The Geek Family Goes Cruising - Valor 8/21-28 Western Caribbean

[megmno]

Next we visited the animals in the compound. We saw parrots, a lemur, some tiny little deer and of course, his famous white faced monkeys. The monkeys are extremely tame and like to climb all over you and check you out. One of them took a closed water bottle from GeekDad and mimed drinking from it, so we opened it for him and let him have a drink.

 

I can't adequately describe how cute they are, so here are some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night we got the monkey towel animal in our cabin. Cute, but not as cute as the real things!

 

 

 

[megmno]

Your family is so cool! Thanks so much for the great review - this is probably my fav CC review so far. :D

 

Thanks, I'm having fun writing it!

[megmno]

After the monkey visit we had a boat snorkeling trip scheduled. To our surprise, one of the men on the boat turned out to be Victor Bodden himself, so we really felt like the First Class People again! He seemed genuinely interested in whether we were having a good time, and also gave us a tour of some of the beaches near the snorkel site.

 

The snorkeling trip was out to a reef near the West End beach. We had a guide in the water who showed us the marine wild life and kept an eye on us. I'm a chicken about diving too deep while snorkeling, so he used some my camera to take some great close up shots of the reef. His shots came out much better than mind did:

 

 

 

 

 

One thing he tried to show us was a Morey eel which was hiding under a coral formation. He started poking at it with a diving fin. All the while I kept saying, "No, really, it's ok. I don't need to see him!!!”

Fortunately, the eel didn't take the bait (i.e. us!).

 

After the snorkeling we realized that we wanted to get back to the ship pretty soon, so we decided to skip lunch. We had reservations for the Chef's Table on board the Valor, and were supposed to meet up at 6:30 and we all needed to shower before hand. (The ship was scheduled to sail at 7 p.m.)

 

We made one quick stop at a local crafts store on the way back to the cruise terminal. GeekDad got a beautiful hand carved box (might be mahogany??)

 

 

GeekDaughter got a little necklace. I got a bottle of a local liquor from something called the Nance fruit. It's sort of orangey in flavor. Keila got us back to the ship in plenty of time.

 

Victor prices his excursions based upon what you want to do. You can hire a driver for the day for $25 per person and just have him or her take you around the island. If you add the zipline course there is an additional $45 per person cost (and the monkeys are included). You can see the monkeys without doing the zipline for $5 pp. The boat snorkel trip was $20 with your own equipment / $25 if you rent theirs. You can decide, instead, to do a shore snorkel trip and that won't cost you anything. So, the total for our excursion was $90/per person.

 

I really am glad that we decided to do a private tour. I feel like we saw a lot more stuff than we ever would have on a ship sponsored excursion.

[JMHAM1]

Great Review. My DH is a Geek. I tell him that he looks for ways to whip out his Geek and smack people in the face with it all the time.

 

The kiddos <we have 6> are split into both Geeks <taking after Dad> and Jocks <taking after Mom> This makes for some interesting and excellent vacation adventures. I think I will have to write up my own review like yours.

 

How was the Chef's table?

[sallyb]

Great review! We are booked on Valor for January, so I love reading about the ship.

[megmno]

CHEF'S TABLE

 

GeekDad, GeekDaughter and I went to the Chef's Table. GeekSon doesn't particularly like fancy food so he had decided this wasn't something he wanted to do. GeekDaughter and I like to cook together, and she was very interested in trying this so we decided to let her come too.

 

The Chef's Table dinner started with appetizers and champagne (ginger ale for daughter) in the Valor's galley. Last year we had done the Behind the Fun Tour, so we had seen the galley before, but this time dinner service was in full swing. There was an army of waiters coming in and out and collecting food from the lines of serving areas in the galley. We saw our waiter, Enrique, who laughed and waved to us.

The appetizers were: Ahi Tuna Tartare, Duck Pot Sticker and Avocado Cheesecake.

 

As part of the demonstration we were shown how to make Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. When we were on the galley tour last year we had gotten the recipe for this, but when we made it at home it didn't turn out anything like what Carnival serves. So we asked the chef for advice, and he suggested that we probably beat the mixture too long. GeekDaughter and I are going to try out this bit of advice in the near future and make it again.

