Carnival Valor Review 7/12-7/19

[vplsh]

Yes the ONLY REAL ULTIMATE PROBLEM WAS THE TIME!!! meaning we almost missed the ship - a pretty serious problem in my opinion!!!:eek: There is really no excuse for this - the guide should have really been on top of things and hustled everyone along when required...... One of the main responsibilities of a tour operation is to get you there safe and sound and on time.....unless of course there was some unforeseen emergency - which in this case there wasn't!

 

Honestly I loved Lamanai and was so glad I got to experience it - but I would definitely think twice before booking an independent excursion that takes hours in a port where there is tendering - something to think about!

 

P.S. On my next visit I am planning to do the Altun Ha/River Wallace tour thru Carnival!

 

Believe me, I didn't mean to imply that time was not a serious problem! I agree that if the distance is that great I'd book with the ship. In fact, that's why my husband booked his dive excursion through Carnival in Belize. I never felt worried on the Altun Ha tour with Belize Cruise Excursions and would recommend them. However, you need to do what makes you comfortable.

[vplsh]

Hi VPLSH,

 

I'm enjoying your review a lot, and I cant wait to go on the Valor (for the 3rd time) in September - She's got to be one of my favorite ships!

 

Question: Did you visit the Piano Bar at all? If so, who was the Piano Man? Was is "Roger"?

 

If you didnt, and still have your Capers, would you mind checking that for me?

 

Thanks so much!

 

Hi Fofita,

I'm looking at my Capers and yes, Roger is the Piano Bar Sing Along person. However there was also a woman, Liz, who frequently played piano- either in the Lindy Hop bar (piano bar) or at various spots around the ship, including Tea Time. I'm sorry we didn't get to hear Roger at all- that Lindy Hop bar is really smoky!

[vplsh]

So the last day, a "Fun Day at Sea" arrived and we had truly had enough sun! So Jennie and I read the Capers to decide what we wanted to do today. We went to Rosie's for breakfast- just a quick note about Rosie's breakfast. They have omelet stations, which on sea days are inside, with 2 chefs cooking omelets or fried eggs. They are really delicious! The lines moved relatively quickly and the eggs were great. So, of course, that's what I had again this morning. Steve had fried eggs and Jennie got her favorite French Toast, and we met up at our "usual" spot opposite the fish and chips station on deck 11. The coffee at Rosie's is also really good, for those of you who enjoy your coffee.

 

After breakfast, we went back to sit outside in the shade in Steve's favorite spot (deck 10 overlooking the pool deck). This is a great place to sit as you can easily see the big screen and see what's going on around the ship and yet it's relatively quiet. We had sat here quite frequently throughout the trip. Jennie and I sat with him for a while, then went inside to check out the shops (she wanted to get perfume and see if there was anything else we hadn't yet seen) and the casino to finish off our sign and sail card balance. I won a big 750 penny jackpot, which was exciting, but gave it all back before the end of the day.

 

We then picked up a frozen drink- I had the Valor Power, which was the drink that had won the Valor Mixologist contest the first day out. It was delicious- a frozen concoction with lots of liquor and pina colada mix. Yummy! Jennie tried the drink of the day- the Ultimate Suntan. We took a picture of the sign so that she could get the ingredients (see below). We found seats so we could see the screen and watched Big Tex in the theater doing the Debarkation Talk. He really is a great CD- funny and easy to listen to.

 

We had lunch in the buffet again- I waited at the Mongolian BBQ (which was the same place where the omelets are made in the AM) and had a choice of many veggies, chicken, beef and squid. They also give you a choice of sauces. Very good, hot and fresh. Today was also the Chocolate Buffet during lunch, and Steve and Jennie waited in that line for several luscious desserts, including a monster sized piece of fudge. I have to say that the food at Rosie's was the best buffet food we'd had on a cruise.

