Come Join The Valor Voyagers 6/12/05 Western Caribbean

[Snowball]

Don't worry about missing out on having your formal pics taken. Carnival has their photographers set up for formal night pictures from around 5:00 (or maybe earlier - I'm not sure) until at least 8:30 when the 2nd late seating for dinner starts, so if you don't have time to get them done before dinner you could always get them taken after dinner (as long as you don't spill anything on your clothes of course :p ).

[Marcys]

Pictures after dinner wouldn't work. My 14 year old son eats and runs and is out of his tux and to his friends within about 45 minutes of being seated!:(

Another advantage of an afternoon tour...does Carnival have spa (massage) specials on port days like RCCL? I'm saving my massage for Paradise Beach. I had one on the beach in Costa Maya last summer, 30 minutes for $20, can't beat that!

Seriously, before we make any changes, I'd like to try to confirm our time in port.

[Marcys]

No school today due to an ice storm last night!

Here's info I copied from the Grand Cayman Port Authority site:
[font=Arial][size=4][b]Carnival Valor[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][i]Carnival Cruise Line[/i][/size][/font]

[font=Arial][size=2]Arriving on 06. 16, 2005 at 9:00 am and
Leaving on 06. 16, 2005 at 5:30 pm.



Passenger Capacity of [b]3700[/b].[/size][/font]



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[color=#0000ff][/color]Database Last Updated: Thu Jan 6 02:00:21 2005[/b]

I'm confused, does the Carnival site list the local or ship times on the itinerary?? I wonder about the times of the other ports? We should check on the Belize times to make sure we can make cave tubing! I don't know if I have the Belize port authority website. I'll look.

This link shows 4 ships in port that day. [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=2695371"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=2695371[/url]

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[Marcys]

Captain Marvin, who also gets great reviews, has an 11:45 departure time. That seems like it would work our REALLY GOOD for us...can sleep a little later (not much), time to tender, back early enough not to worry about missing ship, leaves time for beach, shopping, or going back to the ship to enjoy it while everyone's in port and then leisurely dressing for formal night. It's a few dollars more, but not much. Posted wrong link above, try this one: [url="http://www.cruisecal.com/20041014p.html"]http://www.cruisecal.com/20041014p.html[/url]

FROM CAPTAIN MARVIN'S WEBSITE:

[u]Short Excursion (approx. 2.5 hours)[/u][color=blue][font=Arial][color=blue][font=Arial]:[/font][/color][/font][/color]

[font=Arial]Times: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, [/font]

[color=blue][font=Arial]11:15 AM to 1:15 PM, or [/font][/color]

[color=blue][font=Arial][font=Arial]1:45 to 3:45 PM, Monday through Friday [/font][color=red][font=Arial](Check in by 8:00 AM, 10:45 AM or 1:15 PM)[/font][/color]

[font=Symbol]· [/font][font=Arial]Stingray City sandbar, where you may feed and swim with the 'rays[/font]

[font=Symbol]· [/font][font=Arial]Snorkel at the incredible Barrier Reef or the Coral Gardens![/font]

[font=Symbol]· [/font][font=Arial]Price: US$34/ages 12 and over; US$20/ages 4-11; under age 4, free![/font]

[font=Symbol]· [/font][font=Arial]Price includes round-trip transportation from the Waterfront Centre, or from your condo or hotel on Seven Mile Beach, PLUS snorkel gear, life vest (optional), food for the stingrays, and icewater and fruit punch on board the boat.[/font]

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[lhall85917]

We did Captain Marvins a few years ago and it was great! It was a small group, personal service - had a wonderful time.

[Marcys]

Thanks, Sharon, for the feedback on Captain Marvin!

I'm a little leery of the afternnon tour with Soto's, yes, after all I said about why it's a good time for us!! There's a recent thread on Carnival asking about people missing the ship with independent tours. Someone said they had an afternoon swim with the rays and the boat developed engine problems. They ran into a lot of traffic on the way back to town and got back to the dock after departure time. The ship was still there only because a ship's tour was late.

