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My Carnival Valor Review 1/02/05

CCLgoddess

By CCLgoddess,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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CCLgoddess

CCLgoddess

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i was just on the valor last week and i must say it is my favorite carnival ship i've been on. the ship is really decorated nice and is not over the top at all. everything looked very "classy" and more upscale then any other ship i've been on. i would go back on the valor in a heartbeat! haha. ok, so now with the trip details. just have to warn you that this could be long b/c i tend to write a lot of detail. i arrived in miami on new years eve. i went with my family, my aunt and uncle, cousins, and then my aunts brother and his wife which was a total of 12 people including myself.

 

on sunday we left the hotel around 10ish hoping to get to the port early so we could be one of the first people on. we rented a car so we had to take it back and head over to alamo where they would drive us to the port. the van was late and on the way over to the port it completely died right in front of the american airlines arena. it was horrible b/c we could see the ships and here we are dead in the middle of the road at a light. thankfully the van started working again but that took a while. to our surprise there was mad traffic and people scattered everywhere around the port. a lot of cruise ships were in b/c of the holidays and certain ships changed their itinerary so they could come in on sunday. that was really crazy and we stood in traffic forever. we finally entered the ship a little before 1:30 which was still good. as soon as we got on the ship we checked out the cabins then got lunch. around 4 we did the lifeboat drill. then an announcement came on saying that due to heavy traffic around the port today that we would be leaving late. we didn't set sail until around 6ish i believe. i had late seating dinner at 8 and our waiters were awesome. all the kids sat at one table and the other table sat our parents. my waiter was ricky and the waiter my parents had was claudio. they were so nice.

 

monday was nassau and mostly everyone went to cable beach. i have been to nassau in 04 on the glory but we went to a different beach. it was very nice and ended up getting some sun for the few hours we were there. my aunt and uncle did the atlantis tour and said it was a beautiful hotel. i would like to check it out sometime but i'd rather be on the beach. the ship was real rocky and it didnt get better until we hit st. thomas. it was a formal night so we checked out the captains party in the eagle lounge and got free drinks.

 

tuesday was a fun day at sea but it was windy as hell. i sat up on lido for most of the day but the only chairs that were left was all the way in the back so i couldn't hear the band. oh the band cool runnings was fabulous! i was so glad to have a band that actually played and sounded great. the glorys band sucked so bad. before dinner they had the past guest party. it was so nice having it at that time again.

 

wednesday we we stopped in st. thomas. everyone had to go to immigration before you got off the ship. this time it ran smoothly. i'd say it took us about 20 min to go through and get the sticker. on the glory it was so poorly ran and we waited in line forever. we did some shopping before we headed to magens bay. i haven't been there in a while b/c my fam usually goes to trunk bay in st. johns to snorkle. the beach was just as pretty as before. it was really crowded when we got there but thanks to a passing shower it cleared the beach quickly. you now have to pay to use the beach. the winds and seas finally calmed down when we left which was great. i don't mind the rocking but it was just getting old.

 

thursday was my favorite island...st. maarten! we got to orient bay, kakao beach around 11 and stayed until 4. that is my fam's favorite beach so we made sure to get all the sun in we could there. that beach is absolutely gorgeous and they serve the best mudslides and pina coladas! haha. the ocean is fun too b/c it has waves. the waves were kind of rough and one took me out..lol. it felt like i was back in jersey shore.

 

friday was another fun day. we had the best weather for it too. it was sunny all day with a slight breeze. we got beach chairs closer to the band this time right next to the track. it was also the last formal night.

 

saturday sucked b/c it was the last night. the weather wasn't that great. it was mostly cloudy all day but the sun did peak through a couple times. i didn't really stay on deck all day. i did some shopping and got all my stuff packed.

 

from previous cruises i've been on, carnival def made the dinner menu better. the food was the best yet and they added/subtracted things on the menu. i did miss the key lime pie they always had. rosies had the best food too. they also added more buffet lines so you did not have to wait that long for food. i did not go to the gala buffet but i did check out the chocolate buffet on saturday and that started at noon. omg, that was the best buffet. i'm not a real big choco eater but they did have some things i liked. they served milkshakes and these apple fritters that were soo good. another thing i liked was the choco fountain they had that they dipped fruit in.

