Carnival Victory Review
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Our family of 4 traveled on the Carnival Victory, departing from the Port of NY on 6/30/07. Overall, the Victory proved to be a nice vessel with some entertaining activities for adults and children, but typical for our past Carnival cruises, service was sometimes unpredictable, and some activities are definitely not family friendly. Also, although we expected cool weather on this Canada itinerary, it was colder than we expected - and not just on deck, but also in the Mediterranean Buffet and in the Caribbean Show Room. (TIP 1: be sure to pack sufficient warm clothes, or you'll spend a fortune on Carnival wear on ship).
Travel to the Port of NY by car was simple - the directions provided on Carnival's web site are spot-on and easy to follow. Parking was expensive ($25/day), but convenient (on top of the Port building). However, once you're in the Port building, you're on your own, as there were no signs and the Carnival representative that we asked for info simply told us to 'sit over there'. This was a bit disconcerting since we were using Carnival's new 'paperless' ticket system and since on past cruises, we've checked in first. We sat as instructed, along with other travelers that were all as confused as we were. Eventually (around noon), they started checking guests in, one seated row at a time (TIP 2: sit close to the front of the 'holding pen' to get on the ship as early as possible).
Our stateroom, 9258, was very clean, and adequate for the 4 of us, although more cramped than a Disney Cruise stateroom. The location was the best we've had for a stateroom: on the Lido deck, just forward of the main elevators. This area was quiet and very convenient to pools, buffet dining, and 24 hour drinks, pizza and ice cream. (TIP 3: if you don't enjoy cool weather, it may not be worth the extra expense for a Veranda/deck room. While traveling, the cool breeze made it a bit uncomfortable to sit on the deck as you would do on a Caribbean cruise. However, we did get to see whales from the Veranda-worth the cost for us).