 

The Avocado Cheesecake easily takes the prize for most unusual combination of flavors that turn out to be amazingly good together. It contained cheese, avocado and a garnish of raspberry sauce. This sounds like it should be awful, but it turns out to be wonderful.

 

Next, we were taken to a small room off the main dining room. There were eleven of us at the table, including an adult mother and daughter from Australia and a couple in which the husband is apparently a Carnival executive. Two of the women at the table had almost identical names, and they were seated (by whoever chose the seating arrangement) next to each other, which we all thought was funny.

 

At one point I was having a conversation with the Carnival guy about the coming changes in itineraries in the fleet (i.e. the Spirit to Australia, the Magic to the Caribbean, the Miracle year round out of New York) and one of the other guys asked why I knew this. "Because I'm sort of a geek," I answered. He looked at me very strangely.

 

This was the Genesis of why I started thinking of our family as the GeekFamily. In some contexts it's perfectly normal to know a lot about obscure subjects. Here on CC, for example. But sometimes you forget that the rest of the world will look at you funny if you start talking about it.

Red and white wines were served during the different courses -- nothing spectacular, but pretty good wines. (Daughter had more soda.) There were seven courses: Norwegian Salmon Tartar, Fire Roasted Tomato and Poblano Chili Bisque, Rock Shrimp and Apple Beignets, Chopped Mediterranean Salad, Fillet of Chilean Sea Bass, Filet Mignon and finally, the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake that we had helped make before the meal.

 

All in all I think it was worth the $75 charge. The only course I didn't care for was the salad, but the sea bass and filet more than made up for that. Actually, I was so full that I couldn't finish the filet, which was a pity because it was one of the best pieces of meat I have ever eaten.

 

The Chef's Table staff is extraordinarily attentive. There were many servers there just for us, plus the chef and his assistant. The meal went on for close to three hours, and while the filets were being cooked we had a private show by a magician who also works in the dining rooms. He did a bunch of close in card tricks, which were excellent.

 

After a dinner like that, I was ready to toddle off to bed for the night. It turns out that the Didja that we missed was Shark. Oh well, have to try it next year.

[tammymacb]

Nice review.

 

I'm jealous of your weather.

 

On our last Carnival Cruise ( the Dream ) we froze and didn't get to have half the fun you did. We couldn't tender to Grand Cayman- ( my favorite place in the world, DH and I dive there often and we'd booked a private snorkel trip with our chicken not certified teens ).

We DID have our Victor Bodden day, but cancelled the snorkel trip because it was long sleeved weather. I thought Roatan was beautiful, but I was pretty depressed over living conditions and the poor animals there...

 

Good job on the "didja" stuff...I'm a chicken when it comes to funky food. I can almost always answer that question with a big, NO.

[hlb76]

I want to hear more....

[megmno]

THURSDAY - BELIZE

 

In Belize I had decided that we would enjoy cave tubing, and chose a private company to do it. This is somewhat more risky than our private excursions in Grand Cayman and Roatan because it involves a 45 minute drive into the countryside. However, the price for the ship's excursion was $90 per person versus $50 for private companies doing the same tour, so my inner cheap won out over my inner chicken.

 

To mitigate the possibility that we might not get back on time, I only looked at private excursion operators that had excellent reputations as well as the resources to send out a replacement vehicle in the event that ours broke down. There are several companies that are discussed on the ports of call board and on Trip Advisor.

 

I chose Cavetubing dot bz because, in addition to having an excellent reputation, the owner also agreed to let us do a private excursion with just our family. GeekDad has a disability and I was concerned that he would need extra time to hike through the jungle, so I emailed Vitalino, the owner, to discuss my concern. He responded that he could do that for us and only charged an extra $5 per person, so I was very happy.

 

On the morning of our arrival in Belize we were told to go to the Eagle lounge to get tender tickets. Unlike Grand Cayman, tendering in Belize is a bit of a pain. The ship has to anchor much further out, and the tender operation is slower. We arrived in the lounge about a half hour before the first tender time, but there was no one from Carnival there to hand out tickets. We sat in the lounge, along with other people and waited. Eventually Carnival started showing some "America’s Funniest Home Videos" on a screen to keep us entertained, but still no one showed up with the tender numbers for another 20 minutes or so. During this time more and more people were sitting down in the lounge. Eventually one of the cruise director staff showed up and started handing out the tickets at random to groups of people. This got me a little cranky because we had been among the first there, but were among the third group of numbers. Still, all three groups ended up on the first tender, so I got grouchy for nothing. Mornings are not my best time.

