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ms CARNIVAL VICTORY
5-
New York -
July 1-
By Lisa Plotnick
Note: This review was originally written in 2006, and updated by the writer in 2010 to account for details that are no longer applicable.
Overall, our five-
SHIP HISTORY. Carnival Victory debuted in October 2000, the third of the line’s three
Destiny-
Gross tonnage: 101,509
Length: 893 feet
Guest capacity: 2,758 (double occupancy) – 3,470 (all berths filled)
Crew: 1,100
ARRIVAL AND EMBARKATION. We opted to fly from Boston to New York to avoid the four-
FIRST IMPRESSION. Having been on near-
SAILAWAY. A glitch with our dining assignment resulted in a delay that allowed us
to experience the wondrous trip down the Hudson River…and more. While I could not
bear to look at the lower Manhattan skyline, changed so drastically nearly five years
prior, I knew when we were in the vicinity as the ship’s whistle sounded in tribute.
The mood changed when we approached the Verrazano-
CABIN. Of all the ships we have cruised, Carnival has the largest and most comfortable standard oceanview cabins. Our family occupied Cabin 2281, a category 6A triple not far from the forward elevators. This was a very convenient location, just one deck down from the main lobby and dining rooms, and I’d recommend it. Our two twin beds were pushed together, and our son slept on a sofa bed that was converted to a single bed in a way that did not use additional floor space. We loved the upgrades Carnival recently made to its bedding, and I slept better on this cruise than I had in weeks.
The cabin boasted an incredible amount of storage space. One of the three wardrobes
contained two shelves plus a magnetic-
SHIP LAYOUT AND DÉCOR. Other than a few obstacles here and there, which I will discuss
in a moment, we were very pleased with the ship itself. The theme of the ship is
“Oceans,” and the ship was beautifully decorated throughout. I even enjoyed the touches
of whimsy such as the seahorse statues holding up the stairwell banisters, the seashell
design that adorned some of the carpeting, and the huge, coral-
It didn’t take me long to find my favorite spot—the outdoor promenade deck, in a deck chair under the lifeboats. The chairs were resin with very comfortable removable pads. The location on Deck 3 was close enough to the water to hear the marvelous sound of its displacement by the ship. The promenade is teak, but not a wraparound. There were about 30 chairs on each side, and passengers made good use of them.
I also enjoyed the ship’s library, located on Deck 4. I came here often to write, as the surroundings were beautiful. It is richly decorated in warm wood tones; and subtle shades of red and dark green on the ceiling. There were a few hours a day during which the library was staffed and the bookcases unlocked (not much of a selection, unfortunately), but the room was always accessible. Finally, the central pool decks were very well laid out and I loved the tiered design that offered ample seating and easy access to the lido areas.
That said, there are a few areas on the ship that didn’t quite appeal to me. First was the frustrating layout on Decks 3 and 4, most noticeable when searching for the Pacific Dining Room, located aft on those two decks. I had expected this, but still managed to get lost a couple of times. By Day 4 of the cruise, I had finally figured out some tips for navigating these two decks:
(1) For the Pacific Dining Room, take the aft elevator to either Decks 3 or 4. Alternatively, take the amidships elevator to Deck 4 and cut through the Internet Café and Ionian Bar.
(2) For the Atlantic Dining Room, use either the forward (lobby) or amidships elevator.
(3) For the photo shop, library, main show lounge, shore excursion desk, pursers desk and lobby bar, use the forward elevator only.
I also felt that Lido Deck could use some improvement. For some odd reason, the 24-
Finally, while the Caribbean show lounge was beautifully decorated, there were enough
interrupted sight lines to make this a bit uncomfortable. The lounge is three decks
high, and the upper two decks extend 270 degrees, limiting the view of the stage
as you sit further from the center. This is one of those show lounges in which you
need to arrive at least one-
DINING. We were very impressed with the quality and quantity of food on this ship. We took most of our meals in the dining room. Breakfast and lunch were open seating, and our requests to sit alone or with others (as the mood struck) were always honored. Service was a bit spotty during those meals, but the food was good, particularly the two lunches. Dinner in the dining room was superb. In some cases, the quality was far superior to that which we had experienced on Celebrity Infinity a few months prior. It is not served with the same flourish, however, but I’ll take better food rather than a show any time. I did find it unusual to have only three utensils in the place setting—but as I did not have to set the table or wash the dishes, it did not bother me in the least.
I’d heard that Carnival changed its menus recently, and we were very pleased with the results. We enjoy trying entrées and appetizers that we would not normally have at home, and there were plenty of choices. Among our favorites were foie gras crème brulee appetizer, tilapia with eggplant tapenade, sirloin strips, and Grand Marnier soufflé. I also enjoyed the lobster tail—a compliment indeed given that I am from New England and practically live on fresh whole lobster during the summer. And, the cheese plate was served with thin toasted bread, a far cry from the Saltines I’ve seen on some other lines.
