Valor is ready for upgrades

[Straitlover]

I must not be very observant. I was on the cruise before the OP, and I didn't notice worn carpet or rust. I walked by the basketball area, but I didn't pay much mind to it to see if it was in bad shape or not.

 

The only real problem we had was with the plumbing in our OV cabin (1335). The toilet overflowed once, and it would have another time but I caught it in time. We didn't clog it; the water level would just keep on rising. I flushed it a few times when it got really high to keep it from running over. We also had the banging of the waves on nights when the seas were a little choppy, but that's not the ship's fault. :) Oh, and we had a good amount of people trying to crash our private events in the evening, but that's not Carnival's fault. :)

 

I heard a lot of people in our charter group had lots of complaints, but we were perfectly happy. One night dinner did run entirely too long, but it was no big deal to me. Still had time to make it to our private event.

 

Worst thing on our cruise was one of our group members passed away the last sea day.

 

I really liked the ship. Hope you will give it another chance after the drydock OP!!!

[braves_cruiser1]

 

Worst thing on our cruise was one of our group members passed away the last sea day.

 

 

Wait what?

[jimbo5544]

Sorry Jimbo, you are mistaken I have made bets personally on carnival cruise ships on the super bowl on previous occasions. Most recently in 2013 on the ecstacy.

 

 

I am currently on the Sunshine, for the record, I went to the casino host (who was standing with two other employees) and asked them if they took bets on outside sporting events such as a Super Bowl. They all laughed and said no...... So I guess I will stick with my original comment of none.

[vtoria98]

They may not take an actual bet on the game like with points or a money line, but they most certainly have done Squares and other things as I have cruised on SB Weekend at least 5 times. they also usually have a party atmosphere as well as giveaways and beads etc.

 

There was not a real TV Area in the Casino on the Valor as I was there, i guess they moved the party to one of the theaters.

 

I guess it just depends on the casino host and ship.

[jimbo5544]

They may not take an actual bet on the game like with points or a money line, but they most certainly have done Squares and other things as I have cruised on SB Weekend at least 5 times. they also usually have a party atmosphere as well as giveaways and beads etc.

 

 

 

There was not a real TV Area in the Casino on the Valor as I was there, i guess they moved the party to one of the theaters.

 

 

 

I guess it just depends on the casino host and ship.

 

 

There is a big difference between doing squares and taking bets as in a casino setting. Can they do a super bowl atmosphere? Sure. I made a comment on whenever they took bets and was challenged on it so I found out from the source and wanted everyone to know. We can move on.

[ToddWelch]

My group of 12 family members just got off this Super Bowl cruise as well. Here are our thoughts...this was our 3rd time on the Valor.

 

The ship is tired looking compared to previous cruises....lots of places look like they aren't doing proper repairs because of the dry dock. Wooden drain covers on the lido deck are replaced with plywood for example....painting not being kept up to the normal standards.

 

Constant sewage smell around the lido open areas and in some of the hallways. We have cruised on Carnival over 10 times and though you get this now and then...this cruise was noticeably worse....even in the main lounge we could smell it one day. Our bathroom floor had a noticeable weak spot in the middle of it....like the floor was broken underneath the covering.....we mentioned this to the room steward....we also found other weak spots in a few of the hallways....perhaps this is from water damage getting under the carpet or floor coverings.

 

Food was great all week. Room was kept perfect and overall the ship is clean and tidy....just needs some TLC in the repairs area. We all thought this ship had the Indian Curry place at the back grill but it was closed all week except for the last night they had burgers going late at night.

 

Overall we are huge Carnival fans....this one was a little disappointing but hopefully they clean her up a bit while in dry dock.

[2PinaColadas]

This is sad to read. We will be on her before dry dock. We have really been looking forward to our cruise but reading that it smells of sewage and is not being maintained because of upcoming dry dock is very disappointing.

 

We cruise mainly for the ports, so I will try to keep a positive attitude.

[cruising nole fan]

There is a big difference between doing squares and taking bets as in a casino setting. Can they do a super bowl atmosphere? Sure. I made a comment on whenever they took bets and was challenged on it so I found out from the source and wanted everyone to know. We can move on.

