Valor Cruise Review July 20-27th

[UpstateCruizer]

This may be long so I will post it in sections.

 

 

Valor July 20-27th Review Part 1

 

 

I booked this cruise last year for my dh (43) my sons (20 & 22) and myself (41). Booked flights on Us Air and pre-post cruise stays at Holiday Inn Port of Miami.

 

Pre-Cruise~

 

Flights from Syracuse to Mia were uneventful and relaxing. Had no issues getting our luggage or a taxi van to take us over to the Holiday Inn POM. Arrived around 3pm to find we had been assigned room 801 which is the farthest room to the right of the elevator on the 8th floor. We've stayed in this room in the past and knew it had a great view of the port. We book this type of room because the boys will not share a bed and it has a sofa bed in addition to two double beds.

We headed over to Bayside for dinner and to do a little boat watching. Dinner at Chili's was a typical Chili's type place. We headed back to the hotel after dinner and spent some time in the bar area relaxing before calling it a night.

My dh asks for very little regarding vacations and one of his requests is to get to the port as early as possible. I was able to hold him off until 9am by having coffee and a danish in the bar area of the hotel. I grabbed a taxi van that was driving by and we headed to the port.

 

Embarking~

Painless and the most enjoyable process out of our 3 previous cruises. Our taxi guy attempted to drop us off in an area where passengers were loading into taxi's to leave the port. He was chewed out by the port staff and they made him reload us and drive us up further ahead telling us that he knows better. We get up ahead and a friendly porter approaches us. Takes our bags and I asked him what his number was 247. We chatted a bit about porter service and there was a group of porters all sitting nearby. Very nice group of guy who say they are well paid and tips are optional and they provide service to anyone regardless of tips. We had already tipped our guy $10 for our bags. Any feelings of being hustled in the past were gone after meeting this group of guys.

We were directed inside a very cool airconditioned building which gave us our first experience in the new terminal. No lines and everyone was friendly and helpful. Got our S&S card and we were directed to the blue chairs. There were 2 small groups already waiting and a super friendly couple that we would see through out our cruise. Our roll call for this cruise was very small and fell flat most of the time. We soon learned that we were on a Quinceanera's cruise and this HUGE group was put together by a travel agency in Miami. They frequently have these cruises to celebrate the 15th birthday of hispanic young ladies. It was my day to learn something about hispanic traditions while we were waiting to board.

We sat and people watched in this very comfortable building that had several restrooms on each side as well as 2 lounges and a VIP lounge. We were amazed as how quickly Carnival cleared the ship of all it's passengers. Shortly before we were to begin boarding they brought the VIP cruisers through and escorted them onto the ship. They then announced for passengers sitting in chairs to look for something special in their area and if they found it they were given VIP boarding as well. There were 3 groups with these special surprise passes. After they boarded we began boarding what we considered the easiest embarking process so far. We were on board the ship by 11:15am.

Cabins would not be ready until 1:30 but they had no problem with allowing us to put our valuables in the safe and our carry on bags in the closest. From there we headed up to the Lido deck and waited for them to start serving lunch. It was odd being on board that early as no drinks were being offered. My dh commented it was because it was a Sunday and not noon yet. Shortly after 12noon the drinks started appearing.

Getting a burger and fries is something I look forward to on each cruise. These are foods I avoid at home so this is a huge treat while on board. On previous cruises the burgers were cooking while we waited for the station to open. On this one the burgers were already cooked and off to the side on the grill. When it came time to serve them they moved them to the heated area and put cheese on while you waited for it to melt. This would be the same scenerio anytime we were at the burger area as they opened. I mention this as those burgers are dry and crunchy from sitting. I ate far fewer burgers on this cruise than previous cruises.

We wandered the ship and discovered that there is one ice cream station on the side of the Lido deck by the second burger place that offers Strawberry frozen yogurt. I've never seen this in the past so it was a nice treat to find on this ship. When 1:30 came we headed to our cabin to figure out where our muster station was and where my son's station was. Our luggage was in the hall by the elevators so we grabbed it with their permission and headed to our cabins.

