Carnival Valor - someone help!

[AAV111]

Hi all. I am faithful RCCL customer (2 times and another booked for 2010)but my inlaws just won an all expense paid 7 day trip via Carnival and wanted us to go - they have never cruised before and didn't want to go alone. So we have narrowed it down to the two trips they can take on the Valor - Eastern or Western. They are leaning towards Western which is fine. Can anyone give me a run down on this ship and Carnival in general - any good or bad differences between them and RCCL? We love to cruise and try new things - I just feel like a traitor. Ha.

 

One stop on this Western we have NOT been to is Roatan. I have heard it is a pit - opinions anyone? What should we do here if we go?

 

Thanks!!!:D

[zillabe]

Hi all. I am faithful RCCL customer (2 times and another booked for 2010)but my inlaws just won an all expense paid 7 day trip via Carnival and wanted us to go - they have never cruised before and didn't want to go alone. So we have narrowed it down to the two trips they can take on the Valor - Eastern or Western. They are leaning towards Western which is fine. Can anyone give me a run down on this ship and Carnival in general - any good or bad differences between them and RCCL? We love to cruise and try new things - I just feel like a traitor. Ha.

 

One stop on this Western we have NOT been to is Roatan. I have heard it is a pit - opinions anyone? What should we do here if we go?

 

Thanks!!!:D

 

I can't give you a rundown between the two...I'm sure someone on this board will be able to :) But I will say that I really enjoyed Roatan...I thought it was beautiful. We did a carnival excursion where we got to hold the monkeys and we had a blast.

[floridacruiser63]

Roatan is a beautiful island right off the Honduras coast. Many Americans as well as Europeans are retiring there now a days. Beautiful beaches.

We were on the Valor (exotic western) in 2007. Excellent service, beautiful ship. It compares to the Voyager class RCCL ships.

It will be a great trip. Carnival and RCCL are both excellent cruise lines.:D

[AAV111]

Thank you for the quick reply. You know how it is - you start telling people and if they have been there, they tell you - but to each his own, I say. I would love to hold a monkey!!! ;)

[AAV111]

Thank you for the quick reply. You know how it is - you start telling people and if they have been there, they tell you - but to each his own, I say. I would love to hold a monkey!!! ;)

[floridacruiser63]

By the way, do not feel like a "traitor", it is great to try different cruise lines, we do it all the time and have enjoyed them all. Just sailed with Carnival's new Freedom late March 2008, we are sailing RCCL for the July 4th weekend and have scheduled Norwegian for April, 2009. All three are great cruise lines, we are now Platinum with Carnival, we are also Platinum (on the way to Diamond) with RCCL and this will be our third with NCL.:)

[volfan22701]

we were there about 8 months ago on the Valor. we found it to be absolutely beautiful. the people were the friendliest we met anywhere, and the land was wild and undeveloped. make sure to get a tour to see some of the land, and there is a place where the road goes over the mountain you can see ocean on both sides. a great picture spot. the Valor was only our second carnival cruise, but we thought it was a great ship. certainly had all we needed.

 

doug

[CwuzCwazy]

Just returned from the Valor....great ship, food in DR was excellent. We prefer the Eastern run on this ship because of the excellent jewelry, camera, booze shopping opportunities, especially St. Martin. You can bring back a whole lot more duty free goods on this run than the Westeern run, but I will also add that Roatan is a great stop, especially if you hire your own taxi and tour the island....some great places to stop for lunch.

 

Also, here's what I'll say about CCL vs. RCI at the moment. The food in the DR on CCL is far superior to RCI (recently cruised the FOS and the DR food was horrible, even experienced RCI cruisers were complaining). CCL has won the major travel magazines awards for "Best Cuisine Afloat" for the past two years....and you will see a difference unless your pallette is tuned into only Bob Evans food.

 

Give it a shot and I'm sure you will enjoy....

[flowerchild]

Wow, Roatan a pit? Only if you are expecting a commercialized Orlando vacation type stop...it is unspoiled, ruggedly beautiful, one of my favorite stops in the caribbean.

 

I've also heard about the bad food on RCCL's FOS, my sister sailed it and said the same. She was one of those RCCL loyalists and was upset she was forced to try Carnival recently. "We're Royal Caribbean people" was what she snobbily told me. She came back from her Carnival cruise saying that one cruise line is like the other (with slight differences) and that the food on Carnival was way better.

 

Your loyalty should be to your wallet, not a cruise line.

