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Valor review-long

arph

By arph,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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arph

arph

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My two children, (ages 9 and 14), my parents, my aunt and I sailed on the Valor on 7/15/07. We had a wonderful time. The ship is beautiful and the staff is very attentive. Embarkation was quick and painless. We had our first balcony cabin and I would never go back without one. We loved it!! The entertainment on the ship was great! My last cruise was on RCL's Navigator of the Seas and I found the entertainment superior on this ship. The cruise director, Chris Jefferson, was very good. His assistant, Kelly G, however, was very annoying and over the top. I do not like when I am told what to say all the time. I do not want to constantly yell "Woo Hoo!" and "Oh yeah!"

The food was a disappointment. I can't really think of anything on the menu that I really wish I could have again. I would say it was adequate but nothing to rave about. The buffet food sometimes looked as if it had been sitting there all day. Our waiter in the dining room, Pablo, went above and beyond to serve us. Also, the grand buffet on Friday night was just okay. It was held in Rosie's, the casual Lido deck restaurant, and it was nothing special. On Navigator, it was in the formal dining room, with many more selections and the presentation was much much better. The best bargain on the ship is the Java Cafe, coffee shop. They had wonderful desserts for only $2.00. My children loved the milkshakes there and the chocolate covered strawberries. The carrot cake and strawberry cheesecake were excellent.

In the Bahamas, we went to the Atlantis, which is an unbelievably gorgeous hotel. You are not permitted to use their pools or even to walk around them unless you pay. It was $180 for the day for an adult and $85 for children. The other option we were given was to rent a room for the day at $400. I was close to doing this because my children really wanted to use it, but a kind lady said that there was a gorgeous beach next to the Atlantis with watersports. We walked there (a good 15-20minute walk), and it was beautiful. We were able to rent a banana boat for $10 a person and a good time. We had booked a tour from home for St. Thomas. We were with Sunny Liston. He picks you up at the dock, and takes you downtown. This is followed by a trip to the top of the island and ends on a beach. Sunny was wonderful. He plays music and everyone on his tour sings and has a great time. The shopping was difficult because there were 4 ships in port that day. Too many people! The views from the top were breathtaking. The people on our tour voted to go to Sapphire Beach. It was very crowded and I wish we had gone to Magen's Bay. When we got to St. Maarten, it was raining. Unfortunately, it rained all day. This did not stop us though. I love St. Maarten. I have not been there for many years, but it is one of my favorite islands. We managed to shop and then went to Dawn Beach, and swam in the rain. We still had a very nice time.

We enjoyed the karoake bar in the Eagles Lounge at night. There was always a big crowd and a lot of fun. As I said earlier, we went to all of the shows in the Ivanhoe Lounge and we were never disappointed.

I was concerned if I was going to like Carnival as much as I like RCL, and I must say that the overall experience was quite the same. I would not hesitate to book Carnival again.

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CarnivalCruising

CarnivalCruising

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I was also on this sailing and agree that the Cruise Director Chris Jefferson was excellent, super entertaining, and funny. I could not say the same about Kelly G. the assistant cruise director. She wasn't gracious at all.

 

One of the social hosts, Nikkola also known as Hurricane was incredible, super entertaining, and had everyone laughing at all times. She should be promoted to Cruise Director.

 

 

I thought that the food was excellent. The filet mignon and the sirloin steak were delicious.

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ArkieCruiser

ArkieCruiser

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We cruised the Valor on April 8th and loved it. This was our 8th CCL. I thought the food was the best I have had on any of the Carnival ships. Chris was a great cruise director but the only time we ever saw him was at the shows or past passenger and welcome aboard parties. He had Nikko as asst. and I thought she was horrible. She was over bearing and you could hardly understand her. Scarlett's was well worth the money. This was one of my best cruises. The only problem were the kids in the adult pools and hot tubs. One kid dropped a hot dog in hot tub. They had to close it to clean it out. Everyone thought the little tyke dropped you know what into it. Turned us off to the hot tubs for the rest of the cruise.

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vlwalker

vlwalker

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I'm glad some of you here loved the food on the Valor. We sail August 5th and we are looking forward to our first cruise..Can't wait....

 

tishie58, that goes double for me. I'm on Valor on 8/5 as well.:D

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