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

[Hogladyrider]

GREAT review, thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

 

We are sailing Legend in January 2012 and I have been looking for info on Eden Rock snorkeling and viola I found exactly what I needed in your review.

 

We have done Sting Ray City and this trip we only want to snorkel, we have our own gear, and that is where we will go!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed your entire review, great info, I will also look into Victor's tours in Roatan, without the animals, but with the snorkeling.

 

Loved seeing all your photos and that aft wrap looks amazing, we are balcony people, we love the cove balconies on Dream. I understand completely what you mean about it being "hot" out on those balconies, I always take ice water to splash on me!

 

Sorry about her trip home, if nothing else it made it interesting. I was in Massachusetts visiting my mom during Irene and fortunately my flight back to Orlando on Monday was not cancelled. Although my mom was without power for 5 days after Irene!

 

Love your writing and your knowledge!

 

Great job

Susan

[megmno]

GREAT review, thanks for taking the time to put it all together.

 

We are sailing Legend in January 2012 and I have been looking for info on Eden Rock snorkeling and viola I found exactly what I needed in your review.

 

We have done Sting Ray City and this trip we only want to snorkel, we have our own gear, and that is where we will go!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed your entire review, great info, I will also look into Victor's tours in Roatan, without the animals, but with the snorkeling.

 

Loved seeing all your photos and that aft wrap looks amazing, we are balcony people, we love the cove balconies on Dream. I understand completely what you mean about it being "hot" out on those balconies, I always take ice water to splash on me!

 

Sorry about her trip home, if nothing else it made it interesting. I was in Massachusetts visiting my mom during Irene and fortunately my flight back to Orlando on Monday was not cancelled. Although my mom was without power for 5 days after Irene!

 

Love your writing and your knowledge!

 

Great job

Susan

 

Glad you liked it. We were lucky because our power was actually back on by the time we arrived home on Tuesday night. One of our employees had no power for six days.

 

The temperature on the balconies wasn't so bad when you could find a patch of shade. But unlike the side balconies, there is only a small overhang on the aft facing balconies, so depending on which way the ship was sailing there was often full sun back there. The wrap at least had an overhang on the side portion. (The amount of side vs. corner vs. aft varies in the different aft wrap cabins.)

 

Eden Rock was a good deal, but there are plenty of dive shops to choose from on GC. I don't see any point in paying for a ship's excursion if you just want to do shore snorkeling.

[megmno]

Thanks for your review. I really enjoyed it. We are sailing the Valor next October to Aruba. I sailed some of your ports on the Dream last year and am thrilled to see Yellow inner tubes ( read NON-latex) on the cave tubing adventure. We will someday go back to Belize and Hubster wants to cave tube. I am allergic to Latex and up until now could not go cave tubing. I am thrilled to see that your excursion was Latex free!

 

There were quite a few different companies using different colored tubes that appeared to be plastic. Our guide had an old black looking tube that was smaller than the rest, but I think that was so he could climb in and out of it easier. Where the water was slow he got out and pulled us along for a bit.

 

We had such a good time there I'm thinking about doing it again next year.

[najnelle]

Thanks for sharing! Loved it. You sound like our kind of people! The words "geek" and "nerd" are terms of endearment around our house.

[Meyer2]

Wonderful review & pictures. Hubby & I had the aft wrap 7445 cabin on our 1st cruise, the Conquest. We loved the room & the balcony for sure!!! Sorry the end of the vacation wasn't as fun as the rest.

[cawagner]

Great review, thanks for the pics too...we have that same cabin next year, 7445 :D

[Blasian]

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.

 

----

LOVE your review. It is bringing back many fond memories. Tulum has to be one of my favorites places! The cliff overlooking the sea is my avatar. Love it there!

[crusinpsychRN]

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.

 

Yes, spinach is right. Did they have cheese, the thing that makes them so good? Ours didn't and no one liked them.

 

I did the Chef's Table on Legend and didn't like the salad either.

 

My daughter went in the water in Tulum, gulped water by accident, and that night go so sick I couldn't believe it. It was 110 degrees when we were there.

 

Enjoying the review. Great pics!

[oncruisecontrol]

 

In our family we each have our own set of quirky interests, mostly revolving around computers. We're a little different than most people, I think. Our house has six computers but only one television. If the TV cable goes out, it might go unnoticed for a couple of days, but if our router slows down you should hear the whinging...