 

We met our guide outside the cruise terminal gates. Some people have made negative comments about Belize, and part of that may be because when you leave the terminal area there are quite a few aggressive vendors looking for business. However, if you just keep saying "No, thank you" they leave you alone.

 

Our cave tubing guide, Marvin, took us in his minivan through the countryside to the site of the cave tubing river. On the way he told us a lot about his country, which is very beautiful. It seems that Hurricane Hattie destroyed much of Belize City in 1961 and much like our own Hurricane Katrina, many people from the city ended up resettling elsewhere. On the way to the cave tubing river we passed through a town called Hattiesville, which was created after the storm.

 

Many of the homes we passed on the way were apparently very poor. Few seemed to have electricity and many had shutters instead of glass windows. And yet, the Belize people that we met seemed to be very friendly and cheerful.

 

A guidebook I had used had warned that there is a certain level of crime, but we did not have any problems. Still, on the way to the river we passed a military checkpoint which had women soldiers carrying what appeared to be heavy weapons. Oddly, on the way back to the ship we passed the same checkpoint, but this time there was only a man sitting inside the shack, eating his lunch. Go figure.

 

Cave tubing takes place at a park at the Cave Branch River. Many different excursion companies use the site, including official excursions from several cruise lines. At the head of the trail we were outfitted with bright yellow tubes with handles, safety helmets with lights and life jackets. The equipment was all in very good condition.

[megmno]

Nice review.

 

Good job on the "didja" stuff...I'm a chicken when it comes to funky food. I can almost always answer that question with a big, NO.

 

Yeah, but a lot of it tastes like chicken anyway.

Except termites, which taste like mint.

[megmno]

Marvin then started us on the jungle hike part of the expedition. The hike takes 30-40 minutes and Marvin stopped often to show us the local plant and animal life. Along the trail he showed us several plants that are used for medicines. He also showed us a termite mound, and mentioned that native Mayan people sometimes eat termites because they are high in protein.

 

GeekDad, of course, had to try one. Marvin said it would taste like peppermint, but GeekDad unfortunately had bug spray on his hands, so he only tasted that instead. Still, this is a "Didja" that I had no urge to try.

 

Marvin also showed us a tarantula hole and got it to come out of its hole. You won't see any pictures of that from me because I was hanging well back! Even though I intellectually know tarantulas are pretty safe, they give me the willies!

 

The hike was over a trail that was somewhat uneven, but not particularly steep. Most people would be able to manage it, although with the heat and humidity you do need to keep well hydrated. There were a few sections of steps. There was one section where we had to wade across the river, which wasn't too difficult. There was a rope strung across the river that you could hold on to if the water was higher or you needed extra help. By the time we got to the beginning of the tubing area, we were all very hot, and the cold water felt great!

 

Marvin linked us up in a chain, and we set off.

 

The caves are made of limestone. Marvin showed us a ton of rock formations, but unfortunately since it was dark most of my photos didn't come out very well. There are some bats at the top of the caves, but we didn't see any flying around. Marvin told us that they are afraid of people and don't come out when people are there. He also showed us some cave swallows (birds) in the caves. I decided to believe that anything with wings was a swallow. It was better that way.

 

 

Even though most of my photos didn't come out I did manage to get a good one of a waterfall inside the cave.

[megmno]

The private excursions generally say that they take you on a longer cave tour than the ships excursion. Ours lasted at least an hour in the caves. After we came out of the end of the caves we were allowed to unlink and float freely to the end of the course.

 

 

 

There was a short walk back to the parking area, where there are bathrooms you can change clothes in. We left our valuables locked in Marvin’s car, and it seemed fairly safe.

Marvin then drove us to the headquarters for Cavetubing BZ where we enjoyed a lunch prepared by the owner’s wife. The cost of the lunch was included in the $55 per person that we paid. We chatted with the owner, Vitalino, for a while. He is very hands on in regard to his business, which seems to be thriving. He did mention that even if we had taken the larger group tour we still would have had our own guide during the cave tubing time. There are very strict safety rules at the park, and the number of guests per guide is limited.

