security (great people and efficient) and then onto the boat. I think it took about 30 minutes to get boarded. This was probably the smoothest I have encountered considering I did not have any special treatment to get boarded.

Once on deck we milled around the lido deck until the rooms were available at about 1 pm. We met our steward and from that point on we never saw him but he was always on top of things. The cabin was a balcony on deck 7 right side mid ship. The cabin was small but met our needs. If you want to watch any television then forget it since there are maybe 3 channels that are not Carnival channels. Hey, go out and have fun. We had a shower in the bathroom which was the standard all in one but it was of a good size. Pink but a good size. We never had any issues with the bathroom not working or any smells so we were happy. The air-conditioning worked great but there was no adjustment that I could find. Thankfully we like a cold room. The balcony was small but suited our purposes. I never had any issue with smoke from other balconies smoking me out. In fact I never noticed any cigarette smoke that bothered me anywhere on the ship and I am a reformed smoker so I am somewhat sensitive to the smoke. Read more