Review for Valor 03/26/06

[Kluvs2Cruise]

We arrived in Miami the night before our cruise and stayed at a Holiday Inn in Coral Gables. It wasnt the best of areas to do any sightseeing especially not knowing the area. I would suggest staying closer to port and having an idea of what you want to see planned out. Miami is a big, busy place with lots to see. Embarkation was a breeze. Arrived at port about 10:30 and was on board by 11:30 and eating lunch by the pool.

The Valor is large and beautiful. We never got lost and there were 10 of us ranging from 6 to 72 years old. There were activities to keep us all thoroughly pleased. The crew and staff were all very pleasant and made us feel catered to.

The Valor offers a large variety of foods. We are more the basic eaters so the fancy evening dinners in the Washington were not as appetizing to us nor was Scarletts (unlike most of the reviews).But it was a nice experience and our waiters were wonderful. The lunch menu at Washington lounge was great! (Baby back ribs, etc) Also the deli by Rosies buffet had delicious deli sandwiches.. We also enjoyed the cheeseburgers on Lido poolside and pizza. If you like Sushi - my son loved the sushi bar on the Promenade deck.

As far as Camp Carnival, the kids enjoyed it but not as much as they did the Disneys Oceaneers Club/Lab. We had to bribe them out of the Disney Clubs, but in Camp Carnival they either didnt want to go as much or werent interested in staying longer when we checked on them. I think in part due to the activities offered were not as exciting. For my husband and I the downside was the split up operating hours and after 10:00 pm you were chaged for babysitting. (Which we had to use when we wanted to see any late night shows the kids didnt) And signing in and out can be lengthy at times. So to sum it up for us, Camp Carnival had a great staff and was just pretty good. The weeks planned activities for Camp Carnival were printed out on one handy pamplet for a great reference we kept with us! I brought a highlighter and highlighted everything for the week so the kids wouldnt miss out on anything they wanted to do.

The shows on board were also great. My familys favorites were the Welcome Aboard Show,The Valor Dancers, Juggling of Dana Tison, and Far From Over show. I would say don't miss those shows.

 

Next cruise we will get the earlier dinner (5:45) so we can see the earlier shows offered at 8:30 (rather than 10:30 when we were all pretty tired and the kids unable to stay up))

 

The ship offers meclazine for anyone feeling a bit seasick (we experienced rough seas due to a cold front) or Bonine is sold at the store on Prominade deck. I never feel motion sickness until I get off the ship! hahaha ....

 

It was not necessary to bring our own water as the ship has free water as well as apple and orange juices, lemonade, coffee( decaf and reg) at all fountain spots on board. I would suggest bringing a small water bottle to fill up and bring with you on the islands. If you are a big soda drinker the soda cards are expensive but may be worth it. My family did not use it enough with all the other things offered to make it worth buying next time.

 

We enjoyed Nassau's Atlantis resort. Might be nice to have lunch there or just visit more than we had time to with our tour guide. If we visit Nassau again we will grab a taxi once off the ship and enjoy the day at the Atlantis resort, having the taxi return a few hours later for pick up and then show us a bit of the island. Atlantis is beautiful and has a few inside tours to offer visitors.

We enjoyed St Thomas and St Martin as well. I would suggest a tour if you are not familiar with the islands and want to see it and visit the beaches. Booking a tour in advance really isn't necessary as once you get off the ship there are many, many people waiting to offer you deals on tours and taxi rides.

St Thomas's Coki beach is absolutely beautiful! We were told from a local this beach offers the best snorkeling because it opens to the ocean. On our next visit we will spend more time on this beach for sure! The sun can get pretty strong so be sure to bring the sunscreen!! Maagens beach is beautiful too.

St Maartin, known for their shopping, seemed to be a bit cleaner, less inhabitated and more commercial. Lots of free running goats and bulls grazing off the sides of the streets which the kids loved! We rented our own car here because there was 10 of us and this gave us more freedom. We dropped our son off at Dawns beach for snorkeling which he absolutely said was the best part of the whole cruise vacation. My youngest son craved mcnuggets so it was a must to go to McDonalds!! hahha..Shopping was right on the same street. Great fun for the bargain hunter! A beautiful beach (viewing the port) is right across the street and accessible thru the alley walkways. Lots of places to eat and drink along the beach. Ski jet rentals and inflatable slides for the kids to play on. The kids played there a while before we headed back to the ship. (FYI- Parking was a nightmare). After picking up my son from snorkeling, my husband returned the car and took a taxi back to the shopping strip and met us on the beach. We took the ferry back to the ship.The ferry dock is located right on the beach and is $3 per person. Not a long wait as there are three that operate continuously. On our next visit we might get a tour of the island first, then (if there is not 10 of us again) just use the taxi services to drop us off for shopping and take the ferry back. If we go snorkeling we will just have the taxi return for our pick up as well.