On this cruise we stayed in cabin 6372 (balcony) and my sons were in cabin 6377 (inside) on the opposite side of the ship. This was nice as far as having more privacy but our muster stations were on opposite sides of the ship as well. Because of this I think I'd keep them on the same side as us in the future.

As we were unpacking I noticed that our cabin was very dusty and the counter in the cabin was sticky. I began to wonder if this was going to be a new lower level of cleanliness to experience. It was driving me nuts so I grabbed a washcloth and began wiping the dust away and the counter area. We had most of our packing done when we heard a knock on our door. It was one of our stewards who said he wasn't done cleaning in our cabin as the main steward had a medical issue and was having it checked of the ship. I began to laugh as I showed him the wash cloth and he began apologizing as he took it from me. We both were laughing as I got my dh and we left the cabin so he could finish cleaning. The service was excellent through out the cruise and they kept everything clean and ice filled in our cooler.

There were several people "missing" from the first night at the early seating in the dining room. We found out as we were leaving that the long line we had seen through out the afternoon was the unhappy people who were given early seating despite requesting a later seating. We'd hear this repeated several times through out this cruise. The Quinceanera's were given the later dining times to keep them together as groups. I didn't envy the Maitre`D who had to justify that to all those unhappy people who were told there was no late seatings.

Dress code was relaxed through out the cruise for those we saw in the Washington early seating. Some dressed casual some dressed beachy and most were somewhere between casual~ formal on the "Elegant nights". We enjoyed the new menu options and found the food better on this ship than the Liberty or the Triumph. It most likely was reflective of the new menus.

Lido deck buffets looked impressive and I picked a little at lunch time. This was the cruise I was determined to try some new experiences. I found the items on the buffet that I tried to be mostly good a few were different but overall it looked great. I wanted to try lunch in the dining room on this cruise since we had never done that before. We chose the last sea day as the day to try it as the Mongolian Steak salad was on that days menu. The dressing was delicious but the beef a bit chewy. My dh loved the spaghetti and meat balls as did my son. It was a nice experience and I plan on having lunch there on future cruises.

We did not order any room service on this cruise and saw very few trays being delivered or left in the hall ways. Breakfast was in the dining room each morning. My son discovered the ht chocolate from the dining room was nothing like what you get in the machines on the lido deck. It was excellent and ordered often.

Ship activities were bustling and people seemed to be having a lot of fun. Some areas were closed due to private functions but overall nothing that was inconveniencing. Pretty impressive given the huge group on board. Lots of teens and younger children on board so it tended to be louder and a bit more chaotic with the running. Overall not bad though. One of the areas utilized a lot on this sailing was the O2 club that catered to the younger teens. This made sense given the larger group on board.

When selecting my cabin for this cruise my options were more limited so I chose what I thought was going to be an ok area. It was located above the arcade and we had this location aboard the Triumph with very little noise. Well the booming 02 club also shared part of that space and we could hear and feel the music/vibrations until 12 or whenever they closed the club for the night. Most nights the music was close to being over by the time we got back to our cabin. On the new nights it was going strong I turned the tv on to quiet the beat of the music. This cabin would NOT be good for those who take late evening naps or those that go to bed early. Otherwise it was fine and we had no problems once the club closed for the night.

 

Part 2 ahead.

[thesawch]

Any pictures??

[oogeyboots]

We will be on her Jan 09. Looking forward to part 2.

[UpstateCruizer]

Entertainment~

 

Sunday~

We attended the Welcome Aboard Show which featured the comedian Will Marfori. Both were enjoyable. Our cruise director Ryan was a pleasure on this sailing.

Monday~

Our first sea day as well as the captain's party and dinner. Many activities scheduled through out the day and this would be our only day of rain. The captain's party was held in the Eagles Lounge and the smaller lounges around that area. Drinks and appetizers were plenty.

