Valor 4/26 Review

[dkalnas]

Arrived back home from the Valor yesterday here is my review. It was my girlfriend and I who traveled in an inside cabin on the 6th deck (Upper)

 

4/25

Traveled from Orlando to Miami with SuperTours for $35 per person. Excellent Service that I have used multiple times. Transportation leaves at 7pm from Orlando and will drop off directly at Miami Beach/Downtown/ and area hotels. Does not get any better. Stayed at the Biscayne Bay Marriott and had a great view of the Port and watched the Valor arrive at 7am.

 

 

 

view from room

 

4/26

Embarkation Day- Took cab from marriott to Port and the total fare was $11. Breezed through security no questions asked and upstairs to check in. We were zone 17 and onboard by 12 noon. Overall opinion of embarkation was that they do well. Went to Rosies after we arrived (More on Rosies later) and had room available at 130. The one problem we encountered is that we requested and confirmed late seating and were given early seating. We were also confirmed for late seating per our pre arrival papers we had printed from online check in. We had to visit Roland at the Lincoln Dining Room and after discussing the situation we were able to get switched from early seating table of 2 to late seating table for 8.

 

After getting the dining arrangements taken care of we explored the ship. While confusing at first it was easy afterwards. Our room was in a great location for getting around the ship but not if you want to go to bed early as it was directly above the Eagles Lounge Stage. Not a problem for us as we were never in the room before 1230 any night and the entertainment is over by that time in Eagles.

 

The muster drill was easy and lasted about 20 minutes. They take it very seriously on Carnival. It was a great day for sail away and we were underway by 4pm

 

Our table mates were great although the one couple never showed up any of the seven nights. We had Carlos as our Server and he was great. I really enjoyed his service and he was always on his game. Enjoyed his service and would highly reccomend him. Martin was his assistant and is a machine. That guy is always on the move and on point. He will make a great head waiter and Carnival should recognize his service.

 

After dinner we visited a few of the bars and had some drinks. Fairly uneventful. The midnight food was hot dogs, hamburgers, fruit and pizza.

[dkalnas]

4/27

Day at Sea. Woke up early and was walking the decks by 830. The chairs surronding the main pool area on Lido were all claimed most with no one on them. Hit the decks to get some sun around 11 and found two chairs on deck 10. We never had a problem finding chairs since we did not need to be right in the pool area. If you want to get chairs by the pool you need to be a hog. Played Scattergories at 1pm in Winstons and it was fun. Dinner was formal night and I had the lobster and shrimp. I ordered two to start. The lobster was dissapointing in taste and texture but the shrimp were great. Hit the bars, the show and the late night comedian and all was well.

[cruisinsly]

Great start! Cant wait for the rest!

[dkalnas]

4/28

Grand Cayman. We had visited the island before and knew there was not much to do so we did not rush to get off. We were onboard tender with no wait by 1030am. We decided to go to the beach but wanted to avoid the crowds. We decided to go to the Grand Cayman Marriott ($11 from port) where it was $12 per person for a day pass. The day pass includes a chair, umbrella (if available, there was for us) beach and pool access and they have bar service on the beach. If you want an easy day with no crowds this is the way to go. You will not beat the price and amenities. It was also announced this day that we would not be going to Cozumel but rather to Key West. The captain made the announcement and it was followed by a letter in our rooms informing us of the change. I was dissapointed with the change but the decision was not mine to make. It is all about liability and I understand Carnival's position. I did not see any upset passengers.

 

 

anchored in Cayman

 

4/29

Roatan.

The port is small and is chaos when you arrive. We walked off eventually found a tour. We did the Island Tour for $25 (do not remember company) and had Saed Sanchez as our driver. Nice guy and would highly reccomend. He drove us around the island stopping at various points of interest. He will take you anywere you want. After the tour we went to the Marketplace outside the port gates. As the afternoon gets later the area outside the port starts getting sketchier. I was offered to purchase drugs no less than half a dozen times. I finally felt uncomfortable when we went to stopped to get a drink and a child of about 12 years old offered me drugs. While Roatan is nice landscape I wouldn't want to visit the island again. Just not much to do.

 

[dkalnas]

4/30

In Belize we wanted to go Cave Tubing. After a minor wait in the Eagles lounge for a tender ticket we got off the boat and tendered ashore. We were on the pier at 1030 and booked a tour with Vincent for Cave Tubing. The rate was $65 per person but we were able to get $50 per person without asking. Vincent is the man and I highly reccomend him. He is a former police officer and will take good care of you. I will post his information later today in the Belize thread.

 

We left for tour just before noon and it was a 45 minute drive to the Caves. After a 25 minute walk you come to the water and the start of the tube ride. The walk is through well groomed paths. but they are rocky. The water shoes that are available for rent are not the best and some of the rocks make the walk uncomfortable. We did see three nesting tarntulas with eggs along the way, however that was the only wildlife we saw.

 

The tube ride takes 30-45 minutes and Vincent will actually swim and pull a half dozen people down the river tied together. He works hard. I can not say enough. Afterwards it was a 45 minute drive back and were at the port by 330 for some shopoing as the last tender left at 415.

