cherbear4000

Just to respond to a couple of comments, I did know my cabin was over the casino. I have had cabins on the 6th deck before and have never had an issue. It just never occurred to me that I would be directly over a stage in which the music would be that loud. I have heard music off into the distance from my cabin before and it has never been an issue. This was ridiculously loud. We had to shout to talk to each other and since the music went until at least 1 AM, there was no way we could sleep. Like I said, guest services told me that almost every cruise the occupants of my cabin complain. They moved us to 1062, also a balcony and it was a great location too.

As for the Miss Valor competition, what I wrote was just my observation. In no way do I care enough to complain to Carnival or was I so offended that I wanted to leave the deck. We just happened to be hanging out on the Lido when the competition started so I watched it. It just seemed different than the similar competitions I have seen on other ships. I have never witnessed the women having to jump on strange men who were on all fours or having to do a sexy scene in the shower before. I did hear other women near me making comments about how they couldn't believe these young women were going along with it, so I know it wasn't just me that thought it was over the top.

I saw a poster on this cruise mention he did not like the cruise director, Cassie. I felt the same way. She was one of the worst I have had. I rarely saw her on the ship, where on past cruises I would run into the cruise director all the time.

I am in no way complaining about my cruise, since overall I had a great time. I am just sharing my thoughts.

I sailed the 7/8 Valor 8 day cruise to St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, Grand Turk. Over all, I would rate this cruise as average. The service was great as usual. It never really seemed overcrowded considering it was a sold out sailing. The lines were never overly long and we never had a problem finding a seat on the lido. The food quality has seemed to go downhill, but was edible. Of course Guy's and the steakhouse were delicious as always, but the MDR (still on old menus) and lido buffet were less than stellar. There was a juggler named Dana Tison one night for the main show. He was fantastic.

I want to mention a problem we had with our first cabin. This was the first time in all my cruises I had to visit guest services to make a complaint. We had cabin 6371. I did not realize at the time of booking that this cabin was directly over the stage area next to the casino. The band was so loud in our cabin that we had to shout to speak to each other. I could hear the band perfectly even while in the shower. In order to hear our TV over the band we had to turn the volume up to a deafening level. Our cabin and bed shook from the bass. Finally at 11, we went down to guest services to complain. I knew the ship was sold out so I was concerned about what they could do. Luckily, there was a no show so we were able to get our cabin switched. The guest services employee told us that he wished they would stop selling our cabin because the occupants complain almost every cruise. He also told us that guest services has talked to the entertainment director numerous times about the complaints and they refuse to lower the volume.

Another thing that I really didn't like was the Miss Carnival Valor competition. I have seen these competitions on numerous sailings, my sister even won one year, and I have never had an issue, but this one seemed degrading. First the girls all had to dance while being introduced, which was typical. Then they had to play musical chairs, but using a man on all fours as a chair. Then they had to do a sexy shower scene. It made me sad that these young women would subject themselves to this behavior just for a cheap plastic trophy and $3 bottle of champagne. The girls looked uncomfortable to me.

The ports were fine. We were late getting into St. Maarten and Grand Turk due to having to disembark medical emergencies twice. Our port time was extended though, so we didn't lose any time in port.

One thing regarding the medical emergencies, my nephew had an ear infection the first sea day and was in pain. My sister tried going down to the clinic 3 different times during the day and each time was told the doctor was working on an emergency and could not see him, which was understandable. Then at around 6pm, the announcement was made that the ship was diverting to San Salvador to evacuate the medical emergency. After the crew member was off the ship, my sister went back down to see if her son could be looked at. She was told she would be charged the emergency fee because it was now after hours. The doctor was right there, so it wasn't as though they had to summon him. We didn't think this was fair to be charged the emergency fee when she tried to have him seen during regular hours 3 times, but the doctor was unavailable. Again, we are not complaining that the doctor was working on an emergency, just that they now wanted to charge extra because of it.

I am getting ready to board the Valor today. I have my allotted 12 cans pp of coke in my carry-on. My sister just called me from the airport. She forgot to pack her kid's juice boxes and wants me to get some to bring on board, but I already have my 24 for myself and DH. I plan on boarding the ship much earlier than her and do not want to wait for her at Port Canaveral to hand her the juice boxes. How strict is Carnival when it comes to the non-alcoholic beverages? Will they take juice boxes from checked bags? Would they let me bring more than the 12 pp in my carry-on?

