Valor Review - Western Itinerary - March 16-23

[dmdiver]

Thanks for the info. Hubby & I have passports, but the 3 kids don't, so I was just wondering if there were any issues. The last time I checked the passport site, it referred to summer of 2009 as when the land/sea travel requirements would change.

 

By the way, does the Valor now have an outdoor theater? I thought I saw something about a seaside theater online, but couldn't find any pics or info about it.

[cpizzull]

Thanks for the info. Hubby & I have passports, but the 3 kids don't, so I was just wondering if there were any issues. The last time I checked the passport site, it referred to summer of 2009 as when the land/sea travel requirements would change.

 

By the way, does the Valor now have an outdoor theater? I thought I saw something about a seaside theater online, but couldn't find any pics or info about it.

 

Yes, they got the screen during drydock. This pic shows you > http://groups.msn.com/ThePizzulloHomePage/cruise2008.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1152

[Kcarp]

Great Review & Pics, thanks for sharing!

[davethomasowns]

Just back from the 3-16, 7-night, Western on Valor.

 

Preface: I cruised with the wife, daughter(16), and her friend(16). It was 8th cruise overall for me and the wife, 2nd on Carnival, and followed 2 RCCL cruises. Inside staterooms 7311 and 7319. First let me say that the cruise was great, as most are, so I will use the review to basically talk about the intangibles, some tips, and all the other little things most come to the boards for. Please keep in mind this is just based on my opinions and cruise goals, which, as I get older, are basically to relax(sleep) and not party to the wee hours, ha. ;o) Here we go….

 

Day before: Flew Southwest to FLL since we got a great deal with just 2 months to spare, and stayed at the Sofitel-Miami the night before. I had 2 complimentary rooms at the Sofitel, hence, the reason for staying there. We used GOShuttle service and had reserved a private sedan ahead of time (although probably not necessary really). Somehow, they managed to squeeze (ie. tie down) 6 bags in the trunk, ha. With tip, it was $80, which we had driver put on Visa (no Discover with them). It was all worth it considering how much we had saved flying into FLL (besides, MIA is the pits really).

 

Travel to port: Originally, the plan was to get free shuttle to MIA and pay the flat fee of $24 to port. However, the friendly hotel concierge indicated we would need 2 taxis with all of the luggage (duh!). Anyway, they provided a shuttle for cruise passengers themselves, at $10/person. Sold! Don't know the details, but there were also a bunch of cruise folks taking a bus from the Sofitel too. Not sure if it was cruise line particular or at what cost.

 

Embarkation: Okay. What in the hell did I fill out the SeaPass thingy for? I had read there was a separate line, etc. Well, we got put in a line just like everyone else, and guess what? Yep, we got to spend about 45 minutes in line, and we were there before noon. But once you get to the counter, the SeaPass speeds things up, so guess what? Yep, you save the people behind you all of that time you thought you would save. Ha!

 

Food/Dining:

Even though we were supposed to be at the 6:15 seating, we got 5:45. Tried to change but 6:15 is smaller and apparently our TA had put 1 room at one time, and the other room at the wrong time. So, we had a booth in Washington. I was afraid I would not like the booth and it turned out to be true for the most part. Not a big deal, but you know how your back hurts when the booth table is away from your seat? I just had bad posture all week. ;o)

 

Overall, we thought the food quality was hit and miss in the dining room, as well as the menu itself. Definitely thought RCCL had the better of the food. We did think the buffet food was pretty darn good, especially those chicken tenders pool side, as well as the pizza and fish & chips. We did try the Supper Club and it was well worth it. I did make the mistake of ordering the porterhouse instead of the ny strip, which I have found to be the case (for me) at other restaurants too. Wife had the ny strip and that was better. Lobster bisque was good, but not great like Morton's. Oh, the lobster bisque we had at normal dinner was below that of Supper Club.

 

Service: Service was very, very good, but not great, and I say this having high expectations after being on Disney cruises so bear with me. We did love our dining team, Anthony and Joseph, as they did not ever miss a beat, and warmed up more and more each night. We usually ordered multiple starters, etc and they were always happy to oblige. Room steward did his job as expected, but no time for chit chat I guess. No biggie really.

 

Ship: I really liked this ship but did find myself missing the Voyager class layout, which I thought was so odd for me to do during the cruise itself. Anyway, no reason to go into details on this unless you have specific questions. Oh, I will say for my daughter that the teen club needs some improving. Too often there were much younger, and much older, kids going in there.

 

Entertainment: Typical cruise entertainment, but my wife and I both noticed the dancers/shows did not seem up to par with RCCL at all. I won't say anything more on that to be nice. Of course, neither does shows anywhere near Disney, but you're not paying double the price either, ha. The variety performers on Valor were excellent however, especially both comedians and the ventriloquist. Chris Jefferson is a very good CD, and we probably missed most of his best stuff. Still put Becky Thompson as the top CD though.

