Mississippi River to Mexico on the Carnival Valor - MistyRo76's Review of the 10/22/22 Sailing

[MistyRo76]

19 hours ago, hey-buc said:

MistyRo76, what a great and informative review. Look so forward to your next cruise. Thank you.

Thank you so much for your kind words! Gonna be probably next fall before we can cruise again, but I’m already planning and researching for it! 

[THL1313]

On 11/10/2022 at 1:09 PM, MistyRo76 said:

Jamie's at Blue Reef Continued:

 

Being silly on the bar swings before we headed back to the ship! 

 

[THL1313]

Just now, THL1313 said:

We loved Jamie's Blue Reef as well; all staff were wonderful.  We had Digby too!  owners were there and were really nice folks.  My young adult boys put a hurting on the all inclusive though... 

 

[MistyRo76]

On 11/14/2022 at 12:00 PM, THL1313 said:

 

It's such a little hidden gem! We did our fair share of damage on the all-inclusive including a couple shots with Digby! But it was a great day! 

[RenoNanaOz]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:41 AM, MistyRo76 said:

October 26, 2022 – Cozumel, Mexico and Halloween onboard

 

We were up bright and early the next day as we were scheduled to be in Cozumel at 8AM. We had booked another all-inclusive beach day at Nachi Cocom but we weren’t in a huge hurry to get off the ship. I have been to Cozumel probably a dozen times and in the past we would usually go to Playa Mia. It tended to be a very hopping scene which was great in my 20’s and early 30’s. I’ve also done Paradise Beach and Mr. Sanchos in the past. But this time around, we were looking for something a little more on the chill side. Nachi restricts their capacity to around 130 guests for the day and they do not cater to families with children. You won’t find any waterslides or water inflatables at Nachi! Eight in our group booked the day at Nachi. I booked right on their website and paid a $12 deposit. The total cost for the day was $59 which included all beverages and a four-course lunch.

 

Once we were up, we headed to Lido to grab a quick breakfast from the buffet – thankfully today they had bacon, though I almost missed it! This morning was also the Invasion of Towel Animals out on deck! They were everywhere. It’s always cool to see this and the kids onboard LOVED it! There was a large alligator, two towel people laying on loungers, two swans kissing and floating in the pool, a doghouse full of pups and many others. I even joined a few of them at Red Frog for a Mimosa!

 

View from our balcony as we arrived Cozumel. 

 

The Lido Deck has been invaded! 

 

Just having a morning mimosa with my friends! 

 

The Carnival Paradise was docked with us today. I sailed on her for my last cruise prior to this one going to Cuba! 

 

There's our Valor! 

We love Nachi for that very reason, very relaxing and laid back.

[MistyRo76]

17 hours ago, RenoNanaOz said:

We love Nachi for that very reason, very relaxing and laid back.

It was the PERFECT beach day! 

[wikoffclan]

Thanks So much for your review. Brings back Great memories. In January and March of 2022 the Red Frog Pub had 1/2 price drinks at certain times and was Very busy. Met some nice people.

The Crew on Valor (1/22, 3/22 and 9/22) were outstanding - Friendly, courteous, eager to be helpful... and Great towel animals (where do they find the time?). Agree the shows and comedians were hit or miss but more on the positive side than not.

I felt that the food and entertainment were somewhat better than Royal (was on Radiance OTS 11/3/22 out of NOLA), but those topics are too subjective. There's a bit younger, more "party' intensive sailor on Carnival, but any day on a cruise beats a day at work!

Nachi Cocum is  Fun day. Good food, good beach, good people, never-ending drinks. Highly recommend. New Orleans is one of the Best ports to arrive early to see and explore. Thanks again for your review... happy sailing!

Edited November 17, 2022 by wikoffclan
addt'l info

[Tiger girl 901]

Great review! We will be on this cruise next month and it’s our first. So many questions… this was helpful 

[richandsue]

Great review.  How was the piano bar?

 

[MistyRo76]

On 8/20/2023 at 10:04 AM, richandsue said:

Great review.  How was the piano bar?

 

Just seeing this...sorry I missed it! 

 

We only spent a short time one evening in the piano bar, but I thought the piano guy was very good and engaging! That makes all the difference for me. Some don't make alot of effort to engage with the crowd. My favorite piano bar guy on Carnival was Ed Rocks....this was years ago! But he was always doing fun toasts with the crowd, taking requests, making up songs about people in the crowd. Most time I've spent in a piano bar on a ship was that cruise. He was fantastic!