snbptrsn Posted July 19, 2006 #1 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Well, we've just returned from the Carnival Valor 7/9/06 cruising to the Western Caribbean. We had the best time of our lives! This was our second cruise, first with Disney, and, with only a couple of minor exceptions, it was fantastic. Here is a blow by blow. Stayed in Miami the night before at the Marrriott. Fine hotel, good price on Priceline. Took a shuttle to the ship at 11 am - $5.00 per person. Embarkation was simple and fast - we were on board exactly 75 minutes after leaving the hotel. No complaints. Lunch at Rosie's - we were told fish and chips was closed, but it actually wasn't. Got our Dinner Club reservation (Scarlett's IS NOT TO BE MISSED!) and started on our drink of the day by the pool. Kids hit the slide, and we had the entire afternoon on deck...( There were 18 in our party - 5 families.) Dinners were all great - quite eligant surroundings. Food was as good as it can get when feeding 3000 people. Great selections, served hot - just fine. One of our only two complaints was the quality of breakfast. Food had obviously been cooked much earlier - even when eating at the made to order restaurant ( Washington Dining) - and lines for breakfast after 9am were really long (45 minutes on day)... Rooms were great. Some in our party had inside cabins , others had ocean view, and still others had balconies (the way to go). Our steward was exceptional. Every time we left, even if for only 15 minutes, we would return to fresh towels, etc. Great service there. By the way, we had great service with NO ATTITUDE for the entire week from absolutely everyone. We were always made ot feel special. People were warm and friendly. Ports: Cayman: We did a snorkel/stingray city excursion, but not through Carnival. We used Captain Bryan's. It was fine, and much less than Carnival. Still time for shopping in the afternoon when we returned. Roatan: We used Juan Carlos Rodriguez as our guide for the day. He took us wherever we wanted. He has a taxi, and it's just him. He was F A N T A S T I C. Did a great job for $25 per person ( family of 4). We visited places regular tourists wouldn't see. We also hit a great "non-touristy" craft store called Yabba DIng Ding (great quality - all hand made), saw a couple of schools, drove to the eastern end of the island, went zip lining at South Shore Canopy Tour. It is the newest. 13 lines top to bottom. $35 per person. Then we were off to Half Moon Bay - quiet - no ship folks, with snorkeling 50 yards out. A small restaurant and lounge chairs in the shade - terrific. Back to the ship for dinner at Rosies: fantastic. Belize: Cave tubing was rained out! SO all 800 people from both our ship and the Miracle ( also in port) who had signed up were out of luck, and the tenders were empty early on. We booked through Cavetubing.com and went ashore anyway to see what was up. Indeed, we coudn't tube, but they took us to another spot where we hiked for 35 minutes to another cave we hoped to explore. Alas, that cave was flooded, so we simply enjoyed a hike back in the REAL rain forest. It was hot, muggy, muddy, gross, buggy, and absolutely beautiful. Flexibility was key here. Anyway, cavetubing.com is the way to go. $45 per person... Costa Maya: Maybe our favorite stop. Headed immediately for Majahual , nearby village. A great day on the beach at "The Cat's Meow" where we had a table for 18 under a tent, and rented lounge chairs for $5 each for the day. Clear water, plenty of sand for the kids, and buckets of beer and salsa for the day. This was many folks' favorite spot. Then a day at sea on the way home. There are plenty of lounge chairs on the ship for everyone - way plenty, but you can't always find one by the pools, but there is always a place to find sun or shade and watch the water go by. Waiters were always close with drinks, which were not unreasonably priced. We did drink of the day glasses first day (6.95) then got refills (5.95) from then on. Regular sized drinks were generally 4.95 and all good. Only two complaints: breakfast (see above) and the absolutely annoying cruise director and staff (Bret Allens, I think.) WAY too much hype and a most annoying way of addressing us. I really didn't like that, BUT I could always escape it - I imagine some people liked it ( after all, it IS the funship!) but I was totally turned off. The worst part of his whole thing was the "disembarking meeting". Don't go. It's a total waste of a precious hour during the last day at sea.:eek: It was Carnival's way of trying to get you to tip your staff more than is already taken from you, and their way of convincing you to give them rave reviews on the comment cards. I was totally insulted by the wasted hour. You'll get a sheet in your room with all the info you need. Don't go to the meeting. Disemarkation: 75 minutes using self assist.I would not use self assist again unless I had another earlier