Not really a review, just some observations on our 5.11.08 Valor sailing!

[Jenbo57]

Third cruise, second on Carnival. Embarkation was great, debarkation was a nightmare, which I'm sure a lot of you have read about. I really liked the decor of the Varlor, but not the layout. Having to walk through the cigar bar to get to the internet cafe was ridiculous, and not being able to walk the entire length of the ship on some of the decks was frustrating. That being said, it's a nice ship.

 

We were in 9276, on the lido deck. Liked being up there, but probably wouldn't choose that stateroom again. Lots of elevator noise, the music being played in the American Lobby (which you could hear all the way up on deck 9) went 'til 1:30 a.m. on some nights, and we had a vent right above our balcony that was "on" constantly, meaning there were no quiet evenings on the balcony listening to the sound of the waves! Didn't drive me crazy, but I won't stay under a vent again! The proximity to the lido deck action was great, however. Around the corner, out the door, and there we were!

 

In general I thought the service was better than we'd had on the Pride, and so was the food. On the Pride, the staff seemed almost to have a "speak only when spoken to" attitude; on the Valor we found them to be much more outgoing and willing to interact. We met some great people...staff and fellow cruisers alike! Ate in the dining room four times and on the lido deck three. In the Washington dining room (early seating) we had a table for 12, and there was never more than 4 of us at the table on any night. Also, several of the tables around us were always empty, and very few tables were ever full. I know a lot of people adore the dining room and the whole seated dining thing, but I'm thinking it might be time to do the freestyle or anytime dining thing on Carnival. (Flame away! :D ) Our waitstaff (Heman and Evanson) were fabulous, so was our stateroom attendant (Marvin). Spent a very enjoyable 45 minutes with the guys at the Future Cruises desk one evening -- hearing cruise horror stories, dumb questions people ask -- these guys were great! (And yes, we bought two future cruise certificates!)

 

In Grand Cayman we went to Stingray City with Moby Dick Tours. Fabulous! We'd do that again in a heartbeat! One of the rays fell in love with my husband...I have lots of pictures of him holding "Spotty" in his arms. Wandered around the pier area a little bit afterwards; not much to recommend there, although I know a lot of people feel it's a shopper's paradise.

 

Loved Roatan! We'd heard lots of good things about it and are thinking about buying property there, so we rented a car and drove the entire island. Crazy drivers, especially the cabs, and the roads aren't great. Very poor island, but warm, wonderful people! The West End is beautiful, and the central part of the island has some lovely views. Had a hamburger at an out of the way restaurant that was some of the best beef I'd ever eaten! I could get an American hamburger (US beef) or a "View" burger, which was the local stuff...glad I chose the local! Once back in the pier area, a local boy attached himself to us and I let him become our personal escort for the short time we walked around the main street near the pier! Alfred was amazing! He took us to his friend's house, where they had monkeys in the backyard, and I got to hold one of the monkeys. He took me to where I could get an ice cold Coke, and get the best prices on the local souvenirs. Very, very nice kid. I know they're all out there hustling for a buck or two to bring home to their family, but he was bright, clean, well dressed and truly a joy to spend time with.

 

Went out to Altun Ha (Mayan ruins) on Belize, booked through Island Marketing. Our guide (Gus) was great; a native Belizean with obvious love for his country and a lot of knowledge. On our way out to and back from the ruins, we learned about the four ethnic groups which make up the country, the political situation, the schools, who owns the restaurants and the stores, and where the kids hang out at night. We drove through the north part of Belize City on our way to the ruins and the south side on our return -- very, very interesting! Altun Ha is a minor Mayan site, but still worth visiting.

 

On Cozumel we spent most of the day at Nachi Cocom. Nice place; outstanding service, good food, and a very, very relaxing day! I'm not a lay on the beach kind of person at all, but I figured my husband deserved a day like that...he was in heaven! I didn't get much of a feel for Cozumel; took cabs to and from Nachi Cocom, and after that just wandered the area around the pier.

