4th Time valor cruisers review..some disappointments this time MAY 29, 2011

[floridacruzin]

So here is my review of our vacation on the Valor.

 

Background info:

 

This is my 6th Carnival Cruise and my 4th consecutive cruise on the Valor (we cruised in 08,09,10 and 11)....same ports. This ship has always worked for us with pricing and timing with our 9yo son. I have always loved the ship for the cleanliness and top notch service (they fell short in the service area this cruise, which I will get into). We have stayed on the Riviera deck, however, the last 3 years we have stayed on the Spa Deck, level 11…our favorite spot. This trip we traveled with a couple of loyal royals, with the exception of their wedding last year when they got married on the Dream. I convinced them to come with us and while we had an AMAZING vacation, I am bit upset with Carnival. I always put in pics of my review…I will include these at the end…you will soon find out why…….

 

We surprised the kiddos with the cruise…..they thought we were going to hang out in Miami for the day.

 

 

SUNDAY MAY 29th:

 

We live in West Palm Beach, FL and it is about an hour to the port. There were 6 of us traveling..2 kids 9 & 11 and 4 adults, 30s. I woke up at 5am to finalize everything as we have a 5month old who is not old enough to travel and got left behind. Obviously there was tons to organize for us and for her. I was running around like a lunatic and it amazes me that my husband can stand there and spin in circles. I have come to terms with the fact that I dislike my husband on our departure day..I am surprised my eyes do not get stuck from rolling them at him so much. By the time it was said and done we left West Palm Beach at 10:15am in two separate cars…..we stopped for gas about a half hour away from home when boy genius (DH) realized he forgot to deposit money into one of our accounts for a property we own and he wanted to take it back home to have someone deposit for us. I am surprised he is not dead from the looks….just being honest. A few moments after the death stare boy genius realizes we can deposit the money direct into the ATM..which is good..because I really hated him at that moment.

 

We finished the drive to Miami and we had pre booked parking at Premier Parking for $65.99 for the 7 days. This included SELF parking (we kept our keys) and a shuttle to the port was provided and we were picked up from the port once we arrived home. I would use this service again.

 

Since the boys had no idea what was going on we decided to tell them before getting onto the shuttle that we were going on a cruise. We figured people would be talking and we would be the ones to tell them. I videoed this and I am glad I did. My son told us that he knew it because I kept slipping all week, however, our friends child was completely surprised. It was a neat experience to do that for him. Their son had never been on a cruise before. We got onto the shuttle and it took maybe 10 minutes to get to the port. We unloaded, gave our bags to the porter and headed to the terminal. This is when my EPIC fail occurs and I realize our camera was in my car at the terminal and DH told me it was too late. I was bummed but our friend took plenty of pics for us that I will include once she sends them.

 

We started through security around 1:00 got into the actual check in at about 1:30. We were handed Zone 39, we went to check in at the (new to me) computer check in. This was SUPER easy, and we then got out print out to get our room keys from the desk. They were already boarding Zone 37 and we were getting our FIRST picture taken where this photographers catch phrase was HUGGIE HUGGIE..it stuck with us the entire cruise.

 

Ok need to work for a few minutes

[floridacruzin]

The Valor has always been super clean and they did not disappoint this time. We walked on…I love to hear the first “ding” of the trip when they take my picture and we headed up to our rooms on the Spa Deck 1104 and 1108. We enjoyed the room and the balcony for a few moments and we headed down to get lunch. I am not a foodie, so I have no idea what I ate..but it was good, like always. I do remember going to Rosies that day for fish and chips and ceviche (sp) and it was delicious. The kids wanted to walk around for a bit so we let them, since my son is very familiar with the shipping being that it was his 4th time on board and we headed to walk around outside. The boys had decided to go swimming and we waited for muster drill. Once we were called we waited a bit so that we are not packed in the back of deck 3…it worked and we were in the front row. It was painless and I was excited to get this trip going.

 

Once we were done with muster drill our friends wanted to go make reservations at the steakhouse. We have NEVER in all the years done the steakhouse. They said it was a NOT to miss and begged us to go with them based on their experience on the Dream. They said the service and food on the dream was AMAZING. We agreed to do it and signed up for Friday night. They wanted to take their son, however, we did not think ours would appreciate it. The hostess advised that they are very accommodating with children and as long as they do not order an entrée there is no charge. She said they can have starters and salads with no problem. So..we booked it.