 

Grand Cayman:

5 ships in port this day! Take a taxi over to 7 mile beach, getting dropped off at Calico Jack's stop(http://groups.msn.com/ThePizzulloHomePage/cruise2008.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1158). We paid $20 total for the 4 of us in a 'shuttle' type taxi. Paid $32 for 4 chairs. It's usually $10, but they will do 2 for $16. The beach got Jersey-like with all these ships, and the fact that alot of the excursions got cancelled for some reason. Still one of our favorite beaches. Tip if you are getting food....don't try and be nice and wait in line, up the steps, like a good little soldier. Walk up to the bar area, especially on the right for food orders. My God was that frustrating as you can imagine. Nuff said. Oh, you tender here. I hate tendering. :o)

 

Roatan:

No tender here. What a difference! Gameplan here was to grab taxi for $40 roundtrip and head to Mayan Princess Resort. Get off boat, where there's lot of construction going on(http://groups.msn.com/ThePizzulloHomePage/cruise2008.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1163), and head to total taxi chaos and stress, ha. Guy in blue shirt, that says Dispatcher, tells me it will be $80. I say no and walk another 10-20 feet to the left until another guy, in similar shirt, says same price. I tell him it should be around $40 and keep walking. Anyway, we walk another 20 feet and a guy in a non-blue shirt tells me $60. So, given the situation we take it. This guy, Carlos, turns out to be one of the nicest guys you would ever meet, stopping at certain lookout points, etc.. So, he agrees to pick up at a designated time and we pay him the whole amount at that time, plus tip. That's right, no pay until they come get you.

 

So, we went to Mayan Princess Resort, where you pay $10/person to use their chairs, restrooms, restaurant, and river pool. Well worth it cause this place and beach is just stunning. You can also get $1 cup beers and the prices overall are very reasonable. Here's a pic of the beach from the water (http://groups.msn.com/ThePizzulloHomePage/cruise2008.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1159). Oh, and here's one from the pool> http://groups.msn.com/ThePizzulloHomePage/cruise2008.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1161

 

The only problem we had with Roatan was that it was the winner in how many people are trying to earn your dollar on the beach. Nobody pushy but just high volume. Security is up and down the beach as well.

 

Belize:

It's rainy and cold this day but we're cave tubing with Major Tom so who needs sun! 3 ships in port and it seems everyone is cave tubing! Oh, you tender from 5 miles away!!! If doing a private tour, like Major Tom, make sure you meet in the theater with the other Carnival excursions. You'll go right after the others have gone but still be ahead of everyone else on ship. Okay, so our guides Manuel and Samuel are just incredible. We got to talk long with Manuel, which was such a huge bonus on this tour. Anyway, we do a 40 minute hike (due to crowds) and head into the caves. Just a really neat experience that all should do. This gives you a slight idea> http://groups.msn.com/ThePizzulloHomePage/cruise2008.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1169

 

Cozumel:

6 friggin' ships in port this day...oh well...atleast there's no tender here for us, just a brief walk to the taxi area. Grab one and head to Paradise Beach. Cost is $15+tip each way. We are very early this day (2nd ones there), but by the end, every chair is gone. They have all the activities here and is easily the most affordable, compared to Cayman. Oh, at Paradise, you get free use of chairs, umbrellas, tables, etc. They just want you to order food. The beach itself seems like it would be perfect on most days, but it appears the water was churned up the night before so its very cloudy. It also tends to be somewhat rocky here too. 3 of the party do parasailing for $150 total, for 10-12 mins of air time, and also did 30 minutes of waverunner for $55. Here's one view of Paradise> http://groups.msn.com/ThePizzulloHomePage/cruise2008.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1173

 

Debark:

Ee-gads. We're tag 7 and are in dining room eating, around 8am, when they call our number, wow. So, we have to finish eating and leave when they just call 8, 9, and 10 also. It's painless getting off of ship and finding our bags but then we hit the customs line. Oh my. I had gotten so used to leaving a ship and getting past customs in 5 minutes (once they had called our tag), I couldn't figure what was going on. Needless to say, we finally got thru about 30-40 minutes later. Because we had a 5:45pm flight out of FLL, we had to taxi over to Miami Beach to get our Thrifty minivan (I had waited too long to get closer reservations). After waiting 30+ minutes, we were on our way. This was a good deal cause I got a rate of just $65, which was about same cost as a ride to FLL, and now we could go anywhere we wanted. We ended up at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for lunch. Lots to do here so if you need to kill time, this ain't so bad. Of course, 2 hour flight delay and its a long day!

 

Well, hate to end abruptly (ha) but I'm tired now. For other pics, just click on the link in my signature for this cruise.

 

Lots of questions have already been answered from other reviews, but if you have anything else specific, I’ll be happy to help.

 

Chet

 

Great review and pictures. I really enjoyed reading it! The beach in Roatan looked beautiful and I wish that I would have done a beach day when I went there 2 weeks ago. We did the Carnival tour "Discover Roatan," which was only alright.

 

People_Mover, I just joined your Fascination roll call so when you get a chance, check out the thread again!

 

Thanks for posting Cpizzul!

Shane Arsenault