Valor Review w/Pics 9/06-9/13 LOOONG!

[Robin7]

Background: We started cruising in 1991 when we were in our late 20s. We have accumulated two 7-day Princess Cruises, eight HAL cruises (six 7-day, one 10-day, one 14-day), and now one 7-day Carnival Cruise.

 

Our TA had always steered us away from Carnival and toward HAL and Princess, but we fired her a few years ago and now book on our own, so I began to consider Carnival after reading John Heald’s blog. His version of Carnival didn’t sound like the drunk party ships I’d been led to believe they were. I then dipped into the Carnival side of Cruise Critic and did a lot of reading. We knew we wanted to do a 7-day Caribbean itinerary, and we wanted to do it over Labor Day week, so Carnival was about our only choice at our late booking (June) date. The itinerary was nice, and the price was VERY nice. We prayed we hadn’t made a mistake, and when all is said and done, we didn’t.

 

Our Ship: The Carnival Valor.

 

Our itinerary: Miami; Sea Day; Grand Cayman; Roatan, Honduras; Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; Sea Day; Miami.

 

Pre-cruise: We flew into Miami the day before the cruise, as it takes all day for us to get East from where we live. We stayed at the Hilton Miami Airport. It was a typical Hilton (best pillows ever!). It was pouring down rain so we abandoned our idea of swimming in the pool that evening and instead took a shuttle ($10 each roundtrip, operated by the mall) to the Dolphin Mall to pick up a few things we forgot.

 

What an experience! The mall is alive and well in Miami. It appeared to be THE place to be on Saturday night. And huge! The only bigger mall I’ve been to is the Mall of America in Minneapolis. Music and eateries and people EVERYWHERE obviously enjoying their evening. It was quite a sensory experience for someone from a flyover state where the mall is nearly dead. :D

 

The Hilton offered a shuttle to the ship at noon the next day (for a fee), but we declined and decided to take a taxi over later in the day so we could sleep in as long as possible. (We’d left the packing too late and were up most of the night prior to the trip’s beginning.)

[Robin7]

Embarkation: I found embarkation to be the most tedious of any of our cruises. Of course, the Valor (at 3700 passengers) is the largest of any ship we’ve been on, the Star Princess at 3200 being the next largest, and we’ve never cruised out of Miami, maybe it’s that way all of the time. Because of the Valor’s size, I’d been saying we needed to go over early or late but not in the middle. And, boy, was I was correct! But we were too exhausted to go early, and the Hilton would not cooperate with my plan to go late. We ended up leaving the hotel at around 12:20pm because late checkout was only 1pm, not 3pm like our local Hilton. We took a taxi, and it was a short ride over on a Sunday morning.

 

When we got to the port, nothing was moving. The line was outside and down the building. It took an hour and twenty minutes to get onboard. We should have gotten up earlier and gone over there around 11am instead of being stuck in the middle with the other 3700 people.

 

 

A funny note: My husband wore a polo shirt he’s had for a long time from the University of Phoenix (from when he was getting his MBA). He rarely wears it so it’s still in nice shape. We had sooooooooooo many people ask us where it was and if he was a teacher there! And one fellow we were near in line works for them! (They are now mostly an online university for working people, but my husband went to the campus in our state when he was getting his MBA.) We would laugh every time someone would ask us about it. (Okay, so small minds are easily entertained when we’re standing in line FOREVER.)

 

We waited and waited and waited in line and finally got into the building. (No one could tell me why the line was not moving, but once it started, it went fairly fast.) Showed the passports and then through X-ray where I had to take off my buckled-on sandals because the metal set off the detector. Argh. (Don’t wear sandals with metal on them.) Then we went upstairs to wait in line for the paperwork.

 

Here’s where we had a sticky two minutes. We each handed our passports to the agent. She did some things and then said, “I only have one passport.” “We handed you both of them.” “No, you didn’t.” It was my passport. I started having heart failure, scrambling through my bag, DH checking his pockets and bag. I knew I had had it at the terminal because I’d had to show it before we came upstairs. I was pretty certain I’d given it to her (but not 100%, maybe I hadn’t). I said again, “Didn’t I give it to you?” Then I proceeded to scan the floor and was about to head back to the bathroom, wondering if I’d dropped it when I’d used the facilities, when she finally looked on the floor on her side of the counter, and she found it! She was kind of apologetic, but not as apologetic as I’d have been if it had been my fault. I was just grateful it was found!

