Carnival Victory: fun ship for ocean lovers - New Ship Review - new Carnival Cruise Lines vessel

Cruise Travel, May-June, 2002 by Randy Mink, Karen Mink

Strolling along Neptune's Way, the ship's main "boulevard," you can't help being swept up in the music and color, the lights and laughter. Comparable to a city sidewalk or perhaps a carnival midway, this peppy promenade lures passersby with lively bars, a spacious casino, and chic patisserie. Pause to watch the singer on stage, have your portrait sketched by a caricature artist, or pose for the ship's aggressive photographers, who never seem to run out of new backdrops.

The Carnival Victory, one of Carnival Cruise Lines' high-energy "Fun Ships," is its third Destiny Class vessel, having entered service in the wake of sisters Carnival Destiny and Carnival Triumph. Like all vessels in the company's festive fleet, this 2,758-passenger/ 102,000-gross-register-ton megaship is exquisitely themed, boasting a flashy decor rich in details. In creating this visual feast, the Carnival Victory employs aquatic images and mythological creatures to pay homage to the world's seas--the magic carpets that turn our cruise dreams into reality.

The voyage to King Neptune's realm begins in Oceanic Hall, the nine-deck atrium in the center of the ship. The watery theme is captured in shades of turquoise, green, gold, and blue--a color scheme dominating the public areas. Luminescent blue-green panels and twinkly lights create the sense of fantasy and glitz that daring designer Joe Farcus has brought to Carnival ship interiors since 1975.

Adorning the atrium walls are glass-tile mosaics of mermaids, Neptune (Roman god of the sea), and other ancient dieties. Capping Oceanic Hall is an illuminated dome of blue-and-green glass that gives patrons of the Seven Seas Bar the illusion of being underwater. A perfect rendezvous spot, this lobby bar (one of 18 onboard) provides an excellent people-watching vantage point and a chance to enjoy the music of a classical trio or pianist. The atrium's carpet is a subtle design of dolphins playing in waves, while uncarpeted areas feature black terrazzo imbedded with sea shells. Three glass elevator capsules trimmed in sparkling lights provide dramatic views of the lobby; staircases lead up to photo gallery and shops on the level above.

Evening entertainment venues are concentrated on Neptune's Way, making it easy to find the action. The promenade's most boisterous room is the South China Seas Club casino, an exotic Oriental pavilion in the style of Macao in its decadent heyday, complete with ceramic dragon roof tiles, tassled Chinese lanterns, silk wall coverings, and bright red pillars supporting teak beams. Glazed blue Foo dog sculptures atop stone pedestals guard the entrances.

Halfway down the promenade, the Coral Sea Cafe displays coral and shells in cylindrical glass cases, some of which are standup tables that separate the counter seating area from the walkway. The menu offers specialty coffees, liqueurs, and delectable desserts, from apple strudel and chocolate-covered strawberries to milkshakes and banana splits. Also available are cakes and tarts by the slice, plus made-to-order birthday cakes. (All available at additional charge.)

A few steps away are more Promenade Deck bars named after famous bodies of water. In the high-tech Club Arctic, a disco themed on the opposites of fire and ice, cast-resin panels with bubbles, cracks, and fissures form icy walls aglow with color-changing fiber-optics that evoke images of the northern lights. Hundreds of television monitors, showing live dance action and music videos, ring the room. Chairs are covered in gray leather resembling sealskin, and banquettes are done in a brocaded penguin print (yes, the designer knows there are no penguins in the Arctic Ocean).

The Caspian Bar, with portraits of Russian Czar Nicholas II and wife Alexandra, serves wine and caviar in an elegant setting straight from their St. Petersburg palace, the fabled Hermitage. Faux malachite columns topped with gold-leaf Corinthian capitals support rusticated beams and arches.

From imperial Russia, drift over to the neighboring Irish Sea Bar, a convivial pub decked out in the colors of the Emerald Isle, with dark green leather upholstery, green cafe curtains, etched green glass, intricate Celtic details, and shamrocks in the carpet. The octagonal dome over the revolving piano bar and several wall paintings depict bucolic Irish landscapes. Mahogany tabletops are cream and green, and have built-in microphones for sing-alongs. Across the Odyssey Hall atrium, glossy black and red abstract shapes accent the Black & Red Seas, a lounge featuring jazz combos and karaoke.

Completing your world tour on Promenade Deck aft is the stylish Adriatic Lounge, a symphony in beige, white, pale yellow, and gold. Reminiscent of an 18th century Italian palace in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it could easily be the setting for a chamber music concert. With intricate plasterwork, crystal chandeliers, and gold Corinthian columns, this venue for afternoon art auctions, cocktail parties, and nightly cabaret shows was designed to honor the Adriatic port of Trieste, which is near the Fincantieri shipyard, builder of the Carnival Victory. Ornate niches showcase busts of European royalty like Russia's Peter The Great and Empress Mafia Theresa of Austria. Tables and some flooring are made of an onyx-like yellow stone, giallo sienna.