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Valor 6/21 Review & Q/A

carla1183

By carla1183,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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carla1183

carla1183

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Got back last night from Carnival Valor Western Carribean and thought I would start my review before everything leaks out of my brain!

 

Overall we had a fabulous time. It was our first cruise and my husband said it was his favorite vacation ever! We can't say enough great things about the staff. They really are what made the vacation great and I hope they all get the thanks they deserve from all cruisers. After reading all the nitpicky comments on here about other cruisers and little problems here and there I just couldn't see what anyone could find to complain about. Maybe it was because it was my first cruise but I was SO in my own world and didn't really care what anyone else did.

I traveled with my husband (we're in our mid twenties), my parents, and my brother(22) and sister (20). We're a pretty silly bunch, and spent the weak relaxing and goofing off. We're all dive certified, so that was a major plan for this trip. None of us are big drinkers or partiers, so my review of the cruise will be skewed towards the more chill side of things.

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'd be happy to answer! I loved reading reviews so I knew I had to write one. I'll try to include as many pics as I can.

 

 

6/20 - day before

We flew DFW to Miami via Atlanta with Delta. Can't remember what the price difference was, but if we have the option we will definitely pay a little extra and do nonstop with American next time. We usually fly American and while Delta didn't really do anything wrong, the stop in Atlanta made the day seem a million miles long.

We stayed in Embassy Suites by the airport. What a crappy neighborhood! But my dad got the room free by using his points, so no complaints from us. Enjoyed the free happy hour and free breakfast.

We had dinner at the little seafood place the hotel recommended, it was good and fairly inexpensive, but I can't remember the name of it! Just a little dive place with a great mahi mahi sandwich.

 

6/21 Embarkation day

Can't really talk about the transfer on this end because my dad used a rental car that was also almost free with his points. He arranged everything and dropped us off at the pier and then went by himself to deal with the car so I have no idea how that worked.

Despite what I read here, we mosied on over to the pier about 12:30 or 1. Handed off our bags to a porter with $20 and said a prayer - that is so scary!

The line was pretty long but it moved quick, we were inside security within 20 minutes or so and then we only had to wait about 10 minutes for our zone to be called. Including everything I'd say it took us less than an hour from arrival to stepping foot on the ship. We got separated from my mom because she waited for dad to come back with the rental car. They ended up getting separated and we all got a good laugh later in the week of the official embarkation photo with my poor mom by herself.

 

We got on the ship, and marveled at the size and decor - it was our first cruise so we were wide eyed at everything! I loved the staff standing around with the "Just Ask" shirts, we did just ask, and they were very helpful! We went first to the dining room to try to get switched from early to late seating, and a family of 6 happened to be standing there appealing to the maitre d trying to switch from late to early! So we shook hands and gladly switched tables with them, no problem-o.

After that we went to the Lido deck and grabbed our first meal on board. I think I had chicken marsala from Rosie's and my husband had a burger from the grill. Both were good. My husband bought a soda card and I decided to pass. With free lemonade, tea, and water I didn't think I'd miss it. My husband is a rule follower so we agreed not to share the card, but I think my dad and brother shared one throughout the week without any real problems.

*I will say that unless you drink a lot of cokes the card probably isn't worth it. I think it was $52 with gratuity & tax, and I think I paid $2.20 including tax & gratuity when we bought them individually. You'd have to drink 23 full cokes (not just a glass, but full cans worth) to pay for it, so be aware of that. I guarantee you my husband had that many, he's a coke fiend and had them for breakfast, dinner, at the shows, etc. But if you're a casual coke drinker you might want to just purchase yours individually.

 

Our rooms were open when we wondered down to our deck (Deck 2 midship), I think it was around 3:30? Neither of our bags had arrived, so we just settled in a checked out the room and met our room steward Juste - who always greeted us with a boisterous "wasssssssaaaaaaaaauuup?"

Almost immediately we started hearing the announcements for the Muster Drill. They gave a couple of warnings, 15, 10, and 5 minutes I think. We went right when they said "Come Now" the first time. By the time we got there most people were already gathered and we were on the front row! So we must have had a good group because they really didn't have to make any "Seriously guys - come now!" announcements. The whole thing took 15 minutes or so, hardly worth all the threads that come up on here about it!