 

The lunch was rice and beans with chicken and it was at least as good as any of the food we had gotten on board the ship. GeekSon, who is a bit of a picky eater, said he really liked it too. Soda or rum punch was also included.

 

Vitalino also had some local crafts and other items for sale, although there was no pressure at all to buy. I got a cloth handbag and a bottle of cashew wine. They let us sample the wine before buying it -- it had a rich taste, sort of like a plum wine.

 

Marvin got us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. I enjoyed a glass of wine on the aft wrap balcony while watching the sun set. Our cabin steward was great about keeping my white wine iced up -- he got us a beer bucket and put fresh ice in it twice a day.

 

 

After our usual sushi snack we took in the family comedy act with Allyn Ball and then headed off to dinner in the Washington Dining Room. Tonight’s Didja was escargot, and was very good, as was the rest of the meal. The trick with escargot is to pretend they are another kind of shellfish, like oysters. They were very juicy and garlicy. After dinner we went to a magic/comedy act which was also entertaining. We went to Allyn’s adult comedy act too, but I actually felt the family show was better. Maybe comedy that isn’t allowed to use naughty words has to be more clever to be entertaining? I have nothing against adult comedy, though.

[WestTxCruiser]

Ya'll are the Geeks, we are the Rednecks!:p

Really enjoying your review. We have the same 2 cabins only on the Conquest next Sept.

It will be our first Aft Wrap too, I think I will feel like you did in First Class!:D

I'm hoping that the balcony divider will be able to be opened....keeping my fingers crossed.

We will have our 17 year old and 11 year old cruising with us.

[megmno]

Ya'll are the Geeks, we are the Rednecks!:p

Really enjoying your review. We have the same 2 cabins only on the Conquest next Sept.

It will be our first Aft Wrap too, I think I will feel like you did in First Class!:D

I'm hoping that the balcony divider will be able to be opened....keeping my fingers crossed.

We will have our 17 year old and 11 year old cruising with us.

 

The Valor room steward said they open them all the time. I guess Carnival's official position is that it can't be done because there is no way to secure the divider completely open. But if you put the rubber door stop into the crack it only swings a little bit.

[WestTxCruiser]

The Valor room steward said they open them all the time. I guess Carnival's official position is that it can't be done because there is no way to secure the divider completely open. But if you put the rubber door stop into the crack it only swings a little bit.

I will remember that, heck I'll pack a door stop...just to be safe!!

Also meant to comment that you know you are creating spoiled little cruising monsters with your children....an aft extended/aft wrap cabins for their first cruise.:eek: :p

We had an inside cabin our first time, now we only book balconies....we are all spoiled!!:D

Looking forward to the rest.....

[sunny4jj]

The private excursions generally say that they take you on a longer cave tour than the ships excursion. Ours lasted at least an hour in the caves. After we came out of the end of the caves we were allowed to unlink and float freely to the end of the course.

 

 

 

There was a short walk back to the parking area, where there are bathrooms you can change clothes in. We left our valuables locked in Marvin’s car, and it seemed fairly safe.

Marvin then drove us to the headquarters for Cavetubing BZ where we enjoyed a lunch prepared by the owner’s wife. The cost of the lunch was included in the $55 per person that we paid. We chatted with the owner, Vitalino, for a while. He is very hands on in regard to his business, which seems to be thriving. He did mention that even if we had taken the larger group tour we still would have had our own guide during the cave tubing time. There are very strict safety rules at the park, and the number of guests per guide is limited.

 

The lunch was rice and beans with chicken and it was at least as good as any of the food we had gotten on board the ship. GeekSon, who is a bit of a picky eater, said he really liked it too. Soda or rum punch was also included.

 

Vitalino also had some local crafts and other items for sale, although there was no pressure at all to buy. I got a cloth handbag and a bottle of cashew wine. They let us sample the wine before buying it -- it had a rich taste, sort of like a plum wine.

 

Marvin got us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. I enjoyed a glass of wine on the aft wrap balcony while watching the sun set. Our cabin steward was great about keeping my white wine iced up -- he got us a beer bucket and put fresh ice in it twice a day.

