tradosaurus

We exchanged our excursions on board the Valor this past February. Carnival had a presentation on excursions the first sail day.

Great review! Ya'll don't look like you're in your 50's!

Thank you! I don't feel like a day over 75.

My wife has had 8 biological kids so she looks even better. :D:D:):)

Another picture of my wife and I as we first landed on Passion Island. Passion island is really on the same island as Cozumel.

Where is the father?

Just curious why some people book so far in advance? I booked a cruise 1 month in advance (first cruise) for February 2018 cruise and was able to get a cabin with a balcony and FTTF.

These comments are why I would never want to manage a restaurant. I'm glad I grew up in a large family where eating was considered a luxury. :D

Great review. How did you find the condition of the ship? I have read a review or two that said she was in bad condition in need of maintenance.We have concerns as we have a booking in December 2019 and do not see a scheduled drydock between now and then. Will be disappointed if it is in bad shape as we (in NO) are giving up the Dream for the Glory and the Valor. :mad:

As a first time cruiser I didn't find the Valor bad at all. It did seem a little dated but our room seemed to be nice. Of course I have no other ship to compare but our overall experience was great.

There is no such thing as a 'juicy' hamburger at Guy's. They are all overcooked. When you start with an 1/8" thick, 2 oz patty, the outcome is not in doubt. Even Crystal's is better. Save your time, go stand in a different line.

That's a broad brush you paint with. The burgers we had were very juicy. Probably one of the better burgers I've had anywhere.

For whatever reason I was sitting under a picture of the Mexican president and evidently looked somewhat similar as a guy sat there looking at me and the picture for a few seconds and commented as such. :confused:

More

a few pictures of our trip.

This is horrible news! Will the steakhouse on all the ships now be equally bad? I really look forward to that lobster, and would be mortified if it came out of the kitchen like that!

Can't speak for the other ships but the steakhouse on the Valor was outstanding. Definitely worth the $35/person fee. Or maybe I'm just easy to please?

Thanks for sharing your feedback from your 1st cruise!!

 

You had stated ....."you weren't sure how some passengers got into their cabins earlier". These passengers were likely Platinum/Diamond status (frequent cruiser status) which allows immediate access to cabins.

Thank you. I was hoping FTTF would have allowed us quicker access.

Thank you to a previous poster for his review. I copied his format.

CarnivalValor, leaving from Galveston, TX

5 days (Cozumel, Progreso)

Cabin: 8355 (Mid ship)

This is a review of our first ever cruise aboard the Carnival Valor starting onMonday, February 19, 2018. I’ll try to update with pictures at a laterdate once I download them on my computer.

About Me/Wife: I’m in my early 50’s, my wife is the sameage. This was our 1st cruise and I chose Carnival because of cost and locationfor port of departure. Although I have 9 kids (all biologically mine and mywifes) we elected to leave the younger 4 at home because of cost and school.

Pre-cruise stay/parking: 10/10 – I used Priceline and got a 4 star hotelnear the Houston Continental airport for Sunday night. I would have used a hotel out of Galvestonbut all the prices I saw were extremely high for a low end hotel. Even though we live in East Texas we didn’twant to have to drive 6 ½ hrs Monday morning. The hotel was great for $55 but unfortunately we misunderstood that thebreakfast was not free. So $38 later onMonday morning we left to go to Galveston. It was about an hour drive from north of Houston to Galveston. DO NOT take the toll road (Hwy 8) unless youhave a toll card. You will be given aviolation of $30+ in the mail. Fortunately we knew this and took 610 loop to 45 south. Traffic was light that morning.

We madeit to the parking area (lot A) just before it opened. I would suggest getting there about 5 minutesafter opening as we had to wait off to the side. I paid for the parking a few nights beforeand printed out the receipt. There wereplenty of shuttles to get you from the parking area to the check in. A previous poster used a Holiday Inn expressout of Galveston that had free parking during the cruise. I will use this next time.