Entertainment that night was the Night Club Express with the dancers. We didn't see the show. Adult comedy with Will Marfori was at midnight and we opted to not see that performance. That show as well as all of the midnight comedians were scheduled in the Eagles lounge.

Tuesday~

Grand Cayman! We headed to the shopping desk around 9 am and got a sticker for the tenders. We were instructed to head right down as there was no wait at that point. Tendering was easy and painless and off we went. We wandered the shopping area a little and got a taxi to take us to Sea Grape Beach. Sea Grape beach is a wonderful beach area and there is no charge for the beach. They do charge to use the umbrellas and loungers if you need them. We absolutely love this beach. It is a fairly short taxi ride and only costs $5 pp each way. The food is excellent and reasonable as are the drinks. They have several picnic tables built around those shady hut things. They also offer a variety of water sports if that interests you. There's plenty of space to seclude yourself away from others if you choose to. The loungers are not on top of each other either. The sand is powdery soft and you can see your feet in the water. Truly a great beach day.

Manuel Zuniga the juggler put on quite a show in the theatre and we enjoyed that. The comedian that night was Dean Gaines and we enjoyed him as well. We headed off to the Eagles lounge for karaoke after the show. This was a very entertaining crowd for karaoke on this ship. We loved watching them entertain us during the week. At midnight Dean Gaines came to the lounge for an adult comedy show. Word of advice for those young men who plan on attending ~ Do NOT sit in the front near the stage unless you have one heck of a sense of humor and stay far away if you are sitting with your parents.

Wednesday~

Isla Roatan Honduras~

My absolute favorite port stop so far. Being a non-swimmer snorkeling, scuba, cave tubing etc aren't for me. Living in upstate NY with no "real" beaches and a lot of rain and snow I love visiting the various beaches in other countries. We chose Fins & Flippers based on the reviews we read on the ports of call boards. If you make reservations the cost is $20 pp PLUS a 12% VAT. I only mention that for those that may be unaware like we were and many of those at Fins & Flippers that day. Your total will come to $22.40 with that tax if you pre-book. You won't have to pay until you arrive and they do take credit cards in their gift shop for payment. We exited the ship and headed to the covered area where various vendors had set up their goods for sale. Gorgeous hand carved pieces and they offered a price that would include shipping back home for larger pieces. After exiting that area we made a right onto the streets where more vendors were set up and taxi/tour operators offering their services. We continued up ahead until we reached the Fins & Flippers dock where a young man was holding a sign for the resort. They had a boat waiting to take us over to the island. Smooth and short ride over.

Fins & Flippers was gorgeous! They now own 12 acres of the island. You are free to wander the island and explore on your own and they actually encourage you to do so. There are several workers clearing and maintaining the grounds who were friendly with a nod or a wave. There were ship staff and about 20 other ship passengers there that day. My dh especially loved the chlorinated pool. The beach area was private and had loungers scattered in various areas. The food and drinks were excellent. The bathrooms are the cleanest public restrooms I've ever seen. My son saw an iguana but several others scared it off. The boat to and from the doc runs every 30 minutes but they will take you back whenever you are ready. The gift shop had many beautiful hand carved items that were really reasonably priced. A wonderful day was spent at Fins & Flippers! We would go back in a heart beat!!

Ron Joseph performed in the Ivanhoe that evening but we skipped the show and played in the casino instead.

Yes, I have pictures but I need to get them hosted and then I'll post them :) more to come .....

[mics pics]

Thanks for the review!

The juggler, Manuel, is a busy boy. I saw him on my Conquest cruise a few weeks ago. I liked his act, glad that others thought so too.

Looking forward to reading more... :)

[UpstateCruizer]

Thursday~

 

Belize~. This was our first ever Carnival excursion and I chose the Private Beach Break which was at Bannister Island. It was $43 per person and we were a group of 4 (43, 41, 22, 20 year old). I chose this excursion because I am not a swimmer and most of the excursions in Belize required a tender ride to the city then more riding to the actual excursion.

