Carnival Victory Overview
By Dan Askin, News Editor
(4.0)
We mean this in the nicest way: The 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory has a comfortable worn-in feel. The overall operation, much like the captain's daily weather and navigation briefings, comes off as effortless. In harmony with the gentle rocking of the ship, it's easy to fall into a sleepy rhythm.
As such, Carnival Victory serves as an excellent intro to Carnival Cruise Lines for the uninitiated -- and a quick escape for the line's aficionados.
As (modified) member of the Destiny-class of vessels, Carnival Victory has all the traditional Carnival accouterments: an exuberant main dining room and a two-deck Lido buffet complex; a bright, centrally located casino; a bar-line promenade; an impressive spa; a comprehensive Camp Carnival program for kids; a daily schedule of jocular activities; and more than enough places to drink and socialize.
The ship also features a few contemporary touches, including a sushi bar and drive-in style poolside movie screen.
It's admirable that no one tries too hard to please -- from the tabletop dancing dining room waiters, to the dryly sarcastic blackjack dealers, to the amiable bartenders who call you "chief" or "boss." Most of the nearly 2,800 passengers give the impression of being quite content with this, and why wouldn't theg? There's no pressure placed on the ship to be anything that it's not, and the guests feed off this.
For a Carnival first-timer, it's also relevant to note that while Carnival has, in the past, been pigeonholed as the slack-jawed, party line (perhaps the line itself is guilty of emphasizing this rep with its own "Fun Ship" distinction), in reality it offers a more impressive range of options than it's given credit for.
But ultimately, you get a week of evenhanded leisure at a decent price. It's like a comfortable dream, of which you remember little more than a general feeling of well being.
Carnival Victory Fellow Passengers
Carnival attracts an outgoing set of North American couples, families and multigenerational groups. The average passenger age is in the 40's. Expect an influx of families in the summer and over school holidays.
Carnival Victory Dress Code
During the day, beachy or port-specific attire is the norm. Carnival's evening dress code is typically "cruise casual," but on one night during the voyage "cruise elegant" eveningwear is suggested. On cruise casual nights, the line recommends sport slacks, khakis, jeans (no cut-offs), long dress shorts and collared sport shirts for men, and casual dresses, casual skirts or pants and blouses, summer dresses, capri pants, dress shorts and jeans (no cut-offs) for women. Cruise elegant dress means dress slacks, dress shirts and sport coats (suggested not required) for men and cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses for women. On elegant nights, passengers may choose to dress more formally in suits and ties, tuxedos or evening gowns.
Carnival Victory Gratuity
Carnival recommends $11.50 per person, per day. The guidelines allocate $5.80 to dining room services, $3.70 to cabin services and $2 per day for alternative services, which include kitchen, entertainment, guest services and other hotel staff members. The amount is automatically added to your shipboard account, but can be adjusted in either direction at the guest services desk. (Note: on Victory's cruises out of Barbados, tips must be prepaid.) A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to bar bills. Tipping for room service at delivery is expected (and appreciated) by the service staff.
We always enjoy meeting new people and look forward to our assigned dinner seating. We were told on booking that we couldn't choose our table size, so we were a little disappointed when we were seated at a table for 4. Well, the other couple ... continue |
A bit of background: This was our first cruise since having our son, now almost 2 1/2. Both my husband and I have cruised before on Carnival, but never the Victory. We knew that this would be a different type of cruise: less drinking, more family ... continue |
We cruised the Victory out of Miami on April 26. We left Middle Tennessee with frost on the ground and arrived to 78 degrees and sunshine in Miami. This made cruise number 8&9 on Carnival for us. One more in December and we will reach #10 to earn ... continue |
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