Nautical nip and tuck
With a transformed Carnival Radiance on the way, it’s time for one last Victory lap
There’s this adage in the cruising industry: don’t cruise on a ship that’s about to be dry-docked. Yet that’s exactly what I did recently, and for good reason: by the time you read this, Carnival Cruise Line’s (cruise.center/carnival) Carnival Victory will already be on its final voyage before heading across the Atlantic where it will spend two months being transformed into the essentially brand-new Carnival Radiance.
I embarked Carnival Victory in Miami for one of its four-night western Caribbean voyages to Key West, Fla., and Cozumel, Mexico. I visited the ship, originally built in 2000, to document its interior spaces before it is substantially altered and turned into Carnival Radiance. I came expecting things to not be quite shipshape, yet I found a ship that, 20 years after its construction, is still looking great.
A dry-dock a few years back has already updated all guest cabins and corridors, which have Carnival’s new “tropical” Caribbean colours scheme that was introduced on the Carnival Breeze in 2012. Carnival Victory’s pool deck and upper pool deck have already been given brand-new faux-teak decking, and the entire vessel looked and felt like it was in great condition. That’s important: it means folks on the last sailings of this classic vessel aren’t being shortchanged.
Even in its final days, Carnival Victory had one of the best crews I’ve encountered at sea. Without exception, everyone I encountered had a huge smile, addressed passengers by name whenever possible, and generally contributed to the fun atmosphere on board. I’ve come to expect this kind of friendly service from Carnival, but the crew on the Victory knocked it out of the park.
My cruise also made me appreciate how much these “older” Carnival ships are like individual works of art. Longtime interior architect Joe Farcus had crafted an undersea theme for the ship that extends to the coral-inspired carpeting in the atrium to the mosaic seafoam tile work on the ship’s elevator banks and the sea horse-styled table pedestals along the ship’s enclosed promenade. It’s bold, whimsical and often beautiful.
That’s all going to disappear soon as Carnival Victory is given a fresh new interior design. No public room will be spared; some will be stripped to their steel beams and outfitted with the newest features.
Change is good. As with Carnival Sunrise last year (the former Carnival Triumph), the refit will give Carnival Victory — soon to be Carnival Radiance — a brand-new experience for Fun Ship cruisers to enjoy, while still extracting maximum service life out of a ship that still has the power to delight.
Of course, Carnival will continue to offer these four-day jaunts to the western Caribbean from Miami aboard Carnival Conquest and the smaller Carnival Sensation. It makes for a great little getaway: half a day to explore
Key West, and a late-evening call into Cozumel that makes it possible to take a shore excursion over to the mainland to take in the historic ruins of Tulum or enjoy shopping in Playa del Carmen.
Since I’m coming from Western Canada, I combined my four-day journey on Carnival Victory with another cruise. These short trips are also convenient for those indulging in a land vacation to the Miami area or elsewhere in Florida.
Carnival Victory returns to service as the all-new Carnival Radiance on April 29, with a 10-day Mediterranean voyage (hosted by Carnival’s legendary cruise director John Heald) before setting out across the Atlantic for New York and, later this year, its new home port of Port Canaveral (Orlando).
Happy cruising.