Carnival Victory Review
Rating by category
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BACKGROUND: Decided to book a last minute cruise to celebrate my 73rd birthday. We drove from Savannah ,Georgia to Miami on Sunday. We stayed at The Holiday Inn Express Airport Doral Area where I had booked a cruise package that includes hotel stay for 1night, free parking for duration of the cruise and 1 way shuttle transport to the port on Monday morning. See review on Trip Advisor. We arrived at the port at 11am and because I had purchased a "Faster to the Fun" we were able to board very quickly and were in our stateroom by 11:15 Our stateroom was ready and very nice. The only picky thing I can complain about is that the picture window was not very clean but considering how close to the water we were I can understand how it would be difficult to keep them clean.
SHIP: We were pleasantly surprised by the condition and decor of the ship. We saw crew members cleaning all the time. The ship is small enough that you can find your way around easily. The lobby area, pool area and Lido buffet area appeared crowded but the rest of the ship was surprisingly uncrowded and we were always able to find a quiet place to sit. The aft elevators only go to deck 9 so you need to use the midship or forward elevators to go to the top decks. Also the location of the Atlantic Dining Room on Deck 3 and 4 will prevent passage from the back of the ship to the front so you will have to go up to Deck 5 to access that area.
DINING: We had early dining (6pm) in the Pacific Dining Room. There are VERY few tables for 2 in this dining room so if this is important to you, you should go see the Maitre D as soon as you can-if you wait until the evening they will probably not be able to help. The food was good in the MDR-not great but we were always able to find something we liked. The desserts were very good. The service was excellent. The singing and dancing waiters were FUN!! We did not utilize the buffet for meals so I can't comment on the food or service. We also ate at Guys Burger, Pizza Pirate, The Deli and had ice cream at Swirls and desserts and drinks at the buffet. All were very good-long lines at Guys and Pizza. There are seating areas available on several decks so if the tables in the buffet area is crowded look for seating on the upper decks
Cabin Review
Ocean View
We booked last minute so there were not a lot of staterooms remaining. 1398 is on Deck 1 on the port side of the ship and pretty far aft. We did not hear any noise from either of the two adjoining cabins. Because it is so far at the back of the ship there was almost no foot traffic past our stateroom. We could hear voices in the hall. The staterooms and bathrooms have been recently renovated and were very comfortable and fresh looking. The window was a good size and being so low in the ship the water was "right there" The bed is by the window.There was very little motion felt during the cruise except for lots of noise from the thrusters during docking. The aft elevators and stairwell were very close. The description of the stateroom on the website is very accurate and describe what is included in the room. I did not think I would like being on such a low deck but I really liked the state room and it's location.