I believe this is a new excursion for Carnival. I have been to Cozumel many times and have never seen it offered before.

I have $400 in Carnival gift cards to use on board. My husband and I are set up on the same charging account. If I apply the gift cards to my sail & sign, will his purchases also be deducted from the gift cards since we share charging privileges?

You all will be seated together as long as your booking numbers are linked. Since you asked, yes, I think requesting a specific table is too picky. They can't give everyone a table by the window. Personally, I don't want to make their jobs any harder than they already are.

Official Carnival policy is that jeans are not allowed on elegant night. I have seen people enter the MDR on elegant night in jeans no problem and I have seen people get turned away. It all just depends on if the staff is paying attention. I just don't understand why someone can't purchase a pair of pants and a collared shirt to put on for a couple of hours. Even my 7 month old nephew is dressing up on elegant night.

You can ask for an extra key to your cabin.

I have noticed this also. If you looking closely when viewing the excursions by clicking Explore and Shore Excursions the prices say 'starting at'. When you go through Manage my Cruises you are looking at the actual prices for your cruise, which may be higher than the 'starting at' prices.

For those that have used them, how long after you reserved the tour did you get the email confirmation. I booked a tour a couple of days ago and my credit card has already been charged but I have not received any confirmation from them.

I absolutely would have reported the kid. First of all, he just polluted the ocean. What if a marine animal tries to eat the chess piece? Plus, it is annoying to the other passengers that want to play chess. I hope that kid and his parents were somehow held accountable.

There have been a few times over the years that we have missed a port. The only time we ever received compensation was when it was due to a mechanical issue with the ship. When we have missed ports due to weather or medical emergencies, we only received a refund of port fees and excursions.

Has anyone filled out the Carnival price guarantee form and been successful? I want to do the rhino riders in St. Maarten. It is $95 through Carnival and $69 through Island Marketing. I am not sure if I should bother booking with Carnival and trying to get price difference refunded or if I should just book through Island Marketing.

From previous experience, they usually start boarding at around 11. They will check people in earlier than that, but you have to sit in the terminal until boarding. Rooms are usually ready after 1pm.

The prices are the same on all the ships. A 15% gratuity is added to all drinks.http://www.zydecocruiser.net/Carnival-Bar-Menu/CarnivalCruiseBarMenu.htm

I was on a cruise a couple of years back during the NBA playoffs. They showed all the games on the Lido and it was packed. Go Cavs!

If the bookings are linked together, you will be seated together. My PVP automatically linked our bookings together when we booked our cruise. You can check the confirmation email you received when you initially booked. At the bottom it will state what other booking #'s are linked to your reservation. If your bookings aren't already linked, I am sure you can just call the main 1-800 #. Not all the ships have tables big enough to seat 12. If that is the case, you will be given 2 tables next to each other.

Thanks. I am not cruising today, but I can usually see the launches from my house.

I once forgot my hair brush. Ship did not sell any. I had to wait until we got to Grand Cayman to buy one.

I also forgot my hairbrush once and learned the hard way the ship did not sell them, even in the salon. Luckily, I had sisters on board that let me borrow their's.

Some of these are really funny. I like the fake bill. My sister is bring her baby on the next cruise. I am thinking of drafting a letter charging her for excessive poppy diapers.

I once set a 5 am wake up call in my sister's cabin when she wasn't looking.

Has anyone done the rail & sail excursion through the cruise lines? Please let me know what you thought.

There are no rules against it.

I tried at least 10 times and kept getting a transaction error. My husband them tried a few time using his ebay and paypal and he also got the error. I wish we could have gotten it.

I tried to buy them last night because of the 15% off sale, but couldn't get the payment via paypal to work. I saw on another message board that a lot of people had the same problem I did. I kept getting a transaction error.

Contacted John Heald and he said the Valor will not be getting the American table in 2016. In order for them to implement the new menu they have to either put in new table tops or new tables as they will not have tablecloths. I can only assume this was not done during the dry dock.

That is disappointing. Carnival has had the same menu for years. I was looking forward to a change.