 

We then headed to the deck for sail away..and enjoyed the music and atmosphere. We love people watching so that was fun . We showed our friends around the ship and around 6:30 when we got to the room our bags were there….we used this time to unpack and get ready for our 8:15 dinner. We got to dinner and met our waiter Jose…super nice guy and I have no idea what his assistants name is. Tonight the dining process take 2.5hours. I am used to dinner on the cruise being a process, however, a very organized one. Arriving at 8:15 and ordering by 8:25 we did not receive our entrees until 9:35…this is not typical from my experience with carnival and the process between courses was very drawn out. We chalked this up to the first night and after dinner was over (around 10:45) we headed to bed….we are losers.

[LBumb]

great start

[floridacruzin]

DAY 2: SEA DAY

 

We head up to breakfast on the Lido around 8am…It was good and we talked about what to do for the day. I wanted to do the slot tournament at 12 and the kids wanted to swim. We spent a lot of the day at the pool…went to the slot tournament at 12..which I did not qualify for..had some lunch and went back to the pool. A typical relaxing sea day as we do not get too involved in activities. The boys were really not impressed with camp, but we forced them to go for a bit..and when we would spy on them..they were having a great time.

 

It was formal night and we got ready for dinner. Again it was the same deal….10:45 by the time we were done. I truly begin to feel the cut backs that Carnival has made on this ship….our poor waiter has about 28 people he is responsible for serving. Jose could not have worked any harder at all. Our drinks are constantly empty…..bread is offered around the same time as the main course. Our waiter and our assistant waiter had too many people ad there was no lack of effort on their part. Here is where I think I am to blame….You will see that this is how our service is the entire cruise…at the risk of getting these gentleman in trouble for not meeting our expectations we kept our mouths shut…..We felt odd for complaining about the service when it was not fault of theirs, but the fault of what appeared to be a short coming in the ability to provide the same service on a full ship, that we had received in the past. In retrospect, I should have said something sooner. As you read, you will see eventually I do say something, but it was too late at that point. This is the first time on any of my cruises that the Maitre’D has come over to my table to just “shoot the ****.” Super nice man and enjoyed our talk that evening…..again it was quite late so the losers went to bed….

[floridacruzin]

Ok before I post about Grand Cayman I think it is important to say that my vacation was not ruined...we had an Amazing time!!!!!..being on this specific ship 4 times, I had become accustomed to a level of service, and Carnival fell short....and I paid more this year than I had any previous year

[floridacruzin]

DAY 3: GRAND CAYMAN

 

Ate some breakfast at around 7:30AM..our wake up calls did not go off as planned at 6:15am. We finished and headed down to the tender…this was painless….Since this was our 4th time at these ports I already knew what we would be doing.

 

In grand Cayman we walk about a half a mile or so, past the Burger King to a place called the Lobster Pot. We usually buy something from the store and then go out to a little beach they have for some great snorkeling. We are generally the only ones there and we can pretend for the few hours that we are not on a cruise ship…..Again, like in the past, the snorkeling was great and my husband brings a blow up type dive flag and we keep our valuables in side it when we go out into the water. We were out there for about 3 hours and we decided to head to the boat, clean up, eat and then go back to GC for some shopping. It was nice to to carry everything around shopping and it was nice to be dry.

 

We shopped and bought Conch shells and stopped for a drink at Margaritaville.they were generous with the alcohol..we sat on the deck up top to enjoy the view. The weather was great and we were the only ship in port that day.

 

On the tender back we saw a couple with their luggage and asked if they missed the ship in Miami…they confirmed they did and it was due to fog in Chicago…they will pop up again in my story..interesting peeps. We also met a family interested in cave tubing and we invited them to come with us since we pre booked.

 

When we got back on the ship we had a snack and nap time on the balcony before dinner.

