Carnival Valor review 8/17 first installment

[racyguy14619]

This installment is more than enough to start off this review, and I promise that there will be much more to follow.

This was an interesting, exciting, and fun Family Reunion Cruise week provided by our parents Tom and Jan (who would have EVER thought that they would pay to bring the entire extended family together like this – I guess the inheritance has just about been trickled out ahead of time by now J) -- with a couple of twists and turns here and there just to make it interesting. I injured my right leg (quadriceps tendons – stretched or torn, but not snapped, yay – like I did to my left a few years ago) right at the beginning of the cruise (actually a couple of days before, but I’m telling my doctors it happened Sunday afternoon, so don’t let the cat out of the bag J) It should be no surprise that my activities were curtailed a bit through the week, but it was still probably my best cruise ever. I have lots to share about our wonderful family experience on Carnival.

First of all, I missed my Saturday morning flight (I arrived around 5am for a 6am departure to ATL, and the Rochester airport was in gridlock – apparently a cancelled flight threw everything off) – I’m pretty sure that at least 30 of us missed that flight, if not more. I returned to the airport Sunday morning around 4:30am, already scheduled for a flight, but hoping to get on the 6am flight on standby early. I eventually made it to MIA and by taxi to the Port just before 1pm, and got in line for the inevitable Carnival “cavity search” J.

Part of the boarding process was new and weird, having to obtain a Zone number card, which delayed me by at least 15 minutes (or about 3 zones) since there were no signs or announcements – they could have been much clearer way back in Security about that. Eventually my zone was called and I made my way through the line, and after hitting a second agent to pay the cash deposit on my S&S account, I was on board a little after 2:30pm. Not perfect (having not been able to start the process at 10am like I would have preferred), but not horrible either. Did I not yet mention surprise number 1 ? As we were boarding in Miami, Tropical Storm Fay was churning her way up towards Cuba with the possibility of becoming a hurricane. The first “paper” I got from Carnival (at the check-in counter) was a “revised itinerary” due to Fay – we were going to reverse our itinerary to avoid any interference from the storm, so Cozumel would be first and Grand Cayman last (I think it proved to be a far better itinerary than the originally planned one.).

After embarking, I immediately made my way down to my cabin (1208) all the way forward port side on Riviera (bottom) deck (which had 2 lovely portholes, unlike my cabin one deck up last fall on Triumph that was an outside-inside cabin), and dropped off my carry-on bag. I also met my cabin steward Made on the way out, who was very nice and attentive. I made sure I had my S&S card to get back into my room, and found my way up to my parent’s cabin 6278 (30 feet from the forward elevators on Upper Deck on the port side right next to my brother and his wife in 6280), which was the afternoon gathering spot throughout the cruise. I missed my Cruise Critic “meet” at 3pm getting a chance to catch up with the family (7 adults, 2 college kids, boys 7 and 5, and a 7.5 month old girl), then went down to 1208 to get my life jacket, and soon after endured the always tedious and excrutiatingly hot and breathless Muster Drill outside on Deck 4. Hey, it’s important, and this is one of those things in life where you need to be ready to just roll with it J

After muster, we all dashed to our cabins to ditch our life jackets, and ended up on Deck 10 (Panorama) starboard for sailaway. By the time I got up there (being a cripple and hobbling quite convincingly) we were well past South Beach, and I didn’t get any pictures this time. I DID get a Funship Special DOD from who would become our favorite drink server – Teni (I think from the Philippines) – more on Teni later. Soon after, we entered an intense rain squall that scattered everyone, and soon after, we headed to our cabins to get minimally dressed up for first dinner.

With 12 of us (7 big, 2 almost big, 2 small, and one petite in a stroller) we ended up seated at three 4-person tables in a row on the port side of the Washington dining room back a little from the windows. It actually turned out to be a neat arrangement, as we all switched seats each night, and some of the non-parents (like me and college kids Katie and Danny) took turns sitting with one of the boys – it was way too much fun. We immediately met our Head Waiter Gilbert and our Waiter Helgut – they proved through the week to be awesome and exceeded our expectations at every turn. As always, I was blown away by the fact that after the first evening they knew all of us by name, and greeted each of us personally each night. Gilbert even managed to bring a special order that Dad requested specially of steamed mussels in garlic the last 2 nights, which was a great treat and superbly prepared for us.