We dined at the buffet several times—once for breakfast, twice for lunch, and a number
of times for mid-
SERVICE. As is typical, service ran the gamut from excellent to fair. The ship was kept fairly spotless both in the public rooms and on deck. Our cabin steward kept our living space in good order, and saw that we received everything that was to be delivered to us. Our waiter and assistant waitress were also very good, and attentive to our needs. For example, when we mentioned that the Carnival repeaters’ party was scheduled to begin just one hour and 15 minutes after the beginning of our meal, they ensured that we got through dinner with time to spare while not making us feel rushed.
We ran into only one issue that we did not consider minor. When we boarded, we learned
we were assigned to the latest of the four dining times, 8:30 pm, rather than our
requested time of 6:15. (Note: At the time, Carnival did not confirm dining times
upon booking. Additionally, this cruise pre-
DAYTIME ACTIVITIES. Our two sea days offered the usual art auctions, trivia, pool
games, casino tournaments, and a very nice afternoon tea. I did find that the schedule
for the second sea day was comparatively slim, which is something I had not noticed
on other cruises. Port day offerings were very limited—the main activity offered
during our times in port was a noon-
EVENING ACTIVITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT. Generally, the production shows were excellent. “Living in America,” was well organized, had great sets (including a boxing ring) and good singing and choreography. Special effects on “Vroom” were great, and more than made up for the seemingly random order of songs toward the end.
The Welcome Aboard show was more tolerable than most. The timing was unusual in that it was offered only once, rather than separate showings for early and late dinner seatings, but the reason became evident during the show. (And, sorry—for the enjoyment of future passengers, I will not disclose what this was.)
My son and I did not care at all for the magic show. Let me put it this way: My husband chose to skip the show in order to do laundry, and I became jealous.
Shows were introduced by cruise director Dana Hodson, who was a far cry from the
lounge-
Aside from the production shows, our family also enjoyed the classical music played
by Trio Lirica in the lobby bar just prior to and following dinner, and the 50s/60s/70s
dance music in the Adriatic Lounge provided by Bestsellers. (Yes, we have eclectic
tastes.) Unfortunately for us, the only jazz music was in the Ionian Lounge, which
was also the ship’s cigar bar and was, not unexpectedly, too smoke-
PORTS OF CALL. We chose this cruise solely for the itinerary and were not disappointed. We had been to Saint John twice previously and Halifax three times, and enjoy returning as there is so much to see and do. For those curious, we remained on ship’s time (Eastern Daylight Time), although we crossed into the Atlantic time zone. This put sunrise at approximately 4:30 am and sunset at 8:00 pm. Temperatures both days were around 75F/24C.
Saint John, New Brunswick
8:00 am -
It was a glorious day in Saint John. We disembarked at about 9:00 and went on a self-
Other stops where we lingered were the Jewish Historical Museum, City Market, the
Old Burial Grounds, King’s Square, and the Saint John Firefighters Museum. All were
interesting and educational. There was a lot of history I did not know—such as the
Great Fire of 1877—so we made a quick stop at the New Brunswick Museum Shop in the
Market Square Building to purchase a few new books for our library. (We did not have
enough time to visit the museum itself, but will make it our first stop on our next
trip.) While at Market Square, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Grannan’s—I had the
seafood crepe, my husband had the lobster roll, and our son downed a large, adult-
Halifax, Nova Scotia
9:00 am -
Our day in Halifax was superb. With each visit, we find something new to do. Today it was to visit the Pier 21 Immigration Museum, adjacent to the cruise terminal, and later traverse more of the city by foot. The Immigration Museum was amazing. It is set in the exact location where 1.25 million immigrants entered Canada between the years 1928 and 1971. There were numerous exhibits encompassing the immigrant experience, including arrival by ocean liner, customs, transfer to railroad, and a welcome to one’s new home. The best, in my opinion, were the areas devoted to the largest group of immigrants—war brides—and the videos in which people who once passed through these doors shared their stories. Not surprisingly, each was poignant.
Our walk was long and pleasant. As it was a nice day, we walked along the boardwalk to the Halifax Historic Properties, where we shopped for a bit and enjoyed the harbor views. We then ventured back toward the city center. One spot I wanted to see was Saint Paul’s Church, which has a piece of metal lodged into one of its walls from the 1917 Halifax explosion. The metal was determined to be steel from one of the two vessels that collided in the Harbor that day. (For those who have not yet been, I highly suggest a visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to learn the history of this wonderful city—we didn’t have a chance to go there again on this trip, but it is a favorite place.)
DISEMBARKATION. This was very quick and painless for us. We did not opt for self-
FINAL THOUGHTS. Despite a few nuisances, we truly had a marvelous time on Carnival
Victory. Compared to other cruises we’ve taken, this one held up nicely in most respects
and fell short only in those categories we had expected it would (such as a less-
Carnival Victory
Atlantic Canada, 2006