tawaik

Loving this discussion:) I want to get all of the information I can about the Valor. This will be DH first cruise and I know we will be worn out.

Can anyone recommend any excursions that are not too costly? We would like to do the minimum of two and I'm definitely purchasing the Steak House for our first Night.

What nights are lobster tail and elegant nights?

Enjoyed your pic review:)

Nachi Cocom is a great place to have a relaxing day on the beach! I really enjoyed it and the beach was beautiful. Your review brought back fond memories.

Thank you for sharing.

I sailed on her in January and had a great time! The ship was easy to navigate and I would go back again.

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful pictures. Looks like you and your family had a great time!

I will take the 3 CCL cruises. I am just not a Disney person. All those characters and extreme happiness at every corner would make me miserable!!

LOL!!!

My husband has never been to Disney and wants us to do a DCL. I showed him the prices and he almost passed out!! No Casino on board this ship(?) and I must admit that I do like the playing the slots and I'm a low roller :rolleyes:

I'm booked on the Valor out of San Juan, PR for April 26, 2015. May schedules should be out very soon. I do not recall seeing the month of May when I did my search on CCL's site.

Why would anyone take a loan from a credit card company and pay back interest to them, only to have that rate change whenever the company wants more of your money????:confused:

 

Man, people get sooo self-righteous about this subject. Let people spend their money how they want. And the whole, put it in a bank account and collect interest is the funniest thing I can think of. Please, if anyone knows where I can get a rate of return that is better than the interest rate of a credit card, let me know.

 

I love being able to put money down on my vacation bill monthly, and step on board knowing I have most of my expenses for the week paid for already.

I agree! To each their own. Not everyone is made of money and I like to have money on my account. This comforts me knowing how much I have to spend. People can still add cash to their account. I do not use a credit card and prefer the cash account method instead. I do travel with (2) cards just in case something happens.

On my last cruise, I set up a cruise cash account with the amount I wanted to spend on the ship. When I checked in, my cruise cash credit was on my account and I added more money to my account which went to a cash account.

The cruise cash account=Use all of the funds or Loose it all.

The cash account=Don't need it all? The difference will be refunded back to you in cash on the last night of your cruise.

If you use all of your funds in the cruise cash account and make a purchase that over that amount, the difference will be deducted from your cash account. Keep in mind that you can reload cash directly into the Kiosk.

Not being blessed with children of my own, I sometimes think about the activities I would have done with them. I know for a fact, that if I planned a family vacation, I would choose places that would have activities geared towards my kids. I'm a firm believer in creating fond memories of one's childhood:). Being on a cruise allows both children and adults to have a good time, therefore, the Allure seems like a great choice. They will also build on their friendship with the other couple's child which is really great as well. In my opinion, I still would want my kids to be happy while on vacation which would make me content as well.

On, my last cruise I observed quite a few families and their children looked happy! This made me smile from ear to ear.

Enjoy your family and have a super great time on your cruise! I only wish I had this conflict:)

Thank You for the posting! This will be hubby's first cruise. Were sailing next year but I want him mentally prepared for the Fun Times:)

Everyone here has great tips for tucking away money for their cruise vacations.

I'm now a firm believer that I deserve at least one nice vacation per year ad do not make a six figure salary. I work hard at my job and when its time to play I want to have fun! No cooking, cleaning and being on a work week schedule is much needed.

I'm not made of money but do know how to stretch a dollar due to being one who knows the value of a coupon! Hubby and I place all of our spare change into a water bottle and have adopted the 52 Week Money Challenge which you can find here https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/56309781/52%20Week%20Money%20Challenge%20Chart%20Correct.pdf. We also add extra money when we can.

After making the initial deposit on our future cruise in April 2015, I broke down the balance we owe into bi-weekly payments. We are going to treat these payment like a bill and not use any credit to pay on our balance. We are planning to do (2) excursions and the Steak house that were going to purchase pre-cruise, purchase wine, water, soda at the port to cut down on bar prices(hubby does not drink alcohol, but I do :rolleyes:

I'm about to book the Valor for April 2015 and the travel insurance is $95.00 per person. I read some where that people purchase insurance from other companies. This price seems high to me and I know I need insurance.

Does anyone have any recommendations and/or experience buying insurance from a provider outside of Carnival?

Thanks.

Love your review! I love to see babies that are eating real food:). Adorable pictures of him enjoying his meals.

You must purchase the UBP for the entire cruise. No choice when to start it. You must pay for 4 days if you want the package.

I thought that was the case. Thanks for responding:)

My sail dates is 9/2 and will return in Miami on 9/6. Would anyone recommend purchasing the UBP for the first day and start the UBP on the second sail date so we can wind up paying for three days instead of four? I do not anticipate doing a lot of drinking on the first day date, but then again it will be our vacation.

Suggestions needed please. TIA

Again I bring up that this package does benefit people who drink EVERY day, but if you only drink 3 or 4 days on a seven day cruise, I think it would be better to buy the drinks per drink on the days you are drinking. Plus if you do excursions, you might be paying separate for drinks in port. Unless you are a big time drinker, it's not worth it to me.

I agree with you. After reading this thread I think its best to just my drinks when I want to. NCL has got me by the tail. My sister & I wanted to bring at least (2) bottles of wine each but when we factor in the cork fee for each bottle that still will not be worth it.