Daphne'sMom

12 hours ago, jujubird said:

Thanks for the review.  We sail in January with our 3 year old (and a bunch of college friends and their young kiddos). Any additional pieces of good information for those of us with small kiddos? 

(We are also looking at booking with Island Breeze).

My grandkids (3 & 6) enjoyed Camp Carnival.   My daughter & son-in-law told them they had to try it once and then left it up to them when they wanted to go.  They chose to go several times, especially my grandson (6).  Both kids chose to go one evening when they were having some sort of evening event/party for the kids. 

Both enjoyed the Dr Seuss parade and the Dr Seuss breakfast.  Also, there was a night that the Dive In movies was geared more towards kids.  My grandson thought that was great. 

They used the pool on the warm days.  They also did Build a Bear.  Cookies,chips & lemonade were served during Build A Bear.   There were a lot of kids  on our sailing so the kids that were at the end of the line were limited to St Jude bears.  We showed up on time and and they were already limited to type of "bears" and costumes.  

My nephew (15) took my grandson to play mini golf and then they "went out" for pizza & ice cream.  They signed up as a team in the corn hole competition (and did not make it too far).    Since my grandson is enamored of my nephew that was one of the highlights of his trip :)

I was a little apprehensive about how well they would do in the main dining room even though our group was all family.  They really did pretty well.  The dining staff was so good to them and that really helped.

The older kids in our group (13 & 15) enjoyed movies, trivia, family comedy club, pizza and more pizza, swimming, water slides and just trying out & exploring everything new.

I would happily use Island Breeze again.  

Hope you have a great trip!!

If I recollect...and looking at deck plans, think this is accessed by stairs only.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures of that area to help my memory.

Just re-read my comments about other passengers.  I did not mean to imply that I have never encountered pleasant passengers in the past.   This trip, we did not encounter anyone grumpy (except my niece when I tried to wake her up in the morning) or chair hogs.  I don't know what they put in the lemonade on this cruise but .....    It worked - everyone seemed to be in good humor.

Hello - There are not very many Valor reviews and this one will sink to page 20 in a hurry but I will put it out here for anyone that does a search in the future.  I am not a fan of the shorter cruises because I have to consider airfare or a very long drive to get on any ship.  I like to make it worth the time/money spent just getting to & from the port. 

This was a family cruise that was originally scheduled for March 2018 on the Magic.  About 2 months before the cruise, one of my brothers was diagnosed with cancer.   Still given the go ahead by the doctors - until he couldn't breath as the chemo had damaged his lungs severely.  He ended up on a ventilator and due to massive amounts of steroids and prayers, his lungs healed and he is on the road to recovery.  He had surgery to remove the cancer and followed up with radiation and is now able to walk again with the use of walker or cane but still has a long way to go to get back to "normal".  So, after cancelling our cruise on the Magic we decided to to a "Thanksgiving Cruise" as our family has a lot to be thankful for and the Valor fit our schedule.  No longer a week long cruise or out of a tropical port but we were going to make the best of it.  

We flew into Houston.  I had arranged transportation to & from Galveston with Island Breeze.  They were fantastic.  They provided everything including 2 car seats for my grandchildren.  They emailed the day before we arrived and made phone contact once we landed at the airport.  Our driver Marty navigated thru rush hour holiday traffic and even made a stop at Buc Ees (sorry if misspelled) so we could get snacks, pop and wine.  He even got a luggage rack and helped us with our luggage once we arrived at The Harbor House in Galveston.  

Dee at the Harbor House had called a day before we left to arrange our shuttle to the ship times.  She was working at the front desk when we arrived and is a very warm and hospitable person.  The Harbor House is within walking distance to the ship but with my brother's mobility issues we took advantage of the free shuttle service.  We ate at the Olymlpia Grill which was both tasty and very convenient.  A continental breakfast with substantial offerings is provided in the morning.   I apologize to any other guest who may have been awoken to by the squeals my grandkids made when they were able to see the ship arriving.  The views were fantastic.  

A private shuttle bus arrived while we were outside waiting for the motel shuttle.  The weather was overcast, windy and a little cool.  The driver in the private shuttle offered to let us sit in her heated shuttle.  That was so nice of her but we explained that we were from the midwest so we were more than comfortable.   Our motel shuttle was also smooth.  The driver let us hand the luggage to him to load and drove us a couple blocks over where....a porter had just unloaded a luggage cart from passengers that were on the previous cruise.  The driver and porter pretty much handled all the luggage from there.  I have never, ever had anything work out so smoothly.  

