Carnival Valor Oct 17-24, 2010 Review

[moondog73]

If you do not like long, fairly detailed reviews, then this one is not for you. I just do not find rviews like "Excellent trip, would suggest it" as a helpful review.

 

 

This was our first cruise and we were a group of 8. We all arrived in Miami the night before so there were no problems traveling. All week, we had been watching the weather as Hurricane Paula had formed right off the coast of Honduras. We were praying it would not be a factor and, in fact, it wasn’t.

Embarkation:

This was quick and painless. 6 of us arrived at the terminal between 10:30-11:00am. I elected to carry on a twelve pack drinks for me and a twelve pack of cranberry juice for my girlfriend. The porter told the other 4 people to check their drinks since “he never saw them”. There was a very short line. We showed security our passports and boarding passes and went through security. Next stop was to fill out a short questionnaire and receive our boarding numbers. We got number 18. The longest line was to receive our sail and sign cards. The wait took maybe 10 minutes. After that we had a short 20 minute wait and we were heading for the boat. Again there was a line to board since they scan your sail and sign card and take a photo of you to electronically attach to your S&S card.

We headed for the Lido deck and staked out a spot to wait. We took turns waiting at the tables while the others explored the Lido deck and buffets. The servers must have asked us 1,000 times if we wanted to buy a drink. Annoying, but at least we are on the boat. Around 1:30, we were able to get to our rooms. We had a balcony room on deck 6 (Upper Deck) on the port (left) side. This was excellent since at every stop, the docks were always on the port (left) side of the ship. Just after 4pm, we began our journey. We watched from our balcony as we sailed down the channel and past South beach.

[moondog73]

George Town, Grand Cayman:

We arrived in Grand Cayman at 7am ship time which was 6am local time at Royal Walter terminal. We were on deck 1 at 6:45 to get in line to tender to shore. We were on the first tender. It took longer to board all the passengers than it did to ride to the dock. The port was set up with a couple small souvenir stands and lots of tents for all the excursions. We did not book any excursions through Carnival. We booked them all on our own. 4 of us had booked a Sting Ray City and snorkeling excursion through Moby Dick’s. I personally thought they did a great job. We found their tent, checked in, and paid the balance due. We had about an hour to explore downtown George Town before our excursion. We decided to walk down the street to see what stores we would like to shop at when we came back from the excursion. Finally the time had arrived to board the bus for the short ride to the marina. We boarded the boat. There were maybe 24 of us on the excursion. We arrived at the sand bar about 20 minutes later and were the 4th boat to arrive. Along the way, the staff demonstrated what we needed to do, so we felt prepared when we entered the water. The sting rays were magnificent. They would come right up to us and surround us. Our guides had a bucket of squid in the water so the sting rays really hung around us. The guides were very attentive and made sure we all got to hold, feed, and have as many photos taken as we wished. Before you knew it, it was time to head to our snorkeling stop. As short boat ride later and we all were in the water snorkeling. On the boat ride back, the sun finally came out. As the sun warmed the island, we saw several wild iguanas basking on the side of the road on the bus ride back. The guides had suggested a restaurant called Rack ‘Ems for lunch. It was a small bar/restaurant on the bay. We really enjoyed our lunches. We then did some shopping and headed back to the port to tender back. Of course the line was extremely long and we got soaked from a storm. Overall not a bad first day!!!

[moondog73]

Roatan, Honduras:

We arrived in Roatan at noon, so we slept in. Upon arriving at the port, the ship turned 180 degrees around and backed into the dock. Quite impressive a boat that large could back into the port. We left the ship and walked through the Mahogany Bay shopping buildings and headed out the gate. We walked up the “now famous” hill to meet up with Victor Bodden tours. The hill really was not as bad as I have seen written about. As we reached the summit and began down, there were all kinds of people waiting there trying to sign you up for an excursion. We found a gentleman holding a Victor Bodden sign. He took us a little further down the hill to meet our driver for the day—Leonel. We wanted to do some zip lining at Pirates of the Caribbean and see Victor’s monkeys. We headed off to zip line first. Along the way, Leonel gave us a tour pointing out all sorts of things. Roatan is a lot more like the tropical island people imagine than Grand Cayman was. We arrived to zip line and quickly got geared up. The 4 of us piled into the back seat of a truck and up the hill we went. Boy was it steep!!! Once at the top, the view was amazing. Our guides took a picture of the 4 of us and down the trail we went to the first line. Boy was it high (328’) and long (1,800+’). That first step was a doozy, but we all loved it!!! We were there maybe 30-45 minutes and off we went to the other end of the island to see the monkeys. Again, along the way, Leonel pointed out the sites. We arrived at the monkey farm on Victor Bodden’s property and were assigned a guide. He took us into a couple cages to let us interact with the White Faced Capuchin monkeys. They immediately climb and jump on you wanting the food the guide brings with him. They were extremely friendly and never did I feel threatened they would bite me. After about 30 minutes we were off to the West End where the locals sell souvenirs. The road was full of potholes and it was about to rain. We walked down the street but saw nothing of interest so we went back to the van to head back to the port. On the way, Leonel took us to see Tabayana Beach. We walked on the beach and were immediately swarmed by locals wanting to sell us sunglasses, watches, etc. I did not want to be bothered, so we took a few quick pictures and left. We arrived back at Mahogany Bay and looked in the shops, but saw nothing spectacular. We decided to walk over to the beach to check it out. Again, there was nothing spectacular there. Beaches are brown, not like the white sandy beaches of the Florida panhandle. We got back on the ship, cleaned up, and ate dinner.

