Carnival Valor info / also the Ports of Call Please ..

[griz400]

We are taking a Southern Caribbean cruise, either on Sept 12th or the 26th out of Port Canaveral ..

We are looking for ship info, like the spots to eat , pools and entertainment ..

also port info for Nassau , St Thomas, San Juan , and Grand Turk .. we have never been to any of these places, only have been to Western Caribbean cruises ..

We know the Valor doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades, but still hear it's a nice ship though . No guys burgers, but, we hear nice fish and chips though .. thank you all, Cyndee and Jeff :)

[love my grandkids]

Would suggest you start reading the reviews posted on Valor and also go to port of call pages for info on the ports you are going to.

[griz400]

Would suggest you start reading the reviews posted on Valor and also go to port of call pages for info on the ports you are going to.

 

 

Have been reading now for 2 months about ports and Valor, and not seeing really too much about it ... just complaints about ship, etc. etc.

I always start with what is already posted on CC

[Gardeneroflove]

We are taking a Southern Caribbean cruise, either on Sept 12th or the 26th out of Port Canaveral ..

We are looking for ship info, like the spots to eat , pools and entertainment ..

also port info for Nassau , St Thomas, San Juan , and Grand Turk .. we have never been to any of these places, only have been to Western Caribbean cruises ..

We know the Valor doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades, but still hear it's a nice ship though . No guys burgers, but, we hear nice fish and chips though .. thank you all, Cyndee and Jeff :)

 

The spots to eat, pools and entertainment will be on the carnival website: http://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/carnival-valor.aspx On the left you can select the ship as the fliter to see what's on the Valor.

 

Dining: http://www.carnival.com/cruise-food/?shipCode=VA

 

Entertainment: http://www.carnival.com/onboard/cruise-entertainment

 

Pools: http://www.carnival.com/onboard/outdoor

 

As far as the ports, what do you like to do? You can also explore the excursions offered to see what you want to do. I like the butterfly garden and snorkling (before kid). Haven't been to Grand Turk, didn't snorkle in San Juan so found it boring.

 

I tend to spend time on carnival's site first.

[evandbob]

We are taking a Southern Caribbean cruise, either on Sept 12th or the 26th out of Port Canaveral ..

We are looking for ship info, like the spots to eat , pools and entertainment ..

also port info for Nassau , St Thomas, San Juan , and Grand Turk .. we have never been to any of these places, only have been to Western Caribbean cruises ..

We know the Valor doesn't have the 2.0 upgrades, but still hear it's a nice ship though . No guys burgers, but, we hear nice fish and chips though .. thank you all, Cyndee and Jeff :)

 

My 7th cruise on the Valor, at the end of March, was my worst ever with Carnival. The only consolation was that is was a free casino cruise. My worst complaint among several was the service in the mid ship late dining MDR. We couldn't get an entrée most nights until after the crews' entertainment was over.

 

BTW, your itinerary is eastern, not southern.

 

But you are asking about ports of call - so b4 this gets moved by the mods:

 

Nassau_ Cable beach

St Thomas - shopping or beach day (beaches are Megans, Coki, Sapphire, Lindbergh, Secret Harbor or day trip to St Johns

San Juan - forts & shopping/eating in OSJ

Grand Turk - go down the beach to where the independents are - jerk chicken @ Jacks Shack is pretty good.

 

These are things I have done and your preferences, whatever they are, may vary.

Edited June 2, 2015 by evandbob

[griz400]

Not really questioning the ports of call, just thought that if someone has done the same cruise, they would share their ideas .. no need for mods to delete, wanting to know about the ship .. good or bad ..

[Rock_ON!!]

I was on the Valor this past August on the Southern Caribbean cruise. I loved Felipe , Whoo hoo, the CD. We went to Puerto Rico 3 days before the cruise and loved the forts, the rain forest, and the food was great there. We've been to St. Thomas, did the jeep island tour with a stop at sapphire beach. Last time we headed over to St. John's, Trunk Beach and would love to go back again. At Grand Turk we have done the Gibbs cay tour ( swimming with the Rays / snorkeling) and another time we snorkeled at the Wall. Nassau we also typically snorkel, have snorkeled many times there. The ship itself was fine, lots of trivia , had good services for MTD, excellent waitstaff , had a great time! I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as I enjoyed mine.