 

Then up the escalator, across the ramp, and onto the teak deck of the ship (3rd floor). There we queued up in ANOTHER long line. I realized we hadn’t had our security photo taken when we checked in. And that’s what was causing the line. They take your photo as you enter the ship, not in the terminal.

 

It was a relief to finally enter the ship. It was about 2pm so embarkation took approximately an hour and 25 minutes—the longest it’s ever taken for us to get on a ship by over an hour.

 

The moral of the story remains: Go early or go late or go on a smaller ship! :D

[Robin7]

The atrium was INCREDIBLE! How many floors? I’d never seen such a thing on any ship I’d been on. There were glass elevators going up and down as well. It was a riot of colors. Very splashy, but I did not find it distasteful.

 

Fun Ship Freddy was there, and the photogs (who are really pretty pushy) insisted we take a photo (which we did not buy).

 

Then it was back in line for an elevator ride since we embarked on the third floor and our cabin was on the 8th. (Because of the mid-ship dining room, which was closed and even guarded by a staff member, there was no way to pass through to the back of the ship to go up. I found that annoying.)

[Robin7]

Stateroom: Since it was well after 2pm, the cabins were ready so we went straight to our stateroom on the Verandah Deck. We had splurged and booked an 8A balcony GTY. We were assigned 8408, an 8D on the port side, aft. It is our first balcony, as we usually choose an inside or (very rarely) an outside ocean view. A little ‘upgrade’ from our 8A GTY. (I’m in the ‘it’s not really an upgrade unless you change categories’ camp.)

 

I used to be in the ‘we don’t spend very much time in our stateroom so why do I need a balcony’ camp. Well, I am now reformed! We spent the majority of both sea days in our room. I now know why people say they won’t cruise if they can’t afford a balcony! (Still, I’d rather do an inside than not go, which is how our next trips will have to be.)

 

 

 

But I would not have chosen this stateroom knowing what I know now. It was VERY noisy. It is right below Rosie’s, and we would often hear someone running or high heels tramping overhead. Also, we heard over and over again the heavy cart the stewards use when clearing the tables rumbling and rumbling and rumbling. It was also right around the corner from the elevator, and I could hear the ding a lot, plus the people were quite loud. Now, this didn’t bother us really—my husband is a heavy sleeper, and I had earplugs--but I think it might bother others, and I wouldn’t choose to be so close to it or under Rosie’s again.

 

Also, this was a plus to us but might not be to others, the overhang from Rosie’s kept the balcony shaded most of the time. I liked that A LOT. Also on the plus side, the location (with the exceptions noted above) was perfect for doing anything on the Lido deck. It allowed very quick access to the pools and the bars etc. Deck 8 is a great location, although if we did it again, we’d probably choose a cabin located more centrally, away from the elevator.

[Robin7]

Then it was off to Rosie’s for a much-delayed lunch. I’d read about the fish and chips spot upstairs, and it was really, really good, especially with the Thai Chili sauce. I wish we’d eaten there again during the week. (But food is a whole different subject.)

 

 

After lunch it was all about watching the loading of the ship and wandering the ship for a bit to get to know the layout. (We should have found our dining room! We were assigned the Lincoln Dining Room mid-ship and were late for dinner because we couldn’t find the correct entrance. The servers even scolded us a bit for being late!)

 

 

[Robin7]

Boat Drill: The lifeboat drill was delayed for some reason. We hung out in our stateroom, listening to the announcements, waiting until they told us to go. It was held on an outside deck that appeared to be for crew only. When you were inside the ship on that deck, none of the curtains were ever opened to see the deck. You carry your lifejacket with you to the drill, and they instruct you in putting it on, but only require you to wear it for a few minutes. They allow you to remove it before you return to your stateroom and carry it with you. It is a drill required by law, and yet Carnival does not take roll in any way. No one ever asked our name or stateroom or appeared to be keeping track of who was there. (And I didn’t see stateroom numbers on our lifejackets either.) Very different from other cruiselines we’ve been on. We were assigned a station, but not a lifeboat number, another deviation from what we’ve experienced in the past. (Our lifeboat station had a combination of lifeboats and rafts.)