~On this excursion we were picked right up on the ship. We were given a specific time to be at the Disco on deck 5 and escorted down to the tender. Tendering had been stopped a couple of times and the boat repositioned. The tender boat was a smaller open boat and was rocking back and forth hitting the ships plank with a slam. Two men held each passenger firmly as we attempted to board the tender. We have tendered several times in the past but nothing like this ever. Even with them holding us it was difficult to get to our seats. My dh hit his head at the bottom of the stairs on the tall metal seat area the boat driver sits in. While sitting there several passengers fell on top of us while they made their way to their seats. We were soaked from the waves before the boat left the ship. We were still optimistic that this would all be worth it so we stayed on the tender. The ride over to the island was much like an amusement park ride with lots of ups and downs and waves soaking us over and over again. As we got closer to the island the waters got calmer. We arrived at the pier and were told to be back on board at a specified time and to board tender number 3.

~As we entered the beach area there was a ship already there ahead of us but plenty of chaise loungers at the far right end of the beach. We found a shady area and sorted through several broken loungers to find 4 that were good to use. Two areas of the beach had a large amount of what looked like bees swarming so we stayed away from that area. No other bugs or insects noted anywhere else that we were. We had to keep our shoes on as the beach had more rocks and shells than sand on this particular day. Carnival shows people dancing on the excursion description but on this day that area was empty despite 3 ships being in port. There was a small group of guys using the volleyball area for a short time while we were there. The water trampoline is NOT included in the excursion but you can pay extra to use it. Not sure what that cost was since I didn't want it.

~They gave everyone one drink coupon for rum punch or plain punch. We gave ours to my son's who enjoyed them. You have to go to a specific bar to use the coupons. The server there was very generous and they offered a choice of two different rums.

~The bathrooms were decent and clean. At the left side of the beach facing the water there is a small area that was made for younger kids to explore the water and was very shallow. By the time the private excursions arrived the beach was pretty packed. Snorkeling wasn't good on this day since they had bad weather recently and the water was rougher with a lot of sand stirred up.

~ The food was good and they gave large portions. We ordered chicken tenders and fries which come as a platter type lunch. We should have specified no potato salad as it came on 2 of the platters. I won't eat anything like that in warm weather and away from home. We left it on the side. The other platter came with none as my son received his last and they made sure to not add it. My dh got the hot dog and fries and said both were good. Prices were reasonable as well.

~ Going back we watched the time and made our way to the line of people waiting to go back. There were several tenders and boats so it was important to know our tender number. We boarded tender 3 as instructed but we could have gotten on the covered one as well had we known sooner that they were heading back to our ship too. The ride back was much better. Waters were still rough near the ship and getting the boat tied up took several tries. Not sure if it was just our driver as others didn't have as much trouble.

 

Overall this was one of those things that had we known more about what this beach was like we'd have skipped it. IMO it's not worth the $43 they wanted for what you actually got. We also learned that we will never tender anywhere on a small boat when the waves are as bad as they were on that day. Several people shared the same feelings about their day at Bannister Island. The lines of people waiting to get back was a reflection of those same sentiments as well. Oh and one thing many passengers were not aware of is that you can not go back to the ship any earlier than your assigned return tender time. I knew that based on reading previous reviews but many others did not know this. Just something to keep in mind :)

 

The evening show was Far From Over featuring the dancers and again we skipped this show. After 3 previous cruises we have learned that we can't do everything and if we miss the show on one ship chances are pretty good they will have it on another ship. Jim Brick was scheduled to appear in the Eagles lounge that night but he had missed the ship. We spent some time watching "Play That" in the American Lobby that night. They are excellent and something to not miss~!

This was the Gala buffet evening as well as the second elegant/formal evening. We missed the Gala buffet as we were tired.