[Nick and Nancy]

We were on the Valor last October and couldn't have been happier. Sure, she's an older ship, but they keep her clean and in good shape. We have another trip scheduled with her in October, and we can't wait to see her again! Go and have yourself a marvelous time!

[evandbob]

Not really questioning the ports of call, just thought that if someone has done the same cruise, they would share their ideas .. no need for mods to delete, wanting to know about the ship .. good or bad ..

 

Okay, in addition to the lousy service we had in the MDR, my TV didn't work and it had to be replaced, and my shower wouldn't drain and it needed service to roto router it before the cabin got flooded.

 

The CD was incessantly giving long winded announcements every two hours. Now and again, he would return to the mike 15 minutes after a spiel, trying to sell another gimmick.

 

The casino slots were extra tight and the area was always smoky, even going up the middle steps past the bar to the 6th and 7th decks. I could smell the smoke near the elevators on empress.

 

As I said, it was the worst of my Valor cruises, and I had been on the ship 6 times prior.

 

The ports were the best part of the cruise.

[griz400]

So, the fish and chips good ?? What deck ?? Is there ice cream machines like on the Pride ??? I hear there is like a burrito place ?? not sure though ..Did they have a chocolate night ?? Is there a grill for a grilled sandwich in the evening --

We love the Grilled Rubens , so far both Carnival ships we were on had the grill area ...

[Nick and Nancy]

Fish and chips....excellent! Deck 10. Yes, to the ice cream machines. Not sure about the burrito bar. I don't remember as there was just too much other food to try. If I remember correctly, the grill is closed in the evenings. But the pizza is open for sure.

[love my grandkids]

So, the fish and chips good ?? What deck ?? Is there ice cream machines like on the Pride ??? I hear there is like a burrito place ?? not sure though ..Did they have a chocolate night ?? Is there a grill for a grilled sandwich in the evening --

We love the Grilled Rubens , so far both Carnival ships we were on had the grill area ...

 

Deli open to 10 or 11.

 

They should have chocolate buffet last sea day lunchtime

[VA_Gym_Guy]

We are booked on the Sept 12th sailing. We are still finalizing our plans but this is our thoughts for now. We are not much of a "lay on the beach" people.

 

Nassau - Most likely a self guided walking tour (found on the web) with stops at the Queen's Staircase, The fort, and the Graycliff Chocolate Tour

St Thomas - Leaning towards exploring the city/Skyride to Paradise Point or a snorkeling trip

San Juan - forts/exploring & shopping/eating

Grand Turk - Might do the Carnival Off Road Tour

 

For us, it is vacation so we do not overplan it

[griz400]

Thanks for all the info so far, any pics ??? Really do appreciate first hand info , a lot of people say look at carnivals website ... that's like looking at a commercial about a big mac .. it never really looks like that when you unwrap it .... lol :) Also, we have read every review so far on the valor, been watching you tube vids as well ... all info we gather, we sorta jot down and do or see the things we see and like ... have done this on all 3 cruises that we have so far ... seems to work out well on first sea day when we explore the ship ... so, thank you all so far :cool:

[griz400]

Well, we pulled the trigger for Sept 26 .... :cool: :)

[griz400]

This ship shows a nice big outdoor movie screen -- Are there any good movies ?? We were on the Pride last, and really no good movies were shown ..

 

BTW, we were looking at the new dinner menus on beyond ships, the new menus are listed there, they were not out in march when we were on the Pride ... they look real good .

Edited June 14, 2015 by griz400

[love my grandkids]

This ship shows a nice big outdoor movie screen -- Are there any good movies ?? We were on the Pride last, and really no good movies were shown ..

 

BTW, we were looking at the new dinner menus on beyond ships, the new menus are listed there, they were not out in march when we were on the Pride ... they look real good .

 

Movies we think are good you might not so rather subjective.

 

Like the food on the Valor but always thought fish and chips were rather greasy.