Here's the response I got from Kevin at Crucon today about port arrival and departure times. First he says EST, then he says local time!!

[color=red]Here's what I can tell you. The Valor sailing on 6/12/05 leaves out of the port of Miami, which is Eastern Standard Time. All the times listed on that itinerary are based on Eastern Standard Time. To my understanding, the time's shown on the itinerary is the current time on that island. I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for, but it's all that I can tell you. Mexico might be an hour back due to it being Central Standard Time but the times listed on the itinerary are based on the time that they will arrive at that port of call. Therefore, if you arrive in Grand Cayman at 9:00 am, that is based on the current time on Grand Cayman. I hope this answers your questions and if not, please let me know how I might be of better assistance to you and I will be more than happy to assist you. [/color]
[color=red][/color]
[size=2][color=#0000ff][color=red]Thanks,[/color]
[color=red]Kevin[/color]
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[Snowball]

Sorry I was M.I.A. today - our internet at work was down all day. :( I was having serious withdrawal symptoms by this afternoon. :eek:

Anyhow - I am meeting a bunch of cc friends for lunch next Saturday, and I know that some of them have sailed Carnival to the Western Caribbean before, so I'm going to ask them how it works and find out for sure. I am going to leave my Soto's reservation stand as is for now, and decide what to do after I talk to them. I really don't want to switch to another tour operator because I have 6 people in my little group, and I feel bad having them pay more for the tour especially after the price already went from $24 to $30.

I'll post a message here and let you know what my friends' experience was after I talk to them.

Did any of you see that bad Valor review posted today? I didn't think there was anything earth-shattering in there. JMHO :rolleyes:

[Marcys]

Ohmigosh, Debbie, you must have been going through withdrawal today!!

I still think, Debbie, like you said, that even though ship and GC are on same time now, after daylight savings in April I think the ship is an hour ahead. Whether an hour is enough time to tender is another story. Since Soto's isn't asking for money up front, we can hold the reservation and see what happens in April with the time and the tendering situation. And, also see what the other CC people say when you meet them!

I saw that review, but I don't think that poster would be happy anywhere!

[VOLEYMOM]

Hello fellow cruisers, booked the Valor with you just today. Just skimmed through all the pages of this site. Wow, are you guys organized! We are from California and can't wait to cruise again. You might say we are a little addicted. This will be my 16th cruise. My husbands 12th. We have been on most of the lines except really high end. Just got back from a Hawaii cruise on Celebrity. Can never understand how some people complain about things on a cruise. We have never had a bad one. I am Rebecca, husband Brian, daughter Corinne and her boyfriend Jeff. We are in our early 50's and my daughter is 22, boyfriend is 23. Hopefully there will be some younger adults their age. Last year on the Zuiderdam there were not very many. I have been to all the ports we are going to. Loved Belize and Roatan. My family have not been there so very excited. Definitely planning on the canopy tour in Roatan. Did that with a group of friends a year ago. Soooo much fun, so any questions please ask. Been to Stingray City to many times to count. Everyone has to do that even if you can't swim. I will try and find picture to add to the other page. Love seeing that. Thanks to Sharon for being so organized about this cruise. I talked to you a few months ago and have now worked out the details so we can go also. My daughter and boyfriend will have to fly the red eye to get there, but hey their are young and can take it! We will fly in the day before. I think we will just stay in Ft. Laud and drive to Miami the next day. We are flying Southwest so only to Ft. Laud.
Hope to chat again with you.
Rebecca

[lhall85917]

Hi Rebecca, nice to hear from someone else going with us! Your kids should have a little bit of company, my son is 23 and is going as well as my daughter and her boyfriend who are both 19. Is it ok to add your info to our website? I can also add pics if you email them to me - [email]lhallspam@cinci.rr.com[/email] (take out spam).
Its also good to hear from someone who's been to these ports. I guess right now we are in a little state of confusion about Roatan and the canopy tour. According to the boards it can only be booked through the ship if you are on NCL and if NCL is in port that day we are out of luck. I haven't found anywhere to show what ships are in port the day we are in Roatan. We are all really looking forward to doing this, so will be disappointed if it doesn't work out.
We're still waiting to book airfares before deciding where to stay. I've booked a room at the Days Inn that was recently discussed, but it isn't really what we want to do. We would like to come in early Sat., stay on South Beach and be a little touristy for the day! We'll see how that works out.
Welcome on board, hopefully we'll talk again soon.
Sharon

[Marcys]

Hi Rebecca! Glad your joining us on Valor on June 12! Welcome!

