Valor balcony advice

[sunbird21]

Hi,

I've read many reviews, looked at the deck plan websites, but am having difficulty deciding on a balcony cabin for my Valor cruise this fall. I've never had one, so of course any balcony will be great,but want to get feedback on my options.

 

I am a solo traveler, don't care too much about noise, but would like decent views. I'd like to try out aft, as I'm not quite sure I want to splurge for the aft view($180 more) but would like to get as close to an aft view as I can. ( I may get the aft view as sale date gets closer if I have $$$ and it's available)

 

My options are upper ( 6414, 6430, 6434-furthest aft- 6445, 6357)

empress (7408,7410,7414,7415,7426,7430-furthest back- 7431) or

verandah (8422,8434,8438-furthest back-8425, 8433)decks.

 

They do have midship and fwd balconies available, obviously.., I tried looking on the cruise deck plans dot com site and found a midship 6442 that claims it's an extended balcony, but is the same price... Wondered if it is worth it over the others?

 

Anyway, any advice or pics of any of the above would be appreciated!! Also, do all balcony rooms have the bed by the balcony? I know on NCL they alternate, not sure if they do here. If so, I think that's the setup I would like.

 

Final question, are the standard balconies large enough for a lounger in place of the two chair and table setup?

 

Thanks!

Stacey

 

 

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[WindsorFred]

No room for a lounger on a regular balcony.

[buddylover]

Hi,

I've read many reviews, looked at the deck plan websites, but am having difficulty deciding on a balcony cabin for my Valor cruise this fall. I've never had one, so of course any balcony will be great,but want to get feedback on my options.

 

I am a solo traveler, don't care too much about noise, but would like decent views. I'd like to try out aft, as I'm not quite sure I want to splurge for the aft view($180 more) but would like to get as close to an aft view as I can. ( I may get the aft view as sale date gets closer if I have $$$ and it's available)

 

My options are upper ( 6414, 6430, 6434-furthest aft- 6445, 6357)

empress (7408,7410,7414,7415,7426,7430-furthest back- 7431) or

verandah (8422,8434,8438-furthest back-8425, 8433)decks.

 

They do have midship and fwd balconies available, obviously.., I tried looking on the cruise deck plans dot com site and found a midship 6442 that claims it's an extended balcony, but is the same price... Wondered if it is worth it over the others?

 

Anyway, any advice or pics of any of the above would be appreciated!! Also, do all balcony rooms have the bed by the balcony? I know on NCL they alternate, not sure if they do here. If so, I think that's the setup I would like.

 

Final question, are the standard balconies large enough for a lounger in place of the two chair and table setup?

 

Thanks!

Stacey

 

 

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Hi Stacey! We are always careful when choosing cabins...looking to see what is above and below the cabin.

 

On the Upper Deck (6), you are above the Promenade Deck, and in the back (aft) of the ship you are over the show lounge and various bars and venues that could get noisy into the night as that is where the "action" is.

 

On the Verandah Deck you are beneath the Lido deck....and in the aft on Lido are the pools. There have been many posts about lots of noise coming from the crew which cleans the Lido pool decks during the late night/early mornings....lots of banging, bumping and moving/scraping of pool deck furniture at night. Neither of these locations would be our choice ever.

 

However, the Empress Deck is sandwiched between decks of cabins.....any location on the Empress (which is why the more expensive Suites are located on this deck) would be a quieter cabin for sure.....our choice in almost all cruises!! Along with the most mid ship location we can find for least motion (although we are not prone to sea-sickness).

 

And lastly, for the least movement and motion, we generally choose mid ship cabins for stability. There have also been lots of posts about engine noise and vibrations in the aft cabins, but that probably is subjective too.

 

Hope this helps you make your choice.

[Capitan Morgan]

Hi,

I've read many reviews, looked at the deck plan websites, but am having difficulty deciding on a balcony cabin for my Valor cruise this fall. I've never had one, so of course any balcony will be great,but want to get feedback on my options.

 

I am a solo traveler, don't care too much about noise, but would like decent views. I'd like to try out aft, as I'm not quite sure I want to splurge for the aft view($180 more) but would like to get as close to an aft view as I can. ( I may get the aft view as sale date gets closer if I have $$$ and it's available)

 

My options are upper ( 6414, 6430, 6434-furthest aft- 6445, 6357)

empress (7408,7410,7414,7415,7426,7430-furthest back- 7431) or

verandah (8422,8434,8438-furthest back-8425, 8433)decks.

 

They do have midship and fwd balconies available, obviously.., I tried looking on the cruise deck plans dot com site and found a midship 6442 that claims it's an extended balcony, but is the same price... Wondered if it is worth it over the others?

 

Anyway, any advice or pics of any of the above would be appreciated!! Also, do all balcony rooms have the bed by the balcony? I know on NCL they alternate, not sure if they do here. If so, I think that's the setup I would like.

 

Final question, are the standard balconies large enough for a lounger in place of the two chair and table setup?

 

Thanks!

Stacey

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Stateroom 6442 is not in mid-ship but aft ship. The room has a longer balcony, and has the same price because doesn't have a sofa in the room. If you do not care to have sofa this is better than the others because of a longer balcony and closer to the wake of the ship, so you should have a somehow view :)

[hirent]

I am a solo traveler, don't care too much about noise, but would like decent views.

Anyway, any advice or pics of any of the above would be appreciated!!

Final question, are the standard balconies large enough for a lounger in place of the two chair and table setup?

 

Thanks!

Stacey

 

The standard balconies are not large enough to accommodate a lounger facing the ocean but would probably accommodate one sideways; don't know if Carnival would allow that though. You could always ask the room steward or guest services.

