Valor-Western 3/29/09-Just OK!

[trolltoes]

My husband and I just returned from the Valor's Western Caribbean cruise today. We've previously cruised on Royal and Holland, but it was our first time on Carnival and we'd decided to give the line a shot. Overall we had an OK time on board, but the dining was really lacking. The food was mediocre at best overall, with a few exceptions. The cheeseburgers in the Grill were really good! The Deli had some good sandwiches too. My husband was fond of the 24 hour pizza as well.

For breakfast, we decided to try out the Washington Dining Room the very first morning. Boy, were we disappointed! The eggs benedict was barely warm, and appeared to have been kept in some kind of warmer for a good length of time. It didn't even LOOK appealing! The hash browns were the deep fried variety and were so hard we could have used them as projectile ammunition! The fruit was ok though!

Lunch was at Rosie's and the poolside Grill. Again, the burgers were awesome, but the rest was easily forgettable.

Dinner, which I was really looking forward to by that time was a huge letdown. We were in the Washington Dining Room's late seating. The service was just OK, with the server's assistant, Lennox, working harder than the server seemed to! The portions were small, and came out at varying temperatures. My steak was on the cold side! This happened several times during the week. Once the server asked if I wanted sauce for my prime rib, which I hoped would warm it up a bit. The sauce was cold! Even as he was pouring it on because it had the texture of runny jello! We got into the habit of ordering a few different entrees between us so that we had a chance at getting one of the dishes the way it had been intended to be eaten!

Our last hope was room service. We had intended on ordering it for our first port day in Grand Cayman, but were shocked that all there was available to order was continental breakfast items. The sandwiches available were decent, but I was very disappointed that I could not order a decent breakfast to eat on the balcony!

A quick note: if you want to get your passports stamped, ask guest services what the correct procedure is for each port you visit. For this one, we were to go ashore in Grand Cayman and there was an office we visited for the stamp. The rest (Isla Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel) required us to go down to wait outside the Betsy Ross Room immediately after we'd docked. After the officials from the country we were in cleared the ship, they would stamp our passports. Only a VERY small number of people knew about this on our cruise so I figured it was worth mentioning here!

Our first port of call was Grand Cayman. The tendering was pretty easy! Just a short ride into port. We went with Fat Fish Adventures (they have a website and communicate very well) and rented a waverunner to ride out to Stingray City, then to another reef to snorkel on, and then finally a stop at a beach bar for some local refreshment! The tour was only supposed to be a few hours, but we were having such a good time that it went long. We were on the early tour and had tons of time left over to shop! I highly recommend this company and tour. We will definitely do this again someday! Shopping: if you see something you want here...buy it. You won't find much in the next two ports and there is no tax in Cayman!

Next we were on Isla Roatan. This is a beautiful place, but still a third-world country. We booked a private island tour through Victor Bodden. We wanted to go ziplining, see the cameo factory, maybe snorkel, and try some native dishes. Our driver, Janeth, drove us out to a remote spot which we felt wasted ALOT of time we had wanted to do other things with. We did have a blast ziplining though! Victor's equipment is only a few months old and is the most up to date and safest there is. The guides were fantastic as well. After the ziplining, we went to see Victor's monkeys. WARNING: THESE ARE SMART LITTLE MONKEYS! I was wearing a fanny pack and while one distracted me by jumping on my husband's head and shoulders, another had climbed up my leg, unzipped the zipper, and stolen my cigarettes! Needless to say it was a chore getting them back! While we were there they had taken a rose out of another woman's hair and had fun ripping the petals off of it! We did not buy much of anything there. The shops in town were kinda scary. There weren't any prices marked. The vendors just tried to get as much out of you as they possibly could. There is a small collection of shops right as you get off the boat that have the standard t-shirts and hats.

The following day were made it to Belize! Belize is also an extremely poor country. This is another port where you need to be on an organized tour. DO NOT GO OUT OF THE TOURSIM VILLAGE ON YOUR OWN. I wanted to, but it is sheer chaos out there. We booked a Manatee Watch/Snorkeling/Banister Caye Beach Break through Coral Breeze Tours. This was actually sub-contracted out to Hammerhead Tours. We had a great time, but there was not alot of time left to shop in the little tourism village afterward. Bannister Caye was beautiful. We ate lunch out there after snorkeling. A lobster tail, red beans and rice, and potato salad was $12 US. We paired that with a $4 Belkin Beer and a chaise lounge under a palm tree and it was simply amazing. I will go back there again some day. The manatee part was just OK. Get to one of the seats on the top of the boat if you can...a much better point to see things from!