[licruiser1]

I too just got off the Valor 2 days ago. Everything about it was good except I did get a little sea sick. The food everywhere was good, no complaints, except that we ate too much! We have been on 2 NCL and 2 RCCL and 5 Carnival. We like Carnival because of the price we get. I am partial to Royal Carribean just because I think it is a little more classy. The Valor is a great ship though. We went Eastern and stopped in Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We had been to these islands before so we just shopped in Naasau and went snorkeling in St. Thomas and shopping in St. Maarten and to the beach, which is a 20 minute walk from the ship was great. You'll truly enjoy the Valor. Let me tell you there is only one outlet in the room so you may want to bring one of those plug in strips. We were on the Lido deck, same deck as the pool and food so it was great. Did not see as many tuxes as we usually do and hubby didn't take a suit this time and it was fine. We didn't want to pay for extra luggage. Any more questions just ask.

[carm225]

Check out the pictures in my signature from our Valor cruise. We went in April. I can't compare it to Royal Caribbean, but Valor is a beautiful ship with gorgeous ports of call. Roatan is by far my favorite stop ever!

[Katiebug430]

We chose the Valor's Western itinerary instead of one of the other Carnival Western Caribbean itineraries in large part because we wanted to stop at Roatan and NOT in Jamaica. I hear Roatan is beautiful and largely unspoiled. :)

[Shesa-Renegade]

I sailed on the Valor in 2007 and loved it! The ship is beautiful. I stayed in one of the 1A cabins for singles and was treated like a queen by the staff.

 

In Roatan I hired a private taxi (very cheap flat rate!) and had them take me around the island. About halfway around I stopped and went ziplining through the jungle. This was one of the best experiences of my life!! The taxi waited for me the whole time. On the way back to the boat we stopped at a "fast food" place and I tried iguana...tastes like chicken!

 

I'd love to go back to this port someday. You will love the Valor and the Western Carribbean. Be forewarned though, there are often issues with docking in the Grand Cayman Islands. We could not go ashore due to high waves and was a major disappointment for me as the one thing on the cruise that I really wanted to do was snorkel with the sting rays.

 

Enjoy every moment of the Valor!!

[keene state mom]

I have to agree Roatann was my favorite carribean Island so far. I have been on 8 Carnival cruises , about to hit 9 and 10 in February.

[AAV111]

Thank you all so much for the replies today! I will say this - on both RCCL cruises we went on - the DR food was not good, but buffet was great. We felt it should have been the reverse but we aren't picky eaters and were having fun so we didn't care. A friend told me the Carnival food was fabulous as well.

 

Looked at the photos - WOW! We have been to Belize and Cozumel, both which I love. We spent a week in the Caymans for a destination wedding last year and I have been itching to go back. we are leaning on my husband's parents to do this itinerary as we know they would love it. I love all the positive comments about Roatan - I have looked at excursions and am already so excited! Lots of good options, some of which I feel are better than what RCCL has offered in the past.

 

I am a creature of habit. I do like to try new things but felt like being 'loyal to royal'. I am glad we are trying something different and experiencing it with family!

 

All the posts are making me excited. Cannot wait to book and add the ticker to my signature!!! It seems so far away but time will pass as always and soon enough I will be in my 'pre planning' stages.:p

[debster818]

Question about formal nights.....does DH have to wear a suit? Is dress shirt and tie considered ok? Or not dress shirt, polo shirt? He would be thrilled not to bring a suit.

[angelsx4]

We're going to be on it in 12 days!!!! Yay! So, I can't give any sound advice, but I've been on 2 other Carnival cruises, and I was never disappointed in their service. In looking into Roatan(never been there), this one interests dh and I the most. We're thinking it could be our favorite port actually. I have read you really need to get away from the pier, we are doing the horseback riding through Barrios. I've seen quite a few Webshots and videos(kind of OCD about it once we get booked, lol) and I've been impressed so far. It looks gorgeous(if you get away from the pier). I have no expectations, so I'm going into it completely open minded. But, I know a lot of people bashed Manzanillo, but when our last cruise went there, we found some really beautiful areas, and really liked it. Fun port too! I was in Cozumel 17 years ago, and it was very quiet and we felt like we had the island to ourselves. I know it's grown so I'm eager to see the changes. I'll post a review when we're back!

[Drew B]

Question about formal nights.....does DH have to wear a suit? Is dress shirt and tie considered ok? Or not dress shirt, polo shirt? He would be thrilled not to bring a suit.

 

He DEFINITELY does not need a suit, nor even a jacket or a tie. However, a polo shirt would really be at the VERY bottom of what might be acceptable. Can you maybe get him to wear a dress shirt instead? It's not like it's any extra packing...

[dan40]

Thank you all so much for the replies today! I will say this - on both RCCL cruises we went on - the DR food was not good, but buffet was great. We felt it should have been the reverse but we aren't picky eaters and were having fun so we didn't care. A friend told me the Carnival food was fabulous as well.

