Just of The Valor 12-11-05 Western!

[Toriables]

We had a wonderful time! Words can't begin to describe it. The weather was absolutely wonderful, the ship was impressive and clean, the crew couldn't do enough to please us, the food was outstanding. Anyone considering the Valor should DEFINITELY do it! I will post a detailed review once done unpacking !:)

[Onebusyman]

How was Costa Maya? I read another post this morning that Cozumel is a no go at least through April. Bummer.

[Onebusyman]

How was Costa Maya? I read another post this morning that Cozumel is a no go at least through April. Bummer.

 

Sorry for the duplication.

[fliprcruzr]

We had a wonderful time! Words can't begin to describe it. The weather was absolutely wonderful, the ship was impressive and clean, the crew couldn't do enough to please us, the food was outstanding. Anyone considering the Valor should DEFINITELY do it! I will post a detailed review once done unpacking !:)

 

We just got back from the same trip, and most everything was great. Still not enthused about the red team, white team competition, thing, and embarkation/debarkation was HORRENDOUS. Bad enough I'll not use Carnival out of Miami again. Carnival staff during onshore were rude. I don't consider 3 hours waiting to get off the ship a 'fun time'.

[GoinCruisin]

How was Costa Maya? I read another post this morning that Cozumel is a no go at least through April. Bummer.

 

Sorry for the duplication.

 

I was on the Valor 10/3/05. This was my third time in Costa Maya, I LOVE CM!!!! GO to the Costa Maya boards and you can read about things to do... we did the Beach Break through Island Marketing this time, and it was great!!!!!!!!

 

We had perfect embarkation and debarkation! The ship was great, our weather SUCKED, but we had a fabulous time!!

[Toriables]

Costa Maya was my relaxation port...I got off, shopped a little, there were some decent prices at the back part of the shopping area. We returned to the boat, dropped off our things, and went to catch a cab to Jungle Beach. This beach is entirely to gravelly for me. The sand just wasn't as fine or as nice as Tabyana or 7 mile beach. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our day until about noon and went back to the boat for an empty pool chair and open buffet line. My friends did the Mayan Ruins tour and they liked it. I think it depends what you are looking for... after 3 days of tours and horseback riding and cave tubing I was ready for a break!

 

I found the staff to be pleasant all around and encountered no problems. I was a little taken back that they don't have a better embarkation process. They need more people doing security. They literally had us lined up in a hot noisy warehouse where forklift drivers constantly were beeping. The racket was unbelievable. Once we went through security it was a breeze. There were probably 20 agents signing people in. Then right though to get your card and right through to get your pic then right through to walk on. Once you get through security 20 minutes.

[Forchunut1]

I agree about Costa Maya being relaxing. After 3 consecutive days in other ports and various excursions, it was nice just to find a chair on the beach and relax. This was my second time there and they are making improvements very quickly! Just from February until November things had changed! If you want some good food while you are there, be sure to keep walking past all the vendors and you will come across a very quiet area where there are cabins that divers stay in while visiting. There is a big bar/restaurant where you can grab a bite to eat, have a cold drink, and look out on the water. And it is quiet. We had a great time on the Valor in November. We had also been on the Valor in January and it seemed like things ran a little smoother this time. Embarkation was no big deal when we went. We got there around 12:30 and they didn't have the warehouse lines started yet. It took maybe 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to get on the ship. Debarkation also wasn't bad. We went up on the Lido deck and waited a while before getting off. (Sorry for the long post without paragraphs. For some reason I can't format my text!!)

[kelz66]

I can't wait until May now!!!

 

I'm glad you had a great time!!!!

[want2gosailing2]

So is there alot for Teens to do on the Valor? I was on the Miracle in Sept. while it was a great time I don't really know if my tean would enjoy it as much as RCCL and the ice skating and rock climbing wall. I also find myself compelled to the Freedom because of the activities. I would love to do Carnival again because of its price but I also want this to be a great time for our son.

 

Any advice?

[tiffnicole_24]

I'm so glad to hear good things about the Valor. I am going in April and can't wait. all the pre-planning is fun to(most of the time):rolleyes: . Any suggestions on anything or advice?

[missliad]

More about the Valor! Keep it coming - I cant wait until April!!!

[Toriables]

I'm so glad to hear good things about the Valor. I am going in April and can't wait. all the pre-planning is fun to(most of the time):rolleyes: . Any suggestions on anything or advice?

 

The best thing I ever did was read cruise critic boards and reviews! I brought a power strip which was much needed with 3 females in the cabin. I brought a shoe organizer- also worth it's weight in gold. I read about all the ports of call and booked excursions that were perfect for me. I tried all the menu items that were highly recommended on these boards....pumpkin soup and flourless chocolate cake...need I say more? And most importantly, these boards told me what to expect. I expected to wait 3 hours in line in Miami and was pleased to only wait 2.

 

I am in the process of writing out my review and I will be putting my pictures online once I buy a new wire for my camera. In the mean time if you have any specific questions, let me know! I kept all my menus and Capers and lots of other things.

[Toriables]

So is there alot for Teens to do on the Valor? I was on the Miracle in Sept. while it was a great time I don't really know if my tean would enjoy it as much as RCCL and the ice skating and rock climbing wall. I also find myself compelled to the Freedom because of the activities. I would love to do Carnival again because of its price but I also want this to be a great time for our son.

