This was my second Carnival cruise, the first about 10 years ago. I wasn’t much of a fan the last time but Carnival Victory managed to win me over, in spite of my reservations. Here were the pros and cons: Cons: -The hallways were noisy at night. I expected this so I had already braved myself to endure it. -The food was only mediocre compared to Disney Cruise Line, Celebrity, and Norwegian. However, it wasn’t bad. -The bed was very hard. -The ship is aging, and while they try to maintain her, some of her facilities are showing their age. For example, several elevators had tiles missing from the floor. Accent lights were out in random spots all over the ship. The whirlpools and pools showed major wear with the finish rubbing off and showing rust. Pros: -The ship was clean. Very clean in fact. This made up for the wear due to age. -The service was great. These folks are proud of their ship. -The Cruise Director, Filipe is phenomenal. He was friendly, energetic and approachable. He seemed to genuinely care. -The onboard activities and entertainment were great and diverse. All in all, I felt like the value and experience for the price was great. The crew and service more than made up for the cons that I had. Would I book another Carnival Cruise? Absolutely, already have. Would I try and book a newer ship, yes. Read Less

This is our second time on the Carnival Victory. Some of the areas could definitely be updated and Carnival is aware as the Victory will become the Carnival Radiance in 2020. We chose the ship because our two young boys enjoyed it the first time we were aboard. The embarkation process was quick and easy. We have paid for Faster to the Fun(FTTF) in the past but decided to save the money this time to see how smooth things went. My advice: Save your money. We were on the ship within 20 minutes of arriving at the Cruise Port. The lines moved quickly and the staff was accommodating. If you have all your forms filled out and a credit card on file before boarding, you are quickly shuffled through the port to board. In the past, you waited while your info was collected and waited for your Sail N Sign cards. Now you can go right to the Lido deck to enjoy lunch. If you do want to purchase beverages, you only need to give them your cabin number and they will charge accordingly. TIP: if you don't want to wait in line for Lido Buffet, the exact same items are set up in the Atlantic Dining Room on Deck 3. Grab a quick bite, then head up to the fun on Deck 9. This was the first time we chose an inside cabin. We usually book a Ocean View or Balcony cabin. We chose an inside based on a quick, inexpensive get-away and it's location. We were located on the Lido Deck and as for location, it was perfect for our sons. They were able to walk 50' and be at the pools, hot tubs, and activities. A quick in the elevator took us to Camp Ocean or down to Casino/shopping. I will say that we will probably not book an inside for any future cruises. It was very tight for four people. There was no sitting area and the desk was unusable since the bed was nearly up against it. The cabin steward was okay, but surely not one of the best that I have had. He started off with good service, but by day two we were trying to find clean towels and picking up our room by ourselves. As for on-ship activities and areas, our boys do enjoy the Camp Ocean activities. The staff is always friendly and genuinely seem like they love working with the kids. Our boys are 8 and 11 and were in the Stingray and Sharks age group. My 11 year old usually hangs out with kids age 10-11-12 because of sports and there were a few activities that he opted out of so he didn't want to hang with 3rd graders. The DJ was okay. He played a lot of the same Bob Marley songs every day and by day 4 I was over the music. The Steel Drum musician was on point. He created a great atmosphere when he was on deck. The Living in America production was well done. Great sets and costumes, however most of the music was geared toward over 50 crowd. Vast majority of those in the crowd had no idea what half of the songs even were. Our last cruise (Carnival Sunshine) had shows with Rock music and lots of modern hits. Crowd was more into the modern show, for sure. Cruise Director Felipe was okay. Some people seem to write reviews of how wonderful he is, however we have been on a dozen cruises and he rates as mediocre with us. He would come to events and if he was running late for the next, he would leave to start the next. He would always make comments about his staff doing all the work to get him around the ship. This made it seem like a job for him as other Cruise Directors in the past made the job seem like they were just there hanging out with friends and having fun even though it was a job. You can sense the difference. Although smoky, the Casino bar was always fun and we met some great people there. The bands played some great music that had everyone singing along and bartenders Geron and Benedicto made you feel like you were at your own hometown pub. The food was good as always. The buffets had a different theme each day, but the staples such as fruit, salads, and sides were the same each day. The Blue Iguana taco and burritos were excellent. I highly recommend the pork tacos. Lines for pizza were always long late at night when the buffets closed. It was also awkward taking the kids back to get pizza in the adults only area of the lido. Kind of defeats the purpose of adults only by having food stands beside the pool. As for dining, we chose early dining in the Pacific Dining Room. Our waitstaff was superb. Our headwaiter Dedik was solid the whole cruise. Along with I Made and Marius, they made my family feel special and never let us wanting. They all felt like family when we were ready to leave. Our boys really enjoyed their company and always looked forward to going to dinner to see "D". I highly recommend trying different foods that you would normally not order at a restaurant. When would you ever risk paying for something you may not like? Here you can order Ox Tongue, take a bite, then order a chicken breast when you are not ready to take a second bite of the ox. Debarkation was quick and simple as well. We had a quick bite to eat on the Lido Deck then chose to carry off our own luggage. The only hang up is trying to get around elevator area of Deck 3. There is no staff to direct anyone and there is a hug bottle neck of people waiting in line, coming down stairs, and exiting elevators. Some passenger's patience was wearing thin with the confusion of where everyone was to go. Getting through customs was a breeze and the shuttle back to the airport was quick and easy. We will definitely cruise with Carnival again and look forward to sailing on the Radiance when it is done. Great cruise, great price. TIP: While in Cozumel, skip booking an expensive excursion through Carnival. There is a resort within walking distance (exit dock, take a left, and walk 3 blocks) of the cruise port called "El Cid". It is a beautiful facility that includes a pool, hot tubs, two private beaches, and so much more. For $22 per person, they will give you a day pass to use their facility. You can swing on hammocks in the ocean, use their snorkeling gear, swim in their pool, use their changing areas, etc. The best part is that they give each person a $13 credit for food and beverages. So a day pass is only $9! The only out of pocket expense is any overage for your purchases over the credited amount. Throughout the day, we had 6 beers, 2 mixed drinks, 2 smoothies, 4 sodas, a large pizza, fish tacos, chicken Caesar salad, and French fries an our total bill was $72. Minus the credit, I only owed $20. That meal/food at home would have been twice the amount. Service was great and grounds were 5 star. Read Less