This was the first time I had ever cruised out of Galveston.  I am used to Miami, New Orleans and Port Canaveral.  The Galveston port just had a different vibe, not bad - just different.  The others seemed to put you in a more tropical mood but maybe that is just me.  The whole process was smooth and painless and the every staff person we met was super friendly - and they were working on Thanksgiving Day!!  I did not encounter one grumpy person at all.  

This was the first cruise for 7 out of our group of 12 and I really, really wanted them to love cruising as much as I do.  THANK YOU GALVESTON AND CARNIVAL VALOR!!  We all had Faster to the Fun and boarded early and painlessly.  We had 4 cabins next door to each other on the Lido and one cabin on the Spa deck as there weren't any cabins for 4 available on the Lido when we booked.  We went to grab lunch first.  While everyone was visiting, I checked our cabins to see if they were ready.  I figured those of us on the Lido may have the same room steward and didn't want to overwhelm him with us all arriving early and at the same time.  Our cards were all in the mail boxes so I am probably on camera being seen grabbing all of them.  

Our luggage all showed up pretty quickly.   I have bright green luggage and one of my brothers was always able to spot it getting loaded onto the airplane and also when we were walking the "gangway" onto the ship.  The teens in our group took off to explore after the unpacking.  I had to wait around as the deadbolt in my cabin door wasn't working and the previous passengers had left the safe door locked open.  Even with it being busy with all the people boarding, both items were taken care of while I was unpacking.  Muster was as usual.  I do wish they would talk louder or broadcast all of the instructions.  My past experience with muster is that there is always one or two passengers that have had too much to drink already and a comedian or two in the group.  I did NOT encounter that on this trip.  I wonder if most of the passengers were also family groups even though this was a 4 day cruise.

Our group would scatter during the day.  We all had the chat app and I can't say enough about how much that was appreciated.  We had two people in our group that did not always receive the texts but other than that, it worked fantastic.  We had anytime dining and ate 3 out of the 4 nights in the Lincoln Dining Room.  Again, I cannot emphasize how great our experience was.  Because of our group size and the fact that we had a 3 & 6 year old, we did show up at 5 45 and were able to be seated together.  They would push several tables together to make one long table.  The wait staff were all very attentive and very good to my grand kids.   One night, they brought chocolate covered strawberries to my granddaughter was was done eating but trying to steal fruit off of everyone's plates.  Another night, the waiter made a pirate hat and gun out of napkins for my grandson and bird out of napkins for my granddaughter.  Several of our group were apprehensive about using the dining room before the cruise and were all won over.  An advantage to eating early, was that there was still time later in the evening for the teens and some of the adults to make room for pizza!!  Also, not sure if it was because we were always seated early, but we did not encounter the photographers that always show up when you have just put a fork full of food in your mouth!!

Our only port of call was Cozumel.  We had wonderful weather.  We had planned to go to Chanknaab but ended up taking a large taxi to Buccano's and then shopped before getting back on the ship.  The weather turned out great.  The kids were able to snorkel.  The place was nice and clean and my Mom was happy with her choice so it was all good. 

Other passengers!!  This was also a first for me.  I had warned our first timers that they may have trouble finding empty deck chairs due to chair hogging.  Not sure if we were just lucky or what - not only did we find plenty of deck chairs on our final sea day (first one was overcast & rainy), but there were even empty chairs in the Serenity Area.  We did notice that whenever we were at a show or somewhere where they would ask "where are you from?"  the answer was often some town in Texas.  Perhaps it was a family cruise or just southern hospitality, but our fellow cruisers were all very pleasant.

The one and only complaint I have about the Valor was the internet service.  I had purchased the value plan.  I gave up trying to connect on my tablet the first night after spending about 45 minutes.  Tried my phone and could connect but then it would drop.  We had a blizzard at home and I was trying to keep up on emails and track the storm as well as any flight notifications.  I finally spent an extra 20 dollars to upgrade the service and it did not make any difference.  I even tried using the Fun Hub computers on the last night of the cruise and the morning we disembarked.  I was finally able to confirm our flights using the app on my phone.  

Extra's that  never happen to me: My brother with the medical issues had casino cash waiting for him and ended up money ahead, he bought bingo tickets for the group one night and my other brother won $150.  He also bought pull tickets (not sure what you call them) and my nephew won $500 with one of them as well as a few smaller winning tickets.  My niece is a Harry Potter fanatic and was excited to see that there was a Harry Potter Trivia that she won!  Most of us went to the Dive In movie one night.  We did bring seasoned salt with us (learned my lesson on the Splendor last year).  