We enjoyed our trip very much and are planning our next one already! I hope this information is helpful.

[jenischmeni]

Thanks for the review. I will be sailing on this ship in June. (But on the Western Itinerary) Just a quick question regarding Camp Carnival. How old are your children? My children are 17 & 15 and will be part of o2, which I think is considered seperate of Camp Carnival?

 

Again, thanks for your review. It helps us future cruisers plan accordingly.

[TENNESSEE-CRUISER]

Thanks for the review we will be on the Valor in May and are so excited. How was the weather we will also be doing the Eastern route.

[Kluvs2Cruise]

My children are 6 & 8, 15 & 25 (yes, I really spaced them out!) hahaha....anyhow, the younger two went to Camp Carnival off and on, (boy and girl)and my 15 year old daughter had teen clubs she went to, met many friends and hung out with 95% of the time! Funny story with her is this was our third cruise and my daughters first, which we had to bribe and pursuade her into coming with us. She adomently did not want to go because she felt she would be "bored" and this was her spring break too. Well, long story short, she wasnt happy about going but she came and now she is upset we are waiting until February for our next one! hahaha She had the time of her life and made many friends who she is keeping in touch with. My 25 year old son was with his fiance and shared most of his time with with us. The one thing we held strong to for this cruise (because there were so many of us split up doing so many things on the ship throughout the days) is that we all met and had dinner together in the Washington each night and shared our day. That was our one family time each day and I wouldnt change that for anything.

The weather on the way over was pretty rough because we were in a cold front. For a day and half we all had a time walking a straight line. Many people were sick, including 4 of our group, but in the end would do it again in a heartbeat! Otherwise, we have been told by many people on board that have gone the same route, and the Carnival staff that it is normally smooth sailing. Once we got thru the cold front, it really was smooth sailing. I found (you may think this is silly but works for me) that something in my stomach kept me from feeling the effects of motion sickness. Of course on the ship my family teased me because I ate so much, but #1 it was fun and #2 I didnt get sick. ;)

[June Bug]

I look forward to going on this same intinerary on the Valor in June...can't wait!:D

June

[jenischmeni]

Glad to hear that the 15-year old had a great time. They can be so hard to please at times!

 

Glad that you had such a great time. Thanks for the answers.

[caribbean dreams]

Thanks, i will be on the Valor in July.

[Cruisechickie]

June Bug, what date in June will you be on the Valor?

[Wennfred]

Next cruise we will get the earlier dinner (5:45) so we can see the earlier shows offered at 8:30 (rather than 10:30 when we were all pretty tired and the kids unable to stay up))

 

Great Review, Thanks we left the Valor the day you boarded, I was so happy with this cruise, we had a great time. I must say that the 6:15pm Dinner slot is the best one because the 5:45pm is too close from returning from excursions etc.

 

Thanks again for your review, I can wait to get back on the Valor.

[Cruisechickie]

Jenni, are you sailing on June 25th by any chance? I will have two 16 yr. old boys with me, my son and his friend. I wish the time would start going faster, it seems as though June will never get here!!

[jenischmeni]

Jenni, are you sailing on June 25th by any chance? I will have two 16 yr. old boys with me, my son and his friend. I wish the time would start going faster, it seems as though June will never get here!!

 

No, sorry, I'm sailing on 6/10/06. It's too bad your 16 year old boys aren't sailing on the 10th with us. Besides my daughter, our roll call already has three other girls between the age of 15 & 18! You wanna change? LOL So far, according to our roll call, my son is the only teen boy. (He may not mind about that, at all!;))

 

I'm sure there will be plenty there, whether you sail on the 10th or the 25th. Not every cruiser (and their respective teens) are savvy to the CC boards!

[Kluvs2Cruise]

Thanks! I really look forward to my next Carnvial Cruise too!!!