Wemissed the bag check in area and brought our carry on and checked in luggage tothe waiting area inside. This worked outwell since had each brought a 12 pack of soft drinks that we bungee corded onto the checked in wheeled luggage.

Embarkation/Debarkation: 10/10 - We purchased Faster to the Fun. One purchase was good for one cabin and itwas well worth the extra money ($69). My wife and I used birth certificates anddriver license for our identification. In the future we will get a passport asthis is much more convenient especially if you have an emergency while inanother country. The system where you get your sail and sign card in themailbox that is located by the door of your cabin was very convenient. We were at the terminal at around 1045 hrs andgot on board about 1130 hrs. We were not allowed to our cabin until 1330 hrs sowe waited at the Red Frog pub. This waswhere the disadvantage of carrying all our luggage on board was apparent. How other posters were allowed to get intheir cabin early is a mystery. Thedoors to the cabin areas on deck 8 were closed and there was a sign statingrooms would not be ready until 1330 hrs.

Cabin/ShipCondition: 8/10 –We stayed in Cabin 8355 which was a cabin with a balcony. When I signed up forthe cruise I did so 4 weeks before embarking date. I wasn’t given an option of choosing cabinlocation but I was pleasantly surprised with the convenience of this location. Having never been on cruise I can’t comparethe condition of the room but it was similar to a 3 star hotel. Everything worked and we never feltuncomfortable. The cabin is located midship and right below the Lido deck. The noise level wasn’t bad at all exceptfor hearing footsteps and chairs being dragged above us. I brought sleeping pills and ear plugs butthe first night I had trouble sleeping mostly because of the excitement ofbeing on a boat for the first time. Subsequent nights I slept fine and I normally have a hard time fallingasleep and living in the country I have very little noise. The space was adequate and the room on thebalcony was a bit tight but a great location for watching the ocean or portarrival. I would definitely choose thislocation again.

Crew: 8/10 – I felt that most of the crew was very personable althoughto echo a previous posted it did appear that the stress level of some crewmembers was high. My wife and I are not outgoing people and I was fine withcrew members not constantly engaging me. Our cabin steward was finealthough we didn’t see him until the 2nd day. He personally engaged us the 2ndand gave us his business card. We neverasked for anything and personally I would have been fine with the room notbeing touched except to new towels. Idon’t put new sheets on our beds at home every day so I was ambivalent to ourroom being made up every day. The towelanimals were cool and we had a new one each day.

Entertainment: 8/10 – My wife and I aren’t gamblers and didn’t takeadvantage of most of the entertainment. We did see two comedians and the 80’s rock performance. All three were exceptional. There were string quartet, country music anda guitar soloist on the 3rd floor that were very good. I will include the debarkation informationalpresentation the day before we debarked. I thought this was very informative for first time cruiser although Idid find out this was recorded and played on one of the T.V. channels laterthat day.

Casino: – We don’t gamble andparticularly didn’t like to have to walk through the casino to get to thecomedy show because of the smoke. Personally I don’t see why all ships can’t be made non-smoking (andtobacco free). I find smoking nasty andI don’t like to have my clothes smelling of this foul odor.

Fitness Center/Spa: 10/10 – We didn’t take advantage of any of the spaservices as I found that the prices were astronomical. I can get a 1 hr deep tissue massage in myarea for $60. I’m not paying more thantwice that for the same experience. Mywife and I did go to the fitness center the first few days of the cruise. We also participated in one of the early(0700) stretching exercises led by one of the crew. All of the workout equipment seemed topnotch. I wish I would have used thesteam room.