We have cruised with Carnival before, on the Liberty, and our experience was very good at the time, so we thought the experience would be repeated, hence we chose Carnival again, but this time on the Magic. Totally regret our decision. From the cabin to the food in the Lido Marketplace was all disappointing. See my cabin review for details on the cabin. As for the food in the Lido marketplace, there was no variety at all.At any given meal, there were 27 containers of salads and salad toppings. One section had literally 3 types of cold cuts and 3 types of sliced cheese. Then the actual food section had only 8 items - not much choice at all. The desserts were just cakes. No caramel pudding, etc. The fruits were standard four - water melon, cantaloupe, Honey dew and Pineapple. There was an occasional banana, apples and grapes and breakfast time. The bananas went out of stock quickly. They would not replenish it. Even food items would run short and they simply said there was no more. The placement of the food items were bad as we had to stretch to reach the farther end to grab something, so much so, it was impossible at times and we had to rely on the staff to serve us. Especially the bacon was kept out of reach. Terrible. The staff did not have smiles on their faces and they didn't look happy at all. Rarely would any of them even wish you when they crossed you. The floors in the Lido Marketplace were slippery as ice. It was very difficult to walk on. Strangely, on the last day of the cruise the floors were great. The entertainment shows like Flick was stale. We seen the exact same thing 2 years ago, on the Liberty. Their entertainment has not changed. Same shows, same mega parties, same songs. This means that if you do one Carnival cruise you have done them all. Overall, the experience was not satisfying and was more disappointing, so much so, we may never cruise with Carnival again. Read Less

Highly recommend priority boarding option. There was a very long line regardless if you had an appt. Loved George's food outside of the gate in Bahamas. Carnival should really allow/bring the Bahamas experience inside the gate giving people a cultural experience...we would have never know they were there if we didn't hear the live music outside the gate. Its wonderful, that's why people cruise to different islands Carnival....experiences!!! Carnival ran out of towels for people on the beach at Princess Cay..disappointing, when there is no other way but a water taxi back to the boat. Staff offered no apologies or alternatives. Shower curtain in room smelled like mildew, bring your bleach or lysol. Kind of weird. The spa was very expensive but offered no pre or post spa experience. Customer Service was terrible! We were not welcomed when we arrived, we went into what was supposed to be a relaxation room, but the chairs were regular chairs not comfortable at all. Not given any info about amentities. Save your money you'd have a better experience at a mall massage!!! Cruise Director Deon was very good and had great personality. The comedy show was great. Love and marriage show was entertaining. Recommend highly transportation transfer to and from airport you wont regret it. Read Less