Finally we made it to Cozumel. We booked a Harley Davidson Tour through Sand Dollar Sports. It is the same company, same tour that the cruise lines offer. We paid significantly less than ano of the others who had booked through the cruise line by booking ourselves! Including us, there were 7 people on this tour. You much have a valid motorcycle license and prove that you can handle a Sportster 1200 the day of the tour, or you will be turned away. This is an amazing tour. The guides were fantastic and thought out the tour very well. There are plenty of breaks to stretch your legs and get some shade. They have a chase vehicle too that carries any belongings you want to lock in there as well as a big cooler of assorted soft drinks and bottled water. A very well run outfit!

Although I wasn't too impressed by the food services offered by Carnival, some of the staff were top-notch. While most of the staff appeared to merely be doing the bare mimimum to keep their jobs, a few stood out from the rest. Chai, our cabin steward, was very good at what he does. He was also very knowledgable about the rest of the ship. He had a quick and accurate answer for our questions! Our favorite bartender/server was Alex from the Ukraine. He was the one person on that ship who really appeared to like his job! He was thoughtful, and very informative. As I mentioned earlier, Lennox in the Washington Dining Room was amazing. He just knew what we needed and followed through. Our server would probably not have a job by now if it weren't for Lennox as a support system!

There is so much to tell about this week that it is impossible to relate it all at once. If anyone has specific questions, I'd be happy to answer. I'll try to write more later, as I am simply exhausted now!

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

I'm sorry your food was so bad...when we went on the Valor everything was excellent! Hope it will not deter you from going on Carnival again. Sounds like other than the food, you had a good time in the ports and on your excursions.

[garrett619]

I thought you could order whatever was served in the main dining room as room service, except perhaps on the formal nights, although even then I've heard of some people getting lobster "to go" to bring back to people stuck in their cabin for whatever reason. Is that not the case anymore?

[LESTRELA]

this is our first cruise with Carnival Valor also we will be there labor day week (27) of us! I have traveled with Royal 5 times, what did you find so different between both lines?

[trolltoes]

this is our first cruise with Carnival Valor also we will be there labor day week (27) of us! I have traveled with Royal 5 times, what did you find so different between both lines?

I asked my husband about this as well...we both felt that the quality of food was far below Royal and Holland. It was very easy to NOT overeat during the cruise! This was the most obvious difference. The next one that jumped out at us was the overall demeanor of the crew. They did their jobs, sure. The problem was that they didn't seem to be cheerful about it. Granted, I am not always happy to go to work everyday, but it seemed like 95% of the staff we encountered didn't really care whether we were satisfied or not with our trip. They just wanted to deal with us and move on. The fact that this came across in their attitudes to us was a problem. There were a few exceptions though....Chai our steward, Alex the bartender/server in One Small Step, and Lennox in the Washington Dining Room stood out because they did want to help us. I guess we are just used to the exact opposite ratio of helpfulness on our other cruises!

Hope this helps a bit!

[trolltoes]

I thought you could order whatever was served in the main dining room as room service, except perhaps on the formal nights, although even then I've heard of some people getting lobster "to go" to bring back to people stuck in their cabin for whatever reason. Is that not the case anymore?

There was a set Room Service Menu in a binder in the cabin. There was a limited menu, and nothing was mentioned about being able to vary from the menu. I did attempt to order eggs and bacon (a simple request in my eyes) for our first port day breakfast, but was told this was not possible. I was told to see the door hanger menu that was on the wall of my cabin for port day continental breakfast options.

 

From time to time I did see people carrying trays of food from Rosie's back to rooms for those who could not make it out to eat, but I never saw a dinner from the dining room being taken back to a room or the remnants of one left in the hall on a discarded room service tray.

 

Hope this helps!

[okgirl]

I thought you could order whatever was served in the main dining room as room service, except perhaps on the formal nights, although even then I've heard of some people getting lobster "to go" to bring back to people stuck in their cabin for whatever reason. Is that not the case anymore?

 

To my knowledge and I've been on 16 Carnival cruises, you have never been able to order room service from the dining room menu, unless there were extraordinary circumstances involving quarantine....

 

The room service menu has improved over the years with many more selections and even a couple of warm sandwichs but no "hot" entree's.