flight. It was fine, but let them do the work. It all takes time no matter which method you choose. You can only remove 3000 people from a ship so fast... I thought 75 minutes was a triumph compared to what I'd read on c.critic. OVERALL: A better ( much better) experience than expected. The ship is beautiful, if a bit tacky in the decor, but, it's not my house, it's a cruise ship! Plenty of elegance, fantastic staff, and a really great time. I would not hesitate to use Carnival again at all! Be flexible, and have fun! Don't use Carnival Excursions unless you want the peace of mind of knowing they won't leave you behind. You pay a lot extra for that comfort. Use C.Critic to check out all your stops - be a well-informed cruiser, and you'll have very few surprises. We'll certainly do it again.. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Kat Posted July 19, 2006 #2 Share Posted July 19, 2006 Howdy snbptrsn! Welcome to the Help Forum! Thank you for your review. However, you have posted on the Help Forum where members find information about the board's software and how to use it. This is not the place for your type of post and is off topic for this forum. Per the Community Guidelines and to help you out, I have moved your thread to the Carnival Cruise Line Forum where it will be on topic. I sincerely hope you will be able to find it in the new location! Also, have you considered having your review published in the Cruise Critic Reviews? Click here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/index.cfm and scroll down to where it says Submit Your Review. Select a ship and then click GO. It will open up the Member Review Form. Fill it out, read through the information and then click Submit. I'm sure you can go on from there without any more help from me. I hope this information will be satisfactory and wishing you lots of Thanks again for your review! Happy trails to you... Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbean dreams Posted July 20, 2006 #3 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Thanks for the great review, I am packing now and will leave for Miami in the morning for our Valor cruise on Sunday, We sttill have no idea what we will be doing in each port but maybe we will take some of your suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyshoreBruce Posted July 20, 2006 #4 Share Posted July 20, 2006 The pools all smelled like sewage on the Valor in fact were closed somedays. The waiter service around the ship for drinks stunk....on the Miracle the waiters and waitresses all knew me by name and always were polite and fast with drinks......Valor stunk.....was dirty compared to Miracle too.......With that said had a good time....never will sail Valor again.....probably will stick to spirit class ships with Carnival. The slots were easier to hit on than the Miracle though....in fact my mother-in-law won the slot tournament on the Valor 7/9/06. Food in dining room also came out room temp or cooler alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VCgal Posted July 20, 2006 #5 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I was on this cruise as well and I can honestly say we didn't experience ANY of the issues you had. Many people in our group used the pools every day - we didn't notice any smells. The waiters I interacted with did call me by name and, except for one order on the last sea day, were very prompt and helpful. Our food was always hot and delicious. I guess it just shows how different the experiences on a single sailing can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis6978 Posted July 20, 2006 #6 Share Posted July 20, 2006 We just came off of the valor 7/9 cruise as well and I think the ship was immaculate. being cleaned constantly. the food was fine and scarletts on thurs night was amazing... we didnt go in the pool much, but from the outside it didnt seem to have any unusual odor... I had a great time and would do it all again on the valor in a heartbeat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divetrash Posted July 20, 2006 #7 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I was there too! And I had no issues with the ship's cleanliness, the staff or the food. The staff was all polite and helpful. My nephew and I had a terrific time. After a terrific dinner every night, we went to the nightly show and then he went to the teen club and I floated off to the piano bar. Although, one comment on the 80's show, while it was fun reliving all my awkward teenage moments through the music, I think I found it more amusing for all the wrong reasons... A hint to the production people, during the "Purple Rain" number (excellent guitarist by the way), the puffy, pirate shirt really only works with a jheri curl and pencil thin mustache or better if you are actually Prince. Otherwise it's just so Seinfeld! (Tee Hee!) ("I don't WANT to be a pirate!") Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mics pics Posted July 20, 2006 #8 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I was on that same sailing and had a fabulous time! I just watched the debarkation talk on the tv while taking my post-pool nap on the last day and that was enough. Brett Alans will be on vaca for a while and the asst CD will be running the show. Can't remember when that starts...but I found him to be better than her. Who knows...everyone's opinion is different. I didn't think the pools were an issue and anytime the pools were closed was for the chlorination process, which is fine by me! Like everyone says, everyone sees things differently and I had a great time! I'll post a review soon if you all haven't been bombarded enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mics pics Posted July 20, 2006 #9 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I was there too! And I had no issues with the ship's cleanliness, the staff or the food. The staff was all polite and helpful. My nephew and I had a terrific time. After a terrific dinner every night, we went to the nightly show and then he went to the teen club and I floated off to the piano bar. Laura Laura, you didn't mention that you floated "on" the piano! :D Haven't developed zip line pics yet but will let you know when I do! Michele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vesw01 Posted July 20, 2006 #10 Share Posted July 20, 2006 66 days to the Valor and I CANT'T WAIT, but time is really flying by! Thank you for the reviews - just adds to the excitement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divetrash Posted July 20, 2006 #11 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Laura, you didn't mention that you floated "on" the piano! :D Haven't developed zip line pics yet but will let you know when I do! Michele Michele, Um.... so you heard about that? (Did I post that someplace else?) Yes, yes I did spend a bit of time actually on the piano. But that was fun! The best ride of my week. And Ron was very obliging with the lower notes (more vibrations!). :p I'm working on a review of my own, sort of from prospective of a single with a teen on the ship. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piggs Posted July 20, 2006 #12 Share Posted July 20, 2006 We were on the same sailing and had a great time. We did not use the pools but never noticed a bad smell. Our room steward and our wait staff were great and we were greeted by many other staff members in the halls. Okay so who was at the last night, late night comedy show? The guy with the big head, that the comedian was making fun of, was my brother! We were laughing so hard we could barely breathe!!!!!! They were always cleaning/refinishing something. Nothing can be perfect but this cruise was great. :) Forgot to add that we were at the Half Moon Bay too so you must have been the group that was leaving as we arrived about 3:00. We had gone zip lining first and then went there. The snorkling there was great and I felt like I was swimming in a fish tank. We had to snorkle in the rain, but that was not Victor's fault even though he kept apologizing for the bad weather! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mics pics Posted July 21, 2006 #13 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Okay so who was at the last night, late night comedy show? The guy with the big head, that the comedian was making fun of, was my brother! We were laughing so hard we could barely breathe!!!!!! That is too funny!! We talked about that show for days afterward. Leave it to the CC crowd to be everywhere... Laura, on the last night I was making sure to make stops in all the places one more time and I just happened to stop in to the piano bar when Ron was saying, "Laura from New Jersey!" I HAD to stay for that! :D Don't worry, you didn't post it anywhere...I just had to tease! Michele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divetrash Posted July 21, 2006 #14 Share Posted July 21, 2006 That is too funny!! We talked about that show for days afterward. Leave it to the CC crowd to be everywhere...Laura, on the last night I was making sure to make stops in all the places one more time and I just happened to stop in to the piano bar when Ron was saying, "Laura from New Jersey!" I HAD to stay for that! :D Don't worry, you didn't post it anywhere...I just had to tease! Michele Okay, then. It was just weird because I didn't think I had mentioned it and I didn't realize that anyone else from cruise critic had seen me and I was wondering if someone had mentioned the crazy lady from New Jersey on the piano! I had the best time up there. I've got some great pictures that the couple next to me took while I was up there. I would have spent the whole week up there instead of just the last two nights if I had known it was allowed and even encouraged. The piano bar was pretty mellow the first few nights! Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.