I've been to all these ports, except Roatan. We'd like to go on the canopy tour, but like Sharon said, there seems to be some confusion about it. Sharon, according to the cruise calendar which I'll post below, there isn't an NCL ship in port that day. But, I read on another post somewhere that the one by Tabyana Beach can only be done if you book that beach tour. I don't know if that's true. I contacted Tabyana beach by e-mail but didn't get a response. Maybe I'll try again.

Here's the link to the cruise calendar:
[url="http://www.cruisecal.com/20041014p.html"]http://www.cruisecal.com/20041014p.html[/url]

[lhall85917]

Thanks Marci, I hadn't seen that calendar. The one I looked at didn't have Roatan. I guess we'll keep our eyes open for what is happening with this. I'm hoping as more trips are made that way, we'll get lots more info on what is and isn't available and the best way to do it. Luckily, we still have plenty of time! (Or not so luckily, depending on how anxious you are to leave)

[Snowball]

Welcome Rebecca!!! It's great having yet another family joining us on this cruise!!! :D My family will probably fly into FLL too, but we are hoping to stay in Miami Beach or South Beach the night before the cruise.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do in Roatan. My daughter is afraid of heights,:o so we won't be doing the canopy tour. I'd really like to make it a beach day, but I keep hearing about these sand bugs they have on the beaches there, and I am like an insect magnet and always end up getting chewed to pieces. :eek: I could always just stay on the ship, but I hate to go to a port and not explore at all - even just so I can say I was there. :rolleyes:

Rebecca - since you've been to Roatan before, do you have any ideas as to what else there is to do on the island other than the canopy tour or a beach. Or are the sand bugs not as bad as they sound??? Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[donnaja]

I have been reading all about this group and this cruise and you sound like alot of fun. I am also from the Philly area (suburbs) and am looking for a cruise but I would be traveling by myself. Do you have many single people in this group going? (maybe 35+)

[Marcys]

Hi Donnaja, we'd love to have you join us! It seems like we have a pretty wide age-span here with some single young adults, but Debbie could tell you whether some of the extended family/friend groups have single "older" adults. On past cruises, we all tended to "hang out" as a group, young, old, married, single and it worked out great! And..you can't beat the price of this group cruise!

[Snowball]

Hi Donna!! You should definitely join us on this cruise!!! :D I only know the marital status and ages for my group of 10 family and friends that are going. Just out of my ten alone we have three singles in their mid to late 30's. Plus we have two married couples in my group (including myself) that are in our 30's, so I'm sure you'll fit right in and find that there are plenty of people in your age group on the ship. Group cruising is great for singles because you get to chat with the other group members before you even board the ship, so by the time you meet in person it's like you already know them. :)