After that we wanted to unpack - but we got to our room and only one of our two suitcases was there. And it had pretty sparse clothing in it! So we took a nap and woke up around 7, hoping our suitcase would have arrived, but no dice.

 

So we were stuck going to dinner in what we had on - I was wearing bermuda shorts and a cotton top and my husband had on basketball shorts - eek! After all the feuding on here about dining room dress I was scared, but my husband said the sign in the lobby said that dinner dress code was "Wear what you had on getting on the boat!" so we decided to risk it. No one batted an eye, and we weren't the only ones underdressed for the well appointed dining room. I've decided that all the huffing and puffing on this board is from people who must find something to complain about. I honestly couldn't tell you what one other person in the dining room was wearing. Only that the food was great and our waiters were wonderful.

So this is where we met the other two people (aside from Juste our room steward) who would make our vacation outstanding. Ramon and Iketut, our waiters in the Washington dining room were just perfection. Thanks to that, we ate in the dining room every single night, and I have a feeling we'll be sitting at our dining room table tonight staring at each other and wondering when Iketut will bring the bread basket.

 

After dinner out bag STILL hadn't arrived so we called Guest Services and they directed us to the Betsy Ross room with the lost luggage. There was our poor little lonely bag just waiting for us to come grab it!

 

We went to the show after dinner, and it was cheese-tastic but the dancers and singers really seemed to be putting it all out there and we had a great time enjoying the silliness of it all.

After dinner my husband and I had a walk alone around the upper decks, the view at night and the quiet breeze are not to be missed.

 

 

to be continued...sorry that's so long! I'll try to be a little more brief for the rest of the days!

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Monthend

Monthend

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I am enjoying your review. We were on the June 14th sail and I am so missing it. We also were midship on Deck 2 but a little more forward by the stairs. We even had the Washington dining room but different wait staff. I have to agree that the staff made the cruise one of the best I was ever on. Don't ever apologize for not being brief. Everyone that is going on the Valor next is hanging on every word and those that have been are reminising about the good times they had.

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Bontongrl

Bontongrl

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Woooohooooooo,,,,,,,

 

I'm loving your report already !!! and its just begun,,,,:)

 

We will be on the Valor this Sunday,,,,,, and can't wait,,,,,,

 

I'll be reading the rest of your report with much enthusiam :D

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moviejunki

moviejunki

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Great review.. we leave on Valor in less than 2 weeks; I can't wait to hear more!:D

 

Hey Singbluesilver!

OT, I know.. I looked at your pic and thought "wow that guy looks like Simon"; then I saw your screen name and realized "holy crap! it IS Simon!!" Lucky you!:cool:

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carla1183

carla1183

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Day 1 - Fun Day at Sea

 

I know many will tell you that a balcony cabin is the only way to travel. And I can imagine it's wonderful, but I'm here to tell you that if all you have is a low category inside cabin - don't worry! Your room has it's advantages as well. We ended up being very happy that we had an inside cabin. We treasure our sleep on vacations (don't get nearly enough at home!) and loved the fact that we could turn out the lights any time and sleep like the dead. That first night, we set up a wake up call for around 9 and passed out.

If you forget an alarm clock (we brought one and had the wrong sized battery so we didn't end up using it) wake up calls work great for getting you up on time.

 

We got up and had breakfast in the dining room with my brother and sister (my parents in their non laziness were probably up with the sun and had done 10 things by the time we were up). Loved that you can get pineapple juice in the dining room. It's my favorite and hard to find! Breakfast in the dining room is mostly the same foods as the Lido deck but it's nice to sit instead of standing in line if you've got the time. One funny story here, my little sister loves a good danish. The bread basket guy came by and offered her one and all she saw was muffins and croissants so she said no thank you. She then tried to order a danish with her meal, and the waiter got all confused and sent the bread guy back. He looked kind of frustrated and said "You want danish NOW?!" My poor sister hates confrontation and was mortified, but we spent the rest of the trip teasing her and asking her if she wanted danish now.