 

Looked at the photos - WOW! We have been to Belize and Cozumel, both which I love. We spent a week in the Caymans for a destination wedding last year and I have been itching to go back. we are leaning on my husband's parents to do this itinerary as we know they would love it. I love all the positive comments about Roatan - I have looked at excursions and am already so excited! Lots of good options, some of which I feel are better than what RCCL has offered in the past.

 

I am a creature of habit. I do like to try new things but felt like being 'loyal to royal'. I am glad we are trying something different and experiencing it with family!

 

All the posts are making me excited. Cannot wait to book and add the ticker to my signature!!! It seems so far away but time will pass as always and soon enough I will be in my 'pre planning' stages.:p

 

Dining room food is better on Carnival and the buffet is better on RCL. But Carnival's buffet has the DELI, and the MONGOLIAN BBQ and better pizza and the Asian section. So its a toss up.

Other than that the lines are extremely similar. Carnival does not have a Royal Promenade on any ship and that's the ONLY thing that makes RCL ships better to me. Ice rink, rock wall mean zip to me. Others think they're important.

Carnival's buffet always has ice cream and hot coco late at nite [all the time but its the late nite that counts to me]

Forget the "faithful" stuff. I have way more RCL cruises than you do and more Carnival cruises than RCl. I'm very "faithful" to the line with the most interesting itinerary at a good price.

Cruise with the attitude that you may never get to cruise again, so enjoy the cruise you're on.

 

Dan

[drdaddy]

We have only heard great things about Roatan, especially if you are into snorkeling or diving. We are booked for the same itinerary in October and we are very excited. And like you, we were RCCL all the way. I think they have gotten a little too big for their britches. And the prices are a little high, don't you think? (We are Platinum on RCCL).

 

To the poster who just came back from Valor - You mentioned you got a little seasick this past trip. I have heard this a few times recently. The same cruise, perhaps? Was it a bit rough due to the tropical storm you ran into? Or was it the trip that diverted for that medical emergency and they made up a bit of time without the stabilizers? I think I will need to stock up on my Meclizine:o

 

As to the formal nights - Well, we cruise for many reasons. We LOVE dressing up on those formal nights. I ALWAYS wear a tux those evenings. I bought the tux just for cruising, btw. There appears to be alot of attitude that this is MY vacation and I will do whatever I please if it pleases me and no one else. It is so nice to walk around the ship those evenings with everyone decked out and the bow ties and the women looking like women. It kind of feels very special, I think. I know, to each his own. But I think that Carnival has been trying to reverse the image of "The Fun Ships" and it appears to be working especially due to the food service. I hope this continues and Carnival remains a great alternative to RCCL and HAL. BTW, I wear a tie 6 days a week at work and I STILL wear that tux! :)

[savarak]

i returned from valor a few days ago also, none of my group got seasick... it was my first cruise and definatly wont be my last! I got sunburnt at St Maartin but thats not carnival's fault, haha... The only real complaint I would have, is that their toilet paper feels like sandpaper!! I've actually resorted to using the tissues (convienently in-reach :) ) to wipe...

[oogeyboots]

OMG What a crack up!!! True but OMG!! You put a smile on my face this morning!! Thank's

[MaryZ]

The only real complaint I would have, is that their toilet paper feels like sandpaper!! I've actually resorted to using the tissues (convienently in-reach :) ) to wipe...

 

Wherever we travel, baby wipes go with us :D

The valor is a great ship. We sailed her in january. We had a great time. I would say it was one of my top 3 favorite cruises. I have a rotating list of ships I would definitely sail again without hesitation. And the valor really was wonderful. We did the eastern itinerary. The food on our cruise was quite good. As was the service all thru the ship. By the 4th day we were wishing we had booked a back to back.

You'll have a wonderful time, enjoy!

[compman9]

Got off the Valor (Western) a couple of weeks ago, also done the Eastern on the Triumph earlier this year.

 

I would rate the Eastern a better trip, but Western is a little more off the beaten track. I would say that for Belize, and especially Roatan, you need a trip to get the most out of your shore trip. Roatan hasn't been Big Mac'd yet, so all you have is an unspoiled island unless you do a trip.

[licruiser1]

Question about formal nights.....does DH have to wear a suit? Is dress shirt and tie considered ok? Or not dress shirt, polo shirt? He would be thrilled not to bring a suit.

We cruised the Valor last week and hubby didn't want to take a suit so I talked him into wearing a dress shirt and tie and dress pants on the two formal nights and it was fine. The other nights were casual shirts and khakis. You still see tuxes though.