Valor Review, Spring Break with PICS

[dst]

I don't mind you asking - my mom might :) She is 66 however, has very poor health (Arthritis, cancer and CHF)

 

You can do it.......we'll be there with you in spirit!

[BJHOOSER]

Thanks for the info. I am still four and a half months out so have a lot of time to think about it. Now if i am remembering right, this was in Belize? You went through the ship and one of the earlier posters said they booked through cave-tubing.com.

Did you go through the ship in case your mom couldn't do it and it was a guarantee?

[dst]

Thanks for the info. I am still four and a half months out so have a lot of time to think about it. Now if i am remembering right, this was in Belize? You went through the ship and one of the earlier posters said they booked through cave-tubing.com.

Did you go through the ship in case your mom couldn't do it and it was a guarantee?

 

Yes we booked thru the ship for a few reasons: If for some reason she could not do the trip we could get an OBC, if anything happened while we were on the trip we were with Carnival so in better shape. I normally booked excursions on my own but thought this was the best way to go about this one

[BJHOOSER]

Thanks for the info. I checked on Carnivals excursions last night and they don't even list a cave tubing, strange. What was your cost on it if you dont'mind me asking?

I checked on the info that indestructable posted so i will have something to compare it to.

[lollylew]

I thought I had read somewhere that Carnival had quit offering the cave tubing excursion because a woman drowned. Does anyone remember the same thing?

[BJHOOSER]

I remember the incident as some of my friends were on that cruise but didn't know they discontinued the excursion. They are due back from a cruise today so i will email them and ask if they heard that also.

I'll get back to you when i find out anything.

[dst]

BJ: I'm not sure why it is not on the excursion list - we will be back in Belize in January and I was looking as well to see what the prices were and I could not find it.

 

I can not remember what we paid but I think it was around 60.00 (on the high side)

 

I had not heard that someone drown on an excursion, it would be interesting to hear the facts on this. I think it would be difficult to drown on this particular excursion

[lollylew]

Here is the link to a thread that talks about it:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=850191

[BJHOOSER]

Thanks for the links. I read them back in September when my friends returned and told me about what happen..... So sad.

[wrighka]

Mike - Really enjoyed your TR and all the pics! LMAO @ the Cubans on the beach and you going into the water about to lose your $40!!!!!!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your great cruise! :D

[dst]

Here is the link to a thread that talks about it:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=850191

 

 

Thanks so much for posting that - interesting. When we did the trip a few years ago, I thought it to be one of the safest excursions we had ever done.

 

I would still do it again

[tandtmk04]

I thought I had read somewhere that Carnival had quit offering the cave tubing excursion because a woman drowned. Does anyone remember the same thing?

 

A friend of mine and family was on that cruise last year when this happened (Sept. 08, Glory). She said that the weather had been bad and that the conditions for the cave tubing was not good and that the cave tubing should have been canceled. But what she said happened was where you are line up behind each other and feet are under the arms of the person in front of you..... the water was rough and the lady was falling off her raft and was drug under the water.... unable to fall completly off due to her feet under the person in front of her.

 

Very sad!

[CRYSSYMPH]

copied from my email.

 

sorry, i havent seen it yet. our first cruise was on princess, and we loved it. but when it came time for our next cruise, carnivals prices were so much better that we thought we would give them a try. i was hesitant because we are not partiers or bar people at all. and i had heard all the stories or rumors about the rowdy carnival crowds. but then we went our first carnival cruise and we were surprised at how good the cruise actually was.

 

so we have been on a total of three carnival, and one princess. one major difference that sticks out is, on princess the deck was empty and quiet by around 10:30 at night. on carnival there are people out on the deck past midnight, which is actually more fun. i thought the buffett food on princess was better than on the triumph, but the food on the valor was really good. plus carnival has so many different places to eat at. the grill, deli, pizza, buffett, dining room, mongolian grill, fish and chips, and sushi.

 

so we really love going on carnival, while the star princess was a great first honeymoon cruise, the carnival ships have been more all around fun. so i think you should give it a try.

mike

 

Thank you so much for the great review and all the wonderful pictures! My wife and I have been on 19 cruises, mostly Crystal, and have yet to try Carnival. But seeing how much fun your lovely family had on this trip, I'm ready to call Carnival RIGHT NOW!! One thing that has held us back is we feared it would be too much of a "Party" boat, and everyone would wear shorts and tank tops to dinner. I now realize we can get as dressed up as we like, and not worry about what other people are wearing.

 

But I have to tell you, what I most enjoyed about your review was seeing parents who really, REALLY love their kids!! I wish I would have had parents who take such an active role in their children's upbringing...Keep up the good work.

 

Mike (Writing from a very cold and grey Paris morning, wishing he was on a cruise!)

