Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Victory Cruise Review
Western Caribbean

Frank and Sharon

My wife and I took this cruise after 5 years of planning. My wife gets seasick just thinking about the water but had always wanted to visit Jamaica (but just for a day). She went to her doctor and he prescribed the seasickness patch, and to our surprise and joy, she wasn’t sick. One small observation regarding this patch, she couldn’t read small print. Her eyesight was affected for the duration of the cruise but she said it was a small price to pay. After removal it returned to normal within a day.

As for the cruise itself, we found the check-in process smooth, we had completed our FunPass online prior to departure. This helps significantly. We were stopped only once, to take our Embarkation Photo and onto the ship we went. Our only complaint there, was that it was our first cruise and there didn’t seem to be anyone to indicate to us, where we should go, so everyone was kinda piling up in the one area until people sorted out which direction they wanted to go to find their rooms or restaurants, etc. Took about an hour to get our bearings, but we were excited to be onboard. We were told that shorts and short sleeves were not allowed in the dining room, and since our luggage didn’t arrive until 7:30, we dined in the Lido Deck. Food was plentiful and delicious.

Our cabin had a balcony, which was worth the extra few dollars we spent. It was very private and romantic and the sunrises and sunsets were well worth catching. The bed was huge and the towel animals that our room steward left every night were cute. Lots of closet room (we needed it, as my wife brought everything she owned). We gave a nice tip our steward when we left and he seemed appreciative. We did have difficulty hearing the announcements in our cabin, we had to open the door each time.

The main deck was busy, but we never had a problem finding a place to sit, either in the sun or the shade. We met some very nice people on the first afternoon and became quick friends. My wife was advised not to drink alcohol while the patch was on, so we decided to get a soda card for her. Was very surprised that it cost $44 us, but it did provide her unlimited soda for the week.

The dining room was spectacular! The service was amazing. After the first night, we asked the Maitre’ D if it were possible that we could be reassigned to a new table so that our new friends could dine with us each night, and without a blink it was taken care of. Our waiter and assistant, Antonio and Catalino were fantastic. My wife has a mushroom allergy, and after telling him once, he would advise her on her order each night that she shouldn’t order it because it contained mushrooms. Good memory indeed. Service was fast and with the menu, if you wanted more than one choice of dinner or dessert or both, no problem. Antonio answered all questions we had about himself and the ship. We had noticed that their name tags indicated where everyone was from, and they were from every country you could think of. Their English was not always perfect, but always understandable. The Midnight Gala Buffet is not to be missed. Take your camera. You won’t believe it.

We went on shore excursions to Costa Maya, Mexico, Grand Caymen, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We had chosen our tours online and prepaid for them, which was good as the excursion lineup was often long. Costa Maya was interesting at the Mayan Ruins. Grand Cayman was beautiful and we went swimming with Sting Rays. In Ocho Rios, we climbed Dunns River Falls, and my wife loved Jamaica. Ya Mon. With all excursions, we found them to be rushed, but worth the money. One thing to point out, everytime you got off the boat, someone had a camera in your face taking a picture that was for sale back on the boat. These pictures were nice, but all cost between $8 and $20. In Jamaica, there was a large presence of security and police and it made us wonder if they were there because they “needed” to be there or if they were just being cautious. Either way, all three ports were safe and well managed.

We took in many of the daytime activities and I even won a contest and brought home a 24 carat gold plastic ship on a stick. We found there was lots to do and the nighttime shows were fantastic. We didn’t participate in the bingo or casino, but was surprised at the prize amounts that could be won. The formal nights were fun and well worth putting on the suit. The ship offers a DVD of the week’s event and was better than having my own video recorder with me. It covered everything.

All in all, it was one of the best vacations that we had ever had. The price was very comparable to other vacations but we definitely ate better than in regular restaurants. I gained 15 lbs to prove it. We would like to cruise again, but next time to Alaska. No bikini required. And yes, I would highly recommend Carnival Cruise Lines.