The comedy club was a hit with our family.  We attended a couple of the production numbers (some one night, others another night), the Hasbro show, etc.  One of my brothers and nephew attended a Q&A session about crew life on the ship and thought it was very informative.  The teens in our group had the time of their lives and thought they were on first name basis with cruise director TJ.  TJ was very upbeat but not overbearing.  

My favorite class of ships is the Dream class so I was grateful that our family was going to finally be able to go on a cruise.  I was just disappointed that it was a shorter cruise on a smaller ship.  The Valor and her crew more than made up for any doubts that I had.  The ship was clean, not too hard to navigate for my brother and the crew was fantastic.  Anyone thinking of sailing on her has an experience half as good as we did - you will be happy.  

Island Breeze was waiting for us when it was time to disembark.  Our driver this day was Jim.  He sent a text and asked that I call when able to do so.  We had two fellow passengers that were also going to the airport.  Jim gave us some interesting information about Galveston (he lives there).  The drive to the airport was smooth and painless.  

We arrived back in Iowa two over a foot of snow.  Fortunately, the roads had already been cleared and we missed having to drive in blizzard conditions that had existed earlier.  

If you are on the fence about going on the Valor - DO IT!  

Our family just took a cruise over Thanksgiving on the Valor.  The internet service was honestly, the only complaint I had in the survey following the cruise.    I purchased the value plan so I could check on emails and our airline as there was a blizzard at home and I was afraid our flights would get changed or cancelled.  I could not connect on my tablet or phone.  Tried the Carnival computers as well and finally paid the extra $20 to upgrade my plan and it wasn't any better.  I don't recall ever such poor internet service on previous cruises.

The Hub chat app was wonderful, although 2 in our group did not always get their text messages.  I highly recommend if you are travelling with a large group, especially if there are teenagers.

I learned that almost every "talk" or 'seminar" held is really a sales pitch of some sort.  

I forgot to sign up when we boarded.  I went to guest services later on the first evening and was able to sign up our group for the second seating as the first was already filled.  Our group (ages 3-76) enjoyed it.  The more "mature" and first time cruisers were all impressed.  

Thank-you for coming back to give an update!  I wonder if the original plan had been to go on a solo cruise if you would have enjoyed it better?  I love to plan vacations and would have been so disappointed if all of my/our plans were changed last minute.  Kudos to you for going and making the best of it.  I have a large family cruise coming very soon and after it is over I hope to start planning my first solo cruise.  I am actually looking forward to the freedom :)

9 hours ago, jayscore said:

Back in the Stone Age, we started off our cruise at the Purser's, I mean service desk, creating writer's cramp with a fist full of Travler's Cheques to sign over in the amount of $500 for our account.
Anyhoo, however you choose to "pay the bill" is fine with the cruise line.

 

Hahaha....I had totally forgotten about "travelers cheques".  I always purchased too many  -always erred on the side of caution - and then would be using them at the grocery store and everywhere else when we returned home.

I will echo nearly all of the Breeze comments.  The Breeze is a great ship and I love that itinerary.  San Juan has so much to offer but the forts are right there and inexpensive.  We have also gone to the rain forest and thoroughly enjoyed.  Grand Turk - another inexpensive day right at the end of the pier - free beach day.   Echoing others, Amber Cove has a nice pool available.  We did a zipline/horseback/lunch excursion last time and were planning on renting a cabana for next cruise there.  St Thomas - there are a lot of options depending on what your family enjoys doing.  Enjoy your cruise whichever trip you decide.  

Thanks for posting about this.  Was just able to purchase for my daughters cabin on upcoming cruise.  This will be the first cruise that my daughter & son-in-law will have with their kids.  

Wow, and I spend the week trying to preserve my towel animal menagerie.  Those critters don't hold up so well when you try to move them to more convenient locations.  I often feel guilty that the room steward is having to spend his/her time making the animals for an adult only cabin

How many luggage tags will you need?

Short version - yes the tips should increase.  

My 2 cents (longer rambling version) - When tipping at restaurants, it is usually a percentage of the bill and since we are not presented with a bill at each meal it is hard to determine appropriate tip.  Also, motel housekeeping on land would require a daily tip amount and even though we pay the porters to handle our luggage, it is the ship staff that deliver them to the cabins and retrieve them the last night.  I don't recall the last time the gratuities were increased.  I like having the option of paying Carnival and having them distribute so much better than the envelope system in the past.  We have always paid our room steward & assistant extra. 

