REVIEW- Carnival Valor 04/11 - 04/19

[shelkate1]

Well this is the first review I have written but my second cruise. Bear with me as I will try not to be too gabby and will just get right to the point.

 

DAY 1(EMBARKATION) - We had been gone from home since Friday, having traveled to Savannah, GA and staying. Then onto Miami on Saturday. It was nice to get going a bit early and get the vacation started. We arrived at POM Marriot Courtyard by about 2pm but were unable to check in because our room wasn't clean. First let me say that hotel was WONDERFUL. It is a short $5-$7 cab ride from Bayside Market which was a nice festive place to spend the evening. Parking is a real issue in Miami everywhere, so we found it best to find a place to put the car and taxi elsewhere. So, when we got up on Sunday we just had this wonderful but really overpriced breakfast right in the hotel restaurant. We were traveling with our 3 kids and for the buffet it was nearly $80. Ok, on to embarkation.... Can I say it was not the hightlight of our trip? We traveled out of Tampa the last time we cruised and that port has it going on. Miami is a cluster!! There isn't enough parking, there isn't good signage where to go specifically, there aren't enough people working who know what in the heck is going on. It was by far the worst hour and a half of our trip, but I wasn't going to let it affect my vacation. But it wasn't that much better inside until you get thru the initial check of documents. That was when my vacation finally really began. The desk clerks were super, helpful, really nice. Once we got there and set up our sign and sail, it really was smooth sailing. From that point until my first Funship special might have been 30 minutes. We went and had lunch in Rosie's Diner and got a good spot to sit and watch Biscayne Bay until our rooms were ready. We finally went to the rooms about 2pm and met with our cabin steward Steve. We were on Verhanda #8281 and #8283. Steve was a WONDERFUL cabin steward. He was never pushy or in the way but was always there when needed. My children were especially impressed with the extra attention he paid to there comfort and enjoyment. But more on that later.

 

DAY 2 (FUN DAY AT SEA) - What is there to say but it was fun and it was at sea? We had enrolled my youngest in Camp Carnival the night before and he took off for camp bright and early. Camp was the highight of all of our trips because my son had such a great time there. He only had dinner with us in the dining room the first night and we never saw him again for an evening meal. He ate with his friends made at camp every evening after. There were ALOT of kids on the ship for spring break but there was plenty for them to do because of Camp Carnival. The youth staff really is great on the ship. My daughters and I took in the sun while my husband hit the casino and napped. Dinner was really nice in the Washington Dining room lower table 432 with our wonderful head waiter Cesar!! He was great, entertaining, funny and we really enjoyed him as well as his assistant Dinata. The girls had gone to the Welcome Aboard show the night before and said it was good so I went with them to the "Nightclub Revue" in the Ivanhoe Theater that night. It was entertaining, but being an old woman I was ready for bed about half way through...lol!

 

DAY 3(GRAND CAYMAN)- We didn't have any specific plans for Cayman except to go to Hell, because my 9 year old wanted to be able to say he had been there. The tender process went as easily as you could expect when trying to get 3300 people off a boat by small boats. The tender number process worked really well here and it was not difficult to get off the boat at all. Just remember not to go down to the theater to get your number if your whole party isn't ready to go right then. You can't plan ahead or anything. You get your number and you go fairly quickly. We took a cab ride out to Hell and took some snapshots for the 9 year old to prove he had been to Hell and Back...lol. We then went back to the shopping district and looked around but made our way to Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville so the children could swim in the pool there. They swam, we had drinks and lunch and by then it was about 1pm. We had to be on the last tender by 3:15 but had seen enough so we quickly made our way back to the ship and got some great spots by the pool for some more sun. Let me make a comment here about the dreaded chair hog. I will say I saw many chairs with stuff on them barely occupied all day. BUT, I didn't see most people having ANY trouble getting a nice spot in the sun at all. The people that tended to have problems were the ones insistent on sitting right by the pool. There might 35 pool side chairs and 3300 guests. Everyone can't sit right next to the pool. The other folks having problems were the ones that waited until 1pm to bring a party of 10 to find chairs together. Come on now, you don't really expect there to be a group of 10 chairs together 4 hours after good sun is hitting the deck do you? So, chair hogs aside, I never had a problem getting a spot for myself and my 2 daughters. Dinner that night was wonderful as always and my girls said the show was good that night. There was supposed to be a ventriloquist who apparently missed the boat in Georgetown so they bumped up the next nights juggler.