After dinner we all made our way to the Ivanhoe Lounge forward for the Welcome Aboard show, which was fun except I was disappointed that CD Ryan did NOT make all of the usually appropriate hickey jokes about the onboard toilets L I can’t remember what else we did – I think we all crashed pretty early after the rigors of embarkation J Tomorrow is another day at Tara . . . . .

[Luanne21]

I can't wait. Finally a review about my ship.

[Wags67]

Ken...great start to your review...I love your writing style:)

Will be awaiting the next installment!

[XCruiseMe17]

I NEED MORE!!

I do this same I itinerary on August 31st! WOOHOO first crusie!!

[mwsrccl]

Great so far, please keep up the good work!

[rittinca]

My fiance and I will actually be in your parent's room, 6278, for our honeymoon in two weeks. Did your parents have any complaints about the cabin? Any noise issues from the elevators?

[kj_connections]

I'm going on the same cruise on Aug 31st as well! There's a roll call page here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=15942881&posted=1#post15942881

[TakeMeAway1001]

Great review so far, can't wait to read more :)

[racyguy14619]

Let’s see, first Sea Day . . .

I think we all met for breakfast in the Washington Dining Room, and then in a short while met at our tables near the port side pool bar and settled in for a while. Waitress Teni showed up, and after getting my folio number and getting me a DOD, she remembered my name and folio and was always very friendly – we immediately loved having her around. I don’t remember all of what we did during the afternoon – I think I went back to my cabin for a nap. Then it was time to get dressed up, meet at mom and dad’s cabin, and head to the Captain’s Party for free drinks. After that, a wonderful dinner – I think that was Lobster Night J After dinner we went to the first revue show – I thought it was probably the best cruise show I’ve seen yet. My brother and I checked out the Piano Bar – he was pretty decent, but his piano playing was better than his singing. We also saw singer Teri Jo out near the casino – she was a nice singer, but her bouncing up and down while she “played” her electric automatic piano drove us nuts.

Cozumel . . .

I got up a bit late, and wandered up to the Lido Deck in time to grab some late breakfast from Rosie’s (the Lido Buffet). I decided not to go ashore (didn’t have any excursions I wanted to do, and for my leg’s sake, I didn’t feel like walking around), and headed to the aft pool, where I sprayed on some suntan goop, got a DOD, and soaked in the hot tub for a bit and then cooled off in the pool. At some point I caught up with mom and dad at “our tables”, and hung out for a while. Later on we all met at their cabin to watch sailaway from their balcony, and have Happy Hour before dinner. I believe this was the first night that I hit the craps table, where I broke even for the night after lots of fun play. I met waitress Neli, who proved to be my friend for the rest of the week.

Belize . . .

We all met in the dining room for more Eggs Benedict and Bagel with Lox and Cream Cheese (yum), then gathered in the disco for our excursion – SNUBA. The led us down to Deck 0 and got us onto the excursion boat (along with all of the snorkelers), with a minor delay while SIL Wendy ran back up to 6280 to get her ID at the last second. Our instructor Elvis was hilarious as he briefed us on the way to the reef, and got us hooked up with our regulator harnesses. Once there, we got in the water in groups of 4 (I ended up with DS Linda, her DH Dan, and the daughter of our guide). We hung onto the little raft that held our tanks while our guide got us hooked up to them, then it was off to get used to being underwater with a regulator. It was fun, and quickly painful due to my leg injury (but I refused to quit) – and we had to add weights to me twice before I could get down to the bottom (about 8-10 feet). There were not a lot of colorful fish on this reef, but the “dive” was a blast. After we got out of the water, they broke out the rum punch, took us to a nice beach compound on a nearby island for an hour and a half, and everyone else in my family played beach volleyball. I thought it was a great excursion (well worth the $110) and would certainly recommend it. After they returned us to the ship, DB and DS and Big Dan (there is also “little” Danny, my college aged nephew) took a tender into Belize City with 7 year old nephew Jake (who I entrusted to get a few pictures with my camera). They met a local who gave them a brief tour and took them to a small bar for a beer – they had a good time. Later it was Happy Hour and sailaway at 6278, another good dinner, and some Karaoke – niece Katie and her brother Danny sang, and were pretty decent.

