New to Carnival Valor, what do I need to know?

[9happycruisers]

We're never sailed Carnival but we have sailed Disney and Royal Caribbean. We'll be on the Valor doing the Western Caribbean. What's different on Carnival? What do we need to know?

 

For example:

What costs money? Is room service free? What about soda? What about the food options on deck and ice cream and snacks and things?

 

Tell me about all 3 kids clubs we've got ages 4, 12, 13 & 16. Is there a charge after hours? Are they open all day long or do they close up at certain times?

 

How are the rooms? What should I know about the rooms? We've got balconies and interior rooms.

 

How are the shows?

 

What about the pools? Kids areas? Hot tubs?

 

Thanks for any and all info you care to provide!

[summer08bride]

We're never sailed Carnival but we have sailed Disney and Royal Caribbean. We'll be on the Valor doing the Western Caribbean. What's different on Carnival? What do we need to know?

 

For example:

What costs money? Is room service free? What about soda? What about the food options on deck and ice cream and snacks and things?

 

Tell me about all 3 kids clubs we've got ages 4, 12, 13 & 16. Is there a charge after hours? Are they open all day long or do they close up at certain times?

 

How are the rooms? What should I know about the rooms? We've got balconies and interior rooms.

 

How are the shows?

 

What about the pools? Kids areas? Hot tubs?

 

Thanks for any and all info you care to provide!

 

We'll be on the valor in 3 weeks! Room service is free, but you should tip. Soda is not included and can be purchased individually or you can get a soda pass for the week. To my knowledge, all of the food is included except for dinner in the supper club which is an extra $30/pp. The desserts, buffets, dining room, room service, etc is all included.

 

Havent been on Disney or RCCL but from what I've read on here, Carnival rooms are bigger.

 

Hope this helps!

[LADYBUG34113]

The Valor is American themed with eagles, liberty bells, presidents. The 2 diningrooms are Lincoln and Washington. We loved it when we were on there last April and looking forward to going on her again this December.

 

All food is included except the Scarlet Supper Club which is $30 pp

 

They have a Fish n Chips that is very good but only open certain days, lunch only.

 

There is free coffee on the lido deck or through room service but also have a Java Cafe that I believe is extra. I never tried the Java because I prefer plain ole coffee. :D

 

We took the Eastern Caribbean last April and arrived in Nassau to see the sunrise over Atlantis from our balcony.

[A&Jfamily]

What about the food options on deck and ice cream and snacks and things? 24/7 pizza and ice cream - all free. I think my DS 10 had ice cream 3 times a day!

 

Tell me about all 3 kids clubs we've got ages 4, 12, 13 & 16. Is there a charge after hours? Are they open all day long or do they close up at certain times? We have a DS 5 along w/DS 10, so can't comment about older groups. Run a search for Circle C and Club o2 and that should have your answers for them. As for the 4 yo, CC is wonderful. Age appropriate activies from story time to art to exerseas. Times depend on whether it is a port stop or not (open earlier on port days) but on sea days they are open 9-12, 1-5, 6(dinner or 7 if eating in DR)-10 for free. Babysitting is approx. $6 after hours.

 

What about the pools? Kids areas? Hot tubs? The best thing I can say here is look at pictures and the deck plan. The slide runs beside the elevated back pool on the Lido deck. There are several hot tubs around the pools, some posted adult only.

 

Thanks for any and all info you care to provide!

 

Hope that helps.

[LADYBUG34113]

They have the waterslide, fun for all ages

 

There is an arcade

 

Not familiar with the clubs for the kids but I am sure there will be a lot for them to do.

 

We never had any problems finding chairs. They might not be right at the pool but within viewing.

 

There is always food. The Pizzeria seemed to always be open.

[newt98]

here's a review from our recent trip on the valor.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=963957&highlight=

[LADYBUG34113]

Also available:

 

Basketball Court

Mini Golf

Babysitting

Children's playroom

Kiddie Pool

Supervised youth program

Teen Center

 

I don't remember how much the soda card was but I believe the child's is a little less than the adult. We usually only get a card for DH because he is the cokaholic. There is free tea and lemonade on lido deck. There used to be a punch but I have heard they discontinued that since.

 

Be sure to bring back pics! We are going on the Western Caribbean in December on Valor.

[carzyboutcarnival]

Ok this is how i think it goes

 

Camp Carnival 2-11

Circle "C" 11-14

Club 02 15-17

 

If you more about each room/age group it is on carnivals website!

