mkmom514

We just returned from the Valor and stayed on deck 7. We felt very little motion anywhere on the ship, other than the night where it was extremely windy. Even then, the motion wasn't bad. I am very prone to motion sickness. I take Meclizine (Bonine or any brand), rather than Dramamine. I start taking it the night before the cruise. It is a 24-hr pill so you only need to take it once. It will make me drowsy if I take it during the day, but if I take it at bedtime the drowsy effects are gone by the time I wake up. Take it every night and the night after you get back. I get really motion sick, but have never had a problem taking Meclizene (non-drowsy).

We just returned from the Valor. Main pool and aft pool were taken over by kids. Kids didn't seem interested in the pool by the water slide. The Serenity deck had no pool, but did have 2 hot tubs. Unfortunately, if the wind is high they close that area. Aft hot tubs became overrun by small children. There were several children in one aft hot tub, so we got in the other with 6 other adults. When a small child started to get in with us, I told him to go to the one with the kids (politely). The parents weren't around. This was our 1st Carnival cruise (thoroughly enjoyed it), but would appreciate an adult pool.

(Replies to OP in red) We are looking at booking our first Carnival cruise on Liberty in October. I have been reading the forums (50 pages or so now) and I still have a few questions.

1. Can we bring a box fan onboard? It looks like the Carnival website says it is okay but I read some comments elsewhere saying that fans are sometimes confiscated?

2. Is there a mini fridge in all rooms? My husband is a diabetic and needs his insulin refrigerated. Yes, but you might need to ask about a medical fridge. However, our fridge on Valor was colder than ours on all our Royal cruises.

3. Can we punch a hole in our S&S cards to wear on a bungee cord around our wrists? If so, is there anywhere onboard to do that or should I bring my own hole punch? We just returned from the Valor (sister ship) and our cards already had holes punched in them. If not, go to guest services or the casino.

4. Anything I should know before going? We have always sailed on Royal so this will be a short cruise to try out Carnival. If we like it I plan to book an 8 day cruise for next year. We've always cruised on also and we went on this 5-day with Carnival for the same reason. We like it fine. I would sail on Carnival again on a different class of ship. We like some things about the ship (Serenity adult area), and didn't like other things (lido deck buffet/restaurant set-up). Also, you can take 12-pack of sodas, juice,etc. per person, but no alcohol and nothing (not even water) in bottles.

Thank you!

Ship - Valor

Deck - 7

Stateroom # - 7395

Stateroom Category – inside

Starboard or Port Side - starboard

Quiet Stateroom? Yes

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View -

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? -

Was wind a problem?

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem?

Any specific problems with this cabin? - Could feel a lot of vibration.

Any other comments? - More than enough storage for two people. We split the beds so we could have more walking room. Our first time in an inside. Liked it fine.

Change cabins if you think it will put a damper on your fun from worrying about what you could've done with the extra money. Keep it if spending the extra will not put a damper on your fun.

#2 is true but you have to go into it knowing that you are only guaranteed the ship will wait for a carnival excursion if something were to happen that delays you getting back to the ship. If you are on your own, the ship will leave you behind if you're not back in time.

 

 

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We have always booked excursions with outside companies with no problems. However, I would only book an all day excursion through the ship for the reasons you stated.

We've used indoor parking at Park n Cruise (once) and covered parking with Lighthouse (twice). Both are good. Lighthouse will shuttle you and your luggage to the pier. FYI, I just booked our reservation for parking at Lighthouse online and was able to use an EZ Cruise coupon for $10 off (code: ANYSAIL).

I have a lot of trouble with motion sickness, but I've been on several cruises. This is what works for me: A couple of days before the cruise I start taking Bonine (non-drowsy). I take it all during the cruise. Even though it's non-drowsy it still makes me sleepy, so I take it at bedtime. By the time I wake up in the morning, the drowsy effects have worn off but the medicine continues to work (it's a 24-hour pill). I don't have any trouble with motion sickness, no matter the size of the ship, unless we hit extreme weather. Has only happened once. It also helps to keep something in your stomach, and snack on green apples. They're usually available at the buffet or you can get them from room service. The movement felt on the Oasis class ships (for me) is not much at all. When we sailed on the Oasis we were outrunning a hurricane. No problem at all. I hope you choose to cruise.

A couple of years ago we were able to upgrade from a balcony to a junior suite on the Independence for $50 per person total. Fantastic!

THANKS FOR GREAT INFORMATION EVERYONE!!!

 

So...Ports. An example question...

 

In Grand Cayman, I'm avoiding the cruise excursions. I'd rather book a smaller catamaran tour to stingray and snorkeling.

 

Found one that's 8:30-noon. And $40 per person. He picks you up at dock. We are docked 7am-4pm. Would this work?

 

Also, would we have time to enjoy 7 mile beach before heading back on board? If I can figure out how to get there from the excursion and then arrange a taxi or something ?

 

Hubby and I have been to GC twice and it is so amazing.

You can easily spend a couple of hours at 7 mile beach if you're back at noon. No need to arrange a taxi to or from the beach. Get dropped off at the dock after your excursion and you can easily get transportation to the beach. Same going back from beach to ship. Couple of dollars per person each way on shuttle/taxi/van. As for tendering, if you're in an early tender group you can probably make an 8:30 excursion, provided the ship gets cleared and they start tendering quickly.

I buy mine at one of the shops in port area. Checking for cumerin is important, but the bottles I bought were clearly marked.

Not necessary to rsvp for anything. Go with the flow. Go to dinner when you're hungry. Go see a show when you feel like it. The only thing we reserved was the aqua show because it is sometimes cancelled due to sea conditions.

I, too, would like to see each ship have somewhat of its own character. I think Royal is putting too much effort into making each ship the same. It's not necessary. I like to go on different ships with different features. Just my 2 cents.

We did not have a problem on Oasis with my time dining and getting to the shows. If you will tell your waiter you need to get to a show, they will get you fed and out as quickly as possible. We never take 2 hours for dinner with MTD.

Every time we've been waitlisted for MTD, we've received MTD before the cruise ever started. Just watch your reservation and you'll see if you come off the wait list.

Done both. Enjoyed both, but my vote would be for Blue Hole. Be prepared to tip the guides at Blue Hole. They are separate from the guide you have for your tour.

We did a tour with Peat Taylor last year to Blue Hole and Dunns River Falls. Very reasonably priced.

We've always booked our excursions independently. In Jamaica, check out Peat Taylor or Courtney Taylor for independent tours. You might be able to book now.

We went last year with Peat Taylor tours. We tipped the guide at Blue Hole $20. He made our time there a lot of fun.

For 3 adults in same room, junior suite is the way to go usually. However, I don't think I would pay that for 3 days.

I hope they don't add the slides. I think RC is becoming too concerned with making all their ships as similar as possible. As for me, I like differences among the ships.

84 days until Liberty!

Reservations are not required. If you go during peak times, you may have a little wait. We've never had trouble getting seated quickly during off-peak times. Formal night is a different story, very busy.

Log into your reservation. Go to cruise planner, then select My Calendar. Select Full Calendar and you can modify by day.

We were on the same cruise as you. It was our 5th cruise and we only went on that one so we could cruise with friends, but we enjoyed it enough. Don't know if you know it or not, but November of this year Liberty of the Seas is moving to Galveston. We went on a sister ship and really loved it. Also like being able to drive to the port (from DFW area).