 

Any advice?

 

I think the Valor was more themed for the 21 and over crowd. Camp Carnival was great for the young kids, but there were very few kids older than 10ish. The arcade was almost always empty. A lot of the events and classes and dances lessons and parties feature alcohol. Even the shows have waiters bringing drinks every few minutes. I just couldn't see my 16 y.o. sister enjoying this....she would need more activities like the rock wall and teen dances.

[Travelinval]

I have been reading the boards since I booked our cruise on the Valor and what I had read earlier really had me concerned, what a breath of fresh air to read positive reviews. Now I am more excited than ever, we will be renewing our wedding vows on the beach at one of the ports but have not decided where yet, I am leaning heavy on Grand Cayman or Belize.

I anyone has any hints or suggestions pass them on.

Thanks, I will keep watching.

 

Travelinval in Kansas City

[fliprcruzr]

I have been reading the boards since I booked our cruise on the Valor and what I had read earlier really had me concerned, what a breath of fresh air to read positive reviews. Now I am more excited than ever, we will be renewing our wedding vows on the beach at one of the ports but have not decided where yet, I am leaning heavy on Grand Cayman or Belize.

I anyone has any hints or suggestions pass them on.

Thanks, I will keep watching.

 

Travelinval in Kansas City

 

The Captain will renew vows onboard, according to the daily Capers newsletter. Don't know of anyone that did it, but that might be an option too.

[dberg1]

We just got back from the 12-11 Valor cruise as well.

 

We had a good time - but mostly because we made it happen. We were very disappointed with the embarkation process (un-organized, long hot process), the dining staff (we were never shown to our table, but left to wander around and look for it even after asking 4 different staff members. We were pointed upstairs and to the back..."it's back there somewhere", and lack of entertainment.

 

Went to check out the internet cafe on a whim - didn't like that you have to walk through the cigar lounge in order enter the room.

 

The new art auction process was a huge let-down and the staff during the auction was particularly condescending. We were ready to add to our collection of Zamy Steynovitz's - and all Park Avenue needed to do was look us up to see that we were serious past art collectors. Instead they didn't bring up the pieces we had tagged, were rude during our scheduled appointment time with them, and then, after promising to bring the pieces up for the second auction - they did not. (It should be noted that Park Avenue Fine Arts employees are not (I don't think) Carnival employees, but the manner in which they handled themselves is unbecoming to Carnival in general. I thought it was just me - but we ran into 4 other groups of folks (mostly when waiting in line for one thing or another) who had previous cruising experience who were also having conversations about these same concerns. Many of them said they found the cruising part of the cruise to be on the "boring" side. The crew on this Valor cruise is relatively new, we finally heard - so this may explain some of the things we experienced.

 

Carnival did redeem themselves the final night of the cruise when we recieved a phone call to our stateroom from the states notifying us of a death in our family. They arranged for us to disembark first thing Sunday morning at the front of the line.

 

Our stateroom steward did a good job - but nothing outstanding - even though we left a little "incentive" the first night of the cruise. We had a room with children on one side who were constantly left alone to bounce off the walls and scream and yell at each other well into the night. This was reported several times by us and the neighbors on the other side of them and the situation was never resolved. We had neighbors to the left of us who had friends 4 rooms down to the right of us. Their favorite past time included leaning over the balconies to yell to each other. Again - issue was never resolved. I've worked in residence life for several years - so I know how to handle noisy neighbors politely. When my personal requests didn't get the job done, assumed the Valor staff would step up. Not so. The employees in the grill really busted thier tushies each day. (Especially considering that the Valor didn't have much open in terms of food immediatly after folks reboarded from long days in port - there was always a long line at the grill). We thought the food in general was off this trip - especially in Rosies - with the exception of the fish and chips bar. Most of the staff I thought was disinterested in the guests, or were downright rude.

 

We booked our own excursions - and had a wonderful experience at every port of call - each for different reasons and I'll be writing up my reviews of these excursions as soon as possible. For two of the ports we tendered in - and Carnival only lets guests who have booked with through them off first. We managed to get off within the first couple of tenders to make it to our excursions on time - but it was luck of the draw - mostly employees not checking very carefully to see if we had booked with them or privately. I would reccomend when booking your own excursions that you allow extra time to get off the ship that normally needed.

 

All in all, our vacation was wonderful, but mostly because we take vacations with a grain of salt and make the most of them no matter what happens. Our experience with the Valor however was certainly not what I was expecting.

[cruizinrazzy]

We were on the same cruise and had an absolutely wonderful time. This was our first cruise and we can't wait to go again. The Valor is a beautiful and clean ship, the staff couldn't do enough for us, the food was terrific, the beds in our cabin were very comfortable (we slept like babies the whole week), the staff went out of their way to make our daughter's sixteenth birthday memorable, the ports of call and shore excursions were incredible and the weather couldn't have been better. The wait times to get on and off the ship were a little much, but to be expected due to security reasons and the fact that over three thousand people are there with you trying to do the same thing. We booked everything (including airfare and shore excursions) through Carnival and had absolutely no problems. :)