Carnival Valor and trip to Belize/cozumel/grand caymen

[MRMartins]

Took a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Valor. If this is your first time cruise you will like this ship, if you have sailed on Royal Carribean lower your expectations because Carnival does not compare. Carnival foor was just ok. The main shows were good but not much activities going on besides them. My wife and I still had a great time- the cruise was cheap and we enjoyed the ports it went to but just run of the mill cruise ship. If your stopping in Belize I recommend Ziplinning and Cave Tubing-It was the best part of our trip.

 

 

We booked zip lining and Cave Tubing with Major Tom Tours. you can find there website at cave-tubing DOT net We booked with them back in march on our last cruise after reading all the great reviews and had so much fun we booked again when this cruise was stopping in Belize. The tour guides- Minor Tom (Major Toms son) and Amin aka Moogly were very friendly and knowledgeable and respectful. You got to learn about Belize and its people on the trip to and from cave tubing/ziplinning. And they showed you things in the Jungle on your walk to the cave system. My wife and I highly recommend them and recommend doing the zipline/cave tubing combo $95 which is about the price the ship charges for just one. lunch was also delicious and well worth the extra $6. even though we did it twice it would be hard to do something else if we went to Belize again. If you decide to go with them tell them Marcio & Rhonda say hello

We did the swimming with the stingrays, Turtle farm and hell tour.booked through the ship. Swimming with the stingrays is a must do! a lot of fun. Turtle farm is cool to. Hell is literally just a small gift shop so I recommend going just the stingrays or stingray and turtle farm tour.

Carnival stops at Mahagany Bay, the beach there is nice, had a great time. I wouldn't leave that area and would recommend booking with the ship if you want to explore.

Cozumel is a lot of fun, clear water, prety beaches. Alot of modern shopping downtown. A lot of great restaurants bars to party at like senor frogs and carlos and charlies. This time we went to Mr. Sanchos $15 cab ride from the port for a couple. nice beach fish swim around you! great food Friendly workers and other activities available just a walk away. For $50 a person you can eat and drink all you want all day, you also get snorkel gear and cayake included. We also when jet skiing for $64 total for 2 people for 30 min....a must do at least once!

[nhraformula00]

Sorry to hear that you did not care for Carnival as much as RCC.We always cruise on CCL (8) and had the same feeling when we went on RRC Voyager of the seas a couple of years ago. We really did not like it,thinking it was gonna be a step up.It was boring in our opinion.Glad to hear your overall cruise was fun.

[jks336]

glad you had a good cruise, thanks for your opinions on your cruise. As you see, there are pro's and con's to each cruise ship and each cruise line. lol. with around 3000 people there will be different likes and dislikes.. we're doing Mr.Sanchos on our trip coming up.

[cmptrwiz]

We were on the Valor last November and had a great time. I thought the food was wonderful. Service was outstanding. We have only been on NCL to compare and love Carnival. We have never been on Royal so can't really compare. I have a friend who hates Carnival, but has never sailed on them. How can my friend compare one cruise line to another if they have never sailed them before.

 

I had an opportunity to book a free 7 day Carnival cruise (port taxes and $35 booking fee only) and my friend was mad because I didn't tell them about it. I told them it was on Carnival and I knew they hated Carnival so I hadn't mentioned it to them. They said if it was FREE they might consider Carnival!

 

Wiz

[Kurbanfan]

Took a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Valor. If this is your first time cruise you will like this ship, if you have sailed on Royal Carribean lower your expectations because Carnival does not compare. Carnival foor was just ok. The main shows were good but not much activities going on besides them. My wife and I still had a great time- the cruise was cheap and we enjoyed the ports it went to but just run of the mill cruise ship. If your stopping in Belize I recommend Ziplinning and Cave Tubing-It was the best part of our trip.

 

 

We booked zip lining and Cave Tubing with Major Tom Tours. you can find there website at cave-tubing DOT net We booked with them back in march on our last cruise after reading all the great reviews and had so much fun we booked again when this cruise was stopping in Belize. The tour guides- Minor Tom (Major Toms son) and Amin aka Moogly were very friendly and knowledgeable and respectful. You got to learn about Belize and its people on the trip to and from cave tubing/ziplinning. And they showed you things in the Jungle on your walk to the cave system. My wife and I highly recommend them and recommend doing the zipline/cave tubing combo $95 which is about the price the ship charges for just one. lunch was also delicious and well worth the extra $6. even though we did it twice it would be hard to do something else if we went to Belize again. If you decide to go with them tell them Marcio & Rhonda say hello

We did the swimming with the stingrays, Turtle farm and hell tour.booked through the ship. Swimming with the stingrays is a must do! a lot of fun. Turtle farm is cool to. Hell is literally just a small gift shop so I recommend going just the stingrays or stingray and turtle farm tour.

Carnival stops at Mahagany Bay, the beach there is nice, had a great time. I wouldn't leave that area and would recommend booking with the ship if you want to explore.

Cozumel is a lot of fun, clear water, prety beaches. Alot of modern shopping downtown. A lot of great restaurants bars to party at like senor frogs and carlos and charlies. This time we went to Mr. Sanchos $15 cab ride from the port for a couple. nice beach fish swim around you! great food Friendly workers and other activities available just a walk away. For $50 a person you can eat and drink all you want all day, you also get snorkel gear and cayake included. We also when jet skiing for $64 total for 2 people for 30 min....a must do at least once!

 

I highly disagree with this.......Roatan is awesome! Book with Victor Bodden tours and you will get your own private van and tour guide and you can make up your own tour whether you want to go to the beach for the day, tour the island, zip lining etc....and is very cheap.