[racyguy14619]

A quick note before the next installment.

 

I never heard any complaints from mom and dad about 6278. I thought it was a very nice cabin, and they had the balcony divider open between them and Dave in 6280. I'll talk to them again sometime this week and ask for their opinion.

[racyguy14619]

<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: tahoma,new york,times,serif"><DIV>

<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Roatan . . .

[racyguy14619]

<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: tahoma,new york,times,serif"><DIV>

<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Roatan . . .

[cmalibu1]

Thanks! Very helpful...keep it coming!

[racyguy14619]

Roatan . . .

Another morning when I slept nice and late, and got an omelet (very good) in Rosie’s. Big Dan and Jake took a tour to go see all of the monkeys, which Jake really enjoyed. I stayed on board again, and spent some time with my parents and little Claire up in our spot on the Lido Deck. A half hour after we sailed at 3pm I went to the casino hoping to play some craps. The table wasn’t open, so I decided to put $5 in the 1-cent Shrimpmania slot machine. Here’s a tip: use your S&S card in the slot machines (you can still put cash in if you want) – carrying $177 in quarters over to the cage to turn it into cash was a workout J This was the second formal night. I skipped the Past Cruisers party to do Happy Hour at mom and dad’s. Dinner was good as always. Sometime after dinner we went to Karaoke, and everyone else convinced me to get up with them. The first song we did I didn’t know well, and I thought I faltered a bit. The second song later on was Journey, and it turned out that of the 8 of us up there I was the only one who knew one special turn of the lead singer, so I was a junior star. After Karaoke, I headed to the craps table, where I ended up over $100 ahead. I headed to my cabin and ordered the Steak and Brie sandwich from room service, and settled in for the night.

Grand Cayman . . .

Back to the dining room for breakfast again, and then the tendering process, which quite frankly sucked this time. Those of us with excursions were told over the loudspeakers that we could go straight to the front of the line, but by the time we got to Deck 3 the line was already backed up to there. They had already called people with sticker numbers 1 and 2, and tons of people were coming down before their number was called. They finally got someone to direct traffic after number 3 was called (the line wasn’t even moving yet), and after showing our excursion tickets we were able to make our way down to Deck 0 and tender in to Georgetown. We had a little bit of a wait before being gathered up for our tour to Stingray City, and of course we ended up on the bus with no A/C – just open windows. After about a 10-minute ride, we boarded our Kelly Water Sports boat and took a 15-minute ride out to Stingray City. As we pulled up our boat was swarmed by stingrays, which was a good sign. All of us except mom and dad and Claire went on this excursion. As soon as we got in the water there were stingrays all around us – a number of them swam right over my shoulders so it was great fun. Jake and Kyle had a blast, and both got to feed a stingray. When they finally called us out of the water they took us to Rum Point Beach, where we bought lunch and drinks (I had conch fritters and great spicy red conch chowder) and got to enjoy the beach for at least an hour, followed by the boat and bus trip back to Georgetown pier. This tour was the Stingray City and Rum Point Beach excursion available through the ship, and it was also well worth the $60 it cost so it also gets my recommendation. Tendering back to the ship was much better, with a fairly short line for the tender. Another Happy Hour and Sailaway on the balcony, followed by another nice dinner. We all went for bingo – I had one number left to go when somebody won. I spent some time at the craps table and lost $100, and spent $30 on three different slot machines, which was fun.

Sea Day 2 . . .