 

 

The obligatory lifejacket photo (blurry, of course).

 

 

[boaterette]

Thank you for posting a review. I am enjoying reading it very much.

[Robin7]

We had begun leaving the dock by the time we got back to our stateroom from the boat drill. The Valor had to do a u-turn to head out to sea. It was fabulous to watch it all from our balcony. I think we’re hooked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robin7]

We had early seating dinner in the Lincoln Dining Room at table #154. It was in the interior of the room, nowhere near a window, so that was disappointing, but our tablemates were people from our roll call, and we had a great time with them every night. Who needs a view when you have wonderful dining companions??? Our servers were Dirgan from Indonesia and Sarita? from Latvia.

 

Food: Food is so subjective. Please remember this is only MY opinion. Your mileage may vary. Overall, the food was pretty disappointing. (This is my opinion only!) But it was definitely a step down in quality from what we have had previously on Princess and Holland America. It in no way ruined our cruise. I have lost 60 pounds recently and was worried about gaining on this cruise as my pattern in the past has meant a 3-7 pound gain on a 7-day trip. I LOST THREE POUNDS. We did not go to the Scarlett’s (the supper club).

 

We did love the pizza. The best pizza I’ve ever had anywhere was the Napolitano, fresh out of the oven.

 

The ice cream was soft serve, and therefore disappointing to my husband who prefers the hand scooped ice cream on other lines. The constant availability was a plus, however.

 

Room Service: Room service was very busy most times we tried it after hours. No hot foods but a nice choice of sandwiches. My husband enjoyed a BLT on three or four nights. It took about 45 minutes for delivery, sometimes a little less. No hot foods for breakfast, either (contrary to what we are used to) but that didn’t stop us ordering a couple of times. It was promptly delivered about the times we had requested.

 

After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show. Gary Brierly was our Cruise Director. He’s British and was a decent CD. We saw him a couple of times around the ship but never spoke to him.

 

He did this thing at the end of every show where when he walked off he said, “Good bye, folks.” Then when he was most of the way off the stage, he said, “I said, ‘Bye!’” and everyone had to yell ‘bye’ back. I thought that was kind of silly. But we’ve seen 11 CDs now, and he was definitely in the top half.

 

 

Then we were boring and went to bed after sitting a while and watching the moon from our balcony. (A balcony could really get to be a habit.)

 

 

 

I’m not going to give any more play-by-play. I’ll organize the rest of this by subject. We’re just not interesting enough for a play-by-play review.

[Sdallnct]

Great review so far...on the Valor 11/1 so reading all I can. We also got a balcony. We have done balconies before, but we are not one of those that won't cruise without one.

 

Oh also, congrats on the weight loss! I've lost a significant amount of weight as well. I plan on making the most of the gym and I'm really looking forward to running up on the track. I may not due my usual 5k, but might do half that for some fresh air running.

[Robin7]

Meet and Greet: Our Meet and Greet was the first sea day. It was well attended. I really enjoyed meeting everyone!

 

A word about Shore Excursions: We booked all of our excursions through the ship. In the past, we have done a combination of independent/ship-sponsored tours. I could not relax when we were on independent tours because of worrying about getting back on time. (The only time we’ve been late was on a ship’s tour, and they held the ship for the 19 of us.) To decrease my stress, we decided the insurance of a ship tour was worth the extra money/people. Again, your mileage may vary.

 

Grand Cayman: We awoke to the Disney Magic and the Carnival Legend anchored beside us. It was a hazy, hazy morning.

 

 

Grand Cayman is a tender port. They use large, local boats for tenders, not the ship's lifeboats, so they can move a lot of people quickly.

 

We had a later tour (“Coral Reef and Stingray Safari” $65 each) so we were able to avoid the madness and just walked onto a tender about an hour before our tour.