 

 

Not quirky at all. The only time my tv goes on is on weekends when C-SPAN2 shows BOOK TV (I'm a book geek and a writer). Other than that, I have purchased my favorite tv shows from the 70's, 80's, and 90's on DVD, and that's all I watch as today's tv programs do not at all interest me. The rest of the time, I'm on my computer or listening to music. Enjoying your review so far. Thanks for posting it.

[oncruisecontrol]

Yes, spinach is right. Did they have cheese, the thing that makes them so good? Ours didn't and no one liked them.

 

 

I just got off the Liberty on Saturday (9/24) and the Oysters Rockefeller was tasty, but the only cheese was parmesan: Kind of disappointing as I was expecting a rich cheese sauce. But, the spinach/parm mixture was good, just not as rich as I would have liked.

[MiltonsMommy]

Thank you for your review - loved it!! We are doing the same itinerary in January but on Glory. What camera did you use for cave tubing? We too are booked with .bz...

[BoardwalkBabe]

Thanks for the review- I enjoyed your writing style. It sounds like you and your family had a great time!

[pryncesshmm]

Hey there - I read you got sushi every night... where and what types were available? =)

 

Inquiring minds want to know =)

[megmno]

Hey there - I read you got sushi every night... where and what types were available? =)

 

Inquiring minds want to know =)

 

 

The sushi is on deck 5, near the Java Cafe (specialty coffee bar). I don't remember exactly what kinds, but if I recall they were cooked varieties. It was good, but not outstanding sushi. They make up a plate of several different varieties for you, and there is an area with all the fixins (wasabi, ginger etc.)

They also have hot sake (you have to pay for that).

 

There are a lot of seats and tables along the walkway there, so you could have your sushi while people watching, too.

 

My husband doesn't like sushi much, so he used to get a milk shake at the coffee counter with an added shot of amaretto in it while we had the sushi.

[megmno]

Thank you for your review - loved it!! We are doing the same itinerary in January but on Glory. What camera did you use for cave tubing? We too are booked with .bz...

I got the Fujifilm XP20 just before this trip. It is essentially bomb proof - waterproof (to 20 feet), shockproof (you can drop it), scratch resistant lens, sand proof. The only problem that I have read about is that you have to make really sure that the battery hatch is tightly latched before you take it into water, and the latch is a little finicky...

[Catrin]

I just read your entire review... LOVED IT!!

 

We were on the Dream the same week... arriving in the ports the day before or after you! We used Cave Tubing.bz as well and had an amazing time... what a great company... and you are right, the lunch was fabulous!

 

I laughed at your Geek Family.... I really thought I was the biggest geek! My son is looking to go to a similar Polytech school for Computer Science as well...where does your son go?

 

Thanks for sharing your vacation!

Catrin

[megmno]

I just read your entire review... LOVED IT!!

 

We were on the Dream the same week... arriving in the ports the day before or after you! We used Cave Tubing.bz as well and had an amazing time... what a great company... and you are right, the lunch was fabulous!

 

I laughed at your Geek Family.... I really thought I was the biggest geek! My son is looking to go to a similar Polytech school for Computer Science as well...where does your son go?

 

Thanks for sharing your vacation!

Catrin

Thanks. He goes to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in "beautiful" Troy, NY.

[Catrin]

Thanks. He goes to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in "beautiful" Troy, NY.

 

OMG.. I had a feeling you would say that!

 

That is second on my son's wish list.... with Worcester Poly Tech as his first choice.

 

BTW>> we had a terrible time getting home as well. Really put a damper on a fabulous week otherwise!

 

Your review has given me some motivation to actually post mine!

Catrin

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great review.

[rebeljohn]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a great review. We will be on the Valor the week after Thanksgiving...............

[jst]

Thank you for posting such a terrific review with such a positive attitude:) We are booked on Valor next June and it will be our first Carnival cruise since 2002 when we cruised the Mexican Riviera (this cruise was a disaster as we chose the wrong time of year to cruise there) when it was cold and colder, and on one of their older ships.

We usually cruise RCCL, but loved Valor's itinerary and wanted to give CCL another try as we had read such great reviews, and CCL is moving Magic to Galveston, which we figure if we like Valor we will book Magic as it's right on our doorstep so to speak.

I have to complement Carnival in the respect that they have not sent the bulk of their fleet to the Med during the summer months, as have RCCL except for Oasis & Allure (whos prices are really high) and Freedom (that goes out of Canaveral, not an easy port to get to).

[Cruzface]

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!

 

 

 

 

We did the same thing in Roaton! The most friendly monkey was named Scooby. Is it possible that it is the same monkey?