I would prefer that they raise prices and bring staffing back to what it used to be and make tipping an option vs a necessity.  It would be easier to justify tipping for good service vs adequate but when it seems the staff is spread thin, it makes it hard for them (the staff) to provide the kind of service we were accustomed to in the past.

(Now tipping the porters is a whole other topic.  I have a lot of issues with the conduct of some and wish there was something Carnival could do to address this with port authority or whoever is in charge of them.)

Agree, issues with ship list on Carnival forum as well.  For example, when "clicking" on "Carnival Valor", it brings up everything that has "Carnival" in the text - not just threads that mention Valor.

I would cut the mani/pedi if not part of a package deal. I usually have this done as a pre-cruise task. Ran out of time once and scheduled for first evening on the ship instead. Was not worth it in my experience. Most I've ever spent and was probably worst mani/pedi I've ever received. If there's not enough time to get this done before the cruise, I would do it myself.

If you do get confirmed for a dining time switch, when does that usually happen? I'm assuming around the time online check in begins.

I received a notice for our cabins on Sept 6th. We cruise over Thanksgiving.

If I am in the broom closet I definitely need cheers!

Yes but - any day in a broom closet on a ship..... ;p;p:)

Crossing my fingers for you to get a a prime cabin!

My opinion only so take it with a grain of salt.....and take some salt or popcorn seasoning along. The popcorn smelled so good but was tasteless on the Splendor last year. I have popcorn seasoning on my packing list for next cruise. Between the damp sea air and the lack of butter & salt (aka healthy version) - was seriously the most tasteless popcorn I've ever had. Maybe I hit a bad night???

Might be a stretch for some as a "cruise song" but: I'm Alive by Kenny Chesney & Dave Matthews

My opinion was pretty much summed up well by Firemanbobswife. The larger ships have so much to do that you may not be able to fit it all in on one cruise. I have only done one ship repeat and it was nice as I already knew where everything was!!! Ship classes are the same way - if you've been on one it doesn't take long to get the layout figured out on a sister ship.

There are usually so many things to check out at each port that I have always tried something different each visit. San Juan has so much to do that I am looking into a land vacation as one day is just not enough. We've tried several different excursions at Cozumel but the last 4 have been Nachi Cocom (love it when this is the last port of call on a cruise). I have not stayed on board at any port yet but am seriously considering it for future visits to certain ports. I tend to do this at embarkation ports as well. I will try different locations but once I find one I like - that will be my go to hotel.

It is so interesting to read the reviews that people are kind enough to post. There are so many different ways to customize a cruise to fit each person or family. You also read some where cruising is just not for them. But as so many have noted, you can do as much or as little as you like and if you can't find anything to eat.......no comment :)

I received an email. The request was done by my PVP but the email came from Carnival guest services. I would advise watching your Cruise Details status in case this isn't always the case. Perhaps it depends on how close you are to sailing time?

My train was waiting at the station, and my forward progress continues. I've decided to go all the way home before heading to work. I want to change out of these clothes that have so far today been on a ship, a taxi, an airplane, now a subway, and soon an Uber... That's way too much people cootie's to be walking around with...

Glad you made it back safely. I laughed about the need to change clothes but only because I am the same way. Even if I use the Carnival laundry rooms, I still re-wash my clothes when I get home. Totally feeling your back to work blues. I build a buffer day (or 2) into my schedule whenever I can. Worst I have encountered was having flight delays that got me back home around 1 am and then having to be up at work the next morning. That saying, "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" makes me feel some days that I must be indestructible. I am adding myself to list of people that will miss catching your review everyday when I get home from work.

Not true. Sign up for a UPS account online and you can opt out of signing for packages. Very easy to do.

 

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You can also use your online account to change delivery. For no charge, you can have it delivered to a UPS store location. There is one close to where I work so that is the option I take. It may not be convenient for those who do not have one close by. Also, with the UPS account, you get email alerts from UPS including a tracking link, whenever you have any package that will be delivered by them and alerts if there will be a delay. The account I use is free.

Ok -I have really enjoyed your review and am terribly sad that it is coming to an end as well. It is very generous of you to take time to post for us to follow along. Some of your posts have been hilarious. So, I've been wondering throughout the entire review - how do you not weigh 1,000 pounds?