 

Dinner was the same as previous..and we had a girls night and we went to the marriage show..which was fun and we made it up for the late comedy show in the Eagles lounge….he was funny and it was almost 1am before we went to the room….party animals. When I walked into the room DH asked if I was drunk…I said to him “As you know I am too cheap to drink…” and went to bed

[Cruisegirl6]

I totally agree with Carnival decling especially on the food and the lunch buffets mainly but I agree with you also the staff have more tables more people to take care of and same with us we find the service to be ok...nothing special its not their fault so we also choose to keep our mouths shut regarding service in the dining room not want to get them into trouble either.

 

Can't wait to hear more!

[LizaMM]

I can't wait to read the rest!!! I LOVE to read a review of someone on the same sailing!....BTW.....sorry we never had the chance to meet!

 

I spoke with a couple of people who did not get their wake up calls on the day we were in Grand Cayman. One couple missed their excursion. SInce it was booked with Carnival they let them sign up for something else and gave them a refund for the one they missed. Very unfortunate though. I always travel with a small travel alarm clock which I carry with me in my bag all the time since I don't wear a watch and usually use my cell phone. It is always on my "must have" list when I cruise and after hearing these situations it will stay at the top for sure!

 

It is interesting about the dining room....I had a totally opposite experience as you. In fact, I thought that this was the best MDR experience as far as friendliness, attentiveness and serving that I have had in many cruises! We were in the Lincoln Dining Room, Deck 3. I'll be posting a review as well so you can read about it if you want.

[floridacruzin]

DAY 4: ROATAN

 

I love this place..it is my favorite stop on the cruise. We got in at 12 so we ate breakfast and went back to the room for a nap.

 

When we get to Roatan we always walk out of the secure area and get a Taxi….We met Mike. We knew we wanted to go to Half moon bay for Snorkeling and asked him what the cost was and if he would stay the entire time we were there..he said 20.00pp for adults and 10.00 for kids…SCORE. He took us in his van to Half Moon Bay and we snorkeled the reef there..we love it and it is quiet. There are changing areas and a restaurant right on the water and Shawn (who we have met the last 4 times) always serves you right from the lounge chairs. This is not the most amazing beach, however, it is an Amazing snorkel spot that is secluded. We stayed there for 4 hours and then Mike took us around Roatan to do shopping at local stores. We got back to the ship right on time and he was able to drop us back inside, we did not have to walk back up the hill to get into the terminal..that was a plus because it was hot and the kids were beat.

 

It was 6:15 when we were on the boat and we all went to our balconies to see if there were any late guests…which there were because we still had not pulled out of port at 7:15. They blew the horn several times and we still waited…eventually a couple came HAULING BUTT down to the ship and then as they got closer I saw it was the same people who missed the ship in MIAMI and that we met on the tender in Grand Cayman…I am not sure cruising is for them….ok miss the boat once..but TWICE….we all cheered and booed at them and then clapped for the Carnival personnel un hooking the ropes from the dock.

 

Tonight the boys stayed behind with one of the adults and only 3 adults ate dinner…again..same experience….we ate were tired from the day and we went to bed.

[floridacruzin]

DAY 5: BELIZE

 

This is the review I wrote about my cavetubing experience

 

I had booked the tour with David prior to us leaving for our party of 6. I always had a quick response from David via email. When we got on the boat, we met another family and invited them along, bringing our total to 11. I was not sure if David would be able to accommodate since we added an additional 5 people, but we figured it was worth a shot.

 

Because of the length of the tender and the wait that begins to occur I contacted the excursion desk and asked the time tender numbers would be handed out. They stated 8am and I called everyone in the group and asked that they arrive at the Eagles lounge at 7:30 am ready to go. SIDE NOTE: Funtimes said tender tickets would be handed out at 830am, however, I decided to stick with the plan of showing up at 7:30am to make sure we all got off the boat early. The staff did show up at 8:00am and handed our party a combo of tender numbers 1 and 2...we waited until the ship was cleared at 815 and then we were led down to deck 0 to get on the tender. We made the first tender out and we arrived to Belize by 835am. Since I had been there previously, I was familiar with where we needed to go to meet David, so I led out group. When we arrived David was just parking the car to come and get us..but EVERYONE knows David.