[moondog73]

Belize City, Belize:

We arrived in Belize at 8am. We had to go to the Eagles Lounge to receive a tender ticket. All 8 of us arrived and got tender #1. The valor had to anchor a good 5 miles offshore, so the tender was a longer ride than Grand Cayman. Not a problem though. We exited the tender and quickly found our way across the street to meet up with X-treme Cave Tubing. We were told to take the first tender possible, but of course the 8 of us were the first ones there. We had to wait at least 30 minutes for the other 4 people to arrive from the boat. Why is it so hard for people to follow simple instructions??? Finally they arrived and off we went to a 15 passenger van. The ride to the river took around an hour and a half. Riding through Belize City, our guide Nikoli gave us some history of the city and country. We saw lots of police walking around carrying automatic weapons. We finally arrived at the river and we received our tubes, lifejackets, and headlamps. We had a good 30 minute hike through the rain forest. I particularly liked this part. Nikoli would periodically stop along the way and show us different trees, plants, caves with bats, etc. We happened upon a termite nest and Nikoli said they tasted like mint. I was the only one in our group who would try them. Yes—they did taste minty. We also happened upon a Mexican Tarantula crossing the path. Nikoli caught it and let us see it up close. It was pretty neat. Finally we arrived at the river and we were all helped into our tubes. We locked our feet under the person’s arms in front of each other and had 2 rows of 6. The water was cool but not cold. The caves were a lot longer than I anticipated. The current was extremely slow too. Nikoli really got a workout swimming and pulling us down the river. The carnival tours exited the river immediately upon leaving the second cave. Our group continued downstream through the jungle for a little while longer. We were constantly watching the time as 5pm was quickly approaching. Nikoli knew we were behind schedule so we got back to the van, ate some fruit (sugar cane was the best) and water, and left. On the way back, we were given a box lunch and glass of fresh orange juice. The stewed chicken was perhaps the best chicken I have ever eaten!!! We arrived back at 4pm. The last tender was scheduled for 4:15pm. The guys quickly got in the long tender line and the girls ran into the stores at the port to buy some quick souvenirs. We seemed to cut that too close for me.

[valancy1]

I am sailing Carnival Valor next September. Looking forward to the rest of your review!!!

[moondog73]

Cozumel, Mexico

We arrived in Cozumel at 8am. As soon as we left the ship, the girls were in heaven. They loved the shopping here at the port!!!! 4 of us had scheduled a Royal Dolphin Swim at Chankanaab Park at 11am local time. We walked around buying souvenirs and bottles of Tequila. We decided to go ahead and buy everything we wanted and were going to take it back to the ship. Seemed like a good idea at the time. We walked back down the dock only to see it closed off with an ambulance sitting next to the Valor. Next to the Valor was her sister ship the Conquest. No one was able to get off that ship. After a few minutes (people said it was closed for an hour), we were able to go back to the ship only to wait in line again. Seems no one on the Valor was able to get off while the ambulance was there. We finally got on, left our loot, and back off we went. We really liked Chankanaab Park. We checked in and went to a video orientation. There was the 4 of us plus an Italian couple. After watching a short video, we were led to the floating docks to meet our trainer. We were to be spending time with Eva and Foxie. It was quite an experience. We were even able to use our waterproof digital camera during the experience. Our trainer made sure each of us did all of the planned activities. We liked it so much we ended up buying the picture/dvd package. It was just one of those “once in a lifetime” things. After it was over, we decided to eat some lunch at the park and to walk down to the beach. They had snorkeling available, but we passed on it. Cozumel had the prettiest water of all the ports we visited. An hour later we headed back to the dock to board the ship.

[moondog73]

Debarkation:

We were out of our room by 8am. Went up to Lido and had breakfast. They had started the process around 7:30 and we were number 18. We were off the boat around 9:30. We had checked our luggage the night before and quickly found it in the terminal. The customs line was quite long. If people would get a passport, it would speed up that process tremendously. If you used a birth certificate, the agents had to type much more into the computer. Using a passport, they simply scanned it. We were at the agent for no more than 30 seconds.