[BJHOOSER]

Cave tubing.com list thier prices at $45 i believe it is if that is all you want to do, $85 if you want the ATV as well. I am not a good swimmer and a pretty beat up body as well as have a hard time breathing so will think on this more. If the water is calm like it generally is i should not have a problem but if it is like it was last September then no way Jose....lol. Like i said we are more then four months out so have plenty of time to make up my mind. I know some of my mates are going to do it.

Thanks for all of your help everyone.

[Indestructible]

Thanks for the info. I checked on Carnivals excursions last night and they don't even list a cave tubing, strange. What was your cost on it if you dont'mind me asking?

 

I checked on the info that indestructable posted so i will have something to compare it to.

 

If I remember correctly, because we had a large group (probably 15-20), they charged us $45pp ( anyone feel free to correct if I'm mistaken). I never checked to see if Carnival offered an excursion as I had family with past experience with cave-tubing.com. Maybe Carnival stopped because a woman had accidentally hit her head and was killed? Some of the other tours seemed to require helmets, ours did not. Our guides worked really hard to keep everyone safe while in the cave. As you can read in Mike's recap of the vacation, we were back to the tender in plenty of time.

With cave-tubing, they collect the CASH on the bus on the way back to the tender. I think most people left their stuff on the bus and nobody bothered it. Some others recommended wearing old sneakers and then leaving them behind. I guess this is something a lot of people do and the local people appreciate it. A woman from our cruise emailed Cave-tubing and got the reduced price, you simply showed a copy of the email which she posted and they honored the price for anyone else who may have joined in from the ship. They rely on word of mouth advertising and do a great job at keeping customers happy. I have NO experience with any of the other tours so I can't say anything, good or bad.

 

Also, you are not locked into anything, so if you decide on the day of excursion that you can't go, you just don't go.

 

Hope this helps,

Chris:cool:

[lollylew]

Mike,

 

I have another question for you. I am getting things finalized with our Valor cruise that leaves on Sunday and I remember reading that you took sandwiches from the deli onto Roatan. How did you get them past security? My SIL swears that they will get confiscated if we try to do the same thing so I was just wondering how you did it...;)

[newt98]

Mike - Really enjoyed your TR and all the pics! LMAO @ the Cubans on the beach and you going into the water about to lose your $40!!!!!!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your great cruise! :D

 

thanks, i'm glad people are still enjoying it.

[newt98]

Thank you so much for the great review and all the wonderful pictures! My wife and I have been on 19 cruises, mostly Crystal, and have yet to try Carnival. But seeing how much fun your lovely family had on this trip, I'm ready to call Carnival RIGHT NOW!! One thing that has held us back is we feared it would be too much of a "Party" boat, and everyone would wear shorts and tank tops to dinner. I now realize we can get as dressed up as we like, and not worry about what other people are wearing.

 

But I have to tell you, what I most enjoyed about your review was seeing parents who really, REALLY love their kids!! I wish I would have had parents who take such an active role in their children's upbringing...Keep up the good work.

 

Mike (Writing from a very cold and grey Paris morning, wishing he was on a cruise!)

 

thank you very much. carnival has done a good job of turning that bad reputation around.

[newt98]

Mike,

 

I have another question for you. I am getting things finalized with our Valor cruise that leaves on Sunday and I remember reading that you took sandwiches from the deli onto Roatan. How did you get them past security? My SIL swears that they will get confiscated if we try to do the same thing so I was just wondering how you did it...;)

 

 

they will not check your bags when you leave the ship. we never had our bags checked when we left the ship, nobody did.:D

[newt98]

hey chris, it's good to see you all are having suck a good time on this thread.;) you guys keeping it alive for others to see.

[falkcor]

copied from my email.

 

i read your analysis and thought it was very reasonable - and agree on the pragmatic rationale.

 

i was waiting for this thread to pop up again - glad it did. i told you early on this was a pretty awesome review - and now i'll just re-affirm that :D

 

good job. you got me to consider valor and its itinerary (and realize it's 200pp less than galveston, plus airfare for people that aren't local).

 

i look forward to your next... :cool:

[BJHOOSER]

I know they don't check your bags as you leave but we are told, and even warned, NOT to take food ON or OFF the ship. The On part i fully understand but not the OFF.

What can i say, let your conscience be your guide.

[jnjcruiser]

I'll keep it short and just reaffirm what everyone else has already said. Great review and great photos! Thanks for sharing!

[PeggyMc]

Mike

Thank you for your great review. You mentioned on a sea day turning a guy in to security. Do you mind sharing what the problem was?

 

BJ I read that for physical challenged customers they will actually drag you in a tube in a different route and meet up with the hikers to do the cave tubing. You just generously tip the staff person for this service.

I would suggest you email them with all your concerns and let them describe your options.

[bigdaddyvoges]

Mike,

 

I hope you saved me something to drink on this ship!!!! I will be there in 4.5 weeks and CAN'T wait!!!! GREAT review!!!!

 

Bob, 24

Chicago

 

PS Did I read right that you did your share of smuggling some booze on the ship? My group is planning on bringing 4-5 bottles of vodka!!!