Comin’ at you Live from Valor

[Organized Chaos]

For those who haven’t been to Cozumel yet (Puerto Maya pier), this port area is a stand-alone complex just outside of town. All the usual port shops, some local vendors/shops, and bars. That’s about it. Otherwise you have to take a taxi, independent tour, or excursion to explore farther out.

We only walked around for an hour or so, then back to the ship. If you’re not into shopping the usual port shops or going to a bar, you’ll probably want to book an excursion or maybe take a tour of some kind here. Or stay on the ship

[ricew001]

I just got off Valor on 11/18. Agreed that Kevin was the least impressive of my CDs so far.

 

You said you were rocking and rolling on the first day - we were too. So bad that I would never cruise again if it was always like that. I heard two different people say that "they forgot to set the stabilizers". Not sure if that's true but it was a very very rough day. Coming back wasn't like that.

 

I didn't like the Valor Serenity compared to Victory which had a much better vibe.

 

New Orleans was VERY COLD to this southern girl. It was definite change. We did Alaska as our first cruise but the last 4 have been out of Miami and to the warm Carribean.

[chicodie]

We disembarked on December 2 I agree with your assessment our room stewart  was a ghost, after the second night did not go back to dinner in the MDR, Kevin had a medical emergency so Georgia one of the fun squad took over I think she did a fine job, the last night was a side to side curvy ride I heard someone say I don't like this and I agreed. Valor is a nice Ship but  I don't think I will sail out of New Orleans again unless they get a newer ship.

[Organized Chaos]

I won this baby at country music trivia.

I’d like to thank the gods of plastic gold who made it possible to win this trinket of worthless success. Thank you to my mom & dad for giving birth to me in the sticks where country music is popular. Without that, I never would’ve known enough songs to win this beautiful award. I’d also like to thank all the other contestants around me for not knowing as much. Without your lack of knowledge, I never could’ve reached this pinnacle of cruising greatness. I’m honored, thank you all.

[Joe817]

LOLROTH! Too funny! 

[desiree741]

12 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

I won this baby at country music trivia.

I’d like to thank the gods of plastic gold who made it possible to win this trinket of worthless success. Thank you to my mom & dad for giving birth to me in the sticks where country music is popular. Without that, I never would’ve known enough songs to win this beautiful award. I’d also like to thank all the other contestants around me for not knowing as much. Without your lack of knowledge, I never could’ve reached this pinnacle of cruising greatness. I’m honored, thank you all.

Are you hiding ducks? We will be getting on as you get off. Thanks for the reviews!

[grandmarnnurse]

Following along. Sailing out of New Orleans on February 2 on the Glory. Wondering how cold it might be there at that time of year? Flying in on January 30 to explore the city for a few days prior to cruise, and I wonder what type of clothes to pack for New Orleans. As a Northern girl from Buffalo, NY, I am used to the cold (already buried in cold and snow) but would prefer warmer temps than here (20s). 

[E@syPe@zy]

4 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

For those who haven’t been to Cozumel yet (Puerto Maya pier), this port area is a stand-alone complex just outside of town. All the usual port shops, some local vendors/shops, and bars. That’s about it. Otherwise you have to take a taxi, independent tour, or excursion to explore farther out.

We only walked around for an hour or so, then back to the ship. If you’re not into shopping the usual port shops or going to a bar, you’ll probably want to book an excursion or maybe take a tour of some kind here. Or stay on the ship

Oh....don't stay on the ship.  Cozumel is a beautiful island.  Take a tour that takes you to the East side.  It is drop dead gorgeous!  If you like to snorkel or scuba, this is a premier location.  I fell in love with Cozumel years ago on a cruise stop and have been back for land vacations several times.  Sometimes we rent a car when stopping in Cozumel for a cruise stop and love going to the East side and different locations to snorkel.   There are a lot of beach clubs that you go to for the day.  Go to trip advisor and check out all of the things to do.  You won't regret it.

[Organized Chaos]

Been very much enjoying your live review.  So much fun.
 
