5 Day Carnival Valor Review & Fun Times - Galveston to Cozumel & Progreso

Howdy y'all.

Linked below are scans of all 5 days of the Fun Times.

https://www.pdf-archive.com/2018/05/07/images/

Our ship ended up flipping the ports so we went to Progreso as our 1st stop and Cozumel as our 2nd. I didn't do any excursions as I made reservations for Nachi Cocum and they couldn't accommodate the itinerary change (which I appreciate... Sanchos allegedly took in everyone who had reservations for the prior day and I could imagine that was a real crap show for everyone there...), just got off to do some port souvenir shopping. I preferred Progreso to Cozumel for this as it was less crowded (at least on the days I was there) and the prices in Progreso were much lower. My complaint about sea days is there is pretty much nothing to do until everyone is back on the ship and the stores were all closed, but I just took advantage of the empty areas and drank, laid out in the sun, and took naps.

I highly recommend the app since it includes a digital version of the Fun Times and you can "favorite" the things that interest you and you get a notification on your phone prior to your favorited activities.

I got the Social internet package which was necessary for me since I was traveling alone. Whatsapp has a voice recording feature for those who don't want to pay for phone calls but want to hear the voices of loved ones back home. It's a bit slow but if you had Internet in the 90s, then it will seem like lightning speed! My photos uploaded slowly to Instagram (I just used the story feature) but they showed up eventually. Facebook & Facebook messenger worked just fine as well. Expect dial-up speeds and you will be happy with the service.

My favorite food was the lobster roll at Seafood Shack. It was nearly $18 when I got it on Monday due to Texas tax. It was $14 and change when I got it on the last sea day. So if you are looking to save money, don't buy stuff on embarkation day. Oops!

I was in room 2477, my first time without a balcony. I opted for ocean view since you can't smoke on balconies anymore, plus this ship has a 21+ Serenity area, so it would have been a waste for me to have a balcony alone. I didn't mind not having a balcony but my room was HUGE for an ocean view, so keep that in mind. It was in the very back corner so it was quite loud when pulling into and leaving port. I found the rumble during other times very soothing. Another HUGE perk in this room is that there is a 3'-ish deep alcove in the window. I am 5' tall and loved hanging out in there, especially in the hours before leaving port, watching the sea birds do their thing. I actually fell asleep in it the first night as I was writing and drawing and listening to music and podcasts with my pillows and blankets. The light on the aft illuminates the wake and it's very soothing. There is also a little "porch" area where you can close the door off from the hallway and have your own little alcove shared with the neighboring room in the corner (room 2475). Unlike the 360 view on the Carnival site, there is NO COUCH. The vanity and TV are where the couch appears, and there is nothing between the window and the area with the fridge.

My one kind of big complaint is the lack of security and the rudeness of my neighbors that didn't share the alcove area with me. Someone was putting room service plates next to their door (not me, maybe the room across from them?) and every day, sometimes multiple times a day, the neighbors would literally THROW the plates against my door. I called about this every time it happened and guest services told me "If they aren't still out there, we can't do anything about it." I tried knocking on their door to clear up the confusion about the plates, no answer. I tried calling their room, no answer. I wish someone would have at least attempted to tell them to knock it off, it was really unnerving being alone in my room and having someone throwing things at my door. These same neighbors pounded on our shared wall at normal waking hours (around 4-6pm) when my TV was on (not loud, maybe 1/3 of full volume) or if I was playing music (again, not loud, I really try to be polite as possible since we are in extremely close proximity). Again, unnerving but not Carnival's fault that people like to be anonymously aggressive.

My minor complaint was people using bluetooth speakers to play their own music. The serenity area was nice specifically because there is no music playing which makes it nice to read and nap. At one point there were three groups all playing different music, and it was all music I enjoyed but I wanted quiet. There wasn't anyone around to tell people to knock it off. I wish the no speaker rule was better enforced but it didn't ruin my time.

I did end up getting FTTF and it was WORTH IT for me. I hate lines and get very anxious being crowded with people. Debarkation took forever (Galveston sucks for this) but FTTF has a special seating area. Getting on was a breeze... The ship was late to port, I walked up at 11:30 (with 11:30-12 check in time) and was walking to my room by 12:30. The check in lines were insane and I was so glad I didn't have to wait. The lines for Guest Services were also wild, but again, there was never a line longer than 2 or 3 guests for FTTF/Platinum/Diamond.

Another thing to note: I had a cash S&S account and they didn't charge gratuities until the 3rd day I believe. I tipped my steward $40 on day one since I didn't see the charges. I went to Guest Services and removed the steward charges (I believe its $21 and change) because I had already tipped him. I noted on the card that the service was excellent, I just already tipped cash. The amount of people IRATE about grats being added was too dang high! Just take them off politely if you're that strapped for cash. I really wish they would just pay the service workers a better wage in lieu of tips, but unfortunately that's not how it works. There's no reason to raise hell about tips, it was extremely simple to adjust and there was no fight about it.

Overall it was a good cruise, but I have taken the same one before but on the Triumph so I will probably opt for another cruise line or itinerary next time to switch it up.

. I found the rumble during other times very soothing. Another HUGE perk in this room is that there is a 3'-ish deep alcove in the window. I am 5' tall and loved hanging out in there, especially in the hours before leaving port, watching the sea birds do their thing. I actually fell asleep in it the first night as I was writing and drawing and listening to music and podcasts with my pillows and blankets. The light on the aft illuminates the wake and it's very soothing.

This sounds so lovely!

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This sounds so lovely!

It was definitely one of the best parts of the room ! Here are some photos

Thank you for the scanning the fun times! These are hard to find for Valor’s 5day!

Thanks for the review.

Thank you for posting this. And for the Fun Times. We will make this trip in November for our anniversary and are eagerly anticipating everything!

Thank you for the fun times . Very helpful. Mind if I share this on FB to the Valor group there ? ..

Thanks for the review and Fun Times. Sounds like a good trip and nice that your window seat sort of subbed for a balcony.

Thank you for great copies of the Fun Times!