Another late start and a few hours up on the Lido Deck with mom and dad and Claire and the family floating in and out. I had fun with the boys and Big Dan in the pool for quite a while. They had one last big bingo game at 3:30pm on the Lido Deck, so I bought 3 cards and played with no luck. I had to get some stuff done at the Purser’s Desk, so I got up to 6278 only a few minutes before dinner. After dinner was some packing, another trip to the casino (lost another $100 at craps, but it took me the entire week to “spend” my original stake), and finishing up packing. I put my suitcase out in the hall and went back to the casino for a last round of slots.

[racyguy14619]

Roatan . . .

 

Another morning when I slept nice and late, and got an omelet (very good) in Rosie’s. Big Dan and Jake took a tour to go see all of the monkeys, which Jake really enjoyed. I stayed on board again, and spent some time with my parents and little Claire up in our spot on the Lido Deck. A half hour after we sailed at 3pm I went to the casino hoping to play some craps. The table wasn’t open, so I decided to put $5 in the 1-cent Shrimpmania slot machine. Here’s a tip: use your S&S card in the slot machines (you can still put cash in if you want) – carrying $177 in quarters over to the cage to turn it into cash was a workout J This was the second formal night. I skipped the Past Cruisers party to do Happy Hour at mom and dad’s. Dinner was good as always. Sometime after dinner we went to Karaoke, and everyone else convinced me to get up with them. The first song we did I didn’t know well, and I thought I faltered a bit. The second song later on was Journey, and it turned out that of the 8 of us up there I was the only one who knew one special turn of the lead singer, so I was a junior star. After Karaoke, I headed to the craps table, where I ended up over $100 ahead. I headed to my cabin and ordered the Steak and Brie sandwich from room service, and settled in for the night.

 

Grand Cayman . . .

 

Back to the dining room for breakfast again, and then the tendering process, which quite frankly sucked this time. Those of us with excursions were told over the loudspeakers that we could go straight to the front of the line, but by the time we got to Deck 3 the line was already backed up to there. They had already called people with sticker numbers 1 and 2, and tons of people were coming down before their number was called. They finally got someone to direct traffic after number 3 was called (the line wasn’t even moving yet), and after showing our excursion tickets we were able to make our way down to Deck 0 and tender in to Georgetown. We had a little bit of a wait before being gathered up for our tour to Stingray City, and of course we ended up on the bus with no A/C – just open windows. After about a 10-minute ride, we boarded our Kelly Water Sports boat and took a 15-minute ride out to Stingray City. As we pulled up our boat was swarmed by stingrays, which was a good sign. All of us except mom and dad and Claire went on this excursion. As soon as we got in the water there were stingrays all around us – a number of them swam right over my shoulders so it was great fun. Jake and Kyle had a blast, and both got to feed a stingray. When they finally called us out of the water they took us to Rum Point Beach, where we bought lunch and drinks (I had conch fritters and great spicy red conch chowder) and got to enjoy the beach for at least an hour, followed by the boat and bus trip back to Georgetown pier. This tour was the Stingray City and Rum Point Beach excursion available through the ship, and it was also well worth the $60 it cost so it also gets my recommendation. Tendering back to the ship was much better, with a fairly short line for the tender. Another Happy Hour and Sailaway on the balcony, followed by another nice dinner. We all went for bingo – I had one number left to go when somebody won. I spent some time at the craps table and lost $100, and spent $30 on three different slot machines, which was fun.

 

Sea Day 2 . . .

 

Another late start and a few hours up on the Lido Deck with mom and dad and Claire and the family floating in and out. I had fun with the boys and Big Dan in the pool for quite a while. They had one last big bingo game at 3:30pm on the Lido Deck, so I bought 3 cards and played with no luck. I had to get some stuff done at the Purser’s Desk, so I got up to 6278 only a few minutes before dinner. After dinner was some packing, another trip to the casino (lost another $100 at craps, but it took me the entire week to “spend” my original stake), and finishing up packing. I put my suitcase out in the hall and went back to the casino for a last round of slots.

[OSUcruiser]

Racy-

 

I was also on this sailing. We were in Washington - Early- lower -table 321.