 

At 2:15 was the Love and Marriage game, so we headed to the theater to get a seat. Jennie really wanted Steve and me to get up there, but Steve refused, and boy was he lucky! The Love and Marriage game was, as usual, hilarious!! Tex did a great job emceeing it and the three couples were terrific. In the end, they had the husbands do a Chippendale style dance in boxers! Can't imagine my husband doing that, that's for sure! We loved it! After the game, Steve headed back outside and Jennie and I prepared for the galley tour. We met in the Washington DR and Maitre D Roland gave an informative speech about all things food related on the Valor. We then went into the kitchens for a tour. Wow! The kitchens are huge and they prepare an amazing number of meals each day! When we ended in the Lincoln DR, no one was there to tell us the tour was over, so there was a bit of confusion, but I'd recommend going on the tour if you've never been inside such a massive kitchen.

 

After the tour it was time for meal number 3 of the day- Tea Time. This is held in Winston's Bar, which usually is the cigar bar. Tea Time is non-smoking, but the bar still holds a bit of the tobacco smell, which isn't entirely unpleasant. We sat at a table for two and were given a choice of teas and then someone came over with a cart of pastries and a tray of sandwiches. Very nice. They have piano music playing throughout the tea time.

 

OK here are some pictures, then I'll continue.

[brnsnbrws]

Enjoying your review. We will be on the Valor in Nov. How early should we arrive to "Tea" to get a table and is "Tea" only served on sea days?

Diane

[vplsh]

We met up with Steve and went to the farewell party. Free drinks were available in all of the aft lounges. We found a table in the Eagles Lounge and had a few cocktails. They're the same ones that used to be offered at the Welcome Reception. Afterwards Steve and Jennie went to the Sports Trivia in the Bronx Bar and I stopped for sushi (yes, meal number 4!). The sushi at Togo Sushi is really good, with different choices each day. All the fish is cooked, not raw. We are big fans of sushi and we all enjoyed it here.

 

Headed back to the cabin and Steve and Jennie returned after the trivia. We started to pack, as bags had to be outside the cabin between 8 and midnight. Having late seating for dinner made packing beforehand easy and we were done before leaving for dinner. Dinner tonight was prime rib, grilled chicken with fettucini and zucchini eggplant parm. They also had the lobster bisque and crab cake available as appetizers. Very good. I had the chicken with fettucini as an appetizer and Jennie had it as a main dish. I tried the zucchini eggplant parm and liked it, but one of our tablemates did not. Obviously, taste is subjective. I had my last warm chocolate melting cake and cappucino for dessert. Yum!

 

We did plan to go to the theater tonight for the Carnival Legends show. The theater was very crowded and we found seats at the very top. The show was hilarious! I'm amazed by what people on vacation will do! After the show we listened to a little of Play That, cashed out at the casino, and went to bed.

 

Something we learned about the casino account- you can take cash out for no additional charge. We added $100 to our account and cashed it out so we'd have some additional cash for the trip home. I assume we could have done this throughout the trip, which would have been good to know as Steve took pesos out of an ATM machine in Cozumel. We never bring enough cash with us!

 

The ship docked early in Miami and Tex was calling self-debarkation by 7:15, however there seemed to be some issues about which decks could get off. We were in absolutely no hurry, as our flight didn't leave Ft. Lauderdale until 2PM. So we got up leisurely, headed to the Lido for breakfast (omelets again) and wandered around for a while before getting into a very long debarkation line. There were a lot of people pulling all of their bags, and they seemed not to know that they could have gotten off earlier. We made it down to the baggage carousel, found our bags quickly and got into a customs line. There were not dedicated lines for non-US citizens, so the lines didn't move too quickly. Again, we weren't in a hurry but if we had been we'd have gotten off with the first group of self-assist people.

 

We grabbed a cab to FLL, arriving in time for only one of us to get on the earlier flight to Newark, so we hung around at the airport until our flight.

 

OK, so I have to say again what a great cruise this was. We loved the Valor and would definitely sail her again. Something I noticed I forgot to mention was the Future Cruise Talk. We arrived back in our cabin one afternoon to find an invitation to a future cruise talk, which promised free drinks. Since we plan to take our other daughter and her fiance with us on a cruise next summer, we decided to attend. I can't remember which day this was, but I believe they must have had a few of them, as not that many people were in attendance. Free drinks turned out to be champagne or wine, which was very nice and plentiful. The loyalty ambassadors talked about the new ship, Carnival Dream, and the new program where you purchase a future cruise certificate for $100 and receive that $100 plus an onboard credit when you do book your future cruise, which could be up to 5 years from now. We bought 2 so we'd have them for next year.