Could you please post a picture of the door hanger in the cabin for the Continental Breakfast.  The one you leave out at night to be delivered to your room in the morning.
 
Thanks in advance.  I've tried to search the forum, but to no avail.

Here you go. Top half...



And bottom half...



Let me know if those turn out ok.

[Organized Chaos]

4 hours ago, ricew001 said:

I just got off Valor on 11/18. Agreed that Kevin was the least impressive of my CDs so far.

 

You said you were rocking and rolling on the first day - we were too. So bad that I would never cruise again if it was always like that. I heard two different people say that "they forgot to set the stabilizers". Not sure if that's true but it was a very very rough day. Coming back wasn't like that.

 

New Orleans was VERY COLD to this southern girl. It was definite change. We did Alaska as our first cruise but the last 4 have been out of Miami and to the warm Carribean.

 

I read your review, if that was you. I remember someone saying something about the stabilizers. I have no idea about that, but it was a pretty rough ride. It wreaked havoc on our mini golf game. It’s smooth sailing on our way to Progreso, though.

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, desiree741 said:

Are you hiding ducks? We will be getting on as you get off. Thanks for the reviews!

 

Thats not a bad idea. 😃 Although, I’d have no idea where to put them to keep them safe for the time being.

 

Last year, the Glory had turtles and we got a few of those just goofing around. I saw the ducks this time and thought about making a silly tradition out of it. 

 

I think I’ll keep my eye open for some good spots while I wander around tonight. If I find any, I might try to hide a few on the last night. If I do, I’ll let y’all know.

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Following along. Sailing out of New Orleans on February 2 on the Glory. Wondering how cold it might be there at that time of year? Flying in on January 30 to explore the city for a few days prior to cruise, and I wonder what type of clothes to pack for New Orleans. As a Northern girl from Buffalo, NY, I am used to the cold (already buried in cold and snow) but would prefer warmer temps than here (20s). 

 

We’re midwesterners so the 50’s & 60’s in NOLA was nice to me.  But I will admit, embarkation day and night wasn’t very pleasant.  It was more the wind than anything. And not just from the motion of the ship, it was a cold crosswind going down the river. 

 

So far, the temps onboard, especially at night, have been a very welcome break from our past summer cruises. I hate the heat and humidity, we get enough of that at home.

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, E@syPe@zy said:

Oh....don't stay on the ship.  Cozumel is a beautiful island.  Take a tour that takes you to the East side.  It is drop dead gorgeous!  If you like to snorkel or scuba, this is a premier location.  I fell in love with Cozumel years ago on a cruise stop and have been back for land vacations several times.  Sometimes we rent a car when stopping in Cozumel for a cruise stop and love going to the East side and different locations to snorkel.   There are a lot of beach clubs that you go to for the day.  Go to trip advisor and check out all of the things to do.  You won't regret it.

 

Not so funny (for me) story. We do like to go snorkeling on our cruises. Last year, we stopped in Grand Turk, one of our favorite snorkeling ports, and when we got there, I realized I forgot to pack my swim trunks. So I jumped off the boat as soon as we could and found a pair in one of the shops.  Thanks to my forgetfulness of leaving swim trunks at home on a cruise vacation, I ended up paying $25 for another pair to replace the $10 pair I left at home. Fast forward to this year. About a week before the cruise, I was going through my closet and noticed my swim trunks...both pairs...and told myself,  I won’t forget those again. Well, we were sitting around in our New Orleans hotel room and I happened to notice my son’s pair in his suitcase. That’s when I realized I did it again. 😫 I’m not buying another pair. Carnival wants $45 for their cheapest ones. No way am I paying that. We were just going to do a little snorkeling in Progreso at the beach by the pier. We’ll probably still go, but I’ll just hang out on the beach and watch. I am NOT buying a third pair!!