 

I've decided that it's a little bit depressing how commercial cruising is unless you get as far from the pier as you possibly can. Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, Senor Frogs...why do we need that? Are there that many people who cruise just to shop for jewelry they could buy anywhere in the states, and sit in some chain restaurant drinking beer? People, get out with the locals...see how they live, talk to them! As much as we could, we spent our money in a way that would benefit the people who needed it the most...the locals, many of whom can barely put food on their tables! Ok...I'll get off of my soapbox now! ;)

 

In a nutshell...very enjoyable trip. We'll definitely go back to Roatan and Belize (probably fly in for a week); not sure about Cozumel. I'd like to see more of the Yucatan peninsula. Once again, Carnival was a good experience for us. We're on Celebrity for the second time next year, which I'm excited about. Not necessarily a better line than Carnival, just different, and I'm ready for a change. (But I've got those Carnival future cruise certificates, so we'll be back!)

 

Happy cruising all! Aren't we lucky that we can do this?!?!?

[TakeMeAway1001]

Thanks for sharing your mini review, I enjoyed it! We are going on the Glory and booked the Lido deck, hopefully it will be a good choice.

I liked reading what you wrote about Roatan and your mindset is alot like mine. I really enjoy finding out as much as I can about how others live, sometimes a few minutes of ones time can really impact anothers life. I worked for a long time in the prison system and the most memorable moments there were hearing the stories from the inmates. DH thought I was nuts but it's what kept me interested in that job. I plan on doing alot of interacting, DH on the other hand isn't like that at all so I might be on my own.

Again thanks for sharing :)

[neatokimmo]

Thanks for the review :)

 

On the future cruise certificates, did they tell you they could only be applied to new bookings?

[gypsygirl]

Third cruise, second on Carnival. Embarkation was great, debarkation was a nightmare, which I'm sure a lot of you have read about. I really liked the decor of the Varlor, but not the layout. Having to walk through the cigar bar to get to the internet cafe was ridiculous, and not being able to walk the entire length of the ship on some of the decks was frustrating. That being said, it's a nice ship.

 

We were in 9276, on the lido deck. Liked being up there, but probably wouldn't choose that stateroom again. Lots of elevator noise, the music being played in the American Lobby (which you could hear all the way up on deck 9) went 'til 1:30 a.m. on some nights, and we had a vent right above our balcony that was "on" constantly, meaning there were no quiet evenings on the balcony listening to the sound of the waves! Didn't drive me crazy, but I won't stay under a vent again! The proximity to the lido deck action was great, however. Around the corner, out the door, and there we were!

 

In general I thought the service was better than we'd had on the Pride, and so was the food. On the Pride, the staff seemed almost to have a "speak only when spoken to" attitude; on the Valor we found them to be much more outgoing and willing to interact. We met some great people...staff and fellow cruisers alike! Ate in the dining room four times and on the lido deck three. In the Washington dining room (early seating) we had a table for 12, and there was never more than 4 of us at the table on any night. Also, several of the tables around us were always empty, and very few tables were ever full. I know a lot of people adore the dining room and the whole seated dining thing, but I'm thinking it might be time to do the freestyle or anytime dining thing on Carnival. (Flame away! :D ) Our waitstaff (Heman and Evanson) were fabulous, so was our stateroom attendant (Marvin). Spent a very enjoyable 45 minutes with the guys at the Future Cruises desk one evening -- hearing cruise horror stories, dumb questions people ask -- these guys were great! (And yes, we bought two future cruise certificates!)

 

In Grand Cayman we went to Stingray City with Moby Dick Tours. Fabulous! We'd do that again in a heartbeat! One of the rays fell in love with my husband...I have lots of pictures of him holding "Spotty" in his arms. Wandered around the pier area a little bit afterwards; not much to recommend there, although I know a lot of people feel it's a shopper's paradise.

 

Loved Roatan! We'd heard lots of good things about it and are thinking about buying property there, so we rented a car and drove the entire island. Crazy drivers, especially the cabs, and the roads aren't great. Very poor island, but warm, wonderful people! The West End is beautiful, and the central part of the island has some lovely views. Had a hamburger at an out of the way restaurant that was some of the best beef I'd ever eaten! I could get an American hamburger (US beef) or a "View" burger, which was the local stuff...glad I chose the local! Once back in the pier area, a local boy attached himself to us and I let him become our personal escort for the short time we walked around the main street near the pier! Alfred was amazing! He took us to his friend's house, where they had monkeys in the backyard, and I got to hold one of the monkeys. He took me to where I could get an ice cold Coke, and get the best prices on the local souvenirs. Very, very nice kid. I know they're all out there hustling for a buck or two to bring home to their family, but he was bright, clean, well dressed and truly a joy to spend time with.