Food: 8/10 – This being our first cruise we decided to spend extra forthe steakhouse experience. The$35/person was well worth the cost and would have been easily twice that muchat a nice restaurant in the big city. Wealso received a bottle of wine free since we reserved on the day ofembarkation. You can order multipleappetizers too. I had the surf and turfand my wife had the prime rib. Both wereexcellent. The 2nd day waselegant night and we were severely disappointed with quality. This could have been due to the fact ofeating at the steakhouse the day before but the food literally came out within5 minutes of ordering so it was obviously prepared earlier. We only ate in the main dining room (MDR)twice during the cruise for dinner. Thesecond time seemed much better. We alsotried the Seafood shack one night which was extra. My wife had the lobster rolls and I had theseafood platter. For $25 total I thought the meal was a bit overpriced for whatyou received. The buffet was finealthough I wish we would eaten in the MDR for breakfast the entire trip. This experience was exceptional, especiallythe morning of the debarkation.

I wishwe would have tried the BBQ place as I heard it was very good. The Guys Burger was awesome. We never got the room service for meals as wewanted to explore the ship as much as possible.

Ports ofCall/Excursions: 9/10 – I would strongly recommend attending the talk on Excursions given aboardship the evening of the first day. Itwas highly educational and caused us to change our first excursion. Both tours of ours were through the Carnivaland the main reason we chose not to do an independent tour was the fact thatthe boat will not leave if you are late. Why anyone would chance missing the boat on a tour outside of Carnivalis beyond me.

Cozumel wasour first stop and we did the Passion Island tour. It was a 45 minute boat ride to the otherside of Cozumel Island and then 3 hrs on the beach. All the drinks included plus a lunch. You could even get a massage (extracost). We just hung out on the beach andenjoyed the view. The water was littlecold for us.

Thesecond excursion was at Progreso the next day. We did the Mayan Ruins tour with the Land Rover tour of the plantation. Very fun and we bought a wood carving of theMayan ruin painting. This was an 1 ½ hrdrive to the ruins from the boat and about 3 ½ hrs of tours. We were given plenty of bottled water and hada bag lunch given to us on the way to the boat. We got back to the boat with about 30 minutes to spare,

Overall: 9/10 – Because this is our first cruise I realize that myexperience will not be very subjective. Maybe had we been on other cruises or other cruise lines my experiencewould not have been so great. Howeverall the preparation for this cruise from watching videos to reading posts onthis forum gave me the impression that a cruise is what you make of it. My wife and I are easy to please and go withthe flow wherever we are at.

Looking back: - If I were to cruise again I woulddefinitely pack much lighter. I couldhave gotten away with one large suitcase now that I know what to pack. The small electric fan was a waste ofmoney. Never used it as it moved no airand with a balcony I had all the fresh air I needed. Bringing small bills was good. Seems like everyone wants to be tipped on theexcursion. I brought $50 in $1 bills,$200 in $5 bills and $100 in $20. Iended up bringing half of the back but would bring the same amount again. I wish I would have brought binoculars. We won’t bring 12 pack of sodas again unlesswe travel with kids. We will bringbottles of wine again. I’m glad wedidn’t purchase the cheers package. Itwas cheaper to buy a beer or specialty drink once a day. I will stay at a hotel the night before inGalveston if I can get free parking throughout the cruise. Definitely will purchase the FTTF again. I’m glad that we had a room in the middle ofthe ship as there was less movement. Next time we will get an earlier dinner time at the MDR. Ours was 2015 hrs and we missed a few showsduring that time. I wish we knew aboutthe brunch earlier in the cruise. Definitely will eat the steakhouse again. Iwill choose a newer cruise ship next time as there should be moreamenities. I’ll have to update mypacking list and post it later after I get home. I don’t know if we will travel with Carnivalagain not because of a bad experience but just try something different.

I see more young people with dogs that live in apartments. I hate dogs because of bad owners

We had a balcony cabin and did not smell any smoke whatsoever. Had I did smell it I would have reported it or confronted the smoker. I think it's very rude and carnivals was very insistent that you should not be smoking on the balcony.

We ordered two appetizers each while in the steakhouse. We also took the dessert (cheesecake) back to our room.