[E@syPe@zy]

36 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Not so funny (for me) story. We do like to go snorkeling on our cruises. Last year, we stopped in Grand Turk, one of our favorite snorkeling ports, and when we got there, I realized I forgot to pack my swim trunks. So I jumped off the boat as soon as we could and found a pair in one of the shops.  Thanks to my forgetfulness of leaving swim trunks at home on a cruise vacation, I ended up paying $25 for another pair to replace the $10 pair I left at home. Fast forward to this year. About a week before the cruise, I was going through my closet and noticed my swim trunks...both pairs...and told myself,  I won’t forget those again. Well, we were sitting around in our New Orleans hotel room and I happened to notice my son’s pair in his suitcase. That’s when I realized I did it again. 😫 I’m not buying another pair. Carnival wants $45 for their cheapest ones. No way am I paying that. We were just going to do a little snorkeling in Progreso at the beach by the pier. We’ll probably still go, but I’ll just hang out on the beach and watch. I am NOT buying a third pair!!

So you have your snorkel gear....but not swim trunks....isn't it the way it goes!?  You think you have everything including the kitchen sink and then you don't have something that you need almost every day!  

Last time we were in Cozumel, we left the ship without a towel and had to buy one from one of the tourist stores.  It is the thinnest towel I've ever seen and it wasn't cheap!  Oh well...we just keep it with our snorkel gear now, since it hardly weighs more than a paper towel!!

[desiree741]

1 hour ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Thats not a bad idea. 😃 Although, I’d have no idea where to put them to keep them safe for the time being.

 

Last year, the Glory had turtles and we got a few of those just goofing around. I saw the ducks this time and thought about making a silly tradition out of it. 

 

I think I’ll keep my eye open for some good spots while I wander around tonight. If I find any, I might try to hide a few on the last night. If I do, I’ll let y’all know.

I just learned about the whole hidden cruising ducks thing and am excited to look for some. My daughter and I put together some to hide while we are on board. 

[Organized Chaos]

5 minutes ago, desiree741 said:

I just learned about the whole hidden cruising ducks thing and am excited to look for some. My daughter and I put together some to hide while we are on board. 

 

They’re doing a “holiday duck hunt” Friday morning. If I do hide some, I won’t leave them out in the open like they do. I’ll try to make sure they aren’t bothered during turnover and give some clues. I already went and got a couple extra. I saw ones similar to those unicorns, but I think the colors were a little different. 

[desiree741]

1 minute ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

They’re doing a “holiday duck hunt” Friday morning. If I do hide some, I won’t leave them out in the open like they do. I’ll try to make sure they aren’t bothered during turnover and give some clues. I already went and got a couple extra. I saw ones similar to those unicorns, but I think the colors were a little different. 

I have become a big fan of the carnival cruising ducks Facebook page... I’m a little ducked out! Enjoy your cruise!

[Organized Chaos]

I have become a big fan of the carnival cruising ducks Facebook page... I’m a little ducked out! Enjoy your cruise!

I thought you were talking about the hidden ducks game they do as an event. Where you write down locations of where they are. I had no idea there was a whole big thing going on with passengers. We sat and talked with one of the Fun Squad members for about an hour tonight. He had the night off, came to watch Love & Marriage, and happened to sit next to us, so we got to talking after. He told us all about the hidden ducks from passengers. Is there a specific fb page for Carnival ducks, because he gave us one for all lines in general?

If I hide a few, it won’t be a part of that game. I don’t know enough about it yet. For now, I’d just do it for people who read this thread.

This Fun Squad member, Alex (Alejandro), has collected around 150 ducks. His contract is up on Jan. 13th next year, so it looks like his last cruise is 1/9-1/13. He said he’s going to hide all of his ducks for his last cruise on Valor. He hopes to have around 200 by then. So if anyone here plays this duck hunt game and will be on that cruise, there should be A LOT more than usual.

[Organized Chaos]

A few pictures before bed. They have the very back of deck 10 closed off. They were refinishing or replacing the handrails. Then they started repairing some of the deck boards.



Hanging out in Cozumel with the Celebrity Equinox...



Our ride. The obligatory shot from the pier...

[diesteldorf]

Nice pictures.  Maybe we'll bump into each other today or tomorrow.  I don't have any excursions on Thursday and was thinking about trying the Seafood Shack.  Glad your son is also having fun.