 

Went out to Altun Ha (Mayan ruins) on Belize, booked through Island Marketing. Our guide (Gus) was great; a native Belizean with obvious love for his country and a lot of knowledge. On our way out to and back from the ruins, we learned about the four ethnic groups which make up the country, the political situation, the schools, who owns the restaurants and the stores, and where the kids hang out at night. We drove through the north part of Belize City on our way to the ruins and the south side on our return -- very, very interesting! Altun Ha is a minor Mayan site, but still worth visiting.

 

On Cozumel we spent most of the day at Nachi Cocom. Nice place; outstanding service, good food, and a very, very relaxing day! I'm not a lay on the beach kind of person at all, but I figured my husband deserved a day like that...he was in heaven! I didn't get much of a feel for Cozumel; took cabs to and from Nachi Cocom, and after that just wandered the area around the pier.

 

I've decided that it's a little bit depressing how commercial cruising is unless you get as far from the pier as you possibly can. Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, Senor Frogs...why do we need that? Are there that many people who cruise just to shop for jewelry they could buy anywhere in the states, and sit in some chain restaurant drinking beer? People, get out with the locals...see how they live, talk to them! As much as we could, we spent our money in a way that would benefit the people who needed it the most...the locals, many of whom can barely put food on their tables! Ok...I'll get off of my soapbox now! ;)

 

In a nutshell...very enjoyable trip. We'll definitely go back to Roatan and Belize (probably fly in for a week); not sure about Cozumel. I'd like to see more of the Yucatan peninsula. Once again, Carnival was a good experience for us. We're on Celebrity for the second time next year, which I'm excited about. Not necessarily a better line than Carnival, just different, and I'm ready for a change. (But I've got those Carnival future cruise certificates, so we'll be back!)

 

Happy cruising all! Aren't we lucky that we can do this?!?!?

 

We were on the same cruise. We were in 8336 Veranda Deck. Bad location. Trying to enjoy the balcony and all we heard was the scraping of chairs overhead. I'll know the next time.

 

We loved Roatan. We booked a private tour with Victor Bodden

[Jenbo57]

Thanks for sharing your mini review, I enjoyed it! We are going on the Glory and booked the Lido deck, hopefully it will be a good choice.

I liked reading what you wrote about Roatan and your mindset is alot like mine. I really enjoy finding out as much as I can about how others live, sometimes a few minutes of ones time can really impact anothers life. I worked for a long time in the prison system and the most memorable moments there were hearing the stories from the inmates. DH thought I was nuts but it's what kept me interested in that job. I plan on doing alot of interacting, DH on the other hand isn't like that at all so I might be on my own.

Again thanks for sharing :)

 

 

Good for you! Yeah, my husband just kind of stands back and shakes his head, but I truly am interested in these people and their lives. Why bother going to these places otherwise?

 

I'm not familiar with the layout of the Glory. Is it the same class as the Valor? If so, just stay away from the elevator/atrium area, and you'll be fine! I think if we'd been about five staterooms either direction, it would have been perfect!

[Jenbo57]

Thanks for the review :)

 

On the future cruise certificates, did they tell you they could only be applied to new bookings?

 

That was my assumption when I purchased ours, but I just read mine, front and back, and nowhere does it say you can't use them on current bookings. Basically, you write your booking number on the face of the certificate and the top portion that you keep, and you either give the certificate to your TA or mail it to Carnival, after your booking is finalized and before final payment. They apply the cost of the certificate ($100) to the cost of the cruise, and give you onboard credit (up to $200, depending on the length of the cruise). Free money, basically!

[Jenbo57]

We were on the same cruise. We were in 8336 Veranda Deck. Bad location. Trying to enjoy the balcony and all we heard was the scraping of chairs overhead. I'll know the next time.

 

We loved Roatan. We booked a private tour with Victor Bodden

 

You know, it must just depend on where on the ship you are. We were on deck 8 on the Pride, and didn't hear anything from the lido deck above us! (I think we were right below the Mermaid Grill.) Not much fun when you can't enjoy your balcony, that's for sure!