[VOLEYMOM]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I was worried about the Canopy Tour so I went on NCL website and found out that their only ship goes in on Tuesday, good news for us. I really want my family to experience this. When I went last April the beach resort at the bottom of the tour was still under construction. At that time they just let us go and sit at the outside bar and hang out. Maybe things have changed since they are probably all done with it. We were there on a very rainy day, it started out nice and turned into one very rainy day. We booked a tour with Victor Bodden, he was booked so his brother took us around. We went just touring around and to the Iguana Farm, then off to the beach and tour. We wanted some beach time but not in the rain!! We waited at the beach and the rain stopped just in time to do the Tour. I am afraid of heights and almost chickened out, so glad I didn't.
Just wanted to people to realize though that Roatan is very, very poor. You don't see very many nice vans or cars. I heard a lot of complaints getting back on the ship last time. I personally love to go to these undeveloped ports. Roatan is beautiful, the water is beautiful, and we always ran into people that were friendly and loved to show us around. Sometimes I think people think that we should only see places that remind us of home. I think it's good to see how other people live to really appreciate how fortunate we are. Just my opinion. Anyway we did not run into any sand fleas, and I know Sharon how it is. If anything bites they head straight for me. I am going to do some research to find something to put on. I even have some sunscreen that prevents those little jellyfish stings, or sea mites I think they call them. Wonder if that would work too.
I will do some more checking on Roatan and the Zip Line and report back with any information I find!
I think it would be fun to stay at South Beach in Miami, but we get in around 4:30 p.m. and my kids at 5:30 a.m. in Ft. Laud. Think I will book the Embassy Suites so they can come in and at least crash for a little while.
Sharon, I have done Price Line with wonderful results. You can also do hotwire. You can use Better Bidding like you said. It really helps with info. Tripadvisor.com has great information on hotels.
Take care everyone and GO CHARGERS!!! Finally we have a team in the playoffs!!

[Marcys]

This is so exciting! Our numbers are growing and momentum is picking up! Maybe the New Year makes the cruise seem so much closer, or that we're now starting to get reviews!:D

I e-mailed the Tabyana Beach Resort again for information on the canopy tour. Hopefully, they'll get back to me. I think there's also one at Galinda's Tropical Garden or a name close to that. I've also been posting all over asking for non-NCL info. I had contacted Victor Bodden about potentially booking with him and he originally said just tell them you're staying at a hotel and not off a cruise ship but someone posted and said that didn't work for them because an NCL ship was in port.:confused: Here's the website: [url="http://www.roatanisland.net/rollercoaster.htm"]http://www.roatanisland.net/rollercoaster.htm[/url]

I also read that the "head waiter" from the Washington dining room was retiring and going back to Ireland. I wonder if he's the singing Maitre D'?

Rebecca, like you, I love the unspoiled islands. I loved Costa Maya and how unspoilt Majahual was and how trusting the people were!

[lhall85917]

We are also excited about seeing Roatan and are not at all concerned that it is a poorer, undeveloped area. We went to Hawaii on NCL a couple of years ago and went to Fanning Island as part of that trip. It is very undeveloped (a little more savvy now that the cruise ships come in there) and it was a wonderful experience. We took a walking tour with one of the residents and it was so interesting to see their way of life.
Sometimes people are afraid to get out of their comfort zone and expect that everyone lives like us, its good for us and our kids to see that many people have much different lifestyles than ours - and they live happy, satisfying lives.

Sharon

[Marcys]

Here's another link to a canopy tour, don't know if it's the same or different tour. I had e-mailed them in the past, but no response. Maybe I'll try the 800 number.

[u][color=#ff0033][url="http://www.anthonyskey.com/akr/activities/act_canopy.html"]http://www.anthonyskey.com/akr/activities/act_canopy.html[/url][/color][/u][url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=2712848#post2712848"][/url]

[Snowball]

Have any of you used Victor Bodden as a tour guide in Roatan? I'm thinking of trying to book a private tour with him. I've seen several positive reviews about him here on cc. With his tour he will take you wherever you want to go on the island, and will offer suggestions to where to go. I e-mailed him today to see if he is available the day that we are there.

Would any of you be interested in booking with Victor Bodden for a tour of Roatan? If so, please post here and I'll add you to my count.

[Marcys]

Debbie, I had already contacted him about touring with him, but then, I think it was Kathi, asked who was interested in going to the orphanage to drop off stuff and take a tour of it and then they would assign 2 drivers for us for the day. So, I'm open to either option, but we would really, really like to do the canopy tour. He told me he could take us there, if they'll have us...which I'm still trying to find out! How many can he take? The only thing with him that he wanted to do that I wasn't too hot on was the glass bottom boat ride.