I was visiting the gym every day 1-There was no instructor to expelling who to operate the machines and the spa manager offered me guide for 85 $ special 2- many machines was covered with dust , specially the running machine and I wrote my name on the first day and the name stayed there 3- the out side windows was not clean from the first day I informed the spa manager and the guest service but nothing was done, on private talks with staff the impression is that there is short of cleaning workers , but the most important is that if a guest will operate the machine not in a write way he can have a health problem like what happened to me pain in the shoulder till now 4- the entertainment team is not professionals and almost every night there is on main board 10 floor films not dancing like a real Caribbean cruise , it’s good for families and old people 5- the security also not so professional and by mistake my wife left the ship with my card and they did not want to let her back onboard and I got her card 6- I stayed in room 1287 Read Less

Good itinerary, great weather. Ship was a little rusty and our cabin wasn’t that nice. Boarding process at Miami was much improved from my last experience. My biggest complaint was with some of the passengers. Lots of drunk and messy people. Carnival tries to combine the booze cruise type with the family friendly type and they don’t mix. A fight broke out in the cabin next to ours at 1:30am. Do not need to expose my kids to a bunch of drunken idiots. When somebody can hardly walk it might be a good idea to stop serving them drinks. Main dining room was nice, food was good, but the cafeteria was very crowded and hard to find a place to sit down. In general lots of people lots of lines. Comedy club was really good they rotated out the comedians in the middle of the cruise so we didn’t have the same ones every night. Entertainment in the main theater was not that good. The music on the main deck was good but I was hoping for more of a Caribbean vibe, It’s the Caribbean I want steel drums. Read Less

Horizon was great! Our handicap room, 10205, was excellent. The room was very large, and I could use the scooter everywhere. Even though it is listed as an interior room, the room has an slightly obstructive ocean view size window, and a great view. All the staff were fantastic when dealing with handicap people... from the people helping to board, to the time we left! I was thrilled about that, as I had concerns before the cruise. The only MAJOR problem on the cruise was all the smoke in the casino!! People were having to leave the area allot just to get a breath of fresh air! I had a bad cough after 3 days, and it took me over a week and a half after the cruise to clear up. Other than that, great cruise! The food in the buffet was just okay, definitely not allot of write home about. The specialty restaurants were great!! Read Less

Although embarkment was rough, it was an overall great experience. The ship before us caused us to be delayed for several hours (which wasn't normal). We got over that pretty quickly once we had a yummy cocktail in hand. My husband and I ate at the steakhouse the first night which was AMAZING! The food and service was outstanding. There were long lines for the buffet so we ate at the dining room every other night which was also outstanding. We were in and out with happy bellies. We bought the drink package (recommended!) and therefore spent a lot of time at the pool and casino bar. The bartenders were fun, outgoing and friendly! Especially Tuty, back pool bar! We got a couples massage and I got a facial. Both incredible. There are plenty of jacuzzi's on ship. Oh, and the MUSIC! The music was AMAZING! Such good talent! Comedy shows were fun and so was the Lip Sync battle on the last night. I, obviously, have many compliments to pay to this ship. My one complaint would be the pools. I was hoping for larger pools or an adult only pool. I am ready to book another trip on this same ship! Read Less

This was my first time at the Carnival cruise, I always go by Royal Caribbean or Norwegian.. I was mad at the first day with the delay and all the mess while we were waiting to board, but as soon as we understand the problem and how Carnival Magic treat us everything change because they were so nice and polite , always ready and willing to help us..and once we were aboard it was so beautiful and amazing .I am very surprise with the attention and good service from the crew.. at the Restaurant I always will remember them they were so nice .. I love the show time please never change those good and amazing shows .. people like Daria, Floyd, Charles , Dary and much more always will be in my heart they were so nice with us during the whole trip.I also love the Spanish music at night Just please could you leave for every night during the trip it was really fun Spanish people love to DANCE. The cabin was always clean and at the time of disembarkation was nice and smoothly everybody was happy and the crew did a very good job to made the process fun and nice... I really love all the entertainments .. I love this Ship i really recommended Carnival Cruise to everybody,, the food is amazing , and delicious . the whole trip was just perfect. Read Less

