After spending 3 lovely days on the beautiful island of Barbados, we embarked on the Victory at the Port of Barbados, a painless process, very quick and easy, both on and off at the end of our voyage. What we didn't anticipate and weren't advised by Virgin Travel was having to disembark at Puerto Rico to go through US Immigration and Customs and then queue with all those joining the ship at San Juan to get back on board. This was very unpleasant as there was no shelter from the sun when in line, it was hot and sticky, very tiring and waste of time. I had registered with US Homeland Security for a Visa Waiver certificate prior to leaving the UK, but the Immigration Official didn't seem to know about the ESTA regulations and we had to fill out another waiver form and the usual grilling.

My husband and I sailed in the Carnival Valor last September from Miami to the Western Caribbean and expected to undergo the US Immigration procedure sailing from a US port. but the above process is ridiculous.

The Victory itself is jaded, although our cabin was quite spacious and cleaned every day, the carpet was filthy and stained, the toilet blocked up 3 times and the shower had an extra spray from a leaking valve. The beds however were very comfortable and the linen was as new. Read more