 

No, I'll stick with you are wrong and I was right! ;)

[jimbo5544]

No, I'll stick with you are wrong and I was right! ;)

 

 

Lol, good enough, we can move on.

[Qchell]

We are cruising on the Valor in April and when we booked it originally she was supposed to go in dry dock in March to get the 2.0 upgrades, now she won't have them until after we cruise.

 

I sincerely hope the tandoori is open when we sail as my DH discovered that on The Dream and fell in love! I was thrilled when I saw that the Valor had it.

 

I do admit though that I am actually a bit happy that she does not have the upgrades yet - some of the things they are going to do away with I have never seen on a ship before, so I will get to experience those real quick before they do go away.

 

Our next cruise will be on the Magic so we will get a full dose of 2.0 there to make up for this cruise.

 

Very much looking forward to it and thrilled that the steakhouse is awesome! It has become a first night tradition for the DH and I.

[Hobbsey]

Well, just off the Valor yesterday for annual super bowl cruise. Don't get me wrong, we had a good time, but she (the Valor) is ready for serious upgrades. The carpet is worn, lots of rust is visible throughout. Running track, basketball area and sports decks in general are rough.

 

This is our 6th time on the Valor and until I hear some better reports, we won't be booking another voyage on her. Every night outside our oceanview room on deck 1 the wave noise was horrible (loud repetitive thumping). We typically get this category room in this area of the ship but have never heard such load noise from outside before, especially considering the relative tameness of the seas we had.

 

The steakhouse dinner was superb as usual, stateroom service was also very good.

 

I usually brag big time on the spectactular extravaganza that Carnival puts on for the super bowl, but the Valor did not do it justice at all this year. The casino didn't offer any betting opportunities for the game, not even the board to buy squares on for the score of the game. The food was blah, no party favors just really uneventful.

 

I will say that the wife won bingo the last day, and I cleaned up at the "let it ride" table to cover the cost of the entire cruise and then sum, so all turned up fine.

 

But the Valor is surely ready for a major makeover. Get to work Carnival. :mad:

 

Hi

 

Wondering if the MDR is doing American Table. If not does anyone know if the plan to do so after the dry dock?

 

Thanks

[Qchell]

It is not on the Valor yet. They are still testing it out. Search American Table on the Carnival FAQ's and there is a list of ships there that are currently serving it.

[N7786W Flyer]

I'm on the Valor as we speak and honestly, don't see a lot of what the others have mentioned. Maybe I'm just not that observant, but the ship seems (to me at least) to be in decent shape given the fact that a drydock is imminent.

 

I did notice that the funnel has been partially repainted and is now a curious mix of red, pink, blue, and white. Hopefully, they'll get that resolved during the drydock...but other than that, I don't see, or smell, anything really out of the ordinary.

 

Having said that, I would say that Guest Services needs a complete revamping (procedural) as they don't seem to know what to do with a Carnival Gift Card...but that's another post.

 

Garnett

[2PinaColadas]

I'm on the Valor as we speak and honestly, don't see a lot of what the others have mentioned. Maybe I'm just not that observant, but the ship seems (to me at least) to be in decent shape given the fact that a drydock is imminent.

 

I did notice that the funnel has been partially repainted and is now a curious mix of red, pink, blue, and white. Hopefully, they'll get that resolved during the drydock...but other than that, I don't see, or smell, anything really out of the ordinary.

 

Having said that, I would say that Guest Services needs a complete revamping (procedural) as they don't seem to know what to do with a Carnival Gift Card...but that's another post.

 

Garnett

 

Thank you for this report.

[Straitlover]

Wait what?

 

We were with a charter group of about 400 people. On the last sea day, one of the members had a heart attack and died that evening.

[Hobbsey]

It is not on the Valor yet. They are still testing it out. Search American Table on the Carnival FAQ's and there is a list of ships there that are currently serving it.

 

Thanks for the advice. I had done a search on their site under dining and found nothing - but from the main page of FAQ it came right up.

[Butterbean1000]

We're sailing the Valor for the second time in August. We ate looking forward to the upgrades.

 

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[Hobbsey]

We're sailing the Valor for the second time in August. We ate looking forward to the upgrades.

 

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September for us Butterbean, I'll be looking for your review when you return!