Carnival Victory Review

3.5 / 5.0
0 reviews

Lovely cruise on Carnival Victory

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Victory
User Avatar
Kermarkim
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Jul 2016
Cabin: Interior
Traveled with children

This is my 8th cruise and we love Carnival. It truly lives up to its motto of being the Funship. For all the naysayers that the Victory is outdated and dirty and staff unfriendly and miserable, I'm not sure we were on the same ship. We had a lovely experience from boarding in Port Canaveral to disembarking on our return. We arrived around 12:45 p.m. and waiting on line for maybe 10 -15 min max. The line was moving so fast that I am probably exaggerating the length of time it took us to get to the window and get our cabin cards. Our rooms were ready and we didn't have to wait. We dropped out bags and headed straight for something to eat on the Lido Deck which we also had a room on. It was perfect. Not noisy at all being on the Lido deck. It is blocked by the private hallway. Probably the largest room I have had on Carnival. We booked about 10 days before the cruise and couldn't select our own room. This was a good choice and a bit oversized especially the bathroom. Room Steward Aris was very courteous. We opted to only have our rooms refreshed once a day and this worked our perfect for us. All the stories about people saving lounge chairs had me quite fearful, but it was not an issue. We got 2 chairs together each day when we needed them even for the movies. I traveled with my 13 year old son and we had a blast. The food was quite good. The lines manageable. We couldn't get anytime dining but was able to switch from late to early and were seated with 3 other families two of which had 13 year olds as well. This worked out well for conversation. My son never goes to the camps for kids, he prefers to hang out with us and we had a great time at the pool, the slide and the game shows. We have been to Bahamas so many times, we opted not to do any paid excursions. In Freeport, we walked around the port near the ship and did a little shopping and I mean a little. My son purchased a necklace and that's it. We went back to Lido deck and stayed at the pool and slide for most of the time and did a show. In Nassau, we walked to the public Junkanoo Beach which has come a long way from our last visit a few years ago. You can now rent chairs, umbrellas, floaters, etc. All of the water sports are free for the kids. They have activities for both kids and adults. You can purchase food and drinks. We spent about 2.5 hours there and walked back. Had fun and got a nice tan. Overall, I did not have any negative experiences. It was a fun cruise. I think if you want a 7 star experience, then Carnival is not for you. I would have given my review a 5 except for a few items, they kept closing the main pool on the Lido deck at odd times which meant that the kids only could wait for the slide or get in the hot tubs which were not large enough for the number of kids on the boat. I'm not sure why they kept shutting the pool down. Secondly, the day at sea is a waste of time. There are not many activities to do that day during the day and the pools were packed wall to wall. On the day we were at sea, they only showed two children's movies (Kung Fu Panda and Zootopia). An adult option would have been nice. Also the day before, they only showed one move which was Batman vs. Superman which was also showing for free on demand in the room each day. Had I known they would show it on deck, I would not have watched it in my room the day earlier. My next issue is that all of the specialty foods only had one person working and that made the lines quite lengthy (e.g., omelet station, Chinese wok station, popcorn station, pizza shop). I was unwilling to wait for pizza for the first 3 days. Finally, by accident I was walking the ship and ran into the pizza shop and there were maybe 5 or 6 people online. I wasn't hungry but wanted to try it out and so I go some pizza. There is a period of time where no food is available like from 10ish to 11:30 p.m. with the exception of pizza. That always disturbs me but is not unbearable. I had heard about these amazing milkshakes and unless I purchased it from the wrong vendor, it was extremely watery. It cost $4.50 with the tax and gratuity and we were not happy. Lastly, Guest Services stuck a Carnival coupon for $200 under my door third night for the jewelry store. The coupon said "same as cash" to be used on certain merchandise. Well when I went to use it, I was told by one person, it was only good for items costing like $1,000 then I left and returned a couple of hours later and showed another person some items I was interested in that cost between $195-$295. He graciously showed me the studded earrings and when I presented my coupon, he said oh no, you have to spend like $600. So I think the coupon should read $200 off of $600 or more and not simply say $200, same as cash. That set me up for disappointment. I thought the cruise director and his staff were good with the exception of when there were so many overt sexual overtures which are not family suitable. I mean really I don't want to hear it either, but at least I am an adult and can isolate the suggestive humor and put it aside. I did not appreciate my 13 year old son having to put up with all of that type of humor when we were not at an adult comedy club. It was just inappropriate. I guess it is the times we are living in. Everyone thanks it is ok to flaunt their sexuality in every type of forum and setting these days. Otherwise, this was a great 8th cruise. I take my 9th cruise in November on Carnival Magic to Dominican Republic and Grand Turk. I love Carnival.

Cabin Review

Interior

Our cabin on the 9th Lido Deck was perfect. It was quiet and our Steward Aris was great. I will try to book on Lido deck in the future. It was close to the food and pool.

Port Reviews

Nassau

No paid excursions taken. I walked to the public beach Junkanoo and had a blast.

9 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a cruise

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.