My wife and I just got back from a 5 day cruise on the Valor. My experience was the opposite (My overall score would be a 9/10) but since this was my first cruise I was overwhelmed with the experience. WE had a cabin with balcony in midship (8355). My only negative would be the Main Dining Hall food on elegant night. Tasted like fast food. The two excursion we booked were 10/10 (Passion Island at Cozumel, and Land Rover tour and Maya ruins at Progreso)

We just finished a cruise on the valor. We did the steakhouse on embarkation and received a free bottle of wine.

The only negative to this experience is the food experience is all downhill after eating there.

We went out of Galveston. Our soft drink boxes were never touched. *Correction* My wife informed me that one of our soda boxes was inspected but not damaged.

Future cruises we won't bring any since we left the majority.

Sailing on 5 day Caribbean this Monday on the Valor out of Galveston. .

Where is a good place to eat the 1st day that won't be too crowded? Some place that most people don't discover until Day 2?

This may have been posted but at Carnivals website:

Most evenings we have a 'Cruise Casual' dress code but there are those 'Cruise Elegant'evenings one or two nights throughout the voyage where guests will have the opportunity to showcase their more elegant attire.

Lido Restaurant

For those who want casual attire for dinner, the Lido Restaurant is open nightly and has a more relaxed theme. Daytime Attire may be worn.

The Steakhouse

The dress requirements for the Steakhouse follows the dress code specified for the Main Dining Room(s); if the evening is specified as 'Cruise Casual', shorts are not permitted.

Main Dining Room(s)

Following is the dress code in the Main Dining Room(s) for both men and women and pertains to children as well:

Cruise Casual Dress Code

• Men: sport slacks, khakis, Jeans (no cut-offs), dress shorts (long) and collared polo shirts
  
• Women: summer dresses, casual skirts, pants, capris, dress shorts, Jeans (no cut-offs) blouses and tops
  
• Not permitted: Cut-off Jeans, men’s sleeveless shirts, tee-shirts, gym or basketball shorts, baseball hats, flip-flops and bathing suit attire
  

Cruise Elegant Dress Code

• Men: dress slacks, dress shirts, and we also suggest a sport coat; men may also wish to wear a suit and tie or tuxedo
  
• Women: Cocktail dresses, pantsuits, elegant skirts and blouses; ladies may also wish to wear an evening gown
  
• Not permitted: Jeans, men’s sleeveless shirts, shorts, tee-shirts, sportswear, gym or basketball shorts, baseball hats, flip-flops and bathing suit attire
  

Cruise Elegant Evenings / Formal Nights

The length of the cruise determines the number of 'Cruise Elegant' evenings in the Dining Room. The first 'Cruise Elegant' evening is scheduled for the second or third evening of the cruise and the second 'Cruise Elegant' evening is the second or third evening prior to the end of the cruise, itinerary schedule permitting.

• 2-day to 5-day cruise: one Cruise Elegant evening
  
• 6-day or longer cruise: two Cruise Elegant evenings
  

As you should. Comparing that naval academy dinner to carnival is apples and oranges. I managed places much nicer than a carnival dining room, and we allowed jeans. Like I said most are more tasteful than a pair of dockers.

 

What this thread really is about is how clueless some people are. Those are the ones that feel the dress code should be enforced 100 percent. It's never going to happen nor should it. Most have never worked in a fine dining setting and most have never dined in a fine dining setting either. They think their one or two cruises a year are living it up, and somehow some guy in jeans, and sitting at table without a clothe on it has ruined the whole experience.

Naval Academy dinner didn't have rules and guidelines on how to dress like Carnival does.

We are going on our first cruise next week so I will be able to give an informed opinion.

That is your opinion. An army of one.

Unbelievable that there are people that don't understand what appropriate attire is for an elegant meal, especially when it is spelled out specifically in the Carnival website. It boils down to respect for others and respect for oneself. I can go into most Salvation Army or Goodwill store and come out with a decent (if not very nice) coat and pants for under $30.00.

My wife, son, and I were invited to a Naval Academy dinner a year ago when my son was trying to get in to the academy and I assure you that we dressed appropriately.

How about "No Shoes, No Shirts, No Service"?