 

Also wanted to make note of filling out comment cards at the end of the trip. Tex touched on this in his talk, but make sure you note the names of crew members who go out of their way to help you and put them on your comment cards. These are used for bonuses and promotions, so they're important.

 

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. Just let me know.

 

Here are some final pictures. I included a fewof our towel animals, which are such fun to come home to! You can also click on the link in my signature to see them all.

[vplsh]

Enjoying your review. We will be on the Valor in Nov. How early should we arrive to "Tea" to get a table and is "Tea" only served on sea days?

Diane

 

Tea is only served on sea days. You don't have to arrive early- we got there about halfway through and there were clean tables and plenty of goodies.

[brnsnbrws]

Tea is only served on sea days. You don't have to arrive early- we got there about halfway through and there were clean tables and plenty of goodies.

 

Thanks for the info on "Tea." I do have 1 more question. Do you stay on ship time at all of the ports?

[vplsh]

Thanks for the info on "Tea." I do have 1 more question. Do you stay on ship time at all of the ports?

 

Yes, you do. We never changed our watches. Due to Daylight Savings time we were an hour difference in Grand Cayman and 2 hours different in Roatan and Belize, and back to the one hour in Cozumel.

 

There's nowhere that they tell you the hour difference on the Capers. Just that you need to stay on ship's time.

[momorr5507]

dcrobin -

 

My DH and I are sailing on the Valor in 33 days and we are in stateroom 7427, how did you like being on the Empress deck? I picked this deck because it had staterooms above and below so I thought it would be fairly quiet and quick access to the lido deck.

 

For any previous Valor sailers -

 

How are the balcony rooms? Do you know if they did karaoke nightly, and if so where was it? Anything that you did on board that you don't think we should miss? We do love to partake in some "adlult beverages" any suggestions on ones to try? I'm extremley excited about this cruise, its our 3rd (all Carnival) and we are going with another couple I am sooooo ready to go!

[vplsh]

dcrobin -

 

My DH and I are sailing on the Valor in 33 days and we are in stateroom 7427, how did you like being on the Empress deck? I picked this deck because it had staterooms above and below so I thought it would be fairly quiet and quick access to the lido deck.

 

For any previous Valor sailers -

 

How are the balcony rooms? Do you know if they did karaoke nightly, and if so where was it? Anything that you did on board that you don't think we should miss? We do love to partake in some "adlult beverages" any suggestions on ones to try? I'm extremley excited about this cruise, its our 3rd (all Carnival) and we are going with another couple I am sooooo ready to go!

 

We loved the Empress deck. It was nice and quiet, and I picked it for the same reason as you. We always book between cabin decks. We were very far forward, so the Lido buffet was far back, but with all I ate, walking was a good thing!

 

Balcony rooms are really nice. The size for the 3 of us was good, and the balcony was small but pleasant. I've attached a couple of pictures for you. There are others if you want to see them by clicking the link in my signature. Karaoke was done nightly in a variety of places; all listed int he capers. Definitely give the Ultimate Suntan a try. It's the drink of the day on the last sea day of the cruise. We also enjoyed the martini sampler at the martini bar. The tiramisu martini was delish!

 

Have a great cruise! You'll love the valor!

[njmomof2]

...Since we plan to take our other daughter and her fiance with us on a cruise next summer, we decided to attend.

 

Take your other daughter and her fiance next year? How about your poor, sad, miserable sister? Please? Pretty Please?

 

Great review. And loved seeing the pictures on Sunday.

[cruisingbajan]

It was 45 minutes before the last tender, about 3:30. We didn't feel at all rushed, and even went through a few shops before heading to the tender. The Legend was in port with us and their last tender was at 4. The others in our group were from the Legend and they were not worried either.