 

I would like to add my observations to your queries; it isn't a direct answer to your questions but relevant nonetheless (in my opinion).

My wife and I sailed on the Valor in December 2013. It is a very hectic itinerary with 5 islands in 6 days (Mon.-Sat.) and only 1 sea day (Tuesday). The Valor departs San Juan late Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. and spends 10 hours each in three ports and 9 hours each in the other two. Every one of these islands is great and the long port time allows you to explore them very comfortably.

Unless you are not planning on any shore excursions, you won't be spending a lot of time in your room and thus your balcony.

We did an island tour for every port and that didn't leave for much time on the ship. Even on the Sea Day, we did the 'Behind The Fun Tour' which actually took up the entire morning.

The public areas of the ship were more than enough to entertain us for the rest of the time on the ship; hot tubs on one day, the sauna 7 steam room on another, the pool, the water slide, the theater etc.

I would say, save your money, especially since you are paying the solo rate. Use the saved $$ for drinks/excursions/tours/future cruise with more sea days/whatever strikes your fancy.

Just my 2 cents :):).

Edited June 14, 2014 by hirent

[Writerfl]

For what it's worth, you really want to try to stay away from Deck 6 on Conquest- and Destiny- class ships, especially if you're anywhere near the disco or aft lounge. I spent an absolutely hellish week on Glory in cabin 6396, right on top of the disco.

 

Please see the cabin-related portions of my review of that trip:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2047324

 

I love Deck 7. Personally, I also love the higher decks forward (Lido and Panorama) as the rocking motion felt higher up on the ship puts me right to sleep.

 

As long as Carnival maintains its relationship with DJ Irie (DJ DropTheBass) I would treat Deck 8 midship with mistrust as well.

[audcc77]

Hi Stacey – We were on the Valor a few months ago, in mid-March. About mid-January, a couple of aft balconies opened up on upper deck #6 for only an additional $77 total. I jumped on it because we were traveling without kids and I figured now or never. Even though it was a port intensive itinerary, I thought it was worth it.

 

Here is my review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2017154

See post #7 for photos from our aft.

 

Now that I’ve had an aft balcony, I really like them. I just bought an aft cabin on Liberty for an August sailing because the price has gone down. If you wait a little, you may be able to get it less expensive than $180.

 

Our room was above the lounge but it was only used for comedy night and it wasn't bad at all. I only heard music one night.

[bizeemom4]

I've had an aft balcony on Valor, a regular balcony on the Spa Deck on Dream and 2 connecting regular balconies on Valor. I always think each one is my favorite until I do the next cruise. The cove balcony on the Breeze a few weeks ago was my favorite so far but I'm scheduled for the aft wrap next week on Glory. I suspect that will be my new favorite.

 

I don't think it's true that once you have an aft, you can't go back. I've had 3 cruises since the aft and each has it's own merits. Choose what makes you happy.

[cmjb4ever]

We had 7434 on the Valor. It was great! Long balcony at aft but not aft facing. There's no couch though but otherwise it's a great room! We love rooms in the aft for a few reasons. They are quiet if sandwiched between other decks with rooms. They are a quick walk to the stairs and just a flight or two up for lido or down for the dining room. Also you can see the wake without facing aft and not getting a breeze. And no one is just walking past your room because there's no reason to since you're in the back past the last set of stairs. We have another cruise bookedon the pride and we are in a regular aft balcony, not aft facing. My parents even booked a similar cabin because they loved our room on the valor so much. As a side note my parents booked on deck 8 which is right under lido. I suspect they will hear some noise but we will see. I didn't want to burst their bubble about their room choice.

 

 

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[YB Nrml]

We always book as far aft as possible, not so many people walking by your door. We've been over the lounge a time or two and heard some music etc but nothing too terrible.

 

In standard balcony rooms the side of the bed runs parallel to the balcony door and windows and you'll have two chairs and a table on the balcony and a couch in the room. In extended balcony rooms the foot of the bed is closest to the balcony door and window. We did and extended on our last cruise and it was different but we won't book one again. We missed having a couch in the room and felt a little cramped, less open floor space. That balcony had two chairs and a lounger along with a table.

 

Have a great cruise!

Edited June 14, 2014 by YB Nrml

[Capitan Morgan]

We (Me and my hubby) are going to be in the same stateroom (7434) on our coming cruise at the end of August! Thank you for the tip about the wake...we were wondering if we were going to be able to see anything of it

Edited June 14, 2014 by Capitan Morgan

[Lance'sBride]

I don't know the exact room, but we had a balcony room on the Valor, deck 6 aft. We were pretty much right above the piano bar. We never heard a single noise from below, if that helps. We're booked on Liberty now and chose deck 7 because it was only $10 more, but I wouldn't hesitate to book the same location again.

 

I used to think a balcony wasn't worth the extra money, but now I wouldn't want anything else. We believe it's worth every penny!

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Thank you all for your advice!!!!

 

I know it's a port intensive cruise, but I don't think I'll be out all day in some of the ports-been to St T and M before. I do like the idea of listening to the ocean at night and beginning/ending each day on balcony....on my last cruise I almost splurged for it but went with unlimited drink pkg instead( not an alchie but didn't want to worry about bill) and I didn't even come close. So this time, I think I'll get more out if the balcony.

 

Thanks for location tips! I think at this point it'll depend on pricing at the time I book. Now they want to charge more for empress and verandah decks, but if all is equal I will try to go for empress.

 

Now just need to get confirmation of my vacation approval, and hopefully the $50 deposit sale will be around again soon!!!

 

Stacey

 

 

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[sunbird21]

Thanks also for the Valor reviews, off to read them now!

Stacey

 

 

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