 

He had a very nice van with the AC pumping for us and he had a cooler full of drinks waiting. It was also not an issue for the additional guests to come with us and we all loaded in the van. As we headed out of the terminal David kept giving us history of Belize and provided us with interesting facts the entire trip to the caves. On the way to the caves, we stopped at Davids house to pick up additional tubes (for our last minute guests) and some more drinks. He then stopped at the store and bought us some Belikin beer...and yup i drank one at 9am in the van.

 

When we arrived at the caves, David was excited that we were the only ones there and we would have soooo much time to enjoy the caves. We were all nervous about what to do with money and important documents..sail and sign..ID, etc. David kept stressing to leave the important stuff in the car as it was safer there then floating down the river never to be seen again…we flip flopped the entire trip and finally we went all in and left the stuff in the van. We went around and made sure all the doors were locked and David handed the keys over to security…with really big guns. David said we are so important to the industry there that nothing would happen…I was still nervous.

 

He pulled out the BRAND NEW tubes we would be using..they were HUGE and so comfortable…..we were all excited. We got changed and walked through the rain forest where David again gave us sooooo much knowledge of the rainforest and different trees and animals around us. Some of the brave ones ate termites with David. David took us through what he called a “wet tour” and on our way to the caves, we took dips in the water and enjoyed the refreshing river. It was great because we were kept cool through the entire trip to the caves. My son had trouble carrying his tube as he is 8 and my husband took the tube to carry it for him. When David saw my husband carrying the tube he ran an took it from him…David said “No one works harder than me on my tour” and took the tube away from my husband.”….he is just an awesome guy!!

 

We arrived at the caves and some of us jumped from a cliff into the water others walked to the little dock they made and sort of “fell” into their tubes with David’s help. Once we were all secured together,5 on one “people” strand and 6 on another “people” strand, David and his other guide paddled us down the river. They again filled us with facts about the caves, pointed out formations, and took us through a waterfall. Truly breathtaking! Once out of the caves you could stay in your tube or get in the water. Most of us got in the water as it was so refreshing. David took the kids and was jumping off the rocks into the water with them…He swam with us.

 

Once we arrived back to the van…we checked to make sure all of our stuff was safe..it was, so we proceeded to get changed. It was already 2PM and we had 2 hours and 15minutes before the last tender. We decided to have David take us back to some local shops rather than eating as we wanted to get some shopping done. We did some shopping…David always coming out of the van with us to make sure we were safe. We arrived back to the port at about 3:45..gave David a hug and thanked him repeatedly. We tipped him extra for his AMAZING service.

 

We needed to be back for the last tender by 4:15 which we were there by 4 and on time for, however, there was a MASSIVE line. Carnival was handing out cups of water and lemonade and it was about 4:30 by the time we got on to a tender and made our way back to the ship.

 

Again, a long day walking through the caves so we headed to the room for naps and to get ready for dinner.

 

Losers went to bed after dinner was over

[floridacruzin]

I can't wait to read the rest!!! I LOVE to read a review of someone on the same sailing!....BTW.....sorry we never had the chance to meet!

 

I spoke with a couple of people who did not get their wake up calls on the day we were in Grand Cayman. One couple missed their excursion. SInce it was booked with Carnival they let them sign up for something else and gave them a refund for the one they missed. Very unfortunate though. I always travel with a small travel alarm clock which I carry with me in my bag all the time since I don't wear a watch and usually use my cell phone. It is always on my "must have" list when I cruise and after hearing these situations it will stay at the top for sure!

 

It is interesting about the dining room....I had a totally opposite experience as you. In fact, I thought that this was the best MDR experience as far as friendliness, attentiveness and serving that I have had in many cruises! We were in the Lincoln Dining Room, Deck 3. I'll be posting a review as well so you can read about it if you want.

 

I will be reading your review! We were on the first level of the Lincoln Dining room....I guess it was a hit and a miss..and we missed. Yes..sorry we did not meet, I forgot until it was quite late on Sunday evening and was pretty sure no one would be there by the time I remembered

[cullensmom]

Enjoying your review.