 

DAY 4(Roatan) - What a beautiful country. We were able to walk off the boat which always makes me happy. I like to be able to come and go as I please. We had made reservations at Fins and Flippers for the 5 of us but my son politely informed me he would not be joining the family at the beach, he was staying at camp...lol! So after much discussion I decided it was his vacation too and let him stay on board while the rest of us went ashore. We met the resort person just right off the boat to the right. He turned us over to another young man who escorted us outside the fence to the tender to the island. It was about a 5 minute ride by boat over to the resort. The place was BEAUTIFUL!! Wonderful pool, excellent beach, really nice help. For the price to be able to use their facilities for the day it can't be beat! We spent all day laying by the pool, walking out to swim in the Carribbean, walking the beach... We had a couple cocktails, a few soft drinks, lunch of 3 appetizers, and our bill was significantly under $50 for the 4 of us TOTAL! I can't say enough about what a nice day it was. We returned to the boat about 4pm and had an ice cream in Rosie's to watch sail away. We all went and took naps before our late dinner and again had a great meal in the dining room. The girls took in the show, but again my hubby and I are old people and have to hit the hay by 11pm...lol!

 

I will continue with days 5-8 in a bit. I just want to say I hope this review is helpful. If there are any questions I can help with I will sure give it a try. Everyone was so good about posting reviews before we cruised and I just got on the boards every day looking for info to devour about the Valor. So I hope this returns the favor a little bit.

[jenvalet]

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to hear the rest. We're going on the Valor June 14th for our honeymoon!

[Perfect Stranger]

Sounds like you really enjoyed the ports!

 

Was the water at Fins & Flippers full of seaweed? Did you get bit by sandflies?

[shelkate1]

DAY 5(BELIZE)- We had to tender into port here which we have already established isn't my favorite thing. My other problem is this tender in particular is it is about a 20 minute boat ride, cramped in a small boat, over rough seas. But I was motivated to get to my Mayan Ruin tour so I grinned and bore it. The tender process wasn't nearly as smooth this time but bearable. We had made reservations for a Mayan Ruin tour and Belize City tour through a local company online. So when we got off the boat there was a rep from the company waiting and they took us to their office to pay. Our tour didn't start until nearly 11:30am ship time, way to late as far as I was concerned. Everyone on the tour was from the Valor and we would up cutting it really close getting back to the boat. The tour guide was a really nice, well informed Mayan girl named Jeanie. We boarded a van and took off through Belize City with her pointing out historical or important sites along the way. We then traveled about an hour north of the city to the Mayan Ruins of Altun Ha. What a wonderful tour. It was informative and impressive. This is a beautiful site with both actual and replicated ruins. There are lots of really big bugs so remember your bug spray. I am still fighting some bug bites I received before spraying down. After the tour and the climb to the top of the temple, we went down the road to a little restaurant/house where the woman of the house cooked and served an authentic Belizian lunch. There were nice gardens with animals to explore after lunch and the food was wonderful! All part of the tour. We then returned to the port and got in a really long line to tender back to the boat. They were still bringing back passengers as we were sailing away with the tenders attached as the ship was moving. WOW...talk about cutting it close. Dinner that night was good as always, and again the girls took in the show while Mom and Dad retired for the evening.

 

DAY 6 (Cozumel) - We decided since we didn't have anything really planned and could get off the boat at our leisure we would sleep in that morning. We got up and wondered off the boat around 10am. Always nice there and the only regret I have this trip is not snorkeling in Cozumel. We were all so close to being burnt and I was afraid another beach day would push us all over the edge. We wanted to be able to lay out our last day at sea so decided on shopping and Carlos & Charlies instead. Very nice stroll after taking a cab ride to the far end of the shopping district. We bought some souvenirs, had a few drinks and lunch at Carlos & Charlies and took a horse and carriage ride for the fun of it. The whole day was nice and relaxing. We returned to the ship where my son got ready for his late night party at camp. We went to the 2nd formal night and the counselors returned my son about 3:30am. He had a ball and was so excited to get to stay out so late. Things were starting to wind down and we were all just a bit sad about it.