[dkalnas]

5/1

Day at Sea. Drank more this day than any other:) Don't remember much except I had three entrees at dinner one of which was the grouper. the grouper was the best meal I had. The deck party was fun and the Mexican buffet quite poor. All in all a fun day

 

5/2

Key West. This ended up being our favorite port. I had never been to Key West even though I have lived in Florida 10 years. It was odd being on a cruise and stopping in our home state but that is the way things were. After a brief walk through immigration and getting our card punched we were off the boat. The Customs guys don't really do anything and the lines move fast. At first we walked around and the entire length of Duval St and then to Southernmost Point, Hemmingway House and back to ship for lunch by 1230. At 130 we were back off the ship and rented bicycles. We stopped at the Jet Ski Rentals Place on the pier and it was $15 for an all day rental or $10 by the hour. We opted to go all day. At first we started riding and then just kept going. We eventually covered the entire perimeter of the island in about 2 hours. This was not expected and I have not rode a bike in over five years but I was able to do it. We eventually circled back to Duval St and another must see place. The Garden of Eden. It is a clothing optional roof top bar. Before anyone asks, no we did not participate but some of the patrons did. If anything the novelty alone is well worth going and having a drink. If you do not fear going blind I reccomend going:) Eventually returned the bikes around 5pm and back on board after a 5 minute wait. The first babseball game all week was on and we watched the World Champion Phillies beat those Mets (again)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Docked in Key West

 

[dkalnas]

5/3

Ship ported at 630 however it was 745 until we were able to self debark. We had to catch the 840am train from Miami back to Orlando. Customs did nothing and we were at the train station at 815. The cab ride from the Port to Amtrak was $35. The price for two tickets to Orlando was $72 and we were in our living room at 2pm.

 

Overall the vacation was what we were looking for. We had a fun fillled stress free week.

 

The positives

The ship is clean, our room steward Dean always said our names when walking by. An excellent guy. He took great care of us. The 80's review show was great and the late comedy shows were always entertaining. The ship was always clean (with the exception of Rosies). The drink service is the fastest I have ever had. The Marriott in Grand Cayman, Cave Tubing in Belize and a bike ride around Key West are my recommended activities

 

The negatives.

Rosies. Very disorganized and unclean. There was always slow moving lines. There are to many different lines for food as each buffet line has different items. They should maximize efficiency by keeping the items consistent across each buffet line. Many times the food was empty in the salad bars and other areas. The stack of plates that you are to take for your food in most cases had some time of dirt or leftover food. This was visible on more than half the trips to Rosies as we would always joke about it.

 

The maintenance group. The AC in our room had serious issues or just has no power. We called and they came twice but it made no difference. We also had a TV that would always have a red screen. We called this in and never received any type of follow up. The safe must be locked with a credit card. The idea of a safe is to lock valuables including credit cards.

 

Tips:

Baseball scores located at Front Desk:)

Take your own wine onboard

Use the Internet cafes on shore rather than onboard

Cayman

Port building $4 for 15 minutes or Thai Restaurant $2.50 for $15 minutes

Honduras

Go into the market and walk until you see Internet Cafe on right

$1 for 20 minutes

Key West

Multiple locations for 20 cents a minute on Duval St.

Walk the third deck outside

Order the shrimp cocktail, grouper, snapper, flat iron steak, the tom ka Gai, Minestrone. Mongolian Barbq with clams, mussels and szcechuan sauce.

[Perfect Stranger]

Thanks for the review and photos!

[lollylew]

Thanks for the review especially since you are probably one of the first to post about going to Key West instead of Cozumel.

 

About the safe in the room, I have read right here on CC that you can actually use your S & S card to open/close it so that you can leave your valuables (including credit cards) inside.

 

Good to know about Rosie's so that I won't be (too) disgusted if I encounter the same problem! :eek::rolleyes:

[joydisney]

Thanks for the review - have not made booked yet, but plan on going on the Valor Feb 10. We would love it if Key West was kept on the agenda!

[Morcruisin4Fun]

We just sailed on the Valor 4/12. We never found Rosie's to be dirty or disorganized. There were always clean tables and never long lines at the Buffet or a short of food while we were sailing.

 

They do not recommend using your sail and sign card for the room safe. I actually used an old dunkin donuts gift card and it worked great. Any card with a strip will work.

[jb1677]

Great review!

 

With the itenerary change which night was the second "formal" night? The sea day before Key West?

 

Thanks

[floridacruzin]

Thanks a bunch for taking the time to write your review...I am soo close yet soo far...

 

Great Pics

[superrupe]

Thanks for tips on the internet! Glad to hear you had an awesome cruise!!!!

[Freckles_51]

They do not recommend using your sail and sign card for the room safe. I actually used an old dunkin donuts gift card and it worked great. Any card with a strip will work.

 

I take an old gift card as well...never use a credit card or S&S :eek:

[summer08bride]

thanks for the tips! i never thought to order the grouper but now im considering it... any other favs?

 

glad to hear the late night comedy show was good! thats our fav entertainment :)

 

we're going to bring an old giftcard for the safe

[dkalnas]

Great review!

 

With the itenerary change which night was the second "formal" night? The sea day before Key West?

 

Thanks

 

 

The second formal night was on Thursday. This was announced on the first night and did not change even after Carnival decided to make the itinerary switch.

[Ron_L]

Thanks for the review!

 

We were on Valor the week of 4/19 and we didn't have any problems with Rosies, either. There were Carnival people constantly cleaning tables and mopping the common areas and I never saw any dirty plates. Sorry that you experience was different.

 

Our experience on Roatan was also very different. We went to Fins and Flippers Island near the port mainly for snorkeling but enjoyed the beach, pool and food. That may have been our favorite day of the cruise.