 

Over all the week was GREAT! We had private excursions at all the stops. That was fine until they flipped the itinerary! We actually called & emailed the vendors and had no problems. We did Stingrays, Reef & Rum Point also...I am sure we were there at the same time! We did sea trek helmet diving in Cozumel. Victor Bodden in Honduras, and Belize Zoo.

 

The ship was great. We didn't care for the piano bar guy, Claude. We like the crazier types...he was too mellow! He was actually sick the 1st 3 days!

 

My parents won big on this trip. Dad won the first slot tourny for $500, mom won the $1000 BINGO on Saturday morning. Mom also won the Past guest drawing at the party...recipe books and dinner for 2 at the supper club. They gave us the dinner at Scarletts.

 

We loved Roatan! Want to return!

[debster818]

We are sailing on the Valor Eastern October 19th. Love reviews.

[racyguy14619]

Debarkation . . .

OK, the original well-thought-out plan was for the entire family to meet at 8am for breakfast in the dining room, but that idea flew out the window pretty quickly for me. My alarm sounded at 7:40am, and while I was putting on clothes, the overhead speaker outside of my cabin called my debarkation number (5). I hastily packed my CPAP machine and the other “last minute” stuff into my carry-on bag, and after one last check of my cabin, I headed for the Ivanhoe Lounge to wait my turn to depart. I was in such a hurry that I never thought to call mom & dad to let them know that I wouldn’t make breakfast. As I entered the lounge, I told the crew member that I had lost my number tag, but he was able to find me quickly on his list, so I settled in for my wait. About 20 minutes or so later, we were able to join the debarkation line, but when I reached the S&S card scanner it “dinged” to tell me that I had “a message”. I was escorted over to the Purser’s Desk, where I paid my S&S “overage” of about $70 (you’ll remember that I stuffed $600 into that account during embarkation) with my debit card, and then I was back in line. I ended up in the left line after leaving the ship, which was slowed by the fact that there were no stairs available – we all had to slowly cycle through the single elevator down to the main floor. This ended up being probably the longest trip through Customs that I have ever had after a cruise. I think I finally “cleared” Customs around 9:45am, and after going outside, it took me another 10-15 minutes to figure out where the Carnival transfer bus was hiding. Sometime after I got on the bus, the driver got on and told us that we could not leave yet because Customs was “holding” the bus (there were a bunch of other people ALREADY on the bus when I got on) – I’m STILL trying to figure out why Customs would need to detain a bus FULL of people who JUST cleared Customs – go figure. Eventually the driver came back, and with profuse apologies from him, we finally took off for MIA. We arrived around 11am, which was not too bad for my 11:45am flight to Cincinnati. I managed to get to the gate with enough time to stop at Cinnabon to get 2 OJs and a bottle of water – boy, was I thirsty, and I would have been really happy to find an Egg McMuffin and a BaconEggBiscuit if there was time. I have to point out that once again that the Carnival transfer bus deal (which my dad suggested because he was paying for it) turned out to be a bad idea (as it has in the past). If I had simply taken a taxi to MIA, I would have been there almost an hour sooner. Also, Carnival’s “luggage express” (where you leave your checked bag outside of your cabin and you next see it at home) was not a good idea. When I eventually arrived home in Rochester NY, it didn’t take too long to figure out that my bag was not on the carousel. After standing in line a bit at the Delta “lost luggage” counter, I was able to arrange for my late bag to be delivered to my house when it finally arrived, and I found it on my front porch sometime after 8am the next morning. I do not understand why people get so wound up about stuff like this that they cannot control – why let your blood pressure shoot through the roof if this something you can’t change ? Just take a deep breath and prepare yourself for the inevitable waitl. I think that you should chill out and wait patiently, rather than work yourself up into a lather over something you can’t do anything about. I have learned in my job that it is important to be ready to punt (adjust to changes) and stay calm no matter what. Next time if I have an “early” flight I will do “self-assist” debarkation and take a cab, so that I can actually control what happens to my checked luggage.

Eventually I got home, saddened that my wonderful cruise was over, but happy to see the 2 cats, and eventually, my 13-year-old Chow Golden boy.