Carnival Victory Review

3.5 / 5.0
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We Want to Go Again

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Victory
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teriwinkle
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jan 2015
Cabin: Premium Vista Balcony
Traveled with children

My husband and I were joined on the Carnival Victory by our daughter, her husband, and three grandchildren in celebration of our 42nd wedding anniversary. We drove to Miami (about two hours) and arrived about 10:00 AM. We had purchased the Faster to the Fun package for our three cabins and although check-in was a breeze, we still waited about an hour before the ship began boarding. Once on the ship we arrived at our cabins to find only one of them ready. Apparently the last occupants had overstayed their welcome a bit, as it was explained to us. Soon they were ready though and we dropped off our bags, completely awed by the size of our "aft wrap" verandah starboard on deck 8. Our daughter had the "premium balcony" cabin on our starboard side so the steward opened the door connecting the balconies and it was just amazing, like being on a private yacht we had so much deck space for our family! The three teens had the interior across from us so of course they spent a lot of time hanging out on our "deck"! We quickly made our way up one flight of stairs to the buffet, which was not too crowded yet. The food was very good and plentiful; there was something for everyone, including roast beef carved by the slice. As others have mentioned, the only included drinks available are lemonade, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. We were able to find a nice table big enough for our family and thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. The dining area itself is very beautiful but does get quite crowded at times. By the aft pool deck there is a pizzeria with wonderful pizza, a grill with the usual cookout type food which we sampled in coming days and found to be very good, as well as soft serve ice cream, which our teens sampled every time they walked by!

After lunch my husband and I went back to our cabin to unpack and have a bit of a rest while everyone else went to the pool deck to enjoy the great water slide; they loved it! At 3:45 PM it was time for the lifeboat drill. I have to say that this was the worst safety drill ever in our nearly 40 cruises! It was nothing short of brutal for those of us who are seniors and find it difficult to stand in rows of passengers four deep in one place for 45 minutes outside on a closed-in deck with very little air moving. Less than 10 minutes of that time was actually used for the safety drill. Although my husband is mobile, he is a disabled veteran who finds it very difficult to stand for any length of time. I cannot imagine why we were subjected to such abuse. Honestly, this was really our only truly negative experience on the whole cruise.

At 6 PM we headed to the Pacific Dining Room for our Early Seating appointment. At table 609 we received very fine service and attention from our waiters who soon learned our names and used them throughout the cruise. We found the food to be very good in general, prepared and presented nicely, and while we didn't absolutely love every thing we ordered every time, for the most part we were very happy with our meals. The chicken dishes in particular were juicy and tasty, and my family enjoyed the lasagna bolognese though it was very different from the Italian cuisine that comes from my kitchen! Although we had been forewarned, it was a shock to see an extra $20 charge for steaks, lobster, or surf and turf on a MDR menu. Three of us ordered filet mignon one night anyway, since our amazing travel agent Nancy had scored each cabin $100 onboard credit somehow. And so we splurged. Those steaks were several inches thick and melt-in-your mouth perfect! On Elegant Night lobster and shrimp were offered, but we found them to be rather mushy and undercooked. Not horrible, but we've had better. I had wine every night; even tried the new Gifft wines from Kathy Lee Gifford and found them to be very nice indeed as well as easy on the budget.

Cabin Review

Premium Vista Balcony

Cabin 9C

We were very happy with our cabins (8433 & 8427, which allowed us to share huge balconies, and 8431, an interior across from them). This was a very quiet corner even though it was right under the "lido" deck 9. We heard no chairs scraping or noise from the crew stairwell between our cabins. We could hear music from deck 9 at certain times and smell burgers grilling (not a bad thing!). The cabins were spacious with adequate storage and the beds comfortable. Air conditioning is controlled manually the old-fashioned way using ceiling vents but works just fine. Leather couches very nice. Table and chairs much appreciated. TV channels extremely limited. Only news is CNN. FOX NEWS followers will be out of the loop as we were. At times we could feel quite a bit of engine vibration but we don't mind that. I asked my husband at one point to stop putting quarters in the bed. Some few older readers will understand that joke. Stateroom service was outstanding.

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