tdh8359

Thank you for the reply. How do you know how much casino cash they give you? Is it after you book?

Just saw this when mock booking a cruise today, it's much lower than Early Saver so it peak my interest. What's the downside here folks.

Ah, yes,....the tip...

find a bartender, and take care of him/her...

they will take care of you...that's after all, the reason why they are on the ship...

also, have backup (as mentioned) in your room.. I pre-order..takes care of the problem :D

I tipped a dollar for every drink I got so that shouldn't have been an issue. Really didn't think I needed a backup with a 15 drink minimum. We did carry on wine for the first night however.

We got close one night in the casino and asked the bartender if we could buy one. He nodded his head and said, "so you want to buy one for a friend?", and kept nodding until we looked at each other and said, "yes, we'd like to buy one for a friend".

 

All good after that.

 

All bars might not work like that, but if you want to buy one, they don't need to know who it's for (IMHO).

The bartender at the Casino bar told me they would need to have the friends sail and sign number if I was buying for them. I didn't feel comfortable asking a stranger for his sail and sign card number.

Happened to my husband. Same ship. We had Cheers and then he also happened to qualify for "Drinks on Us" at the Casino. One late evening he was told he was getting close to the 15 limit. Was told that when he reached it he couldn't use the Casino voucher, Cheers, or buy one after that. He's never gotten to the 15 limit on any other ship when we purchased Cheers so we don't know what would have happened.

I also qualified for the "Drinks on Us" program, they said since I had the Cheers program there was no real benefit to casino drink card so they gave me 2 vouchers to order the upcharge items in the MDR which I was happy to do.

I recently sailed on the Carnival Valor and just wanted to relay what my experience with the Cheers program was. For the most part it was great, no problems except the 1 day I was about to hit my 15 drink limit. I have read over and over that once you hit your 15 drink limit you are cut off from getting any more drinks even if you want to pay, so around drink 13 or 14 just start paying for your drinks. Well this didn't not work for me, the bartenders in 2 different bars would not let me buy a drink, at least for myself. They told me in one bar that if I wanted to buy a drink for someone that didn't have the Cheers program that would be fine. In other words I would have to find a stranger to buy a drink for since my wife already had the Cheers program. I was not happy and debated with them if this was correct to no avail. Rather than finding a stranger to go along with this I just maxed out at 15 drinks. Don't know if this was a one time deal or not just wanted to get my experience with program out there. Has anyone had a different or similar experience?

Following, great job so far.

The below is from Carnivals website showing the different smoking areas for the Spendor.

Carnival Splendor

Cigarette smoking (including electronic cigarettes and personal vaporizers) are permitted in the following areas:

Royal Flush Casino: Smoking is permitted while playing at designated slot machines and table games.

Ocean View Casino Bar: Smoking is permitted in designated area.

Red Carpet Nightclub: Smoking is permitted but not on the dance floor.

Outdoors: Smoking is permitted in designated areas on Deck 3 (starboard side), Deck 10 (starboard side, aft) and Deck 11 (starboard side, midship and aft).

Note: Cigar and tobacco pipes are only permitted in the above designated outdoor smoking areas on Deck 10 and Deck 11.

Might as well add my 2 cents.

GO COWBOYS!!!!!!

Either chips or slot account you can charge up to $3,000 USD per day on your Sail & Sign card to play in the casino.

Definitely don't need that much! Thanks.

If you are talking about getting chips on your S&S card, I think the limit is $3000 a day.

No, just putting cash on your sail and sign card through the slots.

I know you have to have a credit card with enough credit or enough cash deposited in your S&S account but is there a limit to how much you can download onto your card in the casino?

We always go down the night before. Like others have said you never know what will happen on the trip down there. We like waking up in Galveston having breakfast in a no hurry type atmosphere then making our way over to the cruise terminal.

I never staggered to check-in but only because my wife wouldn't let me start drinking in the shuttle on the way over to the port.

Good one!:p

For those of you new to the steakhouse, one note is that you typically can't order multiples- in other words you can't order 2 appetizers... however, if you want 2 appetizers instead of an appetizer and a salad, I've heard that some servers are willing to substitute.

 

Others can weigh in here with their experiences- the one time I ate in the steakhouse I didn't try to substitute, although I'd probably love to next time I'm there!

I've never tried to substitute anything, my focus is mainly the steak which is very hard to finish since it's so big and I'm so full.

We have booked the steakhouse 3 out of 5 nights for our upcoming cruise aboard the Valor, IT IS THAT GOOD! Definitely book it on your actual anniversary date.

Hello All,

 

Sorry for posting my question in this thread. I could not get option to post new thread.

 

I have booked valor for me and my daughter, it is five nights trip, from Galvaston. Itinerary is Jan 14th to 19th with two ports Cozumel and Pregresso. This is our first curise and we need to drive from Dallas.

 

We are planning to start at 6.00 AM on 14th from Dallas. Check in is at 2.30 PM. We never been to Houston. We both are totally new to this route.

 

I am hoping we reach there by 1.00 PM. Please let us know if we are thinking wrong.

 

And we do not know what excursion we should book? and what else we need to book inside ship?

 

Please guide us.

 

Thanks

anak

You shouldn't have any problem getting there on time if you leave at 6:00 am, we live in Denton and it's about a 5.5 hr trip.

Depending on what you like to do, there are lots of things to do in Cozumel, not so much in Progresso. In Cozumel we did the Twister boat through Carnival to Passion Island, it was a blast. In Progresso we've been to some of the ruins at Dzibilchaltun through Carnival also. Onboard we've booked the Chef's table once, nice experience and usually book the steakhouse for a couple of nights. Just really depends on what you like to do and how much money you want to spend. If you go to Carnivals website you can get an idea of what excursions are offered for each port.

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, didn't have a problem at all with the switching of ships, all excursions were moved over, even have the same cabin number.

would like to speak to anyone else that is sailing Valor January 23, 2017. this will be my familys first cruise. Couldnt find my cruise on the roll call:)

My wife and I will be on this cruise with you.

On Carnivals website under FAQ it states one of the required documents is a Sail and Sign application (see below), what is this?

Embarkation process for all guests

Guests must present their cruise boarding pass as they enter the terminal lobby.

Guests will proceed through the security screening checkpoint with their carry-on luggage; luggage larger than 16 inches high x 24 inches wide, laying flat (40.64cm x 60.96cm; the length of the bag is not a factor) will not be permitted through the security screening machines and must be checked with a porter outside the terminal.

Guests will continue to the check-in counter. The following must be presented:

Proof of citizenship and photo I.D

Sail & Sign Application

Boarding Pass

Thanks for the replies!

What exactly is a medical reason for a fan? I must have mine to go to sleep so looking at all angles to guarantee one in my room.

Anyone?

Following, great job by the way.

You have to email the special needs department and ask for one for medical reasons. It is usually not in the room and you have to beg for it once on the ship. It is much easier to just take your own. I carry one on on my carry on bag. Never had a problem doing so on Carnival. Norwegian took mine but I threw a fit and was given one of theirs. Mine was brand new still in the box.

What exactly is a medical reason for a fan? I must have mine to go to sleep so looking at all angles to guarantee one in my room.

This same thing happen to us, death in the family. Carnival went above and beyond to help us with phone calls, priority disembarkation etc. Never will forget that.