 

We had originally booked Victor Bodden, then got the wild idea of renting a car. We enjoyed that, but we did see things that we wish we had someone to ask what they were. (That big white "mansion" out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the cyclone fence, for example. No indication of what it was or who lived there. Definitely not new construction...it's been there a while. I wonder if it had been or is some sort of official government residence?) I've heard such great things about Victor Bodden...I'm sure you had a great day with them!

[Travel Angel]

In a nutshell...very enjoyable trip. We'll definitely go back to Roatan and Belize (probably fly in for a week);

 

If you go back to Belize, I urge you to go to Caye Caulker for the day to enjoy a fantastic meal (many times fresh seafood caught just off the reef), cooked by various vendors on make shift grills on the beach and some GREAT snorkelling. This is a sleepy little fishing village but has its own unique charms. Then head over and stay on Ambergris Caye.... it's like a little Miami compared to CayeCaulker, but some great dining to be found as well. The locals are so friendly and welcome anyone that visits. Many condos going up and some are GORGEOUS !!!

 

Like you said, get away from the pier folks and truely experience what the cultures of the ports of call you are visiting have to offer and really get a REAL TASTE of the flair of each island you visit ! :D

 

PS... we will be visiting Nachi Cocom in a week..... a little slice of heaven if you are looking to relax !

[TakeMeAway1001]

If you go back to Belize, I urge you to go to Caye Caulker for the day to enjoy a fantastic meal (many times fresh seafood caught just off the reef), cooked by various vendors on make shift grills on the beach and some GREAT snorkelling. This is a sleepy little fishing village but has its own unique charms.

 

Does anyone know if you can visit Caye Caulker on your own or does it have to be through the ship? DH and I aren't fans of ship excursions and we did the cavetubing last cruise to Belize. Thanks

[Travel Angel]

If you go back to Belize, I urge you to go to Caye Caulker for the day to enjoy a fantastic meal (many times fresh seafood caught just off the reef), cooked by various vendors on make shift grills on the beach and some GREAT snorkelling. This is a sleepy little fishing village but has its own unique charms.

 

Does anyone know if you can visit Caye Caulker on your own or does it have to be through the ship? DH and I aren't fans of ship excursions and we did the cavetubing last cruise to Belize. Thanks

 

You can take the water taxi to Caye Caulker......just make sure your ship is in port long enough to allow for the time spent in CC.

[Jenbo57]

If you go back to Belize, I urge you to go to Caye Caulker for the day to enjoy a fantastic meal (many times fresh seafood caught just off the reef), cooked by various vendors on make shift grills on the beach and some GREAT snorkelling. This is a sleepy little fishing village but has its own unique charms. Then head over and stay on Ambergris Caye.... it's like a little Miami compared to CayeCaulker, but some great dining to be found as well. The locals are so friendly and welcome anyone that visits. Many condos going up and some are GORGEOUS !!!

 

Like you said, get away from the pier folks and truely experience what the cultures of the ports of call you are visiting have to offer and really get a REAL TASTE of the flair of each island you visit ! :D

 

PS... we will be visiting Nachi Cocom in a week..... a little slice of heaven if you are looking to relax !

 

 

I'm glad to hear you say you enjoyed Caye Caulker. Gus, our tour guide, was from there, and his mom still lives there. From his description, it sounds like paradise!

 

So many vacations to take...so little time!

[Travel Angel]

I'm glad to hear you say you enjoyed Caye Caulker. Gus, our tour guide, was from there, and his mom still lives there. From his description, it sounds like paradise!

 

So many vacations to take...so little time!

 

We actually stayed there for 3 days, then on to Ambergris Caye to look at condos (which was our goal on that visit and ultimately purchased to which is currently under construction now !) and the people are just so laid back.... no worries, no hurries... just enjoy life as each day passes !

[Jenbo57]

We actually stayed there for 3 days, then on to Ambergris Caye to look at condos (which was our goal on that visit and ultimately purchased to which is currently under construction now !) and the people are just so laid back.... no worries, no hurries... just enjoy life as each day passes !

 

We're looking to buy on Roatan. I figure that in about five years that place will be amazing. The potential is there already, just not the infrastructure, but I see it as up and coming.

