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Pictorial Review: Carnival Valor, 12/01/16

DarthGrady

By DarthGrady,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Carnival Valor, 12/01/16, 3 nights from Port Canaveral

 

This was my first cruise on the Valor, although I have been on her sister ships Liberty and Glory before. A friend of mine was offered a very good deal for this weekend cruise through the Carnival Players Club. He needed a roommate, so I tagged along for the chance to see a new ship.

 

Embarkation:

We had to make a few unscheduled stops on the way to Port Canaveral, so I missed our unofficial Cruise Critic gathering (sorry again folks!). But embarking at the terminal was very easy. I have not been to the old terminal #5 at PC for a few years, and they’ve improved it quite a bit since then. It now has a parking garage and entry into the terminal is on the second floor, which helps a lot with flow. The new priority room is very nice, a far cry from the old side office once used there. We were on the ship after only a few minutes.

 

Our Cabin:

We had cabin 9232, which is an interior room on the Lido Deck. The location is very nice, as it is just a short walk out to the main pool area. The cabin itself was in good shape and everything worked properly. Our steward did a great job throughout the cruise.

 

The Ship:

It’s hard to believe that the Conquest ships are now considered medium sized by today’s standards. But considering she’s half the size of the biggest in the world, I suppose that’s accurate. The Valor still looks great, inside and out after 12 years of service. She has had several upgrades, including Guy’s Burgers, Blue Iguana Cantina and the Red Frog Bars. I really liked having the two new bars by the main pool, they make getting a drink much easier as it spreads the crowd out.

I spent a lot of time hanging out at the Red Frog bar on the Promenade Deck. It’s a very nice bar and they have the delicious Thirsty Frog beer on tap. The nightclub is also nice on the Valor, it’s fairly large and in old Carnival style, is themed around the moon landing.

 

Food and Service:

We only ate in the main dining room once on the first evening. We had very good service from the wait staff, and the food was excellent! Our other meals were usually in the lido buffet, Guy’s Burgers or the pizzeria. I thought the food offerings on the ship were great, and there are plenty of options.

 

Activities and Nightlife:

As this was a three night cruise, they had plenty of stuff going on around the ship. There was a great live band that played on the promenade each night, and the comedians in the club were pretty funny. They also had solo artists playing in the atrium and Red Frog Bar each evening, all were very good. I was impressed by how much live talent they had onboard. The nightclub was packed each night and the DJ did a good job keeping things going with a variety of pop, dance and Latin music. They also had a live Latin band down in Winston’s Bar on Atlantic deck that I enjoyed listening to on the last evening.

 

Complaints:

Very few. Actually just one. The Cruise Director was on the PA system way too much. I don’t think an hour passed by that he wasn’t squawking about all the activities and money spending opportunities going on around the ship. Between the Fun Times daily paper and new Carnival Hub app (highly recommended BTW, I wish Royal had the same) it really isn’t hard to know what’s going on. So the constant yammering is just an annoyance.

 

Debarkation:

Debarking the ship was very easy. We were off and to the car in about twenty minutes. All in all it was a fun little cruise. Definitely a great appetizer for Oasis next weekend!

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Great photos as usual Grady.:)

 

Thanks very much Bob!

 

Thanks for the report. We'll be on her Sunday!

 

Enjoy it! I've got a friend on board that sailing, we'll be across the harbor from you on Oasis! Wave to us as you go by if you leave before we do. If you go by the Red Frog Bar on the promenade, say hello to Suri for me, shes a great bartender.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Arrival in Nassau, it was the new Vista's first call there

 

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Odd to think the little Saga Pearl is the exact same size as my first cruise ship, the Majestic when she was with Premier Cruise Lines. It seemed huge to a third grader.

 

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The Vista's skyride and ropes course

 

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Long lines to return from Nassau, we were glad we came back earlier. They had been having trouble with their new tablet/scanner things all day. What was so wrong with the old "ding!" kiosks?

 

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