 

some shows that i saw was the juggler, the tribute to the 80's show, and the talent show on the last night. the juggler was really cool to watch and he did some awesome tricks. i usually don't like the broadway type shows they have but every time i go to see what its like. i actually liked the tribute to the 80's show they had especially the part with pee wee herman and thriller. the talent show was basically the best of karaoke and it was called valor idol. it was ok and way too long.

 

well i think i covered everything and if not you can just ask. i had a really fun time on this trip and can't wait until the next cruise. the ship was beautiful and i have a lot of pics that my fam took with the digital camera. maybe i'll post some on here later. thanks for reading this. i always tend to write a lot when i relive something so sorry if it was too long.

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Jenn W

Jenn W

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Thanks for the review! Rosie's is looking promising and I'm glad they have revamped the menu. We've all been dying to hear about the new boat. Do you have to pay for the pasteries at the coffee and for coffee?

 

Jenn

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torybruno

torybruno

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Great review. We were on the first sailing of the Eastern Itinary and also enjoyed Kakao beach at Orient. Did you happen to eat in the restaurant there...it was the BEST!

 

Glad to hear they got the immigration thing settled...it was a nightmare for us. Don't worry...your review was alot shorter than mine...I really rambled!

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Forchunut1

Forchunut1

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Thanks for posting your review! We are on the Valor in June. Just a question. We were on the Sensation last April and had a LOT of rocking and I got seasick. How was the motion on the boat?

 

 

As mentioned previously, one day was pretty bad at sea. The wind was the problem and it was really blowing which made the ship rock pretty severely. Some of the decks higher than Lido were closed off because of the wind. Several in our group weren't feeling well that day. They got mesclazine (sp) which helped although it did make them sleepy. But, other than that one day IMO it wasn't bad.

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CCLgoddess

CCLgoddess

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Thanks for the review! Rosie's is looking promising and I'm glad they have revamped the menu. We've all been dying to hear about the new boat. Do you have to pay for the pasteries at the coffee and for coffee?

 

Jenn

 

yeah at the java place you have to pay. but during breakfast and dinner the coffee and pasteries are free.

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CCLgoddess

CCLgoddess

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As mentioned previously, one day was pretty bad at sea. The wind was the problem and it was really blowing which made the ship rock pretty severely. Some of the decks higher than Lido were closed off because of the wind. Several in our group weren't feeling well that day. They got mesclazine (sp) which helped although it did make them sleepy. But, other than that one day IMO it wasn't bad.

 

the first three days were really rocky due to the wind. i think it was the day we left nassau that it was the most rockiest. but after st. thomas there was hardly any rocking.

 

torybruno: i did not eat at the restaurant but 2 people in our group did. they got the burgers and fries and paid a lot for it. but i did get my mudslide! damn they are soo good there.

 

oh i forgot to mention that there was a lot of age variety on the ship. there were a lot of kids from babies all the way to the 20's. it was a pretty good party crowd on board too.

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winewanderer

winewanderer

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Goddess,

 

What was the temperature of the ship like (I know the show lounges are usually cool)? I know it's a Conquest class ship and I've heard that ship is freezing. I'm on the Liberty this October so wondering if there is a general "chilly" theme on this class of ship.

 

Thanks

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CCLgoddess

CCLgoddess

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Thanks for the reviwew!! I leave in 4 days!!! Who was the cruise director!!! What was your favorite room on the ship???

 

like dromMOM said it was john riffe...yeah philly! lol. thats a really hard question b/c all the rooms on the ship were decorated so awesome. i really liked the disco with all the stars and space stuff in it in. i also liked the show room b/c it had a castle theme. the dining rooms were also very elegant looking.

 

dls: the weather outside was a little chilly until we reached st. thomas so the ship felt colder than normal to me. i usually brought a little jacket to dinner. once it was hot outside i found the ship to be a comfortable temperature and i really didn't use a jacket at all. but i would def bring something just in case b/c you never know if you are going to need it.

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