[sdirector77]

I agree when in Belize visit Caye Caulker, we walked from the cruise dock to the water taxi and off to Caye Caulker. Upon arrival found a local and arranged snorkeling. Spent about 1 1/2 hours snorkeling and back to town for a snack and a cold drink just in time to catch the taxi back. I will admit we could have stayed longer but feared missing the ship. Made it with sometime to spare. It was fabulous. Many felllow cruisers complained about Belize but I found it my favorite stop. Pays to get out of town and experience the locals. :cool:

[Caribbreeze]

...we had a vent right above our balcony that was "on" constantly, meaning there were no quiet evenings on the balcony listening to the sound of the waves! Didn't drive me crazy, but I won't stay under a vent again! ...

 

...In general I thought the service was better than we'd had on the Pride, and so was the food. On the Pride, the staff seemed almost to have a "speak only when spoken to" attitude; on the Valor we found them to be much more outgoing and willing to interact....

 

...Spent a very enjoyable 45 minutes with the guys at the Future Cruises desk one evening (And yes, we bought two future cruise certificates!)...

 

Happy cruising all! Aren't we lucky that we can do this?!?!?

Great input, thanks. Got a few questions for you:

The vent above your balcony - is that an air vent? How would you know in advance where those are, if you're not going to stay under a vent again? I'd certainly like to avoid that too!

 

Future cruise certificates? I didn't know Carnival did that. Tell us more, please.

 

That's interesting about the differences between ships. We've found that there's almost a different personality or atmosphere aboard each ship, and we've wondered if that's something the Hotel Director develops, or the Cruise Director, or if it's just happenstance.

[Kcarp]

I don't see how we missed this debarkation was a nightmare thing. However, we did have a late flight, so we stayed on the ship untill they kicked us off! Not really, but did stagger off late! :D

[Jenbo57]

Great input, thanks. Got a few questions for you:

The vent above your balcony - is that an air vent? How would you know in advance where those are, if you're not going to stay under a vent again? I'd certainly like to avoid that too!

 

Future cruise certificates? I didn't know Carnival did that. Tell us more, please.

 

That's interesting about the differences between ships. We've found that there's almost a different personality or atmosphere aboard each ship, and we've wondered if that's something the Hotel Director develops, or the Cruise Director, or if it's just happenstance.

 

 

Check the photo out...I took it in the terminal (before I noticed the "no photography" sign). Look at the red/blue section along the side of deck ten. See the vent in the red part, that runs the width of the stateroom below? Our stateroom was the one below. I'm assuming it was an air vent; I know it wasn't exhaust of any kind. But it "hummed" constantly. I just noticed too, now, that there are two of them further aft, in the blue part. Now that I know what those are, I'll look very closely at photos / deck plans before booking so that we're not stuck beneath one again!

 

 

As for the future cruise certificates, they're $100 each, and you use them towards a future cruise, plus you get on-board credit for using them! Free money, basically! We'll probably do another 7-day next, so we'll send Carnival the certificate, they'll apply $100 towards the price of the cruise, and we'll have $100 in OBC. Pretty sweet deal...free money! For a 12-day or longer cruise you get $200 OBC! You can only use one per stateroom, but the cool thing is that they have a five year expiration date, and are 100% refundable if you decide you don't want to use them.

[Jenbo57]

I don't see how we missed this debarkation was a nightmare thing. However, we did have a late flight, so we stayed on the ship untill they kicked us off! Not really, but did stagger off late! :D

 

Oh my gosh Kirk...be soooooo glad you missed that mess! It was not fun at all, and I still can't figure out the how / why of the whole situation. Oh well...we're home...we had a great time...I'm ready to plan the next one! (Although I think we'll go back to Hawaii in November, since I'm hooked!)

 

Are your pictures up yet? I'm anxious to see more from your dolphin swim! Mine should be done by tomorrow. www.jenbo.smugmug.com. It was great meeting you onboard, and running into you again in Belize! That was a great itinerary!

[Kcarp]

7

Are your pictures up yet? I'm anxious to see more from your dolphin swim! Mine should be done by tomorrow. www.jenbo.smugmug.com. It was great meeting you onboard, and running into you again in Belize! That was a great itinerary!

 

Yeah, the pics are up. We did the dolphin encounter not the swim, but it was still cool. We loved Belize, walked around town chatting with the locals had a great day there. Nice meeting you guys and I agree it was a great itinerary.