Eastern
Caribbean 7 Day Cruise from Miami - March
2006
Visiting the following ports of call:
San Juan,
St. Maarten,
St. Thomas
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Preparation
We booked our vacation aboard the
Carnival Victory 3 months in advance of the cruise and made
all of the arrangements on-line through a popular travel
website. We decided on this cruise based on a specific date
of departure and the best priced suite cabin accommodation
sailing the Eastern Caribbean at that time. We booked a
suite guarantee and were notified of our suite assignment
when we received our cruise tickets 3 weeks in advance of
our cruise. We drove to the Port of Miami on the
day of embarkation and arrived at the terminal at
approximately 1:15pm. Driving to the terminal was easier
than ever before. In the past, waiting in a long line of
cars, buses, and semi tractor trailers to pass through the
security was the norm. This time we drove straight to the
terminal and dropped off our bags to the porters without
having to stop at a check point; part of the ongoing
improvements at the Port of Miami Cruise Ship terminals. |
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Embarkation
We were met with a line of cars when we
drove to the nearest parking garage. The line was literally
inching along and after twenty minutes, we reached the
parking attendant. She informed us that the parking garage
was full and all traffic was being directed to a garage
farther away. The attendant recommended that the driver drop
off all passengers at the front of the terminal and the
driver can catch a ride back from the garage –compliments of
the port shuttle. Our driver dropped us at the curb, and we
walked with all of our carry – on bag about 100 yards to the
terminal. We waited for the driver to return, and waited,
and waited… Finally we noticed the driver walking through
the baggage area heading our way. The driver ended up
walking from the parking garage back to the terminal instead
in the long line for the shuttle. The other parking garage
was over a mile away from our terminal. Yikes! We
never did learn what the problem was. We inquired both at
check-in and departure about the parking situation but we
never received a clear response. As instructed by the cruise line, after
immediately entering the terminal, we informed the staff
that we had VIP check-in service (provided to all Suite
cabin passengers). The kindly gentleman took us an office
room, located in the terminal just past the entryway and
escorted us in. We met with a staff member who checked us in
and sent us on our way to pick-up our Fun Pass. The staff
member led us past the long lines of folks waiting to check
in and took us straight to the security entrance. We passed
through security and picked up our Fun Passes. In less than
5 minutes we were aboard the ship. Kudos to Carnival for VIP
check-in! The fastest and smoothest embarkation we’ve ever
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The Cabin
We endured the walk up 5 flights of
stairs rather than wait our turn for the elevator to reach
our cabin. Our Suite cabin 9205 was located far Forward on
Lido Deck 9. The accommodations were just what we had hoped;
spacious and stocked with all the extras. We had a wet bar,
VCR/DVD, king size bed with awesome comfort bedding, bathtub
with spa jets & glass shower door enclosure. The dressing
/mirrored vanity area had plenty of drawer and closet space
for 2 people. Additional drawer and closet space was
provided next to the bed. Our only disappointment with the
cabin was the balcony area. The size of the balcony
wasn’t the problem, it was the location. Our cabin was
located farthest forward-starboard side, and when you stand
on the balcony and look left you see the deck that draws
plenty of onlookers, particularly when going in and out of
Port. When we opened our window coverings, we had a bird’s
eye view of the front of the ship and all of the onlookers.
The windows were cloudy and scratched up so it was
difficult to get a clear view anyway. We kept our window
curtains drawn all of the time. |
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Décor, Public Rooms and Pool Deck The neon colors immediately grabbed our
attention as we entered the gangway and décor you would
typically see on Carnival ships; neon everywhere.
The Grand Atrium fragments the ship in
the middle like most, however, this atrium with a myriad of
staircases and elevators is difficult to navigate during
busy times like Captain’s parties and the half hour before
each dinner seating. Passengers tend to gather in the
walkways and overcrowd the seating areas making it
especially difficult for persons with disabilities to get
around. The photo gallery area is the worst to maneuver,
especially with the theft guard machines they have blocking
the entranceways. We try to avoid these areas at peak times
and look for alternate areas of the ship to hang out - such
as the promenade deck if you don’t mind the wind messing up
your hair before dinner.
The pool deck has 4 or 5 tiers that
lead you to the top where the slide is. Again, we feel the
space is fragmented and difficult to maneuver with limited
open spaces and lots of obstacles. There is ample deck
chairs and space available for folks who like to soak up the
sun.
The casual dining area has booths with
padded bench seats and large tables with plenty of room to
eat comfortably. Once again, kudos to Carnival for
recognizing that a little extra cushion for the rear end can
enhance the cruise experience.
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Food
The food
quality at the buffet was less than average and
disappointing to say the least. In our opinion, some of the
items were barely edible and had no taste and texture. As
each day passed, it became more difficult to find items at
the buffet that we could enjoy. We found ourselves ordering
from the deli, or pizza bar anytime we didn’t eat in the
dining room. The deli almost always had a line of people
waiting to order and we guess many people had the same
opinion of the buffet food. One of the dining venues we
looked forward to trying was the Yangtze Wok, just on the
other side of the deli. The first few days onboard we made
attempts to eat there, but we found it closed even though it
was advertised as being open. We did see it open as we were
on our way to the wine tasting on the 5th day of
the cruise. After that we forgot about it and never saw it
open again. |
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Debarkation Getting off the ship was as easy as
getting on the ship. We elected to take advantage of
“self-assist debarkation” and carried our own bags off the
ship. We were one of the first to debark at 7:30am and were
fortunate to avoid any lines or crowds.
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Things we liked:
Easy embarkation and debarkation
procedures
Above average service
Buffet line was well organized and
discouraged others from reaching over and around you ahead
of their turn
Great creature comforts such as the
bedding and cushioned seats in the dining and lounge venues
Cart service in the casual dining
buffet restaurant
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Things we didn’t like: Crowded outdoor pool deck space
Hard to maneuver Grand Atrium area
Constant daily and evening
announcements
Food quality
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Summary
We enjoyed our cruise aboard the
Carnival Victory. We had great weather, no issues and there
are plenty of amenities onboard to keep you entertained and
plenty of deck space to find a quiet relaxing spot. The only
downfall of the cruise was food quality. Something we feel
is crucial to the cruise experience. We don’t need gourmet
at breakfast and lunch, just edible and satisfying. We found
little of either at the buffets. In our experience, food
quality was poor. However Carnival did score fairly well on
presentation and selection and the dining room food quality
was better. Overall, the cruise experience was
enjoyable and we appreciate all of the things Carnival does
right. However, the things that we didn’t like bear heavy
weight when making plans for our next cruise vacation. The
food quality and lack of well designed public spaces will
probably deter us from sailing on the Carnival Victory
again. However, we do appreciate Carnival for
listening and making some improvements to enhance the cruise
vacation experience for all of us. All of the cruise lines
seem to be listening and following suit soon making it
virtually impossible for any passenger to have any
complaints. |
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| - The
Crew |
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