[Snowball]

I got an e-mail from Kathy last night saying she wasn't able to post on here for some reason. Here is her e-mail:


[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]Hi Debbie: I haven't been on the boards since New Year's (at least) -- ice storms, back to work, etc. I started reading postings tonight (didn't get through them all). Thought I'd post a reply and finish up tomorrow. I told you I wasn't computer saavy, but I can't reply -- don't know what's going on. I'll work on it tomorrow. A few updates: [/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]1) We're with Marvin (not Reggie) from Wet N'Wild. I'll e-mail and find out about cell phones, back-up, etc. [/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]2) I tried to book with Sotos (realized tonight as I was reading the postings that I never received a confirmation). I booked the early excursion with a note about the later excursion if time was a factor. [/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]3) We sailed the Western Caribbean last summer. We found that the times the ship gave us were the same as local times. I was really stressing about that. Doesn't hurt to check. I booked a local excursion in Jamaica -- finally the tour operator told me, "I know when it arrives. I meet it every day." We just need to check with the locals. [/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]4) I haven't had a chance to get back with Brad at the orphanage in Roatan. We can reserve two drivers. I told him we were interested in the canopy tour, but there were never any guarantees. I still don't know if it's only for ship excursions or for people who book tours at Tabanya Beach. (Maybe this has been addressed. Told you I hadn't had time to read everything.) [/color][/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS][color=#0000ff]5) Love reading the reviews. Thanks for keeping us current. I really appreciate your efforts. Hope I'll figure out what the "reply" problem is tomorrow. Kathy[/color] [/font]

[sebastian01]

Welcome to all the new people with our group. I'm getting excited about this cruise. Time is going by so fast. Work is getting busy so I am not on the computer as much. I work part time at a hospital, and they have been calling my to work extra hours.

kathy- I wanted to make sure we are with the group in Belize for the cave tubing.

In Grand Cayman we are wanting to do the stingray tour. We do not care what time, we just don't want to miss the ship. The captian Marvins 1130 trip sounds the safest. I have not booked with either Soto's or Marvin's. I am waiting to see what Debbie finds out from her friends. Debbie and Marcie have confused me on all the arrival and departure times and I am nervous about making tours outside of the ship. My parents are going next week on a Princess cruise out of Texas. She has booked with Marvins. I will see what her experience was with them.

In Roatan we want to do the canapy tour. I have also tried emailing the different web sites with no luck on responces. If unable to do the canapy tour we will just do an island tour. We are open to any ideas.

In Cozumel we are leaning towards the ship tour caverns by jeep and beach combo tour. It is 7 hours so I feel safer with the ship.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to the grindstone tomorrow.

Kim

[Marcys]

[color=black]Hi! Kathi, I'll save you an e-mail to Marvin. Since we had a real close call last time in Belize, I e-mailed him about this and here's his 2 responses:[/color]

[color=lime]Hi Marcy,[/color]
[color=lime]We have had a few experiencies like you mentioned, but that doesn't mean you will miss the ship, we have been serving cruise passengers from the time cruise tourism came to Belize, the only thing I can say to you, is that, in our eight years of providing a service second to none, we've never had any problems with our vehicles, we know what it takes to be in business and to stay in business.[/color]
[color=lime] [/color]
[color=lime]Marvin Deras
[/color]

[color=red]Hi Marcy,[/color]
[color=red][/color]
[color=red]The operator in Cayman is right because they are on eastern time, but in Belize we operate on Central standard time, which is two hours behind you guys, which will put you at 7:00am if ship's time is 9:00am you are correct there.[/color]
[color=red] [/color]
[color=red]I cannot say we will never brake down these are machines, but I can guarantee! you, that you will not miss the ship, also we have more than one van and our guides carry cellular phones, I just cannot see something like that happening though, but if should that happen our company also does tendering for the ships so if we miss the last tender, we certainly will not miss our own! .[/color]
[color=red] [/color]
[color=red]Marvin[/color]
[color=red][color=black]I've also been in contact with someone who lives on Roatan, through a Roatan board, and she is trying to find information about the canopy tour for me. I'll post as soon as I hear from her.[/color]



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