 

Friday~

Cozumel~ We have been here on a previous cruise and visited Paradise Beach that time. This time we were looking for something that was less crowded and found Nachi Cocum to be highly recommended. It's also an all inclusive with a $49 cost that you pay a deposit towards and then pay the remainder when you arrive. We took a taxi which cost $15 total. They were just opening for the day when we arrived and it was quiet and beautiful. They also have a chlorinated pool with a swim up bar which we enjoyed through out the day. We were assigned Carlos as our waiter for the day. He did an excellent job of making sure we were never without a drink. My dh likes trying the local beers so this was a great opportunity to try several. The hammocks were relaxing as were the loungers. Plenty of shade under the straw type huts. Restrooms were adequate and they also had tables set up for dining. Carlos brought us a menu to order our lunches from. They include 3 courses with the AI and you choose which foods you want. The food was plenty and very good and more than filling. I really liked being able to order from a menu and have it made and served fresh as opposed to a buffet that sits out. Getting a taxi was easy when it came time to leave. Since they drive much differently than we do it was an edge of your seat ride back into town. We were dropped off near the shopping areas. My dh wanted to head over to Margaritaville to check it out. We walked through it and went out to the shops. We had found a t-shirt place that was selling t-shirts 7/$20 or 3/$9.99 and bought a few to take back. In another shop my son made some purchases and haggled the prices down. Don't be afraid to make offers! One of my favorite entertainment this day was the statues in the covered shopping area. I won't ruin it for those who haven't seen them yet but those that have will understand ;)

 

Jerry Godspeed the ventriloquist put on an excellent show in the Ivanhoe that night! Jim Brick did not make the ship again that day so there was no comedian. We enjoyed more of the karaoke singers that night.

 

more to come in part 4....

[UpstateCruizer]

Part 4

 

Saturday~

This was our last sea day. There were many activities scheduled through out the day and this was the day for the On Deck for the Cure breast cancer fund raiser. This was the day they were serving Mongolian steak salad in the dining room for lunch. We had never had lunch in the dining room on past cruises and I had read rave reviews of this steak salad. My dh and son esp loved the spaghetti and meatballs and found it to be a nice change from the Lido buffets. My steak salad was tasty but the beef was chewy.

The marriage game was funny as usual and we enjoyed watching the couples on stage, Some of the questions were new and we liked that they changed it up a bit. We went to the Legends show this evening. The show was outstanding as some of the guests on this cruise had amazing vocal talent.

We received the debarking instructions along with the blue numbered tags and the Maitre `D tip envelope as well as the comment cards on our bed. This was also the night for the cruise raffle which we did not win. We set our luggage out right before going to the Legends show as instructed. They tell you to set it out between 10pm-12mid and this seems much later than we had been instructed on previous cruises but it worked well. We watched more of "Play That" performing and headed off to bed.

Sunday~

Debarking Day. After a quick breakfast in the dining room I showered and prepared to leave our cabins as instructed. We went to deck 5 and wandered a bit waiting for our number to be called. We had number 18 since we had next day flights and no hurry to get off. Around 8:30 am they called our number so we went to deck 3 as instructed. The process was smooth and the lines flowing quickly ....UNTIL .....we got to the carousel area with the luggage on it. We found the area by following the signs and waited for our luggage. 2 of the pieces came out rather quickly. The others came staggered and the crowd was forming quickly. While waiting on the staggered pieces several others were complaining that they too were waiting on "one last bag". When ours finally came we headed over to the lines to clear customs. Navigating around all the people still waiting for luggage was difficult and chaotic at best. We were directed to go to the far end and loop around into that line. This was a long line that barely moved. It took over an hour to clear the line and make our way to the waiting taxis. This new system would have worked much better had they not called the numbers so quickly causing a huge crowd of people to form in the carousel area. In the future we will do self assist for early flights or wait until the last of the numbers are called to get off the ship. I now knew why they are able to clear the ship so quickly of it's passengers.