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/promo_content/obx/youth_programs.aspx

 

 

cbc

[Morcruisin4Fun]

We just got off the Valor on 4/19. What a beautiful ship and once you knew how to get around, it wasn't a problem. The only deck you can get from one end of the ship to the other is deck 5. We always seemed to end up on that deck to get to where we wanted to go anyway. Our cabin was on deck 7 which was a great location. People have made comments that Carnival has made cutbacks. To be honest, I didn't really see any. The service we received on this ship was excellent. I saw our cabin steward at least once every day and our cabin was always cleaned and he always left extra towels. Our service in the dining room was excellent and I believe our waiter and his assistant only had three tables. The service on the lido deck was also fine. The food was plentiful and always good. There is pizza 24/7 as well as ice cream (I believe my daughter has 16 ice cream cones last week) There was 3,500 people on our ship but it never felt over crowded and there always seemed to be chairs available on deck (we never wanted one around the pool) The entertainment was good, the shows that we went to were good. I don't have one complaint about our week sailing on the Valor.

[9happycruisers]

Thanks everybody!

 

I appreciate the input, keep it coming. I'm interested in all the details!

 

We are on deck 7 and all the way forward, like the very front. Has anybody ever been at the very front on deck 7? How was that as far as motion?

[9happycruisers]

I thought of another question, how does tipping work on Carnival?

[LADYBUG34113]

Unless you prepay your tips as you pay on the cruise, they will put the tips on your S&S card. $10 per person, per day. 7-day cruise, $70 pp

 

We chose to prepay them this time around so one less thing on the S&S card. Any extra's you want to give your steward, that's up to you. DH always asks that the ice bucket be kept full of ice so we leave the steward a little extra for the service.

 

Some tip their favorite bartender also (added flavors, I guess :D) but 15% gratuities are automatically added to each drink and the soda cards.

[kicia]

We sailed in a verandah cabin on Disney and the Carnival Valor cabins are about the same except the bed on Disney is closer to the door and the bed on Carnival is closer to the balcony door. Also Carnival has a regular door to the balcony and Disney has a sliding door. One big difference is the bathroom setup. Disney has two rooms. One with tub and sink and the other with toilet and sink. But they are so tiny. Carnival just has one room.

 

We liked the dining times better on Carnival over Disney. Disney's times for buffets etc are shorter and on debarkation day if you want to eat in the dining room you had to go at a set time according to your dinner time, eg. early vs. late and on Carnival it was open seating between set times for breakfast.

 

The shows on Disney are all Disney oriented and Carnival has a couple of big production shows, a fly on guest entertainer or two, and a passenger show. Both kinds are good it just depends on what you like.

 

I'm sure you'll like the Carnival Valor as well as the Disney cruise.

[L&J]

We loved the Valor! Scarlet's is the best supper club we've had, including RCCL. Worth every penny for the extra ambiance and delicious food!!

 

The water slide is great for a quick cool-off. Chairs aren't that hard to find around the pool. To be honest, the Carnival and Royal product is VERY similar. The shows are almost the same, food is almost the same, rooms are almost the same. The biggest difference is the price.

 

I can't comment on the front of the ship since we are always at the back. We leave the kids with gramma so I'm not sure about the kids clubs. We LOVED the large video screen around the pool, showing news or videos during the day and movies at night. We plop ourselves in the hot tub and watch a flick under the stars.....aahhhh!

 

The fish and chips are great onboard. It's located above the caffeteria and not many people find it until later in the week. The aft pool has great burgers, dogs, pizza, ceasar salad, etc.

 

Have a great trip!!

[motherchic]

We are also going to be cruising on the valor. First time ever cruising on carnival also.

So, I have no specific answers fro you.

If you havent done so, go to the "home" site and click on member reviews for the valor. Reading the reviews helps to answer allot of questions.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Nadine

[9happycruisers]

Unless you prepay your tips as you pay on the cruise, they will put the tips on your S&S card. $10 per person, per day. 7-day cruise, $70 pp

 

We chose to prepay them this time around so one less thing on the S&S card. Any extra's you want to give your steward, that's up to you. DH always asks that the ice bucket be kept full of ice so we leave the steward a little extra for the service.

 

Some tip their favorite bartender also (added flavors, I guess :D) but 15% gratuities are automatically added to each drink and the soda cards.

Thanks for the help with the tipping but I'm still a little confused. We've already paid for our cruise and weren't offered an option to prepay tips so I guess the only way to do it is onboard. Is the S&S card like your room key that you charge everything to? Are the tips automatically put on the card or do you have to go to guest services and have them put on it? Is that amount($70) for everybody total? I'm used to it being one amount for the dining room and one amount for the room steward, etc. I take it you are saying if we wanted to give extra to anyone we'd have to do it in cash? Or could we have that added to the card as well?

[Freckles_51]

What about the pools? Kids areas? Hot tubs?

 

The Valor has 3 pools and 5 hot tubs, plus a small toddlers pool.

 

The aft pool and hot tubs(2) are adult only.

There are 2 hot tubs beside the main Lido pool

There is another pool and hot tub on deck 10 below the slide

The toddlers pool is on a higher deck (maybe 11), forward, on the port side.