 

DAY 7(Fun Day at Sea) - Pretty much a repeat of the first one. Son at camp, girls by the pool, hubby in casino. We had a wonderful evening meal in the dining room and the little one had a farewell party at camp. We spent the afternoon packing and trying to rest for the big day the next day.

 

DAY 8(DEBARKATION) - Much better than embarkation. We decided to self assist since we were going to be driving 12 hours to get home. We were up and off the boat by 8:30am with little incident. Customs was a breeze and other than the MAJOR hike to the car the whole process was easy.

 

To wrap it up let me say first, camp was great for the kids and if you have any specific camp questions feel free to ask and I will answer as best as I can. The ship was great. The decor was tasteful and nice. My only complaint was the difficulty getting from one end of the ship to the other. You had to switch floors alot of time to get where you needed to go. So it wasn't the easiest to navigate. The staff was great and I really enjoyed Big Tex(cruise director) and Gary(assistant cruise director). They really made the trip enjoyable. They were very accessable and approachable. The whole trip was wonderful....so wonderful my hubby and I are getting reafy to plan an Alaskan cruise for the 2 of us. I will keep you posted!!!

[shelkate1]

There was seaweed right at the beach but we walked down the peir where there was snorkeling and swam there. There was no seaweed there only coral. We did all of our swimming in the pool anyway. If getting out in the ocean right there at the beach is important to you the seaweed could maybe be a deterrant.

[shelkate1]

Sounds like you really enjoyed the ports!

 

Was the water at Fins & Flippers full of seaweed? Did you get bit by sandflies?

 

I forgot to answer the sand flea question. We did get bit but never noticed it at all until we started back on the tender. They never itched and other than the red spots I wouldn't have even noticed we had them. We had far more bug trouble in Belize.

[DivaDeb]

Thanks for the review. We sail on the Valor in 12 Days, so I'm just a little excited !!!:D

[KingofSomewhereHot]

how were your cabins?? I will be on the Valor next week and will have cabin right near those. Was there any noice complaints or anything to be concerned with regarding location?

[newbiecruiser2009]

Great review. Do you mind if I ask how old your children are? Especially the child in Camp Carnival. My kids are 7 and 8 and I plan on them being in Camp Carnival.

[shelkate1]

Great review. Do you mind if I ask how old your children are? Especially the child in Camp Carnival. My kids are 7 and 8 and I plan on them being in Camp Carnival.

 

Sorry it took so long to reply... my son(who spent so much time at camp) is 9. It was the BEST experience for him and he LOVED it!!! I can't say enough how much he enjoyed it!!

[shelkate1]

how were your cabins?? I will be on the Valor next week and will have cabin right near those. Was there any noice complaints or anything to be concerned with regarding location?

 

 

Our cabin was WONDERFUL!! It was a balcony room and was very spacious. The last cruise we took we had an ocean view room and my biggest complaint was the size of the room. These were roomy and comfortable. We didn't have the first complaint about noise or anything. Our steward was superb and I really enjoyed it.

[summer08bride]

glad you had such a great time! We are sailing the Valor in 23 days and can't wait :) We are also planning to do Fins n Flippers in Roatan

[shelkate1]

glad you had such a great time! We are sailing the Valor in 23 days and can't wait :) We are also planning to do Fins n Flippers in Roatan

 

 

Make sure and bring your bug spray. We have been home a week and I am still tore up with sand fleas. I didn't even realize they were biting until we got back on the ship and we had red bites all over. They didn't begin itching until after we got home and they are still bad.

[7777leila]

Did any of you that were recently on the Valor have the option for OPEN DINING? I know the carnival website says it will be available in summer 2010, but I've got my dining reserved for this slot?!

[seminolepharmd]

Thank you for your review. I am so glad to read a positive review as I just read through several luke warm to poor reviews regarding Valor (mostly service related issues it seemed) on the Cruise Critic main review portion of the website and I was getting worried about my choice.

[cruzy-sue]

It doesn't mention where you are form - I was just wondering how cold/warm the water was - I am from mFlorida and my pool is still pretty cold - how was the water temp of the Caribbean?

