Just returned today from the Victory's first sailing to Canada for 2004. My two children (girl 9 and boy 12) and I had a great time. With a few exceptions the Victory met our expectations.
Prior to sailing: Spent two great nights in New York.
Embarkation: We were scheduled to set sail at 5:00 on Saturday, and were told by Carnival not to even consider arriving at the port before 1:00 for the boarding time of 1:30-4:30. Also was told by Signman to be prepared for major traffic congestion at port. He suggested arriving around 3:00. We did not listen to either and left our hotel at 11:00 and did sit in a major traffic delay for about 30 minutes, but was well worth it. There terminal was virtually empty. There were no lines to check in, and we were onboard by 12:00.