Long Valor review 12/9 Western itinerary

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

I traveled with a group of friends from the age 19-36. Most of us had cruised with Carnival before but there were a few newbies in the bunch. We sailed on the 12/9-16 Western Caribbean itinerary.

 

Pre-Cruise: We stayed at the Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL. We had all sorts of problems: misplaced :D luggage, deactivated keys, waiting over 2 hours to get a room, rude front desk service. And despite being a preferred memeber, I was only offered 200 points for all of these problems. So we couldn't wait to get on the ship on Sunday.

 

Ship: I told it was a lovely ship. It was huge compared to my previous cruises (imagination,destiny) so it took awhile for me to get used to it. We were on the Verandah deck and we had no problems with noise or anything. The ship was very clean.

 

Lincoln Dining Room: This was a favorite part for us. We enjoyed Paul the maitre'd and our waiter Denis was the best, so was his assistant Eduardo. Ivana the bar waitress always knew what we wanted. The food was the typical food that I've come to love on Carnival. And Vanburn's dancing made the early seating that much more enjoyable!!!!

 

Entertainment: We did Karaoke every night and had a blast. Lauren and Matt from London were great at keeping us entertained during the day. The Disco was the place to be every single night. The shows were EXCELLENT!! I don't normally attend them but I was impressed at how much I enjoyed the shows. My friend got a chance to perform in the LEGENDS show on Saturday night.

 

Grand Cayman: We did our own thing. We did a little shopping and then got a tour with a local vendor for $10. We went to the Turtle Farm (not really a farm), The Tortuga Factory, Hell, the governor's house (drive by). I got my money's worth - lol

 

Roatan: We were a little shocked when we got off the ship but we decided to go with a local vendor here as well. He took us to the West side of the island to a free beach. THe cost was $12 per person round trip and we told him what time we wanted to be picked up. The beach was absolutely gorgeous - I LOVED IT! We did have to contend with people trying to sell us stuff every 5 minutes but I just politely said no and that was it. There isn't much shopping to do here.

 

Belize: It was extrememly hot and it took a little longer for us to get the tender. AS a result we didn't have time to do our cave tubing excursion (should have gotten off a little earlier). So we did a lot of shopping and then went to a local restaurant for some local food.

 

Cozumel: Apparently the storm was coming - so it rained off and on...but that didn't stop the fun at Carlos and Charlie's Beach Club. We had a blast there just wished that it was warmer. We were really looking forward to jet skiing here.

 

Overall: The trip was great and we have no complaints. It exceeded our expectations. The crew was amazingly friendly and we got to them by name and they got to know us "The New Yorkers"

I would recommend this to anyone.

 

I tried to cover everything - if you have questions - ask away

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for your review.

[cruise-4-ever]

:o Thanks for taking the time on the review.

I will be on the Valor August 10, 08. Can't wait. I've heard nothing but positive things about the Valor.:o

 

Thanks again-

cruise-4-ever

[Dayna1517]

Thank you for your review. We will be going on the Valor Jan. 20th.

 

Do you remember which nights were formal nights? Also, do you recall the night that they served filet mignon? I want to make a reservation for the supper club, but don't want to miss the filet night. :p

 

Thanks!

[nybumpkin]

What time did you get the tender when you arrived in Belize? We're sailing Western in February, and it's the one port that has me concerned about time. (Even though we're there 9 hours!) We have a cave tubing tour booked with Major Tom.

[scperk]

Hello Kathy...this is Dennis from Tennessee...how are you ....

[nybumpkin]

Hello Kathy...this is Dennis from Tennessee...how are you ....

Hey, Dennis!!! We're doing great - loved cruising last February so much we decided to go again this February. This one's a little more port-intensive than we've done before - 4 ports in 4 days! Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. In six cruises, we've never had to tender....

 

You're cruising Miracle the week after us, I see? Hope you have a great time! Say Hi to Carolyn and your other fellow cruisers for us!

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

Thank you for your review. We will be going on the Valor Jan. 20th.

 

Do you remember which nights were formal nights? Also, do you recall the night that they served filet mignon? I want to make a reservation for the supper club, but don't want to miss the filet night. :p

 

Thanks!

 

 

The first formal night was Monday night and the other one was on Thursday night (i believe). I'm not a fish eater so I don't remember which night they served filet mignon - sorry:confused:

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

What time did you get the tender when you arrived in Belize? We're sailing Western in February, and it's the one port that has me concerned about time. (Even though we're there 9 hours!) We have a cave tubing tour booked with Major Tom.

 

We got off the tender around 10:30ish. Cave tubing is about 4-5 hours and since we were using an independent tour company - we had just missed them - there last ickup from the pier was around 10:15 - and we decided not to wait for another ride to come get us because we feared it might be pushing it since the last tender was at 4:15 (i believe) - I just didn't want to take any chances.

 

However, this was all our vault when I got to the desk I was given tender ticket #12 and they were already up to number#9 - we decided to grab a bite to eat and thought it would be jsut as easy as it was in Grand Cayman but apparently everyone thought the same thing - we ran right into the crowd:(

[sysgirl1112]

Thanks for the great review! Really looking forward to this - my first cruise. Any suggestions for a first timer?????:)

[2ndcruiser-destiny]

Thanks for the great review! Really looking forward to this - my first cruise. Any suggestions for a first timer?????:)

 

Most important: Have an open mind and Have fun.:D

 

Go to Captain's Night and enjoy the free drinks.

 

Be nice to the crew and they will be nice to you. If you sit in the Lincoln tell Denis and Van Burn that the ladies from NY said HI - LOL!!

 

For Grand Cayman: the tender process isn't that bad - so you can go enjoy breakfast on the Lido before going ashore.

 

For Belize: everyone tries to eat breakfast in the morning which results in everyone trying to get off the ship at the same time SO get an early start - i think the ship docks as early as 7/8 am.

 

If you are a drinker - the gift shop allows you to take the mini Cruzan Rums ($10) back to your room - this comes in handy - later on when you want a drink but don't want to pay 6/7 dollars for it. Don't forget the Kiss on the Lips and Miami Vice drinks

 

Sailaway party - they seem corny but are actually fun - so go an enjoy - the view from the ship as it sails out of Miami is absolutely gorgeous

 

Take the stairs sometimes - somehow I managed to lose weight on the cruise despite all the food and late night pizza;)

 

Spend sometime on the deck just taking in the sun.

 

Spend sometime in the Eagles Lounge with Vitaly - it's a nice way to chill out before going to the club. Go to the shows they are entertaining.

[wwakla]

Take the stairs sometimes - somehow I managed to lose weight on the cruise despite all the food and late night pizza;)

.

 

We did the same thing on the Pride and the Destiny. This time we are one floor below the Lido - Veranda/Aft. Love those Burgers and Pizza!

 

Thanks for the great review and information.