Jgilbert813 Posted June 12, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Just a quick note, and a few observations from a great father/son trip on the Carnival Valor to Cozumel (June 7-11) Overall, I couldn't have asked for anything more for a trip to celebrate my son turning 18 this year. I initially booked an interior cabin late last year for this sailing. I received an email about an upgrade offer to a balcony on the lido for $200 and took it. My son has only been on one cruise before and not in a balcony so it was a nice little bonus for our trip. I didn't tell him before about the cabin change but let him find out when we checked in. He want surprised to say the least. Weather - PERFECT - mostly clear skies, great temps, and smooth waters. We had a few dark clouds late in the afternoon in Cozumel, but not bad. As we left we hit some very mild waves and really it was the first time my son and I noticed the ship really moving. Food - as usual, very good. He had Guy's Burgers for the first time - loved 'em. Pizza was good, and all the dining room food was very good. Service - great. I can't tell you how many time my son noticed and commented about how hard the crew works. As a father, it really made me proud that my son noticed. Our dining room team really took good care of us, room steward offered me twice a day service, instead of pushing for either or, bartenders were overworked but tried to get to everyone as quickly as possible. Excursions - mixed bag. I booked the Terra-cross 4x4 and speedboat excursion for Cozumel. Our guides were amazing (shout out to Marco!) and the beach / speedboat portion was really fun, but the 4x4 was just ok. We drove through the city which was nice to see some new areas. The description said we would stop and switch drivers to make sure everyone had a chance, but we only switched once and there were four of us in each one. That was really the only negative. I also booked the "Behind the Fun Tour" as soon as we got on board. For those of you who have never done it - I highly recommend it. A neat 4 hour walking tour covering a lot of the back stage and crew areas with a meet and greet with the Captain on the bridge. Everyone we met was very nice and answered all of our questions. My son was very impressed with the tour and liked learning about life with Carnival and talking with the Captain. Entertainment - very good. We enjoyed the playlist productions in the lounge, laughed so hard with the comedy shows, and loved all the live music on board. Overall - Carnival did not fail to impress us once again. Some general observations - -Lifeguards were stationed at all the pools and hot tubs - this was the first time I've seen that onboard -The A/C in our room was the coldest I've ever had onboard a Carnival Ship, it was great -Last time I was in a balcony cabin, the slamming of the balcony doors bothered us during the night, but now the door would actually stay open and slowly close never slamming. -There was a distinct lack of Trivia for me (I'm a trivia nerd and really enjoy when they have 3 and 4 booked back to back which was missing this time) -Saw a lot of security on board talking with/to guests - more so than usual. If anyone has any specific questions, I'll do my best to try and answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingViper Posted June 12, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Where did you book the "Behind the Fun Tour"? I don't think I've done this one before. I'll be doing a 5 day cruise on the Valor in 2.5 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgilbert813 Posted June 12, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted June 12, 2018 You can't book it ahead of time and they only offer it one time a cruise, the morning of the last sea day. As soon as we got onboard I went over to the shore excursion desk and booked it. They included a couple of group photos (one at the bow by the ship's bell, and one on the bridge with the Captain), a yummy sample in the galley, champagne in the steakhouse at the end and when we got back to the room there was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. It was fun, and informative - well worth our time and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susieokla Posted June 12, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I was on this same cruise with you! Really enjoyed it and the weather was perfect with the exception of the one little rain shower but it didn't last very long. I agree with you that the service was great, had no complaints at all! Glad you enjoyed it as well. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgilbert813 Posted June 12, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Wow - somehow I must have missed that rainshower :D Glad to hear you had a great time too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spleenstomper Posted June 12, 2018 #6 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Thanks! I just booked an aft wrap for a 5 day Valor Cruise in 2019. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgilbert813 Posted June 12, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I'm not gonna lie.....a little jealous, I've always wanted one of those ;). Hope you have as good a time as we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spleenstomper Posted June 12, 2018 #8 Share Posted June 12, 2018 I know, I was surprised to get one. I look every cruise and they are always booked. I want to try it and see how I like it. BTW, there are still about 5 of them left on this sailing, heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgilbert813 Posted June 12, 2018 Author #9 Share Posted June 12, 2018 HAHA - thanks for the head's up about the aft wraps, but our 2019 is looking a bit full. We have a 14 day Journey's to Hawaii in April and I just surprised my wife with a 5 day to Cuba and a weekend at Disney World for her birthday in November...neither of which will I see an aft wrap :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spleenstomper Posted June 12, 2018 #10 Share Posted June 12, 2018 HAHA - thanks for the head's up about the aft wraps, but our 2019 is looking a bit full. We have a 14 day Journey's to Hawaii in April and I just surprised my wife with a 5 day to Cuba and a weekend at Disney World for her birthday in November...neither of which will I see an aft wrap :rolleyes: Fun though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susieokla Posted June 12, 2018 #11 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Wow - somehow I must have missed that rainshower :D Glad to hear you had a great time too. It was when the movie Jumanji 2 was playing, we were on the Lido looking for chairs when it hit and everybody scattered. It didn't last long then everybody came running back trying to get their seats back! :') Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgilbert813 Posted June 12, 2018 Author #12 Share Posted June 12, 2018 It was when the movie Jumanji 2 was playing, we were on the Lido looking for chairs when it hit and everybody scattered. It didn't last long then everybody came running back trying to get their seats back! :') Wow, my son and I walked through and were laughing about the movie but never got back to watch it. Guess it worked out for us that we never made it back, even though we really like that movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jgilbert813 Posted June 12, 2018 Author #13 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Fun though! I know I have nothing at all to complain about. Really, if my lack of an aft wrap is the worst problem with these trips I'm going great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riclop Posted June 13, 2018 #14 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Thanks for your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilcruisers Posted June 13, 2018 #15 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Thank you for the review. We did this cruise, my husband and I in October and really enjoyed it. Nice, quick and quiet getaway for my birthday. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangerdog Posted July 31, 2018 #16 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Is the Valor "Behind the Fun tour" $99 per person? Also, are there any really steep stairs to climb up or down? And, any close "claustrophobic" type areas you visit on the ship? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottacruises Posted July 31, 2018 #17 Share Posted July 31, 2018 The Valor tour is about $100. There are some steps to climb and go down. I didn't feel claustrophobic at any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangerdog Posted July 31, 2018 #18 Share Posted July 31, 2018 The Valor tour is about $100. There are some steps to climb and go down. I didn't feel claustrophobic at any time. Thanks for the info. Normal steps are fine, but not the really steep "ladder" type stairs. Are there any of those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottacruises Posted July 31, 2018 #19 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Thanks for the info. Normal steps are fine, but not the really steep "ladder" type stairs. Are there any of those? It's the ones in the crew areas. They are very steep, but not vertical like a ladder. We went down them I think two floors, and we did walk up them also. We only took the elevator when we went up to 11 at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottacruises Posted July 31, 2018 #20 Share Posted July 31, 2018 I've been on quite a few, and they will change up some areas sometimes, but the best I remember: we started in library, giving up all phones and cameras. They then had security wand us . we went outside and walked to the front of the ship, where the crew musters. They take a pic there. From there we went back inside and to the backstage area on Ivanhoe theatre. They have someone speak to you there about what happens then we went to the dressing room. They had a cast member speak to us regarding the shows. You can see all the clothes for the shows in there. From there we went to the beverage holding area, to the cold storage, staff training area or HR area, crew lounge, crew eating area, the morgue, the brig, the laundry area (very interesting), the engine room (at least where they monitor everything on the computers, the galley, and then to the bridge. The captain usually speaks and you can enjoy the view. They take another picture there. Then it's to the steakhouse where the chef will talk to you and they give you goodie bags and a survey and also your confiscated phone or camera. Later they deliver the pictures and the chocolate covered strawberries... That more or less it, but I know we didn't visit the morgue and brig everytime and some guides and speakers are more entertaining than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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