 

 

After our usual sushi snack we took in the family comedy act with Allyn Ball and then headed off to dinner in the Washington Dining Room. Tonight’s Didja was escargot, and was very good, as was the rest of the meal. The trick with escargot is to pretend they are another kind of shellfish, like oysters. They were very juicy and garlicy. After dinner we went to a magic/comedy act which was also entertaining. We went to Allyn’s adult comedy act too, but I actually felt the family show was better. Maybe comedy that isn’t allowed to use naughty words has to be more clever to be entertaining? I have nothing against adult comedy, though.

 

Can't wait for the next installment!

[megmno]

FRIDAY - COZUMEL, MEXICO

 

I wanted to see some Mayan ruins on this trip, so in Cozumel we booked a trip to the ruins of Tulum. Tulum is located quite a distance away from the cruise ship pier, so in this case I chose to use Carnival’s own excursion just to be certain that we got back on time.

 

We met the tour on the pier and were directed to go to a nearby pier where there was a high speed ferry waiting. (Cozumel is an island.) The ferry took us across to the mainland in about 30 minutes. Although we had smooth sailing, I’ve heard this particular ferry called the Vomit Comet because of the ride you get when conditions are rough. The ferry took us over to Playa Del Carmen, a little resort town with lots of restaurants and shops. There we boarded a large tour bus. The bus was comfortable enough, and the guide gave a good talk about Mayan culture, but it wasn’t the same as going on a tour with a small group - -there was a lot more herding of passengers.

 

The ride was about an hour, with a stop on the way to the ruins at a large store which sold souvenirs and handicrafts. The guide told us that the store had prices that were much better than you would find at the gates of Tulum itself, but we found this not to be true. For example, most small pieces of jewelry were over $20 in the store where you couldn’t bargain. While the vendors out front of Tulum had similar prices, they were very eager to bargain with you.

I did get some Mexican vanilla at the store, which I didn’t see anywhere else. Mexican vanilla isn’t like the vanilla extract you get in American supermarkets. It is a sweet syrup that you can put in coffee or hot chocolate. It’s very good.

 

When we got to Tulum our guide warned us to keep drinking water, and she was absolutely right. It was very very hot. We also all wore hats which I think are essential too. The guide explained the uses of the buildings that we saw. Unfortunately you can’t climb on the ruins, but they were very interesting to look at. Tulum is a relatively recent Mayan ruin and was still in use when the Spanish arrived. It was a trading city for the region. The ruins that remain were temples and palaces for the elite.

 

 

The guide explained that the Mayans were excellent calendar makers, and could predict with accuracy that the annual rainy season would begin just after the summer solstice. According to the guide, human sacrifices used to take place on the steps of the large building on the right (in the photo below) just before the solstice, as an offering to the gods. On the morning of the summer solstice, the sun could be seen rising through the little tilted building to the left, and shortly thereafter the rains would start, ensuring a good harvest.

 

 

There is a tram that takes you the half mile from the parking lot to the ruins for $2 round trip, and I think it was worth it, if only to save energy for sightseeing. You can use US dollars all over Tulum, but you should have some small bills or you may end up getting change back in pesos.

There were also a lot of these iguanas lying around, totally unafraid of humans:

After all the walking in the heat, the best part of a trip to Tulum is a dip in the sea. There’s a steep set of stairs and a small beach with crystal blue water and white powdery sand. I don’t think we came out of the water at all until it was time to leave.

 

 

There's something really cool about swimming on the same beach as the ancient Mayans did, and seeing the same buildings they did.

 

 

GeekDad had a siesta on the way back to Playa Del Carmen.

 

[megmno]

When we got to Cozumel there was about 45 minutes before we needed to be back on board. Since we hadn’t had much to eat all day, GeekDaughter and I decided to stop at Three Amigos on the pier for some fish tacos. The fish tacos were really tasty and I also had a margarita that was very potent.

 

When we got there Three Amigos seemed like a restaurant that also had a bar, but as the time passed and it was closer to boarding time, the activity level suddenly ramped up. A girl was going around trying to get guys to buy shots of tequila, the music got louder and faster and it was definitely becoming the place to be. Guys started doing shots of tequila out of the shot girl’s belly button as she lay on the bar, which is when I figured it was time to make our exit.

 

And that is why there are so many pier runners at Cozumel....