 

I wouldn't worry about going with Belize Cruise Excursions at all. Ask for Jenny and you won't be sorry.

 

Thanks for the info Lisa,

 

I think I will go ahead and book with them.

[fofita01]

Hi Fofita,

I'm looking at my Capers and yes, Roger is the Piano Bar Sing Along person. However there was also a woman, Liz, who frequently played piano- either in the Lindy Hop bar (piano bar) or at various spots around the ship, including Tea Time. I'm sorry we didn't get to hear Roger at all- that Lindy Hop bar is really smoky!

 

 

Thanks!!! I agree, the Piano Bars tend to be super smoky. I will check it out if I can stand the smoke in there.

 

I'm so looking forward to Tea Time! Was Tea Time scheduled at the Lindy Hop?

 

Thanks!

[vplsh]

Thanks!!! I agree, the Piano Bars tend to be super smoky. I will check it out if I can stand the smoke in there.

 

I'm so looking forward to Tea Time! Was Tea Time scheduled at the Lindy Hop?

 

Thanks!

 

Tea time was really nice. It was in Winston's, which is the cigar bar at all other times. Very nice atmosphere and it wasn't too smoky smelling at all. Enjoy!

[vplsh]

Thanks for the info Lisa,

 

I think I will go ahead and book with them.

 

 

I don't think you'll be sorry! Tell Jenny that Lisa and Jennie say hi!

[shiggydoo]

Hi,

 

Loved reading your review, my son and I are going on Valor in the New Year. A couple of concerning questions...Is there nowhere in the Casino that is non smoking? I really can't stand being around smoke?

 

Is there Bingo on this ship and is it non smoking?

[vplsh]

Hi,

 

Loved reading your review, my son and I are going on Valor in the New Year. A couple of concerning questions...Is there nowhere in the Casino that is non smoking? I really can't stand being around smoke?

 

Is there Bingo on this ship and is it non smoking?

 

There are a couple of banks of non-smoking slot machines, but the casino is pretty smoky. Most of the time it was manageable, but there were a few times we couldn't sit there. I'm very bad with smoke, but I spent a lot of time there! LOL! The worst times were at night when it was crowded. It was better on sea days.

 

There is Bingo quite often- with big jackpot games the half hour before the show in the evening. Bingo is held in the Ivanhoe theater, which is a non-smoking venue, so no worries there!

 

I didn't notice a lot of smoke unless I thought about it, to tell you the truth. Make sure you stay on the side of the ship that doesn't allow smoking outside. It's printed in the Capers.

 

You'll have a great time on the Valor!!

[punkin_face]

Hello! Thought this would be the best place to get a quick answer...

 

When are the formal dinners? I'll be on the Valor for NYE this year. Trying to figure out when the best night would be to eat at Scarlett's. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

[vplsh]

Hello! Thought this would be the best place to get a quick answer...

 

When are the formal dinners? I'll be on the Valor for NYE this year. Trying to figure out when the best night would be to eat at Scarlett's. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

 

 

Formal nights are Monday (first sea day) and Friday (Cozumel). We did Scarlett's on the first formal night since that was my birthday, and we missed a nice dining room meal, according to our tablemates. I might have saved it for a different night if it wasn't a "holiday!" LOL!

 

Whatever night you go, you'll enjoy it I'm sure. Although the DR food is also quite good.

 

Have a great trip on Valor!

[cruisingbajan]

I don't think you'll be sorry! Tell Jenny that Lisa and Jennie say hi!

 

I certainly will Lisa. Thanks for your help and thanks for the great review

[vplsh]

I certainly will Lisa. Thanks for your help and thanks for the great review

 

 

My pleasure, Keith. I'm sure you'll have a great cruise!!

[h20cruzer]

Great review. One question, do any of the swimming pools have steps into the water rather than a straight up and down ladder?

[vplsh]

Great review. One question, do any of the swimming pools have steps into the water rather than a straight up and down ladder?

 

The only pool I went in was the Prometheus pool, which is adults only. It had only a straight up and down ladder, one on each side. The pool isn't deep, so you really can sit down on the side and kind of slide in then stand.