Thanks for sharing.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

It was 6:15 when we were on the boat and we all went to our balconies to see if there were any late guests…which there were because we still had not pulled out of port at 7:15. They blew the horn several times and we still waited…eventually a couple came HAULING BUTT down to the ship and then as they got closer I saw it was the same people who missed the ship in MIAMI and that we met on the tender in Grand Cayman…I am not sure cruising is for them….ok miss the boat once..but TWICE….we all cheered and booed at them and then clapped for the Carnival personnel un hooking the ropes from the dock.

...

 

We watched (and I whistled at) those people running back to the ship.

 

It's TOO FUNNY (not? :eek:) that they were the same people who missed the ship to begin with!!

 

We had a VERY good cruise - but our focus was limited. We saw no shows, did not go to the piano bar, did not hang out at the pools. We did see two comedians - pretty good, ate our dinners in the steakhouse (usually 1.5 hrs!) and spent our evenings winning BIG in the casino. Yes, this was a GOOD cruise! :D

 

Tom

[calibird]

We were on the Valor cruise a week earlier (May 22) which went to the Eastern Caribbean. We were in room 8449 and do not have a complaint about it. It was beautiful and big!!

 

I do agree somewhat about the MDR. We had anytime dining and actually our head waiter was Jose also. We were in the Lincoln dining room on deck 4. We tended to eat about 6:30 and Jose always got us out in a timely manner. This is my 6th cruise, 4th on Carnival, and I do see that the quality of the food has gone down, especially at the buffet. My probably flawed recollection is that the food used to be more like the specialty restaurant which is now an extra charge. Won't stop me from cruising though.

[swimmom32]

So here is my review of our vacation on the Valor.

 

Background info:

 

This is my 6th Carnival Cruise and my 4th consecutive cruise on the Valor (we cruised in 08,09,10 and 11)....same ports. This ship has always worked for us with pricing and timing with our 9yo son. I have always loved the ship for the cleanliness and top notch service (they fell short in the service area this cruise, which I will get into). We have stayed on the Riviera deck, however, the last 3 years we have stayed on the Spa Deck, level 11…our favorite spot. This trip we traveled with a couple of loyal royals, with the exception of their wedding last year when they got married on the Dream. I convinced them to come with us and while we had an AMAZING vacation, I am bit upset with Carnival. I always put in pics of my review…I will include these at the end…you will soon find out why…….

 

We surprised the kiddos with the cruise…..they thought we were going to hang out in Miami for the day.

 

 

SUNDAY MAY 29th:

 

We live in West Palm Beach, FL and it is about an hour to the port. There were 6 of us traveling..2 kids 9 & 11 and 4 adults, 30s. I woke up at 5am to finalize everything as we have a 5month old who is not old enough to travel and got left behind. Obviously there was tons to organize for us and for her. I was running around like a lunatic and it amazes me that my husband can stand there and spin in circles. I have come to terms with the fact that I dislike my husband on our departure day..I am surprised my eyes do not get stuck from rolling them at him so much. By the time it was said and done we left West Palm Beach at 10:15am in two separate cars…..we stopped for gas about a half hour away from home when boy genius (DH) realized he forgot to deposit money into one of our accounts for a property we own and he wanted to take it back home to have someone deposit for us. I am surprised he is not dead from the looks….just being honest. A few moments after the death stare boy genius realizes we can deposit the money direct into the ATM..which is good..because I really hated him at that moment.

 

We finished the drive to Miami and we had pre booked parking at Premier Parking for $65.99 for the 7 days. This included SELF parking (we kept our keys) and a shuttle to the port was provided and we were picked up from the port once we arrived home. I would use this service again.

 

Since the boys had no idea what was going on we decided to tell them before getting onto the shuttle that we were going on a cruise. We figured people would be talking and we would be the ones to tell them. I videoed this and I am glad I did. My son told us that he knew it because I kept slipping all week, however, our friends child was completely surprised. It was a neat experience to do that for him. Their son had never been on a cruise before. We got onto the shuttle and it took maybe 10 minutes to get to the port. We unloaded, gave our bags to the porter and headed to the terminal. This is when my EPIC fail occurs and I realize our camera was in my car at the terminal and DH told me it was too late. I was bummed but our friend took plenty of pics for us that I will include once she sends them.