You need to walk up the hill and out of the gates to meet your driver.

I can't wait to go back for a land vacation......West bay beach kinda reminds me of the North Shore of Oahu....except instead of a sleepy surfing town it is a dive town.......

People need to do research!

Here is the website:

 

http://www.boddentours.com/

[evergladesgator]

We cruised on the Valor last Oct. Food was great, service was great the whole ship was GREAT. We are going to miss ya not sailing on Carnival in the future. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Last RC cruise, i ate pasta every night due to the food being fit for hogs.:eek:

[Goonies75]

First, thanks for your personal review of the Carnival Valor and it not being up to par. I would however like to point out as a past RCCL cruiser, that our recent trip on the Valor (09/05 - 9/12/2010) was absolutely great. Having sailed on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas in the past, I have experienced the best and worst of RCCL's big and smaller ships. With that said, I believe it to be almost common knowledge that the dining on Carnival ships is well above par, with most thinking it far surpasses RCCL's cuisine. To each is own though and of course this is my opinion based on my own recent Carnival experience. I would like to point out a few things that made this cruise on the Valor special. Even though we didnt personally interact with the cruise director (we never do!), we felt Big Tex was great. He gave just the right amount of information on activities and was very personable. Our room, Panorama deck balcony, was far larger than the family suite we had on Freedom of the Seas. A room for two being larger than a family suite on any cruise is absurd. Do I care about Johnny Rockets, paying for a balcony room that overlooks the interior of the ship, riding a caroussel while I am out to sea, surfing a flowrider or floating around in a behemoth of a "shopping mall"? Not really, but again, to each is own. The Valor and the other suite of Conquest class ships are great ships both in design and itineraries. I am happy with my sole Carnival experience due to the great service that we received at all levels, dining, room stewards, cruise director, drink prices, variety of fun adult options to partake in and great ports of call. We tend to partake in some of the more laid back activities on cruises while at sea. (i.e. tanning, boozing, eating, gambling, playing bingo, horizontal mambo, etc..). I would take any of those activities over eating a meal at a Johnny Rockets or trying to stand up on a Flowrider. For us, cruising is just as much about the ports of calls and shore excursions as it is about the ship. Hopefully, you have noticed that I haven't knocked RCCL at all in this response, it just seems that every so often you have people on these boards telling you to lower your expectations and that Carnival only has run of the mill ships. Challenge yourself to make your mind up for yourself, as you will find more people in this Carnival message who think the Valor is a great ship and not run of the mill.

 

As for the excursions offered on the Valor itinerary, Cayman - Stingray City (a must do once, but nothing spectacular), Snorkeling the reef not far from Stingray City is phenomenal, Seven Mile Beach is gorgeous, and the shopping around the cruise tender port is above par.

Roatan - would highly recommend BoddenTours, offer a great zip lining/monkey encounter/beach break for $66USD. They take you to the exact same beach that Carnival and RCCL take you to - West End/West Bay Beach (Tobyana sic.) And as our unbiased OP stated Mahogany Beach is great if you don't mind the panoramic and spectacular view of the cruise ship. Also believe it or not, the snorkeling/ diving off the coast of Roatan is well above par and inexpensive.

Belize City- didn't do Cave Tubing, but heard its hit or miss. Have always heard good things about Major Tom. We prefer to shop in Belize City as the prices for Clothing, jewelry, wares and prescription drugs are cheaper in Belize than they are in Cozumel. Had some friends on the cruise who raved about Caye Caulker for snorkeling and diving.

Cozumel- always great for shopping and beach excursions. We went to Nachi Cocom on this cruise and loved it. $49USD for unlimited drinks and food and your own personal set of chairs with a thatched umbrella canopy. The kayaks, jet skis and parasailing are extra.

[Fourseventeen]

Valor is my fav ship. Every review I have read from people in my age group (early 30s/late 20s) have said they like CCL better and that the RCCL crowd was much older and slower paced...aka boring lol. I suppose ill get old too some day and decide to give RCCL a shot. I know RCCL has been trying to up the anty a bit and attract the younger crowds lately.

[Cruzinbabe06]

I too enjoy RCCL ships. They have beautiful and amazing ships, you can't take that away from them. But, I love Carnival also. Each ship is a different experience. Don't single out the Corporation. As you can see, I've had my fair share of both lines. My least favorite was RCCL Explorer of the Seas and my first CCL Imagination cruise was horrible. Reasons are to exasperating to go into.

My most memorable cruise was my first cruise that was on RCCL Majesty. That hooked me on cruising. My CCL Spirit cruise was the BEST cruise we ever had. It was perfect from beginning to end. So good, me and husband was tearing up saying goodbye to our waitstaff the last night. They gave us a photo of the ship and signed it putting all their names and email ddresses. My husband is a 6 ft., 250 pound Correction Officer so this shocked me. Best cruise ever.

Food is personal. I enjoy Carnival food better than RCCL. Again, my personal taste. Tried NCL. That is not for me, but I would never knock anyone that loves it.

Carnival is a cruise line that is affordable for the average working class person. Maybe that's why it get such a bad reputation. That doesn't make RCCL better. But, Carnival is more affordable for most folks. And, even sometimes Carnival prices can be up there, it depends.

I understand why RCCL prices are so outrageous. They have to pay for the innovative ships they are making. Still want to go on the Oasis. Just can't justify paying $900.00 or more per person for an inside cabin. Maybe when the Allure come out, prices will go down. Until then Carnival is where I'll be. Again, this is my personal opinion.:o