Holiday Inn~

Since we were early our room wasn't ready so they took our luggage and put it into their storage closet. On this day the hotel lobby was totally packed as was the dining room and elevators. There was a large group of students from South America who were on their school break that week and had visited Disney. We headed over to Bayside and had coffee outside at the Latin Coffee shop that overlooks that water. The rain began and would continue to downpour off and on this day until around 1pm. During a break in the rain we headed back to the hotel and they gave us a room at that point. We were given room 403. This room was smaller than the one we had originally (801) but was fine for a post cruise night. After dinner we talked to the concierge about arranging transportation to the airport the next morning. We had 6:10am flights and a previous experience at that same hotel with difficulty getting a taxi van at 4am. He insisted it was not an issue and to call down when we were ready giving them a 10 minute grace period. DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS IS IF YOU HAVE EARLY MORNING FLIGHTS!! Again on this visit the taxi company had issues locating a taxi van. At one point the manager offered that we should take 2 taxi cabs instead. When it became apparent that we'd have no choice we took two separate taxis to the airport. We arrived to what I'd normally consider a fairly short line but US air had 2 kiosks open and many people in the wrong self assist line. Just as we were getting to the counter they started calling ahead passengers on our flights as time was an issue. I booked this flight last year so we were excluded from additional baggage fees. Many people in that line were not and spent time arguing their case. We were finally sent to security which went very quickly despite the long line. We had 10 minutes to spare before boarding our flight. Our flights on US Air home were uneventful and pleasant.

 

I will post pictures as soon as I get them uploaded and hosted :) Thanks for reading if you got this far and any questions just ask.

[UpstateCruizer]

Two things that I forgot to mention.....the past guest party was on Tuesday the day we went to Grand Cayman. Attire was casual smart. Drinks again flowed freely and they had an early time and a later time allowing you to chose whichever you prefered. This was also the night we had reserved for Scarlette's. We had no problem with reservations and did not pre-book on this cruise. We asked the hostess in the dining room to see the menus to determine which night would work best for us. That night they were serving our least favorite menu so we chose based on that. The filet mignon was excellent as always. The downside to having it that night was the next night they served it in the dining room and it was a lesser quality piece as well as poorly cooked and chewy.

[LynnB]

Great Review, I can't til my turn. We sail Jan 25th. We are also booked at Holiday Inn POM for the night before. Did you request room 801 or was that luck of the draw? We have stayed there once before and had a wonderful view of the port. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the room number was. I have my parents joining us on this cruise and I would love for them to be able too see the ships out the window in the morning.

[emmysmommy]

Thanks for sharing your review. I have quite a long time to wait to sail the Valor but your review certainly gives me some great ideas for excursions (and also ones that I don't think I want to do.)

 

Sounds like you had a great time.

[Maxax]

Hey...we were on this exact same cruise!!! And we too...went to Nachi Cocum at Cozumel...nice place, very good service, and NOT crowded! We had a great time there! We went out snorkling with a couple of the guides...they took us to some great spots, we swam out to where the ocean floor drops off to infinity...and we saw two sharks! That was a great day!

 

We also went to the juggler show, Dean Gaines, and the Ventriloquist! Enjoyed them all...AND we had early seating in the Washington!

 

Hey...I didn't see anything about Teri Jo though...in your review?!?!?

[UpstateCruizer]

Great Review, I can't til my turn. We sail Jan 25th. We are also booked at Holiday Inn POM for the night before. Did you request room 801 or was that luck of the draw? We have stayed there once before and had a wonderful view of the port. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the room number was. I have my parents joining us on this cruise and I would love for them to be able too see the ships out the window in the morning.

 

 

I called them and asked them to put a note of my reservation requesting a port view room. We've been put in room 801 twice now. It's one of the rooms that has an extended area between the beds and the sofa bed. I think to get this room you have to book the 2 doubles and a sofa bed type room. Room 403 had the same beds and sofa but not the extended area. The last few rooms on the right side as you are getting off the elevators come out further on the building making them larger and roomier :) I'd call it can't hurt and the view is awesome. We watched our ship coming in that morning.