 

Someone mentioned that only deck 5 gives you access from forward to aft - that is on public levels (ie on deck 3 and 4 the Lincoln dining room blocks the way) . You can go forward to aft on all levels except 3 and 4, so if you're staying on say..deck 8 forward and want to go to the aft dining room, walk along deck 8 corridor and take the aft elevators.

 

Is the S&S card like your room key that you charge everything to?

 

Yes

 

Are the tips automatically put on the card or do you have to go to guest services and have them put on it? Is that amount($70) for everybody total?

 

You will see it on your S&S account (which you can check on your in-cabin tv) within a few days of boarding. It is $70 pp including children

 

I take it you are saying if we wanted to give extra to anyone we'd have to do it in cash? Or could we have that added to the card as well?

 

I know you can tip extra in cash, not sure if you can add it to S&S but probably you can at the purser's desk.

[Freckles_51]

here's a review from our recent trip on the valor.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=963957&highlight=

 

That is the best Valor review that I have seen yet....lots of info and loads of pics. :D

[LADYBUG34113]

Thanks for the help with the tipping but I'm still a little confused. We've already paid for our cruise and weren't offered an option to prepay tips so I guess the only way to do it is onboard. Is the S&S card like your room key that you charge everything to? Are the tips automatically put on the card or do you have to go to guest services and have them put on it? Is that amount($70) for everybody total? I'm used to it being one amount for the dining room and one amount for the room steward, etc. I take it you are saying if we wanted to give extra to anyone we'd have to do it in cash? Or could we have that added to the card as well?

 

I have read that you can always call Bon Voyage and start putting money on your S&S account. Yes, it is $70 per person for the 7 day cruise so for my DH and I, that is $140. You can also go to the purser's desk when you board and put cash on the card.

 

They don't always offer the option but it is there. When you look online, there is a box you can check to prepay. It is just a personal preference in how you want to do it.

 

I have learned so much on CC. Last cruise, I clicked on the online documents and by doing that, I missed the opportunity to get docs in the mail. It was not a big deal, just printed the pages I needed and lamenated the luggage tags. So, If you want hardcopy docs, do not click on the online documents, even just to view.:rolleyes:

 

You will love the Valor. I also had an aft balcony so I can't tell you about motion on the front of the ship. If you have a bow OV, then look for the doors that takes you out to the large balcony. There are not chairs out there but not many ppl either.

 

We usually leave cash. They have envelopes at the purser's desk, if needed. I am not sure if you could go get cash at the purser's desk and have the cash charged to the S&S. I don't think it would be recommended to put the tip directly on the card. I would worry whether the person would receive it or not.

[Wennfred]

That is the best Valor review that I have seen yet....lots of info and loads of pics. :D

 

Valor always has great reviews. She is also one of my favorites.

 

 

 

Fred

[Freckles_51]

Valor always has great reviews. She is also one of my favorites.

 

 

 

Fred

 

I'll be sailing on her next month for the 2nd time! WOOHOO!!!

[shipshapegal]

i LOVE the valor, the inlaid marble flags on the floors and tables, the tribute to heros!

 

as to the rooms in the front. are you talking about the ones that are all the way in the front? not on the port or starboard sides? if so, they are great. there is a window and they are the price of the insides. the window is looking out at a private deck (sort of private deck) and you should go outside and see if you can see inside from out there. usually you can't but you can see out. i try to get these rooms on the valor if i can, great value!

 

smiles, bee

[9happycruisers]

i LOVE the valor, the inlaid marble flags on the floors and tables, the tribute to heros!

 

as to the rooms in the front. are you talking about the ones that are all the way in the front? not on the port or starboard sides? if so, they are great. there is a window and they are the price of the insides. the window is looking out at a private deck (sort of private deck) and you should go outside and see if you can see inside from out there. usually you can't but you can see out. i try to get these rooms on the valor if i can, great value!

 

smiles, bee

No, actually our rooms are 2 balcony rooms and 1 regular inside but the they're almost the very last ones on the right side as you're looking forward. We were concerned about feeling motion.

[9happycruisers]

Thought I'd ask for some more info.

 

Still wondering if the balcony cabins in the front of the boat are ok. If anybody has any input on that I'd really appreciate it.

 

In addition, has anybody done the "reef bottom fishing" in Belize? Is it any good? I'd love to hear about it.

 

Thanks so much for everybody's info. We love hearing all the details and everything about the ship as we have never sailed on Carnival before and don't know how things work.

[9happycruisers]

Thought I'd ask for some more info.

 

Still wondering if the balcony cabins in the front of the boat are ok. If anybody has any input on that I'd really appreciate it.

 

In addition, has anybody done the "reef bottom fishing" in Belize? Is it any good? I'd love to hear about it.

 

Thanks so much for everybody's info. We love hearing all the details and everything about the ship as we have never sailed on Carnival before and don't know how things work.

Anyone?