This was my and my wife's second cruise ever, both this year! The first was on the Emerald Princess, so it was interesting to see the different focus of different lines. Princess is a lot more traditional and old-school - even their ships feel like real ocean liners in a lot of ways. The Carnival Victory, though, is definitely of the early 00's era - there is no wraparound outdoor promenade deck, no real outdoor areas at all other than the top decks, and the decor is colorful, if not garish. Sometimes it feels like they're doing all they can to convince you that you're *not* on a ship.
The ship is older by today's standards, but it looks and feels well maintained. There may be an odd light bulb out here and there, or a piece of decorative trim or railing that's bent, but generally everything was in working order and looked clean and pretty new.
We took this ship not by choice but because it was available over the few days we had. I know it's missing some of Carnival's newest upgrades, but I'm not sure I missed them on such a short cruise. It's still got plenty of bars and nightclubs, and the young-ish crowd definitely used them. It's definitely possible to find quiet areas on this ship, but the bars and clubs were always packed, to the point that it was difficult to even get a drink (and took a while once we were able to finally order).
I've heard that cabins can be hit or miss right now, and they did delay our sailing to complete some in-service upgrades to certain cabins. Our cabin had been refreshed - we had a standard ocean suite, but it had the new TV, countertops and bathroom. It looked pretty good, although the couch was weird and uncomfortable and they haven't replaced the wood for the cabinets and closets, which was dinged up in our room and probably is in all of them.
The bathroom generally worked well, with good water pressure, a perfectly fine layout and strong suction on the toilet. I couldn't quite stand up straight in the shower (I'm 6'4"), but for a ship I think it was better than average. Pretty sure I had more trouble on the Emerald Princess, and I've been on older ships that were even worse. Our bathroom did have that weird smell that others have mentioned - I thought it smelled like sewage but my wife described it more like a beauty salon. (Sewage makes more sense if you ask me, but I get what she meant; it was almost more of a burnt hair/chemical smell.)
Embarkation was well organized. Priority lounge was comfortable, but it'd be nice if there were some snacks or something. We were on board the ship pretty quickly once boarding actually started.
We were bused to the other end of the island, which gave us a good tour of it as well (the driver pointed out various points of interest). Then we drove ATV's through various trails in Clifton Park, including up on a hill overlooking a beautiful beach. A really intense workout, but a lot of fun. Afterwards we were taken to a private beach to cool off, where we could get a drink or food (for a price). Overall a really fun excursion, but a lot more strenuous than I thought it'd be. I was drenched in sweat!