[UpstateCruizer]

Hey...we were on this exact same cruise!!! And we too...went to Nachi Cocum at Cozumel...nice place, very good service, and NOT crowded! We had a great time there! We went out snorkling with a couple of the guides...they took us to some great spots, we swam out to where the ocean floor drops off to infinity...and we saw two sharks! That was a great day!

 

We also went to the juggler show, Dean Gaines, and the Ventriloquist! Enjoyed them all...AND we had early seating in the Washington!

 

Hey...I didn't see anything about Teri Jo though...in your review?!?!?

 

We probably saw you at Nachi but didn't realize you were from CC :) It sounds like we were in the same places at the same time just not realizing it.

 

Now Terri Jo :eek: she deserves a review all her own lolol I had read about her on here but didn't realize she was going to be on the Valor when we were onboard. The first night I saw her I stood there with my jaw open just watching. I soon realized who she was based on the reviews here. Words can't describe her but I wondered if they bottled whatever it was that makes her so ..."her" lol My dh said the singing and what not were tolerable but forget the instruments lolol From the crowd of people gathered watching her show I'm sure many thought the same thing :D

[Maxax]

Teri Jo...is unique...and that is putting it mildly. In her world...JFK is still President! And that's just it...she really is in her "own world." But ya know...her world is a happy place! And although she is almost like a characature of a lounge singer...after a week...of walking by Teri Jo...she grew on you!!! Its a bit like watching a train wreck...but she did...she grew on you...and you would stop...and just watch for a bit...(not long...but you couldn't help but stop and look at her!!!)

 

We had a great cruise...maybe our best ever...we really enjoyed all the ports...and did different things at each. The ship...seemed a bit crowded...3,600 pax...they said at one point...we've been on the Conquest 2x, and the Destiny, (and RCL)...but this past Valor trip seemed the most crowded...the ship was FULL...but we had a really good time! I don't mind the crowds...that's just part of it! We go to have a good time...period!!! And we always do!

[brnsnbrws]

Who is Teri Jo?

[UpstateCruizer]

Who is Teri Jo?

 

You know when you walk by the casino and you see the performer singing, playing a keyboard, guitar etc? Well that's what Terri Jo does just on a much different level. You really have to experience her to understand her lol

 

Maxax the ship did seem crowded but I think it was because there was such a large group onboard. The families all seemed to move together as large groups making it harder to get around them. I agree it was a wonderful cruise :)

[drdaddy]

Excellent review. This it most of the questions we all have and have had about a particular ship. Sorry about the rough weather on a couple of your days. You never know in Florida in the Caribbean.

 

The only thing that disappoints is the inability to get a late seating when you really want one. We are sailing in October and hopefully we will not have the same problem. This is an issue for us and Carnival is the only cruise line that I have been unable to secure a table for 2 for late seating.

 

Did you happen to score the menus? That would be great because I want to pre-book the supper club and want to try to figure out which night to go.

 

But, many thanks for the concise and enjoyable review.

[rocklandusa]

I completely enjoyed the Carnival Valor during this same time period.

 

For those of you that were on the ship, I've posted (and still posting more) YouTube videos of various excursions and events.

 

Hairy Chest Contest Videos:

PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AE3zsidzc

PART 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzXMRmUd9lo

PART 3: coming soon

 

ROATAN HONDURAS AND MORE:

http://www.youtube.com/user/rocklandusa

 

Subscribe to you will be notified of more videos to be posted later.

[cruisingbajan]

I agree with everyone else that this is a great review. I sail her in April next year and I can't wait. Makes me wamt to sail her right now:D

[Maxax]

Rocklandusa...those videos are great. I can actually spot myself standing in the crowd...at the Hairy Chest contest. No I wasn't in the contest...but I was watching!

[cdoc29]

Thanks for the great review can't wait for my cruise