 

The rest of the day flew by with very little scheduled time - which is just the way I wanted to spend a vacation! We started to hang out by the Argonaut pool but as we walked to the side there were so many kids they were grabbing at our feet trying to get the wall. So we checked out the Prometheus pool and they really do enforce the no kids rule there! Not a kid in sight, and most adults were acting all adulty and just sitting around the edge looking at the pool, so we practically had the actual pool to ourselves.

 

I'll have a photo later from day 7 to prove my point, but I have to calm everyone's fears about chair hogs. We found a single chair right smack in front of the prometheus pool twice in the middle of the afternoon to put our stuff on. Most chairs that had stuff were actually occupied, and it seemed to me like the ones that just had a towel or bag belonged to people in the pool.

And if you're wanting a group of chairs to relax and soak up the sun in, we found our favorite spot to be on deck 10 just outside the upper deck of Rosie's. There was hardly anyone up there and there were both shade chairs (for the eternally pale skinned sunburn-prone me) and sun chairs (for my lucky sister with her olive skin that tans in a snap). We sat up there and read for a lot of the afternoon.

 

We also played mini golf (you can rent the gear from the towel stand by the argonaut bars with the red and white striped roof. A hint - also get & return pool towels here. We didn't read the instructions so we ended up bringing our excursion towels down and had to lug them around all day). and my parents went to the shore talk with Big Tex.

 

Dinner was our first elegant night, and again I can honestly say I didn't really notice what anyone else was wearing and I can't say I would have been greatly bothered if someone showed up in jeans.

My husband ordered prime rib AND a flat iron steak, which set into motion a pattern for all the other nights.

 

Afterward we went to the show again. I can't remember what it was and this was the only day I lost my capers for. I think it was another song and dance show and we enjoyed it. I forgot to mention Eddie Capone was on at the end of the welcome aboard show. He was just alright for me, kind of a Rodney Dangerfield style of comedy. My dad and brother went to the midnight adult show and said it was filthy but funny.

 

We went to bed fairly early on night 2, knowing we had to get up for Grand Cayman the next day.

 

Some pics:

 

Dinner on embarkation day. GASP! A TSHIRT!

2yn408y.jpg

 

Lounging up on deck 10. Plenty of chairs to be had!

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I call this picture "dance monkeys, dance!"

5b4opy.jpg

 

Mini golf is up at the base of the whale tail.

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The other side of our table at dinner on elegant night.

kq6ht.jpg

 

Monkey! We left him hanging there the whole time, he was so cute.

vs28us.jpg

 

That's it for now!

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carters4usm

carters4usm

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Wonderful review...can't wait to get your take on the different ports and your excursions. What you wrote about the inside cabins was just what I needed to hear. I just booked 2 adjoining insides for next June on the Valor and have really been second guessing that decision. Almost called my TA yesterday to change. You made me feel much better and hoping you'll feel the same by the end of the cruise. Looking forward to your next post so keep it coming!

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singbluesilver1

singbluesilver1

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Great review.. we leave on Valor in less than 2 weeks; I can't wait to hear more!:D

 

Hey Singbluesilver!

OT, I know.. I looked at your pic and thought "wow that guy looks like Simon"; then I saw your screen name and realized "holy crap! it IS Simon!!" Lucky you!:cool:

 

 

thanks!! ive had the pleasure of seeing them live about 35 times and ive met them about 15 times....they are my ab fave band ever!!!

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carla1183

carla1183

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Carters - about the inside room: it was fairly small, but we had more room to move around than we thought we would. The storage space was more than enough for us - we unpacked completely into the closets and there is a lot of shelving in the bathroom. I know people swear by the over the door shoe racks, but I really felt like the storage was organized enough that we didn't need it! We really just didn't spend a lot of time in our rooms. We slept there and got ready there, but if we had any length of free time we spent it out on the decks. In my opinion, our money was better spent on great excursions.

 

Also, note below when i talk about napping. Inside rooms are GREAT for napping.