[Morcruisin4Fun]

There was no open dining on the Valor. We also just returned from our cruise on the 19th. It was a great week. The service was excellent all around. We were going to go to Fins and Flippers but when we read about the sand fleas and the seaweed near the shore on the beach, we did the Tabyana Beach excursion through Carnival. What a great move on our part. It was our favorite beach. The beach is beautiful and everyone who worked there was so helpful and even helped to move 12 lounge chairs into the shade for us. There were vendors down the beach but noone bothered us the whole day. There are also a couple of nice gift shops, banana boat rides and parasailing. It was a perfect, beautiful day. I wish we could have stayed longer. Also during the bus ride there, you get to see some of the island. Very poor, but beautiful. I would go back there again.

[matt690]

Thanks for the great review.

 

A few quick questions.

 

-What hotel/resort did you go to in Rotan?

-Do you know of anything else people did in Belize that they enjoyed?

-Would you in the future stay in the ship in these two islands, or would you get off the boat and recommend that we get off?

-Do you feel that 4 islands in a row is too much... and not enough days at sea?

-How was the band by the pool? Did they play a lot? How were the other bands and fly on entertainers?

 

Thanks.

[trini_ras]

Great review and thanks for taking the time :-)

I have some questions too, did you do the supper club or is the food in the main dining area of a high enough quality?

Would bug spray be an adequate defense against the sand flies at F & F (I have had good results with Off Sport)?

How is the swimming at Tabyana Beach does the water get deep quickly?

[john970]

Any updates?

[Allie322]

I was on the Valor the same week so I'll answer what I can...

Water temperature....We went to Tabyana and the water was a bit cool but I am one that likes bath water temperatures so take it for what it's worth. It certainly didn't stop me from enjoying the water at all.

Bug Spray....We used some type of OFF, can't remember exactly which one and we were fine. One of my daughters got one bite but I don't think she re-applied after swimming. Everyone else was fine. By the way, we went to the Altun Ha ruins in Belize and thankfully, I brought the bug spray there. There were some sort of bugs wanting to nibble at our ankles but the OFF took care of it.

Four ports in a row....I can see where it could be exhausting but our excursions were a nice mix of beach, tours, etc. that it was fine. I love waking up in a new place each morning.

Tabyana...water didn't get deep quickly, it was a nice easy slope. Absolutely loved this place!

 

Hope this helps. Sorry I couldn't answer some of the other questions.

[shelkate1]

It doesn't mention where you are form - I was just wondering how cold/warm the water was - I am from mFlorida and my pool is still pretty cold - how was the water temp of the Caribbean?

 

 

The water was really warm in every port we swam. We swam in Roatan and Grand Cayman. We didn't get in the pool on the boat, but my son did. He never complained but he was just excited to be swimming.

 

We are from North Carolina. It's too cold to swim here yet.

[shelkate1]

Thanks for the great review.

 

A few quick questions.

 

-What hotel/resort did you go to in Rotan? - Fins and Flippers

-Do you know of anything else people did in Belize that they enjoyed? - There were several people that did Cave tubing and they seemed to really enoy it

-Would you in the future stay in the ship in these two islands, or would you get off the boat and recommend that we get off? - I actually liked these two ports the most of ALL our stops.

-Do you feel that 4 islands in a row is too much... and not enough days at sea? - I enjoyed this trip way more BECAUSE of the lack of sea days. Two was plenty.

-How was the band by the pool? Did they play a lot? How were the other bands and fly on entertainers?- I never noticed the pool band. But we did spend alot of time in teh casino bar and the entertainer that performed there nightly was awesome.

 

Thanks.

 

Hope this helps;)

[shelkate1]

Great review and thanks for taking the time :-)

I have some questions too, did you do the supper club or is the food in the main dining area of a high enough quality?

Would bug spray be an adequate defense against the sand flies at F & F (I have had good results with Off Sport)?

How is the swimming at Tabyana Beach does the water get deep quickly?

 

Dinner in the main dining room was dynamite. It was great cuisine and we never felt the need to go to the supper club.

 

I was told the bug spray would have been fine had I used it. I used it in Belize and never had problems. The issu in Roatan was I never realized I needed it until it was too late. As a matter of fact, the itching and welts didn't really appear as anything but little red dots until AFTER we came home. I am just now getting over it.

 

Because I didn't know anyone who went to Tabyana Beach I don't know about it.

[trini_ras]

Thanks for the info I still can’t make up my mind though. But I am quickly discovering that researching for the cruise is a lot of fun too.