"Great Lakes cruise, spring 2019"

Knowing what we know now, yes we would still book this cruise. That said, there were glitches. This was the first cruise of the season; some initial food inconsistencies got fixed quickly. The contracted pier locations at the beginning and end of the cruise were pretty bad, especially the one in Chicago (pick-up cabs had difficulty accessing the facility).

We did not expect an "entertainment" cruise -- it shouldn't be. The focus should be on seeing and learning. Unfortunately the outsource for the local tours was quite spotty and it seemed like some of the bus drivers hadn't been instructed on routes. There were only two local experts giving talks on the ship; we expected more. The locations themselves were very interesting and worth it all.

The ship was pleasant, cabins comfortable and adequate. Food was very good and quite varied, breakfast had a buffet as well as a cooked to order option. However, the option outside of the main dining room (the Grill on topside) was mostly a repeat of main. The Grill should offer sandwich fixings and more salad (lighter stuff) at lunch rather than the same menu as below. The bar was well provisioned.

We appreciated the espresso machine with cookies in the lounge (minor complaint: coffee in the restaurant was pretty wimpy). The crew was excellent and service was stellar!

We stayed extra days on either end of the trip (Toronto and Chicago), and this should be offered as an option.

If the glitches get worked out, this will be a 4-5 star cruise.

"Good Trip"

This was a great trip for sites and history of this region and i thoroughly enjoyed the every bit of it. It was a great experience.
The crew was very nice and made every effort to make you comfortable.
There appeared to be some new crew members that were not as good as others but did try hard and by the end of the trip were getting their stride.
The food was average but gave a good variety and was always fresh. The rooms were not fancy, but clean and the crew did of great job of daily cleaning and bed change.
The excursions were included which was great and the tour guides in each stop were well educated and informative on the history of their tour.
Slower pace and relaxing. i would recommend this trip for those 50+ since not a party boat but designed for site seeing and exploration.

"Daily info on the navigation…"

Daily info on the navigation route....what is being passed,interesting history, special navigation required etc. at sea day would be a great time for a talk on the river.

more info on the ports and hints on “to do” options. Interesting things to see/do beyond the scheduled tours. Hop on, hop off options so those that want to spend more time at the art gallery can do so...those that want to do walking tours can do so etc. maps showing options and pick up locations

Add buffet to lunch in dining room or replace lunch with a buffet. This may be a nice option for breakfast too. FOOD WAS GREAT!

Have urns of coffee or brewed pots available in the lounge by 6a with to go cups for those that want to take a cup back to the room

A great trip...we have recommended to others.

"Friendly professional staff"

Friendly professional staff
Shore excursion were excellent.

"Inaugural cruise review for Victory II"

We were on the inaugural cruise for Victory II from Montreal to Detroit. It was a special price and was worth every penny! there were some issues due to the newness of the ship, but the crew and staff worked overtime to correct them. The food was good and the company even better. They will be adding more local info lectures in the future and local entertainment as they took down all our suggestions. I had to go to the doctor and she was helpful and I used the spa for a massage that helped immensely.
The tours were great and included in the price.

Hope to take advantage of future specials.

"This cruise was good"

This cruise was very good. The rooms were passable with a shower so tiny that a big man would touch all sides of the space.....but you can manage. The service was excellent and the food was very good. Some of the excursions were very good and some were a waste of time. On one island we traveled by bus for 30 minutes to a curio and craft shop.....very bad. Do not do the arranged tour of Toronto. They stopped at 3 retail outlets and missed almost everything about Toronto that is wonderfull. We did a hop-on-hop-off tour the next day that was much better.

"I loved the cruise"

I loved the cruise, meals, shore excursions and crew, there was some issues with my cabin of which I have already spoken with Jim on.
Carol

"Great Lakes"

The crew members were very accommodating. Food was good — at times, excellent; sometimes food was not great BUT - always willing to take it back so u could try something else.

Would Ha e been nice to have more “snacks” available between meals.

Ship was clean and nicely appointed. Rooms were comfortable.

Tours were great.

It was a pleasant experience all around.

"A Gem…Excellent in Every Way"

We were totally pleased with our cruise on Victory Cruise Lines. The lectures and discussion groups enhanced the excursions we had at each port. The staff was attentive and pleasant. The food was excellent. I would highly recommend Victory Cruises for travelers who want to truly understand the culture and history of the area that they are visiting.

"Great Cruise!"

We did the Great Lakes cruise which is not widely offered. We are in our mid 50’s and were among the youngest on the cruise. If you love travel you will meet mostly well traveled passengers. The crew and food were very good and the port stops were interesting. The best part was that the stops are places we wanted to see but would not stay at for more than a day or so and probably would not make a special trip to see. Mackinac Island is great but it’s pretty remote. The cruise allowed us to check a lot of boxes on places we wanted to see in a relatively short amount of time while traveling in comfort.