Ship:

Overall I really liked the Valor. Yes it was kind of annoying floors 3 & 4 do not go all the way through because of the dining rooms and kitchen, but that was a minor inconvenience. Pools were small for the amount of people on board, but that was not the reason we chose the cruise. We wanted to visit the ports. I especially liked the adults only pool at the rear of the ship. No one under the age of 18 was allowed. While not many kids were on the boat, it was nice to get away from them if we wanted. Buffet was what I expected. People complain the buffet has old food or is cold. NEWS FLASH—it is a buffet!!! One thing I did not like about the buffet was the extremely rude or slow people. The rude people felt they did not have to stand in line. They would just cut in line wherever they saw something they liked. The slow people had to stand there and analyze the food. It’s a buffet. Either take it and don’t eat it or come back later and get it. We ordered room service for breakfast 1 day and did not like the choices. The other mornings, I would get up and get enough food for 2 of us and bring it back to the room. Dining room food was very good in my opinion. We chose the late dining option at 8:15 so we would not feel rushed when we got back on board the ship each day. The servings were not large, but they were going for a fancy presentation. Our waiters, Jackie and Andrew, were excellent. They were very attentive and funny. Each night, Jackie would give us the rundown of what was good and what was bad. I never had a bad dinner. Chair hogs were only a problem for us the last day. We got out to the Lido pool around 10am and almost all the chairs were “saved”. We eventually got 4 together in the front row by the hot tubs. Just took a little patience in stalking people who were leaving. Loved the 40’ tv screen on the lido. I watched football on it the last sea day. Contrary to what I have read, drinks were very strong. You definitely get your money’s worth there, even though they were a bit pricey. We had ordered 2 bottles of alcohol through Bon Voyage. When we got to our room the first day, only 1 bottle was there. I called guest services and told them and they checked into it. Second bottle was there when I got back from dinner. I had seen people complaining about how people dress for dinner. I saw nothing bad. I am not one who likes to play dress up though. I just do not feel it is necessary. I wore a coat and tie on elegant nights, and shorts or khakis the other nights with a polo shirt. Don’t see why people complain about how people dress. It must be the older generation. Smoke was thick in some areas of the ship, especially the casino. Why they do not make the ships non-smoking is a mystery to me. Why do I have to inhale that garbage? Comedy club was pretty good. That had comics 4 nights. We went to the 10:00 show after dinner those nights. We went to a magic show one other night. It was pretty good too. Each night they had picture stations the girls loved on the Promenade Deck. We really did not feel pressured to pose or even purchase pictures. We bought several. We saw our room steward only once. Never was our room dirty. They cleaned it twice a day. We especially liked the towel animals. Every crew member we encountered was smiling and always had something nice to say to us.

Opinions and Tips:

Overall we really enjoyed the cruise. I would do it again, but would want to see different ports. We took the cruise not for the boat or the food, but for the stops. Sitting around doing nothing is not my style. I can do that at home for free. I have heard people say that Royal Caribbean is nicer. I just do not see it. I am sure the food, the service, and the stops are very comparable. Since other cruise lines are more expensive, I can see a different class of people on board those ships. I can see more middle/upper class and Europeans on those cruises. We had no problems booking excursions independent of Carnival. All the companies used email correspondence to communicate what we needed to do and where to meet. Just be mindful what time you need to be back, and remind the guides. All 4 ports accepted the USD as forms of payment especially Cozumel (contrary to reports they only took pesos). We carried our passports everywhere we went. I do not understand why you would not have them on your person at all times when not on the ship. If you miss the ship, without your passport you are stuck. If I had to do it over again, I would not choose the same room. Every night until at least midnight, we could hear the music from the dance club. Did not really bother us too much as we were exhausted from each day’s activities. We did not understand why the volume had to be that loud. I would probably choose a room closer to the Atrium. The girls loved the Guava juice at breakfast as a mixer for the alcohol we ordered in our room. Each morning, we would get 2 or 3 glasses of it to put in the refrigerator in the room to be used later that night.

Now it is time to start planning my next trip. Will it be another cruise?

[Meyer2]

Great review! I enjoyed reading it & thank-you for sharing. We were on the Conquest the same week, so were docked next to the Valor. Our balcony was starboard side, so we saw the ambulance come & then after that we got our clearance. I didn't realize the guests on the Valor couldn't come or go during that time though.

[kiwi121210]

I am so excited that you had a great time! We are doing some of the same tours as you, so it's nice to hear good reviews! thanks for the review!

[nclvet]

Moondog...... We must have been with you on the Moby Dick tour in GC. You did the first tour of the day? Great review....... we did the Clip-n-Zip zipline in Roatan right there near the ship. We chose the anytime dining and it worked out great. Maybe next time we'll check out the dolphins!:)

[Poorplaya]

Thank you very much for the review, very informative.

[boaterette]

Debarkation:

.

I had seen people complaining about how people dress for dinner. I saw nothing bad. I am not one who likes to play dress up though. I just do not feel it is necessary. I wore a coat and tie on elegant nights, and shorts or khakis the other nights with a polo shirt. Don’t see why people complain about how people dress. It must be the older generation. Smoke was thick in some areas of the ship, especially the casino. Why they do not make the ships non-smoking is a mystery to me. Why do I have to inhale that garbage? quote]

 

Probably for the same reason that we have to look at hairy legs while trying to eat dinner.

 

Sounds like you had a good time.

[moondog73]

There is a huge difference between me having to breathe the pollutants you spew out and you not having to see my hairy legs under the tablecloth!!!!! Last time I checked, looking at hairy legs does not promote cancer.

[moondog73]

NCLVET, yes we were on the first Moby Dick tour that day. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you liked the Clip-n-Zip, then definitely try the Pirates Zip Line if you ever go back. Definitely worth it.