 

Day 2 - Grand Cayman

 

Finally time for a port day! My parents have done quite a bit of diving in Grand Cayman, and they had a dive operater they trusted, so we just planned to show up and dive with them on Monday. We realized a few days before that the dive operator they always use is Foster's - which is who Carnival uses and we would have to book through the ship if we wanted to dive with them! No worries - we checked their website and the prices are almost identical between Carnival and Fosters directly. But then we got on the ship and found out that the Fosters dive excursion was sold out. So book ahead of time! We should have known better.

 

My dad got up and took the very first tender out to go talk to some other dive shops he knew on the island and see what he could find, and we got up and left about 8:30 or so to meet him.

 

The tender process for Grand Cayman was very easy (unlike Belize!) We literally just walked downstairs to deck 0, swiped our card, walked off the ship onto a boat, and took a quick ride to the dock. We made it to the port and there was a little bit of shopping just inside the port. This is probably one port you might be able to do without an excursion, it was clean and felt very safe - although everything is expensive! (especially compared to my limited carribean history which is mostly in mexico).

 

We got lucky - my dad went to an old dive shop and they were full, but they sent him to a dive shop that was a short walk from the port called the Lobster Pot. Several dive operators work out of that shop, and they were able to get us a boat and divemaster with Wall to Wall diving.

 

They took us to the north side of the island and I can't say enough great things about them. We dove with Giles (the owner) and Andy (who drove the boat and also led one of our dives). We had the boat to ourselves, for $130 per person for two tanks including gear rental. Not bad! They even rented us each a computer - which I have never seen!

 

The diving was fabulous. Zero current, perfect water temperature, we had our own personal "stingray city" in their natural habitat. I lost count but I think we saw 8 or 10 total? Some coming out of the sand, a big crew of spotted eagle rays soaring by us. Also saw a big turtle, lobsters, etc. The dive operators were great - a lot of help for newer divers, but enough freedom for my parents who have over 100 dives each. We would dive with them again in a heartbeat and will definitely call them up if/when we make it back to Grand Cayman.

 

We made it back for the last tender with plenty of time. Again the tender process was pretty simple and we just hopped on a boat and headed back. Grand Cayman was the only port where they asked to see additional ID with your sign and sail card to get back on the ship, so make sure you take a DL or something with you.

 

Back on the ship we drug our nitrogen narcosis butts up to Rosie's for a snack. My husband had a grilled cheese (which they put his detested mayo on - so make sure you say no mayo if you don't want it!) and I had fish from the Fish & Chips place upstairs at Rosie's. The calamari fritters were awesome, the tuna & watermelon were awesome, my dad says the bouillabase and ceviche were awesome, but I wasn't crazy about the actual fried fish. The breading was too heavy and greasy for my taste, but if you love heavy greasy breading it might be exactly what you're looking for!

 

Next we took a long nap. Turn off your lights, shut the door, and it becomes midnight in your inside cabin. We slept HARD and got up with just enough time to dress and head to dinner.

 

By the third night Ramon and Iketut, our waiters had us down. Drinks we had ordered the two previous nights were on the table before we arrived. They could almost always guess what we were going to order before we opened our mouths. (Every night my husband got the flat iron steak, medium rare, and whatever beef dish was on the nights menu, medium rare. And two fruit plates for dessert. It became a great joke with the waiters). My parents and I all ordered cappuccino (no cost in the DR) with dessert, and by day 2 they knew we were going to want it and had our asst waiter go elbow his way in to make our drinks before we ordered them so he wouldn't have to wait in line with all the other waiters for dessert espressos. The capps are VERY strong so we also had them bring a small pitcher of milk to add after the first sip or two.

 

We went to the show again that night - it was comedian Jim Brick and the juggler I think. They were both very good. The juggler was very funny, and we prefered Jim Brick to Eddie Capone.

 

We wandered around the decks again after dinner. We weren't hungry but we noticed the grills in the back by the prometheus pool and pizza place are open around 11:30, so if you need a late night snack that's prob your best bet, besides room service.

 

That's it for day two I think!

 

At the pier in grand cayman with the Valor off in the distance

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On the dive boat with Wall to Wall during our surface interval

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Scuba dooba doo!

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The dining room waiters did several dances through the week. They were hilarious. Tonight's was "Jai Ho" from slumdog millionare. They had it down!

xp0huh.jpg

 

At night on the deck.

jto0nt.jpg

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