Carnival Victory Cruise "Eastern Caribbean" March 4-11, 2007 Important statements are in bold

Day 1: Embarkation Our flight from Toronto arrived in Miami on time around 1.50 pm. We collected our luggage from the Carousel and found the Carnival representative right away. He got us some new luggage tags right away because we received a cabin upgrade 3 days before departure. With the new tags attached to the luggage we were directed to a waiting Greyhound bus outside. After a long wait (approx. 30 minutes), the bus left for the port. When we arrived at the port we handed the porter our luggage and entered the terminal. There was no line up because there were about 20 girls behind the counter to check everyone in. We went upstairs, got our sail and sign cards, the obligatory picture and boarded the ship at 3.00 pm. We took the elevator to the 8th deck and dropped off our carry-on in cabin 8232. After that we went to Lido aft to get a burger and some pizza. Around 4.00 pm they did the obligatory muster drill. The kids received a paper band around their wrist that they were supposed to wear for the rest of the cruise. CCL needs to improve on that one, because my kids hated it and the band was crumbled and useless after 7 days at sea. I suggest color coded Rubber wrist bands. (like Lance Armstrong yellows). When we returned our life vests to the cabin, we noticed that the ship was already moving, so we watched the sail away from Miami from our balcony. As I said our cabin was 8232, a quad with a big bed, a converted sofa and a bunk, which my son wanted right away. There was ample closet space for all 4, but I would have preferred an extra drawer or two. Our cabin steward was Emilia from Hungary. She introduced herself right away and every time we needed something, it was done in a flash. The rest of the afternoon we spent at the Siren pool on Lido deck aft. We had the late seating in the Atlantic dining room at 8.30 pm. If you have children, that is too late. We thought we needed more time to get ready after the excursions, but that was not the case. So next time we will choose an earlier seating. Our table was 131 and our waiters were Elena and Marjan from Macedonia. Both were very nice and went out of their way to accommodate or kids. Every night Marjan showed my daughter (7) how to fold napkins into animals. The food on Carnival was o.k. I think it lacked in the presentation. Desserts were great. The signature dish: Melting chocolate cake with ice cream is to die for. After that we strolled around the promenade decks and went to bed around 10.30.

Day 2: At sea Read more