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[torilyn]

Hello

Going on  A five night cruise on Carnival Valor  leaving from Galveston next month. I have not been on a cruise in 10 years. First of all I would like to ask if purchasing the beverage plan  for $60 a day is worth it. I'm told if you drink more than five or six drinks a day that it is worth it. Not sure I would drink that much but two or three glasses of wine at dinner is always a must plus a couple drinks during the day so I guess it might be.  Any thoughts on that? Also I think you can carry one bottle of wine on board per person however what's the chances of filling up a container with vodka and bring it on. Do they check every  liquid container to see what's in it?  Especially if it's a bottle saying face wash....

has anyone been on the Carnival Valor since the refurbishment?  It looks quite nice in the photos.  We have an Aft cabin on deck 8 with the larger balcony.  Hope we're not disappointed being in the back of the ship.

Any advice or information would be appreciated!  Thanks.

[ober134]

Well... I can't speak specifically about Valor or Galveston. Yes, you may bring one bottle of wine per person. Bottle must be carried on with you; not placed in lugguage. Your luggage will be screened. Bottles will be found and checked. Now do things get missed? Yes. Do things get caught? Yes. There is much discussion on these pages and elsewhere regarding smuggling liquor onboard. It's against the cruise line terms and policies, only you can decide the risk/reward payoff. Cheers... Wow another oft discussed topic. Keep in mind, even if you are a moderate drinker, specialty coffees, bottled water and juice, sodas are included with Cheers. Happy sailing!

[moongal]

Just got off the Valor this past Saturday.  It was a nice trip and the ship was in good shape.  I was amazed though at the difference between sailing in summer and sailing during "off" peak times.  I have only been sailing during peak times in the summer and this time Jan 7-12, was like heaven.  The ship seemed empty comparatively.  I did not see even one kid running around.  I did see toddlers but they were so little they were with their parents and caused no mayhem.  It was so nice not to see children putting their mouths on the soft serve ice cream spigots late at night.... no kids running up and down the halls and in the elevators.  Don't get me wrong.. I love kids.. have kids myself and grandkids also, but in the summer in large doses on the ship they can be a bit overwhelming! 🙂

 

There were no lines anywhere, getting on the ship was a breeze... I had bought FTTF and got to Galveston about 11 but they had already been boarding for some time it seemed as they had already called several zones.  Since we were FTTF, they opened the divider and let us through.  So we were on the ship in no time and for the first time ever, there were plenty of elevators!  On all of my other summer cruises it seemed like the elevators were clogged into the wee hours of the night with all the luggage handlers.  I never had to wait for an elevator even the first day and night.  Muster drill was heavenly quick and we were not squashed in like sardines and there was no mad herd rush when it ended.  Disembarkation was the absolute best I have ever experienced.  We got into Galveston early and we were the 2nd people off the ship... was in my car before 8am. 

 

The dining room seemed to be running at peak efficiency... we had anytime dining and never had to wait, and our food was brought out so quick I was actually wishing it would take longer... on all of my summer sailings the meals in the MDR seemed to take an eternity. 

 

The only negative was that the ship was like sailing in a meat locker... it was COOOOLD wherever we went... like we felt like we needed coats to wear in the theater, dining rooms, etc... I sailed the Valor in July and it was the same frigid temp, so I was at least prepared with blankets and jackets.  The AC system in the room (we had a balcony deck 7) did not seem to be working... no matter what setting I put it on... it just stayed like a freezer.   I was a little disappointed in the weather as well... was looking forward to a nice warm Caribbean climate, but it seemed chilly even in Coz and Progresso.   But other than that it was all very enjoyable.  For reference, I am from the Houston area and I love the summer heat and absolutely hate the frigid winters!

 

The people I was sailing with wanted to swim with Dolphins in Coz, and we did the royal swim (booked on our own) at the dolphin place at Chankanaab(sp?)  I wasn't looking forward to this as I don't really like seeing animals in captivity, but I was pleasantly surprised and the dolphins seemed happy??  (I don't know how you can tell really, but they seemed to be doing good) 

 

In Progresso we were supposed to go to some ruins, but some of us just weren't feeling up to traipsing through the jungle so we changed it to the Merida Highlights and shopping tour.... was supposed to tour historical sites in Merida then do some shopping... basically we were pointed out the historical sites from the window of the bus, then let off in old downtown Merida and told the bus would be back in 3 hours and oh yeah... they do not take American dollars here... (thats what we were told)  So we just basically walked around a small area near where the bus said it would be back... got some lunch where my credit card got declined, I have no idea why... it had a zero balance and I had alerted them to my travel plans.  This was quite uncomfortable as we did not speak spanish and no one at the restaurant could speak english.. they did not take American Express which was the other credit card I had on me.. so I just started trying to hand them random amounts of 20's in American dollars... which after some useless gesticulating between us they decided to accept.    We all needed to use the bathrooms, but when we asked where the Banos were, they did not understand us.. oh well... only an hour to wait for the bus!  Lol!  We were never so happy to see the bus arrive back.  We all (everyone on the bus pretty much) needed to use the bathroom but the one in the bus was broken or something so we were all so happy to be heading back to the ship.... until the bus broke down just as we got into Progresso.  They said it overheated... so we had to wait till the bus cooled down and after it cooled down we made our way back down the long pier and we were all so happy to see the ship!

 

We laugh about that experience now and have added it to our hilarious trip tales.  

 

Hope you have a good time on your trip, the Valor was a nice ship and we all had a great time.  The CD TJ though, was getting off with us for his 6 weeks off... I don't know who was taking his place.  We really like TJ he was there in July when we went.

 

Oh my this is way too long... oh well I guess it is kind of a review of sorts. 🙂

[torilyn]

Wow.  Thanks everyone for the time you took to reply. I appreciate it very much. 

[Joebucks]

For the Cheers package, it is different for everyone. Most importantly, for 2 people, it will be about $860 for the week. It also includes a huge variety of beverages, not just alcohol. So if you estimate you will be at or near that dollar amount, it may be a good idea.

 

It may also be worth it to compare other options as well. A couple can each bring a bottle of wine on the ship. The dining room officially charges a "corkage fee" of I believe $15 to bring your bottle to the dining room. I have heard of people getting around it. I have also brought (big) glasses of wine with me with no problem. 

 

It also depends on what type of drinks you prefer. If you prefer high-end cocktails, like the (excellent) ones on the Alchemy, I might lean more towards Cheers. If you are just a "rum and coke" type drinker, you can buy a 1 liter bottle for about $110. If you're a beer drinker, I doubt you would break the bank buying them a la carte.