 

We started through security around 1:00 got into the actual check in at about 1:30. We were handed Zone 39, we went to check in at the (new to me) computer check in. This was SUPER easy, and we then got out print out to get our room keys from the desk. They were already boarding Zone 37 and we were getting our FIRST picture taken where this photographers catch phrase was HUGGIE HUGGIE..it stuck with us the entire cruise.

 

Ok need to work for a few minutes

 

Ok you got me at the pre booked parking..LOL we live in south florida, do you mind telling me how I can arrange that? we are going on the liberty in Nov for 7 days sailed the destiny and it was close to 100 bucks to park at the port...

Thank you :)

[golfadj]

Ok you got me at the pre booked parking..LOL we live in south florida, do you mind telling me how I can arrange that? we are going on the liberty in Nov for 7 days sailed the destiny and it was close to 100 bucks to park at the port...

Thank you :)

 

Stopped parking at piers and getting ripped off about 10 cruises ago.

 

Lots of off site parking such as park/n/fly and cheap cruise.

 

Some use shuttles and some must pay for taxi. Either way about half price of the pier.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Ok you got me at the pre booked parking..LOL we live in south florida, do you mind telling me how I can arrange that? we are going on the liberty in Nov for 7 days sailed the destiny and it was close to 100 bucks to park at the port...

Thank you :)

 

Leaving the parking lot this Sunday morning it was $140 for the 7 days! :eek:

 

(edit: that should at least come with a car wash or something, LOL)

 

Tom

[pe4all]

Leaving the parking lot this Sunday morning it was $140 for the 7 days! :eek:

 

(edit: that should at least come with a car wash or something, LOL)

 

Tom

If we leave our car at the pier parking lot for Miracle in August, it will cost us $240! ($30 per day):eek::eek: DH says there better be a naked woman waiting for him in our car when he debarks for that price!:p:D

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

If we leave our car at the pier parking lot for Miracle in August, it will cost us $240! ($30 per day):eek::eek: DH says there better be a naked woman waiting for him in our car when he debarks for that price!:p:D

 

No comment... :D

 

Tom

[Chosen One]

Great review - can't wait to hear more! Thanks for sharing!!!

[jjwelsh]

Great review, loving it and hope they fix the MDR issues before we sail lol

We have already booked our parking for the same place you used link is below for anyone needing it:)

 

http://premierparkingusa.com/our-services/port-miami-cruise-parking.php

[bridetobe53108]

For the OP- did they have the color wars? how about the black & white party? or the bath robe party? Just wondering!

[LizaMM]

I will be reading your review! We were on the first level of the Lincoln Dining room....I guess it was a hit and a miss..and we missed. Yes..sorry we did not meet, I forgot until it was quite late on Sunday evening and was pretty sure no one would be there by the time I remembered

 

 

I just started my review today. You can find it here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1427533

 

I wonder who did make the Meet & Greet! It seems like a few of us lost track of the time!!

[brmoqueen]

So here is my review of our vacation on the Valor.

 

Background info:

 

 

 

I was running around like a lunatic and it amazes me that my husband can stand there and spin in circles. I have come to terms with the fact that I dislike my husband on our departure day..I am surprised my eyes do not get stuck from rolling them at him so much. By the time it was said and done we left West Palm Beach at 10:15am in two separate cars…..we stopped for gas about a half hour away from home when boy genius (DH) realized he forgot to deposit money into one of our accounts for a property we own and he wanted to take it back home to have someone deposit for us. I am surprised he is not dead from the looks….just being honest. A few moments after the death stare boy genius realizes we can deposit the money direct into the ATM..which is good..because I really hated him at that moment.

 

 

I ROFL as I felt you were talking about my dh!!!!

 

He doesn't help AT all in getting ready...I gave him TWO things to be responsible for...a book to read for him and his sunglasses....We are about 3 miles down the road heading to the airport and he says "uhhhhhhhh I forgot my sunglasses"...WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT?????????????

 

Did you pack the book?..."ummm no"...SERIOUSLY??? I pack 4 bags, tickets ect and you can't get two things???

 

YES, I'll say MOST of our dh's are the same!!!! Glad to know!!

 

We head out on the Valor the 26th....Can't wait!!!!

 

jul