Valor Pix and Thoughts May 30-June4

[margie1221]

Had a great time - hadn't been on Carnival in years - will do pro's and con's vs. NCL if you'd like to hear our experience :)

 

Folks want photos - here we go...

 

We were in Cabin 6309 - basic mid ship balcony - GREAT location for us - TONS of storage, quiet but near elevators, excellent water pressure, beds kinda firm but OK

 

[margie1221]

Enjoyed the Sea Day Brunch - seated right away

 

[margie1221]

Went to Punchliner's Comedy Show (Adult) - Raw material but pretty funny (Andrew Dice Clay kinda guy) - several people walked out - that was funny too - haha

 

 

[margie1221]

Promenade and Red Frog Pub kinda quiet later at night - more action just outside the casino - decent band each nite

 

 

[gfountain1]

Sea day brunch is always my favorite meal.

[margie1221]

Approaching the DR - beautiful place...

 

 

 

 

[margie1221]

Day in Amber Cove was crazy & crowded but fun!! Not much shopping, didn't book excursion - sat by pool and watched "activities"!!! Drinks & food expensive as others have posted. Bathrooms new and clean but had a septic odor. Cabanas available in the pool area and the lagoon.

 

Swim up bar was the main attraction but there were also several bridges that led to different pool areas, in particular I liked the wade in pool for kids. There was also a water slide, zip lining and a restaurant if you wanted a bite to eat...

 

 

 

 

Made us think of Jurassic Park!!

 

Took a ride back to the ship on the pedal cart - they work for tips only - thank you!!

 

[margie1221]

Next up... Chef's Table!!

 

I surprised hubby with this specialty dining experience as we were celebrating our 35th Wedding Anniversary - he's pretty much a gourmet cook and I thought he'd like the unique menu and the "behind the scenes" portion of the evening. It was a little pricey ($75 pp) but probably less than a "Swimming with the Dolphins" kind of excursion which is definitely not his type of thing anyway!!

 

So, we started with bottomless glasses of champagne...

 

{and Photobucket has apparently crashed... to be continued tomorrow evening :) )

[siestakeys04]

Thanks for the review so far!!!

[drvmywifecrzy]

I was on this cruise with my family too. Funny to be caught in others candid pictures.

 

I agree the cruise was a blast

[vipteam]

Can't wait to see more! We'll be on the Valor July 3. Thanks so much for posting your review. :)

[2chilover]

Looking forward to seeing more as we sail her for the first time in October. Thanks for the review so far.

[Shelloz]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a beautiful port. Another one added to the bucket list.

[Frank12]

Is that a full-on Red Frog Pub complete with kitchen (finger food) like on the Breeze or just a bar?

[RTRMom]

Thanks for the review, hope to see more. :) we will be on this ship next Friday.

[larryb711]

Only a few more weeks and we will be on the Valor. Cannot wait for this much needed vacation.

Edited June 9, 2016 by larryb711

[larryb711]

Next up... Chef's Table!!

 

I surprised hubby with this specialty dining experience as we were celebrating our 35th Wedding Anniversary - he's pretty much a gourmet cook and I thought he'd like the unique menu and the "behind the scenes" portion of the evening. It was a little pricey ($75 pp) but probably less than a "Swimming with the Dolphins" kind of excursion which is definitely not his type of thing anyway!!

 

So, we started with bottomless glasses of champagne...

 

{and Photobucket has apparently crashed... to be continued tomorrow evening :) )

 

Margie,

 

How was the Chefs Table? We will be on the Valor for my birthday, July 11, and planning on the Chefs Table. Is it worth it? What kind of food did you have? I am a very picky eater ( steak and potato's guy ), and although I do not like cream sauces I am willing to give different foods a try for this night. Thanks, Larry

[Luvsdaislands]

Do you have copies of the FunTimes?

[margie1221]

Is that a full-on Red Frog Pub complete with kitchen (finger food) like on the Breeze or just a bar?

 

Not sure - there was an open front bar area with some games, then the bar itself and then a back bar with a one-man band - never seemed to many people in there... sorry I don't know if food was offered

[margie1221]

Margie,

 

How was the Chefs Table? We will be on the Valor for my birthday, July 11, and planning on the Chefs Table. Is it worth it? What kind of food did you have? I am a very picky eater ( steak and potato's guy ), and although I do not like cream sauces I am willing to give different foods a try for this night. Thanks, Larry

 

I was about to pick up where I left off - with the Chef's Table - but wanted to answer your post directly and let you know that the offerings are gourmet and unique - definitely need to go into it with an open mind that you'll at least try everything. There's TONS of courses and plentiful wine. The Chef walks you through each course - ingredients, how it was prepared, who developed it, etc. As you'll see in my description below, the event starts with a full tour of the galley and two courses actually are served in there. Then we all went into the Betsy Ross Room - private dining area for 12 people, just off the Lincoln Dining Room, for the rest of the dinner.

 

Yes it was worth it for us - I cannot have creamy anything (bad gut!) and I did not have any issues. The turning point for me to book this was someone here on CC said, think of it as an excursion... it did last about three hours and was limited to a very small group and it was a unique experience we definitely enjoyed and will remember from our anniversary cruise. A lot of excursions are well over $75 pp and not for us :)

[margie1221]

Do you have copies of the FunTimes?

 

Yes, but no access to a scanner at this time - will try to do next week...

 

If you have a specific question I'll try to answer it from what I have

[margie1221]

So, spoiler alert if you want to be completely surprised with the Chef's Table experience... The Reception portion of the program consisted of Champagne and several exotic appetizers served in a section of the Galley

[margie1221]

Then we toured more of the Galley...

 

 

And had a demonstration of how Chocolate Melting Cake is made - WITH a tasting :)

 

 

[Crusin Karen]

Chef looks a bit like Buddy, The Cake Boss! :eek:

[margie1221]

Then on to the Betsy Ross Room for our private 7-course dinner - fairly formal, with assigned seating and placecards! We also had a group photo taken which was delivered to us at the end of the dinner - nice memento :)

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not really a foodie but I had to take photos of all these dishes!!!!