[desiree741]

6 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I thought you were talking about the hidden ducks game they do as an event. Where you write down locations of where they are. I had no idea there was a whole big thing going on with passengers. We sat and talked with one of the Fun Squad members for about an hour tonight. He had the night off, came to watch Love & Marriage, and happened to sit next to us, so we got to talking after. He told us all about the hidden ducks from passengers. Is there a specific fb page for Carnival ducks, because he gave us one for all lines in general?

If I hide a few, it won’t be a part of that game. I don’t know enough about it yet. For now, I’d just do it for people who read this thread.

This Fun Squad member, Alex (Alejandro), has collected around 150 ducks. His contract is up on Jan. 13th next year, so it looks like his last cruise is 1/9-1/13. He said he’s going to hide all of his ducks for his last cruise on Valor. He hopes to have around 200 by then. So if anyone here plays this duck hunt game and will be on that cruise, there should be A LOT more than usual.

 

Yeah I’m new to it also, but it looks like a lot of fun especially for my daughter. If you search Facebook “carnival cruising ducks” it should take you to the page I am on. We ended up ordering a dozen Christmas themed and my daughter thought it would be fun to get mariachi ducks since we are going to Mexico. 

[grandmarnnurse]

10 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Not so funny (for me) story. We do like to go snorkeling on our cruises. Last year, we stopped in Grand Turk, one of our favorite snorkeling ports, and when we got there, I realized I forgot to pack my swim trunks. So I jumped off the boat as soon as we could and found a pair in one of the shops.  Thanks to my forgetfulness of leaving swim trunks at home on a cruise vacation, I ended up paying $25 for another pair to replace the $10 pair I left at home. Fast forward to this year. About a week before the cruise, I was going through my closet and noticed my swim trunks...both pairs...and told myself,  I won’t forget those again. Well, we were sitting around in our New Orleans hotel room and I happened to notice my son’s pair in his suitcase. That’s when I realized I did it again. 😫 I’m not buying another pair. Carnival wants $45 for their cheapest ones. No way am I paying that. We were just going to do a little snorkeling in Progreso at the beach by the pier. We’ll probably still go, but I’ll just hang out on the beach and watch. I am NOT buying a third pair!!

Lol! And that is why I now pack for my hubby! He has been known to forget important items, as well. And I start my packing about 1-2 months prior to cruise, armed with checklists. That way, if something needs to be bought for cruise, I know well in advance. 

[Garf]

5 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Lol! And that is why I now pack for my hubby! He has been known to forget important items, as well. And I start my packing about 1-2 months prior to cruise, armed with checklists. That way, if something needs to be bought for cruise, I know well in advance. 

LOL! I start packing from 3 months prior, What I usually do is leave a number of thing in my cruise suitcase, this make it easy for me.

[Organized Chaos]

Nice pictures.  Maybe we'll bump into each other today or tomorrow.  I don't have any excursions on Thursday and was thinking about trying the Seafood Shack.  Glad your son is also having fun.

Thanks. I haven’t been taking as many pictures as I normally would on vacation.

We didn’t do an excursion either. We went to the public beach, my wife and son got in for 5 minutes, couldn’t see 3 feet, so got out and we came back to the ship. The vendors are way too aggressive for my liking. I got so sick of saying, “No thank you.” Probably the worst we’ve experienced. I was approached by 5 or 6 just in the 5 minutes that I was sitting on the beach watching them. I don’t care for that.

My boy’s already had the crab legs from the Seafood Shack. He said he’ll probably get more.

[ricew001]

17 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

I read your review, if that was you. I remember someone saying something about the stabilizers. I have no idea about that, but it was a pretty rough ride. It wreaked havoc on our mini golf game. It’s smooth sailing on our way to Progreso, though.

I'm really interested to know is this typical to 1) this ship/this ship size 2) the Gulf of Mexico 3) the time of year. I had planned to immediately book my next cruise when we got back and received our discount email. But I haven't because I won't cruise again if it's that bad.