 

 

[Robin7]

Gotta head to bed, but I'll be back with more tomorrow! I so appreciate all of the information I've garnered from Cruise Critic over the years, I feel it is my duty to give back a little--or in my long-winded case, A LOT. :D

 

Robin

[whendoweleave?]

Gotta follow as this review comes together....LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a picture review! Great job so far!

[WAcruisers]

Thinking of doing this cruise next year. Keep it coming

[Robin7]

We wandered around the tender port area, looked in the shops, and took photos with the pirates until time for our excursion.

 

 

[cruisingbajan]

Thanks for posting. Nice review...nice pics. This must be my lucky week...no valor reviews for what seemed like ages...Now I have 3 reviews to choose from.:D

 

Looking forward to the rest of it.

[Robin7]

They put us on a bus and took us to the boat. The excursion was operated by Kelly’s WaterSports. There were only TEN people on our boat. That was amazing!

 

 

 

We motored out to the stingray sandbar where the guide immediately jumped into the water and started attracting them. Dozens swam up!

 

 

We all made our way into the incredibly warm water--shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. The stingrays were very friendly and would brush up against us and between our legs.

 

 

Some of the ladies (and one guy) were kind of freaked out by them. I just thought it was amazing how tame they are. (And, yes, they do still have their barbs.) My husband was stung twenty years ago when bodysurfing in San Diego, and he found them just as fascinating as I did. We both kissed one. (Kind of slimey!) So now we should have seven year’s good luck. (I should get 21 year’s luck as I had to hold that pose a long time while DH fiddled with the camera!)

 

 

[Robin7]

 

We ended up in the middle of that squall. It POURED on us on our way to the reef snorkel site. Just POURED. Thankfully it passed quickly. (Typical Caribbean storm.) The rain seemed very cold compared to the water.

 

 

The reef was beautiful with many varied fish. In spite of the rain, the water was very clear and warm. (Too bad the overcast day made the photos not turn out as vibrant as the colors really were.) We were there about 45 minutes. I was the first out of the water (as I usually am). One of the guides had a freshwater shower and rinsed me down. That was heaven! (Salt water makes me itch.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We loved this tour. I think it was especially nice since there were so few of us on it. I saw another Kelly Watersport’s boat pull up to the sandbar with about 40 people on it and was so grateful we weren’t on that tour. We had lots of time with the stingrays with individual attention from the tour guides. It was fabulous!

[Robin7]

After getting back to the dock area, we wandered around the shops for a few minutes, and then headed over to get on a tender, being certain to get on the Valor’s tender, not the Legend’s. We felt lucky because we were one of the last to board, no waiting for the next one. We went to the top and the aft. BIG mistake! When we got to the ship, it took 35 minutes to get off the tender. 35 minutes! We sat and waited and waited and waited. Lesson learned. These are large tenders, not lifeboat tenders, that hold hundreds of people. Stay on the bottom toward the front!

(More later; work calls.)

[Happy2trvl]

We are sailing on the Valor Dec 13 and found your information exciting and helpful. Thank you for taking the time to share.

 

We have a balcony booked and this will be our first cruise in 17 years and our teen son's first cruise.

 

You have us stoked!!

[boxerdoglady]

Really enjoying your review. Great job!

 

We've been on the Valor and I'm reliving it.

 

Too bad work always gets in the way.

[minncruisers]

I never tire of reading Valor reviews. I'm super excited to cruise with her in January.

 

We're from Minnesota so I've been to the MoA many times and I know exactly what you mean about the big mall in Miami. We went to the Galleria Mall in Houston and it was the exact same way. I suppose those down in the sun belt states hang out in the large malls to escape the heat.

 

Keep up the great review. I'm thoroughly enjoying myself.:)

[cjkumbaya]

What a nice review - thanks so much for sharing your cruise and photos. Looking forward to more!

[sailingawaysoon]

Loving your review! I can't wait to see more pics and read all about it!

[Froufie]

Congrats on the weight loss and sounds like you really really enjoyed that balcony cabin! I always tell people that say you never spend much time in the cabin - that's true unless you have that balcony -nothing like being spoiled with breakfast with an ocean view!

 

And I really loved your underwater pics in Grand Cayman!!