 

Another fine sunset from the aft wrap:

For dinner that night I had snapper, which was okay, but not outstanding. However, there was an appetizer of thai chicken tenders that was outstanding. The Didja of the day was Oysters Rockefeller. For dessert I had an apple pie that was among the best apple pies I have ever had -- it had such a flaky crust that it was hard to believe that it had been mass produced.

 

The show of the evening was a hypnotist who took people from the audience and made them do goofy things. For example, he convinced them that their belly buttons had disappeared and needed to be found. They all started looking around on the floor, very embarrassed, while holding their stomachs. It was funny, although I tend to be skeptical of these kinds of shows. But if it was fake, it was very well done, and it was certainly entertaining.

[Froufie]

Loving your review!

 

Couple of quick questions:

 

1) Were there any fresh water showers at Tulum and/or changing facilities?

 

2) Wondering how you like the Oysters Rockefeller - hoping to try these out on my next cruise! (don't think I can manage the frogs legs tho!)

[megmno]

Loving your review!

 

Couple of quick questions:

 

1) Were there any fresh water showers at Tulum and/or changing facilities?

 

2) Wondering how you like the Oysters Rockefeller - hoping to try these out on my next cruise! (don't think I can manage the frogs legs tho!)

 

As far as I know there were no showers at Tulum -- at least we never found any. So yes, you will end up going home in your wet bathing suit. But it was so hot that day (in August) that the dip in the water was wonderful anyway.

 

The Oysters Rockefeller were ok, but they had spinach in them. Is that normal? I've never had them before. I didn't think the frogs legs were that good -- they tasted like kind of tough gamey chicken. I only had a bite of my daughter's portion.

[megmno]

SATURDAY - SEA DAY

 

On Saturday we slept in and then watched a movie on TV. Got up late and went to lunch in the dining room. I can’t say enough how you can avoid the crowds in the Lido if you eat in the dining room instead whenever possible. It’s so much nicer than having to stake out a table and wait in line. I had a terrific seafood salad on a baguette.

 

We went off to see the raffle for the Murder Mystery, but unfortunately didn’t win. GeekSon and I also went to a movie trivia game.

 

We went to tea time in the Washington Dining Room in the afternoon. Waiters brought around a cart of pastries and trays of salmon and cucumber sandwiches to go with the tea selection. It was very refined.

 

That afternoon we learned that Hurricane Irene was scheduled to hit New York City and that our flight was cancelled. The Valor’s guest service desk very kindly allowed us to use their phone line to make new flight arrangements (although these ended up falling through as well).

 

GeekDaughter took some sunset shots while we parents were working on revising our travel plans:

 

 

 

DEBARKATION - POST CRUISE

 

Unfortunately our travel back to Long Island was not such a good time. I don’t even want to write it all out because it kind of spoils my memory of this wonderful trip. Suffice it to say that we had to spend a couple more days holed up in Fort Lauderdale before getting a flight to Washington and finally driving the rest of the way to New York.

 

I had accidentally left my driver's license behind in a Dave and Busters arcade in Fort Lauderdale, but fortunately also had a passport with me. GeekDad was able to rent the car, but because he had taken some meds which make him sleepy I needed to do a lot of the driving. We had asked for a largish car since there were four of us and we had a lot of bags, so the rental agency gave us a Tahoe. Even though I drive a minivan, this felt like I was driving a boat the size of the Valor -- I was paranoid that I was going to whack into things the whole ride.

 

Unfortunately, the bottle of cashew wine broke in my suitcase, and the rental car smelled like a dead wino was in the back. I had visions of being pulled over by the police, not having a license with me and then having them smell the booze in the car. I drove like my grandma the whole way home (and she's dead).

 

So the Most Amazing Vacation Ever had a bummer of an ending, but no matter. We've booked the same week next year. No stupid hurricane will spoil our fun!

 

The End

 

Anyone have any questions?

[rambler57]

What a great review and the pic's were awesome. Thank you for taking the time, I for one really appreciate it. :D I'm sure everyone else did too.;)

[jabberman_76366]

Loved your review! Isn't Tulum neat. Did they have the guys spinning on the poles out front? We went there on our frist cruise on the Conquest.

[DeMom]

What a great review! Thanks for sharing :D

[CECRN]

Loved it, weather has been just awful here on the East Coast for several weeks now, and I feel your pain!