I chose this cruise as the best entertainment option for my family. My kids are 12 and 3 years old, and our last cruise proved to be a great way to entertain them both. Carnival seemed to be a great option for more kids attractions so we have it a try. It was a disaster from the moment we walked on the ship. We entered on the 3rd floor/atrium, which felt tiny as the crowds of people flooded through the doors. At this point, and throughout the rest of the cruise, the silence of the staff was infuriating. They have this way of just allowing you to be lost and confused...they don’t anticipate needs, address questions clearly, provide clarity or direction...instead they seemed just as lost and confused as everyone else. You have to ask questions, no one will use cues to proactively address your needs. The hours of the attractions were confusing and inconsistent. Some days the teen room was 24 hours and others it didn’t open til 7 pm. Some days there were 4 buffets open in Lido, other days there were one. The layout of the common areas is impractical and there was constant congestion in the halls, elevators, and pool decks. Elevator wait times were also incredibly long - there were several times we just carried our toddler’s stroller up and down the stairs so we could move on with our day. For days I attempted to take my daughter to the toddler pool in the Dr. Seuss area on deck 12, and each time there were adults laying in the ankle deep water just sunbathing. Granted, the resort pool was always so crowded that they probably just wanted some space to refresh, but there was no regulation of the space to ensure kids had a designated space to play. This caused a chaotic spillover of children in adult spaces (and vice versa) so there was just no peace. The main dining room food was disgusting, either fried completely dry by heating lamps or just bland and underwhelming. The serving utensils were left under the lights and were usually so hot that you needed to wrap a napkin around the handle to use them. Food layout wasn’t thoughtful, and again no direction when it came to the lines at the buffet so there were long periods of congestion and confusion from people who entered at the wrong end or that didn’t know the selection was the same on both sides. It was usually other passengers that ended up explaining it and organizing the line, while staff looked on silently. At the other included outlets the lines were long and staff was passive and unfriendly. We patronized Meridian restaurant and were greeted by confused hostesses that didn’t know If they wanted you to wait in line, sit, or come back later - even with a confirmed table from MyTime Dining checkin. Wait staff in Meridian we’re not thoughtful, ignoring our feedback to make corny jokes - clearly a taught tactic. It was impersonal and insincere and an infuriating disregard for our experience. There were rules listed but not enforced, like dripping wet bikini-clad cruisers in the dining spaces contrary to signage, or rows of seats saved during the deck movie. There was no curfew for minors - all night, children could be found wandering through the casino and pool decks. Security had no control at all, and cleaning staff ignored them as they ran by and disrupted other passengers. Not one person said “no running” or asked where their guardians were...and many of these kids looked as young as 9 or 10. These kids also wrecked the self service ice cream spaces, leaving it on the counters and all over the floor, and staff were not attentive to the mess. On the promenade it was like walking through a flea market - every 5 steps someone is shoving items in your face trying to persuade you to buy another useless thing. Perfume, jewelry, shot glasses, scarves....everything. It was irritating and invasive. At the ports, loudspeaker announcements directed passengers to level 0 to disembark; when the elevator doors opened, another silent staff member standing there waiting for you to ASK if you should go left or right (there was no signage, and clearly multiple exits). Another lost opportunity to anticipate a common need and streamline my guest experience. The beds were rock hard, so much so that my kids even complained of back and shoulder pain. The shower drain didn’t work the first 2 days and my bathroom flooded constantly. It wasn’t fixed until I waited out my room attendant to ask her about it - who until then I had never physically seen. She admitted to noticing the pile of wet towels the prior day, but obviously never cleaned the shower or bothered to follow up on the flooding. My room attendant also accidentally tossed out my toddlers binkie while cleaning and didn’t admit it until I asked about it (after tearing the room apart). I was left with an inconsolable kid in an uncomfortable bed, every night for the rest of the trip. She also left the dirty cups and dishes in the room every time. If you are the type of traveler with any level of service expectations, this isn’t your ship. This ship is for low expectations, and people who are ok with paying $4K to still be left to find and figure things out yourself. NEVER AGAIN, Carnival! Read Less