 

The popularity of Eggs Benedict has changed the way I order breakfast. I too think that lately that dish has more often than not been sitting under a heat lamp for too long....I order everything separate (i.e. "soft poached eggs, canadian bacon, muffin and a "side" of holandaise sauce) It's a much more enjoyable breakfast

[The Klev]

Valid points, as I wasn't enamored with the food in the dining rooms either. I actually ate double portions of the salad for dinner, as I was quite fond of the Caesar.

 

If I may comment about the passport stamping - in order to obviate the need for getting up early at each port, just hand all your passports to the purser at trip's beginning, and pick them up the last evening of the cruise, and they will all be stamped. Don't forget to make a photocopy of your passport to have on hand with you should you need it suring the cruise.

 

Thanks for your review,

 

Alan

[trolltoes]

Valid points, as I wasn't enamored with the food in the dining rooms either. I actually ate double portions of the salad for dinner, as I was quite fond of the Caesar.

 

If I may comment about the passport stamping - in order to obviate the need for getting up early at each port, just hand all your passports to the purser at trip's beginning, and pick them up the last evening of the cruise, and they will all be stamped. Don't forget to make a photocopy of your passport to have on hand with you should you need it suring the cruise.

 

Thanks for your review,

 

Alan

I did ask about this procedure for passport stamping, as it would have been a much simpler process. I was told that Carnival did not want the added responsibility of holding the passports for the week, so we were to follow the procedure listed above if we wanted stamps. I am not sure whether this was due to the great number of people aboard or not, but we were not allowed that option on this cruise.

[bike1964]

I asked my husband about this as well...we both felt that the quality of food was far below Royal and Holland. It was very easy to NOT overeat during the cruise! This was the most obvious difference. The next one that jumped out at us was the overall demeanor of the crew. They did their jobs, sure. The problem was that they didn't seem to be cheerful about it. Granted, I am not always happy to go to work everyday, but it seemed like 95% of the staff we encountered didn't really care whether we were satisfied or not with our trip. They just wanted to deal with us and move on. The fact that this came across in their attitudes to us was a problem. There were a few exceptions though....Chai our steward, Alex the bartender/server in One Small Step, and Lennox in the Washington Dining Room stood out because they did want to help us. I guess we are just used to the exact opposite ratio of helpfulness on our other cruises!

Hope this helps a bit!

 

Unfortunately since they implented the "auto" tip policy, service has been on the decline for the last few years. We have 8 Carnival and 8 RCCL cruises under our belts and we have noticed this same thing on both lines the last few years.:(

[Elaine515]

Wow, different people different opinions. Same cruise and we felt this was one of our best yet. I am working on writing my own review but we loved the food (not the location/table we had), the ports were great, the kids were definitely well behaved on this sailing etc.

 

troll, were you the one with the husband with the beard waiting with me to have the passports stamped? We were also told they wouldn't take the Passports for the week and we had to do it on a daily basis...no big deal...

[sailor44]

My husband and I just returned from the Valor's Western Caribbean cruise today... but the dining was really lacking. The food was mediocre at best overall, with a few exceptions.... Boy, were we disappointed! The eggs benedict was barely warm, and appeared to have been kept in some kind of warmer for a good length of time. ... We were in the Washington Dining Room's late seating. The service was just OK, with the server's assistant, Lennox, working harder than the server seemed to! The portions were small, and came out at varying temperatures.

 

We cruised on the Valor in October and had cold meals all the time in the dining room. I thought it was just the way it was - don't ask me why! I now think it had to do a lot with our wait staff - that they let the food sit around and get cold.

 

Anyway, we cruised again this past February on the Victory and the food was great. It was (almost) always the temperature it should be - hot. Our wait staff on the Victory were great. We truly really enjoyed the dining on the Victory.

 

After we came back I posted a thread about temps of dining room food and most people didn't have any issues and most also said that we should have sent it back. I guess that if you let your server know the first time that cold food is not acceptable....

 

We also had the same experience with the Eggs Benedict in the Dining Room as well. We went once on the Valor and they were really lousy. Barely warm with the eggs overcooked. Didn't try it again.

 

On the Victory the Eggs Benedict was warm & delicious - egg yolks just slightly oozing. :D Went back three other days for it!

 

On future cruises I will not just accept food that is not to my liking.

 

After discussing it with the wait staff if it doesn't get resolved, then that would be the time to let the Maitre 'd do their job!